Category Archives: #writerslife

Reader Friday-Let’s Talk Coverups…

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Awhile ago, I picked some of your brains (such as they were…#sorrynotsorry) to get some ideas for Friday posts. Just kidding… 🙂

This gem of an idea came from our own Elaine Viets.

Book covers are important.

To the author because after toiling for months or years on a book, getting to the point of actually hating the sight of the manuscript, then voila! Seeing the cover energizes like nothing else. I know you know what I mean.

To the reader because it’s like an appetizer for what comes next. Like a doorway into another world that the reader wants to step through, but is kind of scared to…should I leap through the door or sneak through? I know you know what I mean (again).

The questions to follow are from Elaine, and I thank you for them, friend!

How much does the cover of an author you don’t know influence whether you buy the book?

If you like cozies, does it help if you see a dog or cat on the cover?

For hard-boiled, do you prefer weapons, cars and other symbols of action?

(Please share your favorite covers in the comments if you want, either yours or your favorite author’s.)

***

Here are two of mine. And I might be biased, but I love them!   🙂

 

Reader Friday-Skeletons in the Closet

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Yep, we’ve all got ’em! Care to share? Not that we have to drag out anything we don’t want to, but I think it’s safe to say that some of our skeletons have morphed into comedians over the years.

Let’s share some of the funny stuff and not get too Grim Reaperish, okay?

I’ll start. Maybe you’ll get a kick out of this.

Once when I was a kid, about so tall, we were visiting my grandparents along with our four cousins. That makes six adults and eight kids. The grown-ups chased us outside so they could play pinochle.

We went down the hillside, stretched out in a line holding hands-with my little sister at the end. And my eldest cousin touching the hot wire on the electric fence.

Of course, she snitched on us and boy, howdy, did the 7 of us get in trouble for that! At the time I felt guilty, sort of, but now it’s just a funny story of growing up in a small town.

Okay…your turn, TKZers…let’s hear those bones rattle a bit! And, do tell if one of your characters has a delicious skeleton in the closet…

***

You think Annie Lee, happily married mother of four, has no skeletons in her closet? Think again . . .

 

 

New AI Survey Results from Draft2Digital

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by Debbie Burke

@burke_writer

Almost 20 years ago, a giant communications company decided to outsource their phone customer service to other countries. I learned about this from a friend who worked there. The company announced massive layoffs of employees because overseas labor costs were cheaper than using American workers.

Then, to add insult to injury, those employees whose jobs were being eliminated were required to train their replacements.

Not surprisingly, outsourcing didn’t work out too well. There was massive consumer backlash because neither the customers nor the new workers could understand each other on the phone. But the damage had been done. Thousands of American workers lost their jobs and the company’s reputation took a big hit that it never recovered from.

That kind of parallels today’s situation with writers and AI. Our work is being scraped from illegal pirate sites and used to “train” AI to replace us.

Some people joke that AI (artificial intelligence) is “artificial insemination.” Writers are being screwed without receiving any enjoyment. They didn’t even buy us dinner first.

The Authors Guild (AG) has been on the forefront to try to protect writers from unauthorized use of copyrighted works to train AI. In July, 2023, they sent an open letter to the CEOs of AI giants including Open AI, Meta, Microsoft, IBM, and others with a petition signed by 15,000 authors. AG also testified before the senate, decrying pirate sites that are used by tech companies to “train” AI models.

The genie is out of the bottle. AI is here to stay. The question now is: can the genie be forced to compensate writers for their words?

Here’s an excerpt from the Authors Guild statement on AI:

“The Authors Guild believes that the right to license a work for AI training belongs to the author of the work unless the rights are expressly granted in an agreement.”

A bill called “The Generative AI Copyright Disclosure Act of 2024” is under consideration by the House of Representatives. This only requires disclosure by anyone who uses copyrighted work to train AI. It does not address fair compensation for that use.

Recently Draft2Digital (D2D) did a survey among authors, publishers, and others to determine how they felt about the use of AI and what authors would consider fair compensation for use of their work. D2D CEO Kris Austin kindly gave permission to quote from the survey results (full results at this link).

Here are some highlights:

1. “Why do authors oppose AI training?” 

AI companies are unethical/untrustworthy – 25%
Harms creatives & people – 25%
Ethical Objections to AI – 19%
Other Reasons – 14%
I worked hard for my work and it’s mine – 10%
AI has no place in creative work – 8%”

2. “Do authors consider current scraping methods fair use?”

It’s not fair use – 49%

Ethically questionable – 42%

Fair use – 5%

No opinion – 3%

3. “Do authors know that AI companies might be willing to pay for training data?”

Unaware – 57%

Aware – 38%

Unsure – 5%

4. “Are authors interested in the opportunity to sell their AI training rights?”

Yes – 31%

No – 25%

Maybe – 45%

5. “Does it matter to authors how the end product LLM (large language model) will be used?”

Yes, it matters. – 76 %

Not as long as I am compensated – 22%

No opinion – 2%

The next two questions concern whether authors would consider having their work used for non-competitive markets (places that would not affect the author’s income) and competitive markets (e.g. an AI-written mystery could sell on Amazon right next to your book but at a much lower price).

6. “If the use case is non-competitive, will authors consider selling their AI training rights?”

No Amount of money will ever be enough – 49.5%
Open to non-competitive opportunities – 50.5%
Would accept less than $100 per book – 11.1%
Only if $100 or more per book – 39.3%
Only if more than $5,000 per book – 14.1%”

7. “If the use case is competitive, will authors consider selling their AI training rights?”

No amount of money will ever be enough – 62.8%
Open to competitive opportunities – 37.2%
Would accept less than $100 a book – 6.3%
Only if $100 or more per book – 30.9%
Only if more than $5,000 per book – 15.8%

Here’s a summary of D2D’s position:

D2D’S STANCE
Until we see significant reforms, especially around greater contractual protections and transparency governing use, intellectual property protections, and rights restrictions, Draft2Digital will not offer AI rights licensing opportunities.

·       It’s a positive development that AI developers are seeking to pay for licenses

·       Better protections are needed before D2D or its publishers can entertain such licenses

·       AI training rights are an exclusive, valuable subsidiary right under the sole control of the author or publisher

·       The rights-holder deserves full control over decisions related to if, when, and how their books are used or licensed for AI training purposes.

·       Authors and publishers should refuse AI rights licensing contracts that are opaque, or that provide inadequate protections for author concerns

·       AI developers must stop training upon books obtained without the rights-holder’s permission; otherwise, they will face continued reputational harm in the eyes of their customers and the creative community

·       LLMs previously trained upon unlicensed content, and the applications built upon them, should either negotiate retroactive licensing settlements with rights holders, or scrap their LLMs and rebuild them from scratch by training upon licensed content only”

“At this time, Draft2Digital will not offer AI rights licensing opportunities.”

I believe most authors agree that compensation should be paid and payment should be retroactive to include past unauthorized use.

The devil is in the details.

·       How to implement systems that detect/determine use of copyrighted material?

·       How to enforce fair use?

·       How much are authors paid?

·       What if an author doesn’t want their work used for AI training  under any circumstances?

The communications company my friend worked for treated their employees shabbily but at least they told workers in advance that they had to train their replacements.

Authors and publishers were never told in advance. Tech giants simply started using creative works without permission nor compensation to the creators. AI-written works currently flood the marketplace that was already crowded. Our incomes suffer.

We study, rewrite, and work hard to create meaningful content and deserve fair compensation.

Those devilish details will be fought out in courts for years to come.

~~~

TKZers, how do you feel about AI’s use of your creative work to train LLMs?

Please share your answers to any or all of the questions.

~~~

Cover by Brian Hoffman

 

 

Debbie Burke writes her thrillers without AI.

Fruit of the Poisonous Tree is now available for preorder at this link.

 

Reader Friday-Dine In or Dine Out?

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Simple question(s) today, TKZers! I’m liking simple more and more these days . . . you too?

Here goes.

1) Do you prefer dining in or dining out?

2) If you’re dining in, please share with us your favorite home-cooked meal.

3) If you’re dining out, please tell us what your favorite place is, and your go-to fave food to eat there.

4) AND, please tell us about a character you’ve written who has any foodie quirks.

 

Hungry yet?

 

 

Here’s my answers: I love salmon. I could eat it seven days a week and never tire of it. And I prefer a home-cooked meal to eating out. (Even if I have to cook it!)

 

 

By the time today is over, Annie Lee is convinced she has no tomorrow.

 

 

 

In my novel, No Tomorrows, the main character is Annie Lee. She’s a married mother of four who for years has served pork chops to her family every Thursday night. Why? She has fear issues, but that’s all I’m sayin’! You’ll just have to read the book…

 

 

 

 

Redux: Can Multitasking Harm the Brain?

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When I realized Labor Day landed on my Monday, I panicked. I’m in the middle of packing, as I write this, and have nothing prepared. Hence the redux of an older post but one that still pertains to all of us. For those who celebrate, hope you’re enjoying a fun and safe holiday weekend!

Writers need to multitask. If you struggle with multitasking, don’t be too hard on yourself. The brain is not wired to complete more than one task at peak level. A recent study in the journal Frontiers in Human Neuroscience showed when we’re concentrating on a task that involves sight, the brain will automatically decrease our hearing.

“The brain can’t cope with too many tasks: only one sense at a time can perform at its peak. This is why it’s not a good idea to talk on the phone while driving.” — Professor Jerker Rönnberg of Linköping University, who conducted the study.

The results of this study show that if we’re subjected to sound alone, the brain activity in the auditory cortex continues without any problems. But when the brain is given a visual task, such as writing, the response of the nerves in the auditory cortex decreases, and hearing becomes impaired.

As the difficulty of the task increases—like penning a novel—the nerves’ response to sound decreases even more. Which explains how some writers wear headphones while writing. The music becomes white noise.

For me, once I slide on the headphones, the world around me fades away. I can’t tell you the number of times a family member has strolled into my office, and I practically jump clean out of my skin. Don’t be surprised if someday they kill me by giving me a heart attack. But it isn’t really their fault. I’m in the zone, headphones on, music blaring, my complete attention on that screen, and apparently, my brain decreased my ability to hear.

Strangely enough, I don’t listen to music while researching. When I need to read and absorb content, I need silence. This quirk never made sense to me. Until now.

Have you ever turned down the radio while searching for a specific house number or highway exit?

Instinctively, you’re helping your brain to concentrate on the visual task.

Research shows that our brains are not nearly as good at handling multiple tasks as we like to think they are. In fact, some researchers suggest multitasking can actually reduce productivity by as much as 40% (for everyone except Rev; he’s a multitasking God). Multitaskers have more trouble tuning out distractions than people who focus on one task at a time. Doing many different things at once can also impair cognitive ability.

Shocking, right?

Multitasking certainly isn’t a new concept, but the constant streams of information from numerous different sources do represent a relatively new problem. While we know that all this “noise” is not good for productivity, is it possible that it could also injure our brains?

Multitasking in the brain is managed by executive functions that control and manage cognitive processes and determine how, when, and in what order certain tasks are performed. According to Meyer, Evans, and Rubinstein, there are two stages to the executive control process.

  • Goal shifting: Deciding to do one thing instead of another
  • Role activation: Switching from the rules for the previous task to the rules for the new task (like writing vs. reading)Moving through these steps may only add a few tenths of a second, but it can start to add up when people repeatedly switch back and forth. This might not be a big deal if you’re folding laundry and watching TV at the same time. However, where productivity is concerned, wasting even small amounts of time could be the difference between writing a novel in months vs. years.

Multitasking Isn’t Always Bad

Some research suggests that people who engage in media multitasking, like listening to music through headphones while using a computer, might be better at integrating visual and auditory information. Study participants between the ages of 19 and 28 were asked to complete questionnaires regarding their media usage.

The participants completed a visual search task both with and without a sound to indicate when the item changed color. Heavy multitaskers performed better when sound was presented, indicating they were more adept at integrating the two sources of sensory information. Conversely, heavy multitaskers performed worse than light/medium multitaskers when the tone was not present.

I can attest to that. If I don’t have my headphones on, chances are I won’t hit my writing goals that day. I’ve conditioned my brain to focus when the music starts. And I store a spare set of headphones in case mine break. Learned that little lesson the hard way.

“Although the present findings do not demonstrate any causal effect, they highlight an interesting possibility of the effect of media multitasking on certain cognitive abilities, multisensory integration in particular. Media multitasking may not always be a bad thing,” the authors noted.

How can writers multitask and still be productive?

  • Limit the numbers of things we juggle to two (*laughter erupts in the audience*)
  • Use the “20-minute rule.” Instead of constantly switching between tasks, devote your full attention to one task for 20 minutes before switching to the next task.

What do you think about these studies? How well do you multitask?

Because of my holiday plans, I may be late responding to comments, but don’t let that stop you from sharing your thoughts.

Reader Friday-The Games We Played

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Simple question today:

What was your favorite childhood game, either inside or outside, in school or away from school, with friends or alone? No rules here . . . just your favorite game you played as a child.

Mine? I have two: Kick the can in the middle of our quiet street usually with about 10-15 of the neighborhood kids.

And the board game, Risk, played with my brother and his friend who lived next door to us. We’d set the game up in the neighbor’s basement during the summer, leave it set up, and played every day almost. And let me tell you, the bro and our neighbor were merciless Risk players…never cut me any slack a ‘tall!

I never won, but boy howdy, it was a fun game. Until a few years ago, I had our original game–at least 50 years old–buried in a closet. Once when my brother was visiting, I presented him with it. It was a good moment for both of us.

Over to you, TKZ peeps! What was your go-to game when you were young? And, what games do your characters play?

 

Making Your Author Website Friendlier

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Photo credit: mariakray at Pixabay

by Debbie Burke

@burke_writer 

An author’s website is their billboard to the world. This is the one-stop site where readers, potential readers, editors, agents, and others go to learn about the author and their writing.

Social media sites owned by others can ebb, flow, and sometimes disappear altogether (remember My Space?). Or they can suspend or ban your account.

Your website is your one constant showcase as an author.

That’s why it’s important to make it as welcoming, friendly, and accessible to the broadest number of visitors.

And that includes those with disabilities.

Recently on the Author’s Guild discussion thread, the topic of ADA-accessible websites came up. Rumors had started on social media that authors could be fined if their sites weren’t accessible per standards set by the Americans with Disabilities (ADA) act.

Apparently, the source behind those rumors were individuals and possibly law firms threatening suits against authors.

As far as I can tell from my research, there is no current law requiring author websites to be ADA compliant.

The ADA does require websites and mobile apps for federal, state, and local governmental bodies to be ADA compliant.

We’re all aware of the necessity for businesses and buildings that are open to the public to meet ADA requirements, such as barrier free entrances, ramps, restroom facilities, etc. Also new construction must meet ADA standards for physical accessibility with hallways wide enough for wheelchairs, etc.

But until recently I hadn’t given much thought to online accessibility.

With increasing use of websites and apps to do everyday tasks like making travel reservations, ordering merchandise and services, applying for employment, bill paying, banking, etc., consumers need to be able to actually use those online services to take care of the business of living.

What if you have low vision or are color blind? What if you can’t read the text onscreen because of poor contrast or small fonts? What if you can’t see the color images onscreen that instruct you to click here?

Despite recent successful cataract surgery, my close vision is not good even with reading glasses. I’m frustrated with online sources that feature elaborate but undecipherable fonts. Often they feature tiny text. Worse is low contrast text on a background that’s a similar color (light gray text on dark gray background). Moving icons or videos that flash past, or other quirks can make content hard to read.

I just ran across an appealing website about wine with many gorgeous professional photos. The background image is a beautiful bunch of grapes. But…the text is 6 point font in white. Small, low contrast text combined with a busy background made it challenging to read. This otherwise stunning site was a disappointment.

If I visit an author’s site and it’s difficult to navigate, I really don’t care how cool it looks. I close the window.

When authors update their websites or create new newsletters, it’s good to be mindful of various disabilities. Here’s an article from ADA.gov with potential problems to look for and suggestions for easier accessibility. Levelaccess.com offers a free color checker test.

Website builders like WordPress offer many different themes. Maybe changing the theme can make your site more welcoming. If you publish a newsletter, review sample templates to find the most attractive and readable options for fonts, background colors, and images.

Because I’m not techie, the goal of my website has always been to make it as friendly and easy to use as possible for fellow troglodytes. I use large, easily readable fonts and bold typefaces.

While I believe the concern over possible fines or lawsuits is overblown, I also don’t want my website to turn off visitors because of issues that make it difficult for those with disabilities.

When I make future updates (or have my web guy make changes), I’ll be more conscious of potential barriers to readers.

As authors, we strive to make it as easy as possible for readers to engage with us and read our work. That starts with a website that friendly to all users regardless of ability. 

~~~

TKZers: Do you have pet peeves that turn you off about a website?

Please share suggestions of how authors can make their websites friendlier.

Have a favorite site? Include a link in the comments.

~~~

Grab Instrument of the Devil, the first book in the Tawny Lindholm Thriller series, for FREE. Offer ends soon.

#WriteTip: To Fix a Scene, Sniff Out the Tick

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Not her, but she wore a similar expression.

Last weekend, I was lovin’ on an adorable Chihuahua/Fox Terrier when I spotted an abscess under her left eye. She’s a little furball. The abscess hid under a mess of blonde curls.

When I brought the problem to her human’s attention, we discussed possible reasons for it. Did she scratch herself? Why was she scratching? Do her eyes itch? If so, why? Or did she accidentally catch the skin with her nail while cleaning her face?

Over the years, I’ve treated many abscesses on friends’ animals. For some reason, they all call me when something’s wrong with their furbabies. I’m not a vet, but some problems are easy fixes that don’t require dishing out hundreds of dollars and leaving the furbaby in distress while they wait for an appointment.

Like we did with the dog, if a scene in the WIP feels off in some way, we need to acknowledge there’s a problem. Only then can we gain enough clarity to fix it.

The first step in treating an abscess is to find the root cause. When we examined her eye, we found a dead tick attached to the inside rim of her lower eyelid. The rubbing of the tick against her eyeball caused her to scratch while her human was at work. We also found a small red mark in the corner of the abscess from her nail(s).

The first step to fix a scene is to find the root cause. Why doesn’t the scene work? Is the pacing off? Does it lack tension/conflict? Are there no obstacles to overcome? Does each character have a scene goal? If so, what are they? How does the scene advance the plot?

Once we removed the tick, we treated the abscess by applying hot compresses. Heat loosens the pocket of infection and relaxes the skin. The goal is to let the existing wound open on its own.

When examining a scene, go slow and sniff out the problem. First, look at the structure. Does it follow the micro-beats of scene and sequel?

SCENE

Goal: What does the POV character want? If you don’t know, that could be the problem. The character’s goal must be clear from the start, even to the reader.

Conflict: What are the obstacles standing in the way of the character reaching their goal? Obstacles can be external or internal. If there aren’t any, you’ve identified the problem.

Disaster: Even if your character overcomes the conflict, your job is to make things worse. Ideally, the scene should roll into the sequel with the feeling of, “Oh, no! Now what?”

SEQUEL

Reaction: How does your character react to the scene disaster?

A well-crafted sequel clues the reader into the character’s internal journey, presents a compelling dilemma, and ends with the character setting a new goal. Sequels are where major decisions, reversals, and growth happens. They set up the character’s next move.

Dilemma: The dilemma is the problem your character faces because of the scene disaster. Make sure your character has no good options, or at least they can’t see a way out of the tricky situation they’re in. If the sequel lacks a dilemma, it’ll destroy the structure because the choice they make leads to the next micro-story beat.

Decision: How will they deal with the new dilemma? The decision often becomes the goal of the next scene. If they have no idea what to do, you at least need some sort of decision here, even if they choose to retreat.

Also not her, but same happy mood.

After a few rounds of hot compresses, blood and puss drained from the abscess. The inner lid where we removed the dead tick stopped bleeding, the skin relaxed into place, and the wound under her eye sealed closed.

No one was more relieved than the sweet, little furbaby. We accepted payment in the form of kisses, tail wags, and happy prances.

The next time a scene in the WIP doesn’t work, search for the tick. It’s hiding in there somewhere.

It’s IBM PC Day

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“I think it’s fair to say that personal computers have become the most empowering tool we’ve ever created. They’re tools of communication, they’re tools of creativity, and they can be shaped by their user.” –Bill Gates

* * *

I’m not sure I can agree with Mr. Gates about PCs being “the most empowering tool we’ve ever created.” There are a few other foundational things mankind has invented that are pretty good: the wheel, the printing press, indoor plumbing 😊. But Bill Gates isn’t the only person wired about the use of personal computers. You can find plenty of other quotes to store in the same file. For example:

“The digital revolution is far more significant than the invention of writing or even of printing.” –Douglas Engelbart

Whether you soar to such heights of computerized adoration or stay with your hands firmly fixed on the keyboard, there’s no doubting the obvious. Personal computers have revolutionized the practice of writing books.

* * *

For example, Elaine Viets wrote a TKZ post a couple of weeks ago about typewriters that took us back to the days of mammoth Underwood machines, carbon paper, and whiteout and made us appreciate even more our personal computers and software.

“I am thankful the most important key in history was invented. It’s not the key to your house, your car, your boat, your safety deposit box, your bike lock or your private community. It’s the key to order, sanity, and peace of mind. The key is ‘Delete.’” –Elayne Boosler

* * *

So it’s only right that we celebrate August 12 as IBM PC Day since that was the date in 1981 when IBM released its first personal computer, the 5150.

IBM was late getting into the personal computer market, arriving after Apple, Commodore, and Tandy had already grabbed a share of the new users. But given the opportunity for growth in that field, IBM jumped in and developed the 5150 in just one year.

In order to get to market quickly, IBM contracted with a little-known software company named Microsoft to supply the operating system for the new PC.

The reaction to IBM’s entry in the personal computer domain was immediate. According to Wikipedia,

Reception was overwhelmingly positive, with analysts estimating sales volume in the billions of dollars in the first few years after release. After release, IBM’s PC immediately became the talk of the entire computing industry. Dealers were overwhelmed with orders, including customers offering pre-payment for machines with no guaranteed delivery date. By the time the machine began shipping, the term “PC” was becoming a household name.

Sales exceeded IBM’s expectations by as much as 800% (9x), with the company at one point shipping as many as 40,000 PCs per month.

The phenomenal success of the IBM PC changed the face of personal computing and created a watershed moment in the history of writing.

* * *

Although the ability to record words has been around for thousands of years, the strides made in the last fifty years have been dramatic. Along with the advent of the personal computer and word processing software, a host of applications have arisen to help authors get their books written well and published quickly. Thewritepractice.com lists ten of the best software apps for writers:

  1. Scrivener
  2. Google Docs
  3. Dabble
  4. Google Sheets OR Microsoft Excel
  5. Vellum
  6. ProWritingAid
  7. Publisher Rocket
  8. Atticus
  9. Freedom
  10. Microsoft Word

These advances (and more) help us write and deliver our books in a timely manner. But they are just tools for the writer. The real work comes from within as noted by JK Rowling below:

“I wrote first 2 Potters by hand and typed them on a 10 yr old typewriter. All a writer needs is talent and ink.” –JK Rowling

* * *

So TKZers: How have PCs changed your life? What was your first PC? Do you use any of the software listed? What other apps do you use to help you get your books written and published?

 

It’s the twenty-first century. Cassie Deakin learns that cops may have sophisticated equipment, but it still takes clear thinking and hard work to corner a murderer.

Available at  Amazon, Barnes & Noble, Kobo, Google Play, or Apple Books.

Life Lessons from Geese to Writers

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The title of this post is not a play on words. As I might’ve mentioned a time or two, we can learn a lot from animals.

This time, the life lessons come from one of our feathered friends. Or enemies, if you’re Canadian. Winking at you, Garry!

Achieving Together

Geese fly farther together than apart. When a goose flaps their wings, it creates lift for the geese that follow, making it easier for the whole flock to fly. By flying in V formation, the whole flock adds 72% greater flying range than if each bird flew alone.

If a goose falls out of formation, they feel the resistance of flying alone and quickly retake their position to benefit from the lifting power of the group.

Lesson: We are all part of the same community (if you missed my post re: writing community etiquette, find it here). By working together — accepting and giving help to one another — we move closer to reaching our goals faster than if we traveled this road alone.

Collective Responsibility

Geese understand they all have a responsibility to take their turn to lead the formation. When the lead goose tires, it moves back into formation and another goose flies to the front to take its place.

Lesson: Like geese, we depend on each other’s skills, capabilities, experience, opportunities, and resources. When everyone plays their part and shares experiences, skills, and/or challenges, like we do here on TKZ, it benefits others in our community.

How many writers have honed their craft from this blog over the last 13 years? My hand’s raised. Is yours?

The Power of Positivity

When in flight, geese in the back formation honk to encourage those at the front to keep up their speed. Basically, they’re cheering them on.

Lesson: This positive reinforcement is a reminder to us all to give praise and kindness to one another. If one of us succeeds, we all should celebrate. If someone falls, we should be there to pick them up, dust them off, and encourage them to keep going — perseverance wins the race!

Support Every Individual

The instinct to care and protect is ingrained in every goose. The care of the flock is a fundamental need. When a goose is sick or wounded, two geese will drop out of formation and follow him/her to the ground to offer help and protection until they can fly again. The trio will then add their numbers to another formation or catch up to their flock.

Lesson: Though we write alone at the keyboard, we also need the care and attention of others in our community to help us get to where we want to go. So, support your fellow writers. They are your tribe, not your competition.

10 Fun Facts About Geese

(that have nothing to do with the point of this post 😉 )

  1. As goslings, geese will bond with the first suitable moving stimulus, no matter if it’s a goose, person, or object. They remain dedicated to that goose, person, or object as their surrogate parent throughout their lives.
  2. Geese are highly social animals. If they are raised around other livestock and fowl, they usually get along well with them.
  3. Goose is the term for female geese. Male geese are called ganders. A group of geese on land or in water are a gaggle, while in the air they’re called a skein.
  4. Geese eat seeds, nuts, grass, plants, and berries.
  5. They are the largest waterfowls, the other being swans. Though geese are waterfowls, they spend most of their time on land.
  6. Geese are loyal. They mate for life and are super protective of their partners and offspring.
  7. Geese grieve the loss of their partners and offspring. So, don’t shoot them for fun!

Ahem. Moving on…

  1. Geese enjoy preening their feathers, foraging for food in the grass, and collecting twigs, bark, and leaves to make home improvements to their nests.
  2. Geese form strong attachments and affection for others in their group.
  3. Because of their loyalty and love, geese make excellent guard dogs. The internet is filled with golfers who learned this the hard way. LOL

The next time you witness geese (or other birds) flying in formation, think about your fellow writers — fellow humans. Sometimes all it takes is a kind word to make someone’s day. With all the anger and hatred in the world, be the lift they need.

*I’m out of town today, and will respond to comments when I get home tomorrow.