Tag: Writing
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Charleston Literary Festival Highlights: Writing, Celebration, and Community
This November, I had the incredible opportunity to attend the Charleston Literary Festival, but it was so much more than just a trip for books and authors—it was a week of connection, creativity, and celebration. My husband, Scott, and I flew down to Charleston on November 5, and we stayed until the 12th. While it…
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Meet Scripty McPromptface: My AI Writing Companion
I’ve been super busy (obsessed with) writing the story of Scott’s great-grandmother, Catherine C. Fitzallen. I’ll share more of the premise in another post, but today, I want to introduce you to my writing buddy, Scripty McPromptface. That’s right. I’ve named my AI assistant. Well, technically, we came up with the name together. Here’s how…
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Resilience Across Generations: A Conversation with Author Deborah S. Holman
Join me on Sunday November 17 at 1:30 p.m. Eastern, when I share my journey from blog writer to published author. This program is free and open to the public. Signed books will be available at the in-person presentation. To attend virtually, visit www.jgsct.org for the registration link. To attend in-person: No registration needed. The…
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Exploring the Benefits and Drawbacks of AI in Writing: Insights from My Writer’s Group
This morning in my writer’s group, we dove into a discussion about the virtues and pitfalls of using AI in our writing. The topic is a hot one right now, with opinions on both sides of the fence. As someone who’s been experimenting with ChatGPT 4.o, I shared a fun conversation I had with my…
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Fun Conversations with AI: A Writer’s Perspective
Note: This is cross-posted to both my blogs. Some of my best stories are inspired by things I do when I am bored… also known as “What can I do when I want to procrastinate?” Recently, I had the following inspired conversation with ChatGPT. I hope you enjoy it! Me: What can you tell me…
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Caution: Ideas at Risk! The Battle Against Banned Books
During a recent trip to the library, I came across something that stopped me in my tracks—a display of books wrapped in caution tape, like a crime scene. Curious, I asked the librarian what it was all about. She smiled and told me it’s “Banned Books Week,” a time to celebrate our freedom to read…
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Finding Confidence in Unexpected Places
A few weeks ago, I met a young author who was looking for guidance on making her book more marketable. A neighbor had suggested that I might be able to help. Still wrestling with “imposter syndrome,” I wasn’t sure what I could offer, but her story intrigued me enough to agree to meet. She had…
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Invited to Speak: My First Book Club Guest Appearance
This past Thursday evening, I had a wonderful time with my friend Stacy’s book club talking about my experience writing Nothing Really Bad Will Happen. It was a small, intimate group, which was fantastic because everyone could actively participate in the discussion. As people arrived, we gathered in the kitchen, chatting over delicious snacks. Imagine…
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Rufus, the AI Chatbot: A New Assistant in the Quest to Sell Books (and Everything Else!) on Amazon
Have you heard of Rufus? Amazon has a new feature on its sales pages which helps customers make purchase decisions by answering questions that are not necessarily found in the product description. Since I am pretty much still compulsively checking my Amazon sales stats, (Yeah… yeah… I know things slow down after the initial launch.)…
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Curiosity and Creativity: A Personal Reflection on “Big Magic”
I just finished reading “Big Magic” by Elizabeth Gilbert, the author of the wildly successful “Eat Pray Love.” To be honest, it was a bit of a slog. Maybe I had sky-high expectations, but I found it hard to stay engaged. Gilbert’s musings on creativity and being open to “Big Magic” didn’t quite resonate with…
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