In today’s Journal * Quotes of the Day * You Can’t Make This Shup * Dean’s Post on AI * Roald Dahl * Of Interest Quotes of the Day “You can’t script the unexpected. Life is full of unexpected events. Scripted novels are not.” Dan Baldwin “Today, I only listen to what my characters tell me. … This approach to writing keeps me always in suspense. The same can be said for my readers.” Dan Baldwin “Nobody ever lives their life all the way up except bull-fighters.” Jake Barnes to Robert Cohn in The Sun Also Rises “Genre is a … Read more

In today’s Journal * Quote of the Day * Hemingway * I’ve dropped off “Hortencia Alvarez” * Of Interest Quote of the Day “Just write one true sentence.” Ernest Hemingway Hemingway While I’m spending time away from the Hovel, I’m reading quite a lot. I recently read roughly half of The Complete Short Stories of Ernest Hemingway: The Finca Vigia Edition. By keying the title into a search engine, you can find used copies for around $7 on up. A new paperback copy on Amazon is under $15. Extremely inexpensive for a masters class on writing. I have this one … Read more

In today’s Journal * Quotes of the Day * On Character and Setting * Of Interest Quotes of the Day “Too stupid for words and too dangerous and wow are you a lazy bastard if you can’t write your own fiction.” Dean Wesley Smith on whether to use AI-generated content in stories “PG contends that social problems are social problems, not word problems.” The Passive Guy On Character and Setting Awhile back I was talking with a writer about my nonfiction book, Writing the Character-Driven Story. He asked why I put such emphasis on character and setting. Aren’t the events … Read more

In today’s Journal * Quotes of the Day * Generating Graphics * On Writing Techniques (or Not) * Of Interest Quotes of the Day “I can accept failure. Everyone fails at something. But I can’t accept not trying.” Michael Jordan “One machine can do the work of fifty ordinary [humans]. No machine can do the work of one extraordinary [human].” Elbert Hubbard, American writer Generating Graphics I do not personally recommend any subscription options for designing covers, social media ads, flyers and other graphics you might need as an indie publisher. There are simply too many great graphics design programs … Read more

In today’s Journal * All About “Of Interest” * Of Interest * My Own Writing * The Numbers All About “Of Interest” Soon I’ll be back with Part 1 of a 3 or 4 or more part series with the working title “Writing Technique (or Not): A Graphic Illustration.” But for today, I found three items for “Of Interest” that were so important I didn’t want them competing for your attention with a usual Journal entry. Here they are, and I’ll talk with you again soon: Of Interest First up, Atticus, a writing and formatting tool that rivals (and beats) … Read more

In today’s Journal * Quote of the Day * You Can’t Make This Shup * In Case You Wondered * A Final Cautionary Note on AI * Of Interest Quote of the Day “Human writing can be so beautiful. There is beauty in the human prose that computers can never and should never co-opt.” Chloe Xiang, a CompSci student who built an app that can detect ChatGPT-generated text You Can’t Make This Shup New report finds a number of data brokers—companies that sell aggregated data typically pulled from sources including mobile apps and websites—offering personally identifiable mental health information for … Read more

In today’s Journal * Quote of the Day * A particularly insightful quote * You Can’t Make This Shup * Pre-WITD? * Post-AIcolypse * Of Interest Quote of the Day “You don’t concentrate on risks. You concentrate on results.” Chuck Yeager A particularly insightful quote— “I think a lot of people forget what got them to the NFL. We’ve already defied the odds. Chances are, you shouldn’t have been there statistically. … If I want to [have a new career] I have to put in the time and effort. You have to become obsessed all over again.” Tony Gonzales, retired … Read more

In today’s Journal * Quote of the Day * Pacing Again * Setting * Of Interest Quote of the Day “While there are some benefits to using AI art as an indie author, it’s essential to consider how ethical it is.” Miles Oliver at The Independent Publishing Magazine Pacing Again Yesterday I talked here a little about Pacing as I used it in my short story, “Keep Calm & Carry On.” I mentioned that one reader emailed to say, “I don’t think I breathed for two minutes.” Another reader left a comment on the story as it was presented on … Read more

In today’s Journal * Quotes of the Day * You Can’t Make This Shup * Nothing Short of Incredible * Story of the Week * A Note on Pacing * On Censorship * Of Interest Quotes of the Day “[AI is a l]ot more complex than anything going on on the surface. Not defending, just saying that this is the early days and the dust has not settled by a long ways. Just stay tuned and watch. And as things settle in certain AI areas, I will talk about it [on my website].” Dean Wesley Smith in response to my … Read more

In today’s Journal * Quotes of the Day * A New Semi-Regular Feature * You Can’t Make This Shup * Of Interest Quotes of the Day “If you’re interested in AI and creativity, I have articles, interviews, and resources at https://thecreativepenn.com/future.” Joanna Penn, The Creative Penn “Of the three wingback chairs in my library, only one is upholstered in human skin. There’s a reason for that.” Charles Claymore “Charlie” Task in Confessions of a Professional Psychopath A New Semi-Regular Feature Because I’m a cynic at heart, which I define as a grouchy old guy who believes in humans even when … Read more