Draft 0 and Research Trip to Taiwan
Welcome to the November issue of Hacker Chronicles!
Happy (belated) Thanksgiving! This issue will cover Draft 0 of my sequel and my recent research trip to Taiwan.
Spoiler alert for upcoming newsletter issues: Be sure to watch the new Mission Impossible: Dead Reckoning Part One and I, Robot since I'll be reviewing them.
/John
Writing Update
I'm finally commencing the late iterations of my sequel to Identified.
Getting to Draft 0
My NaNoWriMo this year was all about finishing Draft 0. I'm happy to announce that I got the job done and just received the single printed copy of Submerged, Draft 0. Here it is, with temporary cover art! I'll eventually organize a vote on the title because I have one other that I really like too.
Regarding the numbering scheme of my drafts, Draft -1 is the first complete write-through, i.e. when I've reached the last chapter. Draft 0 is when I've ticked off all my TODOs. That's where I've reached now.
The word count for Draft 0 ended at 94,400.
Going for Draft 1
I will do a full read-through of the hard copy, take notes, and make necessary changes. Ring-bound draft prints allow me to lay them flat and take detailed notes.
My draft 0 read-through will focus on surroundings such as weather, smell, and time-of-day. It's not that I intend to pack the book with such things but I want to make sure that scenes that are crystal clear in my mind are described in enough detail for the reader. I will also work on milieu such as dialog now that the full character set is established.
Heading Into the Alpha Reader Round
Draft 1 will go to my alpha readers so I will be reaching out to them soon. I've already been in contact with the two professional development editors I intend to work with too – Georgia and Marissa – same as for Identified. And I've asked my copy editor Lisa how busy she is so I know how long in advance I need to book her and the proofreader Sarah.
It's exciting that this novel is finally coming together!
November Feature: Research Trip to Taiwan
I wrote this section from Taipei, the capital of Taiwan, just a few days ago. I went there to experience the country, the culture, and the food, but also to do research for my third novel.
As I mentioned during summer, the work on the third installment featuring West Wilder et al began in parallel with editing Submerged. The project name of the third book is Taiwan Yield which tells you why I went here for research.
I love islands, especially island countries. I've visited Iceland, Singapore, Jamaica, and now Taiwan. And large ones like United Kingdom and Japan. On my bucket list is Tasmania, Sri Lanka, Madagascar, and New Zealand, as well as islands that are part of larger countries such as Key West, Unalaska Island, Hawaii, Puerto Rico, and Galapagos.
Taiwan and Technology
In the context of hacking and tech, Taiwan is fascinating because of it's unrivaled status in the global chip and semiconductor industry.
I read up on, and visited, Hsinchu Science Park which lies south-west of Taipei. Back in the 70s and 80s, it was inspired by Silicon Valley and thus located close to Taiwan's National Tsing Hua University.
You may recognize some of the top tech companies in the science park, such as Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company (TSMC), MiTAC, Realtek, MediaTek, and Zyxel.
I had to go by high-speed train, local train, and then a 30-minute walk to get to the heart of this cluster of headquarters.
Unfortunately, TSMC's on-site museum requires booking months in advance so I didn't get to see that.
Taiwan and Fiction
There is so much talk about the future of Taiwan that it has become part of the zeitgeist. You have the One China policy/principle, the political status of Taiwan, but also the 20th century history of Taiwan with Japanese colonization during the time of the first and second Sino-Japanese Wars, and current Taiwan as the Republic of China after World War II.
A key piece of any good fiction is conflict. The past and current conflicts around Taiwan and the chip industry is my starting point for the the novel I've just started working on.
A research trip like this can serve two purposes. One is to nail scenes already written or fill in blanks. Another is inspiration before any scenes are written. For me it was the latter. I wanted to see, taste, and hear Taiwan before I wrote a story taking place there.
Just Enjoying Taiwan
Taiwanese people came across as very honest and genuine. You can leave your bag at a cafe table while you go to the restroom and feel sure that no one would nick it. You can walk around after dark and feel safe. You don't tip so the price on the tag or the menu is it. And they'll even lower the price for you if they feel something wasn't sufficient or that you've paid enough.
Public transportation is cheap and abundant. Just like Singapore, the subway is clean and easy going. My favorite was the gondola ride up into the mountains where you can visit tea houses. It didn't cost much at all.
A lot of tourists go to Taiwan because of the food. It did not disappoint. If I had to pick a favorite, it would be Mama Liu's Rice Balls with purple glutinous rice, hard boiled egg, a thin slice of pork chop and some great seasoning. You eat rice balls like a burrito, for breakfast. The soup dumplings at Din Tai Fung were great and got me so full that I had to cancel the rest of that evening's plans. And I had several bowls of delicious noodles.
Another popular food attraction is the night markets with hundreds of street food stands. My favorite food there was Taiwan tempura which is not like Japanese tempura. Mine had tofu in it, and the popular food stand was run by an in many ways colorful woman.
I'd recommend anyone to go, especially if you like various types of Asian food.
Currently Reading
According to plan, I started reading Cixin Liu's The Three-Body Problem while in Taiwan. It's been on my list for a while. I traveled to the north of Taipei to sit down and read in the beautiful Beitou Branch Public Library.
BTW, I wrote a short review of The Trident Deception on Goodreads.
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