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Android

Why I Lost my Motivation Working with Android Apps

December 14, 2019

Home For Fiction

Android, home for fiction, idiocy, motivation

This is a bit special, unusual post, squeezed in-between the regular flow of Home for Fiction posts. It’s basically an email reply I sent to a Narrative Nods user in regard to my response to a review.

This surely sounds a bit complicated (and perhaps the headline a bit overwhelming), so here’s a very brief background.

Some time ago, I decided to stop working on offering updates for Narrative Nods – for reasons you’ll see below. I also don’t feel motivated to work on the rest of my apps. This became apparent to users after I left the following response to a review on Google Play:

[…]Frankly, I think you might be quite right. This app is rather pointless, certainly not as engaging as a fruit tapping game or a selfie camera app. I’m considering removing it from the Store or, at the very least, never bother with it ever again. There’s more important things out there. Cheers!

This was understandably misinterpreted as sarcastic, so I had to offer another response:

Thanks for the support, but you might’ve (understandably) misunderstood me. I wasn’t being sarcastic in that response. I actually believed—still do—that the app isn’t as useful as I’d initially thought. Its main flaw is that it needs users to put in the work, and not everyone is mature enough for that (that’s what the ‘fruit tapping’ part implied).

This, again inevitably, was misunderstood further. Google Play allows only 350 characters in a given review – or “review” – or response, which makes it impossible to properly express what’s going on. A user emailed me and asked me not to be hostile and feel hurt by negative feedback.

It was, again, understandable. That user couldn’t know that I don’t care about audience reception. I had to finally offer a proper response, unconstrained by spatial limitations – remember my post on why Twitter is a bad idea for writers.

Today’s post is a chance for me to extend my response to a more general audience. The purpose is for other users of my Android apps to have a proper explanation about the situation, as well as for others to catch a glimpse of the dynamics involved. Great teaching material regarding digital misunderstanding, among other things.

“Nothing is more important than cats. And even they are not very important”
Old Chinese proverb (sort of)
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Character Nods: a Development Tool for Fiction Writers

April 18, 2019

Programming

Android, app, characters, computer, fiction, programming

Please note that none of my Android apps is any longer maintained – and they’re not even available on Google Play anymore – for reasons you can read about here. If you still have any of the Home for Fiction Android apps installed on your phone, you’re advised to uninstall them. The post below should be seen purely as a snapshot of history.

My plot development tool, Narrative Nods is by far the most downloaded of my apps on Google Play. A lot of people have told me it’s helped them a lot. And so, I made another similar app, Character Nods, which is based on character narrative theory.

character nods
Character Nods analyzes a great number of variables to detect psychological patterns, that can help you design realistic, engaging characters.

How Character Nods Helps You Design Better Novels

If you haven’t read my article on fiction character types, I really suggest that you do. It gives a lot of information of various character types you can implement in your plot.

However, the focus of Character Nods is on your protagonist and your antagonist. They are by far the most important characters of your book. As a result, it’s them you should make sure to develop properly. The reason? The interaction between protagonist and antagonist is what creates the narrative tension of your story.

If you recall my article on narrative antagonists, this tension is an absolutely critical aspect of story-telling.

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Worder: a Word Puzzle Game for Android

March 31, 2019

Programming

Android, app, computer, game, programming, worder, words

Note: If you’re interested in word puzzles, also take a look at my newest game, Word Journey.

Please note that none of my Android apps is any longer maintained – and they’re not even available on Google Play anymore – for reasons you can read about here. If you still have any of the Home for Fiction Android apps installed on your phone, you’re advised to uninstall them. The post below should be seen purely as a snapshot of history.

I’ve been enjoying programming lately – more than usual, that is. When you enjoy something, you become better and more productive. That’s why we need Universal Basic Income instead of jobs making us miserable. But let’s leave that aside for now and talk about Worder, a word puzzle game for Android that I made.

Worder is a word puzzle game. You must create words from randomly appearing letters before time runs out. As you move through a beautiful environment, letters begin to fly in front of you. Pick them to form a word recognized by the app’s dictionary.

Each word adds seconds to your timer and points to your score. But strategy is important! Should you wait for “A” and “L” to form the word “Mor[al]”, or play it safe and just wait for an “E” to form the word “Mor[e]”? Longer words means more points, but the clock is ticking!

Worder - word puzzle game for Android
Worder is a word puzzle game. It’s a bit like Tetris, only with words!
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