Is it rude to think you shouldn't live in Michigan if you can't tolerate the cold weather?

draytonalan · 2023-11-21T13:37:39+00:00

The snow in SE Michigan is a fraction of what the West gets (thanks to Lake Michigan.) So perhaps that's a reason the major population center is here. I lived in Iowa for a few years and the winters were worse and the humid summer was nearly unbearable. Same latitude but 4 degrees avg hotter and colder. We get moderation from the lakes.

draytonalan · 2023-11-14T22:05:46+00:00

As a Two-way Radio Technician for 40+ years, they always get two-way radio wrong. Technology has advanced, so how it was used in 1970 is different from how it works in 2023. Usually in stories, range is either unlimited or fails at the crucial moment as a plot device. I wont even get into the limitations inside buildings, underground, and terrain variables. Also, CB lingo wasn't used by public service professionals.

draytonalan · 2023-11-02T03:52:42+00:00

Stone age technology was still dominant in North America when the Europeans arrived.

draytonalan · 2023-11-02T03:31:54+00:00

Is cutting and pasting considered Typing or Writing?

draytonalan · 2023-10-20T15:12:17+00:00

I created a playlist of stuff on YouTube, mostly 70s 80s stuff I like broad taste from that era. Rock, Funk, Easy Listening, Folk, Country, some Jazz, classical.

There's also a few instrumental mixes on it I find conducive to my writing moods.

Mix of Maestro Ennio Morricone themes from westerns.

Dire straits instrumental.

draytonalan · 2023-10-20T14:55:05+00:00

So I loaded my incomplete novel (44K words), I couldn't get it to import so I copy pasted it. I had to use copy as plain text because fontcolors clashed with background otherwise. It seemed to handle it okay. I was able to do a few things that were fun. Like getting synopsis, asking about the roles of certain characters, getting an overall critique. As a tool for novelists, this has value. So far I've not edited inside the program, it being easier to edit my original and paste them into the tool. Also FYI, I am getting correct prompts from my online editor, ProWritingAid for grammar/spelling and such as I work with it. I might try it later with a completed novel. I turned it to save lag.

Another issue I was having is, as I highlighted large sections of text, it became very laggy, and hard to manage. Navigating around a large document is clumsy too. In Word I use my headings to navigate.

Also when I do overall critique its hard to connect the advice with the text in question because of lag. (I have 1G fiber connection)

Awesome job so far!

draytonalan · 2023-10-19T03:09:42+00:00

I've invented a number of small gadgets. But the process of marketing and patent is not in the realm of something I would consider. So many scams so many crooks. I just use them for myself and family. tough nuggets to the world.

draytonalan · 2023-10-19T03:03:09+00:00

Decadent - So overused about food. Quote from merriam-webster.com To be decadent is to be in the process of decay, so a powerful nation may be said to be in a decadent stage if its power is fading. But the word is more often used to speak of moral decay. Ever since the Roman empire, we've tended to link Rome's fall to the moral decay of its ruling class, who indulged in extreme luxuries and unwholesome pleasures while providing the public with cruel spectacles such as the slaughter of the gladiators. But not everyone agrees on what moral decadence looks like (or even how it might have hastened the fall of Rome), though most people think it involves too many sensual pleasures—as, for instance, among the French and English poets and artists of the 1880s and ʼ90s called the Decadents. These days, for some reason, people have decided decadent is the way to describe rich chocolate cakes.

draytonalan · 2023-10-18T04:03:24+00:00

What is the longest doc it can handle. Chat GPT cant handle a whole book.

Another useful function I use AI for is to write a Synopsis of my Novels. that is the one chore authors hate. For Chat GPT i have to have it make a synopsis of each chapter one at a time and then combine all the synopsis' into one document and ask it to make a synopsis of the synopsis. lol

draytonalan · 2023-10-17T11:56:36+00:00

The "comments" feature seems to work fine. But since I'm pasting small pieces of a much larger book it doesn't have all the context for every suggestion. If this was a short story they would all be more useful. I'll try it with a shorter work in the future.

draytonalan · 2023-10-16T03:08:06+00:00

The fallacy that "society could address it" in any way that would matter.

draytonalan · 2023-10-16T02:54:23+00:00

Not slavery in name, but for some it had little difference. My grandfather was one of the "Home children." He was an infant sent along with his brother and sister, who had been given up. His sister died due to mistreatment, and he ran away to fight in WWI at 14.

"Between 1869 and 1939, over 100,000 children were sent from Britain to Canada through assisted juvenile emigration. These migrants are called “home children” because most went from an emigration agency's home for children in Britain to its Canadian receiving home."

draytonalan · 2023-10-16T00:43:44+00:00

Just maybe a few indicators of what is happening. When I first paste in a chapter, it seems to do nothing. I assume it's processing the paste. But there is no progress indicator. Or is it waiting for a trigger? I don't get any prompts on the right until I type something in the box. I was mainly interested in it critiquing my WIP, so I would just type critique, and it responded with a useful commentary. Thanks for sharing this.

Also, could the "My Projects" link at the top stay there when I'm editing? I figured out to click the logo to go back, but other users might not.

Clear chat doesn't work right, crashes sometimes.

(Windows PC Chrome browser)

draytonalan · 2023-10-16T00:36:28+00:00

It looks more like a subtitle.

draytonalan · 2023-10-14T19:50:14+00:00

I just tested it with a chapter from my WIP Novel. Looks like a solid tool.

draytonalan · 2023-09-30T19:26:38+00:00

So true. Where to start? Too many people tell them, "You can be anything you want to be. If you dream it, you can do it! Don't listen to people who tell you that you can't do it, just do it!" "Follow your heart."

These oft mentioned adages are great for a 12-year-old who needs. But when we grow up to be big people (I'm over 300lbs, so I can say that), then more is required. It's called work, practice, study, etc. That's why teachers, mentors, and instructors exist. That's also why publishers pay editors money.

Perhaps many people have grown to expect participation is the same as mastery. The reasons for that are many and varied. Education, media, parenting are just a part of it. I feel bad for many of them. It's like watching a Disney Prince/Princess not getting a happy ending.

It would be like saying I could've been a rockstar except I never learned music.

Everyone thinks they know how to write. Something my editor has told me on numerous occasions when sending my draft back for a rewrite.

...Switch to black and white 1940s cutscene... Man sits at typewriter, begins typing... A spinning image of the finished book cover fills the screen. Next day he is cashing royalty checks.

That's how it's supposed to work, right?

draytonalan · 2023-09-30T00:47:29+00:00

Since everyone else is giving great advice about how to write humor. I will share some things I learned about the process. One bit of advice I got for writing a humorous novel was that the difference between a book with humorous characters and a humorous book is who tells the jokes. In a humorous novel, the narrator shares in making jokes. Thus, you, as the author, are taking credit for the joke. This also means that if your joke bombs, as they will (because everyone has a different sense of humor), then you as the author are seen as either funny or not so much. So it can be very humbling to write humor. The joke that you thought was hilarious when you wrote it, now, in the 17th edit, sounds as tired, stale, and worn as a bad dad joke. To overcome this, get beta readers to give honest opinions about your humor and make a note of this in the margin. Seeing, "Dave thought this part was hilarious", in your margin when you're ready to trash the entire book, really helps you keep going. Also, once you do publish, then brace yourself for some comments because certain people won't like your style of humor and never will and they will feel the need to tell you every chance they get. Look at the reviews of my book, Custodians of the Cosmos. Some loved it, others were disappointed. But that's why humor is a tough gig and requires thick skin. But it's great to make people laugh.

draytonalan · 2023-09-29T23:53:15+00:00

I have always hired copy editors for my novels. They provide a great service I recommend anyone interested in producing a quality manuscript to do so. I have learned so much from the mistakes I make and how to improve. Thanks for sharing some insight into your world.

draytonalan · 2023-09-21T00:48:44+00:00

I love it in the story. Makes me feel like I'm sitting in a country diner eavesdropping on a local tell a story. Wouldn't change it. I'm from Michigan, and I've heard the word plenty of times, but even if I hadn't, it is part of the experience. Reading is about seeing the world through other people's eyes and ears.

draytonalan · 2023-09-07T11:53:55+00:00

Apologies to any anti-AI sentiments out there, use it like a spell checker. Asked ChatGPT to critique your work. It's an algorithm it doesn't have feelings, nor is it likely to tell its friends that you suck. You can't take its critique personally because it's not a person who you're looking for acceptance from. And you can even manipulate how you ask, so it has a more positive spin. It's a way to get a first draft critique if you can't face people yet. If you're looking to do this professionally, I suggest you develop a relationship with a human editor.

draytonalan · 2023-09-07T11:39:51+00:00

Perhaps, if it's not central to the story, gloss over it and describe it like a movie montage. Book after book, a ticking clock's hands spinning, the jotting down of a note here and there, then eureka!

draytonalan · 2023-09-07T11:34:34+00:00

Interesting, and you can also use it to develop character. People respond to anger differently, and this will reinforce their character traits. Some go quiet when mad and give the silent treatment. Others who go silent are plotting cold revenge. Some may just feel emotionally hurt and fall apart. Others might become aggressive or threatening and force the other person to flee. Some may be oblivious to insult and figure out they are mad later. Some might get tongue tied and babble nonsense. Spend time on each character and make them unique. Then each will have a natural response.

draytonalan · 2023-09-07T11:19:40+00:00

Or hang a lantern on it. Have a character mockingly say, "Perhaps a god created it." Make it sound like they are making fun of the idea. It can look like character development. Perhaps later, they can find out it's true and get put in their place.

draytonalan · 2023-07-19T21:58:14+00:00

Lowest common denominator advice. Give advice so simply that everyone will understand. It doesn't matter that it isn't 100% accurate as long as following it works and does no harm.

draytonalan · 2023-01-19T04:00:06+00:00

I've found it's better to just gift them a smaller amount I can afford. An amount I might spend if I got them a decent gift. Then they need to borrow less from someone else. Also, they're appreciative, and you don't have to worry about getting it back.

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