Hi , Soman! I'm currently working on my own book (I must say , this is the fourth time rewriting and the one that I'm working on right now is the best) and I was wondering if you have any tips for me and those other teen authors out there!
The inspiration for writing came a long time ago , when I was in the 2nd grade. I used to buy notebooks and make a whole story that I always called "a book".
I took a long break until the start of the 4th grade when I discovered "The school for good and evil ". After I read the first book , years pasted and I finished the whole series along the Fall and Rise but recently I've finished "Beast and beauty".
I'm now in the 8th grade and I still haven't gave up on my dream of becoming a teen author and I'm proud! 🫶🏼
Hi there! The fact you're a teen author is so inspiring and beautiful. I wish I had the courage to write books when I was your age. Stay tuned to this diary -- I'm going to be giving all kinds of tips. In the meantime, focus on finding your voice by keeping your own diary. The more you get in touch with your thoughts and feelings by translating them into words and learning to communicate, the more you can become intimate with the workings of your own mind... the further you'll get.
When you wrote the prequels, which character did you most relate to/find the easiest to write, if any? Did it feel strange writing an SGE book without Sophie, your purported favorite?
You know, I think by the time I got to the prequels, I was ready for a little male energy and friction. So in a lot of ways, the Sophie energy became dissipated amongst Rhian and Rafal in their own ways. I loved writing those books. Vulcan was probably the easiest to write because he was such a queeeen!
I’m so glad you touched on AI! I almost wonder if AI was invented when you were writing SGE if Agatha and Sophie would look the same as they do in yours and every SGE readers’s mind…
I love your big caution, haha! And I totally agree with it- With my first writing project, I generated some images for my cover... And even though it already ended, it kind of ruined the characters for me. I think AI got most parts right, but some of the vibe you get from the character is really hard to convey, especially for AI. I totally agree with what you said about this being only in the process, though, because right after I generated those AI images for my cover, I redid them myself with a silhouette of my three main character. But maybe that's just me, and I know a lot of writers and authors out there using this trick too! I really love this entry :DD
I think before AI can become useful in society, we have to individually reckon how to use it for ourselves and what those boundaries are personally. Great comment!
Wow, this entry was so informational! I knew AI could do crazy things, but after reading and seeing how you used it... it really is incredible! If everyone where to use AI for reasons like this, then I think AI would be such a fantastic tool for everyone. But instead, people abuse their power and innocent people get accused of using it.
I've never thought about having AI generate a visual representation of my characters, but I think that's because I write differently. In comments on previous entries I've mentioned that I aspire to be a playwright (I hate to keep mentioning this but I don't think it'll stop... when talking about writing I think about what and how I write) and when writing plays I need to imagine them being produced on a stage. I try not to specify the look of my characters too much because I want anyone to be able to play these characters! I do often use AI to help me think of names for my characters (I'm good at figuring out the character, I'm not good at knowing their names).
I want to start by telling you how much I, and the students in my school, admire you. We are all fascinated by your books. You are playing a worthy role model for me and the students in my school. We appreciate you very much!
Here, in Romania, every year we have the International Day of Reading Together. Every year, on the occasion of this day, students read together with their teachers and an author.
I can honestly say that we are all big fans of The School for Good and Evil books. (Even the teachers because a teacher wanted me to write this to you :))
And because we are sure that we have many things to learn from you, we want you to be the author with whom we want to read this year, on the occasion of the International Day of Reading Together.
So, could you participate in an online meeting with us? This meeting can take place whenever you have time, or any social media platform. We would be very grateful and you would make us very happy.
Thank you in advance for your time and I apologize if I disturbed you!
I love drawing and designing my characters! But I agree that it has to come a bit later in the process once they have a developed personality and style. Otherwise I can get too wrapped up in the beginning stages and I never get any actual writing done!
this whole concept of ai generated faces is so silly to me. my really close friend and i have this entire plotline we’ve built together that has been a topic of conversation for us since basically january 2021 (the level of detail you can garner after talking about a story for 3 years straight is actually astounding HAHA). Back in 2022 we discovered an AI face generator, but one that was way less “high tech” than the ones we have today. It allowed us to choose a starter face and tweak the age, nose, height, hair color, eye color, and everything inbetween until we had a face that we thought fit our characters the best. It’s crazy how suddenly those very much alive characters in your head can suddenly have a face as you work!! (idk if this is just me but when im building a character, they are very much living up there in my brain, but while i can easily explain exactly how they look, they remain a faceless blob when i try to picture their faces HAHA) Crazy how AI can be used as such a tool. Love it - and can’t wait to meet Freddy
Oh I’m ALWAYS struggling with making my character’s speech and actions sound natural, especially given I’ve dabbled a bit in screenwriting as well!
I was really interested in whether we were going to get sneak peaks of the book and it’s characters in this diary as we go along, and I can’t WAIT to meet Freddy and see what else you have in store. As for AI, I wasn’t even aware it as at the point where it could generate human faces…weird, but you know what, fanfic writers are going to have a field day with it. I normally stay far away from AI generated images, because they mostly seem so strange to me (and as you said, one often gets the odd alien picture which can be mildly disturbing), but like everyone else, I’ve played around with ChatGPT, mostly to see how it did at generating song lyrics…suffice to say, I think we’d better stick to Taylor Swift as our main songwriter.
AI is so interesting as a personal research tool, because you can experiment with the limits of reality. Freddy looks amazing, but at the same time, there's something sliiiiightly unreal about him too, right? Would you trust that it was a human photo? I feel like I can sense the artificiality. But it's only a matter of time before we can't. It's also part of why I like experimenting with AI on my own -- I feel like it gives me the tools to recognize it when people use it in real life.
I love AI to finish off the illustrated stories I’m doing. Having that control over my own visuals satisfies the control freak in me. No comments, now…:)
This is a judgment free zone. I think AI can only regurgitate art that exists, so if you want that real thing that's going to last... that has to come from a spark of inspiration. But AI isn't going anywhere, that's for sure. Better to understand it, regulate it and know its limits than to pretend it doesn't exist.
Well, to be totally honest, I always have to do quite a bit of work in photoshop to refine and correct what the AI… regurgitates… to use your word. LOL. So there is artistic skill involved.
i shan't get started on AI. but having the good fortune of being a visual artist myself, i actually am able to doodle the characters i see in my head. (at least my cute animal picture book ones.) i even have a sculpture i made of my most recent one on my drafting table as i work... :)
for my first mg novel attempt, i did a "fantasy casting" print out of my characters... but it didn't work for me.
and for my third mg novel attempt? the characters are strong enough in my head that i can just roll with that. a movie just for me as i write. i know their physical characteristics enough that i can see them moving and being and reacting... if not their faces, their forms and shadows.
the impetus behind my paintings (and now my writing attempts) has always been to let people see THEMSELVES in the characters they most identify with and the stories they most want to live in. so i don't really see/re-create/over-describe FACES, even when i'm reading. i see the hazy outlines of the characters, and they're real. they could be the person at the table next to me. the person on the park bench. the person behind the shop counter. behind the camera.
and that's why we're all different. both in life and in our processes. and it's fun.
also: bonus points to soman for the hero that is jun. videographer, dancer, and then some! :D three cheers for jun!!
I think we all want to see our characters in our own way! I wish I could draw. I see them so clearly in my head. To that extent, AI is pretty inefficient. Just straight up drawing it would get me closer and be more realistic to my imagination. And yet... NO SKILLS. Ugh.
Hi , Soman! I'm currently working on my own book (I must say , this is the fourth time rewriting and the one that I'm working on right now is the best) and I was wondering if you have any tips for me and those other teen authors out there!
The inspiration for writing came a long time ago , when I was in the 2nd grade. I used to buy notebooks and make a whole story that I always called "a book".
I took a long break until the start of the 4th grade when I discovered "The school for good and evil ". After I read the first book , years pasted and I finished the whole series along the Fall and Rise but recently I've finished "Beast and beauty".
I'm now in the 8th grade and I still haven't gave up on my dream of becoming a teen author and I'm proud! 🫶🏼
Hi there! The fact you're a teen author is so inspiring and beautiful. I wish I had the courage to write books when I was your age. Stay tuned to this diary -- I'm going to be giving all kinds of tips. In the meantime, focus on finding your voice by keeping your own diary. The more you get in touch with your thoughts and feelings by translating them into words and learning to communicate, the more you can become intimate with the workings of your own mind... the further you'll get.
Omg thank you sooo much for the reply! I will totally take it as a great advice.
When you wrote the prequels, which character did you most relate to/find the easiest to write, if any? Did it feel strange writing an SGE book without Sophie, your purported favorite?
You know, I think by the time I got to the prequels, I was ready for a little male energy and friction. So in a lot of ways, the Sophie energy became dissipated amongst Rhian and Rafal in their own ways. I loved writing those books. Vulcan was probably the easiest to write because he was such a queeeen!
Thank you so much for the response! I love your books! Is that why Rhian and Rafal both like cucumbers? Did they glean that specifically from Sophie?
I’m so glad you touched on AI! I almost wonder if AI was invented when you were writing SGE if Agatha and Sophie would look the same as they do in yours and every SGE readers’s mind…
I love your big caution, haha! And I totally agree with it- With my first writing project, I generated some images for my cover... And even though it already ended, it kind of ruined the characters for me. I think AI got most parts right, but some of the vibe you get from the character is really hard to convey, especially for AI. I totally agree with what you said about this being only in the process, though, because right after I generated those AI images for my cover, I redid them myself with a silhouette of my three main character. But maybe that's just me, and I know a lot of writers and authors out there using this trick too! I really love this entry :DD
I think before AI can become useful in society, we have to individually reckon how to use it for ourselves and what those boundaries are personally. Great comment!
Wow, this entry was so informational! I knew AI could do crazy things, but after reading and seeing how you used it... it really is incredible! If everyone where to use AI for reasons like this, then I think AI would be such a fantastic tool for everyone. But instead, people abuse their power and innocent people get accused of using it.
I've never thought about having AI generate a visual representation of my characters, but I think that's because I write differently. In comments on previous entries I've mentioned that I aspire to be a playwright (I hate to keep mentioning this but I don't think it'll stop... when talking about writing I think about what and how I write) and when writing plays I need to imagine them being produced on a stage. I try not to specify the look of my characters too much because I want anyone to be able to play these characters! I do often use AI to help me think of names for my characters (I'm good at figuring out the character, I'm not good at knowing their names).
Hey soman this is your intern Elle have you watched Jennifer’s body yet
Greetings, I am a student from Romania.
I want to start by telling you how much I, and the students in my school, admire you. We are all fascinated by your books. You are playing a worthy role model for me and the students in my school. We appreciate you very much!
Here, in Romania, every year we have the International Day of Reading Together. Every year, on the occasion of this day, students read together with their teachers and an author.
I can honestly say that we are all big fans of The School for Good and Evil books. (Even the teachers because a teacher wanted me to write this to you :))
And because we are sure that we have many things to learn from you, we want you to be the author with whom we want to read this year, on the occasion of the International Day of Reading Together.
So, could you participate in an online meeting with us? This meeting can take place whenever you have time, or any social media platform. We would be very grateful and you would make us very happy.
Thank you in advance for your time and I apologize if I disturbed you!
When is the new novel expected to be released??
Good question! It all comes down to how long it takes to write. So stay with me on this ride...
I love drawing and designing my characters! But I agree that it has to come a bit later in the process once they have a developed personality and style. Otherwise I can get too wrapped up in the beginning stages and I never get any actual writing done!
100%. You really have to do your homework first.
this whole concept of ai generated faces is so silly to me. my really close friend and i have this entire plotline we’ve built together that has been a topic of conversation for us since basically january 2021 (the level of detail you can garner after talking about a story for 3 years straight is actually astounding HAHA). Back in 2022 we discovered an AI face generator, but one that was way less “high tech” than the ones we have today. It allowed us to choose a starter face and tweak the age, nose, height, hair color, eye color, and everything inbetween until we had a face that we thought fit our characters the best. It’s crazy how suddenly those very much alive characters in your head can suddenly have a face as you work!! (idk if this is just me but when im building a character, they are very much living up there in my brain, but while i can easily explain exactly how they look, they remain a faceless blob when i try to picture their faces HAHA) Crazy how AI can be used as such a tool. Love it - and can’t wait to meet Freddy
Oh I’m ALWAYS struggling with making my character’s speech and actions sound natural, especially given I’ve dabbled a bit in screenwriting as well!
I was really interested in whether we were going to get sneak peaks of the book and it’s characters in this diary as we go along, and I can’t WAIT to meet Freddy and see what else you have in store. As for AI, I wasn’t even aware it as at the point where it could generate human faces…weird, but you know what, fanfic writers are going to have a field day with it. I normally stay far away from AI generated images, because they mostly seem so strange to me (and as you said, one often gets the odd alien picture which can be mildly disturbing), but like everyone else, I’ve played around with ChatGPT, mostly to see how it did at generating song lyrics…suffice to say, I think we’d better stick to Taylor Swift as our main songwriter.
AI is so interesting as a personal research tool, because you can experiment with the limits of reality. Freddy looks amazing, but at the same time, there's something sliiiiightly unreal about him too, right? Would you trust that it was a human photo? I feel like I can sense the artificiality. But it's only a matter of time before we can't. It's also part of why I like experimenting with AI on my own -- I feel like it gives me the tools to recognize it when people use it in real life.
Hey, fellow Swiftie! :D
Hi!! We’re everywhere aren’t we 👀👀
Haha yes, as it should be! :)
I love AI to finish off the illustrated stories I’m doing. Having that control over my own visuals satisfies the control freak in me. No comments, now…:)
This is a judgment free zone. I think AI can only regurgitate art that exists, so if you want that real thing that's going to last... that has to come from a spark of inspiration. But AI isn't going anywhere, that's for sure. Better to understand it, regulate it and know its limits than to pretend it doesn't exist.
Well, to be totally honest, I always have to do quite a bit of work in photoshop to refine and correct what the AI… regurgitates… to use your word. LOL. So there is artistic skill involved.
i shan't get started on AI. but having the good fortune of being a visual artist myself, i actually am able to doodle the characters i see in my head. (at least my cute animal picture book ones.) i even have a sculpture i made of my most recent one on my drafting table as i work... :)
for my first mg novel attempt, i did a "fantasy casting" print out of my characters... but it didn't work for me.
and for my third mg novel attempt? the characters are strong enough in my head that i can just roll with that. a movie just for me as i write. i know their physical characteristics enough that i can see them moving and being and reacting... if not their faces, their forms and shadows.
the impetus behind my paintings (and now my writing attempts) has always been to let people see THEMSELVES in the characters they most identify with and the stories they most want to live in. so i don't really see/re-create/over-describe FACES, even when i'm reading. i see the hazy outlines of the characters, and they're real. they could be the person at the table next to me. the person on the park bench. the person behind the shop counter. behind the camera.
and that's why we're all different. both in life and in our processes. and it's fun.
also: bonus points to soman for the hero that is jun. videographer, dancer, and then some! :D three cheers for jun!!
I think we all want to see our characters in our own way! I wish I could draw. I see them so clearly in my head. To that extent, AI is pretty inefficient. Just straight up drawing it would get me closer and be more realistic to my imagination. And yet... NO SKILLS. Ugh.