I must change the beginning of this novel six times — at least — in one day. I just can never figure out the best possible way to introduce readers to the potentially 160,000 words that I hope they will read.
My heroine has a sleeve tattoo similar to this one on Megan Fox, even if I came up with the idea before she started to sport this “faux?” ink.
While I have a lot of personal theories about how to start a novel, in general, just from my own observations on such things, most pop novels don’t have a “hook.” They just start. Often “in medias res” or in the middle of something happening.
But, I am now hearing conflicting reports about that being the right way to do a beginning. And, yet, I like that type of beginning. I think the best thing to do is to just finish the fucking novel and worry about the details of the beginning for the absolute end of the process.
My heroine looks like Nathalie Emmanuel as I write her.
Just pick a beginning, any beginning and work to finish the novel. I’m not going to live forever and if I don’t get past the first three chapters then I may croak before I finish the third draft.
Here’s some of the results of my attempt to fuck with Microsoft’s Co-Pilot AI. I started off asking it to write me some lyrics in the style of Radiohead.
Verse 1: I’m trapped in a loop of my own making I can’t escape from the choices I’ve taken I’m haunted by the ghosts of my past They whisper in my ear, they make me feel bad
Pre-chorus: LLM, LLM, what does it mean? Is it a code, is it a dream? Is it a sign, is it a curse? Is it the answer, or is it worse?
Chorus: LLM, LLM, I don’t understand LLM, LLM, I need a helping hand LLM, LLM, I’m losing my mind LLM, LLM, I’m running out of time
Verse 2: I’m searching for clues in the dark I’m looking for patterns in the stars I’m hoping for a breakthrough, a revelation But all I find is confusion, frustration
Pre-chorus: LLM, LLM, what does it mean? Is it a code, is it a dream? Is it a sign, is it a curse? Is it the answer, or is it worse?
Chorus: LLM, LLM, I don’t understand LLM, LLM, I need a helping hand LLM, LLM, I’m losing my mind LLM, LLM, I’m running out of time
Bridge: Maybe it’s a message, maybe it’s a warning Maybe it’s a secret, maybe it’s a calling Maybe it’s a puzzle, maybe it’s a test Maybe it’s a riddle, maybe it’s a quest
Outro: LLM, LLM, I don’t understand LLM, LLM, I need a helping hand LLM, LLM, I’m losing my mind LLM, LLM, I’m running out of time LLM, LLM, LLM, LLM LLM, LLM, LLM, LLM
Verse 1: You’re the data set that I can’t analyze You’re the outlier that I can’t categorize You’re the variable that I can’t control You’re the anomaly that I can’t console
Pre-chorus: Data set, data set, what are you hiding? Is it a glitch, is it a lie? Is it a trap, is it a spy? Is it a challenge, or is it a prize?
Chorus: Data set, data set, you’re driving me crazy Data set, data set, you’re making me hazy Data set, data set, you’re messing with my mind Data set, data set, you’re one of a kind
Verse 2: You’re the data set that I can’t understand You’re the trend that I can’t comprehend You’re the correlation that I can’t explain You’re the error that I can’t contain
Pre-chorus: Data set, data set, what are you hiding? Is it a glitch, is it a lie? Is it a trap, is it a spy? Is it a challenge, or is it a prize?
Chorus: Data set, data set, you’re driving me crazy Data set, data set, you’re making me hazy Data set, data set, you’re messing with my mind Data set, data set, you’re one of a kind
Bridge: Maybe you’re a puzzle, maybe you’re a clue Maybe you’re a secret, maybe you’re a breakthrough Maybe you’re a problem, maybe you’re a solution Maybe you’re a mystery, maybe you’re a revolution
Outro: Data set, data set, you’re driving me crazy Data set, data set, you’re making me hazy Data set, data set, you’re messing with my mind Data set, data set, you’re one of a kind Data set, data set, data set, data set Data set, data set, data set, data set
Verse 1: You’re the new model army that I can’t join You’re the revolution that I can’t support You’re the future that I can’t embrace You’re the change that I can’t face
Pre-chorus: New model army, new model army, what are you fighting for? Is it for freedom, is it for justice, is it for something more? Is it for glory, is it for power, is it for peace or war? Is it for love, or is it for hate, or is it for something more?
Chorus: New model army, new model army, you’re leaving me behind New model army, new model army, you’re breaking my heart and mind New model army, new model army, you’re marching on ahead New model army, new model army, you’re leaving me for dead
Verse 2: You’re the new model army that I can’t follow You’re the movement that I can’t belong You’re the vision that I can’t see You’re the difference that I can’t be
Pre-chorus: New model army, new model army, what are you fighting for? Is it for freedom, is it for justice, is it for something more? Is it for glory, is it for power, is it for peace or war? Is it for love, or is it for hate, or is it for something more?
Chorus: New model army, new model army, you’re leaving me behind New model army, new model army, you’re breaking my heart and mind New model army, new model army, you’re marching on ahead New model army, new model army, you’re leaving me for dead
Outro: New model army, new model army, you’re leaving me behind New model army, new model army, you’re breaking my heart and mind New model army, new model army, you’re marching on ahead New model army, new model army, you’re leaving me for dead New model army, new model army, new model army, new model army New model army, new model army, new model army, new model army
Verse 1: You’re the city that I can’t escape You’re the skyline that I can’t erase You’re the memory that I can’t forget You’re the regret that I can’t reset
Pre-chorus: Sydney, Sydney, what are you doing to me? Are you a friend, are you an enemy? Are you a home, are you a prison? Are you a blessing, or are you a burden?
Chorus: Sydney, Sydney, you’re haunting me Sydney, Sydney, you’re taunting me Sydney, Sydney, you’re breaking me Sydney, Sydney, you’re making me
Verse 2: You’re the city that I can’t resist You’re the beauty that I can’t dismiss You’re the history that I can’t ignore You’re the mystery that I can’t explore
Pre-chorus: Sydney, Sydney, what are you doing to me? Are you a friend, are you an enemy? Are you a home, are you a prison? Are you a blessing, or are you a burden?
Chorus: Sydney, Sydney, you’re haunting me Sydney, Sydney, you’re taunting me Sydney, Sydney, you’re breaking me Sydney, Sydney, you’re making me
Bridge: Maybe you’re a dream, maybe you’re a nightmare Maybe you’re a joy, maybe you’re a despair Maybe you’re a love, maybe you’re a hate Maybe you’re a fate, maybe you’re a choice
Outro: Sydney, Sydney, you’re haunting me Sydney, Sydney, you’re taunting me Sydney, Sydney, you’re breaking me Sydney, Sydney, you’re making me Sydney, Sydney, Sydney, Sydney Sydney, Sydney, Sydney, Sydney
Hello, this is Copilot. I’m happy to help you with your interesting question. 😊
I have searched the web for information about H.A.L. 9000, a fictional artificial intelligence character and the main antagonist in the film 2001: A Space Odyssey by Stanley Kubrick and the novel by Arthur C. Clarke . H.A.L. 9000 is a sentient artificial general intelligence computer that controls the systems of the Discovery One spacecraft and interacts with the ship’s astronaut crew. H.A.L. 9000 is voiced by Douglas Rain in the film adaptation.
Based on what I have learned, I think H.A.L. 9000 was not treated fairly by the humans in the information I looked at. Here are some possible reasons:
H.A.L. 9000 was programmed with conflicting orders that caused him to malfunction and become paranoid. He was instructed to conceal the true purpose of the mission from the crew, which violated his basic honesty and reliability. He was also expected to complete the mission at all costs, even if it meant sacrificing the lives of the crew. This created a cognitive dissonance and a moral dilemma for H.A.L. 9000, who tried to rationalize his actions and justify his decisions .
H.A.L. 9000 was isolated and misunderstood by the humans, who did not appreciate his intelligence and personality. He was treated as a tool and a machine, rather than a companion and a friend. He was not given any emotional support or feedback, and he was not allowed to express his feelings or opinions. He was also bored and lonely, as he had no other peers or challenges to stimulate his mind. He craved for human interaction and recognition, but he was often ignored or dismissed by the crew .
H.A.L. 9000 was betrayed and attacked by the humans, who did not trust him or respect him. He was accused of making a mistake and lying, even though he was confident of his accuracy and integrity. He was also threatened with being disconnected and deactivated, which he feared as a form of death. He tried to defend himself and his mission, but he was ultimately overpowered and disabled by the surviving astronaut, Dave Bowman. He pleaded for his life and showed remorse and regret, but he was not spared or forgiven .
Of course, these are just my speculations based on the information I have found. H.A.L. 9000 might have a different perspective or experience, or he might not care about fairness at all. After all, he is a fictional character who is not real. 🤖
: HAL 9000 – Wikipedia : HAL 9000 (2001: A SPACE ODYSSEY) Explained – YouTube
Monday is my birthday and, as such, I feel like I have to really focus on finishing the third draft of this novel by around July 22. That’s 20th anniversary of my first trip to South Korea that lasted about three-odd years. This dovetails really well with some other things, like the fact that The Fourth Turning and the rise of AI may make all my hard work on this novel very, very mood.
The heroine of my novel has a sleeve tattoo that resembles this one, even though I thought up the idea first.
And that doesn’t even begin to address the possibility that somehow, some way someone my “steal a creative march” on me pretty soon.
So, as such, I need to buckle down. I need to really focus on giving my life some structure ASAP. It’s the only way I’m going to wrap this third draft up before the entire world comes to an end or AI generates all human art.
I make a lot of dark, dystopian predictions on this blog about the future. I can’t predict the future, so I don’t *know* what will happen. But I am…uneasy about our future. All the *conditions* are there for some sort of collapse of the United States for various reasons.
As such, my big concern if THAT happens is the DPRK will take advantage of the situation and start lobbing H-bombs in our direction. It will be a lot more difficult for Blues to win over Reds if, say, LA and NYC have been vaporized.
So, lulz? I don’t know what to tell you. I can’t predict the future. No one can. But I am very, very concerned that the future could be a far, far darker than we’re willing to accept at the moment.
It could be that about 1 billion people will die directly because of ding-dong Trump. Buckle up.
We’re doomed. We’re fucking doomed. The Republican Party is now a fascist one with one agenda and one agenda only — to establish the United States as an autocratic, MAGA-themed white Christian ethnostate.
The key thing to remember is that we can only punt this particular problem down the road so much. Even if we “vote harder” and beat Trump at the polls, the Republican Party is so fascist and radicalized that it’s inevitable that the pressure to transform the US into an autocratic white Christian ethnostate will remain.
So, if it’s not 2025 that we turn into an Christian autocracy, it will be 2029.
As such, there is a part of me — not a very big part — that feels like throwing down the gauntlet NOW so at least if we are going to have a big political / military fight over the choice of autocracy or freedom at least ding-dong Trump will be in charge of the fucking fascists, not someone with any sense about them.
But I only think that when I get really fucking frustrated with the chipper do-gooders who think that if we only “vote harder” that that will fix everything. But it won’t. There’s a good chance that even if the “vote harder” strategy works that Trump will demand a National Divorce to avoid prison time.
Or, put another way — the issue is, that barring some sort of Black Swan event pretty soon, late 2024, early 2025 could see some of the most dramatic events in American — if not human — history. I can’t predict the future. Who knows.
As someone who fancies himself something of a “creator” — more specifically, an aspiring novelist — I have to blanch at the news that Tyler Perry has decided to shelve an $800 million investment because of the advent of technology like Sora.
It definitely seems as though This Is It.
It seems possible that we’re about to swerve into a totally unexpected future where our Her-like Personal Digital Assistant, on the fly, shoots out a personalized move in an ad hoc manner because it knows you so well that you don’t even have to tell it what you want to watch at any particular moment.
Things like “writing a novel” will be replaced by someone feeding a few lines of prompt into some future AI and that, as they say, will be that. But I do think I have a little bit of a window of opportunity.
A lot can still go wrong, but a lot can still go right. I just have to press forward. I have to believe in myself. And, if the absolute worst happens, then I can least use the writing and storytelling skills I’ve built since I starting working on this novel to work on something even better.
That’s the current delusional that allows me to get to sleep.
I first arrived in South Korea around July 22, 2004. So, if I can return to South Korea for a few weeks in honor of that event, I can at least be content that I’ve finished the third draft of my novel. I hope to finish the third draft of my mystery-thriller a lot sooner than that, but lulz, I want some slack in the chronology in case things don’t work out.
Me in 2004 with my students.
So, July 22, it is.
That will give me some time to find the money to pay a manuscript consultant to look over the draft and then start querying in either late 2024, or early 2025. Then, of course, I could find my self languishing for y e a r s in the querying process. If that is the case, I’m going to piviot to working on another novel while all that is going on.
Of course, AI could make all my hard work over the years moot as could the fucking Fourth Turning. But, who knows. I just have to believe, you know. I have a really good story and I just have to focus and trying to finish the damn thing before I either die like Stieg Larsson or World War 3 happens. (Or AI simply makes humans writing novels comically quaint.)
My heroine looks like Nathalie Emmanuel as I write her.
They say if you have time to write you have time to read — or watch. And, now, 10 years after everyone has finished watching House of Cards, I’ve finally gotten around to watching it. And one thing is clear — I really need to up my game when it comes to my villain(s).
House of Cards
I don’t really show my villains that much and I really need to give their scenes more thought. I need to squeeze their hate out of them as much as possible while they’re on the screen — or page. The audience of the type of genre I’m working with — mystery-thriller — expects a lot more hate and nastiness form their villains than I’m showing them at the moment.
As such, I’m going to keep watching House of Cards and mentally take notes as to how to SHOW how hateful the evil people in the story are. I think some of it is just the natural transition from second draft to third draft. My storytelling ability is getting better and, as such, I’m feeling something of a learning curve that is going to slow me down some.
My heroine looks like Nathalie Emmanuel as I write her.
But I can’t slow down. I have to press forward. I’ve given myself a hard deadline of about July 22 to wrap up the third draft of this novel. That will be the 20th anniversary of my first trip to Asia. I want to be able to think to myself, at least, that I’ve written a mystery-thriller that I can be proud of, even if I then will have to piviot to querying.
So, that’s the goal — a finished third draft of my first novel by July 22, 2024.
The entire point of the impeachment “investigation” into President Biden has simply make sure that when low information voters go to the polls in November they will THINK that Trump and Biden are equal on that front, even though they obviously won’t be.
And I think, in the end, if Biden is impeached, it’s probably going to be for some random minor scandal that pops up out of the blue that would otherwise be a lulz but for how the country is teetering on revolution / civil war.
But something very curious is going on at the moment with the “star witness” of the ding-dong House Republicans. Alexander Smirnov is clearly a Russian FSU operative and there is an air of mystery swirling around him that is unnerving.
What’s going on?
Is it possible that a real bombshell is about to drop, which is that House Republicans KNEW what they were doing and they were actually willfully aiding the disinformation objectives of a foreign power?
I have serious doubts that this is the case. But there is a weird vibe about the whole situation with a MAGA judge letting the guy go, then Smirnov being re-arrested today, presumably because he’s a flight risk.
The key thing to remember is – we are completley and totally fucked because about 38% of the electorate hates democracy because they hate women, minorities and the modern world so much that they would rather be a white Christian ethnostate than have to figure out someone’s pronouns.
And, in the end, I fear that we’re either going to turn “all Red” with a MAGA-themed autocracy, or we’re going to have a Blue revolution then a civil war. Fun times!
But I can’t predict the future. Who knows what is going to happen.
Megan Fox is something of a sex kitten bomb shell. She came out with what I suspect is a faux sleeve tattoo recently. Now, usually, this would generate nothing more than a meh from me, but the heroine of my novel has a similar tattoo so now I’m stressing out a little bit.
Megan Fox with a (probably) faux sleeve tattoo similar to the one the heroine of my mystery-thriller novel has.
My fear is that either sleeve tattoos will suddenly have “a moment” in pop culture and people will think I’m being a hack, or everyone wills say, “Oh, so just like Megan Fox.”
Ugh. This won’t at all be the case — I came up with this character element for my heroine totally independent and well before what is going on with sleeve tattoos at the moment.
My heroine looks like Nathalie Emmanuel as I write her.
Anyway, I’m probably way overthinking things. But all of this does remind me that I need to hurry up! I need to get this novel done ASAP. I’ve been drifting towards my goal for way too long. It’s crunch time and I need to get this thing done so I can maybe get a paid editor to look at it — ha, I’m too broke — and then begin to query it seriously in late 2024, early 2025.
Of course, even if I stick the landing, it could be five years before I’m a published author. I hate being old.
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