Spacemouse 9 Logo 1.0

A while back I decided to bring to life an idea I had for a Spacemouse 9 logo. I wanted the look of the logo to be in the same vein as the titles of old comic books. Not knowing where to begin, I did a search.  I came across an excellent Photoshop/Illustrator tutorial by David Occhino and decided to give it a try. I am pleased with my first attempt, but I want to do some variations to see if I can come up with something I might like even better. Just for kicks, I also want to mock up a book cover using this logo and the silhouette idea I mentioned in a previous post.

Free Novel Writing Software: yWriter

Recently, I came across a free novel writing program called "yWriter". The program was developed by science fiction writer Simon Haynes, who also happens to be a computer programmer. Unlike the Storybook software I reviewed last year, yWriter is complete and does not require buying an "upgrade" in order to have access to the most useful functions. The process of creating a novel with yWriter involves first naming chapters and then naming scenes. In the program scenes are objects that may be dragged and dropped from chapter to chapter or reordered within a chapter. Double clicking on a scene allows you to enter a word processor where the scene may be written. Some of the more useful features of yWriter include:

• Storyboard mode which places scenes on character time lines (see image above)
• An automatic backup feature to help avoid losing work
• A built in word counter
• A new project wizard for first time users
• The ability to print out a variety of scene reports and summaries.

With what little I have used the program, I have found a lot I like about it. If you would like to try it yourself, the download page for the product is located here.

Book Cover Idea

Although I plan to e-publish my book when it is finished, it will still need a cover to display online. Recently, I came across this dust jacket from the first edition of Tarzan of the Apes by Edgar Rice Burroughs. I like the use of silhouettes on the jacket and thought it might work to do something similar for Spacemouse 9. I need to mock up a preliminary cover to see if the concept will fly. If Spacemouse 9's silhouette ends up looking too much like Mickey or Deadmau5, the idea will definitely get scrapped. ;) We shall see...