Bill Conrad's Blog - Posts Tagged "fiction"
Living in a Dystopian Present
Wikipedia defines dystopia as “an imaginary community or society that is undesirable or frightening. It is literally translated from Greek as ‘not-good place,’ an antonym of utopia.” For as long as there have been fiction writers, they have been envisioning a dystopian future. We see it today in stories such as Mad Max, Enders Game, Blade Runner, The Walking Dead, Book of Eli, 1984 and many others. The dystopia future allows writers to paint the picture of a bleak future where people run amuck. This allows writers to have the plot freedom that cannot be achieved in the present “normal” world.
There is a twofold reason why people are drawn to this kind of plot. Let’s use the Mad Max franchise as an example. The characters in Mad Max are on the brink of starvation and they drive around in crazy cars attempting to survive. Why do we like this? Because society does not allow this this kind of outlandish behavior. If somebody were to drive a “non-street legal” car around while committing many crimes, it would be big news and the person would be arrested. This is a good thing because bad driving and crime is detrimental to a pleasant society.
When we let our imagination wonder away from our normal society and enjoy the Mad Max story, it’s kind of fun. How cool would it be to drive around in a super charged monster car? Breaking everything in sight and overcoming adversity? That is precisely why we like the Mad Max dystopian future. There are no rules and this helps us cope with the rules we don’t like in our society. The result is essentially an entertaining pressure release.
The second aspect we like about dystopian future is to compare this horrible future world to our own. For example, we might think, Meatloaf again? Well, that is not as bad as when Mad Max was grateful to eat a can of dog food. This terrible future reminds us how good our present lives are.
The only problem with dystopian future stories is that the envisioned dystopian future simply does not come true. Sometimes the readers panic over what they think might happen. For example, The Walking Dead inspired a LOT of people to buy guns.
When writers attempt to predict the future, the results are lofty and creative. If we rewind back to the 1950’s, it was predicted by many writers that in the 1980’s, there would be: flying atomic powered cars, robots walking among us, space travel, oppressive governments and nuclear wars. Obviously, none of these basic predictions came true. Of course, there were more realistic [conservative] writers that did a much better job of predicting the future such as Arthur C. Clarke and Isaac Asimov. Their stories predicted such ideas as satellite communication and realistic computer usage.
Another aspect of the dystopian future stories from the 1950’s that has not come true is an oppressive society. Let’s take for example the George Orwell book 1984 written in 1949. It predicted a tightly controlled state where all people are closely watched all the time. Any crime is instantly detected and severally punished. May people have said that this dystopian future is here today. The point out that there are millions of security cameras along with millions of computers that automatically monitor our everyday activities. In addition, they point out an effective criminal system that uses technology such as DNA resulting in an unfair trial.
I do not disagree with the abundance of cameras, spying computers and unfair trials. However, our present is not even close to the dystopian future that George Orwell predicted. Few of these cameras are actively monitored. The cameras images are generally only looked at after a crime has occurred. In some public places, the cameras are actively monitored by security people. It is also true that in these places, the security people have abused the public’s trust. Has the abundance of cameras really stopped crime? Arguably, yes. Has it made our world better by stopping crime? Arguably, yes.
As for the computers monitoring our every move? Yes, there are sophisticated computers automatically monitoring us and sophisticated computers are even other computer systems. Are big government organizations monitoring me? Yes, but I am a nobody. The government doesn’t have the resources to prosecute my little crimes that are caught by cameras or computers. What about the computer monitoring? The main aspect of computer monitoring that truly affects me is that companies gain an edge for advertising and better marketing. [Do I really know what I am talking about? Check out patents 09/589,552 and 13/507,371] Is this computer monitoring wrong? Ya, probably. What effect does it have on me personally? I buy more stuff. Some of that stuff makes my life better and some of it is junk. Most of what I buy, I need or at least that is what I convince myself.
Have I lost all kinds of freedoms as the result of all this computer monitoring? Probably. Does this really affect me? Not really. Are computers listening to my phone conversations? Technically yes, actually no. Criminals spend a lot of time on the phone and computers and are generally not caught in this manner. Are my rights being violated by computers? Ya, probably. What is the worst aspect of this dreadful violation? The worst (in my opinion) is identity theft. Do I like it? I have been the victim of identity theft several times and I think the people that perpetrate this crime should be shot without trial. Why? When they took on my identity and in the process, they lost their own identity so technically they don’t exist. Will my punishment ever occur? Absolutely not. What does this have to do with government and society? Not much. Identity theft is just a new way for criminals to operate. People will always look for short cuts and identity theft is the new short cut.
What about AI? Will it destroy us all? It’s very unlikely. Computers are programmed by people and people still want to live peaceful lives. If we rewind back to the 1950’s there was a big scare with robots and computers. Robots first entered the factories and started taking the jobs from welders. What percentage of the factory did they take? Up to 1%. How about today? Now robots may have taken up to 20% of the assembly line jobs. But that’s misleading. Who builds and maintains the robots? People. Robots have just moved the jobs around.
Computers in the 1950’s took away jobs from people that worked with numbers. Today, computers take away jobs like: supermarket cashiers, bank tellers, newspaper printers/paperboys and record/tape/CD manufactures. However, like the factory robots, these jobs just got moved around to places like Facebook and Google. The overall result is that some jobs have been permanently taken away by computers. One could just as easily argue that increased government regulation, taxes, economic changes and worldwide labor shifts [jobs moving to different countries] are far more responsible for job loss than AI, robots or computers.
What about the oppression of the poor and disadvantaged? People will always be taken advantage of and this has been going on since before even writers could put words on a printed page. The good news is that the poor and disadvantaged now have many more options. For example, a person can get an accredited college degree online for nearly free.
Dystopian future writers have envisioned a world where the poor and disadvantaged rise up against “the man” and overthrow society into chaos. I would argue that this is actually occurring, but in a different form. It turns out that the poor and disadvantaged can vote just fine. It also turns out that they can use the internet/media to organize and their votes are now a force to be reckoned with. It also turns out that people can use internet/media in countries that you cannot vote to make effective changes in the government and society. So, in many ways the revolution has been going on for a long time with great results.
The point of this blog article is that the dystopian future predictions that all of these writers made in the 1950’s never really came true and that present dystopian future predictions are not likely to come true. Now let’s look at some things that did happen. There have been horrific events since the 1950’s that have deeply disrupted our lives. This included wars, natural disasters, manmade disasters, terrorist attacks and great social shifts due to technology.
Take for example, the horrific 2011 Tōhoku earthquake and tsunami. This dreadful natural disaster was so big that it actually changed the maps of Japan. After the horrific incident, the proud people of Japan, mourned their losses, cleaned up, rebuilt, learned some lessons and got on with their lives. The point is that the people of Japan did not turn their country into anarchy like The Walking Dead where everybody killed to survive. Their society naturally dwelled toward getting back to a peaceful existence. Why did their society not turn into anarchy? The people of Japan wanted a peaceful society. They liked having safe streets, clean water and their children going to school. This horrific situation is a great example of how all the makings of a dystopian future were present and yet the people went far out of their way to make sure that they went back to a peaceful boring existence.
Our world is going to have wars [as I write this, North Korea looks like they might even start a nuclear war] and epic world changing natural disasters such as: super volcanos, comet impacts and plagues. Humans are survivors and it is in our core values to get through the bad times. It won’t be easy and there will be significant losses. However, it is in our “human” nature to return to a peaceful boring existence. When the next tragic event occurs, we will tough it out and get back to the way we are now.
My point in writing this blog article is that there is a natural drive within humans to live quiet boring lives and that’s just fine. There will always be writers that write about the dystopian future and that is also just fine. I personally like the Walking Dead and never miss an episode. We like stories that have excitement/drama/conflict and this is why the dystopian future stories were invented.
However, we must keep the concept of the dystopian future in check. These dystopian future stories are farfetched predictions are simply not going to come true. If you watch an episode of the Walking Dead and decide to build an underground survival shelter, you may want to reconsider your motives. History simply does not support that kind of possibility.
I was just about to post this blog and I noticed something. When I was in college at WPI in 1993, there was a student paper and this paper had an anonymous writer who went by the name of Froto. He took this penname from the Lord of The Rings character. Every week, Froto had a new rant that went on and on. Nothing was ever good and he whined about all that was bad while offering no solutions. I was annoyed by all of Froto’s writings and I generally skipped over that entire section of the paper.
It began to dawn on me that this blog post was kind of in the same vain. Here I am complaining about some minor aspect of our wonderful world. This made me think back to Froto’s endless complaints and it gave me time to pause. We are privileged to have the extra resources to employ writers and bring their visions to the wide screens. As proof of this; not a lot of North Korean fiction writers out there. What I have written in this blog is a simple observation. In essence, the dystopian writers envisioned a bleak dystopian future that never materialized. I am hoping that the people who read this blog do not feel that I am whining about dystopian future works. There are plenty of specific examples of fictional dystopian future’s that did indeed come true and I enjoy reading/watching dystopian future stories.
Now for the important part. BUY MY BOOK. PLEASE!!! MY CHECKBOOK IS LONELY! MY BOOK IS ONLY $2.99 ON AMAZON!!! Putting a review online will help me out even more.
You’re the best -Bill
September 24, 2017
There is a twofold reason why people are drawn to this kind of plot. Let’s use the Mad Max franchise as an example. The characters in Mad Max are on the brink of starvation and they drive around in crazy cars attempting to survive. Why do we like this? Because society does not allow this this kind of outlandish behavior. If somebody were to drive a “non-street legal” car around while committing many crimes, it would be big news and the person would be arrested. This is a good thing because bad driving and crime is detrimental to a pleasant society.
When we let our imagination wonder away from our normal society and enjoy the Mad Max story, it’s kind of fun. How cool would it be to drive around in a super charged monster car? Breaking everything in sight and overcoming adversity? That is precisely why we like the Mad Max dystopian future. There are no rules and this helps us cope with the rules we don’t like in our society. The result is essentially an entertaining pressure release.
The second aspect we like about dystopian future is to compare this horrible future world to our own. For example, we might think, Meatloaf again? Well, that is not as bad as when Mad Max was grateful to eat a can of dog food. This terrible future reminds us how good our present lives are.
The only problem with dystopian future stories is that the envisioned dystopian future simply does not come true. Sometimes the readers panic over what they think might happen. For example, The Walking Dead inspired a LOT of people to buy guns.
When writers attempt to predict the future, the results are lofty and creative. If we rewind back to the 1950’s, it was predicted by many writers that in the 1980’s, there would be: flying atomic powered cars, robots walking among us, space travel, oppressive governments and nuclear wars. Obviously, none of these basic predictions came true. Of course, there were more realistic [conservative] writers that did a much better job of predicting the future such as Arthur C. Clarke and Isaac Asimov. Their stories predicted such ideas as satellite communication and realistic computer usage.
Another aspect of the dystopian future stories from the 1950’s that has not come true is an oppressive society. Let’s take for example the George Orwell book 1984 written in 1949. It predicted a tightly controlled state where all people are closely watched all the time. Any crime is instantly detected and severally punished. May people have said that this dystopian future is here today. The point out that there are millions of security cameras along with millions of computers that automatically monitor our everyday activities. In addition, they point out an effective criminal system that uses technology such as DNA resulting in an unfair trial.
I do not disagree with the abundance of cameras, spying computers and unfair trials. However, our present is not even close to the dystopian future that George Orwell predicted. Few of these cameras are actively monitored. The cameras images are generally only looked at after a crime has occurred. In some public places, the cameras are actively monitored by security people. It is also true that in these places, the security people have abused the public’s trust. Has the abundance of cameras really stopped crime? Arguably, yes. Has it made our world better by stopping crime? Arguably, yes.
As for the computers monitoring our every move? Yes, there are sophisticated computers automatically monitoring us and sophisticated computers are even other computer systems. Are big government organizations monitoring me? Yes, but I am a nobody. The government doesn’t have the resources to prosecute my little crimes that are caught by cameras or computers. What about the computer monitoring? The main aspect of computer monitoring that truly affects me is that companies gain an edge for advertising and better marketing. [Do I really know what I am talking about? Check out patents 09/589,552 and 13/507,371] Is this computer monitoring wrong? Ya, probably. What effect does it have on me personally? I buy more stuff. Some of that stuff makes my life better and some of it is junk. Most of what I buy, I need or at least that is what I convince myself.
Have I lost all kinds of freedoms as the result of all this computer monitoring? Probably. Does this really affect me? Not really. Are computers listening to my phone conversations? Technically yes, actually no. Criminals spend a lot of time on the phone and computers and are generally not caught in this manner. Are my rights being violated by computers? Ya, probably. What is the worst aspect of this dreadful violation? The worst (in my opinion) is identity theft. Do I like it? I have been the victim of identity theft several times and I think the people that perpetrate this crime should be shot without trial. Why? When they took on my identity and in the process, they lost their own identity so technically they don’t exist. Will my punishment ever occur? Absolutely not. What does this have to do with government and society? Not much. Identity theft is just a new way for criminals to operate. People will always look for short cuts and identity theft is the new short cut.
What about AI? Will it destroy us all? It’s very unlikely. Computers are programmed by people and people still want to live peaceful lives. If we rewind back to the 1950’s there was a big scare with robots and computers. Robots first entered the factories and started taking the jobs from welders. What percentage of the factory did they take? Up to 1%. How about today? Now robots may have taken up to 20% of the assembly line jobs. But that’s misleading. Who builds and maintains the robots? People. Robots have just moved the jobs around.
Computers in the 1950’s took away jobs from people that worked with numbers. Today, computers take away jobs like: supermarket cashiers, bank tellers, newspaper printers/paperboys and record/tape/CD manufactures. However, like the factory robots, these jobs just got moved around to places like Facebook and Google. The overall result is that some jobs have been permanently taken away by computers. One could just as easily argue that increased government regulation, taxes, economic changes and worldwide labor shifts [jobs moving to different countries] are far more responsible for job loss than AI, robots or computers.
What about the oppression of the poor and disadvantaged? People will always be taken advantage of and this has been going on since before even writers could put words on a printed page. The good news is that the poor and disadvantaged now have many more options. For example, a person can get an accredited college degree online for nearly free.
Dystopian future writers have envisioned a world where the poor and disadvantaged rise up against “the man” and overthrow society into chaos. I would argue that this is actually occurring, but in a different form. It turns out that the poor and disadvantaged can vote just fine. It also turns out that they can use the internet/media to organize and their votes are now a force to be reckoned with. It also turns out that people can use internet/media in countries that you cannot vote to make effective changes in the government and society. So, in many ways the revolution has been going on for a long time with great results.
The point of this blog article is that the dystopian future predictions that all of these writers made in the 1950’s never really came true and that present dystopian future predictions are not likely to come true. Now let’s look at some things that did happen. There have been horrific events since the 1950’s that have deeply disrupted our lives. This included wars, natural disasters, manmade disasters, terrorist attacks and great social shifts due to technology.
Take for example, the horrific 2011 Tōhoku earthquake and tsunami. This dreadful natural disaster was so big that it actually changed the maps of Japan. After the horrific incident, the proud people of Japan, mourned their losses, cleaned up, rebuilt, learned some lessons and got on with their lives. The point is that the people of Japan did not turn their country into anarchy like The Walking Dead where everybody killed to survive. Their society naturally dwelled toward getting back to a peaceful existence. Why did their society not turn into anarchy? The people of Japan wanted a peaceful society. They liked having safe streets, clean water and their children going to school. This horrific situation is a great example of how all the makings of a dystopian future were present and yet the people went far out of their way to make sure that they went back to a peaceful boring existence.
Our world is going to have wars [as I write this, North Korea looks like they might even start a nuclear war] and epic world changing natural disasters such as: super volcanos, comet impacts and plagues. Humans are survivors and it is in our core values to get through the bad times. It won’t be easy and there will be significant losses. However, it is in our “human” nature to return to a peaceful boring existence. When the next tragic event occurs, we will tough it out and get back to the way we are now.
My point in writing this blog article is that there is a natural drive within humans to live quiet boring lives and that’s just fine. There will always be writers that write about the dystopian future and that is also just fine. I personally like the Walking Dead and never miss an episode. We like stories that have excitement/drama/conflict and this is why the dystopian future stories were invented.
However, we must keep the concept of the dystopian future in check. These dystopian future stories are farfetched predictions are simply not going to come true. If you watch an episode of the Walking Dead and decide to build an underground survival shelter, you may want to reconsider your motives. History simply does not support that kind of possibility.
I was just about to post this blog and I noticed something. When I was in college at WPI in 1993, there was a student paper and this paper had an anonymous writer who went by the name of Froto. He took this penname from the Lord of The Rings character. Every week, Froto had a new rant that went on and on. Nothing was ever good and he whined about all that was bad while offering no solutions. I was annoyed by all of Froto’s writings and I generally skipped over that entire section of the paper.
It began to dawn on me that this blog post was kind of in the same vain. Here I am complaining about some minor aspect of our wonderful world. This made me think back to Froto’s endless complaints and it gave me time to pause. We are privileged to have the extra resources to employ writers and bring their visions to the wide screens. As proof of this; not a lot of North Korean fiction writers out there. What I have written in this blog is a simple observation. In essence, the dystopian writers envisioned a bleak dystopian future that never materialized. I am hoping that the people who read this blog do not feel that I am whining about dystopian future works. There are plenty of specific examples of fictional dystopian future’s that did indeed come true and I enjoy reading/watching dystopian future stories.
Now for the important part. BUY MY BOOK. PLEASE!!! MY CHECKBOOK IS LONELY! MY BOOK IS ONLY $2.99 ON AMAZON!!! Putting a review online will help me out even more.
You’re the best -Bill
September 24, 2017
Confusing Writing With Real Life
I like to write fiction and I have no desire to write non-fiction. Non-fiction requires a lot of research that has to stand up to intense scrutiny. The really hard part about writing non-fiction is uplifting dull facts so that they are entertaining while keeping them 100% correct. I have also learned that there isn’t a big market for non-fiction unless your subject is really special. That kind of writing is probably not going to happen for me. Granted, I do have an amazing non-fiction idea that would defiantly be a best seller, but the research would take far too much effort. Wait a second. A few blogs ago, I wrote all about book marketing and writing. All true. But that was a minor amount of writing and not many people follow my blog. Something to work on…
When I write fiction, I get into this mental area where I’m free to make my characters do or be anything. I mentally move them through all kinds of possibilities and try every angle to see how they react. I imagine an entire backstory and create a complete existence for them. I mentally go over this made up reality several times and then create an outline. I put a lot of effort into tweaking the final story in outline form. Then the typing begins where I hammer out all my thoughts into Microsoft Word. In time, the results come close to my mental images.
For months after I have completed my first draft, I self-edit. My second book actually had over 30 cover to cover self-edits before it went to my beta reader (mom) for review. During this long duration of editing, I think a lot of the mechanics of the story and the specific logic. This effort uncovers plot errors and other flaws. I do my best to make my stories believable so that the reader can really put themselves into the story.
There are a few exceptions to keeping my plot in the real world. For examples, the aliens in my second book. It is difficult to write about something that doesn’t exist and I do my best and try to keep the plot remotely possible. However, I’m aware of one major plot hole in my third book. To get my story moving, I took some liberties in how a modern air conditioning system works. Apparently, there is a vent on the roof of every modern office building that sucks in a massive amount of air without a filter. My bad… In my defense, they do this in movies. A publically accepted lie?
I like to stay as close to reality for a few reasons. The first is that the story is much more relatable. The second is that I have no idea how to picture a character that is outside of my domain. For example, a comic book type superhero, a soldier in jungle combat, a child fighting against a drugged out parent or a homeless man trying to survive in China. To me, those stark realities are a bridge too far. I know that readers would immediately have strong issues with the imaginary characters I have no knowledge. An example comment would be, “This author clearly doesn’t know how a child would realistically defend themselves against an abusive father. This book is not worth reading!” The result would prevent my works from ever becoming successful and they would permanently tarnish my already fragile reputation.
In my carefully constructed mental world, I have all my characters organized and I picture what they would be doing in my made-up plot. As I get really into the process, my mind becomes focused and I try to see all the possibilities. While still in my made-up world, I do my best to capture my thoughts into my word processor. When the typing is done for the evening, it’s back to reality. The real kind of reality with family, friends, coworkers, and other normal people.
The problem is that my mind is not fully switched off and my characters are always trying to get out. For example, I want to add to the dinner conversation, “(Fictional characters name) did the craziest thing today…” I catch myself in this thought line and it takes a lot of effort not to add to the conversation with my delusions. I also get hung up in the real world. Why can’t it work like my fictional world? In my world, the people all do the right thing until the plot needs a twist. In the real world, there are long-term consequences, responsibilities, true evil, laziness, and corruption. In my fictional world, all of that negativity is there, but it’s a plot device. The people are really not really evil, just misunderstood.
I have been fortunate that I have never actually talked/posted about my characters as if they were real. Well, I have never been caught doing this. However, I feel the pull of my imagination and I know that it has led to decisions in the real world. An alternative perspective could be that I want the world to work like my imagination. I want the word to work better than it does. I want people to get along and the only conflict that exists is in my words. When I get off this blissful line of thinking, the real world is a bleak landscape where people make bad decisions.
I have read many interviews with writers and they often have lofty views on how the world works. I suppose that this is part of the creative process and this is what a writer wants to see. Their interviews sometimes show their imaginary world peeking out. They have quotes like, “(Fictional characters name) would never have voted for Trump!” Statements like that make me laugh. Is the logic not obvious that a fictional character cannot vote? To me, a statement like that is a testament to being a dedicated author that actually believes how their made up character would behave.
I think overall there is a fine line between being a sane dedicated author and a delusional author that needs professional help. Perhaps the best authors jump into this delusional world while they write and then jump back into reality for the rest of their day. Perhaps some of them have made one jump too many. History is full of amazing artists and writers who were truly mad.
For me, I will keep trying to keep my imaginary characters inside my head. I know they are safely contained and can do no harm. The good news is that I know the difference between my imagination and the real world. Well, at least I think I do. We have to remember who is writing these words. The bad news is that one is better than the other. Hopefully, the two never meet.
When I write fiction, I get into this mental area where I’m free to make my characters do or be anything. I mentally move them through all kinds of possibilities and try every angle to see how they react. I imagine an entire backstory and create a complete existence for them. I mentally go over this made up reality several times and then create an outline. I put a lot of effort into tweaking the final story in outline form. Then the typing begins where I hammer out all my thoughts into Microsoft Word. In time, the results come close to my mental images.
For months after I have completed my first draft, I self-edit. My second book actually had over 30 cover to cover self-edits before it went to my beta reader (mom) for review. During this long duration of editing, I think a lot of the mechanics of the story and the specific logic. This effort uncovers plot errors and other flaws. I do my best to make my stories believable so that the reader can really put themselves into the story.
There are a few exceptions to keeping my plot in the real world. For examples, the aliens in my second book. It is difficult to write about something that doesn’t exist and I do my best and try to keep the plot remotely possible. However, I’m aware of one major plot hole in my third book. To get my story moving, I took some liberties in how a modern air conditioning system works. Apparently, there is a vent on the roof of every modern office building that sucks in a massive amount of air without a filter. My bad… In my defense, they do this in movies. A publically accepted lie?
I like to stay as close to reality for a few reasons. The first is that the story is much more relatable. The second is that I have no idea how to picture a character that is outside of my domain. For example, a comic book type superhero, a soldier in jungle combat, a child fighting against a drugged out parent or a homeless man trying to survive in China. To me, those stark realities are a bridge too far. I know that readers would immediately have strong issues with the imaginary characters I have no knowledge. An example comment would be, “This author clearly doesn’t know how a child would realistically defend themselves against an abusive father. This book is not worth reading!” The result would prevent my works from ever becoming successful and they would permanently tarnish my already fragile reputation.
In my carefully constructed mental world, I have all my characters organized and I picture what they would be doing in my made-up plot. As I get really into the process, my mind becomes focused and I try to see all the possibilities. While still in my made-up world, I do my best to capture my thoughts into my word processor. When the typing is done for the evening, it’s back to reality. The real kind of reality with family, friends, coworkers, and other normal people.
The problem is that my mind is not fully switched off and my characters are always trying to get out. For example, I want to add to the dinner conversation, “(Fictional characters name) did the craziest thing today…” I catch myself in this thought line and it takes a lot of effort not to add to the conversation with my delusions. I also get hung up in the real world. Why can’t it work like my fictional world? In my world, the people all do the right thing until the plot needs a twist. In the real world, there are long-term consequences, responsibilities, true evil, laziness, and corruption. In my fictional world, all of that negativity is there, but it’s a plot device. The people are really not really evil, just misunderstood.
I have been fortunate that I have never actually talked/posted about my characters as if they were real. Well, I have never been caught doing this. However, I feel the pull of my imagination and I know that it has led to decisions in the real world. An alternative perspective could be that I want the world to work like my imagination. I want the word to work better than it does. I want people to get along and the only conflict that exists is in my words. When I get off this blissful line of thinking, the real world is a bleak landscape where people make bad decisions.
I have read many interviews with writers and they often have lofty views on how the world works. I suppose that this is part of the creative process and this is what a writer wants to see. Their interviews sometimes show their imaginary world peeking out. They have quotes like, “(Fictional characters name) would never have voted for Trump!” Statements like that make me laugh. Is the logic not obvious that a fictional character cannot vote? To me, a statement like that is a testament to being a dedicated author that actually believes how their made up character would behave.
I think overall there is a fine line between being a sane dedicated author and a delusional author that needs professional help. Perhaps the best authors jump into this delusional world while they write and then jump back into reality for the rest of their day. Perhaps some of them have made one jump too many. History is full of amazing artists and writers who were truly mad.
For me, I will keep trying to keep my imaginary characters inside my head. I know they are safely contained and can do no harm. The good news is that I know the difference between my imagination and the real world. Well, at least I think I do. We have to remember who is writing these words. The bad news is that one is better than the other. Hopefully, the two never meet.
Writing Radical Fiction
Authors are constantly pushing the boundaries of reality. For example, Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein completely opened up horror, science fiction, and drama. The result caused people to think about themselves and their viewpoints.
I define radical fiction as a story that takes a large leap from reality. This means readers are required to accept concepts like impossible physics, alien values, crazy morals, and a society with inhuman rules. Authors like Ray Bradbury, Jules Verne, Isaac Asimov, and Arthur C. Clarke all pushed the views on what is possible. They made us believe in distant worlds, faster than light travel, blue aliens, magic, time travel, and ray guns.
For example, Spiderman’s world has radical biology. He uses a silk gland to leap from building to building. Readers must overcome many hurdles to accept that kind of character. At the very least, the silk gland would be near his butt and it would shoot out three feet. How far can a man pee? It’s the same biological mechanism.
I approached radical fiction with caution. For example, in my first book, I explored the impossible concept of immortality. I explained how it worked with pseudo-science as opposed to proven medical facts that astute readers thoroughly understand. My immortality process utilized “harvested human organs” placed into a host body. This provided the immune system the ability to destroy the “parasites responsible for old age.” In order for this concept to work, readers must take a blind leap into fantasy.
Is my immortality concept plausible? Sort of. Using harvested organs to achieve eternal life is pure fantasy. Having the immune system indefinitely repair the body is almost plausible. Overall, my concept would not warrant a scientific study. However, it’s a good plot tool that “could work” with a little imagination. Wink, wink. Now, if my process required “magic wand” then readers would have to take a leap into implausible fantasy.
My second book has aliens. In the real world, some anecdotal evidence has been uncovered to support the existence of aliens. However, aliens certainly haven’t been on 60 minutes to discuss their political views.
My approach to discussing aliens was basic. The aliens were invisible at the beginning of the story and they briefly interacted at the end. Their visual appearance was “human-like” and they had no special abilities. I was careful to keep their exact details vague. I did this by putting them into invisible suits.
I feel a gradual introduction led the readers into accepting alien characters. The story “could happen just like that.” This approach allowed the plot to build in a realistic manner. This also avoided many questions. What do aliens like to eat? How does the alien ship work?
My second book touches on the concept of telepathy. Science has completely debunked telepathy, so I took a careful approach. Only two characters had telepathy their interaction was difficult, awkward and incomplete. Of course, I skipped over the technical explanation.
I can imagine mentally communicating with somebody. There have been times when I got coordinated with a person’s thoughts. So that gives me something to write about. For me, that is not too far of a leap. Despite all the science telepathy could be possible.
In Star Wars, there were many characters with different backgrounds. Wow, that would be difficult to organize. Star Wars gets away with radical fiction by taking the leap without explanation. Luke Skywalker presses a button on his light sabre and slices away. Never mind the concept of a “light sabre” is completely impossible by every known law of physics, thermodynamics, electronics, and optics.
As an author, I approach radical fiction with care. To me, it is like a gun with only one bullet. You wave the gun around and act tough, but you only get one shot. So, aim carefully. Of course, other authors approach radical fiction like it’s raining bullets. They attract readers who instantly “get” the altered reality.
Harry Potter uses his wand and the water freezes. For me, that’s a bridge too far. My plot has to make sense or at least be almost plausible. In all the technical reading I have done, scientific experiments I have done and Discover Channel science shows I have watched, a “magic wand” has never frozen water. First law of thermodynamics! How could I imagine a world where a magic wand could ever work?
I certainly have a lot of respect for the authors that write radical fiction. They have the wonderful gift of creating a story out of nothing but their imagination. I am trying to push my personal envelope. My present book centers on an alien world. Society, physics and the “people” are different from humans. It has been challenging and fun. I also have a short story idea about a magical world. Someday I might take this leap. In the meantime, I have a lot of ground to cover here on plain old boring earth.
I define radical fiction as a story that takes a large leap from reality. This means readers are required to accept concepts like impossible physics, alien values, crazy morals, and a society with inhuman rules. Authors like Ray Bradbury, Jules Verne, Isaac Asimov, and Arthur C. Clarke all pushed the views on what is possible. They made us believe in distant worlds, faster than light travel, blue aliens, magic, time travel, and ray guns.
For example, Spiderman’s world has radical biology. He uses a silk gland to leap from building to building. Readers must overcome many hurdles to accept that kind of character. At the very least, the silk gland would be near his butt and it would shoot out three feet. How far can a man pee? It’s the same biological mechanism.
I approached radical fiction with caution. For example, in my first book, I explored the impossible concept of immortality. I explained how it worked with pseudo-science as opposed to proven medical facts that astute readers thoroughly understand. My immortality process utilized “harvested human organs” placed into a host body. This provided the immune system the ability to destroy the “parasites responsible for old age.” In order for this concept to work, readers must take a blind leap into fantasy.
Is my immortality concept plausible? Sort of. Using harvested organs to achieve eternal life is pure fantasy. Having the immune system indefinitely repair the body is almost plausible. Overall, my concept would not warrant a scientific study. However, it’s a good plot tool that “could work” with a little imagination. Wink, wink. Now, if my process required “magic wand” then readers would have to take a leap into implausible fantasy.
My second book has aliens. In the real world, some anecdotal evidence has been uncovered to support the existence of aliens. However, aliens certainly haven’t been on 60 minutes to discuss their political views.
My approach to discussing aliens was basic. The aliens were invisible at the beginning of the story and they briefly interacted at the end. Their visual appearance was “human-like” and they had no special abilities. I was careful to keep their exact details vague. I did this by putting them into invisible suits.
I feel a gradual introduction led the readers into accepting alien characters. The story “could happen just like that.” This approach allowed the plot to build in a realistic manner. This also avoided many questions. What do aliens like to eat? How does the alien ship work?
My second book touches on the concept of telepathy. Science has completely debunked telepathy, so I took a careful approach. Only two characters had telepathy their interaction was difficult, awkward and incomplete. Of course, I skipped over the technical explanation.
I can imagine mentally communicating with somebody. There have been times when I got coordinated with a person’s thoughts. So that gives me something to write about. For me, that is not too far of a leap. Despite all the science telepathy could be possible.
In Star Wars, there were many characters with different backgrounds. Wow, that would be difficult to organize. Star Wars gets away with radical fiction by taking the leap without explanation. Luke Skywalker presses a button on his light sabre and slices away. Never mind the concept of a “light sabre” is completely impossible by every known law of physics, thermodynamics, electronics, and optics.
As an author, I approach radical fiction with care. To me, it is like a gun with only one bullet. You wave the gun around and act tough, but you only get one shot. So, aim carefully. Of course, other authors approach radical fiction like it’s raining bullets. They attract readers who instantly “get” the altered reality.
Harry Potter uses his wand and the water freezes. For me, that’s a bridge too far. My plot has to make sense or at least be almost plausible. In all the technical reading I have done, scientific experiments I have done and Discover Channel science shows I have watched, a “magic wand” has never frozen water. First law of thermodynamics! How could I imagine a world where a magic wand could ever work?
I certainly have a lot of respect for the authors that write radical fiction. They have the wonderful gift of creating a story out of nothing but their imagination. I am trying to push my personal envelope. My present book centers on an alien world. Society, physics and the “people” are different from humans. It has been challenging and fun. I also have a short story idea about a magical world. Someday I might take this leap. In the meantime, I have a lot of ground to cover here on plain old boring earth.
Fan Fiction
Fan Fiction is perhaps the worst category of fiction. Respected authors hate it and accomplished readers avoid it like the plague. Of course, there are dedicated fans who love their particular fiction franchise and they occasionally read fan fiction.
Why do so many people despise this genre? The largest source of disdain comes from the perception that respected works are trashed by the creation of a fan story. For example, if a person wrote a Star Wars story about Luke Skywalker having a twin brother. This is a perfectly valid storyline, however, the creators of Star Wars and the fans of Star Wars would denounce this work. Of course, this twin brother story would clearly not be canon. Meaning the creators would not consider a twin brother storyline to be part of the actual story.
Well, there are Star Wars comic books, novels, TV cartoon shows and other plots that stray far away from the original story. I bet one of them might explore a twin story. True. However, the creators make honest attempts to keep these alternate works in line with the original story.
The allure of writing fiction is very powerful. This is because the story has been well established, it has a fan base and it’s fun to write in this well-loved world. A writer can simply go in any direction. “James Skywalker knew he had a gift at an early age…” Anybody with Star Wars knowledge can continue that a twin brother storyline on a magical tangent.
The efforts to crush fan fiction are very powerful. The franchise owners have massive legal teams that go very far to thwart any creative efforts. Of course, there are sites that will host fan fiction stories but even they have rules. Generally, they try not to diverge too far from the original work. This makes it quite restrictive to write in this arena.
In truth, I have come up with a story that is set in the Star Trek universe. Of course, I can never put my story to paper because I would be violating copyrights and trademarks. It is also difficult to submit Star Trek stories to the franchise owners. They have strict rules, the publishers/owners get a huge percentage of the profit, and people perceive stories of this type to be a small step above fan fiction. I could put my story on a fan fiction site, but that would be a lot of effort and I see no benefit other than an expression of creative freedom.
Well, why don’t I turn my story into a script? Apparently, they do have a new Star Trek show called “New Beginnings.” I have never watched it and apparently, it’s not popular. However, I’m sure the Star Trek creators are always on the lookout for a great script. Scripts are difficult to write and they require an inside person to promote them. For now, I’m going to keep my fan fiction thoughts rattling around in my head.
Well, I certainly wrote up a contradiction. I started this blog with the thought that fan fiction is terrible and end it with my own fan fiction that’s too good for television. Yeah, that is a bit of a paradox. Fans write fan fiction because they like to be part of something big. They write with the knowledge that they will never make any money or get any interest. This is probably the ultimate form of devotion.
Why do so many people despise this genre? The largest source of disdain comes from the perception that respected works are trashed by the creation of a fan story. For example, if a person wrote a Star Wars story about Luke Skywalker having a twin brother. This is a perfectly valid storyline, however, the creators of Star Wars and the fans of Star Wars would denounce this work. Of course, this twin brother story would clearly not be canon. Meaning the creators would not consider a twin brother storyline to be part of the actual story.
Well, there are Star Wars comic books, novels, TV cartoon shows and other plots that stray far away from the original story. I bet one of them might explore a twin story. True. However, the creators make honest attempts to keep these alternate works in line with the original story.
The allure of writing fiction is very powerful. This is because the story has been well established, it has a fan base and it’s fun to write in this well-loved world. A writer can simply go in any direction. “James Skywalker knew he had a gift at an early age…” Anybody with Star Wars knowledge can continue that a twin brother storyline on a magical tangent.
The efforts to crush fan fiction are very powerful. The franchise owners have massive legal teams that go very far to thwart any creative efforts. Of course, there are sites that will host fan fiction stories but even they have rules. Generally, they try not to diverge too far from the original work. This makes it quite restrictive to write in this arena.
In truth, I have come up with a story that is set in the Star Trek universe. Of course, I can never put my story to paper because I would be violating copyrights and trademarks. It is also difficult to submit Star Trek stories to the franchise owners. They have strict rules, the publishers/owners get a huge percentage of the profit, and people perceive stories of this type to be a small step above fan fiction. I could put my story on a fan fiction site, but that would be a lot of effort and I see no benefit other than an expression of creative freedom.
Well, why don’t I turn my story into a script? Apparently, they do have a new Star Trek show called “New Beginnings.” I have never watched it and apparently, it’s not popular. However, I’m sure the Star Trek creators are always on the lookout for a great script. Scripts are difficult to write and they require an inside person to promote them. For now, I’m going to keep my fan fiction thoughts rattling around in my head.
Well, I certainly wrote up a contradiction. I started this blog with the thought that fan fiction is terrible and end it with my own fan fiction that’s too good for television. Yeah, that is a bit of a paradox. Fans write fan fiction because they like to be part of something big. They write with the knowledge that they will never make any money or get any interest. This is probably the ultimate form of devotion.
In the Mood to Write
In previous blogs, I discussed the source of my story ideas but I haven’t addressed the process of getting them out of my head. While my methods are straightforward, they do have some nuances.
A big part of the process requires me to be in the right mood in order to write well. I also require this uplifting mindset to properly edit, market and accomplish other book-related tasks. To fully explain this topic, I need to wind the clock back to the beginning of my writing adventure.
During a fun period of unemployment, I found myself with a lot of time. I spent the majority of this time thinking up business ideas and trying to turn them into reality. From an early age, I wanted to be a writer and unemployment offered me the opportunity. On, 3/12/2016 at 4:29 PM, I took the leap.
I began typing for six hours a day. I knew the plot, and the words flowed. However, a few months into the process, I noticed a pattern. There were times that I could not write well. Eventually, I learned that I needed to have the right mindset in order to write well. As the months went by, I worked hard to figure out the best way to get into the mood. It begins with a conscious decision to write.
I begin by testing the waters and read what I’ve written. When I am confident, I begin making corrections. If I encounter resistance, I stop. This has been a hard lesson. I have done a lot of damage by writing or self-editing in the wrong mindset. It took months of self-editing cleaning up the mess I made by forcing myself to write.
What about the bad parts of writing? Once in the mood, I can market without getting angry and I look forward to finding errors while self-editing. I now understand that writing is different from other activities. For example, I don’t need to be in the mood to pull weeds. I simply push through the negative emotion and begin a mindless unpleasant task.
Strange side topic. When I’m at work and I have to create a technical document, I find that I need to be in the mood to be creative. Upon deep reflection, this has always been the case.
If I cannot get into the mood to write, I find that a distraction can help and I often watch YouTube videos. When enough time has passed, I go back to self-editing. When all seems well, I switch to writing. Usually, the words flow and I appreciate the joy associated with creating something new.
When I am not in the mood, I feel a conscious block not to begin. It feels like a physical barrier in the form of mental resistance. This feeling is different from the negative anticipation of going to the dentist. The desire not to write is more physical; like being hungry when no food is available.
How do I know I am in the mood? Simple. I appreciate the moment. Writing is fun, exciting, challenging and rewarding. In a way, I turn off the non-creative part of my mind and become the magical author. This person has the freedom to create an imaginary world. I put myself into the story as the character. What are they thinking? Why did they do that? How should they react? What would really upset them? As I self-edit, I concentrate on sentence structure and logic. I also think about the big picture and how each sentence relates to the overall story.
Writing is a privilege and I am lucky to have the drive, talent, and means to enjoy this activity. It is something I look forward to doing, yet it is something that I cannot always get into. A true enigma.
A big part of the process requires me to be in the right mood in order to write well. I also require this uplifting mindset to properly edit, market and accomplish other book-related tasks. To fully explain this topic, I need to wind the clock back to the beginning of my writing adventure.
During a fun period of unemployment, I found myself with a lot of time. I spent the majority of this time thinking up business ideas and trying to turn them into reality. From an early age, I wanted to be a writer and unemployment offered me the opportunity. On, 3/12/2016 at 4:29 PM, I took the leap.
I began typing for six hours a day. I knew the plot, and the words flowed. However, a few months into the process, I noticed a pattern. There were times that I could not write well. Eventually, I learned that I needed to have the right mindset in order to write well. As the months went by, I worked hard to figure out the best way to get into the mood. It begins with a conscious decision to write.
I begin by testing the waters and read what I’ve written. When I am confident, I begin making corrections. If I encounter resistance, I stop. This has been a hard lesson. I have done a lot of damage by writing or self-editing in the wrong mindset. It took months of self-editing cleaning up the mess I made by forcing myself to write.
What about the bad parts of writing? Once in the mood, I can market without getting angry and I look forward to finding errors while self-editing. I now understand that writing is different from other activities. For example, I don’t need to be in the mood to pull weeds. I simply push through the negative emotion and begin a mindless unpleasant task.
Strange side topic. When I’m at work and I have to create a technical document, I find that I need to be in the mood to be creative. Upon deep reflection, this has always been the case.
If I cannot get into the mood to write, I find that a distraction can help and I often watch YouTube videos. When enough time has passed, I go back to self-editing. When all seems well, I switch to writing. Usually, the words flow and I appreciate the joy associated with creating something new.
When I am not in the mood, I feel a conscious block not to begin. It feels like a physical barrier in the form of mental resistance. This feeling is different from the negative anticipation of going to the dentist. The desire not to write is more physical; like being hungry when no food is available.
How do I know I am in the mood? Simple. I appreciate the moment. Writing is fun, exciting, challenging and rewarding. In a way, I turn off the non-creative part of my mind and become the magical author. This person has the freedom to create an imaginary world. I put myself into the story as the character. What are they thinking? Why did they do that? How should they react? What would really upset them? As I self-edit, I concentrate on sentence structure and logic. I also think about the big picture and how each sentence relates to the overall story.
Writing is a privilege and I am lucky to have the drive, talent, and means to enjoy this activity. It is something I look forward to doing, yet it is something that I cannot always get into. A true enigma.
Fictional Ethics
I recently came across an article about the Ethics of Fiction and I thought it would be interesting to blog about this topic. The article began with a deep dive into the history and techniques of fiction. It then described how fiction affects society and what responsibilities authors have.
Its essential questions: Are fiction authors liars and do the authors intentionally deceive readers? For me, the answer depends on how an author presents their work. If an author honestly informs their readers about the fictional content, then the author is acting ethically. If an author attempts to pass along a fictional event as true, then they are acting unethically.
Of course, there are many gray areas. For example, a news report, that “takes a creative look into the problem.” Or “embellished facts.” My favorite are stories that are “based on true events.” Today we accept that “true” stories contain a percentage of fiction. The term for this new media is “dramatized.” I prefer to stay out of this gray area and I have never claimed my published work contained factual events.
However, I do get near reality. For example, in my first book, I developed the concept that the ruler of ancient Egypt, Cleopatra is immortal. To be clear, I am attempting to get readers to believe a not fictional woman lived for hundreds of years. This “fact” is clearly untrue.
How would I respond to the allegation of lying? First, at the beginning of my book, I declare my book to be a work of fiction. Second, I market the book as fiction. Third, the concept of immortality is an accepted functional construct.
Am I behaving unethically? In my mind, I made up a story and never intended to deceive anybody. If a reader ever suggested that my story is real, I would immediately defend my work as 100% fiction. So, we’re good? Right? Well…
People have Star Wars themed weddings and they name streets after fictional characters. Fans firmly believe in The Force and Harry Potter’s magic. Are we deceiving ourselves? In some cases, we take things a bit too far. Yet, as a society, having a fantasy foundation is good because it helps soften the harsh blows of reality.
Let’s tackle this issue head-on. Darth Vader never existed and will never exist. Right? Well… A few diehard fans truly believe and contend he exists “in a galaxy far, far away.” We can conclude he kind of exists. Now hold on. If a judge ordered Darth Vader to appear holding his lightsaber, nothing would happen. At best, an actor would show up in costume while holding a plastic prop. This individual only can come alive in a fictional environment.
Did George Lucas intend to deceive his audiences when he created Star Wars? He certainly put in a lot of effort into making realistic movies. Clearly, he only intended to create an amazing movie and not fool people. How would George Lucas respond to people who think the force is real? He would probably shake the hands of his diehard fans. How would George Lucas respond in a courtroom? He would strongly declare his creation to be fictional and laugh at the absurd notion that any part of his move is real.
What about an author that passes off their fictional creation as real? We now have an accepted term for this. Fake news. In my mind, this attempt at reality is an undisputed lie. What if we bend the truth? Fact: There have been allegations that the mayor embezzled school funds. Statement: “The mayor stole our tax dollars. -An anonymous source.” This statement is a thinly vailed lie. The anonymous source could be me and I have no idea about any mayors. What is the harm? I am raising awareness. Right? In my mind, this “author” is behaving unethically.
Can any good come out of fake news? Let us pretend somebody wrote a fake story that got people upset and the resulting interest brought a positive change. This is an ends justify the means argument. The bad situation could have been exposed in a well-written article with documented facts and a well thought out solution.
Are my ethics holding me back? Should I write up a bunch of fake news to bring attention to an important subject? I have to live with myself, and I would rather be a nobody author than an important person propped up by lies. The world has far too much fake news, urban legends, and distorted facts.
In life and literature, I do my best to behave honestly and try not to deceive. When I blog about a real topic, I do my best to present facts without embellishment. For those who choose a different path, I do not believe they qualify as authors.
https://aeon.co/essays/how-to-tell-fa...
Its essential questions: Are fiction authors liars and do the authors intentionally deceive readers? For me, the answer depends on how an author presents their work. If an author honestly informs their readers about the fictional content, then the author is acting ethically. If an author attempts to pass along a fictional event as true, then they are acting unethically.
Of course, there are many gray areas. For example, a news report, that “takes a creative look into the problem.” Or “embellished facts.” My favorite are stories that are “based on true events.” Today we accept that “true” stories contain a percentage of fiction. The term for this new media is “dramatized.” I prefer to stay out of this gray area and I have never claimed my published work contained factual events.
However, I do get near reality. For example, in my first book, I developed the concept that the ruler of ancient Egypt, Cleopatra is immortal. To be clear, I am attempting to get readers to believe a not fictional woman lived for hundreds of years. This “fact” is clearly untrue.
How would I respond to the allegation of lying? First, at the beginning of my book, I declare my book to be a work of fiction. Second, I market the book as fiction. Third, the concept of immortality is an accepted functional construct.
Am I behaving unethically? In my mind, I made up a story and never intended to deceive anybody. If a reader ever suggested that my story is real, I would immediately defend my work as 100% fiction. So, we’re good? Right? Well…
People have Star Wars themed weddings and they name streets after fictional characters. Fans firmly believe in The Force and Harry Potter’s magic. Are we deceiving ourselves? In some cases, we take things a bit too far. Yet, as a society, having a fantasy foundation is good because it helps soften the harsh blows of reality.
Let’s tackle this issue head-on. Darth Vader never existed and will never exist. Right? Well… A few diehard fans truly believe and contend he exists “in a galaxy far, far away.” We can conclude he kind of exists. Now hold on. If a judge ordered Darth Vader to appear holding his lightsaber, nothing would happen. At best, an actor would show up in costume while holding a plastic prop. This individual only can come alive in a fictional environment.
Did George Lucas intend to deceive his audiences when he created Star Wars? He certainly put in a lot of effort into making realistic movies. Clearly, he only intended to create an amazing movie and not fool people. How would George Lucas respond to people who think the force is real? He would probably shake the hands of his diehard fans. How would George Lucas respond in a courtroom? He would strongly declare his creation to be fictional and laugh at the absurd notion that any part of his move is real.
What about an author that passes off their fictional creation as real? We now have an accepted term for this. Fake news. In my mind, this attempt at reality is an undisputed lie. What if we bend the truth? Fact: There have been allegations that the mayor embezzled school funds. Statement: “The mayor stole our tax dollars. -An anonymous source.” This statement is a thinly vailed lie. The anonymous source could be me and I have no idea about any mayors. What is the harm? I am raising awareness. Right? In my mind, this “author” is behaving unethically.
Can any good come out of fake news? Let us pretend somebody wrote a fake story that got people upset and the resulting interest brought a positive change. This is an ends justify the means argument. The bad situation could have been exposed in a well-written article with documented facts and a well thought out solution.
Are my ethics holding me back? Should I write up a bunch of fake news to bring attention to an important subject? I have to live with myself, and I would rather be a nobody author than an important person propped up by lies. The world has far too much fake news, urban legends, and distorted facts.
In life and literature, I do my best to behave honestly and try not to deceive. When I blog about a real topic, I do my best to present facts without embellishment. For those who choose a different path, I do not believe they qualify as authors.
https://aeon.co/essays/how-to-tell-fa...
My Story Is Not Real
People like to think a fictional story could be real. For example, a few people genuinely believe that Luke Skywalker is an actual person, and Star Wars is a documentary. This desire to believe is strong, and even the government of England recognizes the Jedi religion. People have Star Wars themed weddings and dress up in full costumes for conventions. Want some proof:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YKT7b...
I enjoy fiction, and I like writing fictional stories. However, I am not a hard-core fiction fan, and I see the apparent difference between fantasy and reality. Do I look down on the hard-core fans? Not really, I think they are amusing. Yet, I still claim to be a fictional writer. One would think that to be a fictional author, a hard-core fictional mindset would be required. Hmm. It sounds like we need to explore this concept.
When I write, I visualize myself in action. “Fred got hit in the arm with a crowbar. Bam! He fell hard onto the cement steps. Deep in pain, Fred looked up at his attacker.” How did I come up with that description? I pictured myself getting into a fight and wrote what I imagined. Why did Fred get attacked with a crowbar and not a gun? Simple. I used a crowbar recently, and this seemed to be an appropriate weapon.
How did it feel to write this fictional description? Every action and emotion became mentally real. However, when I finished, I no longer thought about the topic. In the future, I will not think about this fight scene. What about something impossible?
My four blog readers know I am a man, but I have written about women. Describe a woman being kissed. I start by visualizing the action from my own male perspective and then try to imagine how a woman might feel. I do this by taking knowledge from my life experiences, books, the internet, and I also ask people for their opinions. In this way, I can write about how I think a woman would feel during the act of being kissed. This line of thinking leads to a question. Am I a woman being kissed at that moment? I suppose I am.
What about the consequences of this action? Am I in too deep? Do I consider myself to be female? Have I crossed a moral line? Of course not. I briefly “became” a woman to write a kissing scene. While writing, I have been violent, unstable, immoral, non-human, and led an alternative lifestyle. Fictional authors must go to impossible places and be different people. Otherwise, their stories would not be entertaining. Yet, I see there is an apparent difference between my fantasies and my daily activities. I am fully aware of my gender and have not been hit by a crowbar.
What about my main characters? They hold a slightly different mental position because I often need to think about them to develop plots. Are they real in my mind? Perhaps. Often, I mentally play with them to explore plot lines.
Does this mean I want to be one of my main characters? My four blog readers know that I lead a boring life. Would I like to be a billionaire? How about a super confidant person? Perhaps a life full of adventure? While a few more bucks would be nice, I am happy with my present life. Let us also keep in mind that being adventitious, super confidant, or reckless has downsides. For example, getting hit by a crowbar is not desirable.
Does this mean I have a rich fantasy life? Perhaps. Most fictional authors have a vivid imagination, and they like to share the stories they imagined. Non-fictional authors also want to share their researched stores. I now realize that the desire to share is what motivates me.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YKT7b...
I enjoy fiction, and I like writing fictional stories. However, I am not a hard-core fiction fan, and I see the apparent difference between fantasy and reality. Do I look down on the hard-core fans? Not really, I think they are amusing. Yet, I still claim to be a fictional writer. One would think that to be a fictional author, a hard-core fictional mindset would be required. Hmm. It sounds like we need to explore this concept.
When I write, I visualize myself in action. “Fred got hit in the arm with a crowbar. Bam! He fell hard onto the cement steps. Deep in pain, Fred looked up at his attacker.” How did I come up with that description? I pictured myself getting into a fight and wrote what I imagined. Why did Fred get attacked with a crowbar and not a gun? Simple. I used a crowbar recently, and this seemed to be an appropriate weapon.
How did it feel to write this fictional description? Every action and emotion became mentally real. However, when I finished, I no longer thought about the topic. In the future, I will not think about this fight scene. What about something impossible?
My four blog readers know I am a man, but I have written about women. Describe a woman being kissed. I start by visualizing the action from my own male perspective and then try to imagine how a woman might feel. I do this by taking knowledge from my life experiences, books, the internet, and I also ask people for their opinions. In this way, I can write about how I think a woman would feel during the act of being kissed. This line of thinking leads to a question. Am I a woman being kissed at that moment? I suppose I am.
What about the consequences of this action? Am I in too deep? Do I consider myself to be female? Have I crossed a moral line? Of course not. I briefly “became” a woman to write a kissing scene. While writing, I have been violent, unstable, immoral, non-human, and led an alternative lifestyle. Fictional authors must go to impossible places and be different people. Otherwise, their stories would not be entertaining. Yet, I see there is an apparent difference between my fantasies and my daily activities. I am fully aware of my gender and have not been hit by a crowbar.
What about my main characters? They hold a slightly different mental position because I often need to think about them to develop plots. Are they real in my mind? Perhaps. Often, I mentally play with them to explore plot lines.
Does this mean I want to be one of my main characters? My four blog readers know that I lead a boring life. Would I like to be a billionaire? How about a super confidant person? Perhaps a life full of adventure? While a few more bucks would be nice, I am happy with my present life. Let us also keep in mind that being adventitious, super confidant, or reckless has downsides. For example, getting hit by a crowbar is not desirable.
Does this mean I have a rich fantasy life? Perhaps. Most fictional authors have a vivid imagination, and they like to share the stories they imagined. Non-fictional authors also want to share their researched stores. I now realize that the desire to share is what motivates me.
The Disappearing Car
In 1994, I had been driving my red Mitsubishi Eclipse for a year. One summer evening, I was on my way home on a nearly empty freeway. At some point, I noticed a silver sedan pull into my passenger’s side blind spot. To mitigate the problem, I slowed down and sped up. Unfortunately, the driver matched my speed. Quite annoying.
Because I could not directly see the car in my mirror, I had to crane my neck around to spot their headlights. After a few twists, I developed a routine. I looked ahead for a ten count, then at my speedometer, and then craned around. This routine went on about twenty times, and then, poof! I did not see the sedan. Where did it go? There were no nearby exits, and I had enough light to see cars (even without headlights) behind me.
Four explanations could explain what occurred. The most likely is that I lost track of time, and the car exited. The second is an optical illusion or visual mistake. Another possibility is that I made this story up, dreamed it, or did not remembering it correctly.
Of course, I immediately ruled out those logical explanations. The car disappeared! Yes, the law of physics went out the window, and the car teleported away just like on Star Trek. Is this explanation logical? Of course not. Yet, I told all my friends about my fantastic event.
Did I believe this outrageous explanation? To my four blog readers, I wish to be honest. Clearly, the car did not vanish, but I 100% believed it did. Why? I think a part of me wanted something unique to happen. Another aspect of me was stunned by the sudden action and refused to accept my time tracking failure.
Was I too immature (illogical) to accept a rational explanation? I have always been a logical person and possessed the mental foundation to understand the difference between what is possible and impossible. Yet, I allowed myself to step into fantasy.
Over time, this powerful memory got replaced by logic. The first explanation is probably what occurred. Why did it take me many years to see the truth? I suppose age brings wisdom.
There is an edge between fiction and delusion. However, there is another aspect to this discussion. When readers pick up a fictional book, we know the story is not real. Yet, we turn off our logic and let our minds drift. We drift farther into the impossible. Magic, talking robots, ghosts, time travel, and dragons are all possible. This line can be blurry because authors push the envelope, use real-life events, and want their readers to dive into fantasy.
Humans have a deep desire to accept the unacceptable and genuinely want to believe. Star Wars themed weddings? Of course. I suppose the edge of reality makes fiction appealing.
Because I could not directly see the car in my mirror, I had to crane my neck around to spot their headlights. After a few twists, I developed a routine. I looked ahead for a ten count, then at my speedometer, and then craned around. This routine went on about twenty times, and then, poof! I did not see the sedan. Where did it go? There were no nearby exits, and I had enough light to see cars (even without headlights) behind me.
Four explanations could explain what occurred. The most likely is that I lost track of time, and the car exited. The second is an optical illusion or visual mistake. Another possibility is that I made this story up, dreamed it, or did not remembering it correctly.
Of course, I immediately ruled out those logical explanations. The car disappeared! Yes, the law of physics went out the window, and the car teleported away just like on Star Trek. Is this explanation logical? Of course not. Yet, I told all my friends about my fantastic event.
Did I believe this outrageous explanation? To my four blog readers, I wish to be honest. Clearly, the car did not vanish, but I 100% believed it did. Why? I think a part of me wanted something unique to happen. Another aspect of me was stunned by the sudden action and refused to accept my time tracking failure.
Was I too immature (illogical) to accept a rational explanation? I have always been a logical person and possessed the mental foundation to understand the difference between what is possible and impossible. Yet, I allowed myself to step into fantasy.
Over time, this powerful memory got replaced by logic. The first explanation is probably what occurred. Why did it take me many years to see the truth? I suppose age brings wisdom.
There is an edge between fiction and delusion. However, there is another aspect to this discussion. When readers pick up a fictional book, we know the story is not real. Yet, we turn off our logic and let our minds drift. We drift farther into the impossible. Magic, talking robots, ghosts, time travel, and dragons are all possible. This line can be blurry because authors push the envelope, use real-life events, and want their readers to dive into fantasy.
Humans have a deep desire to accept the unacceptable and genuinely want to believe. Star Wars themed weddings? Of course. I suppose the edge of reality makes fiction appealing.
Forced Fiction
In the mid-'80s, I briefly got into Amateur Radio. This hobby has many areas to explore, including building equipment, contests, distant communication, travel, and social interaction. My interest faded went I learned about computers, but I still go into the local Amateur Radio store once a year.
In one aisle, they have technical books and a surprisingly large number of Amateur Radio fiction books. A common theme is being stranded somewhere and building a radio to get rescued. There is even Amateur Radio romance. Who knew? A few weeks ago, I glanced at a few pages and read the book descriptions. To put it mildly, the material was dreadful. Why? The plots, characters, and circumstances were incredibly unrealistic because the author shoehorned in the topic of Amateur Radio.
I call this entertainment category "forced fiction." This is where a story element gets jammed into the plot as opposed to being integrated. We often see forced fiction in stories involving animals, cars, sports, religion, politics, and fan fiction. Essentially, the author "is in love with X and wrote a book with X in every chapter."
The classic example is a forced animal adventure. A person comes across a horse, and they instantly bond. A wild drama or adventure then unfolds where the two do everything together, strengthening their bond. This type of story is different from a western where the horse is a supporting character. Can the horse be a key figure? Of course, but their presence must be explainable. Using the same example, the cowboy had been riding horses for years and got a new horse. The new horse turns out to be excellent, and they form a lifelong partnership. The critical difference is the story is plausible.
Television is a sea of forced fiction. For example, the KITT car program in Night Rider. Were the plots remotely realistic? Not by a long shot. The only goal for the writer was to have the car appear at least once every ten minutes. This way, kids would buy KITT car toys. In a non-forced television environment, characters get into vehicles and drive them from point A to B. Sometimes the cars crash or get stolen, but the writers do not propel the vehicle into the center of attention for unrealistic reasons.
What if I wanted to read an Amateur Radio story? That's easy. I can search for books with great Amateur Radio scenes. The book Never Cry Wolf has a great one. Most importantly, the setting is appropriate, realistic, and supported by the rest of the book. Amateur Radio is not the focus, but it can be an essential story element.
I have many passions in my life, but I would never force them into a book. Electronics, for example. Having a fictional character solve problems with electronics would be fun to write but dreadful to read.
Should readers abandon this book category? I suppose people will buy/watch what they want. However, I caution writers. Readers and viewers are getting more sophisticated. Hmm. I probably have to get my act together.
In one aisle, they have technical books and a surprisingly large number of Amateur Radio fiction books. A common theme is being stranded somewhere and building a radio to get rescued. There is even Amateur Radio romance. Who knew? A few weeks ago, I glanced at a few pages and read the book descriptions. To put it mildly, the material was dreadful. Why? The plots, characters, and circumstances were incredibly unrealistic because the author shoehorned in the topic of Amateur Radio.
I call this entertainment category "forced fiction." This is where a story element gets jammed into the plot as opposed to being integrated. We often see forced fiction in stories involving animals, cars, sports, religion, politics, and fan fiction. Essentially, the author "is in love with X and wrote a book with X in every chapter."
The classic example is a forced animal adventure. A person comes across a horse, and they instantly bond. A wild drama or adventure then unfolds where the two do everything together, strengthening their bond. This type of story is different from a western where the horse is a supporting character. Can the horse be a key figure? Of course, but their presence must be explainable. Using the same example, the cowboy had been riding horses for years and got a new horse. The new horse turns out to be excellent, and they form a lifelong partnership. The critical difference is the story is plausible.
Television is a sea of forced fiction. For example, the KITT car program in Night Rider. Were the plots remotely realistic? Not by a long shot. The only goal for the writer was to have the car appear at least once every ten minutes. This way, kids would buy KITT car toys. In a non-forced television environment, characters get into vehicles and drive them from point A to B. Sometimes the cars crash or get stolen, but the writers do not propel the vehicle into the center of attention for unrealistic reasons.
What if I wanted to read an Amateur Radio story? That's easy. I can search for books with great Amateur Radio scenes. The book Never Cry Wolf has a great one. Most importantly, the setting is appropriate, realistic, and supported by the rest of the book. Amateur Radio is not the focus, but it can be an essential story element.
I have many passions in my life, but I would never force them into a book. Electronics, for example. Having a fictional character solve problems with electronics would be fun to write but dreadful to read.
Should readers abandon this book category? I suppose people will buy/watch what they want. However, I caution writers. Readers and viewers are getting more sophisticated. Hmm. I probably have to get my act together.
ChatGPT Fiction
ChatGPT is an artificial intelligence language program that analyzes existing text to write stories, descriptions, research, reports, and text messages. It has become popular among teens for writing texts and doing homework. Adults now use it to do their jobs, and its creations have ended up in many important documents.
ChatGPT caught teachers off guard because its work is fantastic, and they cannot tell the difference between an excellent student and a ChatGPT document. Furthermore, because this technology is so new, companies do not know that workers use it. This usage will lead to legal and ethical issues.
I was vaguely aware of ChatGPT until a month ago when South Park lambasted it. After the episode, I wanted to see what ChatGPT offered a fiction author. So, I got an account and asked ChatGPT to write a story.
Here is what ChatGPT generated when I fed it a vague description of my first book, “Write a story about an immortal woman who forces a disgraced author to interview her. She lived an astounding 500-year life and met many famous people. Her immortality source came from harvesting the organs of living people.”
Once a celebrated author, Richard had fallen from grace. His last book had been panned by critics, and his once loyal fans had turned their backs on him. He spent his days drinking and smoking, drowning in self-pity, until one day he received a strange letter.
The letter was from a woman named Cassandra, and it was unlike any letter he had ever received. Cassandra claimed to be over 500 years old, and she offered Richard an exclusive interview. She promised to tell him the story of her incredible life, a life filled with adventure, tragedy, and celebrity encounters. Richard was skeptical, but also curious. He agreed to the interview, and Cassandra provided him with an address and a time to meet.
The address turned out to be an abandoned warehouse on the outskirts of town. Richard arrived at the designated time, and he found Cassandra waiting for him inside. She was an imposing figure, tall and regal, with long black hair and piercing green eyes. She wore a flowing red dress that seemed out of place in the dilapidated surroundings.
Cassandra wasted no time in getting to the point. “I need you to tell my story,” she said. “I need the world to know who I am and what I have accomplished. And I need you to do it.”
Richard was taken aback. “Why me?” he asked. “There are plenty of other journalists who would be more than happy to tell your story.”
Cassandra smiled wryly. “Because you are a disgraced author,” she said. “You have nothing left to lose. And because I know you have a way with words. You can make people care about my story, even if they don’t believe it.”
Richard hesitated, but he could see the determination in Cassandra’s eyes. He agreed to the interview, and over the course of the next few hours, Cassandra told him the story of her incredible life.
She had been born in the early 1500s, and she had discovered her immortality by accident. She had been experimenting with medicine, and she had discovered a way to harvest the organs of living people without killing them. She had used this method to keep herself young and vibrant for centuries.
As she told her story, Richard was both fascinated and repulsed. He couldn’t believe that someone could be so callous, so cruel. But he was also mesmerized by Cassandra’s stories of meeting famous people throughout history. She had met Shakespeare, Da Vinci, and Napoleon. She had seen the rise and fall of empires, the birth of new technologies, and the evolution of human society.
Wow! That was super impressive. This thoughtful and creative piece blows me away. And there was a fantastic coincidence. My 500-year-old character, Grace, met Napoleon. I did not know artificial intelligence had come so far.
My original blog plan was to tear apart the ChatGPT mess and proclaim myself superior. Bill rules! Well, that will not work. So, let’s evaluate the writing and ponder what this new technology means to me and society.
First, I would like to point out the excellent dialog integration. Cassandra wasted no time in getting to the point. “I need you to tell my story,” she said. “I need the world to know who I am and what I have accomplished.” Fantastic technique and great flow. The grammar and style are solid. Even the voice, intent, word choice, and confidence are great. Grammarly gave it a C, and ProWritingAid gave it a B. Microsoft Word grammar found no issues. Yet, the phrase “I need” and “she” got used too often, and there was some clunky flow. (It read stiff.) My grade for this generated fiction is a B. Very impressive for five minutes of work.
Now, let’s consider the big picture. When I want to write a story, I begin with an outline. This tool sets up the basic story arc, shows the overall flow, and reveals plot problems. The three sentences I fed into ChatVPT were the outline. I created the entire arc, and AI has difficulty generating (not copying from an existing work) even a basic arc. However, an outline is far from an actual story. The details are what a reader uses to fulfill the picture.
ChatGPT generated those details and added additional story. “She was an imposing figure, tall and regal, with long black hair and piercing green eyes. She wore a flowing red dress that seemed out of place in the dilapidated surroundings.” Those super-specific details pull the reader in.
While the generated story was impressive, it is not good enough for me to use for two reasons. First, the above results were not what I wanted to create because using an AI tool invalidates the point of writing. The second reason is that the results did not meet the minimum criteria or length to be a book. It should take at least a chapter to describe the main character and another chapter to ease the reader into the other main character into her life. However, it was fun to read what ChatGPT came up with.
I see two uses for ChatGPT to assist my writing process. First, when developing an outline, ChatGPT might flush out the plot. So, I will enter my next outline and see what it comes with. Perhaps ChatGPT will inspire ideas or reveal problems. Stay tuned for an update.
My second use will be for bolder character descriptions. I have difficulty thoroughly describing a character. “Fred walked into the room.” Done! Wait. How tall was he? What was he wearing? Readers expect much more, but those extra details seem unnecessary. (Not a good mental block for a writer.)
ChatGPT created an excellent description in the above writing. “She was an imposing figure, tall and regal, with long black hair and piercing green eyes. She wore a flowing red dress that seemed out of place in the dilapidated surroundings.” With some editing, that would be a perfect description for a female character.
However, I will not copy and paste text from ChatGPT. Not because of my ethics, it is because of my creativity. I do the writing for MY books, not somebody or something else. This is why I do not copy celebrated authors’ text, style, characters, scenes, or plots.
How does ChatGPT affect society? For teachers, it is a worst-case scenario. They will need ChatGPT detection software, and anti-cheat companies are already developing such tools. However, there is a broader problem for teachers and society.
Remember learning arithmetic? 1+1=2. However, when we discovered calculators, it did not seem necessary to learn. “Why learn when there are calculators?” That is a solid argument for students, but as adults, our education allows us to understand the logic behind math. However, many students did not learn because of calculators, and now many adults do not know arithmetic.
Why must a student learn how to write if ChatGPT can write for them? Another valid argument. Some students will take this path in life. But like a student who only knows how to use a calculator, they will not have the foundation to see mistakes, make improvements or go beyond what ChatGPT can create.
Let’s pretend I’m using a calculator and “fat-fingered” the buttons. 1+1=12. The answer is valid because calculators do not make mistakes. But my blog readers instantly see the error because they understand arithmetic. “There is no way that the answer can be that high.”
The same will be true with writing. ChatGPT is not perfect and will make obvious mistakes. Pretend that student grew up and is now using ChatGPT to write a safety instructions for their job. “Always use bare hands to touch the live wires.” Seems logical. Bare hands are clean, and we do not want to use dirty gloves on clean live wires. ZAP!!!
What about writing? I now see that if a person has a good plot outline and can edit segments together, they will be able to “write” a ChatGPT book. The result may not be perfect, the flow odd, and the story incomplete, but it will read well.
Because of my recent experiment, I now understand that a societal change has occurred. ChatGPT upped the game with excellent grammar, exciting descriptions, tasteful random elements, and solid dialog. Hey authors! All books (including the classics) will be judged to this improved standard in five years. For me, that is a scary concept. Of course, some readers will insist on the “old method” of “handmade writing.” However, that market will shrink.
What is the future of books? I see a day when writers will be conductors instead of “hands-on.” Is this bad? I do not know because ChatGPT impressed me. But do I want to “conduct” a book? Hmm. It does not sound like there will be much joy in that process.
Should we ban/limit ChatGPT? That suppression method has never worked in the past. Do we want organized crime to take over this space? Yet, I have seen legislation explicitly drafted to ban/limit ChatGPT. Hey taxpayers! Get ready for another fruitless battle to contain a bomb that has already exploded.
How about a ChatGPT blog? I may try to “write” one as an experiment, but I would inform my blog readers about my decision in advance. So, for now, you get the real deal.
You’re the best -Bill
April 19, 2023
Hey book lovers, I published three! Please check them out.
Interviewing Immortality is a psychological thriller about a 500-year-old woman who forces a disgraced author to interview her.
Pushed to the Edge of Survival is a drama, romance, and science fiction story about two unlikely people surviving a shipwreck and living with the consequences.
Cable Ties is a classic spy novel about two hunters discovering that government communications are being recorded and the ensuing FBI investigation.
These books are available in soft-cover on Amazon and eBook format everywhere.
ChatGPT caught teachers off guard because its work is fantastic, and they cannot tell the difference between an excellent student and a ChatGPT document. Furthermore, because this technology is so new, companies do not know that workers use it. This usage will lead to legal and ethical issues.
I was vaguely aware of ChatGPT until a month ago when South Park lambasted it. After the episode, I wanted to see what ChatGPT offered a fiction author. So, I got an account and asked ChatGPT to write a story.
Here is what ChatGPT generated when I fed it a vague description of my first book, “Write a story about an immortal woman who forces a disgraced author to interview her. She lived an astounding 500-year life and met many famous people. Her immortality source came from harvesting the organs of living people.”
Once a celebrated author, Richard had fallen from grace. His last book had been panned by critics, and his once loyal fans had turned their backs on him. He spent his days drinking and smoking, drowning in self-pity, until one day he received a strange letter.
The letter was from a woman named Cassandra, and it was unlike any letter he had ever received. Cassandra claimed to be over 500 years old, and she offered Richard an exclusive interview. She promised to tell him the story of her incredible life, a life filled with adventure, tragedy, and celebrity encounters. Richard was skeptical, but also curious. He agreed to the interview, and Cassandra provided him with an address and a time to meet.
The address turned out to be an abandoned warehouse on the outskirts of town. Richard arrived at the designated time, and he found Cassandra waiting for him inside. She was an imposing figure, tall and regal, with long black hair and piercing green eyes. She wore a flowing red dress that seemed out of place in the dilapidated surroundings.
Cassandra wasted no time in getting to the point. “I need you to tell my story,” she said. “I need the world to know who I am and what I have accomplished. And I need you to do it.”
Richard was taken aback. “Why me?” he asked. “There are plenty of other journalists who would be more than happy to tell your story.”
Cassandra smiled wryly. “Because you are a disgraced author,” she said. “You have nothing left to lose. And because I know you have a way with words. You can make people care about my story, even if they don’t believe it.”
Richard hesitated, but he could see the determination in Cassandra’s eyes. He agreed to the interview, and over the course of the next few hours, Cassandra told him the story of her incredible life.
She had been born in the early 1500s, and she had discovered her immortality by accident. She had been experimenting with medicine, and she had discovered a way to harvest the organs of living people without killing them. She had used this method to keep herself young and vibrant for centuries.
As she told her story, Richard was both fascinated and repulsed. He couldn’t believe that someone could be so callous, so cruel. But he was also mesmerized by Cassandra’s stories of meeting famous people throughout history. She had met Shakespeare, Da Vinci, and Napoleon. She had seen the rise and fall of empires, the birth of new technologies, and the evolution of human society.
Wow! That was super impressive. This thoughtful and creative piece blows me away. And there was a fantastic coincidence. My 500-year-old character, Grace, met Napoleon. I did not know artificial intelligence had come so far.
My original blog plan was to tear apart the ChatGPT mess and proclaim myself superior. Bill rules! Well, that will not work. So, let’s evaluate the writing and ponder what this new technology means to me and society.
First, I would like to point out the excellent dialog integration. Cassandra wasted no time in getting to the point. “I need you to tell my story,” she said. “I need the world to know who I am and what I have accomplished.” Fantastic technique and great flow. The grammar and style are solid. Even the voice, intent, word choice, and confidence are great. Grammarly gave it a C, and ProWritingAid gave it a B. Microsoft Word grammar found no issues. Yet, the phrase “I need” and “she” got used too often, and there was some clunky flow. (It read stiff.) My grade for this generated fiction is a B. Very impressive for five minutes of work.
Now, let’s consider the big picture. When I want to write a story, I begin with an outline. This tool sets up the basic story arc, shows the overall flow, and reveals plot problems. The three sentences I fed into ChatVPT were the outline. I created the entire arc, and AI has difficulty generating (not copying from an existing work) even a basic arc. However, an outline is far from an actual story. The details are what a reader uses to fulfill the picture.
ChatGPT generated those details and added additional story. “She was an imposing figure, tall and regal, with long black hair and piercing green eyes. She wore a flowing red dress that seemed out of place in the dilapidated surroundings.” Those super-specific details pull the reader in.
While the generated story was impressive, it is not good enough for me to use for two reasons. First, the above results were not what I wanted to create because using an AI tool invalidates the point of writing. The second reason is that the results did not meet the minimum criteria or length to be a book. It should take at least a chapter to describe the main character and another chapter to ease the reader into the other main character into her life. However, it was fun to read what ChatGPT came up with.
I see two uses for ChatGPT to assist my writing process. First, when developing an outline, ChatGPT might flush out the plot. So, I will enter my next outline and see what it comes with. Perhaps ChatGPT will inspire ideas or reveal problems. Stay tuned for an update.
My second use will be for bolder character descriptions. I have difficulty thoroughly describing a character. “Fred walked into the room.” Done! Wait. How tall was he? What was he wearing? Readers expect much more, but those extra details seem unnecessary. (Not a good mental block for a writer.)
ChatGPT created an excellent description in the above writing. “She was an imposing figure, tall and regal, with long black hair and piercing green eyes. She wore a flowing red dress that seemed out of place in the dilapidated surroundings.” With some editing, that would be a perfect description for a female character.
However, I will not copy and paste text from ChatGPT. Not because of my ethics, it is because of my creativity. I do the writing for MY books, not somebody or something else. This is why I do not copy celebrated authors’ text, style, characters, scenes, or plots.
How does ChatGPT affect society? For teachers, it is a worst-case scenario. They will need ChatGPT detection software, and anti-cheat companies are already developing such tools. However, there is a broader problem for teachers and society.
Remember learning arithmetic? 1+1=2. However, when we discovered calculators, it did not seem necessary to learn. “Why learn when there are calculators?” That is a solid argument for students, but as adults, our education allows us to understand the logic behind math. However, many students did not learn because of calculators, and now many adults do not know arithmetic.
Why must a student learn how to write if ChatGPT can write for them? Another valid argument. Some students will take this path in life. But like a student who only knows how to use a calculator, they will not have the foundation to see mistakes, make improvements or go beyond what ChatGPT can create.
Let’s pretend I’m using a calculator and “fat-fingered” the buttons. 1+1=12. The answer is valid because calculators do not make mistakes. But my blog readers instantly see the error because they understand arithmetic. “There is no way that the answer can be that high.”
The same will be true with writing. ChatGPT is not perfect and will make obvious mistakes. Pretend that student grew up and is now using ChatGPT to write a safety instructions for their job. “Always use bare hands to touch the live wires.” Seems logical. Bare hands are clean, and we do not want to use dirty gloves on clean live wires. ZAP!!!
What about writing? I now see that if a person has a good plot outline and can edit segments together, they will be able to “write” a ChatGPT book. The result may not be perfect, the flow odd, and the story incomplete, but it will read well.
Because of my recent experiment, I now understand that a societal change has occurred. ChatGPT upped the game with excellent grammar, exciting descriptions, tasteful random elements, and solid dialog. Hey authors! All books (including the classics) will be judged to this improved standard in five years. For me, that is a scary concept. Of course, some readers will insist on the “old method” of “handmade writing.” However, that market will shrink.
What is the future of books? I see a day when writers will be conductors instead of “hands-on.” Is this bad? I do not know because ChatGPT impressed me. But do I want to “conduct” a book? Hmm. It does not sound like there will be much joy in that process.
Should we ban/limit ChatGPT? That suppression method has never worked in the past. Do we want organized crime to take over this space? Yet, I have seen legislation explicitly drafted to ban/limit ChatGPT. Hey taxpayers! Get ready for another fruitless battle to contain a bomb that has already exploded.
How about a ChatGPT blog? I may try to “write” one as an experiment, but I would inform my blog readers about my decision in advance. So, for now, you get the real deal.
You’re the best -Bill
April 19, 2023
Hey book lovers, I published three! Please check them out.
Interviewing Immortality is a psychological thriller about a 500-year-old woman who forces a disgraced author to interview her.
Pushed to the Edge of Survival is a drama, romance, and science fiction story about two unlikely people surviving a shipwreck and living with the consequences.
Cable Ties is a classic spy novel about two hunters discovering that government communications are being recorded and the ensuing FBI investigation.
These books are available in soft-cover on Amazon and eBook format everywhere.
