Brave New World

 RHYS BOWEN: Our recent Facebook trials when we tried to do a Facebook live event for our group REDS AND READERS highlighted how annoyingly stressful modern life can be. We all are suddenly required to be more tech savvy than we want to be. Mastering Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, not to mention Canva and learning how to create images with stars exploding all over them. Who would have thought it when I sat down with a pan and pen to write my first book?

Every time I have to do a Zoom, Streamyard, Chime etc etc I'm stressed that I won't be able to connect, that I'll freeze, that i'll suddenly notice my bra-strap is showing or I look as if I have no chin. I suppose the positive aspect of all this is that we can connect with readers in a way not possible before. I now speak to bookclubs anywhere in the world. When I do an event for the Poisoned Pen we get about 2000 watching the video , not just from America but from Australia, Sweden, you name it. It is mind boggling how one can have fans from across the globe.

But it is also so time-consuming. I reckon writers these days spend half their time writing and the other half in social media. I try to interact on Facebook every day. I post blogs, I do podcasts and interviews. On Monday I had two Zoom interviews, one after the other. Total of over 2 hours. When I went upstairs I said to John "My cheeks hurt from so much smiling." You can't look grumpy for a second on a Zoom!

So I'm thinking that Shakespeare and Jane Austen didn't have to spend half their time interacting on social media. Okay, that wasn't a good example. Shakespeare's works were performed so he was able to assess the success or failure of his words. Dickens's novels were published in weekly installments so he was also able to get feedback from his readers. but they didn't have to spend half their lives smiling on Zoom.

Of course it is lovely to meet many more readers than I ever could on bookstore visits. But it's made writing into a celebrity thing--that it's not just the words they like, it's the writer they follow. I find it strange and mind boggling that I have about 400,000 followers across social media (Facebook, Bookbub and Amazon). Did I ever, in my wildest dreams, imagine that my words would reach that many people, across the world. I should add that some of those followers are creepy guys from Nigeria, but then some are real African fans so it's hard to weed them out. (but that's why I started the private group TEA WITH RHYS as they have to be admitted and can be booted out if they do anything inappropriate).

I suppose I should be grateful and embrace the convenience. I still remember the days when the copy edits from my publisher came in a large envelope and I had to edit and reprint and send it back. Now it can be done in a day in the review mode. And I get a lot of fan mail because it doesn't require a stamp and a trip to the post office. And Google can alert me to any time my name shows up in the media. All good, but...

Maybe if I were younger I wouldn't have a hard time keeping up with technology, but it seems as soon as I've mastered one thing, something new replaces it. I'm still coming to terms with email. I'm not quite sure of the correct protocol. Should an email be considered a letter and therefor start 'Dear X?" and end with a yours sincerely etc.

Should it start like a chat with a friend? "Hi X! and end with kisses xxxxx

Or should it need not intro and conclusion at all since the recipient can see who it is coming from?

And then there is texting. Don't get me started on emojis or all of the acronyms. I haven't got past LOL yet. I can't see myself ever communicating with things like Wsg? hyd? NTG ISTG etc.

Even more baffling: 459 apparently means I love you!

39 means thank you (three and nine in Japanese apparently)

Do you think that humans are reverting to cave man speak and will lose the art of large vocabulary and polished sentences. No matter, there is always AI to do it for them. And that's another whole discussion.

So who here feels comfortable with technology and is glad of the conveniences we have? And who would like to return to the good old days when we sat down with pen and paper and wrote a letter instead?

From English to Emoji.

RHYS BOWEN: Did you overlook an important public holiday this week? It was national Emoji day! I mentioned it on my Facebook page and so many readers came forward to tell me which emojis they love using. Do you use emojis? I really don’t apart from adding a heart to the end of a note to granddaughters. Other than that would feel weird and self-conscious.

I’m not even very good at texting. When people text me they get a coherent sentence in reply. Some long words. How can I reply to my publicist THX CU AM.  But my grandkids generation communicate with each other like this all the time. So I’m wondering: have we come to the end of language as we knew it. Let’s think about it.

We started with grunts and gestures which progressed to words. To sentences: meat good. Go kill more.

Then writing was born from keeping tally of goods in early Babylon. Cuniform. And the Egyptian hieroglyphics. Duck duck maiden sun god meant “Would you like to come to tea on Friday?”

Well, I think we’ve just gone back to that with emojis. Sad face sun trees means “I’m sorry but I can’t join you for the picnic because I’ve got a sunburn.”

With English as the world language it was only a matter of time that it was spelled phonetically any way. Don’t cum thru Ive got a cof.

Where are those lovely long poetic sentences of the Victorian poets. All those impressive words they invented: permambulator  omnibus umbrella

You see the one thing they had that we don’t is time. I’m not talking about those who toiled in factories or trekked Westward. But the educated class had too much time on their hands and no television (another lovely invented word). They were quite content when their books started with twenty pages of description of the roof of the house. They loved sentimental poetry. My great aunt knew by heart endless recitations that she performed with great drama at parties.

Words for them were to be savored, enjoyed, made the most of because they had to fill time.

Now we are always in a rush. Half an hour for lunch? Can’t leave the office.

Can U pu fish for dinr? And add the smiley face to show you are not mad/stressed etc.

Do you use emojis frequently? Do you text? Do you still try to write coherent English?