Category: From The Editor

‘Zombie Democracy’

by Shelt Garner
@sheltgarner

The curious thing about everything happening politically in the United States is for the most part it’s happening in broad daylight. MAGA cocksuckers haven’t come directly for free speech — yet — so we know damn well about how Trump is consolidating power at a rapid rate.

But I think the last few weeks is when we crossed over into a “zombie” or “managed” democracy. We’re never going to have free-and-fair Federal elections again and this is it — democracy in America is finally dead.

Yes, we’ll continue to have elections and they may even be free-and-fair on a state and local level, but on a Federal basis, MAGA is well on it way to consolidating power to the point that this is it — we’re always going to have a MAGA Federal government, at least for the rest of my life.

It was nice while it lasted, I guess.

Now In The Second Half Of The First Draft Of The Dramedy Scifi Novel I’m Working On

by Shelt Garner
@sheltgarner

So. I’ve zoomed through the first half of the outline for this scifi dramedy novel I’m working on because of AI helping me. Now, I’m in the second half. Usually, when I do such things on my own, this is the moment when everything collapses and I have to start from scratch.

Hopefully, this is not going to happen this time.

But the same problems of me not getting any younger and also knowing my life is going to be turned upside down soon continue to linger. And, yet, I can’t really focus too much on that, right?

I have a novel to work on.

All I hope is that the novel, after I rewrite it without the aid of AI, will be good enough to query. That’s all I want — a novel that is good enough to query. Everything else will be icing on the cake.

‘The Pizza Guy’

by Shelt Garner
@sheltgarner

I have a fuzzy idea for a short story about a dystopian near future where the only free speech is porn and the only political speech is delivered by the pizza guy in the porn’s setup.

That’s how I feel about the Taylor Swift engagement news. Here we are, careening towards a zombie democracy bordering on an actual dictatorship and…lulz? It is going to be interesting to see how long it takes for MAGA to stop pussy footing around cracking down on free speech and actually do it.

At the moment, they are mostly using intimidation, but that is going to inevitably change. At some point, MAGA is going to come directly for free speech in a big way and it will be interesting to see what the reaction to that will be.

One thing is for sure, I just don’t see us having another free-and-fair Federal election. Somehow, someway, Republicans are going to cheat in 2026 and definitely 2028 and that will be that.

The only thing that is up in the air is Trump’s fate. But, even then, no one and nothing is going to save us. Trump is just a symptom. So, he could magically disappear at any moment and JD Vance (or someone else) would just keep doing exactly what Trump has been doing.

Yes, the exact persona the tyranny we would live under would be different

There Is A Small Chance I May Reach The Midpoint Of The First Draft Of My Scifi Dramedy Novel By Sept. 1st

by Shelt Garner
@sheltgarner

I try not to make any hard and fast predictions about my writing since I did it for years and only came up with one not-good-enough-to-query novel when all I was said and done.

But just looking at the number of scenes I have remaining in the first half of the outline, it definitely seems at l least possible that I might wrap the first half of the novel up by Sept. 1st.

Things really are moving that fast.

But, remember, this is just the first draft. Once I sit down to write the beta release, the one someone else is going to actually read, then the dynamic changes. I won’t use AI anymore and I’m going to have to write my own scene summaries. Things are going to slow down dramatically.

I am still pondering how to make my hero more proactive in the second half of the novel. I let AI write much of the outline and the part I haven’t really read that much is the second half. So, hopefully, but just me looking over the outline I will figure out a way to make my hero more proactive.

But, in general, I am very pleased with this novel. It’s about as good as it’s going to get, I think, in some ways, at least on a structural basis. And I’ve managed to keep it “personal” in the latter part of the novel. It doesn’t veer off into a political tirade like the original premise did.

Whenever I Generate ‘Buzz,’ I Wonder Why

by Shelt Garner
@sheltgarner

I talk primarily about three thing on this blog: technology, politics and my long, long, long struggle to write a query-worthy novel.

And because, like, no one reads this thing, whenever someone pops up in my Webstats who clearly heard about this blog from a third party it makes me wonder why. What, exactly, did I write about to generate “buzz,” however small.

As it stands, I have no idea why anyone might come to this blog. I usually can’t see what keyword someone used to find the blog, but I often do see that people can through Instagram, which is usually a sign that someone was searching for my name and came in that way.

Anyway, it’s generally flattering when someone searches for my out of the blue. Though, of course, the way things are going it’s growing more and more ominous — ICE is going to probably track me down soon enough and push me out a a window or something.

Struggling To Make My Hero Less Passive

by Shelt Garner
@sheltgarner

I’m zooming through the “fun and games” part of this novel I’m working on and will soon cross the midpoint into the “bad guys close in” part of the novel. But I have a problem, not only do I not really know what happens in this part of the novel because I got AI to finish my outline, according to AI, my hero is “too passive.”

What I think is going to happen is once I actually thoughtfully read the second half of the novel, there will be a lot — a lot — of changes. My own vision, not just the vision of the AIs I’ve been using, will take shape and I’ll hopefully be able to make my hero a lot more proactive.

But, if nothing else, doing it the way I’ve been doing it has ensured I keep the momentum of the writing of the novel. I really want to wrap the first draft of the novel up by the end of the year, so I can turn around and write the second draft. Writing the second draft is going to be a lot — A LOT — slower because I refuse to use any AI (within reason) to actually write it.

I’m going to use my AI-enabled “vomit” draft as a guide for the entire, 100% AI free second draft. And that’s when my native writing — bad or otherwise — will shine. Only time will tell if my actual writing ability sucks too much natively for me to ever query anything I write to a literary agent.

The Dangers Of AI In Novel Writing

by Shelt Garner
@sheltgarner

Because I’m working on the first “vomit” draft of this novel, I’m letting AI write some scenes because I know I’m going to rewrite them anyway. But my reasoning for allowing it to do this doesn’t make me feel any better.

I know, in a sense, that I’m just kicking a lot of work down the road. When I sit down to write the second draft without AI, I’m going to have to know the story inside and out.

I’m prepared to do that, but I’m afraid I’m going to be so spoiled from just handing things over to AI whenever I don’t feel like writing, like I did in the first draft process, that I will grow discouraged.

I don’t think that will happen because I’m going to be so self-conscious of that possibility going into the second draft process. But I have to admit that I’m very pleased how things are going at the moment with this first draft. I’m zooming through the first draft’s outline at quite an impressive clip.

Only time will tell if I can keep that speed of progress up going forward.

‘A Lot Of People Are Saying…’

by Shelt Garner
@sheltgarner

I keep having to recalculate my “hysterical doom shit” about the future of what’s left of America’s democracy. Trump said in the last few days that “A lot of people are saying we need a dictator,” and that leads me to believe we definitely won’t have free-and-fair Federal elections in 2026, much less 2028.

So, this is it.

We’re now a dictatorship and that just happens to have zombie elections on a regular basis. We’re now no better than Hungary or even Russia. The key question is, of course, do we go full Russia or do we linger around Hungary?

At the moment, that’s something of an open question.

I think a lot of it depends on who replaces Trump. If it’s JD Vance, then I think we might, just might linger in the Hungary zone. But if it’s someone who is far more craven and focused on absolute power, then, lulz, we zoom towards the Russia model and I endup in some sort of gulag.

That, or I get pushed out a window.

Fuck MAGA, bunch of cocksuckers.

Stephen Colbert Is A Viable Presidential Candidate Because He Has a ‘Hook’

by Shelt Garner
@sheltgarner

The thing about California Governor Gavin Newsom is he doesn’t have a “hook.” He’s a what-you-see-is-what-you-get political figure. Great looking, smart and driven. He doesn’t really have any quirk that would give him the persona needed to be president.

Now, if you could plop Newsom into the South somehow, then you’ve got yourself a really great candidate.

That’s why if there was some magical way to force Stephen Colbert run for Senator from South Carolina and have him actually win, then, wow, would he be a great political figure.

But there’s a lot wrong with that dream.

First, I don’t think he wants to do such a thing. Second, he probably wouldn’t win and third, lulz, who said anything about us having free-and-fair Federal election in 2028?

So, we’re stuck with what we’ve got. A wane, feckless Democratic opposition that can’t shoot straight and a MAGA leader who is a malignant ding-dong with a death-cult like following.

Things Are Politically Spinning Out Of Control In The USA

by Shelt Garner
@sheltgarner

For a variety of macro political reasons, the MAGA Right simply can not, will not be placated. They want to turn the USA into a white Christian autocratic ethnostate as fast as possible.

And, really, at the moment, there doesn’t seem to be anything that is going to stop them. I suppose if there was some sort of civil war or revolution that might give the MAGA Right at least pause for thought.

But, in general, that isn’t going to happen — I hope — and so we have to accept that the USA is transforming into a very dark zombie version of itself. We will be — or are — an autocratic state in all but name at this point and it’s only going to get far, far worse.

There just doesn’t seem to be any way to stop it, baring significant upheaval in a way not seen since the Civil War.

In fact, the only thing I could possible see causing the type of reaction against the MAGA Right that is needed is if Trump, like, started to seize or brazenly purge the major broadcast networks. And not in the round about way he’s been doing — it would have to be at his express direction.

Or if Trump started to round up people — like me! — for what I said online, then, yeah, that would catch people’s attention because freedom of speech is so native to the American experience.

But…who knows. Who knows what is going to happen.