A life test… or just plain bad luck?

A lot of today’s modern writers probably depend on technology to tell their stories. PCs and mobile devices have made it easier to create, edit, and transmit information all across the world, whether it be an article, a short story, a novel, or an essay paper. Some would argue that it’s probably the greatest breakthrough since the wheel.
Have computer, will travel, right?
Does it even stop with a computer? Use to be, back in the 90s, that computers were evolutionary; a modern-day marvel that could generate words without paper and typewriter ribbon. (Do the young kids today even know what a typewriter is?) – I bet they’ve heard of Steve Jobs though.
Along came portable computers (laptops) to replace those clunky desk-chained monsters that were all the rage just a few short years before. A dramatic improvement reducing size and weight from 30 pounds to a mere eight.
But why stop there? Why not push the envelope of what technology can do to enrich our lives when it comes to writing? Let’s make devices even smaller, more powerful, efficient, and versatile. Behold! Mobile devices such as iPads, Smart phones, Google Glass!

Random fact: Did you know there are 12 computer modules inside of a Volvo XC 90? There was less than that in all of the US Apollo missions back in the 60s and early 70s.

Our technology today in our mobile phones, which we carry inside of our pockets, makes that Volvo look like a Radio Flyer. So to recap… The phone that you hold in your hand is smarter than the lunar modules that landed on the moon.

New technology, cutting edge software; even the ability to just forget about the typing and spew out words that create themselves directly on the screen! The possibilities are limitless…

… Until it’s no longer available.

I’m not talking about an episode of Revolution (the defunct, but much underrated television show). No… in my sad little tale, that would’ve been much easier to accept than the truth.

My dependency on technology has been growing for decades. I’ve always tried to find better, more effective and efficient ways to increase my productivity. Hardware, software — it didn’t matter, as long as it could make things “easier”, I was onboard. With an addiction like that, certain liberties might have been sacrificed , or definitely overlooked, such as the possibility that “Big Brother” was listening and watching every time I made a phone call or used a GPS. Sure, I knew it was possible, but that paled in comparison of making things better for me. Like all drugs, smoking the upgrade weed was not enough for me , I gradually grew into a full blown cocaine-type addiction to where if the technology was cutting-edge and available, I was the first in line. I am happy to say though, I would wait until the next business day. I did not stand in line at midnight waiting for the next OS version to come out. Apparently, there was still some semblance of sense and humility left in my technology-driven life.

So where we going with this, Steven? Well, I’ll tell you, my inquiring, sponge-like minds …

One of the fundamental problems of accepting new technology, is complacency. An individual tends to overlook certain things, or at the very least, takes them for granted when they think the world is at their fingertips. Never grow so dependent on technology that you suffer from something akin to withdrawals when it is gone.

I do almost everything on my iPad. I believe I mentioned this in my other blogs about how I use it for my profession as well as my writing (both published and unpublished). It has books by other authors that I preview and read, it has all of my music, movies, TV shows, and family pictures… everything .  I took for granted how much I used my iPad and didn’t have my eyes opened until it was gone. I left it in the seat back pocket on a plane. That was on a Monday. By Thursday, my PC had died and was powerless to boot up no matter how many different attempts I made. Here I was, 1300+ miles from home, and down to just one mobile device; a phone that wasn’t so smart any more due to an unfortunate incident with my son and a bathtub.

Now, I could bore you even further with the details of the trials and tribulations of my technological power outage, but I believe you already get the point as you sit there laughing at my plight.

Time for the moral, children.

Don’t get so attached to things that they become an extension of yourself. Sure, these gadgets are an important part of your daily life, but there are other things that should be on the top of the list of coveted objects that mean more. I’m not going to lie; there was a disappointment and a humbling of a loss that was completely my fault. I didn’t even notice it was gone until later that night. As I reflected on all of the things the iPad meant to me, the one thing that bothered me the most was the pictures of my family. I had a lot of those, and just left them on a plane. I’m not a complete idiot; I had backups on my PC… Oh – wait, that died, didn’t it?

In the end, I made it home safely, fixed the PC, and replaced the iPad. After all, they’re just objects. A bright side to this is that my penmanship has actually improved.

What I would like for all you fabulous readers to get from this.

The key message for my book is very simple… It’s all about the power of choice. The young man in my book has been plagued with a hard life, and the consequences of choices, by his hand or others, are the result. Using all the standard cliché phrases, he has persevered, triumphed, “dealt with his demons” (that last one is a bit ironic), and still manages to come out on top. That’s always a great ending to a story.

Oops… Did I give away too much? Probably not, but if you want to know the full scoop, you will have to check out my book.

My characters are really plot driven. Each one adds to the overall value of the storyline allowing the reader to “connect” to them and the story. I mentioned before, that the best types of stories are the ones where you can get emotionally involved. All of these characters, whether they are big or small, have to make choices, which determine their path. Some are rewarded: some are…well, let’s just say they should have thought more before making their choice.

The most important aspect is that choice holds a lot of authority. Most people take stuff like that for granted. Some, are not even aware of the path they have ultimately taken because of a choice that they weren’t even aware that was made. There are multiple layers in this book where giving credence to both plays out.

Every choice or decision has either a reward or a consequence. It’s almost like parenting. You try to teach your children by examples from your experiences. They either choose to listen, or experience it the hard way. The hard way tends to have more consequences.

The moral of this bit is choice has more power than we know; stop and think about the downstream effects. The more subtle moral is that children should listen to their parents. We are not as dumb as you think. 😉

The last sentence is totally unrelated to the book. Just wanted to give a shout-out to all my fellow parents.… I feel your pain.