What Do I Do with AI? by Kitty Bucholtz
May 9, 2023 by Kitty Bucholtz in category It's Worth It by Kitty Bucholtz, Writing tagged as artificial intelligence, brainstorming, Kitty Bucholtz, poetry, songs, writing tools
Artificial Intelligence (AI) has been on our radar for years, and on our fiction radar for decades. But since OpenAI opened its doors for anyone and everyone to try out ChatGPT six months ago, it seems AI has exploded across the world and across industries.
If you haven’t played with it yet, you might be wondering — what can an author do with it anyway? (Besides ask it to write a book for you, which would actually take about as much work as writing it yourself to come up with something really good and not generic-sounding.) Turns out, there are lots of things.
- Back cover copy — My husband’s first book just released (yay!) and he used ChatGPT to help him write better back cover copy. He entered what he’d written himself and then asked for help to make it stronger.
- Your book description on the sales page — Same guy, same book. He then asked the AI to read the book descriptions of a couple competitive authors on Amazon and rewrite his book description to sound more like the ones on those sales pages.
- Brainstorming plot holes and writer’s block — I used ChatGPT to find out what a lawyer (the hero in my current chick lit) might do in this or that situation. I asked it to give me three ideas of what might happen after this or that event. I asked it for ten more ideas, then I asked for more details on one of them. Suddenly, my block was gone and I knew what I wanted to write next.
- Fictional poetry or song lyrics — Since we can’t legally use more than a small number of words in poetry and songs (it’s easier for me to just say “we can’t use it” and be done with it), what can you do if you’re not a poet? Give ChatGPT some guidelines and ask it to write x lines of poetry for you in this or that style. Voila!
- Actual poetry to give to someone — Say, in your spouse’s anniversary card! John and I just celebrated our 33rd wedding anniversary a few days ago and I was gobsmacked at the short but lovely poem he’d written inside. I asked him if he’d written it or just found someone’s poem and written it in. When he paused, not answering either way, I started laughing. “Did you use ChatGPT?!” He looked away, trying to hide a smile. “Maybe a little. But then *I* made it better!”
The free version of ChatGPT can do a lot, but don’t expect it to “get it right” on the first try. You need to understand how to ask it questions to get the best answers. And you need to know enough about the topic to know when it got something a little (or a lot) wrong, or when its answer is just too generic to be useful. The newer paid version is already miles ahead of the free one, but you still need to understand how to ask your questions.
I’m going to be showing my group coaching clients how to use the free ChatGPT for brainstorming, how it’s different from “Googling” something, and the specific and helpful ways it can make your writing life easier. And more fun!
If you’ve used it, what do you feel it has done well or poorly? If you haven’t used it, what makes you want to try it or makes you shy away from it?
Alina K. Field May Featured Author
May 8, 2023 by Alina K. Field in category Featured Author, Featured Author of the Month tagged as Alina K. Field, Featured Author of the Month, Regency Romances
Award winning author Alina K. Field earned a Bachelor of Arts Degree in English and German literature, but her true passion is the much happier world of romance fiction. Though her roots are in the Midwest, after six very, very, very cold years in Chicago, she moved to Southern California where she shares a midcentury home with two furry four-legged girls and keeps a dependable stash of lollipops for the munchkins in her life.
She is the author of several Regency romances, including the 2014 Book Buyer’s Best winner, Rosalyn’s Ring. She is hard at work on her next series of Regency romances, but loves to hear from readers!
Books by Alina K. Field
What’s New?
May 6, 2023 by Linda O. Johnston in category Pets, Romance & Lots of Suspense by Linda O. Johnston tagged as Harlequin, Linda O Johnston, new covers
What constitutes a new book?
Well, I have a “new” book out this month—rather, a re-release of a book that was first published in 2018, and I was invited to participate in a chat this week on Writerspace for authors with new books out!
And it is rather new. The title and cover are both new, at least. It’s part of my K-9 Ranch Rescue series for Harlequin Romantic Suspense, and its original title was SECOND CHANCE SOLDIER. Now, it’s THE SOLDIER’S K-9 MISSION, and I love the new cover—because it’s got a couple of K-9s on it. They’re part of the story, so that works. But Harlequin is apparently republishing lots of books to emphasize the dogs in them. My other K-9 Ranch Rescue book TRAINED TO PROTECT was also republished recently with a new cover. The former one had a K-9 on it, but the new cover really emphasizes the dog and the fact he’s in a K-9 unit.
New books? Not exactly. But I love the new covers, and the one’s new title, thanks to the emphasis on the dogs! I suspect that the idea is to make sure readers know about the dogs in the books. Gee, I guess I’m not the only dog lover out there! I sure enjoy writing stories containing dogs and also reading others’ books with dogs in them.
Do you enjoy writing, or reading, books with dogs in them? Do you have any other themes that are your favorites?
Do you enjoy writing, or reading, books with dogs in them? Do you have any other themes that are your favorites?
Some of Linda’s Books
Author Self-Care
May 5, 2023 by Tracy Reed in category Pink Pad by Tracy Reed tagged as author self-care, motivatrion, tracy read
Happy May.
Yes, I’m going to say it . . . I can’t believe it’s already May. The year is almost half over and I still have things from the first quarter I need to do.
Okay, so I’m going off course with this post and talk about a subject we as authors are guilty of not doing . . . self-care . . . wellness. I don’t know about you, but I am slowly moving back into society after three years of isolation. I still wear a mask. No judging. I happen to be highly allergic . . . grass, watermelon, horse hair, peanuts, cats, some dogs, dust…the list goes on. The other reason I’m still masked up, I’ve been undergoing some dental work and don’t want to catch anything before my next procedure..
Thanks to COVID, I have neglected myself. My beauty or maintenance regime has been very inconsistent. Prior to COVID, I went to the salon regularly. My hands, feet and hair were always on point. I worked out five days a week between 60 and 90 minutes per day.
As we are on the back end of the pandemic, I got a revelation. I need to take regular breaks. I also realized, haven’t been good about my self-care. I did a self-check and was shocked how easy it was for me fall back into some of my old habits. Not getting enough sleep was at the top of my list. When I don’t get enough rest, my thinking is cloudy and clear and my writing makes no sense.
So how am I going to resolve this? With baby steps.
First off, if I were to go all in with a major wellness change, I think I’d freak out. I really want to rest from all work for three consecutive days a month. Then I want to break the late night television binge. I have been hooked on Perry Mason reruns as well as the new HBO version. These two shows have kept up beyond my sleep time. The next thing, I want to do is gym five days a week for an hour per day. Third, I want to eliminate junk.
Believe it or not, the easiest thing on this list to do is eliminate junk food. Telling my body no to junk food was easy. Telling my body to go to bed earlier wasn’t. Here’s the weird part, my body clock still wants to get up at it’s designated time regardless of when I got into bed..
What does all of this have to do with self-care/wellness? If we don’t take care of ourselves, we can’t count on anyone else to do it for us. The main reason for self-care is to live better . . . get stronger . . . get healthy.
If you haven’t already, I challenge you to start a wellness plan and or journal. Pencil in three day breaks every quarter. Remember, on these breaks you aren’t allowed to do anything work related. Then I want you to adjust or evaluate your sleep schedule. I won’t ask how many are on a regular sleep schedule, because we’re writers. We write when the muse speaks, but let’s train the muse to visit us during the day so we don’t have to be up late..
Next on the list, cut back on the junk food. Do I really need to explain this to you? You know junk food isn’t the healthiest option. However, the occasional hamburger and fries sort of just hit the spot. If you aren’t working out, get a plan. Start out with a brisk walk a few times a week. Then add some strength training. Trust me on the strength training. You need all the strength you can get to set up your book tables at signing events.
These few changes will help you stay healthy and wise. Trust me, your brain will welcome the opportunity to recharge.
Here’s to a new healthy second half of the year.
Tracy’s Books
SCANDALS: FLORENCE HENDERSON and BARRY WILLIAMS
May 3, 2023 by Janet Elizabeth Lynn and Will Zeilinger in category Partners in Crime by Janet Elizabeth Lynn & Will Zeilinger tagged as Barry Williams, hollywood scandals, The Brady Bunch
A rumor began during the run of the 1970s TV show The Brady Bunch. It was that 36-year-old Florence Henderson and co-star, 16-year-old Barry Williams, who played the oldest son Greg, dated and had an affair. This shocking bit of scandal haunted Henderson long after the show ended.
At the time the show was airing, Henderson was a happily married mother of four. But she was forever associated with her role as Carol Brady.
Williams confessed that he admired Henderson and said during an interview that he fantasized about being with her. He admitted that he once took her on a date to discuss their mutual interest in music. At the end of the date, he fulfilled his dream of planting a kiss on her cheek.
Henderson opened up about her supposed date with the younger Williams, which had almost ruined her reputation, as it looked like she had an affair with a teenage boy.
Williams once told a radio station, “From the time that I met her, I had a great affinity for her and then an attraction to her. She’s played so many different roles in my life as a mother, as a professional, as a mentor and she was inspiring to me as well.”
In her book “Life Is Not a Stage,” Henderson recalled the moment she went out with Williams, noting that she would have done it with any older children if they had asked as she saw herself as a mentor.
Florence noted she understood Williams was entering adulthood, and she did not want to discourage him by turning him down. She saw his request as innocent.
The duo was driven on the date by Williams’ brother since he was too young to drive at the time. Henderson explained that the night was purely innocent, including the goodnight kiss, which was blown out of proportion.
The late actor noted she was aware of Williams’ crush on her and played her part to help him get past it. After leaving the show, both stars remained friends and shared a good bond. Henderson remained loved as the beloved Carol Brady until she died in 2016 at age 82.
“She knew the respect that people had for her character,” Lloyd Schwartz, son of program creator, Sherwood Schwartz, said to Variety. “Whenever anybody came up to her to say anything about the show, she was as warm as could be–I saw it a million times.”
The Skylar Drake Series
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