I’m not going to pretend like I have any idea what’s going on with the AI art community. I have no clue. My life is primarily focused on what’s going on inside the four walls of my home, so if all of this is old hat by now, feel free to excuse me as being out of touch — because I am! 😆
I use Stable Diffusion to supplement my writing, but I also just enjoy crafting prompts. Finally, visual art in a form that my aphantastic brain can understand! HA HA! Print that sucker out and tape it up on the walls! Because why not?
So, these pictures all use the same Seed and other settings, with the only difference being some slight tweaking of the prompt. Some of them literally have the order of a couple of words changed, and that’s it. However, the end results all have drastically different visual impacts.
I’ve referenced this before, but the reason I was all but absent for most of 2023 was because there was a lot going on. I got my kids started on a new online school program, and while we’ve been very happy with it, we still had to adjust and figure out what the heck we were doing. It’s taken up an enormous amount of mental energy.
There was also a big 5000-mile road trip across the US with all of our kids. It went pretty well for the most part, with only one heart-stopping moment of our van dying at a gas station near the SC/NC border — but it turned out that the battery terminal had wiggled lose, so it was a quick and easy fix. Phew.
And my 16-year-old cat died. Two days afterwards I came down with one of the worst sinus infections that I’ve ever had in my entire life, and my sinuses still aren’t 100% recovered from it.
The cherry on top was that with everything going on, I forgot to hydrate adequately and got a small kidney stone. Such adventures!
Anyway, that’s enough of that. I could say a lot more, but I don’t want to sound all complain-y and negative. Let’s just say that if one of my future novels includes a wasp attack, it is 100% based on real life.
On the brighter side, I have put in a lot of effort to expand my culinary experiences, and have even tried my hand at sous vide!
I suppose that one of the perks about being a writer is that I tend to view the events of my life with a sort of detached amusement after all is said and done. Don’t get me wrong, I struggle through like any other person would, but eventually it comes to an end and I think to myself, “I could put that in a story.”
Unfortunately, I seem to be quite rusty with creating graphics for my blog. Like, wow, I used to do this all the time, and now it’s a little weird and confusing. Heck, I even looked at Canva to see if I could simplify the process (I currently use GIMP), but that site wanted me to pay to use anything remotely appealing, and I’m WAY too cheap for that. I’ll stick with open source, thank-you-very-much!
With so much of my energy going into my kids’ online school, I’m not anticipating being able to update more than once a week. However, I will announce that I currently have 25,000 words written for a new novel, so pretty soon here I’ll start posting that. You know, when I get my graphics figured out, lol.
Always let something petty stop you from following through! It’s called procrastination. 🤣
The snow falls, soft and pure A blanket of white, covering the earth The skies above, dark and cold But beneath the snow, the earth has grown rich and bold The trees are bare, their leaves have fallen But beneath the snow, the earth is swelling The roots reach down, deep in the soil Preparing for the spring, when new life will unfurl The winter air is crisp, and clear And in the snow, there’s beauty to be seen The silence of the snow provides a place To listen to our thoughts, and hear our dreams The winter’s grace, it fills our world With peace and serenity, unbound And when the snow melts, and spring is here We know the earth, will once again sing clear.
Phew, the long nightmare of 2023 is finally over! Bring on the nightmare of 2024!
Joking aside, I have made it my goal to get back into regular blogging this year, since even just one post a week is better than nothing. Blogging is something that I like to do to organize my thoughts, and it sure is helpful to have some organization.
I can’t remember if I mentioned this before, but I’m putting a temporary pause on writing The Scions. After all of the events of 2023, that sail no longer has wind behind it, metaphorically speaking. My heart isn’t in it anymore. So I’ll finish it later, when the timing is better.
I’ve begun a new writing project that heavily uses AI as part of the process. Not only am I using Stable Diffusion to generate character portraits and concept art, I’m also using language model AI to help with the writing itself. I feel obligated to point out that AI is not to the point of being able to spit out a coherent novel, so while the process is different, it’s still very time consuming.
Essentially, my visual imagination is very weak, which makes describing visual things very difficult for me. AI has been enormously helpful in bolstering this weakness for me, so that I can focus more on writing how everything feels instead. To put it as a simile, it’s like switching from using a needle and thread to using a sewing machine.
I’m looking forward to sharing this new project with you.
Twas the week before Christmas, when all through the town People were buzzing with excitement, preparing for the big day in town
The stockings were hung by the fireplace, with care And presents were wrapped and placed in the middle, with a flourish and a flare
The Christmas tree, covered in lights and sparkles, with ornaments and garlands bright And a star shining at the top, brightening the holiday night
The air was filled with the smell of cookies, warm and fresh from the oven And the sounds of laughter and joy, filling the hearts of those given
The magic of Christmas, it’s a feeling so deep And it’s something that can’t be put into words, it’s a feeling that you must keep
So on that night, we’ll all gather together And sing songs of joy and peace, with a smile, our hearts will weather
And as we exchange gifts and share our love, with family and friends near and far We’ll be filled with joy and happiness, as we enjoy the wonders of Christmas, near and far.
My 16-year-old cat died exactly one month ago today. I adopted him back before I had even met my husband, and had gone through every stage of my adult life with him by my side — the idea of continuing on without my lapbuddy is a little daunting.
I’m still at the stage of keeping his food bowl sitting in its place, so that I can pretend in the back of my mind that he’s still catting about.
I’m the sort that withdraws to deal with the tough stuff, and 2023 has been full of a number of struggles. I’ve done barely any writing for this second half, and it saddens me to know that a second year is coming to a close where I didn’t meet my goal of finishing a novel. But life is life, and these rough patches are inevitable. Maybe when things settle down, I’ll be able to write a couple of novels in six months to make up for lost time.
In my life, your love is everything. It brings joy and peace, and makes me feel like I can be anything. Your love is like a gift, One that I treasure and will never forget. It fills my heart with happiness, Making me feel like I can face any circumstance or challenge that comes along. I’m blessed to have your love in my life, And I will cherish it forever, never taking it for granted.
In my life, I have had many ups and downs, But through it all, your love has never left me. You’ve been my steady rock, Always there when I need you, never failing to pick me back up. Your love is a light in the darkness, It shines bright and warm, a source of comfort that I cannot deny. I’m grateful for your love, It’s one of the greatest gifts I’ve ever received, And it will always hold a special place in my heart.
In my life, I have seen love come and go, It’s not always easy, it takes hard work to grow. But your love is different, It’s strong and enduring, built to last and to endure, It’s a love that I can trust, One that I know will never fail me or leave me behind. Your love is a blessing, A gift that I’ll cherish forever, keeping it always in my mind. It’s your love that makes my world go round, And it’s your love that brings me happiness that I can’t describe in words.
To summarize, a lot of people think that they are introverts because they are drained by social interaction, but that is an inaccurate assessment. In our modern technology driven society, most people are drained by socialization because they don’t socialize in face-to-face frequently enough for that part of their brain to operate at full capacity.
Part of the video that I found to be particularly fascinating is how extroverts are drained more by “toxic” environments than introverts, because extroverts are more socially aware and sensitive than introverts are.
Socializing has become an interesting and complicated aspect of our society. You’d think that with the whole, “Humans are social creatures” thing, we’d have a deeper understanding of it, but I guess it is what it is. Most people sit near the middle of the extrovert-introvert spectrum, and the farther out you go, the less people you find.
I’m someone who scored 90% introversion the last time I took and MBTI test. During my childhood, I romanticized the idea of living alone as a hermit or a recluse, and frequently read books like “My Side of the Mountain” or “Hatchet.” However, my IRL venture into off-grid living as a new adult convinced me that I liked modern conveniences too much to commit myself to the lifestyle. Because, you know, sometimes you need to run to the store for Tylenol at 3am, and it’s a pain in the butt to drive an hour to get into town.
I’m lazy like that.
I also don’t consider myself to be socially awkward. In fact, I’m often the one smoothing over other people’s awkward comments so that they won’t fall into anxiety. I took drama and debate classes in high school, and even won a trophy for poetry recitation. I’ve been complimented on my public speaking skills, and told that I don’t appear anxious at all. What people don’t realize is that it’s because I’m only vaguely aware of the audience, so it doesn’t bother me to perform in front of them (does anyone actually listen anyway?). Also, as a writer, I spend a lot of time “practicing” conversations in my head, so it’s not a big stretch for me to apply it to real life.
Though I do find most people very difficult to work with, largely because they now follow the “social media” format of socialization, where they structure their verbal conversations in the “status update followed by a comment” format. They don’t know how to flow from one topic to another.
There have also been plenty of times when I’ve been out in public with my husband, and he’ll later ask, “Did you see the person with the lime green feather boa?” and I’ll reply, “…No.” I don’t notice people the same way that my husband does. I usually only notice someone if they somehow invade my “bubble.”
And those are the reasons why I consider myself to be a true introvert, instead of a socially anxious extrovert.
Anyway, there isn’t any real purpose to this post. I got back a couple of days ago from a big road trip, and am now dealing with a cold that I caught during said road trip. I figured, “Why not write a blog post?” because who doesn’t enjoy some rambling every now and then? Besides, we both know how badly I’ve been neglecting my blog this year. Maybe it’s time for me to start updating more regularly.
By Autumn Rain 