How Writers Can Make Best Use Of ChatGPT

 

ChatGPT (Chat Generative Pre-trained Transformer) is a chat box launched by Open AI in November of 2022. It came to my attention pretty much at the same time from two sources: a LinkedIn gentleman that I follow (S. Vincent Shin) and the founder of a course that I was taking related to writing (Ty Cohen).

It is known for its detailed, articulate responses, but also has a significant drawback - it has uneven factual accuracy. I just started using it and found it easy and fun to use. I asked for a title for this specific blog and was given a very nice one that I adapted for use. It also provided me with an outline for this blog, which I did decide to use. (I can ramble on a bit on my own!)

I plan to continue using the program to give shape and focus to whatever I am writing. It will not write the article/story/book for you, but it will give you a solid outline that takes your own thoughts/ideas and brings them to life. This would be very helpful if you were in a place in your writing where you were either stuck or simply lost.

The bot mimics human conversation, which makes it easy to follow. It also has the ability to sort out what is factual and what is not factual about the questions it is being asked.

As the responses from the bot are known not to be 100% accurate, I would advise using it as a starting point and doing your due diligence to verify the information you are being given.

ChatGPT is free to users. I understand that there is also a paid version, which gives users priority during times of heavy usage, as well as access to new features. The app is not currently available for use on iPhone or IOS.

(c) February 2023 Bonnie Cehovet

Reproduction is prohibited without written permission from the author.

Story Line - Life Experiencees Applied

 

"Story Line - Finding Gold In Your Life Story," by Jen Grisanti, is an oldie but a goodie (published in 2011). It crossed my path in its own time, in its own way. And yes, it is all about how to approach writing scripts. I am not a scriptwriter (yet), but I do believe that the information Grisanti shares is applicable to the genres I do write in - flash fiction and cozy mysteries.

Grisanti has stellar credentials - she was mentored for twelve years by Aaron Spelling, was Vice President of Current Programs at CBS/Paramount, and served as a mentor in the CBS Diversity Program. In 2008 she launched her own company, Jen Grisanti Consultancy Inc., and was hired as the Writing Instructor for  NBC's Writers In The Verge.

The foundation of this book is to help writers connect with their audience on a strong emotional level. This is done by writers going deep within themselves and using their personal experiences to add depth and authenticity to their writing.

The book is organized into the following categories: Setup (where the story starts), Dilemma (dilemma as used to clearly establish the character's goals), Action (the actions taken to achieve a goal, coming from the writer's own experiences), and Goal (the character's life after their goal is accomplished).

I am a pantser - I do not write out more than a bare-bones guide for my stories. What I found in reading this book is that when I use my own experiences, I write from a stronger place. I am more confident in my work, and my stories pull together easier.

Grisanti encourages the reader to take a deep dive into themselves. To look at themselves, to work with what they know. Each of us will take away something different from this book, but each of us as writers, will be better people for it.

(c) October 2022 Bonnie Cehovet

Reproduction is prohibited without written permission from the author.

The Post Pandemic Writer's World

As a writer, how are you planning on entering the post-pandemic era? You're just going to continue writing? Really?  I think that you will find that you have changed - that your perspectives on life have changed. As your perspectives change, so will your character's perspectives, their needs, and their challenges. The world that you live in has changed drastically, and so will the world your characters live in.

It doesn't matter whether your characters are living in our current time, or if your story is placed several years back. As writers, we allow the story to flow through us. But we still have a basic way of looking at things that the current pandemic has altered. We are living in a world of face masks, isolating at home, restaurants that, when they open, will be only 50% capacity, with wait-staff wearing face masks. Schools are closed, with learning done on a digital basis. We may have a postal service that we cannot recognize. More people may be working from home, many people will remain out of work. There will be a mandatory six-foot social distancing, no handshaking, and massive use of hand sanitizer.

Travel may or may not be restricted, airlines will have a whole new set of rules, and hotels/motels may not offer the amenities that they now offer. Many businesses, both small and large, will be closing, This is the background against which we are writing our stories. Can we step away from that background and feel comfortable writing stories based in the past - even in the recent past?    

What I am doing is journaling - a little bit each day - to see where I am in life, and how I am handling all of these changes. This is how I stay grounded and centered, and get a better perspective on what I need to work on personally. As I grow as a person, my hope is that I will grow as a writer. 

It is hard for any of us to be creative in difficult times. When our creative efforts are focused on finding toilet paper, hand sanitizer, and face masks, writing takes a bit of a back seat. But we need to keep our lives as normal as possible, and for writers that means that we need to continue to write. Continue to write, continue to edit, continue to publish, continue to promote. This is who we are!

(c) May 2020 Bonnie Cehovet

Reproduction prohibited without written permission from the author.

Is Instagram For Writers?

I was recently nudged into joining Instagram by a gentleman that I do a bit of pro bono work for. He wanted to expand the base for his audio interview site. So I finally figured it out, and there I was. Kind of like when I first joined LinkedIn - I was standing in the middle of the room, eyes big, wondering what to do next.

I still haven't posted anything referencing the site that nudged me onto Instagram, but I have posted about the book that my co-author Brad Tesh and I just published - Invisible Me. Then I got the idea that I could post about my existing books (including the book that Brad and I previously published). So there really is a reason for me to be on Instagram! (Besides, this way I can follow F1 driver Lewis Hamilton's posts!) And I found a lot of people there that I follow on other social media sites - so of course I followed them on Instagram too!

So what are some of the reasons that it benefits writers to post on Instagram? One reason is the same reason that the gentleman that I work with wanted me to promote his site - that it appeals to a younger crowd (millennials). Also, we have to get over the fact that as writers we use words, not images, to paint the picture of our stories. Instagram has a huge user base, a veritable gift for expanding our reading audience!

How can we best create a solid presence on Instagram? Make sure that our author bio resonates with the audience that we want to attract, and include a link to our author website and/or blog. 

How can we best use Instagram to promote ourselves as writers? Another learning curve for me - the judicious use of hashtags. What this does is help our posts be seen by those that are not already following us. Where can we find relevant hashtags? Cheat a bit - check out other writers, and see what they are including in their posts!  Make sure that you are not constantly promoting yourself! Make around 25% of your posts promotion, and 75% something interesting to the audience that you want to attract. Like other writers posts, and comment when relevant. (I am a bit old fashioned - I would recommend leaving only positive comments.) Post pictures/images that are interesting. Post several times a week, to keep your name out there. If you want comments, ask questions in your post. 

Where can w find writers to follow on Instagram? Here is one site with some excellent suggestions grammerly.com. Another interesting site is paperbackparis.com. 

There is a dark side to Instagram. Someone created an account using my name - a fake account. They were not posting anything, but they were contacting my friends, in a way that wasn't me at all. I notified Instagram, and that account was taken down within 24 hours. In my book, Instagram rates high on enforcing rules and follow-through!

Think about using Instagram in your marketing ... and check out what I am doing there! 

(c) March 2019 Bonnie Cehovet

Reproduction prohibited without written permission of the author.

Too Many Storylines - Too Little Time

Writer's are surrounded by stories - everyone, everything has a story to tell. The first thing that we need to do is jot down ideas as they come. Ideas are very flighty, you know - they come and leave of their own accord. If I am home, I jot these flighty little ideas down in an e-file. If I am out and about, I create a memo on my cell phone. The really cool thing about cell phones is that I can take a picture to go with it. Not that I will use the picture to do more than jog my memory - the rights of the person/people being photographed and all that.

What do we do with ideas that don't ever develop into anything? I hold on to them - they may at some point in time find their story! The ideas that are willing to be developed - some may go into short stories, some may go into books, some may develop into a series. 

Everywhere we go there are stories. People dancing down the aisles in a grocery store (I did see this happen, and it was store employees doing the dancing!),  the individual ahead of us waiting to mail a package, the exotic looking lady getting her nails done ... they all have their stories. And guess what - sometimes their stories will merge!

We are gifted with ideas for stories every day - we simply need to decide which ones we are going to run with, and which ones we will sit on for a while. Nothing is at it seems - you and I can see the same thing, and write two very different stories. This is the magic of life!

Happy writing!

(c) February 2019 Bonnie Cehovet

Reproduction prohibited without written approval from the author. 

Welcome To 2019!

Welcome to 2019! A blank page for all of us to write on, a year full of promise and possibilities! Where do we start? Do we continue on with our projects from 2018? Do we develop new projects? Do we set timelines? How do we handle this wonderful new beginning?

Whoa! Slow down! Take a deep breath! Let's take a side trip into the numerology of 2019. Numbers have energy, so what is the overall energy for all of us in 2019? It is that of the number 3 (2+0+1+9=12, 1+2=3). The number three represents the energy of creative self-expression, optimism, and connection. We can use our creativity to problem solve existing WIP, or to bring together a project that is still mostly in our minds. We can use our writing to express ourselves in any way that we see fit. I have two avenues that I write in at this time: spirituality/self-help, and mystery. 

The challenges that we face in a number three year are those of  dealing with our emotional selves, and the ups and downs that we all experience emotionally. We need to learn to acknowledge our emotions, so that they do not rule our lives. We are actually less vulnerable when we express our emotions. Expect to be dealing with self doubt ... learn to make friends with it. Learn to deal with scattered energy - as in too many projects started, not enough fnished. 

Now that we know what helps us and what challanges us in the coming year, how do we want to use this first month, the month of January, to best effect? I am going to start out by making no decisions. I am going to review 2018 - what I accomplished, what I did not accomplish, and why. I am going to look at what I want to finish off from 2018, and what projects I want to start. For me, I have two WIP's - one is a spiritual book that I am co-authoring, the other is my first mystery book. Having declared myself a cozy mystery writer, I realized that the mystry I am writing is turning out to not be a cozy mystery. It has some feet, so I decided to turn it into a three book series, and then to move on to cozy mysteries. 

Once I have come to peace with 2018, I am going to set a schedule for finishing both of my WIP's. I will also be signing up for a writing course given by Margaret Atwood, and looking into writer's organizations to join, Currently under consideration are Author's Guild, Mystery Writers Of America, Sister's In Crime, and the International Women's Writing Guild.

January is also a good time to look at our writing habits - such as making time to write, treating writing as a career, setting goals, taking those goals and putting them together into an achievable plan. What we set down in January is not written in stone - we accomplish more if we are willng to fine tune our work, and know when it is time to abandon a project.

Wishing you all a stellar 2019!

(c) January 2019 Bonnie Cehovet

Reproduction prohibited without written authorization from the author.  

Blogging For Writer's

Blogging is a push button for me. I like to blog, because I like to get information out there, I like to keep my name known, and I like to promote my work. What I don't like is connecting to other writer's blogs, doing promotions with other writers, and the whole "blogathon" concept. For other people that may work - for me it does not.

So why do I encourage  blogging for writers? Because it is a way to help with promoting and marketing for our work - starting with our WIP's. What will make writers successful bloggers? Taking the content on their blog seriously - paying as much atention to it as they do to their WIP's. Chosing meaningful topics, and addressing them in a meaningful manner. 

Be creative! The content from your blog can also be used in other places. It can be used as a starting point for an article on another social media site, such as LinkedIn. You can write a series of blogs on the same topic, and publish them as a book (or booklet), or use them as a freebie for a sign-up for your newsletter. (Yes, we need to have newsletters too!)

Know the audience that you are writing for, and make it interesting for them. Make them want to follow your blog! Speaking for myself, my audience is those of all ages interested in cozy mysteries, recipies, and cats. Having said that, I do follow a few other authors blogs, authors that I respect and can learn something from. My hope is that as I get better at blogging, other authors will decide to follow me too.

Some of the things that need to be taken into consideration when blogging are consistency (how frequently you decide to blog), blog content that is related (with strong headlines that show what the content is all about), your bio (which needs to reflect both you and your writing), and whether or not you are going to allow comments (and if you do, how you are going to moderate them).

The length of the content on your blog is up to you. IMHO, longer blogs are better. Also, use images. They draw attention, and can be usd to set the mood for a particular blog. 

Have fun with this! You will be blogging as long as you are writing!

(c) February 2018 Bonnie Cehovet

Reproduction prohibited without written permission of the author. 

Writer's Wrtie

 

What do writer's do? They write, of course! The deal is ... few of us are working on just one project at a time. Speaking for myself ... that would be pretty boring! So what am I working on right now? I am a reviewer of books, decks, and oracles ... at this point in time I am about to review a Tarot book, I have two Tarot decks waiting to be danced with, and two Tarot based fiction books that want to have a conversation.

I am co-authoring a book on Joy with my friend Brad Tesh. Many of you may know Brad from Facebook ... he is a very positive,  upbeat individual that sees the good in everything and everyone. Neither of us has co-authored a book before, but what we are finding is that we can make up the rules as we go along. It is our book, and we can do what we want to do. There really don't even have to be any rules, as long as we agree on what we are presenting, and how we are presenting it. This book is a true Joy to write, and is intended to be the first of who know how many books that we write together!

A small project is the article that I am writing for Attune magazine on the Moon/Hermit birth card pair. I have found that the Birth Cards really do enjoy discussing life! I get to be the middleman, somehow. ;-)

Another small project is helping Pamela Steele write the text for her children's Tarot book. This is such a joy to be involved with! Moving my mindset from adults to children is quite interesting!

I am also writing a second e-book (My first one was on "Surviving the Holidays" ... this one is "The Art of Making Choices".)

Writer's will write about just about anything, given a chance! I recently joined the Inspired Living Application program (http://ilivingapp.com/bonniecehovet), and have been writing a series of welcoming and explanatory letters that will be sent to team members signing up under me, to help them get started in the program. My previous mindset from the world of working in clinical laboratories kicking in!

If you are a writer, accept any and all opportunities to write that come to you. Okay ... a given project may not be for you, but you will keep your mind active and fresh if you choose to write about different things. Life is BIG ... be willing to experience it!

(c) January 2013 Bonnie Cehovet

Read, Read, Read!

One of the predominate pieces of advice given to authors is to "read, read, read!" I can understand that - we need to read anything and everything, so that we have a storehouse of ideas to fall back on for writing. I found out this week that there is another reason for reading ... to understand a genre. I decided to finally read a couple of cozy mysteries that I had in my Kindle library. What an eye opener!

Kindle is fine - I had no problem reading the books. They were gentle mysteries, which is what I had expected. They were both set in small towns, with that small town feel to them.That was fine too. Both of them had coherent story lines, which was good. But they were so alike that I actually went back to look at the pictures of the authors - both women - to see if perhaps they were the same woman! There seems to be a formula out there - single female, returns home after the big city did not work out, meets up with old boyfriend (who is now married), meets new boyfriend, has a crisis that comes into her life that she must solve (this would be the mystery part of the novel). The stories were good, but not that good. Something to keep in mind when writing my own!

So why else do we want to keep reading new material? One reason might be to see how others write. To see what is good about their writing, and what doesn't quite make the grade. As authors, we want our readers to enjoy our work, to talk about our work (who knows, perhaps Oprah would hear about us!), to recommend our books, and to keep purchasing our books. Longevity, that's a good goal for all writers!

By reading as much as we can, we really get to know the different styles of writing, the different voices that are out there. We have a broader choice in finding and developing our own unique voice if we not only have something to say, but have a consistent way of saying it. We need to see how words are presented, the pictures that they can paint. We need to see how to develop connections between thoughts that are both viable and exciting. We need to retain the interest of our readers, after all!

We need to challenge ourselves - to take material and make something new and different out of it. I certainly do not want my readers going back like I did this past week, to see if I was writing under different names! I don't want my style of writing so close to someone else that my readers cannot distinguish who I am.

I don't mean to imply that reading books should be a personal improvement project. Enjoy what you are reading. If you don't, put it down, and pick up something else. You don't have to make notes ont he writing style, just allow it to seep into your subconscious. It will be there when you need it. You will be surprised at the number of times you will be writing something, only to recognize immediately that there is either a better way of saying what you are saying, a better way to leave a clue, or a better way to connect characters. You will not know why you see this,but you can bet that it is because you have been reading, and the information is stored in your brain, where you can easily access it.

To get you started - 10 Books Every Writer Should Read

(c) June 2012 Bonnie Cehovet

Conferences

I am getting ready to attend a major Tarot conference called the(Readers Studio. For those who know me as a wanna be writer of mysteries, I also read the Tarot professionally, as well as writing reviews and doing interviews in this field. This particular conference has truly been a boon to me. The expense of any conference is a major consideration - because of this, I have only attended three conferences (this years conference included).

Conferences are much more than social events. While it is good to remain open to the flow once you get there, it doesn't hurt to ask yourself the following questions prior to actually deciding to go:

* Where does the subject matter of this conference fit into my life? How important is it to me?
* What do I bring to the conference as an individual?
* What do I expect from the conference?
* Is the conference important enough that I need to push finances to attend?
* Is it possible to share accommodations with someone else who is attending?
* What is the conference agenda? What seminars do I want to attend?
* As a writer, is there going to be an opportunity to do a meet and greet with editors? Would I be able to do a short presentation to an editor?
* If I have work out there (or about to be out there) is there a place to leave flyers, brochures or bookmarks?

Add to the list as you see fit. Each individual will have their own list of things that are important to them.

Have fun while you are networking. Networking? That is a huge part of conferences! Carry your business cards in your purse or pocket, so they are easily accessible. Then remember to hand them out! You will make friends, possible writing partners, and great contacts in the writing world!

The more conferences you attend, you will be able to note the ones that you want to attend from year to year, and the ones that you might want to pass on. This is a part of our writing life, and one that truly can be enjoyable!

(c) April 2011 Bonnie Cehovet