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Soliciting Your Questions

{ 24 comments… add one }
  • Carradee September 12, 2011, 1:12 PM

    Just fyi, I don’t watch vlogs. I’d far rather read a blog post—and I’m quite fond of the text-only type. (Thus my own lack of stock images on my blog.)

    Some surveys I’ve seen suggest I’m the exception rather than the norm, though. I do wish you the best of luck with this experiment!

  • Bruce Hennigan September 12, 2011, 1:58 PM

    Hey Mike

    It’s nice to put a voice with the face. What about a discussion of that wonderful, I guess, “disclaimer” at the end of The Resurrection where you talked about ghosts. Just in time for Halloween, even. I’d like to hear more about some of the responses to your ideas.

    • Mike Duran September 12, 2011, 2:10 PM

      That’s a great question, Bruce. It’s received a lot of mileage. Thanks for asking.

  • Jill September 12, 2011, 2:10 PM

    If I did a vlog, I’d act out 1-person plays and wear funny wigs. I’ve been considering it for some time now. I don’t have any immediate questions, so sorry about that.

  • James Martin September 12, 2011, 2:56 PM

    How does someone decide to publish in the CBA or the ABA? It seems like an important question that has no easy answer.

  • Julian Walker September 12, 2011, 4:20 PM

    I am sure that you’ve answered this question at some point, but I started following your blog about two years ago in August 2009. But here goes!

    To what extent do you think a work of fiction could be glorifying sex or violence? Alot of Christians think that if the subject matter deals with these issues or both are brought up as a result of the narrative then the work of fiction automatically glorifies sex and violence. I don’t think so, in fact I have my own answer but I wanna hear your response first.

  • Katherine Coble September 12, 2011, 6:27 PM

    Should I throw out this yogurt?

  • Katherine Coble September 12, 2011, 6:52 PM

    /arrested development moment

    IAS, I’m not a huge fan of vlogs.

    Pro: putting a voice and mannerisms to the already-known “voice”

    Cons:
    Erratic. I only made it through about 1.22 (to where you say “I’ve seen other authors do this”) and THAT took me about 6.5 very choppy minutes.

    Not written. I like to -read- important thoughts.

    Not a big fan of just watching people talk to their monitors.

    Sidetrackable. I always end up looking at artwork in the background. (cool wallhanging. )

    They can be a novelty, I guess, and of course everyone should express himself in the way he chooses as long as it doesn’t pain others. But really, I’m a reader.

  • Tracy Krauss September 12, 2011, 8:31 PM

    Liked the pun )flesh on the deCompose guy … 🙂 I like the novelty, ans once every week or two would be okay. I do prefer the written blog I think, but that remains to be seen after you do your first vlog with some ‘connect/answers’. Peace

  • Sally Apokedak September 12, 2011, 8:58 PM

    I love vlogs. Because I read so many blogs, watching really feels like a nice break to me. I don’t like them if they go more than five minutes. Under four minutes is best, I think.

    I don’t have a question just yet, but I do want to say, “Groovy lava lamp, Dude!” 🙂

  • Tony September 12, 2011, 9:52 PM

    I love vlogs. It seems more personal. And, hey, sometimes it can be exhausting to read through all that text on your computer screen — it ain’t the same as a book page, after all.

    Questions?

    Hmm. . .

    Well, you write horror. . .what scares you? Does the stuff you write scare you?

    And, oh, here’s one: I’ve noticed most Christian “horror” isn’t all that scary. Have you read one that did scare you?

    Lastly: Did you wear that EXACT same shirt in that EXACT same room as in your picture just to mess with us? O_0

    • Tony September 12, 2011, 9:53 PM

      Oh, wait, no, I think that’s a different shirt. 😛

  • Carol Wong September 13, 2011, 7:53 AM

    I love Vlogs. I have a different knind of question for you, Do you have any pets?

  • Nikki September 13, 2011, 9:48 AM

    No questions, but I have to agree with the others about preferring reading blogs than watching them. I wonder if a new trend could be started with a vlog AND written text of information contained within the vlog so it actually reaches all parts of the population and their preferences… hm. Just thinking out loud. :o)

    • Sally Apokedak September 13, 2011, 9:59 AM

      Many bloggers give the transcript of the vlog right below the video box. This is good for those who have slow internet connections and for those who prefer reading.

      • Sherry Thompson September 13, 2011, 11:56 AM

        Sally stole my comment! (But, as a fellow Christian, I forgive her. ;-P )

        I have nothing against vlogs, per se, except when they are about topics that are important to me. Your topics are usually important to me. When they are, I sometimes create a small notepad file of some parts of your entry plus the best comments. If your original entry is in vlog format, that makes my practice more difficult.

        Like Sally, I also suggest you provide transcripts of your vlogs directly below, as a solution to the problem. Reason? I’m too lazy to type up my own transcript.

        Have you considered having a debate with yourself? After watching it, we could vote on who “won” and why we think he did.

  • Brenda Jackson September 13, 2011, 9:18 PM

    I don’t do vlogs either. For me it’s a noise thing. I’m bombarded by noise day and night. When I go to my computer, I want a nice SILENT experience.

    Maybe you could do a mime vlog? *-)

  • Katie Ganshert September 14, 2011, 6:12 AM

    Okay so Mike…..great minds must think alike! Because my debut vlog that I did a month or so ago is almost exactly like this!

    http://katieganshert.blogspot.com/2011/08/vlogging-adventure.html

  • Johne Cook September 14, 2011, 7:40 AM

    Hey, Mike,
    I think doing a Google + Hangout would be far more interactive and interesting:
    https://plus.google.com/

    Instead of static “I said this and later you watched and eventually responded that,” you could have this video / audio dialogue in Real Time. It seems to be particularly appreciated by authors and our ilk.

  • Zach September 14, 2011, 4:27 PM

    Question for the VLOG: How much plotting do you do? I just read King’s On Writing (I was halfway through it, put it down to focus on Morrison’s Supergods and The Great Gatsby – read your post on dialog citing it and was reminded I was really enjoying it) and was amazing at how little King claims to plot. I was kind of relieved, honestly, since plotting for me has always been awkward for me and slows progress to a halt. Everything I’ve done has relied on an extremely loose outline with the situations kind of developing as I discover the characters. Is this similar to your method, or are you a big believer in the thorough outline?

  • Bob Avey September 14, 2011, 7:47 PM

    You have some great content on your blog. Why not just expand on some of that for your vlog?

  • Merrie Destefano September 16, 2011, 12:31 AM

    I love vlogs! (or clogs, as my iPad autocorrect seems to prefer.) They’re really popular on YA general market author sites.

    Let’s see, a question for Mike….hmmmm….

    I’d like to hear you discuss the difference between writing a first draft, rewriting, and editing. Or in other words, how do your books go from first draft to polished draft? What types of things do you try to correct in your final draft? How can you tell when your book is done?

  • Kate {The Parchment Girl} September 21, 2011, 6:25 PM

    It’s great to put a voice with the face! I love vlogs and frequently do them myself. I think it makes a site more personal and conversational. A tip: I’ve gotten feedback from a lot of my own readers who advise keeping vlogs under 5 minutes. I think a lot of people are put off by the idea of committing a lot of time to a video, which cannot be skimmed, unlike a long blog post.

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