Thank you for all the responses. I’m very interested in ConstantRambler’s comment and I’ll make sure to learn from it. Indeed, the main heroine of the Snowflake is a little girl, and though I hope that the story will be interesting to younger readers, it is primarily aimed at adults. In the novel, I’ll try to describe a little girl who, just like the snowflake, started her life among millions like herself. She’s just as pure and innocent as that tiny drop of frozen water, moving through life without any understanding of what awaits her. Humans experience life through emotions. Sometimes we feel elated, others – down. Sometimes we are content and other times we are bored beyond belief of life itself. But then there are moments for each and every one of us when we’re suddenly faced with a question of the meaning of life, of our purpose in it.
I remember a time when as a child I woke up in the middle of the night with the deepest feeling of fear. It was the first time when I thought about dying or more precisely of not being. I’m sure everyone had one of those moments. My parents heard me crying and, once they found out the reason, they told me a story – a legend – about a tiny snowflake. The thing that stuck in my mind, that calmed me down, was that the snowflake always comes back, but only if she tried to do something good on her previous visit. Using the snowflake as example, I want to show that even the tiniest being on Earth has its own mission, its own purpose.
Computing crime and our vulnerability to digital intrusion is merely a backdrop to that story. Ultimately, it is humans that we are most interested in. And it is one little girl – Amanda Clarke – who will be chosen, challenged and forced to grow up if she’s ever allowed to get her life back. Still, I’ll keep in mind ConstantRambler’s comment and make sure there’s enough action in the book to satisfy even the choosiest of readers.
I’ll admit that the legend about a snowflake that underpins the book has been in my mind for a while, but I’m going to leave its presentation for later. For now, I’d like to present the first chapter of the Snowflake. As always, all comments, positive and negative, are welcome.
I also want to ask everyone a question. Do you believe in destiny or karma?
Saturday 25 April 2009
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I read your chapter and I must say that there were moments which I found interesting, but I feel constantly distracted by something. Maybe I just can’t get used to your way of writing. I often talk to foreigners and I’m used to having to guess what they mean. It doesn’t bother me, but maybe I’m feeling something similar here.
ReplyDeleteHey, it’s me again. Isabel, like your joke. Ha-ha. Ana, thanks for keeping me entertained and out of trouble ;-) Nice joke about programmers being like shamans. I need to add it to my own arsenal and tell it to some of my IT friends. BTW, here’s one of my own:
ReplyDeleteHow many programmers does it take to change a light bulb?
None – It’s a hardware problem!
Hello Ana. I’m asking myself why I got so interested in your blog and whether I got here by chance. Who knows. Maybe it’s the questions you ask and things you talk about. They are unusual for somebody of your age. When I was young I was interested in completely different things. I won’t comment on your first chapter. I don’t think my comments would be much use, because I don’t read much, I mean I haven’t read much. Your question about whether I believe in destiny. Recently, I started believing in it. Maybe this belief comes to us as we get older. I don’t want to seem ancient, but I outlived many of my friends. In life I experimented a lot. Most of my experiments ended up doing me more harm than good. Recently I lost somebody very dear to me and I’m not sure whom the Destiny punished more, her or me. Good luck with your writing.
ReplyDeleteMy friend forwarded me this blog. I don’t have anything to criticise yet. Your book reads easy. I’m waiting for more, but please pick simpler questions. Yours are too philosophical and need time to answer and time is a rare commodity nowadays. Roger, old boy, accept my condolences and cheer up, life goes on. Try to make somebody happy and change your destiny. It will give your life new purpose.
ReplyDeleteHi Ana. I don’t really understand what you guys are talking about here, but I loved your book. I like computers and I always dreamt to have a puppy. It was very interesting to read about Sparky. He was like real. Will you put more chapters for us to read?
ReplyDeleteAna, I want to congratulate you on making a start. Believe me, first chapters are always the most difficult. I do have a few remarks about your grammar, but all that is easy to rectify. I suggest you visit Guide to Grammar and Writing or read “Advanced Grammar in Use” by Cambridge Press. Other than that, it was a very pleasant read.
ReplyDeleteWe create our own destiny, only not everyone knows about it. Good luck.
Hi Ana! I’m from Ukraine. Your book is very heart touching me. You are so young your description very good for your age! Sorry for my English.
ReplyDelete