Tag: #OpenBook

Writing vs Creating vs AI #OpenBook Blog Hop

  By Open Book

Do you suffer from Automation Anxiety?

(the fear that advancements in technology, particularly artificial intelligence (AI) and automation, will lead to widespread job losses, rendering people’s skills obsolete and potentially leaving them unemployed, causing significant worry and stress about the future of work.)

Before I dive into the post, I want to mention that the topic was suggested long before the breaking news of Meta using a pirate site to train their AI. More on that to come.

In the early 1800s, workers in England were upset by the increasing automation in wool and cotton mills, worried that the new machines would do away with their jobs. They began protesting, including destroying the new equipment, with the center of the movement being in Nottingham. (Yes, of Robin Hood fame.) Their leader was purported to be Ned Ludd.

The movement was eventually ended by the use of the legal system, which included sending protesters to Australia. But it left the legacy of the Luddites, a term applied to people opposed to new technology.

I’m surprised that the term hasn’t crept into today’s many discussions on the use of Artificial Intelligence in the areas that have long been considered part of the human fabric, the creative arts. While computers were viewed as enhancements to the fields of science and math, no one saw them as competing with most other fields. After all, their input and output could be shaved down to a string of 1s and 0s.

I was along for the ride as that changed.

I started with WordPerfect on a DOS-based personal computer and made the switch to Word on Microsoft a few years later. It’s transformation from being a fancy typewriter to a computing tool happened rapidly, faster than most users could keep up with. The addition of spell check felt revolutionary, a boon to writers at all levels.

Then came the flurry of on-line tools to assist writers. Hemingway, Grammarly, ProWritingAid and others. Now, those programs may suggest changes to not only spelling and grammar, but phrasing as well. (A simple form of AI.)

Through all of that, writers felt secure in being creators. Surely, machines would never replace the spark of creativity that was humanity’s alone. But AI didn’t remain in a static form.

I have mixed emotions about its current state. It’s gotten so much better at mimicking human creativity, but it’s still not perfect. It depends on a skilled human entering information for a computer to manipulate. Even then, the programs don’t always get it right. (Check out the problems with six fingers.)

Enter Meta’s AI

First, my thanks to Author Angel Nyx for alerting me and other authors to the information in regards to the current issues with Meta’s AI tool. Meta (Facebook) made the business decision to use a pirate website (LibGen) to train the tool. It’s an ethics issue as well as a legal one, because that means Meta used copywritten works without the author’s permission. Several law firms have already tackled the possibility of lawsuits. (FYI – I gave up pursuing pirate sites some years ago, tired of playing whack-a-mole. And yes, several of my books are on the above-mentioned site.)

Back to the original question – do I suffer from Automation Anxiety? It bothers me, not for myself, because I don’t support myself with my writing, but for other writers, I worry. Heaven knows, I don’t get enough attention on this blog to be concerned that AI is going to become my competition. However, there are fields in which it could affect jobs. (I’m thinking of technical and other non-fiction writing.)

But I don’t believe that AI is ready for prime time. I’ve read a few pieces I suspect were AI generated and found them boring, repetitive, and filled with all those phrases that an editor loves to hate. I’ve also heard the precautionary tales of AI generated legal briefs that made up the sources they sited. Not a good thing for a lawyer to present to a judge. That means AI can’t even be trusted for basic research.

How about the other authors on this hop? How do they feel about AI? Find out by following the links below.

And, as always, until next time, please stay safe.

You are invited to the Inlinkz link party!

Click here to enter

March 24, 2025

Do you suffer from Automation anxiety? (the fear that advancements in technology, particularly artificial intelligence (AI) and automation, will lead to widespread job losses, rendering people’s skills obsolete and potentially leaving them unemployed, causing significant worry and stress about the future of work.)

Writing and/or Revising #OpenBook Blog Hop

  By Open Book

Discuss: “Write the book you want to rewrite—

because most of writing is revising!

“Don’t agonize over every word in a first draft; that will only slow you down. Just write the story. Get it onto the page. Drafting is the stage where you capture the idea. Revising is where you figure out how to really tell the story well.” -Beth Kander, author of I Made It Out of Clay

When I started writing, I was a speed demon, throwing words on paper with little worry about their “rightness.” I just wanted to get the story in my head out of there and make room for more. And, as Kander notes, that meant those stories needed a lot of revision.

My earliest attempts didn’t result in what I consider publishable works. Not only was the writing stiff, but the stories themselves lacked merit. No number of revisions would fix them. One, I revised at least eight or nine times, including changing points of view, before finally giving up on it. Another, I started over from scratch after trying to revise it for a decade. (That resulted in Edwards Investigations: The Rimer File.) As I have said several times, the story wasn’t a revision of the first draft written long ago; it was a tribute.

My writing pace has slowed down in the past few years, and I suspect it’s because I can’t turn off my inner editor.

I struggle to find the right word – or a better word – or a better word than that – as I write. (Last night I spent 15 minutes deciding if I should use ghost, haunt, or haint.)  I worry about the order of sentences. I stress whether the story is going in the right direction, or if I need to go back and add a scene or take away a paragraph. Little things that I might not catch in a revision bother me. I have to go back and change them. Big things might never get written if I think they won’t work out.

And yes, I know what the advice is, not only from Kander and others. Write first and then spend the time in revisions. But editing as you go can be a hard habit to break.

Even writing these blogs takes me what I consider to be too long. I don’t want to come off like I know it all. I don’t. Not even close. At the same time, I want to be an encouragement to other writers. We’re all reaching for the same goal – to get our words seen by as many readers as possible.

I worry too much.

About getting things perfect, although I know I won’t. I want my words to mean something. To me, at least, and hopefully to others.

So, I suspect I will continue writing at a snail’s pace. It’s frustrating. And satisfying when I pull together a line that sings. It happens once in a while.

How about the others on this hop? How do they interpret this quote? Check out their posts by following the links below.

As always, until next time, please stay safe.

You are invited to the Inlinkz link party!

Click here to enter

March 17, 2025

Discuss: “Write the book you want to rewrite—because most of writing is revising! Don’t agonize over every word in a first draft; that will only slow you down. Just write the story. Get it onto the page. Drafting is the stage where you capture the idea. Revising is where you figure out how to really tell the story well.” -Beth Kander, author of I Made It Out of Clay

What Are They Shoving Into The Back Of The Car? #OpenBook Blog Hop

  By Open Book

March 10, 2025

Your character is being faced with an evacuation from a natural disaster.

What are they taking with them? (Based on an idea from Lena.)

I’ve lost track of how many times I evacuated from a hurricane during the many years I lived on the Florida coast. So, it was natural for me to include a hurricane when I wrote The Ranger’s Dog Tags, which was based on Orlando. But since Harmony Duprie had lived her entire life near Pittsburgh, she had no idea what to do. But, since she was just visiting, she didn’t need to worry about what to take in case of an evacuation. Luckily, she had friends to help her.

“Ready for the hurricane?” Lando asked as he strolled into my office.

I put down my third cup of coffee and stared at him. “Hurricane?”

“Nothing to worry about. It’ll slide up the coast and all we’ll see is rain.”

“Do I need to stock up on groceries in case the electricity goes out or something?”

“And how would you cook without electricity? Newbie.” Lando laughed. “If it looks as if it’s going to get bad, you can come stay with me. I’ll protect you since Eli can’t. But the most I expect is the hotels filling up with people leaving the coast and heavy traffic.”

He was the expert.

But it isn’t only hurricanes people have to worry about these days. As I write this post, there are major brush fires burning on Long Island. A military base had to be evacuated. (Although I wasn’t able to determine which one. And who knew you could have a brush fire on Long Island? Turns out the fire started on a nature preserve.) That throws a new twist into the question. If one of my characters had to evacuate, knowing that they might come back to a burned out building, what would they take with them?

First options are easy. Family, pets, cash, making sure friends are taking care of as well. I won’t go into detail about them.

Harmony doesn’t have to worry about any of those except friends. And her car only holds two people comfortably, so she isn’t much good as a taxi service. Her important papers are in her safe deposit box at the bank.

She’d pack two small suitcases, of course.

With some of her jewelry tucked in. And maybe stuff her mail into her purse. Then she’d worry about her books. She had too many to rescue all of them, unless she rented a U-Haul, so she’d have to get picky. A few biographies, a couple of historical books on Victorian architecture, a handful of drugstore westerns and romances. She’d grab several pairs of spare glasses and stuff them in the suitcase.

Which would remind her to take a cell phone charger. Her laptop and the backup drives. Her family photo albums, even though the pictures have all been scanned and converted to digital files. (The important papers in the safe deposit had been backed up too, in case something happened to the bank.)

With all of that, her car is full. In small spaces, she’d fit a few first aid supplies from her medicine cabinet. Perhaps a blanket to put on top of everything.

The last thing she’d leave space for was the pot of her mother’s African Violets. She’d kept them alive for many years, and wouldn’t abandon them.

That’s what Harmony would take. What would the characters of our other authors take with them if they had to evacuate? Find out by following the links below.

And, until next time, please stay safe!

March 10, 2025

Your character is being faced with an evacuation from a natural disaster. What are they taking with them? (Based on an idea from Lena.)

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In An Alternate World #OpenBook Blog Hop

  By Open Book

March 3, 2025

If you had to become one of your characters, which one would you choose?

It isn’t who you think.

No, it isn’t Harmony Duprie From the Harmony Duprie Mysteries. Or Annie McGregor from The Edwards Investigations. Or even Jake Hennessey. I’ve put those characters through hell and back, and I wouldn’t wish that on anyone (including myself.)

Now, I’d love to sit and chat with Harmony on the steps leading to her apartment. Or take a seat in Jake’s bar and drink a beer and shoot the breeze with the regulars. But the moments of peace that either have are limited. Plus, despite his outgoing nature and broad circle of friends, I see Jake as a lonely person. He has to hide who he really is, and has no one to confide in.

I don’t want to overlook my Free Wolves series. It’s fun to write a shapeshifter story, but I wouldn’t want to live that way, dealing with a patriarchal pack structure. Although I love my main characters in those books, I don’t want to be one of them.

And Annie McGregor from the Edwards Investigations? No, thank you. Now, it might be interesting to spend a day as Mike Edwards, her business partner. But I haven’t figured out his entire backstory yet, so I’ll wait.

I’ll take the safe route.

And pick one of my secondary characters. One of Harmony’s dearest friends, Janine Janson, is also a trained librarian like Harmony, and was hired as the chief librarian of the Oak Grove Public Library. She lives a quiet life, surrounded by books, friends, and as a respected community leader. I can see myself fitting into that life. In fact, there was a short time during which I pursued a similar career path. But I don’t see her ever writing books; she’s happy reading them.

Which characters would the other authors on this hop become if they had to? Find out by following the links below. 

As always, until next time, please stay safe.

You are invited to the Inlinkz link party!

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March 3, 2025

If you had to become one of your characters, which one would you choose?

 

A Letter To My Readers #OpenBook Blog Hop

  By Open Book

Feb 24, 2025

Write a letter to your readers.

Dear Readers,

I knew this prompt was deceptively simple as soon as I saw it, but I’ll take my normal stab at it, and start with the easy stuff first.

Thank you.

A million times, thank you. (Although there aren’t a million of you. I wish.) I value every one of you and love meeting you at events and having the opportunity to talk with you, see your smiles. Each time another book is sold, I still get a thrill. It keeps me motivated to write the next one.

Toni Morrison advised authors they should write the book they want to read.

Which may be true, but I write for you, my readers, too. I want you to be entertained by my stories, and maybe even create the story you would write if you could.

But I should note that some of you aren’t reading my books, but are reading this, my blog. I see some of the same names show up in my likes week after week. (I see you, DirtySciFiBuddha and Esther.) I’m glad that my weekly meanderings continue to draw you back.

What else would I like to say? I want to ask y’all a favor. If you haven’t done it already, leave me a review on your favorite platform. Even a few kind words would go a long way. And maybe, just maybe, tell your friends about my books, if you’re comfortable with the notion. Maybe they’ll buy one.

But no matter what, thank you.

I appreciate you, I really do. It doesn’t matter if you’ve bought one of my books, or most of them. (Or none of them!)

How about the other authors on this hop? What are they saying to their readers? Find out by following the links to their blogs.

And, until next time, please stay safe.

Feb 24, 2025

Write a letter to your readers.

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I Can’t Be Good At Everything, Right? #OpenBook Blog Hop

  By Open Book

Feb. 17, 2025

What has been the hardest format to write in for you?

Feb. 17, 2025

What has been the hardest format to write in for you?

I broke my writing teeth on historical essays.

Sure, they were for school projects. An essay on Molly Pitcher that won an award from the local Daughters of The American Revolution. A young teen’s understanding of the Mafia. Another one about the Gulf of Tonkin.

But until I immersed myself in writing poetry, I didn’t feel like I was writing for myself. I played with many forms, but found my voice in free form. It nurtured me for many years.

Eventually, I found my way into writing fiction. I’ve told that story on my blog before, so I won’t repeat myself now and bore you. My effort to integrate poetry into my stories didn’t go well, but, now and then, I slip in a phrase that “sings.”

But then I decided to try my hand at a short story.

It would be a reader magnet, the pundits degreed, a way to draw new people to my books. So, I wrote a story about the initial meeting of Harmony and Jake. It was supposed to be from Jake’s point of view, but he wouldn’t cooperate, and it ended up being from Harmony’s. Long story short, it didn’t work. (But I ended up using part of that work when I wrote The Fall of Jake Hennessey, which was from Jake’s viewpoint.)

But it wasn’t easy. Short stories were a new format to me. I’ve written several since then, two for collaborative efforts with other authors. (Those collections are no longer available, but the stories are hosted on this website.) What the experience taught me was how hard it is to write short stories.

I’ve never written epic-length books. The longest one I’ve published in The Ranger’s Dog Tags, which is just over 90,000 words. But trying to fit a complete story into 10,000 words has taken me as long to accomplish as finishing a whole book. After all, a short story had all the same elements – setting, plot, characters, conflict, theme. Fitting them all in is tough.

But I’ve committed to another one, this time for an anthology to support K9s for Warriors. I’ve started it, but am putting too much effort and too many into the setting. (I think.) It might work for a full book, but I need to tighten it to fit the short story format. The plot I’ve envisioned needs tightened, too.

At least I’m aware of my weaknesses.

In writing, anyway. Like I can’t write a decent romance, but that’s a different discussion.

What format is the hardest for the other authors on this hop to write? Find out by following the links to their blogs below. (Remember, most links will be posted throughout the day on Mondays.)

As always, until next time, please stay safe.

You are invited to the Inlinkz link party!

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Rules:

 

Finding New Sources For Research #OpenBook Blog Hop

  By Open Book

Feb 10, 2025

Kelly’s daughter asks: How did you find the facts (that inform your book)?

We’ve talked about research before.

For my recent book, The Rimer File, my normal sources of research didn’t work. The time frame the story was set in was not quite historical, but at the same time, pre-internet. Sure, the songs of from those years are well documented, but it surprised me how much information I tried to discover but couldn’t find.

For example, I wanted to know what color the uniforms of Pittsburgh police were in 1985. I couldn’t find it on-line. It has been suggested I call the police museum, but there doesn’t seem to be one. But if I called the main police station, they might be able to direct me to someone who knew. Instead, I wrote around it. (It was a minor reference and didn’t make a difference to the plot.)

I also put a lot of effort into trying to find a walkthrough of the old Civic Center of Pittsburgh. I found snippets, but none of them covered what I what I was looking for. There is a recording of a walk up the stairs to an upper level, but no peek into the skyboxes, where I was hoping to set a scene. So, I reached out to family who lived in the area, and they reached out to friends. But none of them had ever been to the skyboxes. I ended up ‘fudging’ the background for the scene based on other arenas.. No one has complained. (yet!)

There are other places to dig for information.

There are these things called books with a subset known as encyclopedias. (Do they exist anymore?) They were filled with all kinds of facts. The trouble with them is that they were hard to keep up-to-date. I can’t tell you the last time I opened one, but I used to spend hours browsing the articles in the set we had at home. Then there are also non-fiction books of all sorts.

But especially in the area of firearms, I always end up depending on the internet for basic information and then on knowledgeable people for details. (Guns of various sorts show up in all of my books, and I’m no expert.)

One source of research that isn’t usually considered is personal experience. Writers are often told to write what they know. And I’m old, y’all, and have seen and done lots of things in my life. That information finds its way into my stories.

 

Do any of the authors on this hop have other sources of information? Find out by following the links below.

As always, until next time, please stay safe.

You are invited to the Inlinkz link party!

Click here to enter

Feb 10, 2025

Kelly’s daughter asks: How did you find the facts (that inform your book)?

 

 

My Favorite Hot Beverage #OpenBook Blog Hop

  By Open Book

Feb 3, 2025

What’s your favorite hot beverage?

And how do you prepare it?

My beloved mother, when we were young, would occasionally make hot cocoa the old-fashioned way. You know, mixing sugar, cocoa, and milk in a pan on top of the stove. (Although she used powdered milk to make it more economical for a large family.) It was a rare treat, and hot chocolate remains my favorite beverage.

But thanks to modern technology, it’s a lot easier to make now. I simply grab a pre-packaged envelope of mix from the cupboard and go about my merry way. With some slight updates.

First, I will name names. I use the Swiss Miss brand. I haven’t tried another type I like as much.

But I make a slight upgrade. I add a little milk in with the water before I heat the liquids. (Call it two splashes worth of milk.) If I think about it, I might add a dash of cinnamon. The standard mini-marshmallows add nothing special, in my estimation.

I’ve got a runner-up,

that I probably drink more often than hot chocolate. It’s hot tea. Peach tea, to be more exact. No sugar, no milk, just a good quality teabag steeped in hot water for however long I let it sit. It’s a no-calorie, no-fuss, no effort, no guilt treat. Oh, and no caffeine, so I can drink it in the evenings without worrying about it keeping me awake. (Although I sometimes think a little caffeine at supper helps me sleep better. Weird, I know.)

What’s  your favorite hot beverage? Perfect for a snowy day like today? (Or any day, really.) How about the other authors on this hop? You can find out by following the links below.

And, as always, please stay safe until the next time.

Feb 3, 2025

What’s your favorite hot beverage, and how do you prepare it?

You are invited to the Inlinkz link party!

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Who Is Your Favorite Artist? #OpenBook Blog Hop

  By Open Book

Jan 27, 2025

Who is your favorite artist? (Painting, photo, sculpture…)

You know what’s coming.

At least, if you have hung out with me for very long, you might figure it out. This artist is multi-talented. She practices painting, sculpture, and music, as well as other forms of art. Her followers find inspiration for their photos and poetry in her work. She is known worldwide, but can be found in your neighborhood.

She’s as old as the hills, and as young as a snowflake drifting from the sky.

I’m talking about Mother Earth, of course.

She’s the original.

And the one all other artists borrow from, but she willingly shares. Thanks to digital photography, although I’m an amateur, I have thousands of pictures I’ve taken from all over the US, from many years, stored on various drives. (and copies of copies). Trying to pick just one to share was an impossible task. But here is one of the coolest things I’ve ever seen.

I took this out my back garage door when I lived in Wyoming. (several years ago.) It’s all snow. I don’t know what the science is behind the formation, I just think it’s weird and amazing. If I remember correctly, it was created in an April snowstorm.

These are redwoods. (Not huge ones, as redwoods go.) But I wanted something to contrast with the snow picture.

One more. This one to share some of Mother Earth’s glorious colors.

Oh, if anyone asks about the music part. Have you ever listened to the wind whistling through the trees? Or water rushing down a mountainside stream?

There you have it. Mother Earth is my favorite artist.

How about the other authors on this hop? Follow the links below to find out. (By the way, if you’d like to add your own blog on the topic, use the InLinkz setup.)

As always, until next time, please stay safe.

You are invited to the Inlinkz link party!

Click here to enter


Jan 27, 2025

Who is your favorite artist? (Painting, photo, sculpture…)

Learning Something New Every Day #OpenBook Blog Hop

  By Open Book

Jan 20, 2025

What new learning do you have on your list for the upcoming year?

I don’t have any grand plan.

Instead, I’m playing it by ear. I’m never sure what my characters are going to throw at me and what I’m going to need to learn to make it happen. For example, for my current plot point, I need to know the difference between normal makeup, stage makeup, and the makeup people use for costumes and disguises. (And any other kind of makeup that might spring up.) As I don’t wear makeup, it’ll all be new to me.

And that issue came up in the first chapter and a half. Along with the need to know how accurate a handgun is when fired at a specific distance. (And also depends on what kind of ammunition is used.) The characters sprung that on me. So, I have to be prepared for other surprises that might show up.

There’s also my personal life.

This is an old house. It surprises me all the time. According to neighborhood lore, it was built in two sections. And it’s clear when looking at the details. That means when doing repairs and upkeep, I have to deal with two types of issues and resolutions. So, I am forever learning new things about home maintenance. (We actually have two electrical panels in the house. One runs the front of the house, one the back. Keeps life interesting.)

Then there’s the constant battle to grow flowers. The local wildlife isn’t predictable. The flowers they ignored for two years were targets this past summer. I ended up putting a fence up around the apple tree, and putting pots of flowers where they couldn’t be reached. (Put it this way – I have a red geranium I’ve had for over 15 years, and an orange one I just bought. The deer ate the orange one and ignored the red one. Some critter (deer, rabbit, squirrel, who knows?) snapped the electrical wire leading to a solar panel for a small string of lights. I’ll have to try something different this coming spring.

Learning is a constant adventure.

It can happen when you least expect it. It’s a joy and a challenge having my two grandsons living with us. I sometimes help them with homework before my daughter gets home from work. A few of the concepts they are learning surprise me. Have you ever heard of a controlling r in spelling and pronunciation?

So, even without a plan, learning happens. 

How about the other authors on this hop? Do they have plans for specific learning? Find out by following the links below.

As always, until next time, please stay safe.

You are invited to the Inlinkz link party!

Click here to enter

Jan 20, 2025

What new learning do you have on your list for the upcoming year?