“If you want to write for yourself, get a diary. If you want to write for a few friends, get a blog. But if you want to write for a lot of people, think about them a little bit. What do they like? What are their needs? A lot of people in this country go through their days numb. They need to be entertained. They need to feel something.” – James Patterson, in a recent article on NYTimes.com.

This is the official promo video for the iPad on Apple’s website. It’s worth the 8 minutes it takes to watch it if you haven’t already. I’m planning to record a video blog with designer and friend Chris Wilcox in the next couple of days to talk about the iPad and what it means to us as artists, but I wanted to get my initial thoughts out while they’re as fresh as can be. Here we go:

• It’s shiny. OK, there I said it. I like shiny things. Sue me. Design matters to me. Good…now that’s out of the way.

• GOOD: The interface seems really intuitive. I have a Kindle and the first thing I wanted to do is touch the screen like I do my iPhone, which doesn’t work.

• GOOD: Price. I won a bet with a friend on this one. I thought they would be in the $500 range, which they are. Really smart move, Steve.

• GOOD: Movies, music, books, web, apps, games…are you kidding me?

• GOOD: Name. I’m going against popular opinion here. At first I thought, “Why would they name it so closely to the iPod?” then I had a conversation with a friend about it. Our theory is that Apple will eventually phase out the iPod altogether. Soon, it will give away (maybe entirely?) to just iPhones and iPads. So “iPad” might be a marketing play.

• BAD: No camera. Wha? Not having iChat ability on the iPad is a big miss in my opinion. Maybe they’re waiting to release it in 2.0 in the hopes that they can get people to buy two devices instead of one…which they probably will. (Again, really smart move, Steve.)

• BAD: No multi-tasking. Again, WHA? Seriously? I think a lot of people see the iPad as a laptop replacement (I do.). A boatload more would IF IT COULD MULTITASK. This will also probably be a 2.0 offering.

Will I buy one? Yes, but the question is when.  Do I think it’s a game changer? Absolutely. How will it impact publishing? Still mulling that over, but rest assured it will…in a big way.

Today’s the day. The music industry had theirs’ when Apple unveiled iTunes; now the publishing industry’s turn is up and there’s LOTS of debate about what the Apple tablet means for authors, publishers, and consumers. For all of the buzz and debate I can’t help but think that most of the naysayers are getting it wrong. They remind us that tablets have been tried before…and failed. They remind us how Bill Gates tried to revolutionize personal computing with a switch to tablets…and failed. But all of that misses the point in my opinion. Why?

Because the introduction of an Apple tablet isn’t about revolutionizing hardware (though I think it will certainly fuel innovation and do that just like the iPod did); it’s about revolutionizing content. I, too, love the feel and smell of paper. I like having books on a shelf in my office. We like book covers as much as we do the words they wrap around. They’re iconic and evoke a sort of nostalgia. Just last night my writer’s group talked about our favorite stories, some of which were published in the 1800’s. We like stuff we can touch.

But, I have to say (again) that stories unleashed are always better than stories contained. Paper books will always be around. I think that’s a given. What we’re on the edge of right now will throw open the gates for creatives to tell stories in ways that were never available before. And that, friends, is the real game changer. Imagine reading an interactive story that incorporates 3-D technology in your hand as you read it. Or a Choose Your Own Adventure style story that is a hybrid book/video game/movie. For the first time in history, the only real limit is how far your imagination will or won’t stretch. Think about that.

I’ll leave you with this: Avatar just became the highest grossing film of all time. It took James Cameron an estimated 15 years to make it, partially because the technology had to be created to pull it off as he envisioned it. Everyone decried the death of 3-D. Everyone thought he was crazy. We know how that turned out. True genius is the ability to see the future before it becomes obvious to everyone else.

From Geekdom to Wall Street, all eyes will focus on Cupertino, CA on Wednesday when Steve Jobs steps on stage to, presumably, unveil the long rumored Mac tablet (aka “The iUnicorn” because many have said it doesn’t exist). Whether or not you believe the digital publishing shake-up is imminent doesn’t matter. At all. It’s already underway and if you’re an author, either professional or aspiring, you need to pay attention.

The way we engage story has evolved over time and we’re on the cusp of the next cycle. And that cycle can be described with one word: convergence. CSI creator Anthony Zuiker tried it with his digi-novel, the over the top Level 26. Others have tried producing vooks, digital books with bonus video elements (most have which are…meh). Sooner rather than later we will have to figure out how to inventively tell stories by layering all of the techno-capabilities that devices like Apple’s tablet supposedly provide. Soon, writing the manuscript of a novel won’t even be the bare minimum. The new baseline will include interactivity, which you’ll have to plan for before you type the first word.

What will that look like? Who knows. But I do know we’ve got to start experimenting now. True, the publishing industry can learn from the mistakes the music industry made. In fact, I’ve heard that for awhile as well as something to the effect of “The good news is we still have time to figure it out.” My response is “maybe.” My opinion is that the speed of the shift will catch most authors and publishers off-guard. It’s the nature of things.

So, my advice…use your imagination to dream new ways to tell your story. The limits are being removed so take advantage of the time we live in.

Being a poser is one of life’s great temptations. I should know. I’m so well versed in its siren song that I deserve a Grammy.

We want other people to like us and spend a lot of time, money, and effort trying to be what we think others want. Others who don’t really think about us as much as we think they do. Others whose affection is conditional. Others whose true commitment comes with a price tag and expiration date, which is no commitment at all.

The best we can do, the best we should do, is be authentically us. I was reminded of this as I was looking through Brad Meltzer’s website this week. In the Q&A Section, there’s a photo of him sitting for a photo that ended up in Entertainment Weekly. Here’s the caption:

“Entertainment Weekly took one look at me and said, ‘Want to look like yourself, or you want us to make you look cool?’ I said, “Myself.” They gave me the trenchcoat and said to put it on even though it was 102 degrees in Washington.”

Ask yourself: What would my day look like if, for a full 24 hours, I was 100% me? A lesson (and a dare, really) from Brad Meltzer for all of us, folks.

I have a friend. We’ve been through a lot together, both good and bad, and have the scars to show for it. Now this friend, he’s an artist and spends extended amounts of time in solitude creating his art. He’s quite good and, generally speaking, has the confidence to match.

But a few times a year, as we talk about the creative process and what it’s like to work through it, one of us will slide off into a funk that usually begins with the words, “I feel lost and can’t seem to figure out what comes next. My art is trash, I don’t have what it takes, so maybe it’s time to just call it quits and see what’s on TV.”

We had this conversation recently. It was his turn to slide.  Normally I listen, offer a word of encouragement, and try to pat him on the back as a way of saying everything’s gonna be all right. But as we talked it dawned on me what was really going on. My friend had lost sight of who he was because no one was there to remind him.