I have been collecting personal essays and memoirs since the seventh grade.

Yes. Really.

And recently, after years of letting journals stack up in boxes and collecting digital files by the terabyte, I finally set aside time to do something with them.

Yay.

As I looked over the many journals and files, I found myself pulling on ideas that, in some cases, spanned not only decades of memories and experiences, but also multiple writing styles and genres. So how does one mix all of that?

If you are melding genres like romance, fantasy, and urban life into a single book, how do you bind that together?

The answer is the same one used in any recipe.

You choose a binding agent.

For essays, that might look like this: a dash of essay, a pinch of memoir, a shake of something political, a little sarcasm for crunch, a bit of wit for sweetness. Then you need something to tie all the flavors together.

For a genre mix of romance, fantasy, and urban living, that binding agent is often magic in one form or another, but can be other things as well.

Whatever you decide to mix and meld, you need a binding agent that holds everything together.

In baking, it is an egg.

In writing, it is the binding tie-in.

So what counts as a binding agent or tie-in?

Good news: anything.

It can be a taste, a sound, a texture, an object, a memory, a mood, a moment. History. Magic. Space goats. Yoga on the moon. It can be anything at all.

It only needs to move quietly through the entire piece, stringing the ideas together. It does not need to be grand. It only needs to connect what might otherwise feel scattered.

In one piece, I used Cool Whip. Somehow, that fluffy little miracle tied together memories from forty years ago and five years ago, along with political views I had scribbled across various journals. Cool Whip gave the piece shape. And yes, Cool Whip is also delicious.

In another piece, I used the color of tiles to explore the treatment of immigrants and my own sense of entitlement.

In yet another, I used alien fashion. Yes, alien glasses. Somehow, they became the anchor that connected memoir, commentary, and perspectives that had been waiting for a tie in.

So now I am playing more with the process, practicing how to pull together wildly different things or ideas or generes into a single piece using a binding agent.
The tie in.

What is the strangest writing binding agent you have ever used?

Note: Image created with Midjourney.

I’m a new writer. That means I’m not very good. I’m still learning, still honing, still improving. It means I’m still scouring the endless ‘How Tos‘ on the internet.

Still, I’m not as bad a writer as I was five years ago, and most certainly better than ten years ago. I have improved each year I’ve practiced. That’s how it usually works. But I’m far from being an expert.

And still, even without being a master, since I have some good work under my belt, or at least a small amount of better work than before, some beta readers became impressed with my current level of skill. That feels really nice. It encouraged me. Not in an arrogant way, but in a confidence-building way.

We could all use a confidence boost sometimes.

Then I pulled up a piece from twenty years ago to revise. I thought I had improved it. But when I shared it with beta readers, the criticism was strong:

“It’s not as good as the work you usually have.”

Well, of course it isn’t. It’s an old piece. It’s hard to fix an old piece. But what surprised me was the general level of disappointment, as if I had let someone down by not always putting out my best work.

And I’m not even a master. I have no following. Nobody knows me from diddly squat.

So how hard must that expectation be for writers who are well known?

I recently came across a Substack post about Brandon Sanderson. I personally like Sanderson’s work. I enjoy it. He’s a darn good writer. And I really do love all his posts for new writers like me, especially the ones about How to Write. He doesn’t have to take time to do that for us. It’s generous.

And still, this Substack post essentially trashed him and his ‘supposed’ downfall, and compared him to George R. R. Martin (who I also don’t think is having a downfall).

And I was reminded of my own experience. As soon as you do well, even a tiny bit, everyone expects you to stay at that level all the time.

Sure, if you’re flying a plane, then you do NOT get the flexibility of any mistakes. There are hundreds of lives depending on you. But as a writer, it’s perfectly fine to put out a less-than-stellar book from time-to-time.

No wonder many people carry extreme levels of anxiety at the thought of producing for the public. Of course people are scared of success and sabotage themselves. Who wouldn’t when that’s the future you can expect; people turning on you because you weren’t perfect at every moment of your career.

If one is never allowed to make a mistake, or do less than their best, or underperform, out of fear of letting everyone down, then it’s easy to not bother trying at all. And without mistakes, one cannot improve.

And what a horrid world we would live in without all the many different forms of stories and art and movies and entertainment; all from the imaginative minds of artists and creatives.

Every author I know puts their heart and soul into what they write. So, let us all give authors a little break.

They are only human too.

Note: Image from Midjourney.

In this short lesson we shall learn how to write up a successful tyrannical dictator, a common antagonist for books.

Because who doesn’t like an evil, maniacal dictator?

I hope you’ve done your historical reading on how real-world dictators have operated across the history of humankind. I recommend reading The Art of War by Sun Tzu, The Prince by Niccolò Machiavelli, and Mein Kampf by Adolf Hitler.

And if you also want to create a revolutionary rebel character to lead The People out of the darkness of one regime, and perhaps then lead them into a new regime, as you may decide to do in your book, then read anything by Ernesto “Che” Guevara.

Next, you have to decide who is your protagonist vs. antagonist: the revolutionary or the dictator? That isn’t as clear-cut as it might seem. History shows us that many revolutionaries became as bad as the dictator regime they replaced. Read about the French Revolution for some insight.

“Power tends to corrupt, and absolute power corrupts absolutely” -John Dalberg-Acton 1887

But here I shall review a few pointers for writing up a fun, or not-so-fun, or even very un-fun, dictator in your novel.

Introduction to Tyrant Tactics 101

The Dictator always uses the best superlatives. We are the greatest; it was a total success; they are the worst. The more extreme the language, the better, particularly if it isn’t even true.

Tyrants always, always belittle people to destroy their self-worth and pride until The People feel crushed enough to accept The Dictator’s every word, no matter how demeaning, absurd, or untrue.

A properly trained tyrant employs wild tactics to create drama and an air of confusion over many small things until folk are so exhausted their attention becomes blurry, and then The Dictator slips in the big, awful things they want to do while the heads of The People are turned.

A savvy dictator burns truth to the ground by making up the most insane things they can think of. Truth does not matter to a tyrant. The more insane and inaccurate their statements, the better, so The People become confused and disoriented and have to believe anything The Dictator says.

Mastering the art of being a bully is essential. No self-respecting dictator or tyrant listens to alternative perspectives or attempts mediation and compromise. No, no, no. That cannot be allowed. To maintain absolute control, The Dictator must demean, fear-monger, threaten, gaslight, and scare The People, and knows that fear is the only way to rule.

The Dictator removes all opposition fiercely, quickly, and without hesitation. There are many ways to achieve this: war, fight or confrontation, take over The Opposition’s holdings or remove their position of influence or power, assassination, inject false evidence, or undermine The Opposition to break The People’s faith in them. A top-notch dictator uses all these tactics intertwined to dismantle dissenters.

Always throw The People off their guard until they never know what to think and have to grovel, as they well should.

“I am funny how, I mean funny like a clown, I amuse you?” —Tommy, Goodfellas

The Dictator works in a world of either-or. It is option A or B. Nothing more. “So you don’t want to align with our law? That means you support anarchy and chaos.” Their way, or the highway.

No self-respecting tyrant can allow science to cast doubt upon their words. They must sow many seeds of distrust in science, and be certain to lead The People away from facts and clear, conclusive data and results toward fictional dogma. This will strengthen The People’s belief in any made-up thing The Dictator says.

A truly cutting-edge dictator divides The People into warring factions. Because if The People are busy fighting each other, they cannot do anything about what the tyrant does.

It is critically important to destroy general education opportunities. The Dictator cannot rule a society of people who have learned to think; who studied psychology, sociology, history, economics, science, debate, critical thinking, and more. If The People have that knowledge, they will know that the fictional dogma of the dictator is nonsense since they can fact-check and critically assess veracity.

Unacceptable!

This must be stopped since education is the root of all evil for The Dictator. Therefore, they should sow seeds of doubt in learning institutions. A powerful tactic is to claim that one is protecting children, traditions, or family values from the poisonous manipulation of The Opposition. The People will become scared and confused and agree to controlled programs where they learn controlled curriculum instead of learning to think. nAbove all things, a successful dictator never lets The People be free thinkers.

Finally, never forget the most important dictator mottos:

• Might makes right.

• Divide and conquer.

• It is better to be feared than loved.

• If you’re not with me, then you’re against me.

Note 1: Image created by Midjourney.

Note 2: This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, businesses, places, events, and incidents are either the products of the author’s imagination or used in a fictitious manner. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, or actual events, is purely coincidental

Maybe…

“Humble Pride”, you ask? That must be an oxymoron, or mis-typed Humble Pie.

Nope.

It’s the difference between arrogance and confidence, which are not the same thing.

The dream to become a writer infiltrates many. Perseverance in that dream, however, can be daunting. You know what I mean. I know you do.

There are moments of ‘imposter syndrome’, or joy, or exhaustion, or fear, or excitement. If you’re like me, you’re on the newbie author’s roller coaster of expectation versus consternation.

But, one may have (should have) pride and confidence in themselves and something they love and strive to do, without the fear of being arrogant or elitist.

Breaking into the publishing field is no small feat. But if someone else did it, so can I.

So can you.

I often think of the movie Ratatouille - Anyone can cook.

However, to be very good at cooking, “one simply does not walk into” a kitchen and expect to be a master. (And, if you didn’t get that reference, we can no longer be BFFs). Unless they are the Mozart of cooking, or writing. Sure, they exist. But, even Mozart had to learn music theory and practice (and if he didn’t, I hate him). It takes work and study.

Sometimes, when I have to go back and fix the structure of a story, edit extensively, or I get particularly (in my view) daunting or harsh criticism of what I’ve written, that little devil on one shoulder tells me any number of things.

This is too hard.

I am not good enough.

It’s impossible to get published.

Nobody will like it.

Why bother?

But, then I remind myself, a dream isn’t a dream if it just plops down into your lap, easy peasy, no work. That’s a cat.

Anyone can write.

But, like anything worth doing, and doing well: it takes practice, study, time, effort, research, tests, experiments, failures, and dedication.

And imposter syndrome is easy to overcome - all you have to do is make sure that you’re doing what brings you joy, or what brings others joy, and what you are passionate about. Don’t do it for fame, or notice, or worry about the number of your followers. That is what brings on imposter syndrome. Stick to joy and giving back and passionate interest - and if you stick to that path, then you can never, not ever, be an imposter or a failure, because that is a life well-lived.

For liquid courage, I like to make a stout cup of dark tea before starting my writing hour.

And, if it’s a day where I’m feeling daunted, I use one of my two favorite ‘writing’ tea cups and coaster, all of which have messages that push me forward.

Then I sit down to write.

Cultural Codes of Conduct

Cultures around the world, both in history and today, have or have had codes of behavior, ethics and etiquette that guide social norms and customs.

In most of these cultural codes, many of the themes are rather similar. They act as road signs and guides to behavior that is deemed acceptable, polite, or respectful in that society.

I will provide two examples.

1: The Guanxi Code in China

The first is the Guanxi code in China.

It was an ancient code of conduct for how to conduct business. The pillars of Guanxi were:

Reciprocity: Relationships are built on a give and return framework. In helping someone with a favor, there is a social obligation for them to help you in return, a debt that must be repaid. This is, in fact, common in many cultures around the world.

Trust and Loyalty: A trusted relationship must be established before any business can be conducted. The typical “anyone can be a client” mentality of modern business practices did not apply.

The “Gate”: In Chinese, this word is made up of two characters, Guan (gate) and Xi (to tie). It means that one has access to the inner connections and knowledge of a trusted inner circle.

I, myself, have trained in Kung Fu for many years, and there is an “inner gate” that one may be admitted to by the Sifu after years of dedication to the art, but only by invitation. Once admitted, more in depth knowledge is shared. That is just one example.

And how does one cultivate Guanxi? It’s not by connecting with people on LinkedIn.

Some established modes of improving Guanxi include:

• Exchanging gifts to show respect and build mutual goodwill.

• Offering support through favors.

• Spending time together outside of formal meetings, such as having dinner or drinks together.

These invisible networks impact success in business as a whole within that community.

2: Regency Codes of Decorum and Etiquette

The second example is the codes of decorum and etiquette during the Regency era in England, some of which still exist today in a less extreme form:

• Etiquette: Proper social behavior and manners within society

• Propriety: Moral and ethically appropriate behavior, particularly important for women who wanted to protect their reputation

• Decorum: Behavior that is dignified and respectable within one’s social class

As one example - a lady wouldn’t dance more than one set with a man unless she was singling some interest, and she would never dare dance three sets with a man or risk being called ‘fast’, which was a quick way to losing social face.

During the Regency era, the ‘ton’ was the group of high society individuals who enforced these rules. To deviate from them meant becoming a social outcast. While there was no single official name for this code, as we see with Guanxi, it was still a widely understood system of rules and expectations that everyone was expected to follow or risk losing social rank.

Human Cultural Customs

Every human society on Earth, from the smallest tribe in the Amazon to the largest modern city, has rules and norms that people are expected to follow.

That is part of why travel is so enjoyable for some, and so stressful for others. Culture shock is real. It occurs when the norms of where you are do not align with the customs and expectations of where you are from, and you become, quite literally, psychologically unsettled and distressed because you do not understand what is expected of you or how to behave.

Worldbuilding

So now let’s talk about world building.

When you are creating a new society on another planet, you must first understand the environment. I will stress, over and over again, that the ecology of where a society lives determine many of its practices and customs.

Once you have the environment and ecology established, you can begin to develop the customs and culture of the people who live there.

Part of that process is creating their social norms and codes of conduct.

Examples in Fiction

One example is Herbert’s Dune. The Fremen live within the desert, and their cultural codes of conduct all relate to the reverence for and preservation of water.

A second example is Brandon Sanderson’s Stormlight Archive series, where various cultures have distinct norms. One such example is the “safe hand,” where a woman’s hand must always be covered and hidden, and is never used to touch others. Further world customs, such as where they will settle and build, are related to the extensive and terrible storms they endure.

So, what will be the norms and customs of your culture?

A World Building Example: The Velvet Code

First, let me give credit to my creative partner, Kathryn DeZur, who helped me brainstorm some of these ideas. Check out her Substack: The Cabinet of Wonders.

I am currently working on a Regency ‘romantasy’ novella set in Jane Austen’s world, but with a fantasy twist.

It’s a prequel to Pride and Prejudice, in a Regency fairy tale inspired world of fae, vampires, werewolves, sprites, and other magical creatures. The story centers on the rise to power of Lady Catra de Noir (aka Lady Catherine de Bourgh), in the dark underworld city of Atrous.

In this version, she is a shadow fae (because of course Lady Catherine would be a fae) and rises to become, in essence, an underworld “mob” boss. But how does Lady Catra achieve this within a Regency-inspired society of dark and wild fae and monsters, one bound by strict rules of etiquette and social conduct, yet set within a dangerous and shadowed world?

Simple: Mix and meld the Regency codes with the Guanxi code.

Ancient Chinese Guanxi emphasizes obligation, reciprocity, hierarchy, and ritualized relationship building, while Regency codes emphasize propriety, reputation, etiquette, and social rank. Combining them gives you a perfect foundation for a powerful, elegant, and terrifying grande dame whose authority rests on ritualized loyalty, social obligation, face, rank, power, and impeccable manners.

Both rely on ritual, hierarchy, and social networks.

Guanxi is about obligation and exchange, while Regency etiquette is about propriety and reputation.

So, too, the decorum codes for my world are based on those key themes.

The Adjusted Underworld Code: The Velvet Code

Foundations:

Decorum, reciprocity, connections, power (which determines rank), and reputation.

Relationship Building:

Ritualized personal interactions and formalized etiquette rituals. Violating them leads to, at best, a loss of face and reputation, at worst (and more commonly in the underworld), death.

Social Currency:

Rank (which is based on power), reputation, and obligations owed.

Enforcement:

Access to resources, influence in business connections, maintaining rank, ability to form and keep alliances, mutual obligation, personal safety, duels, and expulsion from a house.

The Velvet Code Practices

• Ritual of First Courtesy: Polite rituals of decorum and etiquette that must be adhered to or risk a loss of face.

• Ledger of Obligation: Velvet bound ledgers kept by the most individuals on favors granted and owed.

• Silence of Secrets: The requirements of discretion and loyalty. What happens behind closed doors stays there. To breach these rules means instant expulsion from a house.

• Etiquette of Enchantment: The social rules governing the use of magic, charms, and enchantments in mixed company.

• Patron Honor: All underworld beings should belong to a house an/or patron. To be house-less is to be in constant danger. And one must honor their house above all.

• Concord of Mixed Bloods: How disputes between species are handled, regardless of house, though the house is likely to assign the representative, and the arbiter would need to be of a species not involved in the dispute.

• The Law of Face and Fang: The rules governing insults and saving face. Murder, betrayal and sinister dealings are all acceptable forms of trade and business, so long as you do them with proper decorum and social rules, and never within your own house.

• Decorum of Violence: The rule governing how violence may occur, where, and under what circumstances it would be acceptable.

Credit

One of my creative partners, Kathryn DeZur, helped me brainstorm this idea. She had seen the Guanxi Code in the show The Brother’s Sun, and told me about it.

Check out her Substack here:

Cabinet of Wonders

Meditations, philosophical and otherwise, on the material world around us.

By Kathryn DeZur

I am working on a new novella, Velvet Vengeance, that I will begin serial publishing very soon!

Background

My novella is set in Jane Austen’s Regency world, but with a fantasy twist. This story is a prequel to Pride and Prejudice, outlining the rise of Lady Catre de Noir (aka Lady Catherine de Bourge), a shadow fae who rises to power as the Grand Dame of Atrous.

In my version, she resides not at Rosings Park, but at Baccara Park, named for the deepest black roses, and she seeks revenge against a rival House lord. Throughout the story, she uses The Velvet Code, a system of etiquette and propriety governing underworld society, to dismantle her enemy.

I have been experimenting with book cover ideas.

Cast your vote!

Cover A

Cover B

Cover C

Cover D

I signed up for a Master Class, super excited to complete some of the training programs on creative writing. With writing masters such as Neil Gaiman and N. K. Jemisin there, it was clear I would come out the other end a master writer myself.

Right?

In Neil Gaiman’s course he talked about the source of creative ideas - and mostly he explained that realistically many writers are not sure where their ideas come from. That resonated with me. Because it’s the truth. At least in part.

Every human being on the planet has a super power. And no, I don’t mean laser-shooting eyes or turning invisible.

I wish it were so!

I mean normal human skills: Art. Crafts. Music. Innovation. Creativity. Writing. Singing. Building. Serving. Healing. Fixing. Engineering. Cooking. Listening. Mediation. Leading. And a million other things humans can be good at. Everyone has a special knack for one - sometimes two or three - thing(s) they are naturally really, really good at, without even trying.

The mind of a creative writer is no different. Their brains just naturally think of writing ideas that feel, sometimes, like they came from nowhere.

An example:

We were watching Harry Potter and The Deathly Hallows Part 2 (I’ve read the book too). In the story they have to break into a high-security vault below Gringotts’ Wizarding Bank - where there is this enormous white dragon guarding it. The goblin in the group shakes a ‘clanker’ to emit a specific sound while explaining how the dragon was trained to expect pain when it hears this. Naturally, Hermione Granger is horrified and calls it “cruel”. Next there is a long scene of them being betrayed, and the treasure in the vault almost drowning them, and having to find a way out. They finally release the white dragon to escape on it.

Through this entire scene in the show the viewers are, of course, biting their nails - will they get out?

But, me?

Sure, I was anxious for them to get away too. But, my mind was also ruminating as follows:

That IS cruel. Poor dragon. How long has it been down there? Is it so white from a lack of sun? Now they are using that poor dragon to get out, as if it didn’t have enough problems. Those selfish kids just jumped off it without removing those chains! I bet the dragon has some serious PTSD. That dragon is now going to need to find a special therapist in Romania who does EMDR so that they can undo the PTSD of the torture and ‘clanker’ sound.

Then I imagined this large therapy office, with the psychologist in a chair and their notepad before them (Looney Tunes style), and the dragon laying on a long chaise recounting all the abuse it suffered - including those three nasty teenagers that used it without permission to escape Gringotts.

And BAM. A story idea just formed itself in my mind.

Another example:

Recently I started reading some of the more popular series of ‘shifter’ books - the Alpha werewolf male who claims the female and says, “you’re mine”, and “Mine!”, and they become possessive of her. I know a lot of people really like those fantasy books.

But me?

I had, have, a hard time getting into it.

First off, folk should read up on real wolf packs in the real world, because the ‘alpha’ in charge isn’t exactly how it works. Secondly, every time the alpha male in these books says, “Mine”, I can only think of the seagulls from Finding Nemo (Mine, Mine, Mine), and then I laugh and it ruins the serious moment in the story.

Third, my mind kept thinking: “Girl! Run! Run! Run! He’s a total control freak!” Then I imagined their marital counseling sessions, or her in divorce court saying, “Well, he wouldn’t even just let me go to the grocery store alone!” or, “Some guy at Starbucks only smiled politely at me and my husband went into a werewolf rage and threw the stranger through a window.”

And, BAM. A story idea just formed in my mind.

Why does my mind automatically meander along strange idea threads such as these? I don’t know. It just does. It’s the superpower of creative writers.

Though, sometimes creative writing ideas are akin to how improv works. In improv one person builds on whatever the prior person did. And then the next person builds on that. And so on and so forth, until an entire scene is acted out. Creative minds often work like that too.

Because anyone writing a ‘dragon rider’ story today was absolutely 100% inspired by other dragon rider books before them, and those before them were inspired by ones before that, all the way back to Anne McCaffrey’s Dragonriders of Pern. And, she was certainly inspired by mythological stories of the same before that.

Writers stand on the shoulders of giants.

Note: Images made with Midjourney.

I recently wrote a short story. And I hired a beta reader, and then a copy editor. It should be noted - that all took money (more on that later).

I was very excited about this short story. The final draft had turned out well. It felt like the past ten years of practice on improving my writing had really paid off in that piece. And I thought maybe, just maybe, I could publish it in a sci‑fi/fantasy online magazine like Clarkesworld (okay, a pipe dream, but a girl can hope).

I looked up lists of the top 10 most prominent short story mags on the internet and went to submit my new piece to one, and was surprised by their Anti-AI statements. At Clarkesworld and Asimov’s (and others), they have this posted on their submission guidelines page:

• “Statement on the Use of ‘AI’ writing tools such as ChatGPT
  We will not consider any submissions translated, written, developed, or assisted by these tools. Attempting to submit these works may result in being banned from submitting works in the future.”

Wait. I am confused: A writer can’t even use AI to spell check and copy edit? That seems illogical given that MS Word and Google Docs and Grammerly have had AI‑driven grammar, spelling, and sentence‑construction help for decades.

I understand that one shouldn’t generate their story with AI. And, AI generated stories are complete and utter dribble. And I have the means to hire a professional copy editor, so it’s okay for me.

Yay me.

But, not everyone has the means to do that.

Here are my concerns:

Issue #1: Language Colonialism.

First off, they are essentially banning every single second‑language speaker in the world. So IF English was your first language, then lucky you; everyone else be damned. If you’re not a perfect English speaker and/or cannot afford a translator and copy editor, then forget writing a piece for any English magazine out there. Like, ever.

Note: It’s a type of modern‑day colonialism.

Issue #2: Special Needs and Accommodations

Both my daughters are special needs. And they use AI to help them. My oldest daughter wrote a story of her own; her ideas and prose. But she has a neurological disorder and struggles with grammar, spelling, and syntax. So she used AI to help make her ideas and story more well‑written. The beauty of technological innovations is that they’ve changed the lives of people with special needs (or anyone needing accommodations ) in wonderful ways; ways these magazines are rejecting...

Note: These magazines basically refuse ever to publish anything from someone who is special needs and required technology support. Not cool.

Issue #3: Economic or Social Disadvantage

Copy editors are expensive. They are also necessary. One cannot even for one second consider getting published unless they’ve used a copy editor (or are one themselves). I certainly am not. I grew up in rural USA. I went to a less‑than‑stellar (at least at the time) public school that didn’t help my general inability to understand grammar. I’m a creator. An inventor. A designer. A thinker. I create new worlds and stories. That is what I love. That is what I am good at. I’m not good at copy editing.

Being a copy editor is a time‑honored and respected career and an essential part of writing. But they are also expensive, and for new writers who are paying for everything out of pocket (or for economically disadvantaged writers), that can be difficult to afford.

Note: Denying the use of AI, even just to copy edit, denies anyone from a lower economic or disadvantaged background or developing nation the opportunity to break into the writing field.

Also, uncool.

Issue #4: Unreasonable Fears of New Innovations

Name a new tool or innovation, and there will always be a group of people convinced it will ruin this or destroy that, or be the downfall of all human advancement. Graphing calculators are a good example: once feared as the harbinger of the death of mathematics. That didn’t happen.

Fear of new bombs? Yeah. Okay. We should probably shake in our shoes about that. Fear of new editing tools? Not so much.

AI editing of writing has been around for decades. Yes. Decades! The grammar and spell checker in MS Word? Yup. AI.

Remember Clippy, that little “helper” in MS Word back in the ’90s? AI

I understand the difference between that and, say, ChatGPT which ‘produces’ human creativity (Well, it produces utter dribble, but okay, it produces...). I understand that grammerly doesn’t do that.

But, the stance by these magazines is that ANY usage of any AI that assisted writing, at all, is banned.

So, are they banning MS Word now? Maybe they ought to distinguish between the different types of AI...

What I cover in this post all centers on one major theme: oppression.

I understand that some people see moral and ethical dilemmas in the fact that AI was fed their work without their consent so it could learn through ‘machine learning’. And, authors won a recent lawsuit from Anthropic on this matter. There are valid arguments about what is ‘creative theft’. There are valid arguments about machines copying human creativity. I also understand the argument that a human should write their own work, or else they cannot with any self-respect say they wrote it : One cannot call themselves a writer unless they are actually writing. And I understand that readers want ‘human written’ work.

Fair enough. I agree. (Though it’s curious these same people don’t mind borrowing heavily from, say, Jane Austen and older art or creative works simply because the work is over 100 years old. Go figure.)

And, recently the author of Shy Girl, Mia Ballard, got her publishing deal pulled when the company realized AI was used to write it. So we are seeing new lawsuits on the matter that will drive the future of publishing for all authors. And the reality is that, at least for now, AI written work is terrible; hence how the publishing industry knew that Shy Girl was AI written.

But for copy editing? We ALREADY use AI for that, and have for decades.

And beyond those debates, there are deeper issues of oppression, which is what I truly want to end on here:

I have lived in three countries and traveled to thirty others. I have seen the struggles of those from countries with fewer resources as they try to keep pace with those in countries with more opportunities and resources and means. And I have raised special needs children who need technology accommodations to help them (So this topic is dear and close to my heart). And I have seen second-language learners who use the same tools to aid them in school.

AI can help them all.

Rejecting all AI usage, even just for editing, is oppression.

Note: Blog post image created with Midjourney.

You ask, “V‑Factor? Is this an XXX post.”

Nope.

I’m talking about verisimilitude. Oof. That’s a mouthful. I had to look up the pronunciation myself.

And where did I learn about the V‑Factor? From one of my favorite authors, Jim Butcher. Below is my summary and outline of his advice, plus a few additions of my own.

Character Building: The 5 Domains

The following domains for character building and tagging allows you to make unique and varied personalities for your novel.

Exaggeration

Give the character a trait they overdo.
You don’t want to flanderize them, but you do want them to feel larger‑than‑life.

Exotic Position

This can be social, moral, intellectual, geographic, familial, anything that makes them unique and memorable.

Verisimilitude

Merriam‑Webster defines it as “the quality of appearing real, true, or believable.”
In short: your character should act according to who they are. Jim Butcher takes it further: your character shouldn’t just act consistently; they should be interestingly consistent. Lean into their defining traits. Push them a little overboard, though, again, don’t flanderize them.

Empathy

Make the reader care, even if the character is annoying, evil, angelic, or anything in between.

Introduction

As Jim Butcher says, “You never get a second chance to make a first impression.”
So make it count. So, introduce the character in a way the reader will remember.

Examples:

• The pirate swings in on a rope and cuts down a bad guy with a scimitar.

• The dancer pirouettes straight into the love interest on a crowded street.

• The assassin melts out of the shadows like smoke.

Tags

Out of those 5 domains, you create tags for your character: and then reuse those tags every time they appear. This helps the reader instantly remember who they are. Don’t have too many. Choose 5-6 only, and use them consistently.

Some of the types of ‘tags’ you can use are:

• Speech

  • They always say “Yo.”

  • They speak softly.

  • They never use contractions.

• Looks / Features / Physical Traits

  • “Golden”, “glowing”, “bright”, “Tall”, “Willowy”, “Thin”, etc.

  • “Chips of emerald” eyes (aka, Sarah J. Maas).

  • In one of my books, each character has a unique smell the vampire protagonist can identify.

• Gestures

  • A unique way of pushing hair behind an ear.

  • A habitual shrug.

  • A nervous lip‑bite.

• Hobbies

  • Whittling tiny statues.

  • Making jewelry.

  • Baking elaborate pies.

• Interests

  • Always carrying spicy nuts.

  • Painting whenever stressed.

  • Collecting ceramic turtles.

• Personality

  • A morbid fear of birds or squirrels.

  • Constant foot‑tapping.

  • Nail‑chewing.

• Other Unique Identifiers

  • Use ones that make sense for your world.

    • In my Regency‑era book, each character uses a different type and color of stationery and ink color unique to them, so as soon as the main protagonist looks at the envelope of the letter (not that they used envelopes like ours back then), she knows who sent it.

Language Style

Give each character their own diction, even if only subtly.

Examples:

• The shy one: “Um… I… I didn’t mean…”

• The bold one: “I ain’t afraid.”

• The pessimist: “We’re doomed. I just know it.”

• The rambler: “Well, you know, we were out there, and the sun was so bright, and I forgot my sun glasses, again, and then the demon arrived next to that ice cream cart, you know, the one with the strawberry ice cream I could just die for, anyhow, then the demon…”

How they speak is part of who they are.

What This Means for Your Characters

If your character is unreasonably stubborn, they’ll stay stubborn, even when facing a demon who could kill them with a flick of its finger. Their arc might be learning when to shut up, but it’ll take monumental effort.

If your character is driven by desire, they’ll flirt with the king’s daughter even if it jeopardizes the mission and lands them in jail, because the risk was worth the tail (yes, I rhymed that on purpose).

If your character is a gambler, they’ll gamble on everything, constantly chasing the adrenaline rush.

If your character is angelically good, they’ll take the high road no matter what evil they face, often to the annoyance of everyone around them.

Example from RPG:

I play D&D; and in D&D groups, when players actually stick to their character traits, they end up doing truly annoying things. The hero will try to save everyone, even from the gold dragon that’s about to burn the entire party to ashes. The thief will steal everything, including from you. You get the idea. It can be maddening because it throws wrenches and curveballs into every carefully crafted plan to outwit that demon or dragon, and yet it’s also what makes each game memorable and unique.

The traits of your character are exactly what could drive some of ‘what goes wrong’ in your story, and things HAVE to go wrong to make the story interesting. Nobody wants to hear the story about how the girl went to the market, met the love of her life, and they lived happily ever after right away and nothing went wrong ever.

BO-ring.

Final Example from Real Life

My writing / creative partner, Kathryn DeZur [check out her Substack] is the most genuinely “good” person I’ve ever met. The worst thing I’ve heard her say about anyone in a decade [no matter how awful the person was] is, “I could just kick them.” or “I decided to wipe my toothpaste off on his towel!”. That is the absolute most vicious she can get, and she feels really bad about it.

Meanwhile, I’m over here mentally plotting how to blow up their car or burn their house down or drop a piano on them or send them to outer-space without a spaceship [not really… well… maybe not really… but you get the picture]. And I don’t feel a jot bad about it.

Some people are naturally good.

Others… less so.

Characters will have the same variations. So how will you write your characters to make them believable?

Character Outline: You probably have your own or already use one of the millions already online. But, if not, below is the main template I use to map each of my characters.

Links of Interest

Or, related to this post or that I pulled information from:

• Interview with Jim Butcher: https://clarionfoundation.wordpress.com/2011/07/26/interview-with-jim-butcher-author-of-the-dresden-files/

• Jim Butcher on writing characters: https://jimbutcher.livejournal.com/1698.html

• Karen Woodward on Jim Butcher’s methods: https://blog.karenwoodward.org/2021/04/how-to-write-genre-story-character_12.html

• G. Lichy on Jim Butcher’s methods: https://glichy.wordpress.com/2016/09/13/creating-characters-according-to-jim-butcher/
  

====================

CHARACTER OUTLINE TEMPLATE

====================

Main Overall Tags Summary: xx

====================

Tags (Names): xxx

Tags (Actions): xxx

Tags (Fear / Anger ): xxx

Tags (overall summary, 5-6): xxx

Tags (Dialogue): xxx

Flaws: xxx

Internal / External Goals (short summary): xxx

====================

Role in Story: xxx

Occupation: xxx

Exaggeration: xxx

Physical

• Description (looks/features): xxx

• Behavior Traits (actions/reactions): xxx

Exotic position: xxx

Skills: xxx

Succinct Personality: xxx

Strong Introduction: xxx

====================

Internal / External Goals:

• Part I –

  • (Internal) xxx

  • (External) xxx

• Part II –

  • (Internal) xxx

  • (External) xxx

• Part III –

  • (Internal) xxx

  • (External) xxx

====================

Long Personality:

xxx

====================

Background:

xxx

====================

Character Growth:

xxx

====================

Character at start of book:

xxx

====================

Character at end of book:

xxx

====================

Author Notes

The images were made with Midjourney. The prompt goes something like [depending on what you’re building]:

• Create character design of a short, middling aged, rotund and balding monk wizard, grouchy, orange robes, male, close up, multiple concept designs, concept design sheet, white background, in style of Yoshitaka Amano [or who ever you love most]

I’ve love to see some of your short ‘summary’ character sketches below.

I decided to try two new writing craft items I’d never done before: flash fiction, and a piece made up of dialogue only, a conversation and nothing else, where you leave all descriptions, tags and modifiers out.

My writing group sent out the following prompt for our weekly meeting, and I used it to try these two new techniques:

“Lesser of Two Evils: A knock on your door reveals a stranger who hands you their business card, claiming they are The Lesser of Two Evils. Write a scene or story that reveals what happens next.”

I should note that my attempt was inspired by another author, or, actually two.

I had just finished reading a short story by Brandon Sanderson in his recent collection Tailored Realities, titled “I Hate Dragons.” The entire flash fiction piece is told through dialogue, the conversation between dragon hunters, their dragon bait (a young boy), and the dragon itself. I loved that I could tell who was speaking solely through voice and cadence, and I wanted to try something similar.

I should also mention that I had just been in Chicago, where I visited the Field Museum, and of course went out of my way to see Sue the T. rex. Like the good fan I am, I wanted to see the very dinosaur Jim Butcher used in Dead Beat; the necromancer‑ridden T. rex that put a “beat” down on the bad guys. (Yes, that pun was intentional.)

And then, not far from Sue the T Rex, stood a skeleton of an ancient, giant Irish deer (Megaloceros giganteus, Pleistocene era, 1.8 million - 10K years ago).

And, I’m not sayin’, but I’m just sayin’, the Field Museum really ought to name ALL the skeletons in that museum. I think this deer should be called Bob.

And the moment I saw Bob, the Irish Deer, I was certain he would be Death’s steed; that is, if Death wanted a cool skeletal mount. Which, I’m quite sure he does.

So there I was, thinking about what creatures Death might ride, when the writing prompt landed in my inbox.

All this made me think about the way that writers are inspired by everything around them: other writers, museums, art, nature, people; ‘life, the universe and everything.’ (And if you don’t know that reference, then I’m most afraid we can no longer be BFFs).

In the end, I found writing a ‘conversation only’ piece a tad challenging, but fun (I took the easy route and only had two people speaking, instead of three like Brandon Sanderson):

• Flash Fiction Short Story :

  • Death Misplaced:

Challenges

• How do you create visuals for the reader if there are no descriptors?

• How do you distinguish between characters without any speech modifiers or tags?

• How do you move the story along without any environmental interactions?

• How do you help your readers understand movement when all they have is dialogue?

• And, how do you try to sneak those things into the dialogue without making it an overly expository conversation that completely ruins the story? (aka “Here I am in my black cloak grabbing this door handle to open the door.”

Answers

• I tucked little descriptors into the conversations to add at least some visuals, but tried to not cross the line into overly-expository.

• I decided to give the two characters VERY different diction so that it was always clear who was speaking at any given moment, even if the speaker was never identified.

  • I made Death speak in a very old tongue, think Old English and Shakespearean times. (I may have gone overboard on adding ‘ths’ to words… you’ll have to excuse me if that is the case.)

  • And of course the Old Lady spoke like your own sweet grandmother might. (Not mine, because my grandmother was anything but sweet, but certainly like the stereotypical grandmother we see on TV.)

You can read my attempt here at this link.

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I would love to see your attempt. Add the link in the comments.

I am serially publishing my new novella here, The Dawn Bringers.

It takes place on a world called Darnoc (Day and Night - for light and dark), which was colonized by spacefaring humans many eons ago. For reasons long forgotten, those colonists eventually left and never returned. Over time, the descendants of the settlers lost their knowledge of advanced technology and history, referring to their ancestors simply as The Ancients.

Dyrna: World Light Zones

Darnoc’s axis and the orientation of its sun create dramatic striations of light across the planet, forming three distinct and permanent light zones.

Always Day

The southern zone exists in eternal sunlight and never knows night.

Nearly Always Twilight

The equatorial zone, where this story begins, rests in near perpetual twilight, seeing little true day or night.

Always Night

The northern zone lies in unending darkness and extreme cold, so severe that human populations there were forced underground to survive.

On a planet with such stark divisions of light, it stands to reason that each region would develop its own unique ecology. Over generations, the humans who settled Darnoc had to evolve and adapt to these vastly different environments.

Plant and Animal Adaptations

This novella begins in the equatorial region, a land locked in near constant twilight.

So what kinds of creatures would evolve in a world like that? Likely those with exceptional low light vision, similar to owls, leopards, or snakes.

And what about plants and other life forms? Earth offers many real world examples of organisms that thrive with minimal or no sunlight.

On Earth, some plants are shade loving and can survive entirely without direct sun, think ferns, some yews, and bromeliads. Others are parasitic, relying on fungi and soil microbes for nutrients, such as ghost pipe or other holoparasitic plants. There are also organisms that use chemosynthesis, like bacteria living near hydrothermal vents, drawing energy from chemical reactions rather than sunlight.

I draw from these scientific concepts and more to build an ecosystem for a continent that exists almost entirely without sun.

Human Adaptations

In this novella, we first meet the Gloamers, a people who evolved within the equatorial twilight zone.

Gloamers have developed adaptations for life in low light, including larger eyes, wider pupil dilation, and enhanced photoreceptor cells. These traits allow them to see clearly in shadow, twilight, and even moonlit conditions.

Think of how owls see at night, with far higher densities (30x) of rod cells than humans, and specialized reflective layers that amplify dim light. Rod cells contain rhodopsin, a pigment essential for detecting motion and grayscale images in dark environments, and for improved peripheral vision.

I also gave Gloamers the ability for disconjugate eye scanning (i.e. similar to a chameleon). This allows them to independently move their eyes to watch for prey or threats in multiple directions in a twilight world full of shadowy predators we will meet later in the story. When needed, they can bring both eyes forward for enhanced depth perception during hunting or combat.

Gloamers are a culture of hunters and warriors, and these adaptations felt like a natural extension of both their environment and way of life.

Human Genetic Aberrations

While these humans evolved adaptations that allowed them to live more successfully in twilight, they also developed mutations that were not beneficial. Some of these led to an inability to tolerate sunlight. Such negative mutations persisted within the population because, in this environment, they did not hinder survival or reproduction.

Gloamers have a severe intolerance to light, similar to conditions found in modern humans such as Xeroderma pigmentosum (XP) and Erythropoietic protoporphyria (EPP). Even minimal exposure to sunlight results in severe burns.

Cultural Adaptations

A people who have lived for generations in twilight and are physically burned by sunlight would naturally develop strong cultural and religious beliefs around light and darkness. For Gloamers, the idea of being able to walk safely in the sun has become deeply symbolic.

Their society has fractured into factions that either revere the possibility of the light or reject it entirely. These beliefs shape not only their religion, but their politics, fears, and hopes for the future.

And that tension is only just beginning to surface.

Read the Story

You can read The Dawn Bringers here.

It has been some time since I last took evolutionary biology, so I will not claim to be as much of an expert as I once was. That said, the basic principles of how populations adapt to environments have been understood since Darwin’s time, and the fundamentals are fairly straightforward.

If individuals have traits that help them survive or reproduce in a given ecosystem, they are more likely to leave offspring and pass those traits on. Individuals who lack traits that support survival or reproduction are less likely to reproduce and therefore less likely to pass their traits to the next generation.

Definition of Evolution:

• Evolution is the change in heritable characteristics of biological populations over successive generations, driven by mechanisms like natural selection and genetic drift. It is defined as “descent with modification,” explaining how species adapt to environments and share common ancestors, rather than individual development.

Mutations

Random mutations arise in all species.

These mutations occur without regard to the needs of the organism or the environment. Some mutations are beneficial and increase the chances of survival or reproduction. Others are harmful and can reduce lifespan or fertility. Many mutations are effectively neutral, neither helping nor harming the organism in any meaningful way.

It is important to note that mutations are not always inherited. For example, cancer is caused by mutations in somatic cells, which affect the individual but are not passed on to offspring. Only mutations in reproductive cells can contribute to long term evolutionary change.

Evolution is not always as simple as beneficial mutations surviving and harmful ones disappearing. In some cases, a mutation that is harmful in one context can provide an advantage in another.

Sickle cell anemia is a well known example.

One might expect this trait to disappear because individuals with two copies of the mutation often experience severe health problems. However, individuals who carry one copy of the mutation and one normal copy do not usually develop the disease and have increased resistance to malaria. In regions where malaria is common, this survival advantage means the mutation is more likely to be passed on and maintained within the population.

What does this mean for world building?

It means you have a great deal of flexibility when imagining how humans or alien species adapt to new environments.

Adaptation does not require that every change be beneficial in all circumstances. You can include traits that are harmful, inconvenient, or risky in some situations, yet persist because they do not significantly reduce survival or because they offer advantages under other specific conditions.

Example

In a novella I am working on, I decided that humans long ago colonized the twilight zone of a planet called Darna, a region with little to no sunlight. They call themselves the Gloamers. Over time, a mutation became prevalent within this small colony that made them extremely sensitive to sunlight.

The Gloamers now have a severe reaction to sunlight, similar to conditions found in modern humans such as xeroderma pigmentosum (XP) and erythropoietic protoporphyria (EPP), though far more extreme and deadly. XP is also sometimes associated with significant eye abnormalities, and it is not uncommon for one trait to be biologically linked to another.

In my book, I decided that this XP-like trait also caused an eye “abnormality” (as it can today in humans on Earth), and one that allows the Gloamers to see far better at night. The result is a linked trait: extreme sensitivity to light paired with enhanced night vision. The mutation persists in the population because there is hardly any sunlight on Darna therefore the negative aspects of the trait are mostly avoidable.

This trait would be deadly in regions with constant exposure to the sun, but it persisted because their environment contains very little direct sunlight and being able to see better at night allowed them to hunt better and, therefore, survive better. The ability to see well in low light makes the Gloamers more successful at survival, despite the deadly cost of sun exposure.

That limitation adds tension to the story, because when they finally encounter people who can live in the full daylight region of the world, and they want to go there and visit them, the question becomes how they can safely do so.

Next Steps

Here is how you get started:

First: A recent post by F. P. Dawe inspired me to write this piece and his is well worth the listen.

1. Create your world first. You cannot fully understand what the animals or people will look like, or how they will live, until you know what the environment and ecology are like.

   1. Example one: The Stormlight Archive by Brandon Sanderson. In these books, the ecology, animals, plants, and people have all evolved to survive constant, severe lightning storms.

   2. Example two: The Broken Earth series by N. K. Jemisin. In these books, the entire culture and ecological system have adapted around frequent and catastrophic earthquakes.

2. Create the Genetic Adaptions: Once you understand your world’s ecology, you can begin designing any genetic adaptations you want your characters or populations to have.

   1. Based in Reality: Another approach is to research real human conditions, diseases, or afflictions and adapt or re-imagine them for your world. Your world might even include intentionally engineered genetic adaptations designed to make colonists more successful on other planets, a concept many books have explored.

   2. Made Up: you can simply make it up. It is fantasy and science fiction, after all.

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I hope this helps you get started. I would love to hear in the comments how you adapted your characters to fit their world.

Ever felt like something was watching you in the library? You’re not imagining things.

It was the imps.

In one of my current writing projects, the protagonist repeatedly crosses paths with clever and mischievous library imps.

The imps in my story are cat‑sized creatures with iridescent blue‑black skin, long ears (usually pierced), black horns, bat-like wings, a forked tail, and a habit of judging humans with great enthusiasm. They’re curious, chaotic, and much like the honey badger, they don’t give a, care.

To help myself write this character more vividly, I experimented with AI image generators to create rough visual references. There are many you can use, such as Adobe Firefly and Midjourney.

• Ethical Tip: If you are concerned about AI image generators that use copyrighted images, there are options that do not. For example, Adobe Firefly does not use copyrighted content to train its models.

Using the AI image generator to design my character gave me useful visual prompts while writing. Seeing how they might move, their texture, their expression, it often unlocks new details and behaviors that weren’t always clear to me when it was only words on paper. It allows me to describe and write them with more detail and accuracy.

If you’re a visual thinker, try generating quick AI sketches of your characters or creatures. They don’t have to be perfect or canon, just enough to spark ideas. A single image can help you refine posture, personality, wardrobe, or even narrative tension.

Think of it as a creative springboard.

Prompting for Newbies

First, I will say that there are a million articles online about how to write a prompt. I am not trying to replace them. I suggest using the ones already out there, which a quick Google Search will provide.

However, many of them are quite in depth, and I know some people just want the absolute basics to get started, so here you go.

AI is a robot. It can only do what it is told to do. In order to get the image you want, you have to tell it what you desire. That instruction is called a prompt. Think of a prompt like a small piece of computer code you give the AI so it can design what you have in mind.

Steps to Prompting:

1. Keep the text prompt for your image simple, but ordered: background first, character next, foreground last, and image details last.

2. Start with the background first.

   1. Example: The background is a dark, gothic library.

3. Next, add in the character.

   1. Example A black imp with yellow eyes, curling horns, and leathery wings like a bat sits on a table.

4. Next, add in foreground if you need it - what ever will be in front of the character. I don’t need it in this case.

5. Next, add in details that define the image’s style.

   1. Create image in the style of a fantasy image, dark, steampunk, in the style of _____ (insert favorite artist).

6. Final image prompt is below (I adjusted it twice, so you could see two examples).

7. Next Steps: Tweak the prompt until you get the image you want.

Results

Prompt 1 (less detailed): Small black demon imp, sitting on railing, expressive character, dramatic pose, playfully dark, style of sergey musin, eric canete, nightmarish creature

Prompt 2 (more detailed): The background is a dark, gothic library. A mischievous imp sits on a table. The imp has black curling horns, black bat-like skin, yellow eyes, and black leathery wings like a bat. The imp is holding a book and looking at the viewer of the image. The image is a closeup profile picture of the imp. Fantasy style, dark, steampunk.

Tools

There are many more besides these two, but these are my two current favorites:

• Adobe Firefly: https://firefly.adobe.com/

• Midjourney: https://www.midjourney.com/

Ethical Tip

For those who have moral or ethical concerns about AI image generators using copyrighted content, there are ethical options available. For example, Adobe Firefly is an AI image generator that does not use copyrighted images to train its AI robot, relying instead on licensed and public domain content.

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I’d love to see your character creations in the comments. :)

Beginnings are hard.

Or so I hear - though, I like the beginning. My favorite part of the writing process is imaging the world that will shape the lives within it. And that starts with the environment and ecosystems.

Why environment matters?

Every culture on Earth has adapted its way of life to its environment, whether desert or tropical, island or continent, dry or wet, temperate or extreme. Cultures have also shaped their practices around the plants and animals available to them locally. Of course, in modern times, and by modern I mean the last five hundred plus years of increasingly global trade routes, we have access to foods, materials, and resources that were once unavailable. But when I design a world in my books that lacks modern transportation, I think about how humans once lived: rooted in their local environment.

The study of how cultures interact with plants and animals is known as ethnobiology or ethnobotany, both topics near and dear to my heart and ones I studied extensively during my undergraduate work. Studying cultural anthropology has deeply influenced how I approach world building, because for most of history, people and their environments were inseparable.

Any species, on Earth or on another planet, must evolve within, adapt to, and survive on what is available around them. Otherwise, they die out. They evolve, live, and thrive within their local ecosystems, learning to depend on them over time. That relationship inevitably becomes part of who they are.

How do you get started?

I would point readers toward a few key topics to research as a primer:

• Cultural anthropology: First study very different cultures on Earth, then extrapolate - what kind of cultures would aliens have?

• Anthropological linguistics: How have different languages and writing system evolved? How might similar occur on other planets?

• Ethnobiology and ethnobotany: How do biological beings (human or alien ) live with their environment? Look up astrobiology too - the study of how aliens might evolve on planets with very different ecology from ours.

• Environmental science, ecosystems, and biomes: what will your local environment look like?

Together, working knowledge in these areas can dramatically deepen your understanding of how societies form and function in varying ecosystems, and will make you a far stronger world builder. 😊

Note: I created the images using Midjourney.