Y. Karp? Why Not!

I have something a bit different for you this week - I challenged myself to write a story in only one hour and then to narrate it on this podcast. Well, I did, and here it is - enjoy! This week's podcast is proudly brought to you by ZekTec custom software. If off-the-shelf software packages just don’t cut it, ZekTec has you covered. Visit www.zektec.com Click here to listen on Stitcher: http://www.stitcher.com/s?fid=152797&refid=stpr Click here to listen on iTunes: https://itunes.apple.com/il/podcast/y-karp-why-not/id1291793305 Click here to listen on TuneIn: https://tunein.com/radio/Y-Karp-Why-Not-p1038454/ Or play the episode directly from here: Yossi's Magazine: Everyone Needs One of These www.ykarp.com/magazine Follow on Twitter: @ykarp Follow on Google+: +Yossi Karp Subscribe to Y. Karp? Why Not! or follow on Facebook Add this blog to your RSS feed reader

This is a special episode featuring my interview with author Shaul Behr, author of the kosher science fiction novel: Ari Barak and the Free-Will Paradox. During our conversation, Shaul dropped a number of really good hints and tips for getting through the entire novel-writing process, from inspiration to finished book. His journey from inspiration to finished book is fascinating. Go ahead and order Ari Barak and the Free-Will Paradox now from Amazon, the Book Depository, the BookLocker, Barnes & Noble, and through the author’s website www.shaulbehr.com . Click here to listen on Stitcher:  http://www.stitcher.com/s?fid=152797&refid=stpr Click here to listen on iTunes:  https://itunes.apple.com/il/podcast/y-karp-why-not/id1291793305 Click here to listen on TuneIn:  https://tunein.com/radio/Y-Karp-Why-Not-p1038454/ Or play the episode directly from here: Yossi's Magazine: Everyone Needs One of These www.ykarp.com/magazine Follow on Twitter: @ykarp F...

This is Part 1 of a 2-part blog. Tech journalists get to play with all the new toys as they come to market or, if they go to the right bars , much before they come to market. How cool is it that as a tech journalist, you are invited to all the big events where brand new, ground-breaking technologies are announced? Tech journalists even get free stuff - for review, of course. What could beat that? Technical writing. As writers, we embed ourselves in companies that make the cool gadgets and amazing software. Game-changing ideas take form before our eyes. We are in the picture from kickoff through delivery. You might think that the engineers get all the fun, after all, they are the ones creating the innovations, actually putting the thing together that will change the world. But you'd be wrong. Engineers do have an awesome job as they bring the concept to release, but when was the last time an engineer was an integral part of the entire process? Product development usually inv...

I have great respect for anyone who publishes a novel. Dedicating the massive amount of time and energy required to bringing an original work to completion is almost enough to win my envy. Or scorn. It's true that writing a book is an impressive accomplishment, but don't waste my time. Novels built on the weak foundations of overused, formulaic writing serve no purpose. A book like that adds no more to the knowledge of the universe,  or the entertainment of humankind,  than does an instruction manual for a chocolate kettle. (Actually, that might be a fun read.) The problem, though, is that novels and stories have been around since, approximately,  the beginning of time. It's difficult to come up with something new. The human race has heard it all before. We are savvy story-listeners. And we are clever. Whether we realize it or not, people are excellent at predicting outcomes. Some of us are better at it than others, but we can often spot a punchline...