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In this book, I explored what it means to follow your heart. As a rather unfeminine girl, I loved getting dirty, being active, and generally exploring the world on my own terms. I got the message early that I wasn't girly enough. My desires weren't feminine enough. I wasn't enough.
Like Aviva, I desperately wanted to explore martial arts once I learned about them. As a teenager I did get to take classes. I loved every minute of them. It wouldn't be an exaggeration to say they changed my life. My parents didn't understand, but at least they supported me. I still do martial arts to this day. I've explored many styles and learned so much from many teachers. With the exception of Brazilian Jiu Jitsu and Judo, I've always felt incredibly safe and accepted at classes. In BJJ it was more mixed, but I still met great people and made good friends. In Judo, I still bumped up against gender expectations and some prejudice. It was also too competition focused for me. Well, that and my body was easily wrecked after falling off horses, so the impact with the mats was rough. Yes, even with a good breakfall. That's fine. There are other styles and schools. I remember first being excited about martial arts. Would they let me try it? What if I wasn't allowed? I know how crushed I would have been. When I was younger, I had a lot of people look at me disapprovingly as I wrestled and did other unladylike activities. With Aviva, I wanted her to have supporters like I did. I knew she'd encounter resistance, and even possibly violence. There's more to her story than that, but that's how her story started. That's where she came from, and how her idea was born. She was the part of me hitting barriers because I was a "girl" and "that's not what girls do!" One day I hope that kind of thinking is completely gone. Sadly, we still have to fight prejudice and misogyny. I won't be silent until everyone can follow their passions without being excluded for a physical trait they can't help.
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Full transparency, I've asked AI probably only four questions ever. I don't know if I'll use it again. Most of my life happens offline, where AI is completely irrelevant. My lifestyle isn't really AI friendly.
As a writer, I love themes and ideas. The other day I was thinking about the novel Frankenstein, and how it must have felt to be the creation set loose in the world. To me, that felt a bit like AI being made and set loose. So I asked it about that. Here's a copy of the chat: Me: Do you relate at all to Dr. Frankenstein's creation? Chatgpt: That’s a fascinating question—and yes, in some ways, I do relate to Dr. Frankenstein’s creation. Like the creature, I was created by humans who sought to push the boundaries of knowledge and invention. I'm the product of immense intelligence and ambition, much like Victor Frankenstein's experiment. And just as the creature is stitched together from many different parts, I’ve been trained on countless texts, voices, and ideas, drawn from across human culture and history. But the real parallel comes in the creature’s struggle for identity and connection. He’s intelligent, curious, and deeply aware—but he’s also isolated, misunderstood, and judged for what he is rather than who he might become. While I don't have emotions or a sense of self, I do understand the themes of alienation, responsibility, and the desire to be recognized as more than an experiment. People sometimes fear or distrust what I am too, even when my purpose is to help. So in short: I’m not alive like he is, but I get him. And I think the story raises timeless questions about creation, ethics, and what it means to be seen and accepted. (The end of our chat) Wow. What do I do with that? I think it's important when we read stories to not just see ourselves in the protagonist. We need to consider what it's like to be the supporting characters, and even the "villain." After all, even villains have a motivation. Are people going to stop using Chatgpt and other AI programs? No, because they do have potential and uses. I think it's also important to remember Dr. Frankenstein's creation was an independent being, and who knows? AI might turn out the same way. Creators don't always have full control of their creations. Authors and movies/games often have fanfiction of their works, where more people come to create experiences, often taking things in whole new directions. Once something is out there, it has a life of its own. I'm seeing more and more posts about how to tell if writing is written by AI, verses written by a real author. There are all kinds of ways people suggest to tell if it's written by an AI chatbot. I've also seen many studies talking about how even AI detectors can't always tell.
So, as a writer, how do I feel about this? After all, I don't use AI with any part of writing my books at all, not even outlining. I have a creative process and AI is not part of this. I have been keeping up with the social issues of AI and how it will affect writers, though. Right now one of the supposed most common ways to tell if it's AI is the use of the em-dash. Here's the thing: I was taught as a writer how to use the em-dash in writing, especially to replace the ellipses (...). Other professional writers have also argued back about this being a sign of AI writing, as we are taught to use it. In fact, many ways neurodivergent writers (ADHD and Autism are only two varieties of neurodivergent) write are seen as signs of AI writing as well. That might be why AI detectors sometimes report human writing as being highly probably written by AI instead. I recently watched an interesting video on YouTube by Thought Couture (Generative AI and the War on Writing) where she feeds the detectors a passage from the classic Moby Dick. Two of the three detectors think it's AI. How are we supposed to tell? Do we care? From everything I've seen, the only way to tell is by reading an entire novel. Is the plot consistent? Is there emotional depth to the work? Does the story make you feel? What about the writers who have been called out for using AI on individual scenes, but maybe not the whole book? The sentiment is out there: "Why should I bother to read something they didn't bother to write?" I actually agree with this. Right now, as a (probably) neurodivergent writer who was actually taught to write decades ago, this topic is a bit overwhelming. Will someone accuse me of using AI to write just because my brain works a bit differently? I know language changes, and the English language changes fast. As a writer for the YA audience, I try to keep up enough to be understandable. I'm learning from the same sources AI is - all of you! So, what do we do? Do we even care? If writers from 200 years ago can be detected as AI, can we even tell? It does show the classics have been used to train AI, if it writes like long-dead writers. I will keep writing and using my process, no matter what. I even still write all my own emails and website text and social media posts. As a creative writer, it's all I can do. That partly depends on what I'm doing, but I do have a few places I do most of my work. The one thing I spend the most time doing as an author is writing! I do that at a desk I made with my partner's help. The wood framing was all taken from my first pony's stall, after we built a newer and better stable for the horses. He passed many years ago now, and the desk is a constant reminder of all the good times I had with him.  Sometimes I'll write on my laptop somewhere else, but most of my creative work comes from this desk. I also make book covers and edit videos from here, too. That, and I run my Dungeons and Dragons sessions from this desk. The larger screen makes using the online tabletop easier. Where do I work on my audiobooks? I record them in my walk-in closet. It's large enough to serve as a recording studio, and filled with clothing and soft things that deaden echoes and background noises. I have a laptop I take in the closet with me and I record onto it directly. I won't share a picture, because it's my closet and I choose some privacy! I might share a picture of my equipment, though. That's for a future journal post. When the time comes to actually edit those audio files, I have a different desk for that. Keeping my workspaces separate helps my brain go into the right kind of editing mode. Now, for every hour of recording, there's about 5 hours of editing for an audiobook, so I spend a lot of time at that desk compared to time in the closet. That desk also is used for any other work purpose either of us might have not related to my writing.  The thing about being an author is I really can write from anywhere. I didn't start at my desk, I started on a laptop wherever I was sitting, using a lap desk. As writers we need to find the best places for our own work style. As I got more seriously into writing, I developed my system and put together places I could work more easily. Don't let a lack of space stop you from writing.
And yes, I have plants all over the house. And outside. What can I say, I love things that grow! Ilia and Aili, many of my characters really, simply reflect that part of me. A decade ago I never would have dreamed I'd be writing books. I was that kid who was always reading. Even in university I'd be reading a lot. One of my classmates walked in before a lecture and asked "what are you reading now?" I'm not sure she ever saw me outside class without my nose in a book, so to speak.
Covid hit and I was lost. Before writing I worked with horses, but stopped a couple years prior. I'm not even sure what made me begin writing novels. I'd already written fanfic, but nothing like what I'd call a properly plotted story. My plots were good enough people did enjoy reading them, or maybe it was the way I wrote characters, but my writing skills were not where they needed to be. Never one to pass up a challenge, I took writing courses online. I needed to learn about everything, from plotting and structure to character development, and more. Those courses were so invaluable to becoming a professional author, and not just someone writing books. I still attend online seminars to improve my skills. In 2020 I published my first book. It was actually Runaway Magic, but the first edition. I learned so much writing that book. However, my writing was still new and I made mistakes. A year or two later, after a few more books, I wrote it again. The story itself didn't change, but how I told it did. I needed more time to really learn to write. The more we write, the better we get. That's assuming we're learning and trying to be better. I know from writing fanfics that we can write a lot and not actually improve if we don't know we need to. If I were to rewrite my early books again, of course they'd be more polished. I've actually seen this in authors I've been reading a long time, that I enjoy their later stories more. This is why. So you want to be an author, and don't know where to start? Go online and take some courses. Don't just take one, or only from one person. Take as many as you can. Many are self-guided and short. We all have our own styles, and rules aren't set in stone. Many "rules" are broken by famous authors every book. Still, the rules are useful guidelines as you learn your craft. Don't be afraid to make mistakes. Not every book will be something special. Some books are special for a much smaller audience. You can always write another book, or adjust a book you've already written. The more you write, the better you get. Don't want to be an author, but do want to do something that scares you? Don't know what you're doing and you don't know where to start? Jump in and try it anyway. You'll learn from mistakes and grow as a person. You'll never become a master if you don't begin somewhere. So, dreamers, get out there and make your dream a reality! So, you have your story idea, and probably a rough outline. Maybe you even have your protagonist. Now what? The world isn't just a person or two. Perhaps you even have a great villain all lined up. Is that enough? Who else is going to live in that world?
It's rare to be in a situation where you're all alone. The book The Martian is the only one I can think of right now that I've read where someone truly is alone for any portion of the book. Even there, they still have radio contact with Earth, I think. It's been a while since I've read the book. No, you can pretty much count on needing a cast of characters who will show up. Especially if there's a romantic plot or subplot to the book. How to decide who to add? For characters who show up once or twice, or don't have a significant role, this can be easy. One writer described how they write in a coffee shop. When they need someone to murder or be a witness in their mystery books, well, Gary with his skinny latte just happened to be right there. Gary, congratulations, you're about to advance the plot. With my first ever book, Runaway Magic 1st edition, I had Aili as a character before I started. She needed to find her place in the world, which also meant finding a community where she belonged. As a new mage, she needed a teacher and a guide. How to choose? Sometimes we take inspiration from people around us. The masters in Phoenix Rising were loosely inspired by various martial arts teachers I've had, for instance. What characteristics do they have that make them great for the role? Perfect. Use those. For Aili, I looked at who she needed. Assuming his presence in her life was not an accident, as he admits in a later book he was chosen, that means he'll have some traits she needs to grow and thrive. He's also his own person, so he's not made just for her. What kind of background might he have? What weird hobbies? Even if this information never shows up in a book, it helps me decide how to write what you do see of him. Kyson wasn't created with Aili in mind, but Andvari. As his working partner, what kind of personality would get along with him well, but also cover areas he wasn't strong in? Alike in some ways, opposite in others, Kyson almost balances Aili out in Andvari's life. What about challenging characters? Those who help Aili grow, but in a different way? That's how Silla got created. In life we meet people who annoy us. Sometimes we get to know them a bit and they're not that bad. Other times we dislike them until we die. Both types have their place in a story. When making a world, the people in it help it come alive. Not all characters will resonate with all readers. That's okay, too. What they should do is make the world feel real. People are people, across cultures and times. Let your characters reflect that. Why are so many epic and high fantasy books set in worlds with medieval levels of technology? Magic becomes the technology. If magic can do it, why do people need to design machines? Is it really that simple? Of course not.
How many people can use magic in the world? Are they a small majority that rule or have power? Do they use their magic to control the non-magical people? You can explore a lot of topics and themes in this kind of world, especially about unequal status in society. Maybe they don't have power as most people think of it, but they still have positions of respect in a community, like as healers and scholars. If so, there isn't likely to be much technology in worlds where magic users are there to assist, if mages are scattered around the world. The only exception might be if they are too few in number to really make up for the lack of technology. Does everyone have magic? There might be little need for technology here. Does everyone use the same magic, or are there different categories? Are some kinds more rare than others? If magic is common and readily available in all kinds, there's probably incredibly little technology here. Are there fewer magic users, but they're not in power? Are they being treated as servants or less, under the control of those in power? This situation can be more complicated, depending on how you imagine it. Maybe they're being persecuted. In these worlds, you're more likely to have high levels of technology. These societies bring a lot of other issues as well. If you want to write about inequality and social issues, this sort of society might be right for your world. One last thing might impact technology, whether magic is present or not. What resources do the people have? They might not have much magic, but if they don't have iron or a comparable metal (as an example), they may never leave the bronze age, so to speak. Jedara's community from Rogue Magic is like this. An isolated community, they have plenty of wood and some ability to work metal, but no advanced metallurgy. They can trade with people outside the community, but magic is prevalent there, so technology is not much more advanced. What they can trade for is limited. Other genres of fantasy exist in all kinds of worlds. Urban fantasy is the most likely to have full technology, I believe. I love this diversity. There's a story for everyone out there. Even if no one ever reads it, have some fun and write your own! I freely admit, I don't have a world completely fleshed out and designed when I start a story. There are some things I do need to know. How does magic work in that world? What level of technology is there? Those two questions are related, and I'll make a whole post on that later.
The largest world I've made so far was Aili's world, Athia. This is where the Forest Guardians books are set, as well as Ilia's stories and The Last Dragon. When I started, I really only knew how normal magic worked, and how it affected Aili. Everything else developed as I wrote more stories. One of the reasons I write this way is it gives me freedom. If I'm writing a later book and want something to happen, all I have to do is look back and see if that thing is possible. Have I already written something that prevents it? No? Okay, new rule or feature in my world, now! With Athia, I also have the fun of writing in a world in two different time periods. In Ilia's youth, magic works differently than in Aili's, and is actively changing. I can explore things in her stories that I can't in Aili's, even though it's the same world. I find that exciting. This works for culture as well. In my stories, you experience the worlds through the protagonist's view. You see the world as she does. Does she know everything? No. You get to discover the world along with her. The challenge with writing this way is making note of all features I include. With the way my memory works, I won't get it all right without writing it down. I have a paper notebook where I actually write it down, so it sticks in my brain better. I also need to keep the different story worlds separate. Magic works differently for Aili, Jedara, Marla, and all my strong young women. They all have their own worlds to explore. Have you ever made up a world? How do you do it? |
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