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20Books Vegas 2023: the Day After

I was in Las Vegas this past week attending the last-ever 20 Books Vegas. Started in 2017, this conference inspired thousands of writers around the world. This was my third such conference, and the last. The primary show runner, Craig Martelle, went out on a high note and passed the

Back in the Saddle: My Return to Writing

Hello, everyone! If you’ve been following my journey, you know that I hit the pause button on my writing for about six months. It wasn’t an easy decision, but sometimes life throws curveballs that you just can’t ignore. Between work, family, and programming Verkilo, my plate was

Returning to Write Ameliorate

Last month, I mentioned a pivot toward writing software. The problem with someone like me is that I have many interests and want to pursue them all at once. I managed to timebox my software venture to six months, April to October. I hit a good stopping point a couple

A Classic Western Heartbeat for August

I'm back with another update, released about every six weeks.  I read something this Summer that coaxed me to watch classic westerns. Stepping back into the 1930s with classic westerns, I've discovered a treasure trove of inspiration. These films, raw and unrefined like home movies, carry a charm that echoes

Great Code Pause of 2023

This article summarizes what I’ve been working on for the past six months. In a later post, I will summarize what I’ve been doing to prepare for future novel writing series, and how I’ve used AI to help. My writing year runs from October to September because

Using ChatGPT to Enrich the Novel Treatment

Originally Written 22 March 2023. With the explosion of AI, I wanted to offer a use case I've found helpful for me that might interest you. In 2022, I released four novels that I spent 12 years rewriting. As a plotter, my characters often derail scenes, rendering my treatments useless