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I've heard a lot about DEVONthink for the Mac. It's being used by notable authors such as Steven Johnson.

Since people can't seem to stop talking about it, I went to investigate what all the hoopla is about, and it appears to have a really nice keyword smart grouping function for notes.

Being a PC/Windows guy, I went in search of something similar. I found EverNote. It allows 'smart grouping' - also known as keyword categorization, and a host of other neat features. The best part? The basic version is free. The retail version supports handwriting features--but if you're like me, you don't really care about that stuff and the free version functions perfectly without the extra features.

Some people might ask, "Why not use Mind Manager or FreeMind?" That's a great question, and I love those apps, but they are better for hierarchical organization and visual mapping. I don't necessarily need all that for making clip files of odd news, or organizing snippets and tidbits of inspiration.

In other words, EverNote makes a good InfoBucket or InfoScoop, for lack of a better term. My notes don't have to be super organized, in fact I prefer them not to be. Notation for me is a very quick and dirty process. All I really need is a way to sort my notes effectively by topic, and EverNote handles all that nicely without much trouble.

It's free. Give it a try if you're looking for some note-taking software, or simply if you like to try new tools.

Anyone using DEVONthink or EverNote?

"If you're stuck thinking of authors as 'writers,' you're never going to understand branding."

An apt quote from this Forbes article on successful authors. Which begs the question; What is your business plan for novel-writing? Do you have one?

Thanks to Grumpy Old Bookman for that link.

Over on The Antick Musings of G.B.H. Hornswoggler there is a decent piece on how the 'fans' themselves are killing science-fiction.

If we're just talking about readers, I agree that the negativity and trolling should be held responsible for some of the 'destruction.'

If we're talking about critical dissection among writers, that's another thing. Getting all nitpicky about a piece of work is one way that writers learn. Until I read Heinlein I had no idea he wrote such bad prose. Not that it matters in the face of the ideas--the ideas are what resonate with people, and why they love the works so much.

Similar can be said for Isaac "The Rambler" Asimov. I found his work to go off too much into the characters' headspace, which in general is a poor storytelling technique--at the very least overused in his case.

But this is relatively 'old' sci-fi, or well-entrenched to say the least. If sci-fi fans are holding back new sci-fi because they simply won't give it a chance, then yes... that is sad.

But as others may have suggested, don't read web forums then. Only misery seems to come from online negativity.

Just to be a thorn, the devil's advocate in me just has to ask... "What if they're right?"

Is there something wrong with sci-fi these days? If so, what is it?

I should have linked this a while ago. Scott is the co-owner of 3D Realms, where I work.

The interview is all about games, but don't be fooled by that. Many of the topics discussed affect novelists and writers as well. After all, it is the job of fiction writers to create new intellectual property.

"I'll know it when I see it."

Maybe you won't? Seth Godin has one of the best blog posts I've read in a long time, for the simple lie it exposes.

We've all said it at one time or another.

You won't know it when you see it, because even people who are exceptionally gifted at picking out good ideas sometimes pass up goldmine opportunities.

Nobody can identify all the good ideas, all the time. Nobody. Like wisdom and the humility of Socrates, the best thing you can do is to admit that you know nothing, and work to constantly improve your knowledge. The same is true for picking out good ideas. We all have to admit that we aren't as great as we think, and our only recourse is to work at becoming better about picking good ideas.

It's the only way to move forward.

And picking ideas is one area where it pays to second-guess yourself. Is your idea really that good? Why? Maybe you've come up with a stinker. But then again, maybe that idea that woke you up in the middle of the night, but seemed stupid the next morning--maybe it's the best idea you've ever had?

What measurements do you use in judging an idea? Are you good at picking them?

Do you know it when you see it?