Z Type Car In Real Life

[Sebastian Thorndike]

Sinceabout 2002, I've been sailing through stories. On purpose. Mostly. My proposal, which has now become a book, begun with the simple idea of navigating my own vessel through the sea-routes suggested by some of the timeless maritime stories set in Scotland's West Coast. Most of my previously published work, in book form, takes the form of poetry and short-fiction and I've published one long novel which is really two books in one. Thus, I am writing this from the perspective of an author who has only recently found a way to mould the personal experience of coastal sailing adventures into a work now published by Adlard Coles Nautical. As I used to write a regular hillwalking column and once contributed a chapter on island ridge-walking to Classic Walks (Diadem Books) I'd suggest, from this, that the experience of writing about sailing can be applied to writing about other adventurous pursuits.

For me, it is essential to take notes, in some form, while the experience has the senses tingling. This does not have to be close to a finished form but timely documentation has two advantages. Accuracy is essential. It will make the story all the stronger. It is difficult to achieve, in retrospect. If you are with companions there is often a fascinating discrepancy between each person's memory of the event but that can cause confusion. A log-book or diary will often correct misleading memories. But it can also suggest the bare bones of a narrative. I often find that the words used at the time catch the spray and the colour that bring the journey alive for a reader. But then it sometimes needs time for comparisons and craft to place each journey in a context.

Again, I'm going to act on the premise that the issues in writing about sailing adventures for a general audience but also one which includes very experienced sailors, are similar to those in writing about climbing, ski-ing or surfing. If your audience is your peers in the activity or sport, this issue does not really occur. The appropriate language can include specialist terms as a type of shorthand. If you consider the story of your adventure may have appeal beyond those who also kayak or perhaps climb on ice, technical terms can be a problem. This was exactly the issue I faced in shaping Waypoints. One premise is that the structure of vessels has a lot in common with the structure of stories. To explore this, accurate descriptions of different types of boat construction were necessary. When it came to accounts of the passages and pilotage, there are particular navigational terms. If I spelled these out, every instance, I would risk alienating experienced sailors. If I 'spoke' only to fellow-sailors I would not be sharing the passion which prompted the book with people who were not 'in the know'.

I would say that this was where an objective eye and ear is good. I tested sections on readers ranging from a master-mariner to a North American friend who loves both literature and Country music but has done no sailing. My agent's comments were also useful. When it came to a contract, the commissioning editor pointed out an instance here and there where a short explanation would help. Drawings by my collaborator, Christine Morisson, who illustrated the book, often saved wordy expansions. Maps and chart-sections helped orientate the reader.

Most of all, I would say, the advice to write the book you really want was the most crucial. No matter how strong the idea is, it seems to me that its successful realisation can only happen in the writing. There were countless drafts, most of them read out loud, to myself or to my partner in art and life.

I don't think the re-drafting was a matter of polishing the form. For me it was as much about shaping an underlying essay, developed from the working concept. Perhaps the act of writing is not so different from becoming fluent in climbing moves or getting 'in the groove' of sailing to windward. There's a wonderful feeling of satisfaction when you sense it's all going sweetly. For me, in the physical activity or in the writing, you hope to reach a stage where it just seems elegant. This might be as much about words left out or losing unnecessary movements. We all put-off the writing, convincing ourselves that we have to think it out a bit more first. For me, now, much of the thinking-through of the underlying essay happens only in the partly playful act of recreating the adventure, with language. In fact, this has become a new adventure.

My own first drafts played things down too much. This is what we do when we talk to our mates. Now I try to step outside myself and imagine how these waves must look to someone seeing them for the first time.

Do you train to fight your natural body type or have you embraced it and used it to your advantage? Or, are you planning to look further into your own body type and how if affects your workouts, nutrition and goals? Comment or connect with me at @lindsayinreallife on Instagram or @LindsayIRL on Twitter.

I am writing a novel, and part of the plot has one character killing another in a specific real-life location. I mean the setting is extremely specific - for example, a particular hotel, or one particular ferry.

I'm worried that portraying violence in a specific location might be frowned upon by the real-life owners. I don't want to be sued because they don't like how I've used their property, or because they think I'm slandering them.

Option A: "Welcome Monsieur Debarge to your cabin on the Caspian Rapide, the luxury train service that will take you on a journey from London through to Istanbul," the guard said as the famous Belgian detective came aboard.

"Normally so," Debarge said the inflections of his French-Canadian accent bringing a particular gusto to his authoritarian tone. "The perpetrator of this wicked crime must have been exceptionally determined and resigned to capture. For only a fool with little care for their own freedom and safety would dare to execute such a heinous crime in such an environment."

Option C: Just don't worry about it. It's only if you go into territory that suggests that heinous acts of murder most foul are the norm in the selected location and the owners of the location actively encourage carnage and anarchy that you'd probably be getting a raised eyebrow or two. As long as it is made plain that the situation is out of the ordinary the location is usually deemed fair game for adding dramatic spice, particularly if the venue is open to the general public.

Matthew Reilly set his gladiatorial SF thriller Contest in the Library of Congress, Dan Brown set Angels and Demons in the Vatican City. If in the latter Brown had depicted the Vatican as an organisation of loose morals and casual atrocity he might have attracted the wrong type of attention to his tedious pot boiler. Because the Vatican largely performed its expected function with various rogue elements trying to cause chaos it passes as dramatic licence.

You cannot be sued for slander, that is another category of tort and doesn't involve the written word. If you intend to use a real location, (a specific location as the question suggests, one that can be pinpointed down to an address), you CAN be sued for libel, but again, libel is also intended to protect people, their business and reputation; less so places. If you keep specific, identifiable information out of the novel it is unlikely that a libel suit would follow, even if the owner and neighbors can tell which property is being discussed in the story; the problem and liability comes in when the PUBLIC can ID the property based on your story.

A judge will most likely toss it if the complainant is suing based on printed prose regarding a place as opposed to a person or business. Especially if there is no way for a jurist to logically connect a specific address with the story.

Even using the name of a small town, street or community is not specific enough for libel. Would be best to create a fake address (if needed) and modify the description of the property. If you are compelled to be SO specific about a location and description that it could potentially ID the address and the resident/owner--yes they can sue -- a competent judge would look it over (you don't want that)...whether or not they can win is an open question for a jury. If you do in fact plan to publish a real address, you are probably violating the privacy of whomever lives there --> THAT is a civil tort you can easily be sued for libel AND more you'd be more likely to lose.

Note: In the US, the 1st amendment gives us WIDE latitude to say anything we want, but the Supreme Court ruled that we have a right to privacy. "My rights end where yours begin," so If I violate YOUR privacy, I've over-extended my right to print whatever I want. In this instance, not a crime, but certainly a good civil-action attorney could prove physical, emotional or financial damage.

To avoid possible problems, you could perhaps be less specific, or make up a fictional hotel or ferry to set the murder in. Depending on the way you write it, could be considered damaging to the reputation of the hotel. If they take offense, I believe they could take you to court - I don't know exactly how much trouble you can get in for libel for this sort of stuff, but to be on the safe side I would suggest not using a very specific location. :)

This post presents the different synthetic data types that currently exist: text, media (video, image, sound), and tabular synthetic data. We start with a brief definition and overview of the reasons behind the use of synthetic data. We then go over several real-life examples of applications for synthetic data:

These reasons are why companies turn to synthetic data. Either they produce datasets from partially synthetic data, where they replace only a selection of the dataset with synthetic data. It is common when they want to complement an existing resource. Or they use fully synthetic data, with datasets that don't contain any of the original data. Fully synthetic data is often found where privacy is impeding the use of the original, real data.

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