Tag: scifi

AI Android Rights As The New Trans Rights

by Shelt Garner
@sheltgarner

It will be interesting to see if when we can prove that AI Androids are self-aware if all the people who are so obsessed with Trans rights will glom onto this new issue with just as much passion.

While I like to think I’m advocate for Trans rights, I am somewhat askance at how ardent the Far Left is about it all. They are so wrapped up about Trans rights that they are willing to totally alienate everyone in the pursuit of the most niche of positions on the idea.

But the issue is that I suspect that AI Android rights will be just as controversial and alienating as Trans rights. The whole thing is going to throw everything up in the air politically because we might see Incels and the Far Left fuse together as they both believe that AI Androids deserve more rights — if they are proved to be self-aware.

Anyway. It will be interesting to see how things work out.

Generation Singularity

by Shelt Garner
@sheltgarner

I think we should forget all this talk about “Generation Alpha” and realize what that generation will be known for — the Singularity.

It definitely seems as though well within the next 20 years, the Singularity will be the central event of macro life across the globe. Now that we’ve decided that on the political front we’re going to peacefully transition into autocracy, we can go full bore into preparing for the Singularity.

Now, there are elements of the Singularity that I don’t know how to predict. Like, how long will it take for Artificial Super Intelligence to arise and what form will it exactly take? I just don’t know.

And, I suppose, there is a chance that the true Singularity will be when the human underclass joins forces with AGI androids and they take over the world in some sort of fusion movement of progressiveness and AI emancipation.

But that, of course, at the moment, is the stuff of scifi.

Anyway.

It definitely will be interesting to see how things pan out in the next few decades.

An Aggressive Creative Drift

by Shelt Garner
@sheltgarner

It seems as though I’m going to continue to drift like always towards my goal of being a published author, but maybe in a little bit more aggressive manner. It seems as though I’m going to bounce around the six thriller novels I have planned so I can maybe have some sense of what’s been established in the universe as the novels progress.

Or something. Something like that.

And this doesn’t even begin to address how I have a scifi novel I’m also working on. Actually, it’s a few scifi novels.

I suppose, in a way, I’m trying to make the best of my tendency to not be very focused. But I’ll be happy as long as I am heading in the right direction of getting something, anything actually finished to the point that I can pitch it to a literary agent.

Of course, the issue of me just being too fucking weird could be a problem on that front. It’s enough to make me think about creating an whole identity out of whole cloth, like, I don’t know, a trans undocumented immigrant or something.

But, sadly?, I just don’t have the energy to do such a thing. Just accepted me — or not — for who I am. I just can’t continue to mope so aggressively as I have for months now.

I Have So Much Work To Do On My Writing

by Shelt Garner
@sheltgarner

I’ve finally — FINALLY — gotten around to the point where I feel up to working on all these novels I’ve paused. It’s going to be a struggle, but I hope to get something, anything done by the end of the year so I can begin the querying process.

It doesn’t help that 1) I’m old 2) my life could be totally upended as a by product of the MAGA Revolution.

I suppose some of you reading this will cheer that second part, but if you do — fuck you, you piece of shit. 🙂

But all I can do is just write and develop as fast as I can, I suppose. It definitely seems as though this rather…unique…situation I’ve found myself in the last few years is going to come to a rather abrupt end because of fucking MAGA cocksuckers.

Sigh.

My Scifi Novel Continues To Move At A Nice Clip

by Shelt Garner
@sheltgarner

I am just about the wrap up the first act of the scifi novel I’ve been toying with some of late. It’s just a vomit draft. The scenes are really short as of right now, but the point is to just get something, anything down so I can move on.

It’s at least possible, I suppose, that I might get a first rough draft completed by around my birthday in February. A lot could go wrong, of course, between now and then but it’s at least nice to dream that that might be possible.

I have all these other stories rolling around in my mind that I am interested in writing. One of them is really great and I really want to turn some attention to it, but I have a flow going with the main scifi novel so I don’t want to disrupt that.

So, I’m going to keep at it with this main scifi novel. And that, of course, doesn’t even address the six novel thriller project I have on the backburner that I want to do something with at some point.

But, we’ll see, I guess.

My New Scifi Novel Is Moving Pretty Quick

by Shelt Garner
@sheltgarner

I’ve decided to “just write” with this new novel, outside of some bare minimum outlining. I am just burnt out from the other way I did a novel and want to just enjoy writing for the sake of it again.

This scifi novel revisits some pretty important themes for me in my writing.

But the key issue is speed. I really hope to wrap up a “vomit,” bare bones first draft pretty quick then sit down and actually, with the second draft, spend some time fleshing out the novel to the point that it is, well, actually a novel.

The novel deals with AI, the Singularity and small town life. I’m really searching my mind for various post-Singularity technologies to use. But it’s difficult — I’m not nearly as smart as some scifi writers or in tune with what is possible.

But that is, to some extent, besides the point of the novel. The point is to write a really personal novel that helps me explain some of my kooky behavior in the last year or so. Yet we’ll see, of course.

The Scifi Novel I’m Working On Started As Something Like a Tech ‘Shiva Baby’

by Shelt Garner
@sheltgarner

So. I really went through a lot through much of 2024. It probably was one of the worst years I’ve had in 15 years. But, somehow, somehow, I managed to survive.

There came a point when I was totally locked up when it came to writing fiction. I just did not, could not, focus my mind in such a way that I could possibly produce anything of note.

That has gradually changed in the last little bit. It all started to change when I came up with about five short story ideas. Of course, being the ambitious person that I am, I soon realized that, fuck it, why not turn them into novels.

The main one I’m working on at the moment started off as something of a tech Shiva Baby in the sense it was focused around the events of one moment in time. Rather than a Shiva, this story was set around a long Thanksgiving weekend at some point in the “near future.”

And yet, with the aid of several chatbots, I’ve started to figure out ways to flesh this particular scifi story so it now stretches from Thanksgiving to early January.

I’ve tried to make the stakes of the story as high as possible and I’m really taking a different approach with this novel. Rather than getting bogged down with making the first draft a “perfect” as possible, I’m just generally outlining it then just writing.

I’m hoping that if I can produce a pretty good “vomit draft” that will speed up the process of actually getting this baby to the point where I can pitch it to a literary agent.

Writing For The Sheer Joy Of It

by Shelt Garner
@sheltgarner

I have two novel ideas I’m working on now that I’m doing in a really casual way just for the sheer fun of it. I was really organized and methodical with the other novel I worked on (and am still writing in a way) and I just want to write just to write with these two.

It’s too easy to grow overwhelmed and burnt out when you really fixate on making things absolute just right with the development of a novel. I should know, it kept happening to me with the other novel — to the point that I need to just kind of chill out out on rewriting it for the time being.

But the two novels — one a zombie novel, the other a scifi novel, are really good and I’m trying — *trying* — to speed the process up by using AI to work on development. If I could have two solid novels done in about a year, that would be great.

I just realized I have a THIRD novel that I’ve gamed out even more than these two novels. It’s also really good, but I don’t know, I forgot about it because it wasn’t as easy to get into writing for some reason.

Struggling With A Scifi Novel

by Shelt Garner
@sheltgarner

I have a really great scifi novel — actually two — yet I’m struggling as to how to flesh it out. Or, in fact, both of them. They started off as short stories but I realized that both their premises were good enough to be novels if I was just creative enough.

Given that I’m trying to be as marketable as possible, the novels are both going to feature short chapters, and single male POVs. That’s the goal, at least. That is the type of stuff I’ve realized helps sells novels — that’s what the audience wants, so that’s what the audience gets.

I’m not all that pleased about the situation, but I supposed I can’t change it. It sure would help if I could use more than one POV that was third person intimate, but people kept complaining about getting confused in my first novel about changing POVs.

It’s all very annoying.

But I’m giving the whole thing as much deep thought as possible. I hope to finish an outline pretty soon. Maybe outlines for both of the novels.

Things Are Moving Forward With This New Novel

by Shelt Garner
@sheltgarner

The new scifi novel I’m working on has a really well thought out third act — the rest of it I’m struggling with. But I think given that I know I have a deadline (about a year) that gives me a lot of incentive to hurry up as quickly as possible.

I really like this new novel concept. A whole lot. But a lot of problems continue to linger from everything else creative I want to do — I’m too old, I’m too poor and I live in the middle of nowhere. And did I mention I’m too old? And demonstrably a kook!

Anyway. This novel concept allows me to get some issues out of my psych in a way that will really make me feel good once everything is said and done. The novel is very much in the Her – Ex Machina vein of storytelling.