AKA: How to Write a Book When You Don't Know How to Write

by Karen Burzdak, NVGS Member

Episode 3 - Procrastination

I have never considered myself a procrastinator. I am not the person who waits ‘til the last minute to go Christmas shopping, or write a paper that the teacher expects by tomorrow, or iron my husband’s shirt twenty minutes before we are fine dining.

After googling that word and scrolling down to the psychological aspects of this “intentional habit,” I came across these two aspects: “the task is unpleasant or overwhelming,” and “they incorrectly believe they need to wait for the ‘right mood’ to be productive. The definition is beginning to fit.

It all started several weeks ago when I ran into AI.

Grammarly, the circle with G in its center:

For months, the screen seemed to include a green circle with the letter G in the middle. This would prompt me to a mistake I made here or there. At times, it would tell me I was choosing an incorrect phrase. Often, Grammarly was just plain wrong in a verb tense or agreement in number. (I am a grammarian, of sorts.) I had three opportunities a day to make significant changes to a sentence. On Monday mornings, I would be given a summary of my mistakes and efforts from the prior week. Apparently, I was leaving out periods. But that is only something I do when I text or post on FB. Do I really need Grammarly in my life?

Co-Pilot:

Co-Pilot came along about two months ago. Now I am guessing it was there all along; I just didn’t know what that little icon meant. I decided that Co-Pilot was the offspring of my Microsoft 365 account, which is an additional ($$) subscription, along with Ancestry, newspapers.com, Amazon, and gym membership.

Occasionally, I would allow it to make changes (that it calls improvements) to my writing. Yet, one day, I allowed it to alter half of my dissertation on the Calistoga Pioneer Cemetery, and out popped a wonderful story about the pioneers and their lives in the upper Napa Valley. Their lives now sounded pastoral. Even worse, I lost half of what I had written.

ChatGPT:

A friend who is writing a screenplay told me to use ChatGPT. Trying my best at being open and mentally flexible, I decided I would give it a shot. At the time, I was working very hard on trying to figure out how to explain how many of Reason Tucker’s sons accompanied him to California. Barbara Neelands (in Gleanings) said that Tucker’s 3 sons came with him to California in 1846. But new information led me to five or seven. How was I going to re-write that? ChatGPT and I decided that I needed to take a break, which I did for at least six weeks. I had imploded! But in its wisdom, it realized that I was writing what it called a historical documentary. A report. I felt better, but still needed a break.

Where It All Sits Today:

All but one cemetery has been researched and written about.

Of the reports that have been written, I have returned to each one to find that it is like starting over. I look for mistakes. I need to confirm facts. I find more information to add. It can take hours to confirm the information in a single sentence or statement.

To-do List:

1. Reduce my sugar, add lifting weights to my workouts, and reduce snacks, all for the purpose of living long enough to complete and publish this work

2. Complete the write-up of each cemetery – months from now

3. Learn how to footnote

4. Gather pictures and maps

5. Create a glossary or bibliography or both

6. Find a publisher