A Risky New Direction

by Shelt Garner
@sheltgarner

I’ve mapped out the addition of about 20,000 additional words to the third draft of my first novel, but there’s a big problem — not a lot goes on. The point of all these additional words is not so much to add to the action, but, rather to flesh out the novel’s characters and the world they inhabit.

I’m going well out of my way to have an outsider who is meant to be a proxy for the audience come into the world of the novel and give them some sense of what they might think of the situation. That was one of the complaints of those few beta readers who have given me input to date — too much of the story was obviously in my mind, rather than on the page.

But that’s just the beginning.

As part of my efforts to flesh out my heroine, I have taken a risky new direction that the women in the reading audience will either despise or love. I have decided to, in a Barry-type way, to bifurcate my heroine’s life so she is involved in two dramatically different endeavors. On one hand, my heroine is a journalist and on the other she is…the owner of a strip club.

This is all very risky.

You could make the case that doing this is yet another example of a smelly CIS white male obsessed with boobs who doesn’t know anything about women or you could say that I’m creating a compelling character like Lisbeth Salander. And because I’m doing all of this in a vacuum, I just have no idea of what the reaction to this new path might be.

But the key thing is that adding the stripper angle to the story allows me to keep readers engaged while not a lot goes on in the story. The hope is that readers will be so distracted by the bonkers idea of stripping that they won’t notice that I’m slowly and methodically working towards something happening.

At the moment, I just don’t know. I’m a loss to determine if this is a stroke of genius on my part, or I’m being very misguided. If nothing else, I know the situation I’ve come up with is unique and compelling. But given how touchy the woke cancel culture mob is about sex — and especially men writing from a female POV — I’m rather skittish.

But, only time will tell, I suppose.

It Seems Inevitable That My Novel Will Pass The Bechdel Test

by Shelt Garner
@sheltgarner

There was a version of the first scene of the third draft of the novel where the novel passed the fucking Bechdel Test. I unfortunately(?) had to re-write it to add some tension the scene.

And, yet, given how many women are in this novel it definitely seems inevitable that there will come a point when it passes the Bechdel Test. I wish I could feel some satisfaction in doing so, confident in the knowledge that I have passed an ever-so-important metric of the woke cancel culture mob.

AND YET.

I AM a smelly CIS white male and, as such, according to the woke cancel culture mob, by definition, I have no write to do anything. I can’t even give them the representation they claim to want because, lulz…I’m a white dude. That’s why I always get angry when I’m attacked online by people to the Left of me.

“I’m on your side!” I think.

I don’t know what to tell you. The two sides are receding from each other at an alarming rate. There’s just no middle ground anymore. Sometimes I am astonished by how self-defeating the woke cancel culture mob can be. While, in general, I’m pretty center-Left, too often “woke” people seem so consumed by their ideological goals that they miss sight of how they’re driving a lot of people who believe they’re “centrist” into the arms of fucking fascism.

Of Tik-Tok & John Lennon’s Problematic Legacy

by Shelt Garner
@sheltgarner

Oh boy. Where to begin with this one. This is such a difficult, problematic thing to address, that I probably should just say nothing at all. And, yet, I can’t help myself. I have to get some things off my chest.

I’m reading a biography of John Lennon and being reminded of how difficult and problematic he was in life has been a real eye-opener. The difference between how fondly he is remembered by our collective memories and what an asshole he could be in his private life is quite jarring.

As such, when Gen Z discovers things like how Lennon sang a song — that should not have been produced called “Woman is (blank) of The World” that are aghast. And, in all honesty, I don’t blame them. I can’t defend the song and that’s pretty much that.

But my quibble with the outrage on Tik-Tik by Gen Z is more a generational one. It reminds me of how young people seem to think they have everything figured out and they make superficial, knee-jerk pronouncements with total disregard to the deeper context.

While I freely admit and acknowledge that the song is indefensible, it was *meant* to be a radical feminist statement on Lennon’s part, rather than a racist one. In fact, according to the biography, John and Yoko appeared in African American publicans like Jet at the time of the song’s release.

I think I must be showing my age. Any honest reflection on Lennon’s legacy requires a willingness to see the man who he really was, warts and all. And it also requires an understand of nuance and context, something that modern cultural discourse is totally devoid of.

I have even pondered if maybe I’m falling into Trump-like cult of personality by even quibbling with the effort to “cancel” Lennon on Tik-Tok. I’ve come to believe this is not the case. Lennon is long dead and he’s not running for president. He was human and not some sort of musical demigod that was above screwing up and making — a lot — of mistakes.

Anyway. I just had to get that out of my system.

Well, I’ve At Least Come Up With An Interesting Heroine

by Shelt Garner
@sheltgarner

After years of dwelling on the nature of my heroine, I feel as though I’ve finally managed to come up with a woman who is really, really unique. Because I continue to do all of this in a vacuum, I am at a loss as to what people’s reaction to her might be.

My heroine of my first novel looks like a younger version of Nicole Scherzinger

Remember, by definition, because I’m a smelly CIS white male there will be members of the woke cancel culture mob who dismiss my right to tell the story I want to tell. I’m supposed to just stick to writing from a male POV and otherwise shut up. This happens, of course, in the context of “intersectional feminists” complaining about not enough representation in fiction.

In fact, I listened to an entire Slate podcast where two women were angry about how not enough women, POC and LGBTQ+ people were in positions of power in Hollywood. That’s all well and good and I validate those concerns, but I found myself growing a little insecure — what if a CIS white male like me makes a good faith effort to tell a story about a POC woman?

Is that “representation” or is that “exploitive appropriation?”

I am really self-conscious about that potential criticism being lobbed at me. But it’s too late now. I had no idea of the cultural minefield I was wondering into when I decided I wanted my heroine to be a POC. And, what’s more, I only relatively recently realized there was some sort of woke taboo against against a man writing from a female POV.

Ugh.

But, having said all that, I do think I’ve come up with not one but TWO heroines (over the course of six novels) who are just as interesting, in their own way, as Lisbeth Salander. In the end, you just can’t please everyone, especially not members of the woke cancel culture mob who have all these weird ideological demands for any art they consume.

A Hot Take On AI & Fiction

by Shelt Garner
@sheltgarner

One thing about the rise of AI and its impact on the arts is there is going to come a point where we’re going to know who who creates for the sake of creation and who doesn’t. It definitely SEEMS as though no part of the creative arts will be spared from the transformative power of AI.

As such, I think as early as 18 months from now, the first popular AI movies, songs, TV shows and…gulp…novels…will begin to appear. It could be even sooner, the way things are going. So, just as I’m in the middle of the querying process, it could be that the whole endeavor will be mooted by AI. And that doesn’t even begin to address the issue of how the fucking Fourth Turning might be happening at just about the same time.

Sometimes, you just can’t win.

I say all of this because I think a lot of creative people are deluding themselves when they think they can’t avoid the implications of AI by removing all their writing from Google Docs, or whatever. AI is careening towards us at an astonishing speed and we all have to manage our expectations. Either you feel compelled to create — despite the dangers of AI — or you don’t.

If you stop creating because of some abstract fear of AI, I believe you maybe weren’t all that creative in the first place.

Things Are Going Well With The Third Draft (So Far)

by Shelt Garner
@sheltgarner

I have figure out a way to really flesh out the characters I’ve come up with while also dramatically improving the world building. I’ve added a number of scenes at the beginning of the novel. And, yet, there is a looming problem in my mind– not a lot goes on in these new scenes.

The idea of doing this, of course, is to lean into the characters I’ve come up with to the point that when something DOES happen, you care enough, are engaged enough that you want to find out what happens to them. I’m just a little nervous that a lot of people won’t be patient and will think the novel is “boring.”

And, yet, if you read The Girl With The Dragon Tattoo the first 135 pages are dull as dirt. It’s a lot of dry exposition that really doesn’t seem to have much point. It’s amazing, in my mind, that the novel became as popular as it did given such a massive obstacle.

But I’m pleased with what I’ve come up with. I’m really struggling to make the additional scenes as thought provoking and provocative, even if, in real terms, not a lot goes on. So, I hope that people are so busy reading these early, though provoking scenes that they excuse the lack of action.

I continue to have no idea what I’m doing, so who knows. It could be I’ve stumbled across a winning formula or it could be that I’m going to ultimately have to cut all these additional scenes at the behest of an editor. But that is a ways down the road.

I therefore just have to be content that things are going as well as they are. I’m kind of an in an idyllic situation when it comes to writing a novel and given that all good things must come to an end, it’s inevitable that that is just what will happen. I’m grateful for the opportunity I’ve had while it lasts.

Donald Trump Needs To Go To Jail (But)

by Shelt Garner
@sheltgarner

Donald Trump continues to bend the very fabric of America society, politics and law to his idiotic, asinine will. For my part, I’m just pleased that Trump has found himself in a shit ton of legal trouble, even if politically he’s still riding high. I continue to believe America has, on a macro sale, given up. We’re careening towards a historic, existential choice in 2024 one that will either see us turn into an autocracy or have a civil war / revolution.

I know that sounds like hysterical doom shit, but I struggle to imagine how we manage to punt some severe, structural problems down the road another four years. But, I suppose, it’s possible.

I do find myself thinking a lot these days about what would happen Trump was thrown in jail for violating the terms of his release while awaiting trial. On one hand, doing so would finally force some accountability on ding-dong Trump. On the other, however, I fear that doing so would only give Trump even more political momentum.

It’s a very tricky situation with no ready answer.

And it all plays into what a dire situation we find ourselves in as a nation. I continue to contemplate how likely it is we may have a civil war (Reds) or revolution (Blues) depending on who wins the 2024 election. At the moment, it seems we’re just going to slip peaceful into a MAGA-themed autocracy and that will be that.

But 2024 is still too far out. There some basic things we just don’t know. We don’t know who the two nominees will be and we don’t know how far along the numerous Trump trials will be as we’re heading to the polls. And, what’s more, we also don’t know things like how the economy or Biden’s age might factor in.

So, it seems as though we’re just going to have to wait and see. There’s no much we can do but just wait to see if my worst fears come true, or if we somehow manage to avoid them.

Could Elon Musk Pull ‘X’ Off?

by Shelt Garner
@sheltgarner

Now that Elon Musk has changed Twitter’s name, I can begin to imagine a scenario whereby he might manage to turn “X” into the “everything app.” He has vision, if nothing else.

But there is a huge obstacle to this particular situation — AI.

All this talk of turning X into the “everything app” seems very 2012, very passe. The AI era is careening towards us at an alarming rate and I would suggest that by late 2024 the effects of AI will start to be seen in the economy. All this talk of social media will be rather moot.

There was a moment in time when if Musk was doing what he’s doing now with Twitter / X that it really could put a “dent in the universe” but, lulz, I have my doubts now. In fact, if Musk really wants to do something interesting with X, I would propose he made an AI prompt native to the service. Now THAT would be a way to propel X to next-level status.

It definitely will be interesting to see how things play out. It’s at least possible that there really is a -very narrow – window of opportunity for Musk to transform Twitter / X into an “everything app.”

I still have my doubts, however.

I’m Really Struggling With The Specifics Of My Heroine’s Appearance

by Shelt Garner
@sheltgarner

Oh boy. I know, in general, my heroine’s phenotype, but when it comes to her hair I’m having a real struggle. There is so much I can do with what she does with her hair that I find myself at a loss as to what I think would be the best option.

I vacillate widely from moment to the next about how she does her hair as the story opens. In this third draft, I’m really taking how I introduce my heroine a lot more seriously. I don’t want to sexualize her in any sort of gratuitous way because if I did anything like that there would be “woke” portions of the audience that would that would pitch a fucking fit.

They would say I’m just another horny CIS white male who is wants to fuck my heroine and is obsessed with boobs. As such, I am really self-conscious about how much I talk about my heroine’s appearance. And, yet, at the same time, I want to give readers a clear understanding in their mind’s eye of…her appearance.

My heroine kind of looks like this in my mind’s eye.

As a CIS white male writing from the POV of a female POC it’s kind of a no win situation. Woke people just want me to drop dead, not try to give them the representation they claim to want in their fiction. Only transgender, undocumented Mexicans can tell the type of stories I want to tell. Forgive me, I’m a bit grumpy and tipsy at the moment.

Anyway, you have to give me credit for at least understanding the sticky wicket I’m wading into. I get it. I’m a CIS white male, a member of the patriarchy and I should just shut up and let women and POC tell stories. But I’m an asshole and have a story to tell.

I’m trying to be as empathetic as possible, all things considered.

Is Miley Cyrus In A Cult?

by Shelt Garner
@sheltgarner

Let me be clear, I’ve done absolutely no research on this and what little I know comes from half-viewed Tik-Toks. But, in general, it does seem as though we might need to worry about Miley Cyrus being in a cult.

There seems to be a lot of confusion over this situation. Apparently someone on Twitter tweeted that Cyrus had joined the Modern Mystery School cult or some such, but it’s since been debunked. Or something.

And, yet, SOMETHING is going on with Cyrus because she’s been noticeably absent from the public eye of late. And I say this as someone who isn’t some sort of Cyrus superfan. There is an ebb and flow to public celebrity life and it Cyrus being out of public view — even if that’s just background noise to me — is definitely odd.

But Cyrus does seem like the type of person who would be susceptible to a cult. She is so wide open all the time that it would make sense for her to succumb to the call of a freaky weirdo group.

And, yet, who knows.

It could be just a simple misunderstanding and we’ll wake up and everything will snap back into place.