SWU Length & Special Features
Book Length
The current rough draft, compiled to a 6 x 9 inch format using Scrivener comes to 343 pages and 72,365 words. The book currently consists of 144 patterns. New patterns may be added as the book is developed, but my guess is that there would be fewer than twenty added. If we consider that each finished pattern spans at least two pages and often three pages, and if we add in the front matter and section pages, we get a total length of between 300 and 450 pages.
Images
Each pattern is illustrated with a main sketch in which I’ve tried to capture the essence of the pattern as well as a diagram illustrating the structure of the pattern. These sketches were originally drawn on PostIt notes and will need to be redrawn for publication. I can provide the final art, or I’d be happy to work with an illustrator to complete them. The current images use simple stick figures to represent the reader, and while I think that is largely effective, I would like the final art to be closer in style to the image provided for PERSONAL UNIVERSE in the provided writing samples.
Current state of completion
In order to assemble the book into a coherent whole, I needed to write a complete draft of each pattern. That means that for each pattern listed in the Summary of the Language, I have written a title, sketched an image, and written context, problem, solution and actions statements. I’ve also written bullet points for the discussion section, but those sections are where much of the remaining work remains.
Given the number of patterns and the research that needs to be done, I think it will take between six and nine months to complete the manuscript.
Open Artifacts
The book proposes a process for making the world better that is based on global collaboration through open projects, what I call Open Artifacts projects. The book itself is the resulting artifact of my creative practice, and as such it should really be set up as an Open Artifacts project. That means that I will need to make it freely available in some form.
I’m open to any models you might suggest for this, but my thinking is to use the Creative Commons-Non-Commercial-ShareAlike (CC BY-NC-SA) license, which would limit others to non-commercial uses and allow us to be the sole producers of the printed and e-book versions. We could also offer some online materials that are only available if you buy the book.
I’ve held back making the book open until we can decide the best open model to use.
A Book Series
I envision this book as the first in a series of four. Start With Universe is about a creative process that can be used to build a better world. The other books, each named after a pattern in the first book, look at how to apply that process to improve the three main centers of human life that are within our influence: humans, world and Earth. The diagram below shows the first book in the center, driving the development of the three centers. The topics listed are to give a general overview of the topics that would be covered in each book.
