So I always wanted to write a book. There I said it, life goal and all. However it felt like such a daunting task, all those threads, plot, characters… words. It felt like a massive mountain to climb. And then would it make sense to anyone else, would I have told a cohesive story or would it just amount to pile of mildly rational ramblings?
So I lived life, worked, had a kid, got married, did art, lamented I didn’t do enough art. I was inspired by my awesome wife to do more art, drawing and the such, digital art, and then I started playing around with AI. I know this is a touchy subject and have learned the pro’s and con’s of this emerging technology (and I’m sure I’ll write about my thoughts in a future post). So, I decided to delve headfirst and see what this AI could do, so I asked it to write a book, sort of like a science experiment.
It did it, chapter by chapter, it was fascinating and like looking into the mind of a program. It rambled on and on and spouted philosophy that was a reanimated hodgepodge of other philosophies. Interesting.
So I decided: let me get it to make a book, but control its flow, give it dialogue and plot direction. This ended up feeling like I was a dungeon master running a mildly interesting game of Dungeons & Dragons. The results were interesting, so I threw them up on Amazon, considering them digital art, even if AI derived, but it gave me something else. The understanding that I could create my own universe, and actually write a book, no AI, just my imagination.
So I got started writing. Still living life, working, writing on my phone and iPad wherever I am. I called it gorilla writing. I started going to the gym and in between reps, I wrote. While I waited for orders at work, I wrote. Before I went to bed at night, I wrote. Being someone who has lived their entire life under the specter of ADD, seeing myself plot out and write a book was empowering!
I fucking did! I wrote more than 63,000 , but more importantly I had taken my character’s on an adventure, where they lived and breathed, learned and lost, and went from point A to point C by way of point B. I was excited, I was energized, I was amazed I finished the damn thing! What was even more impressive to me is that it was fun! I really enjoyed the entire process.
What next? After my experience self publishing my AI assisted books on Amazon, I knew I wanted to go a different route, so I googled, read, learned, and found out I was only just at the beginning of my journey.
Enter the ring; Traditional Publishing! It was time to throw my hat in, time for my work and I to get out into the world. Getting into traditional publishing is as much a daunting task as writing the book, but I did the first step, and I am ready to go all in.
So that’s where I am at, at the moment. Querying literary agents, learning more and more about the business, and of course writing (If you happen to be an agent I’ve queried; Hello there!).
But what is the point of all this, how many projects having I started to see wilt on the vine? The fact that I’ve gotten this far, shows me I can cross the finish line, and that’s just what I intend to do! …and if your an aspiring author, so can you!
So if I can do this with ADD, financially supporting my family, busy as heck, so can you. You just need to find your flow, your process that works for you. Everyone will be different; maybe locking yourself in your dimly lit basement works best for you, or in a crowded coffee shop listening to 80’s speed metal on your headphones. For me, it’s been in bite-sized chunks, thinking about plot and world-building while driving and jotting down notes when I stop (I am a safe driver; just don’t ask my wife!). I do like to sit down and go at it for as long as my mind lets me, but for the most part, writing on the go works for me. What works for you?
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