A Genre by Any Other Name

Maybe it’s just me, but I’m constantly having to look up genre conventions. Traditional mystery? High concept? Thriller? Suspense? Domestic Suspense? Cozy? We’re told we need to stick to the rules of our genre, and read widely in it so we know what to do. But there are so many sub genres! I’m ALWAYS getting lost.

A Handy, and Hopefully Less Mysterious, List

(this is not inclusive, and I’m sure I missed some. But I tried)

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Developing a Writing Plan That Works For You

First a confession: I was never a model student. My early report cards always included comments like “She could do so much better if she tried” and “Getting assignments in on time would help.” Even in college I struggled with a lack of discipline. I cut way too many classes, neglected to study, and left papers until the very last minute.

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Sentient AI–a Mystery or Not?

A few days ago, a Google engineer had been put on leave for publicly saying the chatbot they’ve been developing is sentient. After months of testing it, which involved trying to see if it could turn murderous or hateful, he’d come to the conclusion that it was an independently “thinking” entity. With feelings. Although this is more a story about a very smart person who clearly needs to get out more and chat with real humans, it sent me down a rabbit hole of ethical, psychological and scientific questions.

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