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Originally Posted by bennelson
I have a question for you. If I wrote a book, would you read it? Would you BUY a copy? Would you check it out if it was at your local library?
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Yes, I'd read it. You're pretty practical, so I don't think you'd write a hard-cover and ask for $30 per copy, so yes - I'd likely buy a copy (e-copy as has been mentioned). The library thing would be temporary, since the book would 'disappear' after 3 weeks.
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Originally Posted by bennelson
... wacky adventures of modifying my life - not just my transportation, but also cooking, water useage, renewable energy, and a whole lot of other things I've done...
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I'm not sure that I would be interested in ALL of these things. I am interested in a few of them. My vote would be a series of 'short story' type e-books ... in the style of 'this is what I'm doing right now - I discovered this - I should go here now - why? well, let me tell you a bit of the back-story'. This is a bit of a simplification of blogs in general, but it's a style that makes me feel like I was there with you and am following you through your design decisions, product choices ... the WHY of what you did is important here.
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Originally Posted by bennelson
Thinking back on it, I built an electric car never having done it before, I've changed 500-amp fuses on the side of the road in the middle of a thunderstorm, I found out the hard way that brake lines and plasma cutters don't mix (did you know brake fluid is flammable?) I've gotten a speeding ticket in a car that didn't even have an engine. I've traveled to Europe and crash-tested my electric motorcycle. I've helped other people build their own electric cars and met the inventor of the Citicar, Chris Paine, Chelsea Sexton, Ed Begley Jr, and Dave Cloud.
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These experiences are not common, as you say. But much of what you learned and why you did things as you did applies to many different situations.
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Originally Posted by bennelson
Instead, it would be a book about what happened in my life when I started learning, doing, modifying, and just trying to be a positive change, no matter how small.
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No offense intended - I think it would be hard to follow the book if it were chronological. My life is much more mundane and I have enough trouble following it myself sometimes. Splitting it up into separate books, or chapters, or trilogies ... something to group the experiences roughly together ... would assist me in reading through it. I agree that formal writing classes would stifle some of creativity and the story-telling ... at least initially. I was involved in reviewing someone's story, going through draft after draft, checking for consistency in tense, trying to change all of the references to myths and urban legends from 'raw' to 'socially acceptable'. It sucks the life out of you and makes the writer hate you and the whole process. Not an experience that I'd repeat. I would suggest that you avoid that by treating your book, or trilogy, or whatever, like a blog - if there are errors and inconsistencies - that's part of the experience!
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Originally Posted by bennelson
What do you think. Would you buy a book by me about my wacky adventures? Do you have any ideas or suggestions? Let me know.
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I've likely given you more suggestions and opinion than you'd like. But I'll try to summarize it - write the way that you already write your blogs, take me into the story with you so I can experience some of the discovery and follow you along, and keep it fun for you.
I like the idea of including enough details that a '2 month ecomodder' could follow. Details bring me into the story.