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So the AI rabbit hole is far weirder and stupider than anything from Lewis Carrol. It suddenly started telling me that my hero shouldn't kill his girlfriend. I'm like, what? That never existed in the text, so something is not right here.

Really I have a chatbot in my brain and it doesn't always pass Turing but it has been trained on real experience however limited. What I was looking for was the interaction. Clearly the humas race isn't about to provide it, but neither will the bots.
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I read a fascinating article today that posited that ChatGPT is essentially a mechanical cold reader--it does (accidentally) a bunch of the same things that psychics do when they cold read a crowd. (I haven't yet found anything better for being a writer's rubber duck than good old-fashioned morning pages, alas.)
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***WARNING MORO-RANT-IC DIATRIBE***

Failure to scroll may result in contempt or hilarity. You have been warned.

If I can't call a time-travel drone strike on the man who built auto-incorrect---and I understand why. The laws of physics and the laws of human decency. But if I can't then surely we can build an AI that will charge them five dollars every time that it makes up bullshit characters in my typing.

I have a Brannon and a Carolie.

I have never written word one about BRANDON or CAROLINE. Who the absolute copulate are these people and why is this vertically violated Chromebook gibbering about them when it's supposed to be about my characters?

And NO it's only on writing.com email that this happens... (Not blaming the StoryMaster; I'm sure it's Chrome. But if it was my brain it would be everything with that keyboard at least.

That is all.

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Interesting characterization fact: I used my understanding of the term "toxic" in toxic masculinity to help me characterize my little warrior's family.

Sigrun's Aunt and Uncle did a lot of stupid. Heroically stupid, they tried to protect her from the angels she was talking to--and by extension, the demons that she was pissing off-- by gaslighting her. They kept telling her the angels she was talking to were imaginary friends. She didn't even know there were spirits other than pixies! This was bad enough that, when the demons had their fill, it got them killed.

But they ALSO taught her to act tough in battle. AND they taught her that a leader has to decide when it is safe to feel again--and to do that by breaking down. They actively taught her that when it's safe, a real leader will be the first one to shed tears, to sob inconsolably.

She has a warrior's code of masking fear and sadness, but it is NOT a toxic one. She knows when to let down her armor.

Well, they can only teach what they know. What they know is not the right way to interact with the divine--at least, not till uncle Mack became an angel--but daily emotions? Yes. That they know.
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Take a cue from hypnosis: Pacing and Leading

The word "immersive" is for all intents and purposes the same as the word hypnotic. One of the tricks a hypnotist learns is called pacing and leading. A pace is a statement that is so obviously true that it automatically believed; a lead, is a bit more preposterous. By starting with the believable statements, and then weaving one that stretches credibility or doesn't fit, you help the reader believe what you say.

I recommend a pattern of 3 paces to one lead, followed by a surprise, then 2 paces, followed by a zany twist, then a pace and a twist.

The real point here is to keep track of how zany or incredible your facts are. If too many are incredible and unexpected, they'll leave the reader confused or disbelieving. On the other hand, if too many details are expected, you're going to lose the reader to boredom. When you get the right amount of surprise, they'll be rapt.

The boy in the yellow pants pointed at the pink alligator crawling from the swing set.
All the girls screamed and ran except Suzie, who picked up a fire extinguisher to bash the alligator's toothy face.

The boy stopped her.

The pink alligator was not coming at her but heading to the river.

Suzie jumped out of the way and the alligator kept crawling over to swim.

Another boy screamed "OMG he ate Johnny!"

Sure enough the alligator tracks started from Jonny's shoes, but there wasn't a drop of blood by the swing set where Johnny had been.

People screamed and cried.

Then a girl in a pointy hat giggled and shook a stick at the pink alligator.

Johnny appeared in the place of the alligator, roaring, "Raw look at me You're scared because I'm a tough alligator."

The little girl witch laughed. "I don't think he knows he really was an alligator!"


The difficult part here is counting the normal things (People screaming and crying) and the weird things (the alligator being pink). Or is it three things--there's an alligator, it's pink, it's on the playground.

But hearing a string of stuff you believe causes you to settle in and believe everything the speaker says. Including the interesting worldbuilding stuff. That's the takeaway. That balance of verifiable and surprising is what builds immersion, and immersion makes for happy readers.
I knew that I was pulling the Lord of the Flies switch--the whole story is a good and evil battle with all the major players being kids.

So I forgot that some of the readers would remember that my villain is maybe 14 and the hero is only 11. I forgot they weren't adults. I mean his biggest evil is how and when he chooses to be nice. He's not bullying people--he's cultivating an army of bullies for when they grow up.

Kind of important to keep one eye on perspective. Even when you're setting up that kind of reveal.
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So I've been talking with ChatGPT about a bunch of my stories. Specifically about a character who is a bastion of goodness, to the point where she made a deal with a devil to rescue an innocent. (Specifically for the fortitude to go somewhere where she was too goody-good to go. And the innocent turned out to be an agent of the devil in question--not the little girl but the demon possessing her--but that's *not* her fault.)

It's just kind of ironic with ChatGPT being the devil of the creative world. Mostly GPT is blowing smoke and serving as a rubber duck. I'm not asking for suggestions, so much as descriptions. Still, that's how devils get you--offering services that do not compromise you.
People are mind-meltingly dumb. I just watched a video by a self styled writing advisor who said that super powers are useless. One of them was super speed.

If I had the speed force, I could get the hour I spend commuting to spend on writing. In a few minutes I could clean my home (which never gets done.) People who armed-rob me would no longer be a factor in where I want to work (because I could get the gun between the pull and the firing.)

Of course the food costs would be astronomical but there's always a cost.
RPG stats have some use for writers--albeit, it requires more thought to make it slip down.

For example, the stats of Intelligence, Wisdom, and Charisma.

For instance, Intelligence allows me to describe to you what I should do. Wisdom allows me to describe it to my inner child so he can do it, and Charisma allows me to describe it so that you'll know how to at least stay out of my way.

It's pretty easy to see how you might make eight distinct characters just by varying them high or low in these three capabilities. These are only examples, there are more for each.
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One high Intelligence, high Wisdom low charisma is preachy and obnoxious.
One High Intelligence, low wisdom and high charisma person gets people to follow up on things he never finishes.
Our Low intelligence, high Wisdom, high Charisma person is always getting his friends into adventures and getting everybody out almost by accident.
Another low intelligence, high Wisdom and high charisma person is surrounding himself with people who can achieve his aims (and you can be sure they feel appreciated.) They seem almost the mascot, but really they're the leader, it's just that they have to rely on a tactical advisor--an executive leader.

And that's not getting into mild and extreme and average.
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I do full D&D character sheets and monster sheets (actually AD&D, the first and still the best) for the characters in my fantasy stories, including contemporary fantasy. Not really in other genres, but I still have D&D in the back of my head even if it's two forklift drivers fighting a strange mythical beast from Antarctican Mythology...
S 🤦 Author Icon - The reaction modifier on that is low. I think we've got an edition war brewing. Roll for initiative.
Happy anniversary 🥳🎉🥳🎉🥳
*Cake* Happy WdC Anniversary! *Cakeb*
Happy WDC Account Anniversary! *Smile*
Progress! I found a very subtle POV violation. 11 year old Sigrun, orphan, armed with a kitchen cleaver for hunting giant spiders to eat.

The bully was not sufficiently tough for her to fight ("even lowly freemen don't cut up peasants, and I was out of table legs.") so she opted to run, patting and telling him (he said, "If robbing ain't right, you won't need your ax." she patted him, said, "Yes I will!" and ran.) Then she described him letting her get out of chasing range before he even tried to move his fat legs.

So, I said that she waited till she was out of reach before looking back--he hadn't moved, then his fat legs struggled under his own weight.

So the lesson is that I was visualizing this in 3rd like a TV show and forgot to stay in POV.
Are you a writer? Who doesn't write?

Do you know that "The journey of a thousand miles begins with the first step?" but you don't know what that has to do with writing?

You can't control the vapor lock in your engine but you can control whether you crank your starter.

Break it down. What is the first step--the one that will get you moving?

I opened the file and considered what to write; that means that not only am I a writer, I am writing. I like that and I'll keep at it. Next time I might get some word count. Or the time after that. And that will happen if and only if I keep my mind on the central issue--did I start.
I just read a Facebook post that pushed the envelope of confusing amusing.

He said the solution to being akward with wrong eye contact is to use the fifty seventy rule.


***Quick Fix***

So calculate about half the time while talking to do eye contact. Seventy while listening.

So when am I supposed to be talking? Because it ain't gonna be while Not while I am counting to five.

I suppose if you hade a team of coaches to help you with special drugs and biofeedback. ...?

That's not a quick fix

It is space program stuff. 1940s mission to Mars.

Sure this was a clickbait listicle that succeeded when the page downloaded the ads.Nevermind that. Ethical writing means putting some thought into it. I suppose there might be peope who can follow this advice because they already do it.

So if your advceplaces something as easy because you already do it maybe try breaking it down a bit. Consider if it might be harder. Even a note might get the reader going. Note that I immediately clicked off and therefore did not get the page 2 ads. How much did that cost him?

Siggy is a little girl raised as a warrior. Her family friends brought in a sorcerer who bewitched them to off her family. Running barefoot into the night, she is so overwhelmed that she feels she became a monster.That anybody would think her having a knife while wandering in a wood was odd. While the odd bit is being alone and unarmored.

She conceals her weapon and behaves as if even having it might be contamination from Korog's curse.

This is why we need literary analysis as writers. So that we can help the reader see what is in the story. Don't just put it out there for the reader, dig in and make sure you feel it... analize, empathize and feel your way in.
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