To Beat the Bots, Talk to a Tree

Hank Phillippi Ryan: As always, Jane Cleland, a darling friend of the Reds, knows just the right thing to say, and just the perfect doors to open for us.

Her newest book is Beat The Bots. Yes. Beat the Bots. And more on that below. (It's so life-changingly important!)

Happy Saturday, everyone. Take a few minutes, and now, let Jane transport you.  And Jane is giving a copy of BEAT THE BOTS to one very lucky commenter!

To Beat the Bots, Talk to a Tree

Jane K. Cleland

When I was young, my dad built a rock garden, a secret space filled with craggy stones and low-lying plants placed just so. 

He’d come home from work and visit his garden, repositioning a rock, adjusting a trailing vine. It was his happy place, and perhaps I caught my love of natural beauty from him.

When I visit a new city, I ask about walking trails and botanical gardens. (I know, I know. I can see you rolling your eyes. Over the years, more than one traveling companion has politely suggested we meet up later as they’re out the door to check out the local shops or cafes, while I trek off to a garden.) 

What can I tell you? To me, there’s something about the trees and the shrubs and purling brooks and waterfalls that moves me, that inspires me.

I mean, really... look at this photo I took of the Katharine Hepburn garden in Midtown Manhattan.

This tiny walkway contains stones engraved with some of the late great actress’s most intriguing sayings, like “Without discipline, there’s no life at all,” and “If you always do what interests you, at least one person will be pleased.”

Only recently, in researching the science behind the lore for my new book, Beat the Bots: A Writer’s Guide to Surviving & Thriving in the Age of AI, did I learn that spending time in nature is more than good for us—it will help us harness our creativity. Wallace J. Nichols, a marine biologist, has conducted research that proves that being in or around water reduces stress and facilitates creative thinking.

Here’s a photo I took from the balcony of a cruise ship. I couldn’t stop looking at this gorgeous, lulling view.

Forests provide solace, too. The Japanese Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry, and Fisheries created the term shinrin-yoku, which translates to “forest bathing” or “absorbing the forest atmosphere.” They encourage people to spend time in nature — no actual bathing required. The goal of forest bathing is to live in the present moment while immersing your senses in the sights and sounds of a natural setting.

While the little parks called Tudor City Greens in New York City can’t be called a forest, they offered me great solace during my daily walks, the meandering path, the hidden ferns.

Speaking of ferns, look at the last flower box in my garden in New York—a moss garden with ferns. I added a couple of rocks, too. I think my dad would have been proud.

Even if you can’t leave your home for a walk on the beach or stroll through the woods, you can approximate the mood by playing any of scores of free nature videos widely available on YouTube, the sounds of waterfalls, or birds chirping, or forest creatures cavorting. If you’re like most people, you’ll relax as your internal muse rises to the surface, eager to help you bring forth your creative best.

How about you? I’d love to hear about your favorite nature spot! Please add a comment below and tell me about a place that’s moved and inspired you.


HANK PHILLIPPI RYAN: Oh, we have a little stone bench in our side yard…long ago, maybe a hundred years ago? It was one of the front steps to our house, and for some reason,it had to be taken out. It was so gorgeous that I said–don;t throw that away! I had it made into a bench, using a chunky rock under each end, and now it’s in the midst of a grove of  ferns and spirea, and it is absolutely tranquil.

And we have engraved stones in our yard, too! (They are images: including the Big Dipper, the sun, a flower...and duck footprints!)


How about you, Reds and Readers? What’s your answer to this delightful question?

And Jane is giving a copy of BEAT THE BOTS to one very lucky commenter!
******

And don’t you think Jane should tell us more about her new book? Here' s a bit of info:

Beat the Bots offers science-based creativity techniques that guide you through the writing process to unlock your imagination and create compelling stories that resonate with emotional truth in ways AI can’t match.

Even though artificial intelligence is based on a technology called “machine learning,” computers can’t learn to be creative—but you can. This book will show you the way. AI is, by definition, derivative, not creative. It can’t bring rational judgment to determine the quality or value of its work. When you bring those capabilities to your writing, your stories will touch readers’ hearts and minds.

Just as real food is better for us than processed food, and actual social interactions are more meaningful than social media, when it comes to writing your story, artificial intelligence can’t replicate your individual human intelligence, imagination, and sensibility. Technical wizardry can’t tell your story. Only you can do that. Your uniqueness is what separates you from a chatbot, and explains why you can’t be replaced by an algorithm. You’ll succeed because you’re human, not in spite of it.

Through engaging FAQs, invaluable “Pro Tips,” and “AI Weighs In” revelations, you’ll be able to apply the writing lessons and creativity tactics to all aspects of storytelling, bringing your distinctive vision and voice to your projects in ways AI simply can’t. Thought-provoking, science-based guided exercises challenge you to apply each chapter’s lessons to your own writing. Whether you’re writing a novel, literary nonfiction, or a memoir, you’ll be able to write stories that are fresh and compelling—your stories—and those are the books that publishers want and readers crave. That’s how you’ll beat the bots.

Jane K. Cleland’s books on the craft of writing, Mastering Suspense, Structure & Plot and Mastering Plot Twists (Writer’s Digest Books, now Penguin Putnam Random House) both won the Agatha Award. Jane has also written fourteen novels in the multiple award-winning Josie Prescott Antiques Mystery series (St. Martin’s Minotaur, with short fiction published by Alfred Hitchcock Mystery Magazine). The series has been optioned for film and TV production. 

In addition, Jane is a contributing editor for Writer’s Digest Magazine and the chair of the Black Orchid Novella Award, presented by the Wolfe Pack in partnership with Alfred Hitchcock Mystery Magazine. Jane is a frequent in-person and online presenter at writing conferences, association meetings, and MFA Residencies. She also offers small group Mystery Mastermind virtual workshops, monthly webinars, and free weekly YouTube Shorties—one-to-three-minute answers to FAQ. More information is available at http://janecleland.com.