Thoughts

I write a lot. Essays. Articles. Blog posts. All of them sharing what I’m thinking about. Maybe you think about these things, too.

Get Your Wheels on the Ground
About Fiction, About Your Writing Jeannette de Beauvoir About Fiction, About Your Writing Jeannette de Beauvoir

Get Your Wheels on the Ground

My first drafts are a mess. I have an occasionally faulty memory, and so nothing exists in my world until it’s written down. Because of that, I have all sorts of ideas I throw into the mix of a first draft. Some won’t stay the course. Some are frankly contradictory to other ideas I slammed down elsewhere in the manuscript. A few take on the glitter of inspiration and stay in place through publication.

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Recycling the Classics
About Your Writing Jeannette de Beauvoir About Your Writing Jeannette de Beauvoir

Recycling the Classics

It's probably true, as they say, that every story has already been told... and retold... and retold. Like the people in marketing say, though, it's all about spin. And you could do worse than to re-spin some of the classics. I'm not talking Shakespeare: he's a little cliché by now. No: I'm going further back, to the fertile ground of Greek and Roman mythology.

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Is AI the Beginning or the End?

Is AI the Beginning or the End?

I’m not worried—yet. AI can’t do what I can do—yet. Computers can’t just create stories in a void; instead, they’re given a massive number of exemplars—works that are similar to what the computer is tasked to create—which is then broken down into data. AI reads the data using statistical algorithms to recognize patterns and relationships.

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Where Do You Get Your Ideas?
About Your Writing Jeannette de Beauvoir About Your Writing Jeannette de Beauvoir

Where Do You Get Your Ideas?

“Where do your ideas come from?” Some of the answers might not be right for you, or might not be right at any given time. But in this as in all things, perseverance pays. If you’re pining for inspiration, here are a few places you might look…

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