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Month: November 2024

Self-Review – A Chance Encounter in Time

Review – A Chance Encounter in Time

One of the more notable things about A Chance Encounter in Time is that it represents the first appearance of character Sharon Ensley. I grew to really like Sharon, and would love to create a series for her.

I wrote this short story during second quarter 2021. This was a year when I was writing every single day until November, when I switched over to NaNoWriMo.

Background

While I was not exactly looking for another way to use the Obolonk universe, it almost chose me. So, in a way, this story is a way to find other uses for that universe. After all, it’s far too well-developed to just forget about it.

I also was not necessarily looking to write a story about the West Islip Public Library, but here we are anyway. With my mother’s death in 2023, any writing about WIPL is kind of special. It was her last employer.

Plot

Time traveler Sharon Ensley seems to be stuck in August of 2001 when her temporal disc cracks. But when she meets Tim Parker and he offers to try to solder her disc back together, the two start to work together.

But then Sharon uncovers a major change to the timeline which is clear proof that someone has tampered with the events of 9/11.

Characters

The major human characters are Sharon Ensley and Tim Parker. There are some more minor human characters who are Sharon’s colleagues. The only one with any real screen time is Marlon.

Obolonk characters are They Say This One is Very Efficient (her assistant) and They Say This One Holds Time Close. The latter runs the time travel organization.

Sharon mentions a temporal sensitive like Josie James, but never identifies that person.

Memorable Quotes {Sharon Explains Hawhoa to Tim}

“The disc creates the field after I give it a command. And then away we go. But no matter what, I should tell you about Hawhoa.”

“Ha-what?”

Sharon smiled for a second. “We don’t use pure water anymore, not really. We use Hawhoa. “

“Use?”

“Yeah—to drink, bathe, flush, water the plants, you name it.”

“But don’t we need water to survive?”

“We sure do. But see, there’s a ton of space in atoms. And…”

“Excuse me? Aren’t atoms really tiny?”

“Yep. But there’s empty space in them. Hawhoa takes the two hydrogen atoms and the one oxygen atom in regular water, and it crushes everything together slightly.”

“How slightly are we talking about?”

“Smaller than bacterial flagella. To use the technical term, teeny weeny. “

“Technical, heh. Why is that done in the first place? “

“The very slight increase in density makes it possible to use fewer water molecules to accomplish whatever you want to do, like wash your socks.”

“Wait, so this is a form of recycling?”

“More like cutting waste, but yeah. It makes it possible for more people to live in one space or another.”

“So, the future is crowded?”

“Yep. And Hawhoa is a bit more viscous than regular water. Don’t want you to try to take a shower and think it’s just clear jelly coming out of the showerhead.”

Rating

The story has a K rating.

Takeaways

I really love some of the inventions that I came up with to move this story along, including multiphasic glyphs, Hawhoa (pronounced hey-whoa), and the Sapient Timeline Theory. Oh, and Carter Bando’s Rules of Time Travel. There are also a transportation disc (I also call it a temporal disk), a utility disk, and an information disc.

The transportation disc is fitted with a semi-living organism that helps to direct time travel. In a way, it ends up giving more depth to the time travel technology which I showcase in Time Addicts. Since Sharon is from a lot later than Josie (I may change that), it makes sense that the tech would change.

I like Sharon a lot and this is a great story to use as a springboard to maybe an entire series about her. We’ll see.

But the Obolonk universe is a mighty big tent. It would be a shame to waste it.


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Self-Review – A Fairy Tale for Skeptical Adults

Review – A Fairy Tale for Skeptical Adults

In the quest to write the ultimate ‘fish out of water’ story, I wrote A Fairy Tale for Skeptical Adults.

I wrote this story during second quarter 2024.

Background

I love the idea of someone just kind of being tossed into an odd situation not of their own making. Because that is precisely what happens to both Flora and Thomas.

Plot of A Fairy Tale for Skeptical Adults

When Flora Levy receives her inheritance, it’s just a stack of books. But one of them is Fairy Tales for the Skeptical Adult.

And when she starts to read the book out loud, a sudden crash alerts her to the fact that this has somehow summoned a character from the book.

Can a modern woman and a character from a book fix problems in two very separate worlds?

Characters

The human characters include Flora Levy, Florence Levy (her great-grandmother), Prince Thomas, King Richard, Queen Catherine, and Constance Selene. Animal characters include Auburn, Robert, Brownie, Quicksilver, and Swift.

Much like a lot of other fantasy tales, the animals talk. And to make them a bit like I suppose the Disney version of Cinderella, the animals even help out. Therefore, you see Auburn (a red fox) arranging Flora’s hair for a banquet. Robert the mouse is a scribe and does calligraphy.

In fact, the animals are considerably more trustworthy than a lot of the humans turn out to be. #spoileralert

Memorable Quotes

Flora cautiously crept toward the source of the crash. It was the next room—the Victorian house had a lot of small rooms—a place where she grew plants, both flowers and some vegetables.

She turned the corner in the small hallway and came face to face with the source of the crash. It was a man of perhaps forty, wearing breeches, stockings, brogans, and a brocaded cloak over a cambric shirt.

The two of them stared at each other for a few moments, open-mouthed. The intruder was… different.

You make no sense. Finally, she found her voice and, absurdly, brandished the thermos. “Who the hell are you and what are you doing in my house?”

“I, I,” he began, in an upper class British accent, “I’m the man of your dreams.”

Say what? “Buddy, you have no idea what is in my dreams.”

“I, I still am. It is I, your, your dream.”

“I’m not interested in some reject from a Renfest. And how the hell did you get into my house in the first place?”

Rating

The story has a K rating.

Takeaways for A Fairy Tale for Skeptical Adults

I am not so thrilled with how I ended this one. It just kind of runs out of gas. But apart from that, I believe it works pretty well. Flora starts out a little like Sandra Bullock at the start of The Net. That is, she’s essentially alone.

I do like that this is one of the things that changes about her. But it’s not necessarily what a reader would expect.


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Self-Review – A Show for the Galaxy

Review – A Show for the Galaxy

A Show for the Galaxy takes place now or in the near future. When aliens challenge us, we expect a fight with soldiers, bombs, and guns.

But that’s not what the aliens have in mind at all.

I wrote this story during second quarter 2021. This was a year when I was writing every day, even when it wasn’t November.

Background

The Earth has two choices. Either participate in an interstellar arts competition, or lose an opportunity to join a huge intergalactic alliance. While it would not necessarily mean the end of the world, self-destruction would be inevitable without interstellar friendship.

Essentially, the fate of the world is going to be decided just like American Idol.

Plot

When the story opens, Charlotte (the narrator) describes the stakes and the production. A number of actors and behind the scenes people are chosen to represent the Earth in stagecraft.

There are other arts to represent the Earth, like sculpture and weaving. But the story is only concerned with treading the boards.

When the troupe is cut off from the grid, the cast falls into despair. They have no scripts! But then Charlotte pulls out her secret weapon—a small volume of Shakespeare’s Julius Caesar, which she always carries around for luck.

Charlotte has gravitas. She was already a retiree when the alien challengers chose her. And so, she ends up in a director-type role. But it’s also because she has the script.

Characters

The characters start with narrator Charlotte, who is playing Portia. The man playing Brutus is Chase Marquis, who was born Chuck McKay. Charlotte refers to him as ‘an afternoon snack of a man’. He’s young enough to be her son.

And, of course, there are the other people in the production and those who work behind the scenes. Plus, there are people who represent other arts on our planet. But Charlotte never names them.

There’s also President Menosky, although we only see him at the very end.

Memorable Quotes

All the others are far younger than I am. And—horrors!—we were cut off from the grid.

With no way to access scripts, my fellow thespians started to panic. That is, until I pulled out my secret weapon.

See, it was a gift from when I first started out. My acting teacher gave it to me. Now I realize she was probably hitting on me. But no mind. I kept it because I’ve always loved this play. And now, it’s the only game in town.

I’ve got a paper book. It’s Shakespeare’s Julius Caesar. And thank God we can create an entire production around this little, humble book.

I was in several productions, and I’ve always played Portia, so of course I am playing her again. My Brutus is an afternoon snack of a man—Chase Marquis. Or, as he was born, Chuck McKay.

I’ve taken on a kind of director role; and thank God they all listen to me. We’ll put on the best and greatest production of Julius Caesar in the history of whatever.

Or we’ll die trying.

Rating

The story has a K rating.

Takeaways for A Show for the Galaxy

I originally start to write Charlotte as almost a cougar. But then I decided she would drop anything frivolous and just concentrate on helping the troupe save the planet.

This story isn’t even 1500 words long, yet I feel it accomplishes its objective handily. I really should query this one!


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Self-Review – Mandy Goes to Aspen

A Look at Mandy Goes to Aspen

I like Mandy Goes to Aspen because the character is so matter of fact about everything. Even the fact that she’s been hurt pretty badly. But then again, it’s nothing compared to what happened to other people.

This story was written during first quarter 2021. The initial prompt was a single word: avalanche.

It is the first of the short stories I wrote that year. My intention was to write every single day, and I followed through pretty well.

Background

These prompts were more or less random, and I had no plot or plan for this story. But I think it turned out pretty well. Still, the truth is, it did not start to truly come together until I changed Avalanche to A. Valanche.

And one of my favorite parts of this little story is the opening line:

Well, that sucked.

Plot

Somewhat ditzy and average-level talented Mandy Johnson goes to Aspen in order to schmooze with agents, acting coaches, directors, and other actors.

But things take a turn when Mandy is trapped in snow after an avalanche during skiing buries her.

With sardonic humor and a lot of very necessary ingenuity, this aspiring ingenue survives the big one.

Characters

The characters are Mandy (er, Amanda Catherine Johnson, to get technical) and Carol. I never give Carol a last name. There’s also Mandy’s agent, Arlene. But Mandy only mentions Arlene and we never see or hear her ‘on screen’, as it were.

There are also people in the lodge but again, Mandy only refers to them but the reader never sees them. Most of the story is more like a soliloquy.

Memorable Quotes

You know, those huge, slobbery dogs that I am totally afraid of? Those great big lumbering beasts. I hope they have tequila. Or is it brandy? Scotch? Can you tell them your preference?

I’d like a not too slobbery Saint Bernard. And put margaritas in that little keg thing they wear around their necks.

If I absolutely must sacrifice, then I suppose I will live without salt. So uncivilized.

Who am I kidding? I would kiss the first rescue dog I saw.

But not French; it’s not in my contract.

Rating for Mandy Goes to Aspen

The story has a K+ rating. After all, falling down the side of a mountain would make anyone swear.

Takeaways for Mandy Goes to Aspen

I like Mandy. She’s not only a survivor. She’s also self-aware enough to realize that she’s not going to win any prizes. Mandy would be lucky to get a part as Go-Go Dancer #3 in some screamfest. Most importantly, she can figure out how to solve a lot of her own problems.

I have no plans for a sequel or anything else. But I should probably clean this story up and submit it somewhere.


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Putting the Brakes on the AI Hype Train

It seems as if the only thing you ever hear about these days is artificial intelligence. And a lot of people and companies are riding the great AI Hype Train.

But is it overblown? What is it really about, anyway?

Buying Your Ticket to the AI Hype Train

Evidently, the term artificial intelligence predates even my birth. But why is it now so, so very hot?

In part, we can all point fingers at ChatGPT. In 2022, they developed newish technology and it took off, fast! Kind of like an express train, if you will.

By early 2023, kids were already using it to write papers.

As a result, parents and educators started to get nervous. Really, really nervous. But can you blame them?

How Did the AI Hype Train Pull Into the Station?

But let’s back up a bit. AI didn’t just spring out fully formed, like Athena vis a vis Zeus. In some ways, it can pay to have had an eclectic career. Because I can honestly explain a couple of its origination points.

Databases

I’m sure most adults have heard of databases. But how many know, exactly, what one is? Well, in a way, it’s a kind of interactive list. It’s a means of organizing (basing) information (data).

Okay, so that was clear as mud.

To best explain databases, I like to turn to a personal favorite explanation.

The Database is Coming From Inside Your House

Wait, what?

We all have a database. You, me, your weird neighbor who lives down the street, and the King of England all have at least one database. And I am more than willing to bet that it’s the same type of database.

I repeat: what?

It’s definitely on your phone, and it may also still be on paper.

I am talking about your address list.

Why is an Address List a Database?

Your address list contains a ton of nuggets of information. Here, I’ll explain.

Say, you have an Uncle Dave Smith, who lives in Idaho, but used to live in Pennsylvania. And he’s married to your Aunt Susie Smith, but she was married before, to a man named William Jones. During her first marriage, Susie was known as Susie Jones.

Susie and William had a child together, Lou Jones. But Susie and Dave had a child together, Carol. Lou is away at college, in Colorado. Carol is engaged to be married to Fred Roe.

Are you with me so far?

If you wanted to list everyone who currently lives in Idaho, you’d get Dave, Susie, Carol, and maybe Lou (after all, college is generally not your permanent mailing address) and possibly also Fred.

Who fits in a set of people who have ever been named Jones? That would be William and Lou. But it’s also Susie.

Now Multiply That Times a Hundred

Let’s say you’re Carol and Fred’s wedding planner. You need to send out the invitations. And let’s say you’re sending so many invitations that it pays to batch mail everything. Using the database, you come up with four people in Idaho.

With a large family and an invitation list as long as your arm, you end up with a lot of data to comb through. A database automatically helps you pull out whatever you want (assuming the data is in there).

The Wonderful World of Granularity

Databases have fields. A field is a specific bit of information. Above, we have first names and we have state addresses. But we also have some relationship info. And while we don’t have ages or dates of birth, we can infer that Susie, Dave, and William are all older than Lou and Carol (but not necessarily Fred). We can also infer that William is older than Carol.

Now add the usual trappings of an address book, such as full name, address, phone number with area code, and ZIP code. With this information, you have even more inferences you can draw.

For example, if two people don’t share a full address, but they share a ZIP code, you know that means they live close to each other. If the wedding is somewhere they could drive to, but it’s a far drive, you could add a note suggesting to those people that they travel together.

What Does This Have to do With the AI Hype Train?

The generative and predictive AI you’ve been hearing about is really just a fancy way of saying it’s a database.

Say what?

There’s a ton of information, and all your computer does is look it up. Just like you look up Aunt Susie’s address in a book or on your phone.

Except a computer does this millions of times faster.

Now it’s time to look at the other piece.

Language Models

A language model is a list of words. But unlike a database, it contains a bit more info. It’s essentially in terms of probabilities. This isn’t really like the chance of someone saying the word infant vs the word baby.

Rather, it’s the chance of someone saying the word the or the word pickle. Because while we don’t see those words as even close to being interchangeable, a computer doesn’t. That is, unless it is taught. But otherwise, it’s just items on a list to a computer.

But where and how does such a huge model come together?

The Derailing of the AI Hype Train

To build a large language model, you need content. Lots and lots of more or less properly written content. This content should cover a large swath of human thought and activity. It has to be very broad in scope.

So, the developers turned to a place where they knew there was a ton of content, more or less properly written, covering great, big chunks of the human experience.

The internet.

Except there’s just one problem.

The Fly in the Ointment

They didn’t get most people’s permission to use the content. Also, they never checked it for accuracy or tone. A computer can’t figure those things out (yet). But you and I can. For example, we can tell when someone’s joking about something.

The AI takes it seriously.

And what about all the personal data online? The GDPR law specifically says that individuals must give clear consent to the processing of their personal data. Did AI and its creators take the time to figure out which of the trillions of web pages have personal data?

The answer to that would clearly be: no.

Finally, there’s also the matter of copyright. There’s a ton of original material online. It may be snippets of professionally written fiction, like in a blurb. Or it could be places for posting fiction, like Wattpad.

Did the creators of the language model used in AI stop to ask the authors whether they could have permission to train the model on their prose or poetry?

What do you think?

The Caboose at the End of the AI Hype Train

So, it’s mainly just a fancier, easier to use version of the databases that have been around for decades. And its training process for the language model is more than a little suspect. It can’t read your mind. It’s not Skynet. Yet.

There are plenty of companies which are trying to replace content writers with generative AI. But this technology, in that area, really isn’t ready for primetime. Predictive AI, on the other hand, more or less is.

Predictive is the kind of AI being used to cull through thousands of records to compare the data from one medical test results to determine the likelihood of the patient getting cancer. This is the kind of speed which humans just can’t do.

So when you read another breathless article or blog post about artificial intelligence, check to see if the author is riding the AI hype train.

Because Casey Jones, you’d better watch your speed.

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Writing Freedom and You

What is writing freedom, and why is it important? It’s a piece of the writing puzzle that you simply cannot leave out.

Do You Have Writing Freedom?

The best definition I can give of this term is not only freedom of the press and freedom of speech, but also the freedom to write more or less what you want to. Of course, there are some exceptions even in an extremely free society.

But imagine living in a place where your choice of topics or genres or characters was dictated by the state. I couldn’t honestly find one (if you can, please comment!). But of course there have been plenty of times when tyrants controlled what the press could write about.

That’s more or less what state media is all about.

But let’s look at some other limits.

Libel

Of course, defaming someone in print is problematic. Sure, there’s no one staying your hand, or anything. But you really, really do not want to go down that road.

You would be on the business end of what could easily turn into a rather expensive lawsuit. That is not a place where anyone should ever want to be.

So, Dante notwithstanding, writing less than flattering things about your enemies is not a good idea.

A better idea? Change names and circumstances until the originals are no longer recognizable. If Zach from San Francisco becomes Amy from Buffalo, that’ll help.

Cultural Appropriation/Cultural Ignorance

Should men write women? After all, they’ve never been women. Yet this has being going on for centuries. If men did not or could not write female characters, we would never have literary characters like Juliet Capulet, or Dolores Claiborne.

Should younger people write older people? After all, they’ve never been in their sixties, eighties, nineties, or beyond. But we wouldn’t have Atticus Finch if authors didn’t do this.

Should people of one religion write people of another? That one’s a little trickier. I would suggest studying the rituals and the liturgy of the faith that’s not your own. And talking to adherents is never a bad idea.

At the same time, writers should keep in mind that adherents are all different, even those within the exact same sect.

… And Then There’s Race

Folks, we have now entered the minefield.

If you’re writing a Black character, for example, and you’re Asian, you probably don’t have the same experiences. And basing your character off Black characters you’ve seen on TV or in the movies is a surefire way to miss the boat on doing it right.

After all, popular culture is rife with exaggerations. But that’s kind of the point, particularly in comedy. Eddie Murphy as Axel Foley is rather different from Diahann Carrol as Julia Baker.

If you Frankenstein together your character based on that, well, you’re bound to be writing something truly offensive. And don’t get me started with characters who are essentially an illustration of White Savior Syndrome.

But Shouldn’t Writing Freedom Include the Freedom to Write a Diverse Cast of Characters?

Absolutely! Not only is this all right, it’s downright necessary if your writing takes place in the present time. Never seeing a Black doctor in your medical drama, or an Asian construction worker kinda denies reality.

Unless you’re trying to illustrate discriminatory hiring, or maybe all a racist character ever sees or hears.

It’s also a good stretch. Adding characters who are different from you can add some depth to your prose.

Respectfully Handling the Writing Freedom to Write Characters Who Are Not Like You

What is the easiest and most effective way to make sure you’re writing from a position of respect when you’re writing people who are not like you? The method should come as no great shock.

Talk to the people who are in the same race, religion, gender, etc. of the character you’re trying to write. Ask them if your prose works. Find out what they’re okay with, and what they’re offended by. And ask lots of people! Again, one opinion is not enough.

Don’t Abuse Your Writing Freedom

Just because society or the government doesn’t restrict the kinds of characters or stories you can write, doesn’t mean you should go out and just write whatever, willy-nilly, because you feel like it. Not when respect for real people’s identities is at stake.

Being sensitive to different kinds of people, and different kinds of characters, makes you a better writer.

So, remember, remember the fifth of November—which also happens to be Election Day here in the US—and I hope you’ll also remember to treat diverse characters with as much dignity and respect as you do real folks.

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Getting Inspiration from TV Shows

Let’s Look at Getting Inspiration from TV shows

TV shows can be a great source of inspiration. And they can go beyond TV Tropes and even into something (almost, let’s not kid ourselves, folks) profound. So, what do I mean?

TV Shows

Let’s set the news aside. For the most part, we see three kinds of television programs:

  • Comedy
  • Drama
  • Nonfiction

And then they subdivide, e. g. comedy divides into sketch shows like Saturday Night Live, or sitcoms like Will and Grace, or most cartoons. And drama divides into genres such as police procedurals, westerns, etc. Furthermore, reality television is really drama, by the way.

And finally nonfiction comprises the news and documentaries. But it’s also educational programming for children. While a few potential outliers (such as music videos), or hybrid programs with both drama and comedy (e. g. Desperate Housewives) exist, most shows hit one of the big three categories.

Inspiration

Because everyone gets inspiration differently, consider how fan fiction grabs you. Very often, you watch a program but feel it’s incomplete. Or you might want a different ending or to gender swap the characters. By doing this with all television, and not just your own personal fandom, you can garner a ton of inspiration.

Naturally, you need to stay out of copyright infringement territory. However, there’s no copyright on basic ideas, just on their execution. Consider all the fish out of water comedies. Or think of the many episodes with people caught in a freezer. They exist because those situations work. And all the writers do is add a different spin on it all.

Authentic Experiences

In addition, consider the characters and their portrayers. Why is a character of African descent? Is it because they are having authentic experiences, or is it an attempt at diversity, or is it tokenism?

When Jewish characters (for example) are on the screen, does the audience get more than an occasion reference to Chanukah? Or do they just get a surname, or a trope? Or worse, do they get thinly-veiled anti-Semitic caricatures?

Are LGBTQ characters more than their sexuality, or are they stereotyped, or is it no big deal? Or are they killed off quickly, once they’re no longer useful to the plot, the show runners, or the network? And look at the smart characters, the dumb ones, and the evil ones. Do characters have any sort of depth at all?

And who’s writing these experiences? Are members of marginalized communities represented in the writers’ room?

Takeaways

You can get great inspiration from television viewing. Look at shows with a critical eye and consider how you’d improve or change them. Mash them up and make these ideas your own.

TV shows can inspire writing. But steer clear of fan fiction if you want to sell your work, and keep in mind that the structure and tropes of television differ from those for the written word.


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