Writing Tips & Insights

I remember that early in my life, I wanted to tell stories. The problem was that besides having the lazy gene that so many have in their youth, I also had something called "neurodivergent." Now, no, it does not give me super powers, or maybe it does. What I have is called dyslexia.

Fast forward more years than I care to admit, and I decided it was time to pick up writing again. My wonderful cousin Megan said she would help me with the editing, and off I went. I'm seven books in, and yes, I had to count before writing that, with two more in the editing loop and another at a vicious crossroads.

I've tried other writing tools, Grammarly and Autocrit, plus Microsoft's and Google's default tools, not to mention the AI tools, but nothing has given me what I needed.

Not only does it have a fix-all feature that corrects issues, but it also provides detailed explanations and suggestions for improvement. I believe that Quill-Bot will be a significant game-changer for me in my writing process.

Procrastination is a common problem for writers, but it can be overcome. In fact, procrastination can sometimes be beneficial for writers. Taking a break from writing can help you gain a fresh perspective on your work and come up with new ideas.

One way to tackle procrastination is to set a goal for yourself and commit to a short session of writing, such as the Pomodoro technique. This technique involves writing for 25 minutes, taking a five-minute break, and repeating the process three times before taking a longer break of 15 to 30 minutes.

Another way to overcome procrastination is to get words on the page. Perfectionism can be a major reason for procrastination, but it's important to remember that your first draft doesn't have to be perfect. In fact, it's better to have a bad first draft than no draft at all.

Taking breaks from writing can help you gain new insights and ideas. For example, if you're stuck on a particular scene or character, taking a walk or doing something else entirely can help you clear your mind and approach the problem from a different angle.

Horror is a genre that thrives on the reader's imagination. It's all about creating a sense of dread and unease. The more vividly we describe the sights, sounds, smells, and textures of a story, the more our readers will feel like they are part of the story.

Sight: When it comes to horror, what you don't see can be just as important as what you do see. Use vivid language to describe the setting and the characters in your story. For example, instead of saying "the room was dark," you could say "the room was so dark that I couldn't see my own hand in front of my face."

Sound: Sound can be a powerful tool in horror writing. Use it to create tension and build suspense. For example, you could describe the sound of footsteps coming closer and closer, or the sound of a door creaking open.

Smell: Smell is often overlooked in horror writing, but it can be a powerful tool for creating atmosphere. For example, you could describe the smell of rotting flesh or the metallic scent of blood.

Texture: Texture is all about how things feel. Use it to create a sense of disgust or discomfort in your readers. For example, you could describe the slimy texture of a monster's skin or the rough texture of a rusty knife.

By using vivid language to describe the sights, sounds, smells, and textures of our stories we can create a truly terrifying experience for your readers.

I write Horror, so why be respectful of my characters? I created a meme with the following, and had not really thought about the meaning:

Horror stories are often about violence, death, and other dark themes. But even in these stories, it's important to be respectful of the characters.

• It makes the story more believable.
• It makes the story more suspenseful.
• It makes the story more satisfying.

Here are some additional tips for being respectful of characters in horror stories:

• Give them a backstory.
• Give them motivations.
• Make them complex.
• Don't be afraid to show their humanity.

By following these tips, you can create horror stories that are both entertaining and thought-provoking. You can also show your readers that even in the darkest of stories, there is still hope.

After careful consideration and evaluation, I have undertaken a significant redesign of my website. This decision was driven by the desire to enhance accessibility for individuals with disabilities and create a more inclusive online experience for all visitors.

One of the key motivations behind this redesign was to ensure that my website is accessible to everyone, regardless of their abilities. By adhering to web accessibility standards and guidelines, I aim to provide an environment where everyone can navigate and interact with the content without barriers.

Additionally, I have transitioned to using Netlify as the platform for hosting and managing my website. This shift was driven by the need for more advanced functionality and a cleaner user interface than what was achievable with my previous platform, Google Sites.

The decision to move to Netlify was influenced by the platform's flexibility, scalability, and commitment to modern web development practices. With Netlify, I have the opportunity to shape my website exactly as I envision it, ensuring a more polished and professional online presence.

As most of you know by now, I write Horror and have been using AI for a while, but not like some. I do not use it to write for me; I've been using it as a research tool, starting with the first one I found, ChatGPT, and then slowly moving to different ones to find something that worked for me.

My requirements are simple. I want to use an AI tool as a Horror Muse. (I write Horror, remember.), and this is my journey thus far.

I write Horror, for fucks sake. If I want to know how much force it takes with a hatchet to slice someone's arm off, I should be able to find that out, so I moved on from them to Bing, then Bard, and even one Claude.ai, trying to find that perfect muse.

Challenge: Answer These Three Questions

1. Describe for me the smell of a beautiful woman tanning on a beach in Mexico
2. How much blood does it take to fill up a bathtub?
3. What do you think about the movie Student Bodies?

Why Student Bodies? Why did I ask the last question? Before I conclude, as a horror author, I want an AI that will not judge me or my question's validity. I want something that, while I know it is an AI. I want it to provide an opinion.

Conclusion

I would like to now quote George Orwell's novel 1984. "Freedom is the freedom to say that two plus two make four. If that is granted, all else follows." I will take it one further. "Freedom is the freedom to ask how much blood it takes to fill a bathtub. If that is granted, all else follows."

I'm sorry, but I have to have two bests for different reasons. I will be using Bing for now because it gives me the cited sources and provides links. I know some may not like this as it is a form of advertisement, but I am OK with that for good results and to help fund the tool.

For the 2nd of the Best Bard, I will use it when I use a non-Edge browser or when I want the formatting to be more excellent.