J.D. Edwin's Blog, page 2

Can A.I. Write Stories?

Have you ever used AI to write?

Usage of AI is becoming more and more common in the arts. Illustrations, music, videos, and writing generated by AI is becoming increasingly common. But can AI really mimic human creativity? Will we one day have no need for human artists and solely rely on AI to generate content? Let’s see.

While working on my current book, Love, Death, and Other Things I’m Bad At, I had trouble getting going on a scene between the main character Winnie, and her love interes...

A New Story Begins

‘Tis the season for gratitude, and despite the chaotic year I’ve had, as the holidays draw near, I find myself thankful for new beginnings.

It wouldn’t be right not to mention my amazing editor Alice Sudlow as part of this next chapter. Alice was one of the main driving forces behind the success of the Headspace series, and now she is helping me forge new territory as well. 

Alice’s latest podcast gives a peek into the work being done on my current work-in-progress, a fun and funny cozy f...

The Art of Storytelling

As long as I could remember, I always had one goal in life. No matter what else happened and how my other ambitions and interests ebbed and flowed, I always retained that one goal: to be a better writer.

So it was probably no surprise that I eventually found myself to Neil Gaiman’s masterclass on the art of storytelling. I had heard about this class extensively, though with mixed opinions. After much hemming and hawing, I finally took the plunge.

This is not a review of the class, though I...

The View In Front of the Easel

This year was a busy one. Some days felt like they flew by and others felt like they stood still. I often tell my friends that I feel like I let this year slip by, but when I actually sit down and think, it was quite a busy year.

I released my first nonfiction this year, THE WRITE FAST SYSTEM, to share my experience and lessons in completely a book quickly

I created and taught two classes, one on writing productivity, and another on self-editing.

I wrote the second draft of my first coz...

Life Like a Musical… Sort of

Recently, I had a chat with a fellow author. She was tired. Really tired. Just like me, she has a full time day job, young children, and is struggling to fulfill her authoring ambitions while trying to balance every other responsibility in life.

We talked about the fight for every sale, the difficulty of marketing in today’s overwhelming social media-driven world, and how we are both just too tired and awkward to make proper use of TikTok. 

See, authoring’s kind of like that song from Anni...

I never thought I’d teach… until I did

I always fancied myself a writer of strictly fiction. Never once did I think I had any kind of wisdom to impart onto other writers.

But as it turns out, experience is what forms wisdom.

The more I wrote, the more I learned, and the more I wanted to share my experience and new-found skills with others, in hopes that they could have an easier time with their books than I did with my own.

Through The Write Practice, I was able to share multiple classes and articles. Teaching turned out to be one of th...

The Miracle of Hard Work

There was once a time when writing a book seemed like a faraway dream. It felt daunting and scary and completely unachievable.

In 2018, Headspace changed that. It was the book that taught me to write books, the book that made me believe in myself, and the book that convinced me to keep going. 

When the pandemic hit, I realized there was a hidden opportunity within the chaos, and in between working from home, teaching my children, and trying to make it through, I wrote. 

In the summer of...

RELEASE DAY!

ORB HUNTERS, the third book of the Headspace series releases today!

To celebrate, I am appearing as a guest on the podcast Your Next Draft with Alice Sudlow to discuss the editing process that took me through this trilogy. Click below to listen!

Grateful to be Back!

This past week I had the privilege to return to the Dose of Depth podcast with Deborah Lukovich!

It’s hard to believe it’s been a whole year since I was last on. I got to know Deborah, an incredibly and driven psychologist and author, through The Write Practice.  In fact, I had the honor of being Deborah’s very first interview when she launched her podcast. 

Since then, she has grown her podcast to over 10,000 downloads with over 50 episodes, spanning a variety of topics centered aroun...

Looking for Your Next Read?

Recently I’ve delved into some genres I don’t read often. 

 I had the privilege of getting to know Dr. Deborah Lukovich, a psychologist who took an honest look at her own “midlife unraveling” and saw a book that could help others in the same boat.

Let’s face it, the last two years haven’t been easy on anyone. We could all use a little self-reflection and mindfulness. Deborah’s book is friendly, personal, and easy to read. She breaks down advanced concepts to make them much easier to digest...