Denis Baldwin - Aspiring Author

Greetings! For those of you following or dropping in, you may know that my current goal is to become a published author. So far I've: Written my manuscript. Rewritten. Edited. Edited. Edited. Etc. I believe I've now taken it as far as I can by myself. I'm having my query letter professional reviewed so I can then start pitching to agents in order to get representation. But what's the next move? I'm going to have to scour the internet to find a reputable agent and, not only hope to get their attention, but also get them to represent me. This is one of those things that could happen overnight, or, more realistic, over the next couple of years (if ever). It's a lot to take in if you let your mind wander so you keep your head down and keep working. If there's anyone else going through the same process, best of luck to you! I know I need it myself. -Denis

 Blogging becomes one of those things that if you don't keep up with it, it is like clean laundry never put away. There's a tidy beginning to something, but the project is abandoned. It's now 2024. I've worked on several things that took away my attention, one of which is a secret, although it's out there for anyone to find on some major platforms. The other thing is I'm having a professional review done of my query letter that I intend on sending out to agents in order to get my manuscript published. The review should be back to me in the next week or two and then it's onward from there. I decided to look at the metrics on my blog and it turns out a few dozen or so have read what I posted. Oops. I guess I should return to form and start writing once a week again. I kind of miss it.

      Greetings!     If you've been following my blog (you haven't) then you will have noticed that it's been several days since I've posted consistently. That's because I've been busy and such, but also because I set an arbitrary schedule when I first started this directionless blog. I think I'll shift over to a weekly format, mostly because I will feel less guilty that way and maintain that I haven't fully given up on this blog.     This week I'm excited to share that I'm entering the Reedsy writing contest for a second time. The topic this time is based on the grapevine, telephone, rumors, and the like. I'm going for the rumor aspect. I thought that today's blog could be on my writing process, thought process, and the creative side of things.      Let's start from the beginning: The Title. I'll be honest, I'm 50/50 with titles. There are some things I've written and the title has come as naturally as the dialogue or the

      Ahoy!     Many beginning writers (or perhaps all) have primary/secondary jobs in order to pay the bills. The craft itself is often time consuming with little compensation. The reward itself is the work created, but of course we want the work out there, and that generally translates to sales since it correlates to people desiring/wanting your creation. I'm not there yet.     I work a day job. Nothing wrong with that. I actually enjoy it even, and I'd say I'm quite good at it. It allows me an environment with access to a wide variety of people and it's my job to entertain/take care of them. Why am I being vague? Because I don't need people harassing me at work. That wouldn't be nice. I keep it professional, even if my job sometimes necessitates ribald banter. I also get bored at work, so the wordplay itself is always fun. Do I talk like this? I actually do. People have compared me to Sheldon, which is a shame because I'm not a big fan of the show. (Nothi

      Aloha!     Last post I talked about AI tools and how I'm of the belief that now that the tools are here, they aren't going away any time soon (or ever for that matter). Reedsy did a more in depth newsletter regarding AI and how it's still in its infancy stage and that it needs a fair amount of hand holding in order to get anything of value out of the application. I actually find this beneficial. What better way to know your own material than having to describe it in different ways, trying to produce varying yet similar results. It's a fun game if you think of it as such. If you care to read Reedsy's article, click below! Reedsy Article - AI and Writing     On my end I've been researching different recommendations and templates regarding query letters to pitch my novel to agents ( and researching agents). I really need to sit down and dedicate a few hours to this practice and just get the ball rolling. I have small issues regarding "is the material rea

      Beep boop blorp.     Artificial Intelligence has come a long way since early science fiction narratives and hollywood movies. Terminator and iRobot are a little more in your face when it comes to issues related to AI. Those stories act as if a not-too-distant problem will come about all at once in a sort of hostile takeover. It's probably not going to be so devestating (although possibly) and the issues are smaller and already happening.     Artificial Intelligence is harming us in subtle ways. The GPS that malfunctions and causes a driver to go the wrong way, causing an accident; autopilot on an aircraft that is overriding the pilot, causing a plane crash; these two examples have happened, and are fairly obvious. But we're talking about subtle. What about ChatGPT, Artificial Intelligence that is used to write and create things? The deceptions are out there and have been covered well by others. What interests me is that in each case it was a human being that was behind ea