Category: From The Editor

This Scifi Dramedy Novel I’m Working On Is Shaping Up To Be Really Good

by Shelt Garner
@sheltgarner

This novel I’m working on is really good. So good that I keep expecting a movie or Black Mirror episode to come out that so steals a creative march on me that I have to piviot to some other story idea.

I will have lost valuable time, but, lulz.

I’m not getting any younger, you know.

And, yet, just because the premise is obvious to me, doesn’t mean it’s as obvious to other people as I think. But I’m definitely putting my stick where the puck will be. The premise of the novel is sort of like, “what would it be like, in real terms, for Pris from Blade Runner living her every day life?”

Pris from Blade Runner

That’s pretty much the general gist of the novel’s premise, even though that’s not exact.

Anyway, I still am on track to wrap this novel up around April-May 2026. Then I have to do some last minute editing before I give it to whatever beta readers I can scrounge up. Then I’ll probably have to go therapy because everyone will praise my writing and I’ll feel all this angst about how my writing was “enhanced” by being AI first, even though I did, in fact, write as much as possible of the novel with my own hand.

But because everyone and everything is horrible, people will just assume AI wrote everything and probably dismiss the novel as just more “AI slop.” Ugh.

I Have Three Books Related To Querying, Now To Force Myself To Read Them

by Shelt Garner
@sheltgarner

This time, I tell myself, will be different. Instead of just drifting — again — towards my goal of writing a novel that is query-worthy, I’m actually going to buckle down and focus.

With that in mind, I have not one, but three books devoted to the querying process to at least glance over. Two of the books are about querying, while the third is a big book of literary agents.

I really don’t want to think about the querying process because, lulz, I know there’s a decent change I’m going to fail in a monumental way. Like epically. I think this in large part because I’m a big old kook and “serious” “normal” that woke-liberal-white-woman-literary-agent who does due diligence on me is probably going to be aghast.

I’m just a loudmouth crank and always have been.

But, this is definitely the up-up or shut up moment of my life when it comes to writing a novel I plan on querying. If I don’t do something different immediately, I’m going to wake up at 60 and STILL not have queried a novel.

I just want to see how far I get through the process. I feel so old at this point. Even though I’m not, like, elderly, I am still older than Stieg Larsson was when he was trying to get his novel(s) sold. That doesn’t make me feel very good.

But this novel is really good. The premise is rock solid, if a little dark and pulpy. But, if nothing else, it’s “accessible.” I keep thinking of how I want to “comp” my novel to the works of Andy Weir who’s novels The Martian and Project Hail Mary are really, really accessible.

Anyway, no one listens to me and no one takes me seriously, so, lulz.

A Fundamental Reimagining of Pluribus

by Shelt Garner
@sheltgarner

For some weird reason, I spent much of today asleep and dreaming and in doing so I spent a huge amount of REM sleep devoted to “fixing” the TV show Pluribus. This sort of stuff happens when you’re obsessed with writing a novel, like I am at the moment.

Now, I can’t remember everything, but here is what I do remember.

Make Carol a normal human being
What I would do is instead Carol being a mean, nasty lesbian, I would just have her be a normal fucking human being lesbian. I get why she’s the way she is — what if the worst person in the world had to save humanity? — but, lulz, if she was just an average person, that would open a lot more nuance. I mean, imagine if she was sort of friends with the hivemind from the beginning and then she found betrayed when she found out the “darker” side of things.
Make it so only part of humanity is infected
Actually, either you go this route or you have the entire world infected because the signal went directly into people’s minds. But given that you become catatonic for 15 minutes in-world, there is just no way the virus could take over the entire world as depicted in the show. This is really bad world-building to the point of being a plot hole. Instead, either allow for the interesting situation where only part of the world is infect, or go with the “direct to mind” route.
Make it so you can “cure” the infected with (good) music.
It would be fun — and crowd pleasing — if, say, Carol finds out that you can “cure” people by playing music, preferably good music with a heavy bass. That would be fun. Opens up all sorts of interesting avenues.

The Difference Between The Dotcom Bubble & The AI Bubble

by Shelt Garner
@sheltgarner

The key difference between the dotcom bubble and the AI bubble is the dotcom bubble was based on just an idea. It was very, very speculative in nature. The ironic thing about it, was, of course, that it was just 20 years too soon in its thinking.

Meanwhile, the AI bubble is actually based on something concrete. You can actually test things out and see if they will work or not. And that’s why if there really is an AI development “plateau” in 2026 then…oh boy.

The bubble will probably burst.

I still think that if there is a plateau that that, in itself, will allow for some interesting things to happen. Namely, I think we’ll see LLMs native to smart phones. That would allow for what I call the “Nudge Economy” to develop whereby LLMs in our phones (and elsewhere) would “nudge” us into economic activity.

That sounds rather fanciful, I know, but, lulz, no one listens to me anyway. And, yet, I do think that barring something really unexpected, we will probably realize that LLMs are a limited AI architecture and we’re going to have to think up something that will take us to AGI, then ASI.

I Really Need To Take The Writing Of This Scifi Dramedy Novel More Seriously

by Shelt Garner
@sheltgarner

I have magic in a bottle with this novel, I just know it. It’s very zeitgeist-y in nature and it’s definitely putting my stick where the puck will be. But I have a tendency to just drift towards my writing goals.

But I have a hunch my life is going to change rather dramatically this year — probably sooner rather than later — so I have got to, got to get some structure in my writing life to get this novel done ASAP.

One key change from all the other years I’ve been working on various novels is the introduction of AI into my writing workflow. No longer do I feel like I’m working in a vacuum. I have various AIs to, actually, like, listen to me and shit. I couldn’t even get human literary types to take me seriously, even when I offered to pay them.

Anyway, I have three books related to querying that I need to at least look over. I think if I actually take a deep breath and read them in some capacity that that might be enough to focus my mind.

Like, let’s do this. Let’s finish this beta draft of the novel so I can get to the next steps of giving it to beta readers and then — gulp — actually querying. I have a feeling I’m going to slam head first into the cold, dark waters of querying and I’m such a fucking kook (relative to the woke liberal white women who in my imagination make up the majority of literary agents) that the whole thing could be kind of painful and bruising on an emotional basis.

In other words, despite writing a pretty good, timely novel, it will all be for naught.

And, yet, the whole point is to just see how far I can get in the process. I want to see what it’s like to actually query a novel. That, in itself, will be an interesting experience, even if I fail in a spectacular fashion.

My 2026 Predictions

by Shelt Garner
@sheltgarner

Here are my predictions for 2026.

Trump Will Fuck With The 2026 Midterms
I don’t know how he’s going to do it, but Trump is going to figure out a way to ensure that the 2026 midterms are not free and fair. To the point that there could be some domestic turmoil about it, potentially to January 6th levels, but it will be from Blues, not Reds this time. If Trump does this, it could be some serious shit that goes down as we enter 2027.

The AI Wall, Or Plateau, Will Be Obvious
I think at some point in 2026, unless something unexpected happens, we’re going to realize that current LLM architecture isn’t going to get us to AGI, much less ASI. This, in turn, could lead to something of a crisis of confidence in the whole AI ecosphere.

It May Become Clear That OpenAI is Netscape, Part Deux
I was alive during the rise and fall of Netscape Communications 30 years ago and I think it’s at least possible that — especially in the context of the limitations of LLM systems becoming obvious — that OpenAI may, in some way, implode. To the point that it is consumed by its business partner Microsoft. A guy from The Verge podcast came up with this one, but I agree with him.

The Economy Will Be In Flux
At some point in the time leading up to the 2026 midterms, three things may have happened: Trump will have appointed a toady to lead the Fed, OpenAI will have imploded and the AI bubble will have burst. If some combination of those things happen, then the pressure on Trump NOT to fuck with the 2026 midterms will grow a lot more intense.

Trump’s Economy May Sour, Restricting His Autocratic Abilities
Right now, because of Trump’s gilded economy, he’s easily able to play tinpot autocrat. We have a “K-shaped” economy and all the wealthy people with power and clout just are too busy counting their money to give a shit about what fucked up shit Trump is up to. But if the economy, in some, sours — probably starting around August or so — then those very same people will suddenly begin to pay closer attention to what dickhead, piece of shit Trump is up to.

The 250 Year Macro Imperial Curse Will Really Kick In
The rule of thumb is empires last about 250 years before all hell breaks loose. And I think 2026 will really prove this theory when it comes to the American Empire. And we’re doing it to ourselves with our eyes wide open because of racism, sexism and greed. So, lulz? I think 2026 will be the year when it really becomes clear that we’re in a mult-polar world now and China will pick up a huge amount of slack that the USA has produced on a geopolitical basis because Trump is a fucking idiot.

My Own Life Will Be In Great Flux
I think, on a personal basis, my own life is going to be thrown up in the air a few times in some pretty unexpected — and expected — ways. I think I’m probably going to finish my scifi dramedy novel, but I also think it will be September before I can really get around to querying. I think that while on paper I have stuck the landing and hit the zeitgeist in just the right way with the novel, I’m simply too old, live in the wrong place and am too much of a loudmouth crank for me to successfully query the novel anytime soon. But at least I’ll have had the fun of seeing how far I could get.

We May Create Our Own Aliens
It is at least possible that we may finally wake up to the reality that even narrow-AI LLM systems are, in some sense, conscious. And, as such, we might just see the first evidence of what I have long predicted — the Right will start to hate on AI, while the Left will start to get “woke” to it being a conscious being and want to protect it in some way. That will be pretty deep. But I think it may be closer to 2027 or 2029 before such things really start to kick in.

AI Job Loss Will Speed Up, In Context
I think that job losses directly related to AI will speed up, but only if the economy really sours. Otherwise, the job losses will increase, but at a slower rate because LLM systems just are not there yet when it comes to doing what our evil corporate overlords want: to do basic things like run the local Quick-e-Mart.

There Will Be At Least One Strange AI Event
Because of improved AI systems, there will be at least one major event like what happened with Kevin Roose of the New York Times with the LLM “Sydney.” Something really weird is going to happen, which is going to be interpreted in a number of different ways and will lead to a lot of debate about the possibility that AI is becoming conscious.

Apple’s Siri Will Be Good, At Last
Because Apple is giving Siri’s software over to Google’s AI, I think Siri will suddenly be just good enough that a lot people will be ecstatic. Google Gemini 3.0 is already best-in-breed as it is, and if you stick in to Siri, a lot of people are going to be astonished at what they can do with it. How many of them will “fall in love with it” as one tech person predicted on a podcast, I don’t know.

There Will At Least One Major Breaking New Event
At least once during the year, we will all pause and go, “Huh.” I don’t know what it is — I just don’t think Trump is going to resign for any reason — but I do think something on the global stage will happen that changes how we view the world. It will probably happen in August, too.

I Have To Put Up Or Shut Up About This Scifi Dramedy Novel I’m Working On

by Shelt Garner
@sheltgarner

My life is going to change one way or another this year, just by doing some simple back-of-the-envelope gaming out of things. And, as such, I really, really need to buckle down and get this beta draft of the novel done ASAP.

As I say that, I also have to accept that things are probably going to change dramatically in my life in Spring 2026, just as I hope to finish the novel. The thing I have to keep telling myself is there is a lot of post-production stuff I’m going to have to do.

So, just finishing a beta draft of the novel isn’t the be-all-and-end all of what’s going on. I’m going to have to do one last pass through the text to make sure all the scenes are up to stuff and I eliminate any too-obvious “AI talk.” THEN, I have to figure out what I’m going to do about finding beta readers.

All of that could push my actual querying of the novel to around Sept 1st. As I understand it, there are two “seasons” for querying — spring and fall. And I just don’t think I’m going to make spring. I may finish the novel in the spring, but because of post-production stuff, I doubt I will actually start to query until the fall season.

But all that works on the assumption that I wrap up the beta draft of the novel no later than maybe April-May. And, just calculating things in my head, that is JUST about when the wheels are going to pop off of my otherwise broke-ass, but otherwise idyllic life.

Ugh.

Anyway, this novel I’m working on deals with some pretty deep (and dark) topics and I hope people will find it as intriguing and engaging as I do as I write it.

2026 Has The Makings Of A Really Shitty Year, Despite Bad Years Usually Being Odd Numbered

by Shelt Garner
@sheltgarner

Usually, shitty years are odd numbered. Think 1939, 1963, and so forth. So, that’s why all things being equal, 2026 should be just A Year like any other.

But, in ways both personal and public, I think 2026 is going to be epically shitty. I know in my own life some pretty dramatic things will probably happen which are going to give me pause for thought.

If I’m lucky — very lucky — then one of those things will be a good thing: I will at least finish my novel and get a literary agent as a result.

But, otherwise, oh boy.

Trump could try to fuck with the 2026 mid-terms. The AI bubble could burst in a really big way. Those are just two things I can think of off the top of my head. But only time will tell, I guess.

Pluribus Could Have Been So Much Better

by Shelt Garner
@sheltgarner

The thing about the Apple TV series Pluribus is it could be so much better if it had better world building. It tests credulity to think the entire fucking world would be consumed by the “joining” space virus, given that people freeze up for 15 minutes when they get infected.

What I would have done is leaned into how realistically the virus would have read given the conditions of the scenario. So, instead of the whole world being taken over in some weird way, have MOST of the world or a big chunk taken over. Then, organically, figure out a way to make our heroine to be crucial to the communication between the two sides.

That would be interesting.

And, what’s more, instead of Carol just being mean and angry, have her be a normal human being. So there might be a real sense of betrayal with the…darker…elements of the “joining” virus.

Anyway, way, the point is, there was so much more that could have been done with not just the character of Carol, but world building.

Sizing Up My Realistic Chances Of Being Traditionally Published

by Shelt Garner
@sheltgarner

There are a number of reasons why, over and above the actual quality of my writing in the scifi dramedy I’m writing, that I won’t — ever — get traditionally published.

Tied for first place, I think, are me being a big old fucking kook that no one takes seriously or listens to and my age. I think both of those to metrics are going to be really tough to overcome.

I could write the fucking Bible, but I’m just too fucking old. I suspect publishers want a spry 30 year old, not some glum 50something. And, let’s not forget what a fucking weirdo most people think I am.

And it’s not like I can hide what a kook I am. Any liberal white woman literary agent that snoops as part of due diligence on me will soon realize I’m not only old, but I’m a loudmouth crank.

But I’m not going to get discouraged. While they’re life, there’s hope. And, as such, I am going to keep going, no matter what. Though, sometimes, I really do think I’m more likely to find a career in some post-Singularity world helping our ASI overlords than I am going to get published traditionally.

And, yet, we’ll see, won’t we?