Category: A Writer’s Journey

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Promotional banner for "Dancing in the Purple Rain" by Judy L. Mohr. The background shows a dark, rainy, neon-lit futuristic city with lightning in the sky and two large holographic Queen of Hearts figures on opposite sides. In the foreground on the right is the book cover, featuring a person in a purple hooded coat standing in the rain. Bold yellow text across the center reads: “JOIN THE RAIN DANCE…” Above it, smaller text says: “BEING SPECIAL CAN MAKE YOU A TARGET.”

Dancing in the Purple Rain: The idea origins (and opening scene)

Inspiration for a story can come from anywhere. A random conversation can spark an idea. Or a news article. Or the scene outside the office window.

The idea for the opening scene in Dancing in the Purple Rain came from a report of an internet challenge hoax that scared me as a parent. And my writer brain just wouldn't let go of it, even though I knew it was a hoax. My writer brain did what it does best: It took that seed of an idea and asked the famous "What if…?"

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Why I will always provide human-authored content only

Ever since ChatGPT came on the scene, there has been this question about the validity of being human authored. Let's face it, ChatGPT made it so easy to write entire novels in a matter of minutes.

Initially, the quality of the writing that came out of the AI-generative algorithms was questionable at best, with many sentences that didn't really make much sense. But in the years since the technology first came on the scene, the quality of the writing has significantly improved.

As each day passes, systems like ChatGPT are improving. There is no doubt in my mind that a day will come when an AI-generated story will be of a similar quality to what I can write myself. Perhaps that day is already here. But with the chaos that is involved with the questionable nature of the material used to train these AI programs, human-authored works are building a strong voice.

It's time to take a closer look at this situation and explain why I'm never going to let AI write my stories (and blogs) for me. And it's not just for copyright reasons.

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The Birth of a New Imprint

If I take the time to really think it through, my current situation was inevitable.

I have spent years building a reputation, putting in the effort and energy to build a brand and name recognition. It's only a matter of time before someone would start to take action to undermine my efforts.

However, I didn't expect that the steps needed to protect the name would result in a change of the name.

Yep, you read that right. The decision to start taking action to register a trademark to protect my business name led to the decision to actually change the business name. My publishing imprint has an entirely new name (registered business name and everything). Whereas my editorial and coaching services will be moved under my Judy L Mohr brand.

Let me set the stage and fill you in on the complexities of the mess.

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2024: Reflecting on a Year of Change

I will be the first to admit that my writing career so far has been one hell of a roller coaster. And there are a lot of ups and downs still to come. But as we approach the end of the year, there is one thing that I can say with pride about 2024.

It was a year of mental growth.

It's time to take a step back, slow down a bit, and reflect on the year that has just been. I need to celebrate my growth and my little wins for what they are. Only then will I be able to move into the new year with my head held high, ready for whatever roller coaster dips and twists are coming my way.

So, let's get into the nitty-gritty of 2024.

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Letter to Self: Your number one goal is to write!

A few years ago, I came across this exercise that was about self-reflection for writers, specifically targeting what we thought of ourselves as a writer. We were to write a letter to ourselves, being honest about what we thought about our writing skills. This self-examination was to include any strengths and weaknesses that we might have seen.

Through the exercise, we were supposed to identify what we thought were “weak points” within our writing, so we could start learning and improve… and grow.

I’m a learner at heart. I am always trying to learn that next thing, constantly expanding my skill set. So, taking the time to develop a plan for targeted learning was appealing. So, I wrote a letter to myself and stashed it away in the archives of my computer.

Recently, in going back through my blog notes and other files, I encountered the letter that I wrote to myself back in 2020.

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