IWSG April- 4 Years

OH MY GOSH, IT'S WEDNESDAY!

What a slacker! I can't believe I almost missed it. I was just hanging out on the couch, waiting for my turn to watch TV (anxious to finish my WWII documentary series on Netflix), scrolling through Facebook, when I saw the IWSG post about the optional question! Apparently, my left leg was asleep and I got up so fast I looked like Gollum trying to get across the living room to my desk, limping and hopping around a pillow, umbrella, blanket, and chromebook. (Side note:  if you have tips about how to get kids to stop leaving things on the ground let me know!)

Luckily I made it without any injury and I'm ready to go! So here it is:

April 3 question - How long have you been blogging? (Or on Facebook/Twitter/Instagram?) What do you like about it and how has it changed?

I'm excited to say it is the fourth anniversary of this blog! In April 2020 I remembered my gardening blog from before I had kids. I posted about gardening, beekeeping, growing my own yeast starter, baking, and general sustainable living. I even posted about my homebirth experience. I had a good group of followers. Nothing big, but more than I expected for a nobody in Arkansas. Oddly, there was a large group of people in Germany who liked reading about starting a yeast culture and how to live without shampoo and paper towels. 

I started to wonder if I could get back to it. But I was trapped in a tiny apartment four months after moving a thousand miles away from my hometown. I no longer had bees, or even a garden. Still, I needed to get some of myself back. I decided to take a second shot at a novel I wrote. I would get the kids into bed, turn on music, make a cup of tea, let out a humongous sigh, and then write. When I first started the blog, I was not necessarily going to focus on writing so I chose to simply say create.

One night I was working on the novel re-write and my husband handed me a business card for IWSG. He said his coworker's wife was a publisher and that she was part of a group that helped writers. May 2020 was my first ever IWSG blog hop. The door was suddenly open for me to join this fantastic community. 

Not much has changed since then. I would say it is busier, but that is a lie. In 2020, when many other people were at home, I was helping to keep the local childcare center open for school-aged kids of essential workers. As a former elementary teacher, I was able to jump in at my new job and take over the program. I thought leaving teaching in December 2019 was going to give me more time...the universe had other plans. I thought:  it's childcare, I'll settle in, work fewer hours, be around my kids in the afternoon but still get paid... but before I knew it, I was helping in the kitchen, running virtual school for about 50 kids, assisting the director, becoming a certified lifeguard, whatever they needed, I did it! I worked so much they put me on salary. After avoiding an actual leadership role for as long as I could, I stepped up and pursued an administrator certificate (hence the long break from the blog in 2023) and now I'm co-directing the center. And trust me, I work more now than I ever did as a teacher! 

But throughout that, I have greatly appreciated this community and what I have achieved along the way. My first (and only) published story was included in the IWSG Anthology, I participated in flash fiction contests, and a blogging contest. I do wish I could get back to those, but I really want to put my focus on getting the novel through beta readers and out to query. At the same time, I am preparing to turn my 2021 A-to-Z flash fiction series into a novel. I hope to start drafting on that next week. I'm grateful that I have feedback from those blog posts to help improve the story and turn it into something great.

Please join the hop and read what other writers have to say about blogging.

The awesome co-hosts for the April 3 posting of the IWSG are Janet Alcorn, T. Powell Coltrin, Natalie Aguirre, and Pat Garcia!

IWSG March 2024 - AI

March 6th question: Have you "played" with AI to write those nasty synopses, or do you refuse to go that route? How do you feel about AI's impact on creative writing?

The awesome co-hosts for the March 6 posting of the IWSG are Kristina Kelly, Miffie Seideman, Jean Davis, and Liza @ Middle Passages!

As a science fiction writer, I have some very mixed feelings about artificial intelligence. I have not used or played with any AI for writing. At this point in my life, AI uses me more than I use AI, I think...

Instead of discussing my own feelings directly (and since I'm not sure I really have my own feelings yet) I want to visit some science fiction artificial intelligence ideas.

Let's start right here...

This is my ninth grade year book. And that's me ignoring the rest of the world around me because I'm on another world--Dune--as written by Frank Herbert. Now fast forward to March 2nd, 2024...

I have on my stillsuit and I'm ready to see Dune 2. So you could say this is probably the story that has influenced me the most as a reader and science fiction fan. I know what you're thinking. "But there wasn't AI in Dune!" But there was! In fact, its omission is the reason why this story is relevant to discussing artificial intelligence. 

I'll admit, I have not read the Butlerian Jihad by Brian Herbert and Kevin Anderson, but I have studied some of the back story online, and do know of its reference in the original books by Frank Herbert.

So here is the gist, in case you didn't notice, there are no "computers" or artificial intelligence in Dune. People still send messages in person and use specially trained humans to calculate and navigate. This human-central mentality resulted from a war fought long in the past that eliminated all intelligent machines and the way of thinking that led to their use.

The problem with AI was humans were slowly giving up their freedom to machines that could think. Technology was replacing the human ability to make judgments and define their world (all the way down to beauty, or even creativity...). It wasn't necessarily that AI came in and enslaved humans, it was that humans willingly degraded themselves, making them vulnerable to those with power, those with AI. "Human innovation coupled with human laziness is perceived as the potential destruction of the human race." (Nerd Cookies) 

When I was in grade school, a teacher gave us an excerpt from a story to read during math. It was about a man who had discovered how to do arithmetic in a future world where everyone used computers. That story was a major drive behind my obsession with math. I did not discover until this week that the story we read was by Asimov:  The Feeling of Power. (Of course, we only read the first scene, and not the part where he commits suicide...) That story instilled in me a fear of becoming dependent on calculators. To this day, I have coworkers who ask me to calculate something rather than get a calculator out of their desk drawer. And I'm okay with that! And here's the trick, even I get out my calculator sometimes, but I have confidence in what I need to enter and what I should expect out. That comes from being able to do it myself. 

My fear with AI, whether in writing or in cars, is that humans will become utterly useless. I fear that we will lose important skills that drive us to be human. AI is a good safety net. Having a calculator in my desk to make sure I don't make a mistake with someone else's money, or having automatic breaks on a car to save lives makes sense. Will people use these tools correctly? Or will they forget how to do math and do stupid things while driving? Will we rely so much on machine intelligence that large portions of the human population become grossly incapable?

Will constantly accessible AI help to serve people who are otherwise incapable, or will it cause people who might become capable to not even try? Are we giving more power to more people? Or are we taking away potential power? And maybe these things aren't connected at all. Maybe AI will always be a tool and will assist us in becoming even greater. If nothing else, it can point out our mistakes and motivate us to learn better.

I'm a believer in struggle and challenge. Strength, resilience, and growth result from challenges. Is an AI-rich future going to look like Wall-E? Or Planet of the Apes? Or 2001:  A Space Oddysey? Or Battlestar Gallactica? Probably not, but is it going to be our best future? Maybe not...

Maybe it comes down to the question of power as both Asimov and Herbert suggested. In both cases, machine intelligence had come so far that it controlled war. The solution was to instead fight man vs. machine. So, power seems to be either given to the machine, or to the human, not both. 

It could also be argued that more machines means less necessity for humans to rely on one another. While I enjoy indepedence, I see a world around me where people do not openly rely on one another. Danger lies in this disconnection, this false isolation we place ourselves in. The reality is, we are heavily dependent on one another. We need each other for every necessity and luxury we enjoy. From the man who carries away your garbage every week, to the woman who puts your groceries on the shelf, to the teacher who watches over your children, to the first responder who comes to the rescue--all of these are invisible connections that are erased from our sight by machines. We don't know this person, but we are connected to them, dependent on them! How many people have forgotten these connections already? How many people place no value on them?

Maybe I went too far with my musings, but this is a glimpse into the inner workings of my mind. A mere glimpse...I could go on and on and on...I kind of did, but then delelted half of it so I didn't scare everyone off...just a select few...glad you're still here...

Have a great month! Keep being awesome, and don't become lazy and allow the machines to win!! That's right! Open those cans manually, use a rotary mower, and turn on your own blinker. You got this! 

(This message was brought to you by the nerd who still wears an analog watch.)

Resource:  The Evolution of Technology Post-Machine Crusade - Dune Lore by Nerd Cookies

Book Review - DECAY by Andrew Kibe

Decay by Andrew Kibe
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

A thrilling adventure! I generally prefer my zombie movies to have either a humorous side or a good science fiction backdrop, and I've never read a zombie novel (and completed it) until now. I couldn't put this one down. Sam is a well-written MC, and following his struggle lets the reader build connections with each of the other players of the "game." I could see through his eyes, and feel his pain and frustration. Kibe built a truly original world and pulled it all together in the end with a lovely bit of sci-fi twist. Well well-written, quick read, intriguing plot/concept. I'm looking forward to the continuation!

View all my reviews

Andrew is a member of an awesome group of writers I have thankfully gotten to work with over the past few years. He did a phenomenal job on this novel, and I look forward to seeing more of his work in the future. Great job, Andrew!!

Where did 2023 Go?

 Did I really just miss a year with you guys? I can't believe it. And I missed the February IWSG! I never was good at keeping a friendship going. But that being said, I'm extremely loyal if I ever do make a friend! Just don't expect me to want to hang out on the regular or to plan dinners. Just thinking about that gives me anxiety.

You didn't miss much. Life went on. Day after day my day job got in the way of my desire to be independently wealthy so I could write, garden, and do yoga all the time. 

I did complete a round of edits on my novel manuscript in July, and then hid it away, afraid of the next step.

Before Thanksgiving, I broke a toe. Then in December, I underwent laser eye surgery (voluntarily). It was probably the worst and most painful recovery of my life (and I homebirthed two kids). Shortly after that, I finished my yoga teacher training (mostly blind and with a broken toe).

So here I am, clear vision, glasses-free, without my limp, and ready to go!

I would like to thank my family for all their well wishes, and my husband for taking good care of me. But mostly I want to thank Martha Wells!!!!! The Murderbot Series audiobooks got me through that awful recovery. It is amazing what a good book (and pranayama) can do when you are trapped in your own mind and drowning in pain. I swear, Murderbot and I would definitely be friends (see above paragraph about my lacking friendship skills, then read the Murderbot series, and you will understand). We were meant for each other. It's hard living with humans!

I will be posting reviews of the books I read last year and some updates on the novel soon. 

Can't wait to write for you again!

I'll be getting this T-shirt! Click image for link to buy.