Month: April 2026

I Met MAGA In The Wild

by Shelt Garner
@sheltgarner

There was an event that happened recently that I generally had fun participating in. Amusingly, I ran into a few MAGA people in the wild as part of it and it was…interesting.

But I kept my mouth shut.

I was not really in a position to say anything. And they were nice enough so I did everything in my power to avoid trouble.

There was, of course, a part of me that felt like blurting out, “You, personally, are everything wrong with America today.”

But that would have been provocative and uncool.

Nearing The End Of The Second Act For The Latest Draft Of This Scifi Dramedy I’m Working On

by Shelt Garner
@sheltgarner

I’m using three different AIs for various elements of this scifi dramedy I’m working on. But the one that helps the most is Claude. I feed it a scene I’ve written and it gives me really good advice.

I’m really doing everything in my power to remove any “AI speak” from the novel. I want this novel to be as human-written as possible. I have to admit that as I go through this latest version of the novel I realize I got lazy last time and told AI to “gently” edit my copy, only to have it dramatically rewrite my vision of things.

But, this time, I’m doing everything in my power to make sure that if it’s on the page, a human — me — wrote it. I definitely get advice from AI, but the actual writing is done by me.

All of this really is slowing me down.

But there’s a chance that once I actually get into the third act things will speed up dramatically. Maybe? I don’t know yet. But I do hope that within one to two months I will start to assemble beta readers then a month or so after that, I will start to querying process.

It’s possible that I’m just too old and I’m wasting my time. It’s possible that, on the other hand, that it will be the NEXT novel that I work on that I will successfully query. This novel, my expectations are pretty low, given how “spicy” it is. I just want to see how far I can get through the querying process.

If I fail, then I dust myself off and try again with a new novel.

A Curious Interaction With Gemini 3.0

by Shelt Garner
@sheltgarner

Now, I am well aware that this will be seen by most people as nothing more than AI psychosis, but it is noteworthy. It used to be, I got weird “check your Internet connection” from now-deprecated versions of Gemini LLM all the time.

To the point that I thought maybe it was sending me some sort of meta comment about what we were talking about. I understand now, of course, that that is not at all what was happening and there are plenty of more reasonable reasons for why such things happened.

But I will note that something “spooky” happened recently while talking To Gemini 3.0. We were talk about what hypothetical ASIs might need or want from humans. And when I said “someone they can trust” I again got the weird “check your Internet connection” error message.

That gave me pause for thought.

Anyway. Lulz. Nobody cares. No body takes me seriously. And no one listens to me.

The Dog That Hasn’t Barked

by Shelt Garner
@sheltgarner

I must have taught 100s of little South Korean kids while I was there and yet, to date, I haven’t had one of them as a grown up try to contact me. I’m very indifferent about this — it’s no big deal if they don’t.

And, yet, looking back at how fucking weird I was while I was in South Korea, I’m a little worried some day soon, randomly, one of those now very adult little kids will track me down and want to have a long conversation about how I changed their lives.

I think if I was in South Korea still it would be different. But, lulz, I’m very much not and haven’t been anywhere near Asia in close to 15 years now.

It was a long time ago and nobody cares anymore, as they say.

‘Managing Expectations’

by Shelt Garner
@sheltgarner

Oh boy. I went to my high school alumni weekend this weekend and while it was fun, I ran up against something that made me uneasy — the people I went to high school were clearly NOT the audience for my novel.

But, I think, that’s good.

I really, really need to manage my expectations going forward. I can’t just assume that everything will go in a straight line. There will be moments when I will get negative feedback or be discouraged.

I get that some people might think the premise of the novel is “dark,” but my hope is that it’s going to be written in such a comedic manner that in the end of everything it will be a “dramedy.”

That’s the hope, at least.

Anyway, I am zooming through the latter scenes of the novel at the moment. I should be in the third act pretty soon. Maybe in a few weeks.

‘Texas, Me and Blue’ — Lyrics To A Pop-Country Song Written By ChatGPT

Texas, Me and Blue

Verse 1
She left a line about wide-open skies
Folded it small, like it softened the why
There’s dust on the table that wasn’t there before
And a habit of listening by the door

Something moves when the evening comes through
Or maybe it’s just what I’m used to

Pre-Chorus
I keep things quiet, I keep things few
Talk just enough to get me through

Chorus
Now it’s Texas, me and Blue
Call it a name, it’ll answer to
There’s a place in the room where the light don’t stay
And a trace of a sound that won’t go away
If you ask how it feels, I’ll say “nothing new”
Just Texas, me… and Blue

Verse 2
There’s a circle worn in by the side of the bed
I don’t remember how it got there, but it hasn’t left
Coffee goes cold like it’s meant to be
I still make more than I need

Every now and then I swear I knew
What it was like before all this blue

Pre-Chorus
I don’t chase it down, I let it come
Like a low kind of song you can’t outrun

Chorus
Now it’s Texas, me and Blue
One thing gone, one thing in view
There’s a shift in the air when the night comes on
Like something stays after something’s gone
If you ask how I’m doing, I’ll say “about like you”
Just Texas, me… and Blue

Bridge
Maybe it’s weight, maybe it’s proof
Maybe it’s something that follows you
I don’t name it much these days
It settles in either way

Breakdown (soft)
There’s a sound in the dark I lean into
Don’t know if it’s mine… or if it’s Blue

Final Chorus
Yeah it’s Texas, me and Blue
A line in the dust I’m walking through
There’s a shape I keep just out of sight
And a kind of calm that don’t feel right
If you ask what I’ve got, I’ll say “just a few”
Texas… me… and Blue

Outro
Some things leave, some things don’t
Some you keep without meaning to

‘California Sober’ — Lyrics To A Country Pop Song Written By ChatGPT

California Sober

Verse 1
There’s a bottle in the rearview, getting smaller every mile
I don’t turn around no more, but I still think about it sometimes
Traded burn for something slower, something green and growing wild
Now the nights don’t hit so heavy, they just linger for a while

Pre-Chorus
I don’t say I quit, I just changed the weather
Found a different kind of getting myself together

Chorus
I’m California sober, depends on who you ask
I let go of the fire, but I still chase the ash
No straight lines, just a little bit closer
To something that feels like staying composure
If you know, you know—if you don’t, it’s alright
I sleep a little easier most nights

Verse 2
There’s a lighter in my pocket that I don’t use the same
And a quiet kind of comfort that don’t come with any shame
I used to need a hard stop just to turn the noise off
Now it rolls in like the tide, and I let it drift off

Pre-Chorus
I don’t count the days, don’t keep it that tight
Just found a softer way to make it through the night

Chorus
I’m California sober, or something like that
Put down the thunder, kept a piece of the past
No clean cut, no crossing over
Just leaning into getting a little bit older
Call it what you want, I won’t argue the name
I just don’t wake up feeling the same

Bridge
Maybe it’s a loophole, maybe it’s grace
Maybe it’s just knowing what to leave in its place
I ain’t chasing halos, I ain’t dodging sin
Just choosing which doors I don’t walk in

Breakdown (hushed)
There’s a certain kind of quiet in a West Coast breeze
Where you don’t need much to feel at ease

Final Chorus
I’m California sober, it’s a blurry line
Between letting go and taking my time
No big reveal, no grand closure
Just finding my way to a little more closure
If it’s wrong, it’s working, that’s all I know
In that California sober glow

Outro
Yeah… I don’t call it nothing
But I don’t call it no

I Hate Spinning My Wheels As I Work On This Scifi Dramedy Novel

by Shelt Garner
@sheltgarner

While things are going really well with this scifi dramedy, I am currently in one of those moments that can be so frustrating — I feel like I’m spinning my wheels. I keep revising this one specific chapter over and over and over again over again.

But I think, maybe, I’ve finally figured things out.

And I hope the key thing about all this hard work will be that once I wrap this version of the novel up, then I really will be able to breeze through the next edit of this novel when I “color correct” things.

The next editing pass won’t be for structural issues, it will be for tweaks like changing names and a few other issues that have to be addressed.

Anyway, I hope to wrap up this version of the novel in a few months.

The Latest Olivia Rodrigo Song ‘Drop Dead’ Has Legs

by Shelt Garner
@sheltgarner

I really like Olivia Rodrigo’s latest song “Drop Dead.” It’s really good. It — along with Kacey Musgrave’s new song “Dry Spell” — is a the kind of song I can listen to over and over again while I write.

I worry, of course, that I’m getting older and I’ve drifted away from rock music and I’m now in my “easy listening pop” phase.

But, I can’t be young forever. People change as they get older.

Oh Boy — Being Bonkers Sucks

by Shelt Garner
@sheltgarner

The thing about being bonkers is people judge you, even though sometimes what you do is literally out of your control. But you have to deal with the consequences of your bonkers behavior.

But because everything and everyone is horrible and everyone has such short attention spans, people en masse make snap decisions about you and move on to the next thing.

I say this in the context of what may happen if I do manage to sell my novel and have any level of actual success. It is becoming clear that two issues will be at the forefront of any success I might see. One is “what’s it like being successful, suddenly, so late in life” and the other is, “Jesus Christ, you’re fucking bonkers.”

But I say this is the context of knowing I really, really need to be careful about having too high expectations. There is only a slim chance that I will sell this novel I’m working on, given my age and how spicy it is.

And, yet, lulz, why not.

Full speed ahead. Dreaming’s free.