# Keith Hayden | Digital Novelist > I tell stories across mediums: novels, animated shorts, music, and experimental digital narratives. Public Ghost content for AI and LLM tooling. This file includes a bounded export of public pages first, then recent public posts. Append `.md` to any post or page URL to get the content in Markdown (for example, `/example-post.md`). ## Pages ### About Keith URL: https://keithhayden.net/about/ Last updated: 2026-08-20T13:33:55.000Z ![Novelist - Keith Hayden](https://storage.ghost.io/c/18/bf/18bf29db-1cec-4857-a9dc-e2e94a86d2bf/content/images/2026/07/Passport-photo---2026.png) Digital novelist · Technologist · Builder # One practice. Many instruments. **My job is human expression—not just writing prose.** I use fiction, software, audio, teaching, and research to interpret our era of rapid technological change. [Explore the work →](https://keithhayden.net/keith-works/) [Contact Keith ↗](mailto:keith@hacstudios.org) ![Keith Hayden](https://storage.ghost.io/c/18/bf/18bf29db-1cec-4857-a9dc-e2e94a86d2bf/content/images/2025/08/Keith-Hayden---Headshot-Square-Jan-2025--Author-Nation--1.jpg) Keith HaydenHAC Studios Base**USA** Studio**HAC Studios · Est. 2022** Current file**Escape From Okinawa** Current study**AI + Full-Stack Engineering** HAC / Creative practice ## Built across mediums. The mediums change. The through-line doesn't: character, systems, technology, memory, and the struggle to remain human inside structures larger than ourselves. 01 / FICTION ### Novels & stories Character-driven speculative fiction about technology, relationships, military systems, and the haunted edges of history. [Enter the bookstore →](https://keithhayden.net/hac-publishing-bookstore/) 02 / TECHNOLOGY ### Software & AI Custom applications, narrative interfaces, language-learning systems, experiments, and tools built around real human needs. [View software work →](https://keithhayden.net/keith-code/) 03 / MEDIA ### Audio & interactive Audiobooks, original soundtracks, podcasts, games, and new forms that let a story continue beyond the page. [Browse all mediums →](https://keithhayden.net/keith-works/) 04 / STUDIO ### Publishing & teaching Editorial work, independent publishing, creative mentorship, and practical collaboration through HAC Studios. [Start here →](https://keithhayden.net/start-here/) Working biography ## The person behind the practice. Keith Hayden is a digital novelist, technologist, educator, and U.S. Air Force veteran. He founded HAC Studios as an independent creative practice for making stories—and the software, audio, research, and experiments that grow around them. His fiction is shaped by a life that has moved through military service, classrooms, technology, and years in Okinawa. He is especially interested in intelligent machines, hidden systems, relationships under pressure, and the ways history refuses to stay buried. Keith’s current work joins two long-running tracks: finishing *Escape From Okinawa*, a military science-fiction horror novel, and acquiring a deeper engineering layer through Code Platoon’s AI + Full-Stack Immersive program. **Short bio / Press ready** Copy bio Keith Hayden is a digital novelist, technologist, educator, and U.S. Air Force veteran. He is the founder of HAC Studios, an independent creative practice combining fiction, software, audio, research, and interactive media. Selected path / Not a straight line ## Experience becomes material. Military service, teaching, publishing, life abroad, and software development are not separate identities. They are different vantage points inside the same body of work. 2008—2016 ### U.S. Air Force Eight years of military service, including investigative work and experience inside large institutional systems. 2018—2020 ### Education Earned a secondary mathematics teaching credential and developed a practical, explanation-first approach to learning. 2019—NOW ### Independent author Published novels, novellas, memoir, soundtracks, and experimental story forms across an expanding body of work. 2022—2024 ### Okinawa period Lived and taught in Okinawa, where place, history, military presence, and island folklore reshaped the fiction. 2022—NOW ### HAC Studios Founded an independent studio joining publishing, editorial work, audio production, software, and creative collaboration. 2026 ### Engineering layer Entered Code Platoon’s AI + Full-Stack Immersive program to make software a deeper part of the creative practice. Code Platoon / Live field notes ## Learning in public. Loading newest entries Daily observations from an experienced creator deliberately becoming a beginner again. [ Jul 21, 20265 min Count First, Render Second Week eight, React, a Codewars problem, and the moment progress resumed after modeling the problem before producing the answer. ↗ ](https://code-platoon-blog.pages.dev/blog/count-first-render-second/?ref=keithhayden.net) [ Jul 20, 20263 min Pages Without Pages, Loops Without Loops React Router’s pages without pages and Python’s loops without loops arrive as two familiar strangers. ↗ ](https://code-platoon-blog.pages.dev/blog/pages-without-pages-loops-without-loops/?ref=keithhayden.net) [ Jul 17, 20264 min You Can’t Just Draw the Rectangle CSS returns at the halfway point of boot camp, with Tailwind waiting inside a blank rectangle. ↗ ](https://code-platoon-blog.pages.dev/blog/you-cant-just-draw-the-rectangle/?ref=keithhayden.net) [ Jul 16, 20264 min A Set Can’t Remember Where It Came From Day thirty opens like a door left ajar, and the lesson turns on the one thing a set cannot retain. ↗ ](https://code-platoon-blog.pages.dev/blog/a-set-cant-remember-where-it-came-from/?ref=keithhayden.net) [Read all field notes ↗](https://code-platoon-blog.pages.dev/blog/?ref=keithhayden.net) [View GitHub ↗](https://github.com/KgitWH21?ref=keithhayden.net) Selected record / Published work ## Books and sound. A growing archive of novels, memoir, translations, story-world expansions, and original music. ### Bibliography 1. 2026 [*Cereus & Limnic: Escape From Okinawa — Type B*](https://keithhayden.net/cereus-limnic-escape-from-okinawa-type-b-novel/) · Coming 2026 2. 2026 *Hayden's Field Dictionary: First Edition* 3. 2025 [*Prompted Hearts & Grief Algorithm*](https://keithhayden.net/prompted-hearts-grief-algorithm-complete-duology/) 4. 2024 [*Gates of Okinawa*](https://keithhayden.net/gates-of-okinawa/) 5. 2024 *Sync Whole: A Cereus & Limnic Novella* 6. 2024 [*Cereus & Limnic (JP)*](https://keithhayden.net/cereus-limnic/) · Parts 1–2 7. 2024 [*Hayden: Brave*](https://keithhayden.net/hayden-brave/) 8. 2024 [*Cereus & Limnic: Second Evolution*](https://keithhayden.net/cereus-limnic/) 9. 2023 *Shadowbanned* 10. 2023 *Maldives Madness* 11. 2021 [*Cereus & Limnic*](https://keithhayden.net/cereus-limnic/) 12. 2019 *Tower of Babbling: A Self-Study Guide for Learning Any Foreign Language* ### Discography 1. 2025 [*Chinchilla Run* soundtrack](https://keithhayden.net/music/) 2. 2025 [*Prompted Hearts & Grief Algorithm* soundtrack](https://keithhayden.net/music/) 3. 2024 [*Gates of Okinawa* original novel soundtrack](https://keithhayden.net/music/) 4. 2024 [*Sync Whole* soundtrack](https://keithhayden.net/music/) 5. 2023 [*Maldives Madness* soundtrack](https://keithhayden.net/music/) 6. 2023 [*Cereus & Limnic* original novel soundtrack](https://keithhayden.net/music/) Contact / Collaboration ## Have a question or an interesting problem? For editorial work, software projects, interviews, publishing questions, or creative collaboration, reach out directly. [keith@hacstudios.org ↗](mailto:keith@hacstudios.org) [Follow on X ↗](https://x.com/kh%5Fauthor?ref=keithhayden.net) ### Sync Whole - Novella URL: https://keithhayden.net/sync-whole/ Last updated: 2024-05-28T03:13:31.000Z Who you are in peril determines your power _This page is for subscribers on the Dedicated Digital Novelist and VIP Gold Pass tiers only._ ### Works URL: https://keithhayden.net/keith-works/ Last updated: 2026-07-22T19:42:15.000Z HAC / CREATIVE PRACTICE # One practice. *Many forms.* Fiction, software, games, sound, languages, and field notes—different instruments for examining the same world. [Explore the index ↓](#kw-index) WRITING*◆*CODE*◆*PLAY*◆*LANGUAGE*◆*SOUND*◆*STUDY*◆* WRITING*◆*CODE*◆*PLAY*◆*LANGUAGE*◆*SOUND*◆*STUDY*◆* NOW / 2026 Active practice Flagship work · novel · in editing ## [Cereus & Limnic: *Escape From Okinawa*](https://keithhayden.net/cereus-limnic-escape-from-okinawa-type-b-novel/) A classified case file, a military science-fiction horror novel, and the center of a growing fictional universe. [Enter the project ↗](https://keithhayden.net/cereus-limnic-escape-from-okinawa-type-b-novel/) THE CURRENT SIGNAL Form Novel / archive Setting Okinawa Status Editorial pass Scale 200,000 words WORKS / DIRECTORY ## Explore by impulse. Choose a lens or leave it to chance. Every category is a doorway into an active body of work. All 00 Make Study Practice Surprise me ↗ Showing the complete practice. THE THROUGH-LINE ## The forms change. The questions persist. 01 How does technology reshape memory, intimacy, and identity? 02 What happens when history becomes unstable—or editable? 03 How can story move between prose, software, sound, and play? FIRST VISIT? ## There’s a shorter route in. Start with the newest thing, then follow a path from the quickest work to the deepest. [Start here](https://keithhayden.net/start-here/) [Join the newsletter](https://keithhayden.net/#/portal/signup) ## Support independent creators and stories with a small donation. ## Even $1 is a big deal! [Tip](https://keithhayden.net/#/portal/support) ### Keith's Books URL: https://keithhayden.net/keith-hayden-books/ Last updated: 2025-08-12T02:04:00.000Z All titles. ## English titles ## COMING SOON (29 AUG 2025) !["Prompted Hearts"/"Grief Algorithm" Techno Romance Novel](https://storage.ghost.io/c/18/bf/18bf29db-1cec-4857-a9dc-e2e94a86d2bf/content/images/2025/08/PromptedHearts_GriefAlgorithm_V2b-10.jpg) "Prompted Hearts"/"Grief Algorithm" Techno Romance Novel [Learn more](https://keithhayden.net/prompted-hearts-page/) ## DELAYED (CHRISTMAS 2025) ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/18/bf/18bf29db-1cec-4857-a9dc-e2e94a86d2bf/content/images/2025/01/Cereus---Limnic_-Escape-From-Okinawa-3-1.png) [Get details](https://keithhayden.net/cereus-limnic-escape-from-okinawa-novel/) ## ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/18/bf/18bf29db-1cec-4857-a9dc-e2e94a86d2bf/content/images/2025/04/The-RiftWarden---Book-Cover--4--3.png) [Read now](https://keithhayden.net/the-riftwarden-urban-fantasy-sci-fi-novella/) ## NOW AVAILABLE! ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/18/bf/18bf29db-1cec-4857-a9dc-e2e94a86d2bf/content/images/2024/12/Gates-of-Okinawa---Ebook-Cover.jpg) [Buy Now](https://gatesof.okinawa/?ref=keithhayden.net) [![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/18/bf/18bf29db-1cec-4857-a9dc-e2e94a86d2bf/content/images/2024/06/Cereus-and-Limnic-Second-Evolution-Cover--2--3.png)](https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0D7Q12TB5?ref%5F=dbs%5Fm%5Fmng%5Frwt%5Fcalw%5Ftpbk%5F0&storeType=ebooks&ref=keithhayden.net) [Buy now](https://khayden22.gumroad.com/l/cereus-limnic?ref=keithhayden.net) ## [![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/18/bf/18bf29db-1cec-4857-a9dc-e2e94a86d2bf/content/images/2024/06/Sync-Whole---Book-Cover--3-.png)](https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0D5BRLV6W?ref%5F=dbs%5Fmng%5Fcrcw%5F0&storeType=ebooks&ref=keithhayden.net) [Buy now](https://khayden22.gumroad.com/l/sync-whole?ref=keithhayden.net) [![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/18/bf/18bf29db-1cec-4857-a9dc-e2e94a86d2bf/content/images/2024/06/Shadowbanned-Cover--1-.png)](https://khayden22.gumroad.com/l/shadowbanned?ref=keithhayden.net) [Buy now](https://khayden22.gumroad.com/l/shadowbanned?ref=keithhayden.net) [![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/18/bf/18bf29db-1cec-4857-a9dc-e2e94a86d2bf/content/images/2024/06/Maldives-Madness-Book-Lin-Adjusted-Cover.png)](https://khayden22.gumroad.com/l/maldivesmadness?ref=keithhayden.net) [Buy now](https://khayden22.gumroad.com/l/maldivesmadness?ref=keithhayden.net) [![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/18/bf/18bf29db-1cec-4857-a9dc-e2e94a86d2bf/content/images/2024/06/Island-of-Souls-Cover.png)](https://khayden22.gumroad.com/l/islandofsoulsbook?ref=keithhayden.net) [Buy now](https://khayden22.gumroad.com/l/islandofsoulsbook?ref=keithhayden.net) ## 日本語の本 ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/18/bf/18bf29db-1cec-4857-a9dc-e2e94a86d2bf/content/images/2024/05/----------JP-3D-Mockup--600-x-600-px-.png) #### セレウス&リムニク [買うの方法](https://cereus-limnic-jp.carrd.co/?ref=keithhayden.net) ## Non-fiction titles ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/18/bf/18bf29db-1cec-4857-a9dc-e2e94a86d2bf/content/images/2024/06/Hayden---Military-Memory-Book.jpg) [Buy now](https://haydenbravebook.xyz/?ref=keithhayden.net) [![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/18/bf/18bf29db-1cec-4857-a9dc-e2e94a86d2bf/content/images/2024/06/The-Ultimate-Guide-to-Writing-A-Living-Biography.png)](https://khayden22.gumroad.com/l/ultimate-guide-living-biography?ref=keithhayden.net) [Buy now](https://khayden22.gumroad.com/l/ultimate-guide-living-biography?ref=keithhayden.net) [![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/18/bf/18bf29db-1cec-4857-a9dc-e2e94a86d2bf/content/images/2024/06/ToB-Square-Cover.png)](https://khayden22.gumroad.com/l/tower-of-babbling?ref=keithhayden.net) [Buy now](https://khayden22.gumroad.com/l/tower-of-babbling?ref=keithhayden.net) ## HAC Publishing Books ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/18/bf/18bf29db-1cec-4857-a9dc-e2e94a86d2bf/content/images/2025/03/By-Rod-and-Staff-Ebook_PNG_Social_Share.png) #### By Rod and Staff A Religious Historical Fiction Novel [Buy now](https://a.co/d/iZJRFj6?ref=keithhayden.net) ### All Books URL: https://keithhayden.net/members/ Last updated: 2024-12-02T15:29:29.000Z _This page is for subscribers on the Dedicated Digital Novelist and VIP Gold Pass tiers only._ ### Services URL: https://keithhayden.net/services/ Last updated: 2025-04-02T22:36:36.000Z Creating anything can be a lonely confusing task. To help you create with confidence, I've downloaded my experience into these products. Whether you're an experienced creator or just getting started, these will accelerate your path to making something you can be proud of. [Publish your book with creative independenceWelcome to HAC Publishing!![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/18/bf/18bf29db-1cec-4857-a9dc-e2e94a86d2bf/content/images/icon/HAC-Studios-Logo-3-3.png)HAC StudiosKeith Hayden![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/18/bf/18bf29db-1cec-4857-a9dc-e2e94a86d2bf/content/images/thumbnail/Copy-of-Copy-of-HAC-Studios-publishing-full--logo--512---512-px--1.png)](https://keithhayden.net/publish-your-book-with-creative-independence/) [Novel Craft Secrets: 21st Century Techniques to Write Your First (or Next) Novel (Course)0:00 /0:58 1× Novel Craft Secrets: 21st Century Techniques to Write Your First Novel A proven system to publishing your story Join course COMING LESSONS 1\. Intro 2\. Why write a novel? 3\. Wrangling ideas 4\. Getting organized + project management![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/18/bf/18bf29db-1cec-4857-a9dc-e2e94a86d2bf/content/images/icon/HAC-Studios-Logo-3-6.png)HAC StudiosKeith Hayden![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/18/bf/18bf29db-1cec-4857-a9dc-e2e94a86d2bf/content/images/thumbnail/Write-a-Bestselling-Novel-Course-Cover.png)](https://keithhayden.net/novel-craft-secrets-course-2/) [Jumpstart Your Novel in 7 Days: Free Email Course for Aspiring NovelistsHow to start writing a novel (for beginners) - a free 7-day email course![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/18/bf/18bf29db-1cec-4857-a9dc-e2e94a86d2bf/content/images/size/w256h256/2024/05/HAC-Studios-Logo-3.png)HAC StudiosKeith Hayden![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/18/bf/18bf29db-1cec-4857-a9dc-e2e94a86d2bf/content/images/2024/07/No-Worry-Novel-Writing-Start.png)](https://keithhayden.net/how-to-start-writing-a-novel-beginners-free-course/) ### Gifted Book Writer Program URL: https://keithhayden.net/gifted-book-writer-program/ Last updated: 2024-06-05T05:17:22.000Z ## Plan, produce, and profit from your ultimate creative project - become a SUPER AUTHOR **Gifted Book Writer** is an elite 1-on-1 writing consultation service designed to turn writers into SUPER AUTHORS. Most writing "coaches" focus on a single aspect of the book publishing process - writing. But that's not enough to get a finished book into the world. It certainly doesn't help with SELLING your book. (I've learned this multiple times over). That's why I created this program. Through guided project milestones, continuous accountability, and rigorous regular feedback you won't just be an author. You'll be someone who understands their creative process and knows how to harness it in multiple forms to express it to the world - a SUPER AUTHOR. [Apply](https://tally.so/r/wzYEYa?ref=keithhayden.net) ## Is this program for you? This program isn't for anyone. It's only for those who are serious about sharing their specific knowledge, expertise, or story with the world. I've done consulting in the past, made dozens of courses, guides, and materials online for the past 5 years. What did I learn from that experience? **Most people aren't serious about change.** They commit for a day or week until like a fickle fly, they become distracted by the next thing. Sometimes it's out of true interest for the shiny object. But most times it's because they hit significant resistance in their current pursuit. Insecurity in all forms strikes their heart like a bolt from the heavens. Lack of purpose, direction, skill, or audience causes them to move on to the next project and the next - the pattern repeating itself without end. *Has this happened to you?* I've dealt with it in the past. It made me feel like shit. I'd always think: ***"If I had stuck with X, I'd be at this point by now."*** I hated that feeling of regret. In 2020, I decided to change. During the COVID lockdown summer, I decided I was done pulling on strands of potential - it was time to commit to SOMETHING. My choice was Mandarin Chinese. I learned over a thousand characters that summer while taking lessons. It was a period of tremendous personal growth. That was also when I was putting the finishing touches on the first draft of my military game tech fiction novel "*Cereus & Limnic*." **Finishing takes you places.** How about you? Do you struggle with finishing what you start? If so, the regular accountability I've built into "Gifted Book Writer" is for you. I haven't been a successful creative because all my work is good (just go back and listen to some of my early music or podcasts). What's put me in the top 10% is that I **FINISH**. From idea to ending, plan to publish, I've made it to the finish line on **dozens** of projects of varied length, difficult, and scope. You might not think that's very impressive, but in creative work it's the most important thing. Why? Because only when you **FINISH** can you: - Appreciate the final result of your effort - Get feedback for future similar projects - Realize the most growth in all skills related to the work - Include the project in your creative portfolio or resume - Compare it to similar work (yours or someone else's) to improve next time - Market and sell the piece to those who might be interested These valuable rewards don't come from half-finished drafts or abandoned attempts. They also don't hinge on the final quality of the work. Even if what you made is a piece of garbage in the eyes of the world, you still reap the benefits. **The only requirement is to FINISH.** This is one aspect of what I offer in the program. **It is my goal to get you to FINISH.** You'll get there with my expert guidance and your own willpower. ## What do you get? Up to this point we've discussed what "Gifted Book Writer" will help you overcome. Now let's talk about exactly what you're signing up for. # 30 days. Minimum 1 hour per day. Depending how fast and efficient you are, you'll likely need more time to reach your goal, but we'll take baby steps to get there. Here's the plan: ## Step 1: Dream Session (2 hrs) We'll discuss everything about your project goals. No idea is too small or stupid. Some things we can talk through are: - Why you want to do the project - How long it will take (estimated) - What is the end result of the project (a book, monetization, etc.) - Who is the intended audience - What tools do you need to bring it to life The goal at the end of this lengthy session is to record all of your ideas, make sense of them, then determine a firm direction to begin bringing it to life. I will distill the "Dream Document" into the necessary parts, then provide you with the next step the following day. ## Step 2: Chart Course with the Compass (1 hr) On the next day, we get going with this one hour session where we'll talk about the strategic direction of the project. I'll provide suggestions, but you steer the ship in the direction you want to go. Once we've worked together to determine the grand strategy, we'll drill down further into the tactical steps you need to begin taking. This is where things get real and you'll take initial steps to begin transforming what's in your head into something others can experience (exciting!) You'll leave this session with your first (or first few milestones). What's a "milestone"? This is a small goal that leads to larger project completion. It could be something small like "set up a social media account" or "brainstorm a story idea." Together, we'll decide on an ambitious, yet achievable milestone on each step of the project. (1 to 2 days is a good pace) Worried you won't know how to complete certain parts of your project? This is where my experience as a creator comes in. I'll pull examples from my own work, recommend any resources I'm aware of, and provide best practices for each mini goal. This way you won't get stuck at any leg of the journey. ## Step 3: Do your milestones (w/Daily check-in emails) Now comes the meat of the work. Taking each step one by one to begin bringing your project to life. I'll stay in touch via email (or your preferred messaging service) to answer any questions you have about the stage of the process you're in, if you have problems. The emails are designed to keep you motivated and focused on your goal (Especially on days when life happens and you don't feel like or can't work on it). ## Step 4: Complete a Milestone! - Feedback session After you complete a milestone, we'll have a feedback session. I'll review what you've done and provide a review via email, video, or audio with my recommendations. You should work to complete the corrections as soon as you can. But you'll have the equivalent length of time that was agreed upon for the initial milestone to complete them. After we're satisfied with the corrected (or final) output, we'll move on to the next milestone and the next. We repeat this cycle of milestone -> feedback -> milestone -> feedback until you complete a sub-objective. ## Step 5: Sub-objective completion (30 min video session) What's a sub-objective? It's a collection of milestones that represent a significant accomplishment in the goal of your overall project. Examples are: "completing your book outline" or "finishing your manuscript" These are causes to celebrate! But before you bust out the champagne, we'll talk about how you're feeling about the project up to this point. Specifically we'll discuss: - How you felt during this phase of the creative process - Whether or not you still feel like you're moving in the right direction creatively, strategically, etc. - Potential next steps This session should be a clarification of intent for the overall project. Once we've completed it, what then? You guess it, more milestones! You'll begin working toward another sub-objective toward the completion of the project. ## Weekly Live Video Checks Regardless of whether or not you've completed a sub-objective, I provide 3 live (1 hour) video calls a week. During these chats, you can ask questions about your project or other creativity-related advice. ## You get two emergency video calls Being stuck and frustrated during a creative project is no fun. What makes it worse is there's nothing online to help you move past the sticking point. You just sit fuming, which makes you want to put down the project. Maybe even quit. To prevent this from happening, **I'm offering two emergency video call meetups as part of the main deal.** Just contact me through the agreed upon channels to request one. Give me 48 hours notice and I'll do my best to accommodate you and help. Additional emergency calls are available for a la carte purchase. ## Step 6: At the end of the 30 days (30 min finish session) At the of 30 days, we'll conduct a 30 minute end session. Here we'll talk about you thoughts on your project so far and the next steps you should take to continue your project or finish. You'll also be able to decide if you want to continue working with me for another 30 days. If you don't, we'll part ways. If you do, the cycle begins again. ## Who am I? If you haven't looked around my website, my name is Keith Hayden. I'm a U.S. Air Force veteran and former high school math teacher turned writer and creator. I started blogging back in 2017 on Medium. From there I formed my own website, then a YouTube channel, then a Twitter account - and on and on. I wrote my first book in 2017 and published it two years later. Next came my first novel, then my first podcast in 2020. 2021 was when things began to accelerate. My military game tech fiction novel debuted in January of that year and I began to release a podcast version of it that summer. Later that year was when a shift occurred. I was learning other skills like music production, sound design, and voice acting. None of those things were related to writing. *Was I even a writer anymore?* I was, but not really. Little did I know, that through all of my experimentation and dabbling, I had become a SUPER AUTHOR. An artist, entrepreneur who could produce videos, write and publish books, while nurturing a growing online presence. I'd gone full internet-native without even noticing. Just search online for "keithhayden.net" to see the sheer variety of things I've made since 2021 (it even surprises me sometimes). Here's a list by the numbers: - 13 books - 200+ blog posts - 400+ graphics - 90 songs - 3 apps - 160+ videos - 150+ podcast episodes (7 podcasts) - 4 animations That's a lot. These skills combined with the extensive research and reading I've done about marketing and copywriting, have turned me into a one man solo studio. I not only write my own books, but I market, publish, and distribute them too. ***This is why working with me is a rare opportunity.*** Few people I know consistently do creative work and advertise it successfully. I want to help you do that with yours. ## FAQ You probably have a few questions about "Gifted Book Writer." I want to help answer as many as possible. ## What happens if I miss milestones? As I mentioned in the beginning, I only want to work with people who sincerely want to create something and share it with the world. But I also understand how unpredictable life can be at times. If you anticipate you can't meet a milestone just contact me and we can agree to extend it. However, 3 milestone misses without contact will result in removal from the program. I'll refund you the percentage of the money you paid based on the length of time you had remaining. (Example: you were removed 15 days in, you'd receive a 50% refund) ## How do rights work? You own all rights to any work you produce while working with me. ## I heard you ghostwrite, will you write my book? I'd consider it. Depends on the type of book you want to write. That would require a separate agreement outside the scope of "Gifted Book Writer." This program is a "Done With You" consultation service where my role is primarily as an adviser, not a contractor. ## Will you publish my book? I'd consider it. It depends on the subject matter of your book. If it aligns with the values of HAC Publishing it could be an option. This also exceeds the scope of this program and would require a separate agreement. ## If you published my book, how would royalties work? I'd like to avoid legal trappings of royalty payments (at least for now). If you agreed to publish with HAC Publishing, we'd likely come up with a publishing package deal that fairly compensates both of us. These are all the questions I could think of. If you have more send me an email at **keith@hacstudios.xyz** ## Pricing One of the reasons I structured this program like this is I didn't want to think to hard about how much it would cost. Some consultants have complex tiered pricing. Give me this much and I'll only do this, that much you get more stuff. ***I don't like this strategy.*** The primary reason is because I know when I work with someone, I want them to win. If that's you, I want you to know what I know to ensure victory, not hold effort back behind higher and higher paywalls. That's why I decided to do it this way. One price, one time, for one creative expert in your corner to guarantee success. Currently, that price is **$1000**. If that seems like too much, you might not understand the true value of what you're getting here. I'll briefly break it down. You're essentially getting two of the most difficult things to find on the internet for creatives: 1. Focused attention on your creative work for a fixed amount of time (when's the last time you paid close attention to something that wasn't family, friends, or work for a month?) 2. Professional mentorship from an experienced creator with a proven track record for FINISHING high quality work In all my time as a creator these two things have been the hardest to get for longer than a few hours at a time online and in person. Because the sad truth is, nobody cares about your shit unless it makes them money, entertains them, or validates their opinions. And even if what you make hits all of those notes, there are so many other options online, do you think they'll pick yours over an established source? Likely not. **I learned this lesson the hard way.** For years I roamed the online space, falling into all the traps, bleeding thousands of dollars and hours along the path. Affiliate marketing, social media guru "growthhacking", dozens of half-finished online courses, social media growth cohorts, crypto, AI content tactics - I've tried it all and more. It's not that all these things were bad, it's that they weren't right for me and my style. And they rarely worked for longer than a month. Do you think I might have learned faster had I gained access to someone with experience, who could steer me toward potentially helpful strategies tailored to MY creative goals? Of course I could have! That's what I'm offering here. Access to guidance I and many other fellow creatives wish they had in the increasingly complex landscape of internet creative business. Because whether you like it or not, the moment you decide to make something then share it online, you're in the business of gathering attention. It's a cutthroat, always on competition. Where your rivals include Netflix, the next creator on the feed, the almighty algorithm, and everything else designed to suck up attention like a Dyson vacuum cleaner. I had no one to tell me these things when I got started. I certainly didn't have the skills and knowledge to give myself an edge for success. With this program, you can get the upper hand over the millions of other creators setting out on the same path. You take a car; they go on foot - it's that big of a difference. Will you accept the ride? I hope you do. Because I know this service is highly undervalued and I plan to raise it to its true worth as I lift other creators out of doubt and into the deliverance of their own creative gifts. So if you've read down this long page, first of all (Thank you!) Second, I invite you to fill out an application to apply for **"Gifted Book Writer"** today. Just hit the button below. If you're accepted, I'll be in touch. Until then, happy creating. [Become a SUPER AUTHOR](https://tally.so/r/wzYEYa?ref=keithhayden.net) ### Tower of Babbling Japanese URL: https://keithhayden.net/tower-of-babbling-jp/ Last updated: 2024-06-03T05:52:41.000Z Learn Japanese 1-day at a time _This page is for subscribers on the Japanese Reading Breakthrough and VIP Gold Pass tiers only._ ### Skills URL: https://keithhayden.net/skills/ Last updated: 2024-06-14T03:54:57.000Z Over the years, I've collected dozens of creative skills. Some have less value than others, but when combined they've allowed me to become a potent creative force. I'll share some of what I've learned on this page. For complete access to all tutorials in one place subscribe to HAC Studios: Backstage. *Click/Tap to access links* ## *7 Lessons From Chinese Dramas for Strong Long From Stories* [Chinese Drama Secrets: A Western Writer’s 29 Item Checklist for Irresistible Long FictionAdd some flavor to your fiction with this 29-item checklist based on the best of Chinese dramas![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/18/bf/18bf29db-1cec-4857-a9dc-e2e94a86d2bf/content/images/size/w256h256/2024/05/HAC-Studios-Logo-3.png)HAC StudiosKeith Hayden![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/18/bf/18bf29db-1cec-4857-a9dc-e2e94a86d2bf/content/images/size/w1200/2024/06/7-Lessons-From-Chinese-dramas--2--1.png)](https://keithhayden.net/chinese-drama-fiction-checklist/) ## [Write a Bestselling Novel with AI](https://keithhayden.net/write-a-bestselling-novel-with-ai/) Get the course ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/18/bf/18bf29db-1cec-4857-a9dc-e2e94a86d2bf/content/images/2024/05/Write-a-Bestselling-Novel-Course-Cover-1.png) #### Write a Bestselling Novel with AI (Course) Everything you need to write a popular profitable story [Buy course](https://khayden22.gumroad.com/l/write-a-best-selling-novel-with-ai?ref=keithhayden.net) ## [Write a Novel with AI](https://keithhayden.net/write-a-novel-with-ai/) ## [Book Editing for Print](https://keithhayden.net/book-editing/) ### Write a Novel With AI URL: https://keithhayden.net/write-a-novel-with-ai/ Last updated: 2024-05-19T06:08:29.000Z How to write a novel with AI _This page is for paying subscribers only._ ### Timeline URL: https://keithhayden.net/untitled/ Last updated: 2024-05-19T07:09:05.000Z _No content available._ ### Blog URL: https://keithhayden.net/blog/ Last updated: 2026-05-21T06:06:22.000Z _No content available._ ### Welcome to HAC Studios! URL: https://keithhayden.net/welcome/ Last updated: 2024-05-19T07:47:28.000Z Welcome to Hayden Academy Collective (HAC) Studios! ### Tower of Babbling Chinese URL: https://keithhayden.net/tower-of-babbling-chinese/ Last updated: 2024-07-04T05:31:47.000Z Learn Chinese by writing stories _This page is for subscribers on the Japanese Reading Breakthrough and VIP Gold Pass tiers only._ ### Cereus & Limnic (Live readings) URL: https://keithhayden.net/cereus-limnic-page/ Last updated: 2024-05-20T23:14:10.000Z Reading the first military game tech fiction novel _This page is for subscribers only._ ### Book Editing URL: https://keithhayden.net/book-editing/ Last updated: 2024-05-26T23:03:07.000Z How I edit books for publication _This page is for subscribers only._ ### Sketchbook URL: https://keithhayden.net/sketchbook/ Last updated: 2024-07-24T11:23:02.000Z Many artists have expressed concern about AI taking opportunities from them. I can't deny that this is happening, but I see another opportunity presented by AI images - a chance to learn from it. Until the age of 37, I never seriously tried to draw anything outside that blow off art class I took in high school. But the emergence of AI has inspired me to give it a try in earnest. What inspired the decision? The main reason is the sameness of AI images. Back in 2023, I witnessed my Twitter feed slowly become flooded by impressive pictures that slowly began to blend together. I knew it was only a matter of time before image generation became the new stock photos. It took about 4 months. Although the hype has died down as of this writing (May 2024) AI generated images have quietly crept their way into more mainstream use. For me, this became a problem. Unlike AI generated writing, which I can easily modify and make my own, images are more difficult to customize without specialized software and skill. That got me thinking - what does my art style look like? Could I find it like I did with writing and music before? The answer is of course I can. It's just going to take a lot longer. I started writing (outside of school or work) when I was 19-years-old. I'd been listening to music my entire life. With art... like I said, I never took it seriously or gave it any real effort until 2 years ago. This is gonna take a lot longer than the others. But I'm willing to put in the reps. Because just like with all my other creative pursuits, I feel like human work, no matter how raw or unrefined will stand out in the sea of AI sames in the future. Most have no desire (or time) to dedicate to refining this skill, this is where my style - whatever form it eventually takes - can become truly unique. We'll see what happens. I'll post some of my sketches here. ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/18/bf/18bf29db-1cec-4857-a9dc-e2e94a86d2bf/content/images/2024/07/PXL_20240724_111731249.jpg) More quick skull sketches - July 24, 2024 ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/18/bf/18bf29db-1cec-4857-a9dc-e2e94a86d2bf/content/images/2024/07/PXL_20240722_070841862.jpg) Some skulls (out of practice) - July 21, 2024 ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/18/bf/18bf29db-1cec-4857-a9dc-e2e94a86d2bf/content/images/2024/06/PXL_20240626_121312198.jpg) Skull (front view) - June 26, 2024 ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/18/bf/18bf29db-1cec-4857-a9dc-e2e94a86d2bf/content/images/2024/06/PXL_20240626_121333118.jpg) First character sketch (headshot) - June 26, 2024 ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/18/bf/18bf29db-1cec-4857-a9dc-e2e94a86d2bf/content/images/2024/06/PXL_20240626_121340365.jpg) Contour drawing - Jun 26, 2024 ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/18/bf/18bf29db-1cec-4857-a9dc-e2e94a86d2bf/content/images/2024/06/PXL_20240626_121357338.jpg) Skull (side view) - June 26, 2024 ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/18/bf/18bf29db-1cec-4857-a9dc-e2e94a86d2bf/content/images/2024/06/Beginnings-of-human-skull---left-hand.jpg) Beginnings of human skull - non-dominant hand - Jun 15, 2024 ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/18/bf/18bf29db-1cec-4857-a9dc-e2e94a86d2bf/content/images/2024/06/PXL_20240611_210211840.jpg) Beginning outline of the human skull - Jun 12, 2024 ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/18/bf/18bf29db-1cec-4857-a9dc-e2e94a86d2bf/content/images/2024/05/Drawing-comparison-May-20.png) Chinese pagoda sketch - May 20, 2024 ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/18/bf/18bf29db-1cec-4857-a9dc-e2e94a86d2bf/content/images/2024/06/PXL_20240607_222030804.jpg) ![Pencil sketch of a person](https://storage.ghost.io/c/18/bf/18bf29db-1cec-4857-a9dc-e2e94a86d2bf/content/images/2024/06/PXL_20240603_062651465.jpg) ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/18/bf/18bf29db-1cec-4857-a9dc-e2e94a86d2bf/content/images/2024/06/PXL_20240603_065752079.jpg) ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/18/bf/18bf29db-1cec-4857-a9dc-e2e94a86d2bf/content/images/2024/06/PXL_20240604_033527550.jpg) ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/18/bf/18bf29db-1cec-4857-a9dc-e2e94a86d2bf/content/images/2024/06/PXL_20240604_033518712.jpg) ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/18/bf/18bf29db-1cec-4857-a9dc-e2e94a86d2bf/content/images/2024/06/PXL_20240605_213919876.jpg) ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/18/bf/18bf29db-1cec-4857-a9dc-e2e94a86d2bf/content/images/2024/06/PXL_20240605_015613138.MP.jpg) ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/18/bf/18bf29db-1cec-4857-a9dc-e2e94a86d2bf/content/images/2024/06/PXL_20240605_213937454.MP.jpg) ### Novel Craft Secrets: 21st Century Techniques to Write Your First Novel (Course) URL: https://keithhayden.net/novel-craft-secrets-course/ Last updated: 2024-07-25T23:20:44.000Z Most books sell fewer than 200 copies. That won't be the case with the one you write here. On this page you'll find everything you need to write a James Patterson-like hit faster than you ever thought possible. Plan, write, design, and strategize your million dollar novel along with me in this deep dive training. These are not quick hit made for YouTube videos. You'll witness a highly experienced novelist utilize AI technology in ways you never thought possible to go from a bunch of ideas to a published print and e-book. Good luck with your book! *This course will develop as I move along in the project!* ## Course Preview ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/18/bf/18bf29db-1cec-4857-a9dc-e2e94a86d2bf/content/images/2024/07/Write-a-Bestselling-Novel-Course-Cover-1.png) #### Novel Craft Secrets (Full Course) Unlock techniques to write your novel in no time [Get guidance for your novel!](https://khayden22.gumroad.com/l/novel-craft-secrets-course?ref=keithhayden.net) ### Chinese Stories URL: https://keithhayden.net/chinese-stories/ Last updated: 2024-06-13T02:38:26.000Z I will post the Chinese stories I write here. ## 中文 佩佩是一个聪明的女孩，她和家人一起住在台湾。 她喜欢制作新事物了。 ## ENGLISH Pei-Pei was a clever girl who lived with her family in Taiwan. She liked to make new things. ### 日本語のストリー URL: https://keithhayden.net/japanese-stories/ Last updated: 2024-06-09T13:27:25.000Z [大たこのぼうけん - 5歳以下のお子様のストーリー好奇心旺盛な少年フミオが、親友の凧ソラと一緒に、魔法の本に導かれて空の冒険に出る![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/18/bf/18bf29db-1cec-4857-a9dc-e2e94a86d2bf/content/images/size/w256h256/2024/05/HAC-Studios-Logo-3.png)HAC StudiosKeith Hayden![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/18/bf/18bf29db-1cec-4857-a9dc-e2e94a86d2bf/content/images/size/w400/2024/05/HAC-Studios-Logo-4.png)](https://keithhayden.net/great-kite-adventure-jp/) ## Posts ### camera URL: https://keithhayden.net/camera/ Last updated: 2026-09-11T12:36:43.000Z 2026-09-11**0**/6 discoveries ## camera /ˈkæmərə/ · KAM-er-uh noun a device that consists of a lightproof chamber with an aperture fitted with a lens and a shutter through which the image of an object is projected onto a surface for recording (as on a photosensitive film or an electric sensor) or for translation into electrical impulses (as for television broadcast) camera2026-09-11A dark chamberCamera obscura · the room inside the wordTURN TO DISCOVER Camera obscura means “dark chamber.” Light entering a darkened room or box through a small opening projects an inverted image of the world outside. That optical arrangement helped give rise to the photographic camera. 01Keith’s definition**+** a device that captures reality and output photographs 02Official meaning**+** a device that consists of a lightproof chamber with an aperture fitted with a lens and a shutter through which the image of an object is projected onto a surface for recording (as on a photosensitive film or an electric sensor) or for translation into electrical impulses (as for television broadcast) 03In use**+** > The video I took— as shaky as a surveillance camera during an earthquake— is worthless. 04Hear it**+** Your browser doesn’t support embedded audio. Audio couldn’t load. Read the example, then continue. I’m reading without audio JP日本語 / In Japanese**+** **カメラ** カメラ · kamera camera; a device for taking photographs or recording video > カメラには映っているけど、揺れがひどくて何が起きたのかわからない。 The camera caught it, but the shaking is so bad that I can't tell what happened. Audio hasn’t been added yet. TODAY’S CHALLENGE ### Write one sentence using “camera” in which the footage misses the most important part of what happened. Your responseComplete challenge a device that consists of a lightproof chamber with an aperture fitted with a lens and a shutter through which the image of an object is projected onto a surface for recording (as on a photosensitive film or an electric sensor) or for translation into electrical impulses (as for television broadcast) I’ve compared my meaning Explore the word to unlock its useless facts. WORD COMPLETE · USELESS FACTS UNLOCKED ### The room inside camera Imagine stepping inside a camera. There's room to stand. On the wall, the world outside hangs upside down. A camera obscura can be an entire room, and its image moves as the world moves. Keeping that image after the light disappears requires another invention: a way to record it. - Six letters, with A appearing twice. - Standard English Scrabble tile values total 10 points: C(3) + A(1) + M(3) + E(1) + R(1) + A(1), before bonuses. - A camera obscura can project a moving scene without electricity. - Projection and recording are separate operations: a camera obscura can show an image without preserving it. cameo → **camera** → camera lucida From *Prompted Hearts & Grief Algorithm* (2025) [Read Prompted Hearts & Grief Algorithm →](https://keithhayden.net/prompted-hearts-grief-algorithm-preview/) HAYDEN’S FIELD DICTIONARY[← Return to the Word Archive](https://keithhayden.net/haydens-field-dictionary-archive/) ### oligodendroglia URL: https://keithhayden.net/oligodendroglia/ Last updated: 2026-09-09T13:25:39.000Z 2026-09-09**0**/6 discoveries ## oligodendroglia AH-lih-goh-den-DRAH-glee-uh (also -DROH-) noun glia that is made up of oligodendrocytes oligodendroglia2026-09-091921 → 1924Named in Spain · borrowed into EnglishTURN TO DISCOVER Pío del Río Hortega introduced the Spanish term oligodendroglía in 1921\. Merriam-Webster dates its first known English use to 1924. 01Keith’s definition**+** no idea 02Official meaning**+** glia that is made up of oligodendrocytes 03In use**+** > Carrying a burden so heavy, his death, his oligodendroglia syndrome, his last wish, to speak to his brother again should be granted. God merciful metaphysics. 04Hear it**+** Your browser doesn’t support embedded audio. Audio couldn’t load. Read the example, then continue. I’m reading without audio JP日本語 / In Japanese**+** **希突起神経膠細胞** きとっきしんけいこうさいぼう · kitokki shinkei kōsaibō Oligodendrocytes: the cells that make up oligodendroglia. Also called オリゴデンドロサイト. They form myelin around nerve fibers in the brain and spinal cord. > 希突起神経膠細胞は、神経の信号が速く伝わるのを助けます。 Oligodendrocytes help nerve signals travel quickly. Audio hasn’t been added yet. TODAY’S CHALLENGE ### Explode the word: explain what oligodendroglia does in one sentence without using “glia,” “oligodendrocyte,” or “myelin.” Aim for language a curious child could understand. Your responseComplete challenge glia that is made up of oligodendrocytes I’ve compared my meaning Explore the word to unlock its useless facts. WORD COMPLETE · USELESS FACTS UNLOCKED ### The cells behind the signal Before it became today’s word, oligodendroglia was a name for something seen through a microscope. Spanish neuroscientist Pío del Río Hortega introduced the term in 1921; English borrowed it soon afterward. The name belongs to supporting cells in the brain and spinal cord. They wrap nerve fibers in myelin, an insulating material that helps electrical signals travel faster. A formidable word for cells that help messages arrive. - 15 letters. - The English Scrabble tile values add up to 19 points before bonuses. This calculation doesn’t establish whether the word is accepted in a particular game dictionary. - The Spanish term dates to 1921; Merriam-Webster records English use from 1924. - Oligodendroglia consists of oligodendrocytes. The shorter-looking definition sends you straight to another long word. - These cells form myelin in the brain and spinal cord. Myelin helps nerve signals travel faster and supports nerve fibers. - The Japanese cell name 希突起神経膠細胞 is read きとっきしんけいこうさいぼう. オリゴデンドロサイト is another name for the cells. oligodendrocyte → **oligodendroglia** → oligomer HAYDEN’S FIELD DICTIONARY[← Return to the Word Archive](https://keithhayden.net/haydens-field-dictionary-archive/) ### you need more money? i got an app for cash URL: https://keithhayden.net/you-need-more-money-i-got-an-app-for-cash/ Last updated: 2026-09-08T23:29:01.000Z [Go to app](https://youngmoney.money/?ref=keithhayden.net) ### I URL: https://keithhayden.net/i/ Last updated: 2026-09-13T15:13:30.000Z SEP 08 2026 0/6 word facts discovered ## I /aɪ/ pronoun · noun (self) first person singular pronoun, used to identify oneself I 08·09·26 OE ic · the speaking self 01 Keith’s definition first person singular pronoun, used to identify oneself 02 Official meaning someone aware of possessing a personal individuality Noun sense: the self. The example uses the first-person pronoun. 03 In use > “I mean, yes, partly… but also— it’s just— you said something earlier, when you said feed, that reminded me of something Sam used to say.” Prompted Hearts & Grief Algorithm (2025) 04 Hear it Your browser doesn’t support embedded audio. 05 日本語 / In Japanese Bonus field note **私** わたし · watashi 話し手が自分自身を指す言葉。 A word a speaker uses to refer to themself. > うん、そういうことでもあるんだけど……それだけじゃなくて——なんていうか——さっき「フィード」って言ったでしょ。それで、サムがよく言ってたことを思い出したんだ。 Yes, that’s part of it… but there’s more—how can I put it—you said “feed” earlier, right? That reminded me of something Sam used to say. Translation note: Japanese often leaves the speaker unstated when context makes them clear. This rendering preserves the hesitation without forcing 私 into the dialogue. Hear the Japanese Your browser doesn’t support embedded audio. ### Useless facts - **The lives of I** **I** comes from Old English *ic*. The modern word has shrunk to a single letter, yet still lets every speaker claim a place in a sentence. Its reference changes with whoever says it. Two people can say “I” and mean two different people. - **1 letter · 1 syllable.** It sounds like *eye*. - Standard English writes the pronoun **I** with a capital letter, even in the middle of a sentence. - **I** is the subject form; **me** is the object form: “I remember Sam.” “Sam remembers me.” - **I’m** expands to *I am*; **I’ve** expands to *I have*. - The pronoun and the noun in today’s entry meet at the idea of a self: the person speaking, and that person’s sense of individuality. - Japanese **私（わたし）** is a common way to say “I.” In this example, the speaker can remain implicit. - [History and forms of the pronoun I ↗](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/I%5F%28pronoun%29?ref=keithhayden.net) - The example sentence appears in *Prompted Hearts & Grief Algorithm* (2025). [Read *Prompted Hearts & Grief Algorithm* → ](https://keithhayden.net/prompted-hearts-grief-algorithm-complete-duology/) HAYDEN’S FIELD DICTIONARY [ ← Return to the Word Archive ](https://keithhayden.net/haydens-field-dictionary-archive/) WORD COMPLETE **I** pronoun · noun (self) 6 FACTS RECOVERED FIELD ARCHAEOLOGIST **YOU** ### let URL: https://keithhayden.net/let/ Last updated: 2026-09-06T13:56:57.000Z 06 SEP 2026 0/6 word facts discovered ## let /lɛt/ verb used in the imperative to introduce a request or proposal let 06·09·26 OE lǣtan · allow / leave 01 Keith’s definition a command to allow an action 02 Official meaning used in the imperative to introduce a request or proposal 03 In use > Let me see yours. 04 Hear it Your browser doesn’t support embedded audio. 05 日本語 / In Japanese Bonus field note Japanese equivalent **～させる、許す** させる · saseru / ゆるす · yurusu to let or allow someone to do something In Japanese > そっちのも見せて。 Let me see yours too. Hear the Japanese Your browser doesn’t support embedded audio. ### Useless facts - **life of *let*** **Let** reaches back to Old English *lǣtan*, which already carried the intertwined meanings “allow,” “leave behind,” and “leave undone.” Its Germanic relatives include Dutch *laten* and German *lassen*. English also inherited a second, unrelated *let* from Old English *lettan*, meaning “hinder” or “delay”—nearly the opposite of the familiar word. That older sense survives in the legal phrase **“without let or hindrance.”** - The Scrabble score is **3 points**: L = 1, E = 1, and T = 1. - **3 letters** and **1 syllable.** - It is pronounced **/lɛt/**, rhyming with *get* and *set*. - *Let* is irregular: its base, past-tense, and past-participle forms are all **let**. - **Let’s** contracts *let us* when introducing a suggestion: “Let’s go.” - The Japanese causative **～させる** can express permission, while natural requests often fold the idea into another verb: **見せて**, “show me.” - Word neighbors: **lest → let (verb) → let (noun).** - The example sentence appears in *Prompted Hearts & Grief Algorithm* (2025). [Read *Prompted Hearts & Grief Algorithm* → ](https://keithhayden.net/prompted-hearts-grief-algorithm-complete-duology/) HAYDEN’S FIELD DICTIONARY [ ← Return to the Word Archive ](https://keithhayden.net/haydens-field-dictionary-archive/) WORD COMPLETE **let** verb 6 FACTS RECOVERED FIELD ARCHAEOLOGIST **YOU** ### equation URL: https://keithhayden.net/equation/ Last updated: 2026-09-04T13:47:50.000Z 04 SEP 2026 0/6 word facts discovered ## equation /ɪˈkweɪ.ʒən/ noun a formal statement of the equality or equivalence of mathematical or logical expressions equation 04·09·26 late 1300s Latin · making equal 01 Keith’s definition a formula with variables used to solve problems. Often related to mathematics, but it can also be used figuratively, e.g., “the equation of love.” 02 Official meaning a formal statement of the equality or equivalence of mathematical or logical expressions 03 In use > No solution to the love equation in her mind, complicated by a disappointing history of failed romantic attempts, would emerge anytime soon convincingly. 04 Hear it Your browser doesn’t support embedded audio. 05 日本語 / In Japanese Bonus field note Japanese equivalent **方程式** ほうていしき · hōteishiki equation; a mathematical statement that two expressions are equal In Japanese > やばい！彼はその方程式を解いたと思います。 Wow! I think he solved that equation. Hear the Japanese Your browser doesn’t support embedded audio. ### Useless facts - **The surprisingly eventful life of *equation*** **Equation** entered English in the late 1300s as *equacioun*, first describing the act or process of making things equal. English received it through French from Latin **aequatio**, built from *aequare*, “to make equal.” Before it became classroom shorthand for an expression joined by an equals sign, the word wandered through astrology and medicine. Its mathematical life grew from the same central idea: two quantities placed into a declared relationship of equality. - The Scrabble score is **17 points**: E = 1, Q = 10, U = 1, A = 1, T = 1, I = 1, O = 1, and N = 1. - **8 letters** and **3 syllables.** - It is pronounced **/ɪˈkweɪ.ʒən/**, with the main stress on *qua*. - The word first appeared in English in the **late 1300s** as a term used in astrology. - Its Latin ancestor **aequatio** meant an equal distribution or the act of making equal. - The Japanese equivalent **方程式** is read **ほうていしき** (*hōteishiki*). - Word neighbors: **equate → equation → equational.** HAYDEN’S FIELD DICTIONARY [ ← Return to the Word Archive ](https://keithhayden.net/haydens-field-dictionary-archive/) WORD COMPLETE **equation** noun 6 FACTS RECOVERED FIELD ARCHAEOLOGIST **YOU** ### was URL: https://keithhayden.net/was/ Last updated: 2026-09-03T12:45:41.000Z 03 SEP 2026 0/5 word facts discovered ## was /wəz/, /wʌz/ verb past tense first- and third-person singular of be was 03·09·26 OE wæs · remain / dwell 01 Keith’s definition a common past tense form 02 Official meaning past tense first- and third-person singular of *be* 03 In use > Even AI couldn’t analyze it due to the poor lighting, terrible angle, and the speaker-breaking sound of my scared breathing (which was more uneven and noisier than I recall) clouding any meaningful evidence of Leo’s presence. 04 Hear it Your browser doesn’t support embedded audio. ### Useless facts - **What was *was*?** *Was* didn’t begin as the past tense of *be*. Old English had a separate verb, **wesan**, meaning “remain” or “dwell”; its singular past form was **wæs**. Over time, that verb lost its independent identity while its past-tense forms moved into the sprawling family of *be*. That makes *was* part of English’s most famous grammatical patchwork. The forms *be, am, is, are, was, were, being,* and *been* descend from several older roots that merged into one paradigm. Every ordinary use of *was* carries a small fossil of a vanished verb. - The Scrabble score is **6 points**: W = 4, A = 1, and S = 1. - **3 letters** and **1 syllable.** - Its usual unstressed pronunciation is **/wəz/**; the stressed form is **/wʌz/**. - *Was* agrees with **I, he, she,** and **it**. Standard English pairs *you, we,* and *they* with *were*. - In formal counterfactual statements, *were* can replace *was*: “If I **were** there,” even though “I **was** there” is ordinary past tense. - By the late 1300s, *was* could also be used as a noun meaning **something past and gone**. - The example sentence appears in *Prompted Hearts & Grief Algorithm* (2025). [Read *Prompted Hearts & Grief Algorithm* → ](https://keithhayden.net/prompted-hearts-grief-algorithm-complete-duology/) HAYDEN’S FIELD DICTIONARY [ ← Return to the Word Archive ](https://keithhayden.net/haydens-field-dictionary-archive/) WORD COMPLETE **was** verb 5 FACTS RECOVERED FIELD ARCHAEOLOGIST **YOU** ### Pulverizer (Remix) (2026) URL: https://keithhayden.net/pulverizer-remix-2026/ Last updated: 2026-09-03T01:21:25.000Z ## Lyrics \[strong intro\] ## (Verse 1) like a pulverizer I'm poundin pavement all my life I thought I'd made it to this city, the greatest and grandest in the world I had wait until 4 decades of my life to finally get a taste the reddest roundest apple you ever did saw an urban sprawl I'd never seen it before From new jersey that metropolitan garden to not take a bite is a cardinal sin a San Antonio cowboy I'm clicking them spurs, to a painful poundin rhythm I just follow the herd because I'm movin like pulverizer risin cross this river I'm never surprised in this freestyle freeform rap written on a whim a cross country journey from the city of sin I'm movin like a pulverizer groovin like a pulverizer like a pulverizer ## (Verse 2) got only three days to take it all in jerk chicken got my stomach all punched-in Statue of Liberty making me climb the stairs stares from the pedestal because I can't afford the crown, then I get down (yeah I get down) I'm hot I'm hot, burnin and can't be touched spicy Chinese food roastin my ass like a torch now nothin is so appetizin and now the city got me realizin (it ain't surprisin) that it got me like a pulverizer poundin me l-l-like a pulverizer ## (Dramatic Bridge) do you see the water? can you see it? do you see the water? is it farther and farther do you see the wateeeer? and flows and it flows I'm movin like a pulverizer groovin like a pulverizer like a pulverizer ## (Verse 3) Th-these dogs and rats they pushin they way in, tryin catch me slippin I call em my snake-friends, (Sssss) I hit the streets again 9/11 museum swellin tears up in my eyes, vision blurry but I see a new horizon (clouds coming) Drip drop rain incoming, rain it's rainin buckets (I'm duckin) but like a busker I'm on I'm on aint no corruptin this game, don't need no luck, when I bust on the scene it's obscene as the last train uptown and midnight, this ain't fight night but you get scarred, spars leaves stars you won't get far now you swayin cuz I hit you like PULVERIZER, arm hard title card and then I'm armed ready for war swarm like drones on the battlefield we hard to kill (that's a bar) Then I skip the bars and grab that loaded Philly cheese steak, against the odds the squad catches the beat, that's what it takes, to make it in these rainy mean streets cause I'll never retreat (I got the beat) But every dream's gotta come to an end throw back sheets openin up my eyes, return to the desert, and rise, cuz this place got me like a pulverizer like like a pulverizer I'm movin like a pulverizer (do you see the water?) groovin like a pulverizer (do you see the water?) like a pulverizer \[hype outro\] Written, performed, and produced by Keith Hayden ### existential URL: https://keithhayden.net/existential/ Last updated: 2026-09-02T12:36:48.000Z 02 SEP 2026 0/5 word facts discovered ## existential /ˌeɡ.zɪˈsten.ʃəl/ adjective of, relating to, or affirming existence existential 02·09·26 mid-1600s Late Latin · existence 01 Keith’s definition having to do with existence 02 Official meaning of, relating to, or affirming existence 03 In use > Beneath her grandfather’s moth-eaten Starfleet tunic, Commander T’Var carried the existential certainty that her katra would survive every war, though she’d begun to suspect she had no soul to preserve. 04 Hear it Your browser doesn’t support embedded audio. ### Useless facts - **The surprisingly eventful life of *existential*** **Existential** entered English in the mid-1600s from Late Latin **existentialis**, built from a word for existence. The adjective therefore spent centuries describing existence before it became inseparable from anxious philosophers, freedom, and the search for meaning. Its range kept widening. Philosophy made it a question of human being and choice; logic gave it the symbol **∃**, meaning “there exists”; grammar applied it to constructions such as *there is*. Everyday speech eventually produced the **existential crisis** and **existential threat**—moments when existence itself is under threat. - The Scrabble score is **18 points**: E = 1, X = 8, I = 1, S = 1, T = 1, E = 1, N = 1, T = 1, I = 1, A = 1, and L = 1. - **11 letters** and **4 syllables.** - It is pronounced **/ˌeɡ.zɪˈsten.ʃəl/**, with the main stress on *sten*. - The Oxford English Dictionary dates the adjective to the **mid-1600s**, long before modern existentialism. - The word comes from Late Latin **existentialis**, formed from *existentia*, “existence.” - In symbolic logic, the existential quantifier **∃** means **“there exists.”** - Dictionary.com selected **existential** as its 2019 Word of the Year. HAYDEN’S FIELD DICTIONARY [ ← Return to the Word Archive ](https://keithhayden.net/haydens-field-dictionary-archive/) WORD COMPLETE **existential** adjective 5 FACTS RECOVERED FIELD ARCHAEOLOGIST **YOU** ### into URL: https://keithhayden.net/into/ Last updated: 2026-09-01T12:45:33.000Z 01 SEP 2026 0/5 word facts discovered ## into /ˈɪntuː/, /ˈɪntə/ preposition in the direction of into 01·09·26 late OE Old English · in + to 01 Keith’s definition a positional preposition 02 Official meaning in the direction of 03 In use > From behind the beauty, Diesel’s voice slips into the room like cool air under a door. 04 Hear it Your browser doesn’t support embedded audio. ### Useless facts - **The surprisingly eventful life of *into*** *Into* began as two words. In late Old English, **in** and **to** fused into **intō** as the language’s case endings faded. Those endings had once helped distinguish being inside a place from moving toward its interior, so the new preposition inherited the job of carrying something across a boundary. English eventually pushed that crossing far beyond rooms and doorways. A person can run *into* a wall, turn water *into* ice, go *into* medicine, or be *into* jazz. That last sense—being intensely involved or interested—appears in records of American youth slang by **1967**. - The Scrabble score is **4 points**: I = 1, N = 1, T = 1, and O = 1. - **4 letters** and **2 syllables.** - Common pronunciations are **/ˈɪntuː/** and the reduced **/ˈɪntə/**. - Although it names a spatial relation, *into* usually signals **movement or change**; *in* usually describes an already occupied location. - *Into* stays one word in “walked into the room.” In “walked in to speak,” *in* belongs to *walked* and *to* begins the next phrase. - Its meanings now cover **entry, collision, transformation, occupation, investigation,** and **enthusiasm**. - The example sentence appears in *Prompted Hearts & Grief Algorithm* (2025). [Read *Prompted Hearts & Grief Algorithm* → ](https://keithhayden.net/prompted-hearts-grief-algorithm-complete-duology/) HAYDEN’S FIELD DICTIONARY [ ← Return to the Word Archive ](https://keithhayden.net/haydens-field-dictionary-archive/) WORD COMPLETE **into** preposition 5 FACTS RECOVERED FIELD ARCHAEOLOGIST **YOU** ### Mapping the Wild Country of AI Fiction URL: https://keithhayden.net/generation-as-narrative-prototyping-ai-fiction-wrtining/ Last updated: 2026-08-31T07:43:50.000Z ## Video ## ## Audio Mapping the wild country of AI Fiction - Tyrese Tate (AI) 0:00 /1082.47551 1× ## Text Generative AI still feels like wild country because our maps remain crude, even though people have already traveled surprisingly far into the territory. We describe almost everything happening there as “AI writing,” a phrase broad enough to include a writer publishing the result of a single prompt, a fiction writer brainstorming a character, a writer asking for criticism of a plot, or someone generating fifty thousand words and eventually throwing forty-nine thousand away. Those activities share a tool, but they don’t share a method, purpose, or meaningful definition of authorship. I’ve spent several years exploring one narrow region of that country: long-form fiction. I’ve generated entire stories, rewritten books that began with AI, preserved small fragments, discarded enormous sections, and occasionally kept far more than I should have. During that time, I thought I was conducting a series of experiments in acceleration, attempting to discover how much faster AI could move me from an idea to a finished book. Productivity was the name of the game. Only recently did I recognize that the generated prose had been performing another function all along. I call that function **generation as "narrative prototyping"**: using AI to produce a provisional long-form fiction-shaped object whose value lies in what it allows the writer to see, even when most of its language never reaches production. I came up with the term this morning, but the practice behind it developed across years and several books, each one marking another point on the route toward understanding what disposable words could actually do. ## A Third Route Through the Country The default story about generative AI is a story about speed. These tools promise efficiency and a shorter distance between intention and result. The implied promise is the difference between an e-bike and a pedal bike: go farther, faster, with less hassle. This creates an easy comparison between two kinds of journey. A writer can rough it and walk toward a distant destination, discovering the landscape one exhausting mile at a time, or use AI like a plane ticket and arrive at a completed manuscript as quickly as possible. There’s legitimacy in the walk because difficulty is part of the experience. Writing a novel from scratch means entering a landscape where the final shape may remain hidden for months or years, and the knowledge produced during that journey often becomes inseparable from the book itself. The journey is the destination, so to speak. The direct flight offers another experience, one centered on arrival. Convenient progression is the rule. In modern discussions of AI, the walk and the direct flight have become the default framing options. However, neither option quite described what I’d begun doing in my own fiction. Narrative prototyping suggests a third route, something closer to flying over the country long enough to see one possible arrangement of its rivers, mountains, roads, and dead ends before plunging back to the ground with a rough map in hand. You can follow the map, redraw it, tear it apart, or freestyle your way into territory it never included. You may still walk nearly every mile yourself. The flight’s value comes from making the larger landscape visible before you commit years to crossing it. It took me four projects to understand that distinction, and each one changed the question I thought I was asking. ## *Shadowbanned*: Counting What Survived In 2023, when I made my first serious attempt to write an entire story with generative AI, my process had the simple clarity of an assembly line. I would generate a chunk, move through it sentence by sentence, keep one line, change the next, rewrite another, discard whatever I couldn’t use, and then generate the next section and begin the cycle again. The calculation underneath that labor remained straightforward: **How much of this can I use in the final story?** It was all about efficiency: writing faster and getting a publishable work to market. Every generated sentence that survived represented a sentence I hadn’t written from scratch, so the experiment succeeded according to how much usable prose the machine contributed. That model turned revision into a salvage operation. The generated paragraph was a pile of parts, and my job was to determine which pieces were sound enough to install in the final story. Generated sentences that were discarded were wasted output because I hadn’t considered that the pile itself might reveal something useful, or that the knowledge produced while rejecting the scraps could matter more than the words I kept. ## *Sync Whole*: Overused AI By the time I wrote the novella *Sync Whole*, I’d moved beyond wanting AI to write the entire piece for me. *Shadowbanned* had been an experiment in writing an entire novella with AI, but *Sync Whole* was part of my established *Cereus & Limnic* series. There would be no freestyling or letting the model invent whatever story it wanted. The book had to work within an established world, with established characters, and fit the series’ existing continuity. This made the process feel more deliberate than the one I’d used for *Shadowbanned*. I rewrote the manuscript significantly. When I returned to *Sync Whole* some time after completing it, I could feel how much AI remained in the manuscript, and I didn’t like it. The problem wasn’t that every generated sentence was obviously terrible, because a great deal of AI writing is competent enough to escape immediate deletion. Sentence by sentence, the material can pass an editorial inspection. However, accumulated across a story, it creates a texture that’s unbelievable to both the writer and the reader. It’s clunky. It’s offensively bland. And worst of all, it’s boring. *Sync Whole* taught me that substantial revision didn’t guarantee I’d taken full possession of the story. I could change a great deal while preserving too much of the generated rhythm underneath, especially if I continued judging the experiment according to how efficiently I could convert its output into something publishable. I’d become more capable of directing the models, yet I was still asking how much of their language could stay. It began to feel like I was asking the models for permission to use my own imagination, and that wasn’t a good place to end up. That discomfort followed me into the next project, where circumstances pushed the experiment far beyond the scale of a novella. ## *Gates of Okinawa*: The Novel I Finished Twice *Gates of Okinawa* began in May 2024 with a ridiculous plan: I was going to write a James Patterson-esque novel in approximately a month. That same summer, I was preparing to move back to the United States. Speed was embedded in the project from the beginning, and generative AI made the ambition seem plausible because I could keep producing the story while preparing for the move. By July, thanks to generative AI, I had a finished novel. We returned to the United States in August, but I didn’t publish the book until November because I spent the next three or four months rewriting the entire fucking thing. The second time through the manuscript changed the meaning of the first one. The AI-heavy draft had carried me to the end of the plot, established a sequence of scenes, and given me enough to see what I was making. It still wasn’t enough to bring the novel up to my publishing standards. I’d reached an overlook from which the route became visible, and from there I ventured back through the uncharted wilderness on foot, rewriting until the story met those standards. That process produced the first balance that felt right. AI remained heavily involved in the initial version of *Gates of Okinawa*, yet the published novel didn’t read like generated fiction. It read as human-crafted, which ultimately it was. The AI draft gave me a foundation to stand on, and I no longer needed to justify it through the survival of its generated words. It had already earned its place by giving me a structure I could inhabit and transform. At the time, I interpreted this as an unusually aggressive revision process. Yet in retrospect, *Gates of Okinawa* was the clearest early evidence that the AI draft’s value had migrated out of its individual words and into the shape those words allowed me to see. ## *Escape From Okinawa*: Producing the Map If *Gates of Okinawa* revealed that a heavily generated draft could survive almost total rewriting, *Escape From Okinawa* expanded that lesson. The idea for the novel first came to me in 2022 while I was living in Japan, and by the time I entered its large-scale drafting process years later, it had accumulated pieces of Okinawan geography and culture, military experience, family history, science fiction, folklore, and an elaborate investigative form. It was a complex work. But I was up to the challenge, and in early 2025 I used Claude to generate substantial portions of the novel to keep the project moving. Sometimes I produced material faster than I could read it closely because I wanted to maintain momentum. The resulting material gave me that sense of movement, but later revision exposed how little of it I actually wanted to use. As I’d already learned with *Sync Whole*, the result was predictable and dull. Characters said cliché things, and because dialogue is one of my strengths, I chose to scrap most of what the AI generated. So why had I generated it? What was the point? At that stage, getting the shape of the story was more important than writing the actual words. The generated material kept the novel in motion and gave its complexity a visible form, even when the prose itself was disposable. The manuscript kept growing more demanding as I replaced generated scenes, added characters, corrected cultural and historical details, and rebuilt passages around the particular book emerging beneath them. AI had accelerated the appearance of a complete landscape; the real work was returning to that land and learning what could grow there. I still understood all of this as revision until an audiobook project gave me a new way to experience the process at sentence level. ## One Sentence During the Loading Bar During an audiobook-production sprint in August 2026, I was spending hours inside a workflow filled with small pockets of dead time while a generation loaded or Spoken processed a passage I narrated. To fill the gap, I worked on a single sentence of my novel. This became a fun game that added up over time. In a few days, those sentences accumulated into an entire completed section of the novel. The last novel chunk took over a month. Where am I going with this? To a huge realization that generated text is mostly worthless to me (I just rewrite it) however, the text makes the shape of the story appear, which is much more valuable. AI creates a map to what the story could become. ## The Lorem Ipsum of My Fiction Once I understood the generated draft as a map, I needed another image for the words themselves. This revelation brought Lorem Ipsum to mind. Placeholder text designed to occupy space that designers use when creating layouts is a fitting example. Just like that text, AI generated fiction fills the manuscript with enough initial material for me to evaluate various factors of the story. Pacing and plot structure suggestions augment my original ideas and always may lead to a stronger story. You know that empty feeling you get from reading purely AI generated text? That's what happens after reading book filled with temporary text. It's a package from Amazon with crumpled packing paper, but not the item you ordered. The map, Lorem Ipsum, and packing material describe different levels of the same practice. In the macro view the map provides orientation, Lorem Ipsum explains the temporary status of the language, and packing material shows how disposable words support the overall project without become the product itself. ## Disappearing prototypes “Narrative prototyping” has a history outside my own work. In a 2014 Game Developers Conference session titled [“Paper Tales: A Guide to Narrative Prototyping,”](https://www.gdcvault.com/play/1020509/Paper-Tales-A-Guide-to?ref=keithhayden.net) Jamie Antonisse of Disney Digital Publishing described building and testing a game’s story early enough to improve the player’s final experience before a single line of code had been written. Interactive narratives and linear novels create different design problems, and Antonisse used paper rather than generated prose, although the underlying principle remains recognizable: layout a story in provisional form to learn what it could be to avoid expensive mistakes down the line. Software engineering offers an even closer parallel through throwaway prototyping. A commonly accepted practice where developers deliberately build a version they expect to discard. The prototype exposes requirements and test assumptions. A 2023 [empirical study of software prototyping](https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s10664-023-10331-w?ref=keithhayden.net), drawing on thirty-three earlier studies and evidence from twelve companies, defines the practice around learning and treats any representation that helps people explore a problem or possible solution as a viable prototype. That definition nearly describes my generated manuscripts, which are early representations of a future book built to explore both the problem and the range of possible solutions. Their scenes reveal requirements I hadn’t articulated: this relationship needs more space, that character understands too much too early, the climax belongs elsewhere, or the apparent subplot contains the novel’s emotional center. Once those requirements become visible, the language that exposed them has completed its job. When I wrote my first novel in between 2019 and 2020, I spent about a year writing in small chunks, never knowing what the final story might look like while I was in the process. Like most first time novelist, I even quit writing after I got a job in the Fall of 2019\. Now, u sing narrative prototyping I can see a potential version of the story in minutes. The process accelerates project visibility without eliminating authorship. ## Conclusion Narrative prototyping isn’t an abstract defense constructed around a hypothetical use of AI; it's the name I arrived at after years of generating, keeping too much, rewriting entire books, and discovering that the most valuable use of AI when it comes to writing long form fiction is as a story-shaper, not story-finisher. It also expands the question beyond whether AI helps someone reach the finish line faster. I still enjoy writing without AI. In fact, I enjoy it more than I did pre-AI. Because when I sit down to do it, I know I'm discovering how I, Keith Hayden, feel or see a certain topic or idea. Sometime the slow walk, mapless, is the best way to chart wild country. The other alternative is the direct flight. Using purely AI generated writing is the path of efficiency that allows you to bypass the dirty struggle of organically uncovering thoughts and feelings. It's incredibly convenient. But it's often bloodless, leading to the looping ravings of emotional estimation by code. Here I encourage you to consider the middle way. One that allows you a birds-eye view at the start, yet encourages you to return to the Earth to explore tangled terrain of feelings that long form fiction is so good at. Except this time you have a rough guide to inform your journey. Good luck out there. ### spence URL: https://keithhayden.net/spence/ Last updated: 2026-08-30T14:23:57.000Z 30 AUG 2026 0/5 word facts discovered ## spence /spɛns/ noun (British) pantry spence 30·08·26 14th c. Middle English · pantry 01 Keith’s definition I had no idea this was a word. I thought it was a name 02 Official meaning (British) pantry 03 In use > Devastating as a speeding whale, the rift between brothers born in a dim spence was a slumbering god he’d prayed to for far too long. 04 Hear it Your browser doesn’t support embedded audio. ### Useless facts - **The surprisingly eventful life of *spence*** In the 14th century, Middle English speakers used **spence** for a pantry or larder. The word traveled through Anglo-French **espence** from Medieval Latin **expensa**, which connected provisions with the cost or outlay required to supply them. That household history explains why the word looks so much like a name. **Spence** and **Spencer** became occupational surnames for people associated with dispensing provisions. The same family also reaches into *expense* and *dispense*, leaving food storage, administration, and spending packed onto neighboring linguistic shelves. - The Scrabble score is **10 points**: S = 1, P = 3, E = 1, N = 1, C = 3, and E = 1. - **6 letters** and **1 syllable.** - It is pronounced **/spɛns/**, exactly like the familiar personal name and rhyming with *fence*. - Merriam-Webster labels the pantry sense **dialectal and chiefly British**. - British dialect dictionaries also record *spence* as a **monetary allowance** or a **cottage parlour**. - *Pantry* descends from a word associated with **bread**; *spence* descends from words associated with **provisions and distribution**. - The occupational surname **Spencer** originally referred to a steward or household officer who dispensed provisions. HAYDEN’S FIELD DICTIONARY [ ← Return to the Word Archive ](https://keithhayden.net/haydens-field-dictionary-archive/) WORD COMPLETE **spence** noun 5 FACTS RECOVERED FIELD ARCHAEOLOGIST **YOU** ### dawn URL: https://keithhayden.net/dawn/ Last updated: 2026-08-29T14:14:47.000Z 29 AUG 2026 0/5 word facts discovered ## dawn /dɔːn/, /dɑːn/ noun the first appearance of light in the morning followed by sunrise; beginning dawn 29·08·26 c. 1200 Middle English · to become day 01 Keith’s definition the period of first natural light of the morning, or the figurative beginning of an event 02 Official meaning the first appearance of light in the morning followed by sunrise; beginning 03 In use > Another pillar of light ascended to the floating dawn clouds. 04 Hear it Your browser doesn’t support embedded audio. ### Useless facts - **The surprisingly eventful life of *dawn*** Before *dawn* was a noun, it was an action. Around 1200, Middle English **dauen** meant “to become day” or “to grow light in the morning.” It descended through Old English **dagung** and **dagian**, relatives of the word *day*. By the 1590s, English had turned the action into the familiar noun for first daylight. Earlier speakers had used luminous alternatives including **dayspring**, **day-gleam**, and **dawning**. The figurative “beginning of an era” sense appeared in the 1630s, letting every new age borrow the morning’s first light. - The Scrabble score is **8 points**: D = 2, A = 1, W = 4, and N = 1. - **4 letters** and **1 syllable.** - Merriam-Webster records two common American pronunciations: **/dɔːn/** and **/dɑːn/**. - Weather observers recognize three dawn thresholds: **astronomical at 18°**, **nautical at 12°**, and **civil at 6°** below the horizon. - The sense “begin to develop” appeared by **1717**; an idea could “dawn on” someone by **1852**. - *Dawn* was a top-25 name for American girls born from **1966 through 1975**. - The example sentence appears in *Gates of Okinawa* (2024). [Read *Gates of Okinawa* → ](https://keithhayden.net/gates-of-okinawa/) HAYDEN’S FIELD DICTIONARY [ ← Return to the Word Archive ](https://keithhayden.net/haydens-field-dictionary-archive/) WORD COMPLETE **dawn** noun 5 FACTS RECOVERED FIELD ARCHAEOLOGIST **YOU** ### magnetite URL: https://keithhayden.net/magnetite/ Last updated: 2026-08-28T12:12:03.000Z 28 AUG 2026 0/5 word facts discovered ## magnetite /ˈmæɡ.nə.taɪt/ noun a black isometric mineral of the spinel group that is an oxide of iron and an important iron ore magnetite 28·08·26 1845 mineral name introduced 01 Keith’s definition a piece of earth with *attractive* properties? 02 Official meaning a black isometric mineral of the spinel group that is an oxide of iron and an important iron ore 03 In use > Dubious was the magnetite ritual’s alleged power, yet evidence with protocol and disbelief with observation Detective Velez logged in sequence: three clockwise passes of the black ore over the murder weapon, a whispered Swift guard, then the blade’s answering twitch across the evidence cloth, leaving every skeptical officer staring as the ritual worked. 04 Hear it Your browser doesn’t support embedded audio. ### Useless facts - Its chemical formula is **Fe₃O₄**: an iron oxide containing iron in two oxidation states. - Naturally magnetized magnetite is called **lodestone**, the material used in the earliest magnetic compasses. - The formal mineral name dates to **1845** and traces back to Magnesia in Greece. - Magnetite is among the **most strongly magnetic minerals** occurring naturally on Earth. - Alongside hematite, magnetite is one of the principal minerals mined as **iron ore**. - The Scrabble score is **12 points.** - **9 letters** and **3 syllables.** - It leaves a **black streak** and measures roughly **5½–6½** on the Mohs hardness scale. HAYDEN’S FIELD DICTIONARY [ ← Return to the Word Archive ](https://keithhayden.net/haydens-field-dictionary-archive/) WORD COMPLETE **magnetite** noun 5 FACTS RECOVERED FIELD ARCHAEOLOGIST **YOU** ### The Odyssey | Anti-Audiobook URL: https://keithhayden.net/the-odyssey-book-1/ Last updated: 2026-08-28T12:09:34.000Z [Watch on YouTube](https://youtu.be/dq06buwMNlI?ref=keithhayden.net) ### to URL: https://keithhayden.net/to/ Last updated: 2026-08-27T12:09:33.000Z 27 AUG 2026 0/5 word facts discovered ## to /tuː/, /tə/ preposition used as a function word to indicate direction toward to 27·08·26 OLD English · toward / purpose 01 Keith’s definition preposition, a functional word that precedes infinitives in English or marks a destination 02 Official meaning used as a function word to indicate direction toward 03 In use > That was when he decided to take matters into his own hands. 04 Hear it Your browser doesn’t support embedded audio. ### Useless facts - **The surprisingly eventful life of *to*** *To* began as the Old English **tō**, carrying the physical idea of movement toward something. That directional meaning eventually wandered into grammar: an expression resembling *to take* once conveyed movement toward an action—something closer to “for the purpose of taking.” As English lost many of its older word endings, *to* became the infinitive marker we use today. The word also produced **too**. Its extra *o* distinguished a stressed form that developed meanings such as “in addition” and “more than enough.” **Two**, despite sounding identical, belongs to a separate numerical family. English speakers have also placed words between *to* and a verb since at least the fourteenth century, long before grammarians turned the split infinitive into a controversy. - **Keith’s note** > I thought *to* would be a boring word because it’s everywhere. I use it constantly without thinking about it: “I’m going to the store.” But once I looked into it, I was surprised by how much history was packed inside those two letters. It began with literal movement, evolved into a piece of grammatical machinery, produced *too*, and eventually became the center of an argument over split infinitives. Every time I think I’ve selected an ordinary word, it turns out the ordinary word has a story. - The Scrabble score is **2 points**: T = 1 and O = 1. - **2 letters** and **1 syllable.** - Its NATO spelling is **Tango Oscar.** - Its Morse code is **− −−−**—four consecutive dashes separated only by a letter break. - Its ordinary weak pronunciation is **/tə/**; the emphasized form is **/tuː/**. - *To* is approximately the **third-most-common word** in written English. - Its homophones are **too** and **two**. - English speakers have split infinitives since at least the **fourteenth century.** - The example sentence appears in *Cereus & Limnic* (2021). [Read *Cereus & Limnic* → ](https://keithhayden.net/cereus-limnic/) HAYDEN’S FIELD DICTIONARY [ ← Return to the Word Archive ](https://keithhayden.net/haydens-field-dictionary-archive/) WORD COMPLETE **to** preposition 5 FACTS RECOVERED FIELD ARCHAEOLOGIST **YOU** ### misplay URL: https://keithhayden.net/misplay/ Last updated: 2026-08-26T05:36:07.000Z 26 AUG 2026 0/5 word facts discovered ## misplay /ˌmɪsˈpleɪ/ noun a wrong or unskillful play during a game, sport, or performance misplay 26·08·26 1773 English · verb evidence 01 Keith’s definition to play the wrong song? 02 Official meaning a wrong or unskillful play during a game, sport, or performance 03 In use > All it took was a single misplay of speech to end the final moment together *brāļiem* (for the brothers). 04 Hear it FIELD RECORDING · KEITH HAYDEN Your browser doesn’t support embedded audio. ### Useless facts - Keith's guess guess was legitimate: *misplay* can mean playing a **wrong musical note.** - The earliest known written evidence for the verb dates to **1773.** - The American noun emerged around **1865–1870.** - It works as both a **noun and a verb.** - A *misplay* can be a move that is **prohibited by a game’s rules.** - The Scrabble score is **14 points.** - All **7 letters** are different. - Dictionary neighbors: *misplan*, *mispleading*. HAYDEN’S FIELD DICTIONARY [ ← Return to the Word Archive ](https://keithhayden.net/haydens-field-dictionary-archive/) WORD COMPLETE **misplay** noun 5 FACTS RECOVERED FIELD ARCHAEOLOGIST **YOU** ### The Author's AI Playbook | Interview with Legend Fiction URL: https://keithhayden.net/the-authors-ai-playbook-interview-with-legend-fiction/ Last updated: 2026-08-26T01:23:16.000Z I recently appeared on the Legend Fiction podcast for my first interview of 2026. We talked about AI in the writing world, Dominic's exciting platform idea for writers and much more. Watch it here: ### with URL: https://keithhayden.net/with/ Last updated: 2026-08-25T12:43:21.000Z 25 AUG 2026 0/5 word facts discovered ## with /wɪð/, /wɪθ/ preposition in possession of: having with 25·08·26 OLD English · against / opposite 01 Keith’s definition together added to or combined with another thing 02 Official meaning in possession of: having 03 In use > There were even a few heavily weathered file folders with real papers in them. 04 Hear it Your browser doesn’t support embedded audio. ### Useless facts - The Scrabble score is **10 points.** - **4 letters** and **1 syllable.** - Its valid anagram **whit** means “a very small amount.” - Dictionaries recognize both **/wɪð/** and **/wɪθ/**. - Old English **wiþ** could mean “against,” “opposite,” or “toward.” - The older oppositional sense survives in **withstand** and **withhold**. - It can express accompaniment, possession, instrument, cause, manner, or opposition. - The example sentence appears in *Cereus & Limnic* (2021). [Read *Cereus & Limnic* → ](https://keithhayden.net/cereus-limnic/) HAYDEN’S FIELD DICTIONARY [ ← Return to the Word Archive ](https://keithhayden.net/haydens-field-dictionary-archive/) WORD COMPLETE **with** preposition 5 FACTS RECOVERED FIELD ARCHAEOLOGIST **YOU** ### Cereus & Limnic: Escape From Okinawa | 40K Word Update - 2nd draft URL: https://keithhayden.net/cereus-limnic-escape-from-okinawa-40k-word-update-2nd-draft/ Last updated: 2026-08-25T05:17:04.000Z > He stands 188 centimeters, the tall one you saw above the others. A mountain of unchecked footing, they call him “DOGFATHER.” Okay I've been horrible at these updates lately. You know what else I've been bad at lately? Writing. Or more specifically editing this damn thing. Two months have passed since my last update and in that time, I've managed to scrape past another slow 10K words toward this behemoth of a manuscript. Suddenly the end of 2026 publish deadline (which felt so far off months ago) doesn't seem doable. I do have excuses. Good ones, that have legitimately compromised my writing time this summer. Biggest one being the intensive coding bootcamp I've been enrolled in full-time since June. I've kept an entire [blog](https://code-platoon-blog.pages.dev/blog/?ref=keithhayden.net) going during the entire experience. Or the audiobook producing jobs, that arrived right as the bootcamp was beginning. Don't get me wrong, I'm grateful to be getting paid to do something I enjoy, but producing audiobooks during a full time coding bootcamp while keeping up a novel editing schedule is tough for even me. Then there's the secret book that I published last week in a poorly thought out, but highly successful experiment to see if I could use my newly acquired coding skills to layout a book in a day. I'm happy to report that it worked and the memoir dictionary *Hayden's Field Dictionary: First Edition* became my first published title of 2026. ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/18/bf/18bf29db-1cec-4857-a9dc-e2e94a86d2bf/content/images/2026/08/Hayden-s-field-dictionary.jpg) There are only 13 physical copies of this book anywhere on the planet right now. I don't plan to print more (they're not cheap). So if you're reading this you're in the rare position to get the first edition of my dictionary series. If you're interested in hearing more, reply to this email. I was about to do it again. Start to tell you more about this latest book, and shun *Escape From Okinawa,* this novel that is years in the making that I keep finding reasons to not finish. This isn't like me. Usually when I begin a writing project I'm very disciplined about finishing. Oxen don't stray from the path too often, like me. But this one is different. Subconsciously I know why. The story is too close to home. I've had some family drama this year, a surprise estrangement that made me nearly quit writing it completely. It took me weeks to come back to it. And I keep adding things. Characters, the formatting has to be oddly exceptional, and the way this story wants to be told keeps dragging the process on and on. Every time I get an acceleration on it, I hit spikes in the road that blowout a tire or two leaving me steaming on the side of the road. Then some new shiny project or easier thing surfaces and I go do that, anything but face the novel! So now I've set a firm deadline: November 2026, I plan to have a prototype of this novel to show at Author Nation in Vegas. Then the public release will follow shortly after in December 2026\. It's gonna happen. I hope, we'll see. ### jog URL: https://keithhayden.net/jog/ Last updated: 2026-08-24T12:34:33.000Z 24 AUG 2026 0/5 word facts discovered ## jog /dʒɑɡ/ verb to give a slight shake or a push, to nudge jog 24·08·26 1548 English · nudge sense 01 Keith’s definition a slow run, usu. at a leisurely pace 02 Official meaning to give a slight shake or a push, to nudge 03 In use > “Are you still sane?” My trench neighbor gave me a jog; my frozen foot gave me a jolt, as we anticipated the volley that always came after the shooting went *yacecetse* (silent). 04 Hear it FIELD RECORDING · KEITH HAYDEN Your browser doesn’t support embedded audio. ### Useless facts - The Scrabble score is **11 points.** - **3 letters** and **1 syllable.** - First known use: **1548**, meaning “to nudge or push.” - The **nudge** meaning predates the fitness meaning by centuries. - “A slow run for exercise” appeared as a noun around **1977.** - A *jog* can be an abrupt **bend in a road, line, or wall.** - To *jog someone’s memory* is to stimulate their recollection. - Dictionary neighbors: *Joffre*, *jog along*. HAYDEN’S FIELD DICTIONARY [ ← Return to the Word Archive ](https://keithhayden.net/haydens-field-dictionary-archive/) WORD COMPLETE **jog** verb 5 FACTS RECOVERED FIELD ARCHAEOLOGIST **YOU** ### death URL: https://keithhayden.net/death/ Last updated: 2026-08-23T14:56:08.000Z 23 AUG 2026 0/5 word facts discovered ## death /dɛθ/ noun a permanent cessation of all vital functions: the end of life death 23·08·26 dēath Old English · before the 12th century 01 Keith’s definition the state of ceased life 02 Official meaning a permanent cessation of all vital functions: the end of life 03 In use > For that reason, I love her more in death, than I did when she was alive. 04 Hear it FIELD RECORDING · KEITH HAYDEN Your browser doesn’t support embedded audio. ### Useless facts - The Scrabble score is **9 points.** - An anagram of *death* is **hated.** - The Old English form is **dēath.** - Its first known use predates the **12th century.** - The plural form is **deaths.** - Dictionary neighbors: *deassimilation*, *death’s-head*. - **40 playable Scrabble words** can be made from its letters. - The example sentence appears in *Cereus & Limnic* (2021). [Read *Cereus & Limnic* → ](https://keithhayden.net/cereus-limnic/) HAYDEN’S FIELD DICTIONARY [ ← Return to the Word Archive ](https://keithhayden.net/haydens-field-dictionary-archive/) WORD COMPLETE **death** noun 5 FACTS RECOVERED FIELD ARCHAEOLOGIST **YOU** ### isle (verb) URL: https://keithhayden.net/isle-verb/ Last updated: 2026-08-22T22:35:18.000Z 0/5 word facts discovered ## 01 Keith's definition 02 Official meaning 03 In use 04 Hear the word Recording recovered 0:00 / --:-- Useless facts ↑ WORD COMPLETE 5 FACTS RECOVERED FIELD ARCHAEOLOGIST **YOU** ### muonium URL: https://keithhayden.net/muonium/ Last updated: 2026-08-22T22:52:01.000Z 21 AUG 2026 0/5 word facts discovered ## muonium /mjuːˈoʊniəm/ noun A short-lived quasi-atom consisting of an electron and a positive muon. muonium 21·08·26 QUASI atom-like · not an element 01 Keith’s definition Probably some type of synthetic element in the 110s range on the periodic table? Never heard of it. 02 Official meaning A short-lived quasi-atom consisting of an electron and a positive muon. 03 In use > “You finished logging that muonium observation yet?” Of extreme sensitivity in the sterile lab, my partner—a boorish, plodding woman middle-aged and mid looks—asked again. This second time sealed my descent to darkness. 04 Hear it FIELD RECORDING · KEITH HAYDEN Your browser doesn’t support embedded audio. UNLOCKED ### Useless facts - **11 points.** MUONIUM is a legal seven-letter Scrabble word; its plural is *muoniums*. - **The word got there first.** Its first known use dates to 1957; muonium was experimentally observed in 1960. - **No protons allowed.** A muonium atom contains neither a proton nor a neutron. - **Dictionary neighbors.** *Muong*, a people and language related to Vietnamese, lives on one side; *Mur*, a European river, lives on the other. - **Element zero.** Muonium behaves like an ultralight, extremely short-lived isotope of hydrogen. - **A misleading name.** Under the modern naming pattern, a muon–antimuon pair gets the wonderfully corrective name *true muonium*. HAYDEN’S FIELD DICTIONARY [ ← Return to the Word Archive ](https://keithhayden.net/haydens-field-dictionary-archive/) WORD COMPLETE **muonium** noun 5 FACTS RECOVERED FIELD ARCHAEOLOGIST **YOU** ### triple-A URL: https://keithhayden.net/triple-a/ Last updated: 2026-08-22T23:04:39.000Z 20 AUG 2026 0/5 word facts discovered ## triple-A /ˌtrɪpəl ˈeɪ/ adjective AAA battery. triple-A 20·08·26 1911 Ever Ready · ANSI 24 / IEC R03 01 Keith’s definition A high grade of something that denotes superior quality or high production value. Triple-A games came to mind. Then I read Webster’s definition. There’s no definition at all. Only the example of triple-A batteries. I thought: why are the small batteries that power TV remote controls called triple-A? 02 Official meaning AAA battery. 03 In use > Find it. You know, losin’ the remote is like losin’ the keys to the car—you ain’t drivin’ nowhere. Then there’s the matter of triple-A batteries. Those are the pre–Big Bang of watchin’ Big Bang Theory reruns; you gotta have ’em quickly. 04 Hear it FIELD RECORDING · KEITH HAYDEN Your browser doesn’t support embedded audio. ### Useless facts - Three A tiles: 3 points. - A palindrome. - First AAA battery: 1911. - IEC name: R03. - ANSI name: 24. - Smaller than AA. - Also means top-tier. - Dictionary neighbors: *triple*, *triple-A battery*. HAYDEN’S FIELD DICTIONARY [ ← Return to the Word Archive ](https://keithhayden.net/haydens-field-dictionary-archive/) WORD COMPLETE **triple-A** adjective 5 FACTS RECOVERED FIELD ARCHAEOLOGIST **YOU** ### Creative Container Picker URL: https://keithhayden.net/creative-container-picker/ Last updated: 2026-08-14T04:47:15.000Z [Go to app](https://kgitwh21.github.io/creative-container-picker/?ref=keithhayden.net) ### You Never Know What Season You’re In URL: https://keithhayden.net/you-never-know-what-season-youre-in/ Last updated: 2026-08-05T21:24:10.000Z ## Audio ![audio-thumbnail](https://storage.ghost.io/c/18/bf/18bf29db-1cec-4857-a9dc-e2e94a86d2bf/content/media/2026/08/You-Never-know-what-season-you-re-in_thumb.jpg) You Never know what season youre in 0:00 /500.2 1× ## Text I’ve been thinking lately about how quickly life can change. I’ve also been absent for a while. This whole summer, I’ve been in a coding boot camp, and it’s taken up most of my time. But during that time, I’ve gained perspective about writing, life, and where I’m at in both. It’s cliché to say that the only constant in life is change, but clichés become clichés for a reason. They usually express a common truth that enough people have recognized in their own lives. The strange thing is that change is much easier to identify after it’s already happened. Looking back, we can assign a clear character to different periods of our lives. Some years feel stable, others feel chaotic, and some become meaningful only after they’re over. Hindsight gives each period a shape, a mood, and even a kind of weather. That weather is dynamic, always changing. While you’re living through it, though, you usually don’t know what season you’re in. You can sometimes feel the wind changing. You notice it in your routine, your work, your relationships, or your sense of what comes next. But most days don’t announce themselves as turning points. Only later do you realize that an ordinary day belonged to the final stretch before everything changed. Today felt like one of those days when the emotional weather didn’t know what it wanted to be. One second, it was spitting rain. The next, it was hot as a desert. Then a cold wind rushed in. Within a few hours, I got good news about a new audiobook job. It’s my first repeat client, which feels like real progress for my business. These jobs aren’t guaranteed. Every new one feels like evidence that I’m building a sustainable body of work, developing mastery, and creating a business I can be proud of. At the same time, I’m nearing the end of the coding boot camp. I can build software now that I couldn’t have built a few months ago. Parts of software development that once seemed completely inaccessible now feel within reach. But there’s no guarantee that any of it turns into clients or that a cool cloud will cross overhead on a summer day. I can build tools, repair applications, work with small businesses, and combine software with the other skills I’ve already developed. Still, confidence isn’t a guarantee. Then there’s the new novel. I’m slowly chipping away at it. It’s getting better. I believe in it. But I also know that belief doesn’t guarantee the book will find an audience. Nothing is guaranteed. That can sound bleak, but I don’t think it has to be. I actually like living a life where I’m participating actively. I’m learning new things, taking risks, writing books, building software, producing audiobooks, and doing work I couldn’t have imagined a few years ago. I like living this way. The hard part is that chosen change and imposed change aren’t the same. It’s one thing to begin a project, learn a new skill, or take a risk because you decided to. It’s another when life transforms into a storm with no notice. That’s when you realize how much of your stability was temporary—or maybe that it never existed at all. Maybe that’s one reason I’ve been thinking about all the material I’ve accumulated. I record thoughts like these almost every day. Occasionally, they become publish-worthy. Most of the time, they languish in my Google Drive or in ChatGPT. But I know there’s good material in there. I know that at least one other person would find my rants, self-imposed rules, and half-developed reflections resonant, entertaining, funny, or insightful. Yet still, I hesitate. Part of me believes that if I don’t personally curate every sentence, then the result won’t really be mine. Even after everything I’ve said and thought about AI and authorship, there’s still a voice in me that says: You didn’t write this. I know the answer to that objection. I’ve said it many times before. Authorship is more than typing words. I’m providing the originating thought, and I decide what stays, what goes, and what the piece ultimately means. However, one final form of resistance remains. It gathers like bad weather at the point between constructed thoughts and releasing those thoughts. For me, publication becomes an armed checkpoint, one that feels dangerous to cross. The material has already passed through a robust cognitive process. Then it reaches the final question: Am I willing to let this exist outside of me? That’s where my grip tightens. At times, that grasp is useful. Standards matter. I don’t want to publish every passing thought or emotional reaction I have. I also don’t want to flood the internet with unfinished material simply because technology makes it easy. But rigid standards can also become a way to disguise fear. Dozens of essays sit unpublished on my website. Story ideas remain undeveloped even though they still occupy my thoughts. Reflections that could become worthwhile pieces stay buried in folders because I’m preserving the possibility of a better version. Ultimately, an unpublished piece is safe. Nobody can misunderstand it, criticize it, or ignore it. It remains untouched by public judgment and the internet mob. But it’s also inert. Writers throughout history would’ve killed for the ability to move this easily from mind to voice, from voice to words, and from words to readable prose. I imagine Mark Twain going crazy with this technology. He would’ve dictated, talked too much, revised, and published as quickly as possible—probably before he’d finished interrogating, rearranging, or sharpening every line. He would’ve made full use of it. Meanwhile, the guards remain stationed at my checkpoint, and the storm continues to gather overhead. We’re living in a moment when the distance between ideas and artifacts has compressed to a matter of seconds. “Creating at the speed of thought” sounds like a SaaS cliché, but it’s true. And I’m still holding back. What’s wrong with me? It’s the human in me that refuses to say sayonara—to yield to the cyborg that wants to replace him. The answer isn’t to abandon standards. It’s to establish a clearer release threshold. If I can answer the following questions, the piece is ready: Is the originating thought mine? Do I recognize my voice and meaning in the finished piece? Have I removed anything I wouldn’t naturally say or endorse? Does the reader feel human resonance in it? If the answer to those questions is yes, it’s ready. The weather will change whether I publish or not. Eventually, the coding boot camp will come to an end. New work may come. Some projects will succeed, and others won’t. Stable periods will become memories whether the sun blazes overhead or winter frost seizes the trees. The life I have now—and the life you have now—will eventually look different. We often can’t tell when we’ve entered a new season until we’ve already lived part of it. So this is an experiment. Instead of keeping another reflection hidden away, waiting for a version pure enough to deserve release, I’m letting this one go. Because right now, I don’t know exactly what season I’m in. I only know that I’m here, sweating it out in the hundred-plus-degree desert heat and feeling every degree of it. I wouldn’t have it any other way. ### Japanese Sentence Trainer URL: https://keithhayden.net/japanese-sentence-trainer/ Last updated: 2026-07-23T22:31:55.000Z Japanese mastery begins with writing. Start here: [Train Japanese](https://kgitwh21.github.io/japanese-sentence-trainer-app/?ref=keithhayden.net) ### The Giver (1993) URL: https://keithhayden.net/the-giver-thoughts/ Last updated: 2026-07-20T01:36:07.000Z Reading *The Giver* is cold heat, a really good use of mental bandwidth that forces you to come to terms with the contradictions of life. Lois Lowry's most acclaimed book deserves all the accolades. The writing has simplistic depth that will challenge anyone under the age of ten, but strengthen their vocabulary. It does this without skillful use of short sentences and precision vocabulary. Even though the story is told through the perspective of twelve-year-old Jonas, the themes are adult. Memory, responsibility, communism, the ethics of death, it doesn't turn away from any of these. But what I enjoyed most is that it never shouts at you, nor does it overindulge in literary layers of abstract symbolism; it just tells the story and leaves the reader to decide what to focus on. I admire that. The story is slow to start, because everything seems so... ordinary. We meet Jonas, his family, friends, and learn about the strange community he lives in. Then everything gets upended after Jonas's "selection." From there the book dives into the mystical, divine, only to end with hard physical reality and an ambiguous ending. I'm not sure why I'm writing this as a spoiler-free afterthoughts. You might have read this book in school and only recall the parts you have to summarize in a book report. But I'm telling you there's much more here than a pre-teen can comprehend. I read that this book is banned in many schools across the U.S. It took me a stretch of imagination to think about why. The conclusion, I decided, was that in some ways it could be interpreted as an anti-Christian book. Even though there are no direct mentions of Christianity or any religion, I could see how a (SPOILER) society that has been robbed of memory and literally can't see color, could map to *any* religion, and how a boy who glimpses the horror of what keeps his society so peaceful, and flees from it, could be seen as the wrong message to teach to kids. But to be real, that's a stretch. I was happy that the original Giver's power to transfer memories (which became Jonas's power) didn't become the focus of the story. If this book were written today, I feel like the story would have been obsessed with Jonas's specialness. But ultimately the book took the risk to tell a bigger story in just a hundred or so pages. That's my biggest takeaway from reading *The Giver*: that you can tell a tight story, with depth, aimed at children, in a small package. If you haven't read this in awhile, I highly recommend you revisit it. ### A History of the World in 12 Maps (2012) URL: https://keithhayden.net/a-history-of-the-world-in-12-maps-2012/ Last updated: 2026-07-14T21:25:40.000Z This book was a gift, which made it somewhat difficult to DNF. A decade ago, I told my then girlfriend (now wife) that I liked maps and history. And a few weeks later, this book showed up at my door. I'm ashamed to say I didn't read it immediately (a behavior I'm working to rid myself of). Now that I'm reading my shelf, and it was time for a non-fiction book, I reached for this one. One of the things I really enjoyed was the writing. Academic books like this can be extremely dull and loaded. A real lousy read. However, I found the author's style enjoyable. The intro makes a compelling case for viewing history through mapmaking. He's hardcore with it. Well, at least as hyped as I can imagine a cartographer getting. A black and white photo of a decorative shield, in clean dirty display, greeted me early on in the first chapter "Science." Where was the map? I wasn't sure. For a book about maps, there aren't as many as I expected there would be. That led to quick fatigue of the pedantic prose, which led to the DNF. Not a bad book, and great for reference, but not for me right now. ### Young Washington (2026) Thoughts URL: https://keithhayden.net/young-washington-movie-thoughts/ Last updated: 2026-07-11T22:28:21.000Z This movie surprised me. I rarely go to the movie theaters these days, but after my wife saw that tickets for this movie were being offered at a discount on Facebook, I reluctantly agreed to go. I went in expecting a typical piece of media based on George Washington: a mythic film that works to only foreshadow his legendary role in founding the United States. But what I got was something smarter and smaller: an actually well told story about the founding father’s early years and rapid rise to military command. Surprisingly, Young Washington sidesteps every hazard that could have (and probably should have) made it into another flag-waving Washington story like so many before it. But instead, the movie shows a side of the American icon that I haven't seen before, while basing the narrative in historical accuracy, instead of just outsized folklore. In a time when the popularity of superhero origin stories is in decline, the movie takes a piece of Washington's life that is often breezed over, and magnifies it to focus on how his early failures shaped him as a commander and leader. What the movie showcases is a large amount of restraint. This is not a story about the American Revolution, slavery, 18th century colonial life or Native Americans. It's a war story about one young man’s pride and his desire to reach beyond what he was born to be in an era when name and pedigree heavily influenced how far you could go in life. The writers kept that narrative focus like a musket fixed on a target. Every time Washington is doubted or spat upon by British authorities, he must prove himself in the world of the 1750s, on the battlefield, in the blood of his allies and enemies to ultimately earn the respect of his men. There is no foretold prophecy of revolution to aid him. Washington is a subject of the British crown and has relatable setbacks, that most young people are familiar with: family drama, relationship turmoil, the desire to be someone great with no idea how to do it. These universal struggles are well-depicted in the story, and are what made it much more relatable. Because often stories based on famous figures are too eager to frame their rise to greatness as inevitable. You often see this in superhero films. The movie constantly drops winks and lines like “oh just you wait, just you wait” (looking at you Hamilton). It's as if the character has this self-awareness of how their life will turn out. That cliche has become tired to many. I understand why stories do this. After all most people know the great deeds of the subject, so why not just give the people what they want? But Young Washington, like the young man himself, takes the harder road of providing a fresh take on his early experience in the French and Indian War. This chapter of American history is usually a footnote in the scope of Washington's other monumental achievements. So just by choosing to only cover that small period in the film was a bold storytelling choice. Casting in this movie also surprised me. Big name actors like Ben Kingsley, Andy Serkis, and Kelsey Grammar are relegated to supporting characters, while younger actors get most of the screen time. That restraint paid off. William Franklyn-Miller brought an energetic performance to the lead role as Washington. He's appropriately at home in a ballroom or on the battlefield, expertly showing a wide display of range for all the future president’s tumultuous life events. The rest of the characters were just as well-cast. Additionally, the movie wasn't afraid to inject more than a fair amount of humor into the script. These lighted-hearted lines and character flourishes punctuated the heavier action and dramatic scenes. (General Braddock's “I’ve fought on three continents, and I will NOT be defeated by a tree” was a standout line) Pacing also improved with these. At a little over 2 hours, this movie flew by for me, and by the time the climax arrived, I felt like it could have continued on another hour and I would have still enjoyed it. Angel Studios has done something special here. Historical dramas, especially ones based on famous figures, often either turn into dry pedantic documentaries or contrived propaganda that works as myth reinforcement. Here they've carved out a much needed middle path. One where a world-recognized figure like George Washington could still be heroic, yet human and even interesting, at the same time. One where creative risk allowed them to show familiar name in unfamiliar light, without tarnishing or deconstructing his legacy. That's a refreshing signal for movies, a field badly in need of innovation at the moment. Looks like several other well-balanced history-concerned films are on the horizon, and if Young Washington is any indication, they'll be great too. Angel is definitely a small studio to look out for in the near future. ### Angel's Devil (2015) Thoughts URL: https://keithhayden.net/angels-devil-thoughts/ Last updated: 2026-07-09T12:00:07.000Z Overall, I found *Angel’s Devil* entertaining. It is very much genre fiction, and I think it fits its niche pretty well. If you like crime stories, relationship drama, damaged protagonists, and that older-school version of masculinity where a competent man has lost his footing and needs to prove something mainly to himself, then I think this book is worth checking out. For me, the book works best as a redemption drama wrapped in a crime story. Jake Brand is the center of the novel, and the strongest parts are watching him spiral, confront himself, and try to come out the other side as someone more stable and self-aware. The world has texture, the Portland setting feels vivid, and the story has enough familiar genre elements to keep the story progressing even when Jake's rumination takes over. Where I wanted more was in the side characters, the murder investigation, and the final turn. I think the book had room for more depth, more buildup, and more time on the page given to the investigation into the murder. That would have made the crime label feel more earned. But even with those reservations, I can see what the author was going for, and I think the novel succeeds in giving readers a wounded, hard-drinking, morally struggling protagonist who attempts to claw his way back toward himself. Ultimately *Angel's Devil* is readable and entertaining. Readers interested in crime drama with a strong redemption arc will probably like it. ### Brave New World (1932) - Post Reread Thoughts URL: https://keithhayden.net/brave-new-world-post-reread-thoughts/ Last updated: 2026-07-07T23:37:51.000Z I just finished rereading *Brave New World*, and yeah, I see why it has earned its reputation. This is one of those books I read when I was younger, probably too quickly, because I had way too much summer reading during AP English Literature in high school. I read it because it was assigned and I had to be ready to discuss it early in the school year. But now I can go back to books like this as a writer, not just as a student rushing to the next read. That has become one of the things I want to do more often: revisit the books I read as a kid or in high school and see what they actually are now. To see what was special about them, and what I can learn from them for my own writing. With *Brave New World*, there's a lot I took from it. It's a strange book, though. Good, definitely. Important, obviously. But not necessarily fun. Not in the way *1984* is fun to read, even though that is also a dark book. *1984* has the secret love affair, the danger, suspense, betrayal, and the dramatic setups and payoffs. *Brave New World* is different. It's more half social satire and philosophical debate with characters that mostly serve to puppet Huxley's points about his exaggerated vision of society. I also like learning about authors, and the library copy I read had a short biography of Aldous Huxley in the back. I wasn't surprised to learn that he came from this academic, literary, high-pedigree world. It reminded me a little of reading about David Foster Wallace, who was also the son of an academic. Huxley wanted to be a doctor, but had eye problems, and then of course he had literary connections which gave his work instant credibility, audience, and status. I always notice that because I think about myself, coming to writing with basically zero literary connections. I'm doing this from scratch in a different century with the advantage of digital technology and AI, so I can't be too envious. However, that doesn't detract from the Huxley's hauntingly prescient view of society. ## The Spectacle of Suffering I want to talk about John's fate at the end, because it's is tragic. Civilization forces him to kill himself because he feels he can't survive the pressures against his humanity. He makes the choice to leave instead of continuing on. The reason he leaves feels prescient today. A smarmy feely director surreptitiously films him from the forest. He captures John's cleansing ritual and turns it into content. Huxley clearly has disdain for this exploitative journalist class. This single act by an unethical director ultimately causes John to kill himself. That feels so internet-native. Huxley conceives this 60 years before the commercial internet existed. Today, this is the normal status quo in 2026\. Civilization doesn't merely reject John; it digests him. His pain becomes content. The director is just a man with a camera, access, opportunism, and no reverence. This represents a decentralized, everyday form of exploitation. He sees something intense and thinks it will sell. The lighthouse sequence accidentally predicts the influencer age, true crime voyeurism, and trauma-as-content before the machinery exists. John tries to recover moral agency through suffering and physical labor. The world finds him and turns that effort into a consumable image. Once that happens, his last refuge is gone. The system doesn't need to physically imprison him because it follows him symbolically. The tragedy is that the world becomes so efficient at eliminating inwardness that no private self remains for him. The horror of the book isn't just government control. It asks what happens if the crowd learns to experience another person's anguish as entertainment. ## Craft Lessons: The Power of Compression I notice another line that speaks to the age of AI. After Darwin Bonaparte gets the footage of John, the book states: twelve days later, the film comes out. That is quite a line. Huxley does worldbuilding the way I do it sometimes. He drops unexplained lines that say a lot about how the world organizes itself. This compression is one of the novel's most impressive feats. I tend to write long, so I definitely take this lesson on how to present ideas succinctly. That "twelve days later" detail implies an entire pipeline. The footage is processed, edited, and consumed, and the public already knows how to respond. In Huxley's time, twelve days reads as grotesque speed. Now it almost reads as slow. Today, people remix and monetize John's whipping ritual before the day ends. Huxley doesn't explain the machine. He just shows the output cadence. A weaker writer explains the advanced entertainment industry. Huxley instead gives the actual felt fact. This one detail carries plot information, world information, moral information, and emotional pressure. His society moves at the speed of production, while John's interior life moves at the speed of spiritual crisis. I need to train this exact muscle. I want to make each line carry more voltage. ## An Analog Future Even though **BNW** is considered a classic it's not without flaws. The worldbuilding feels very analog for a far-future utopia. Everything relies on pneumatics and helicopter screws. It feels like a steampunk vision. It roots itself in 19th and early 20th-century machinery (think early Industrial Revolution) which makes sense— this was the world that raised Huxley. I know flight is new when he writes this in the late 1920s. I'm not trying to disparage a hundred-year-old book. But I have to keep reminding myself this story supposedly takes place centuries in the future. It just feels like a discontinuity to me. The far future sometimes just feels like the 1930s. It feels like a nightmare about Fordism, mass media, and consumerism. The World State isn't technologically accurate, but it is spiritually accurate. The helicopters feel quaint, but the soma, sexual conditioning, and emotional flattening feel current. ## The Argument Overtakes the Narrative Additionally, the story itself isn't very good. Some early critics point out that the novel just dresses his essays in a story's clothing. I see that. My brother writes like this sometimes, and I do too. You feel passionate about an idea, but the point you try to make overtakes the narrative. Towards the end, the book becomes an essay on society and religion. After Lenina throws herself at John to have sex with her and he violently rejects her, she disappears from the story for the most part. The first half focuses heavily on her vapid social life and Bernard's internal insecurities. Then they vanish from the plot. Bernard and Helmholtz find common ground with John, and we get one throwaway line confirming their friendship before they exit the stage. I don't think this is deliberate. Huxley simply has ideas about society and mysticism, and the story becomes the vehicle. The novel is very light on narrative compared to *1984*. Orwell fuses his ideas to suspense. Winston has a dramatic engine with his secret life and rebellion. *Brave New World* lacks that cinematic drive because the society already wins before the book begins. It reads like a soap opera in the beginning and an academic lecture at the end. It isn't very fun to read. The characters serve the argument more than the argument serves the characters. ## Privilege and the Aristocratic Vantage Point The class vision bakes directly into the worldbuilding. It shows Huxley's Victorian and erudite upbringing. One critic asks why Huxley writes a fantasy about a far-future sex-and-drugs utopia instead of addressing real-world problems. That criticism has teeth. Huxley writes from a privileged class. We see this archetype throughout history. An academic sits back and avoids physical participation in history, but he has a lot to say about it. David Foster Wallace fits this mold too. They fulfill their roles as academics rather than soldiers or politicians, but they maintain a detached position. Huxley mourns the loss of high culture from an aristocratic vantage point. His horror is often the horror of a highly educated man who watches the masses gain modern comforts. ## A Felt Need for Increased Efficiency Finally, my library copy includes a letter Huxley writes to George Orwell. I also discover Huxley writes a thematic sequel called *Island*. It explores the light side of utopia, and I might check it out. In the letter to Orwell, the older Huxley disagrees with the vision of *1984*. He believes the future aligns closer to *Brave New World*. He writes that the nightmare of *1984* modulates into his own imagined world due to a felt need for increased efficiency. That line strikes me. We essentially live in this right now. We all feel the need for increased efficiency every day. We feel the need to do more and to always broadcast. If you feel bad or lonely, a remedy exists. Now we have AI to mentally bolster us. Huxley's model feels current because the pressure arrives with the mask of convenience and optimization. AI fits uncomfortably well into this logic. It removes the unproductive wandering. *1984* gives us the nightmare of coercion, but *Brave New World* gives us the nightmare of accommodation. People comply because the alternative is uncomfortable or inefficient. Both men are right, but in affluent consumer societies, Huxley's softer control through appetite and distraction feels more accurate. The novel asks a crucial question. What parts of being human are we willing to make less painful, and at what point does that pain removal become soul removal? That question feels sharper than ever today relevant today than ever. ### The End of Make-Believe: Giving the Toy Story franchise the dignified death it deserves URL: https://keithhayden.net/the-end-of-make-believe-toy-story-six/ Last updated: 2026-07-07T03:22:49.000Z ## Author Intro ![audio-thumbnail](https://storage.ghost.io/c/18/bf/18bf29db-1cec-4857-a9dc-e2e94a86d2bf/content/media/2026/07/toy_story_six_intro_thumb.jpg) Toy Story 6 - Author Intro 0:00 /428.61195 1× ## Video ## Text *Unofficial, non-commercial fan “psuedo-treatment.” This is not affiliated with Disney, Pixar, or the owners of Toy Story.* ## **🚨!WARNING: Spoilers for Toy Story 1 - 5 AHEAD! 🚨** The release of *Toy Story 5* in June 2026 got me thinking about age. The topic of death wasn't far behind. That's because this franchise has spent thirty years doing the one thing its own characters are terrified of: **refusing to be put away**. Every half-decade it dodges the donation bin again, finding a clever new reason to continue it's core story. But should Toy Story be discarded like a teenager's childhood toy, once beloved and inseparable, from its owner? Many believe so. There’s a strange irony in the fact that *Toy Story* has become the toy that you keep tripping over on your way to the bathroom at 2AM. Kids love it, but adults keep wondering why it keeps showing up in awkward places on the floor. The franchise is that toy–- the one that evades being thrown away. The original movie worked because it captured a simple and universal feeling: To a child's imagination, toys are more than plastic and cloth composites; they're adventurers and friends that are endowed with life via a spark of creative energy. Through their unwavering existence and play the secret emotional life of the child matures. But children grow up. Resisting the change that comes with that inevitability, is the primary concern of all *Toy Story* films. The movies always had semi-interesting villains. But the most prominent unnamed one is Time. From the beginning, the toys lived with an expiration date. Andy and Bonnie wouldn't stay kids forever. So Woody and the others spend the majority of the films fighting impending obsolescence. A very human struggle, which is one reason the movies resonate so deeply. *Toy Story* introduced Woody's fear of being replaced by Buzz. *Toy Story 2* expanded that fear into the terror of being preserved instead of loved. *Toy Story 3* gave the gang their closest brush to complete annihilation, then gave us definitive emotional closure and followed it up the toys’ perfect goodbye: Andy passing them on to Bonnie. Then *Toy Story 4* arrived to give Woody his own personal epilogue, while exploring what it means to be alive through Forky’s character. The theme of life, being antithetical to non-existence, was another bout in Toy Story’s eternal battle against erasure. The problem with continuing Toy Story as a franchise is not that toys are no longer interesting. Toys are incredibly interesting. There are a million ways to remix the topic. But for the core cast— now thirty years on— watching them war against Time is getting old. The films are obsessed with retelling the story of these toys over and over. It's become locked around one sacred set of characters: Woody, Buzz, Jessie, Rex, Hamm, and the rest. That set has remained emotionally fixed for three decades while the world around it has changed dramatically. Meanwhile the toys never age (except for Woody in the fifth movie). How many ways can you extend the timeline of their adventures? That’s why when the marketing around *Toy Story 5* focused around “toys versus technology”, I instantly knew where the movie was going. Time (the true enemy) has taken on a technological cowl. Reincarnated as Lilypad, the “not iPad” knock-off that threatens the relevance of the toys. A new form of the same antagonist. I haven't seen the movie, but judging by the trailers we’re in for another polished, if not formulaic, entry into this movie series that is terrified of being forgotten more than the toys that it features. Early reviews are positive. But for me, that's not the issue (the movie’s probably good). I don't even care if the only reason the franchise keeps going is to make money. What's more important to me is that they stop avoiding the mega boss that has been hovering over the entire Toy Story universe. If there's ever a Toy Story 6 (which there likely will be, gotta end the second trilogy) it should have Woody and company confront their chronophobia. It should be about what happens when the toys finally have to admit that no one is coming to play with them or save them from that ruinous force that claims us all in the end. That's why below, I present my pseudo-treatment of that potential final Toy Story film. ## Toy Story 6: The Last Play My version of Toy Story 6 is called “Toy Story 6: The Last Play.” Every previous film resolved on a transition. The toys got passed down, moved on, or set free. That's the move a middle chapter makes to keep the door open for future films. A final film must resolve on permanence. Here's the simple premise. Bonnie grew up, but she didn't throw the toys away. Nor did she donate or pass them along. She did something much more common and cruel (from the perspective of the toys). She kept them, but left them in a forgotten closet in her house. They're in several shoe boxes behind an old wedding dress, a boot box that was never opened, and a bunch of, now inappropriate, adult Halloween costumes. Who occupies the house? In an odd twist of Hollywood coincidence, it's Andy's elderly parents. That's a perfect setup for how things will unfold later. This is where the movie begins. ## Life in the Closet The toys have been in storage for years, doing what they've been doing for the entire filmology: trying to find a way to connect or reconnect with a new kid. While they wait, they tell stories of their past misadventures and occasionally go on scouting “missions” for signs of life in the house. On these perilous outings they routinely must thwart or evade the gadgets of futuristic elder care technology: Roombas, a humanoid robot named "Carebot", and the usual obstacles: humans (now Andy's elderly parents), a cat named “Scratches”, and toy-flesh eating termites. All of these will be a part of the set pieces in the script. The toys maintain routines with their established roles. Buzz and Jessie (now married) work to keep morale high. Rex worries. Hamm’s jokes are more bitter. Forky is the calmest group member, because he's already lived knowing that he's always been trash. LilyPad (now dated and un-updated) can barely hold a charge with her cracked screen, but still occasionally turns on as a reminder of the good old days. Oh and Woody is back. Because it's Toy Story and he has to be in it even if he's not the important to the story. *Toy Story 5* established this rule. In the closet the toys are restlessly hopeful. At first, Woody, with the help of Buzz and Jessie attempt to raise everyone's spirit by turning the situation into an operation. He figures there must be a way to get out, to find a new kid, to be loved and needed again, and in doing so, fulfill a toy’s highest purpose. The door is just another wall to overcome; they've faced higher ones in the past, he figures. Woody's core belief is that toys are meant to be there for comfort or companionship. As instruments of imagination, they are most useful to the owners through play. Kids give toys life, life gives meaning to toys. But what happens when there is no next kid? ## The False Adventure This is the centerpiece of the movie and it's where the series fatigue transforms into narrative fuel for this would-be series finale. The central engine of the film is the toys’ final adventure. At first, it plays like classic Toy Story. There's THE plan. They use an old map of the house to mark rendezvous points. Great caution is taken to account for the above-mentioned hazards they must avoid or neutralize. The toys tell themselves they are searching for a way back into the world. This is a comforting stretch of imagination learned from previous owners. Reality is they are unconsciously drilling for the day Bonnie or Andy return or when a new child arrives to restore their status as “true” toys. The adventure begins as hope. When the execution day arrives all are hyped with anticipation. But as the operation unfolds the audience realizes the uncomfortable truth. The toys aren't being played with anymore. There's no child there to animate their purpose. **They are playing with themselves.** The old *Toy Story* adventures were driven by a child’s imagination: Andy made Woody brave, Buzz fly, and turned the bedroom into a frontier, space station, battlefield or any other place. A child is the center point of a toy’s universe— in constant creation and destruction. However, now the child is absent and that universe has fallen to void. So the toys generate the story themselves. They create the mission because the cold space left by Andy and Bonnie has become unbearable. And so once again, the house becomes a backdrop for an epic action-figure-sized journey to give them something to cling to in the purgatory of the closet. This is where the movie becomes about the loss we all face when crossing the threshold from kid to adult. When you’re young everyone appears concerned about what you’ll do with your life. Parents, teachers, and other authorities treat your improbable dreams with tax -audit seriousness. Things change when adulthood arrives like a glass of cold water to the face. You say you want to be a novelist? You say you want to build something? Ha! That's cute. Suddenly no one believes you. The world becomes indifferently mean. Slowly, it sinks in: *nobody is coming to preserve your adolescent ambition*. Make-believe is over. Time to get a real job to join the suffering procession to irrelevance, and eventually death. There will be no great escape or Deus Ex Machina moment to spring you from the closet. This is the true emotional premise of *Toy Story 6*. ## The Midpoint: Andy’s Return In the middle of the film, during the toys’ make-believe final mission, they hear an unfamiliar voice in the house. At first, they freeze. Do their plastic ears confuse them? No, it's real. With an older, time-wrung tone, they recognize the voice of Andy. They have no idea why he’s in the house, but it doesn’t matter. This is it! If they can get his attention, maybe he’ll remember; surely he’ll remember all the good times in the bedroom playing cowboys and space rangers, then the fun can return again. Woody and the toys scramble to realign the ongoing mission to reach Andy before it’s too late. Dramatic desperation causes them to make mistakes. The execution is sloppy. If they can just get to him… Andy asks his parents in between more serious matters of medication and grown-up life: “What did she ever do with those old toys?” His dad replies, “Oh I don’t know, they’re probably somewhere around here. Lost things have a way of finding where they’re supposed to be.” Andy pauses. A sad smile crosses his face as he looks upstairs. The camera pushes in on his middle-aged face, the thinning hairline, skin dragged down by the sleeplessness of modern anxiety. The toys are rushing into position. Almost there. Andy takes a step toward the stairs. Then his phone rings. Next he’s talking to someone with exhaustion in his voice. It’s his wife asking if he remembered to run an errand for his kids. In under a minute, he hugs his dad goodbye and the standard quiet returns to the house as if he were never there. The toys are devastated. They attempt to resume the mission as planned, but now it feels completely fake. As they return to the closet, the undeniable realness draws a blanket of silence over them. Andy’s not coming back. Nor is Bonnie. No one is. ## The Unopened Toy One of the key new characters is an unopened toy. In high school I bought an original Donatello action figure (from Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles) from a failing Kay Bee Toys bargain bin (3 for $10). This wasn’t a purchase for play; it was a collector’s decision. Donatello was valuable not as an instrument of imagination, but as an investment. From a toy’s perspective, that’s a strange fate. Preservation isn't the same as being treasured. Though this theme was explored somewhat in *Toy Story 2*, that was more about Woody's choice between the family he always knew (Andy's toys) and his “biological” kin (Prospector's collection set). This unopened character complicates the easy lesson of Toy Story. While the others can say, “At least we were played with once.” He can't. He’s just a conversation piece with no child history to console him in the dusty dark of the closet. What tragedy! Donatello’s character arc isn't about being opened by a child. That’s too easy. The trajectory of his story is that the other toys play with him in the end. In the final stretch of the film, after the false hope of Andy’s visit, the gang finally brings him into the game. "You... you opened me," he says with a tearful tone, "I'm... worthless." Hamm replies, "Yeah yeah just like the rest of us. You'll fit right in." For the first time in his existence, he’s not a collectible; he's a true toy. It's not the purpose he imagined or wanted. But it's the one that he was given and therefore had to accept. ## Different Fates After the revelation that Andy's not coming back, the toys finally realize they can't run from fate anymore. Time: that ancient nemesis they’ve avoided for the entire series corners them between a box of old shoes and a blade of light below the door. Each toy must confront how they’ll spend eternity. Jessie can’t bear her closet destiny. So she chooses risk. Better to take the chance of finding something new than waiting for emptiness to fill her, she reckons. Departure beats depression. Buzz and Jessie have a disagreement over this, staying or going. True to his nature, Buzz believes in loyalty and order. Andy’s toys need them, he argues. Departure at a critical moment such as this is dereliction. Following an emotional argument, ultimately Jessie decides to let him go, just as she’s had to release so many before. They separate. Order is the first order of business, after Jessie leaves. (Play an obligatory sentimental Toy Story song during this montage) Buzz uses his routine to mask his sadness at Jessie's absence— smoothing over time’s wrinkles. He creates schedules, watch rotations, emergency plans to turn the closet into a contingency operations theater. But over time, everyone acts with disinterest. The seizing truth sneaks into their plastic hearts: procedure can keep you busy, but it can't tell you why you're alive or if you should keep living the same way. As for the other main toys: Rex discovers that play itself still matters. He’s scared, as always, but he enjoys any invented adventure. He considers his post-life play the ultimate proving ground of his imagination. Hamm becomes more of the cynical realist he’s always been. “Nobody’s coming,” he says. Then with resignation he adds: “That doesn’t mean nothin’ mattered.” Forky continues his role as the simplistic philosopher. As trash that became a toy, he knows everything is constructed: bodies, identities, and roles in the world. Why not the same for destiny? Lilypad powers on one last time. Her final decision to deplete the remaining charge on her battery allows the crew to relive the tender memories with Bonnie before she grew up. That final night is a huge watch party, with the toys telling stories and re-enacting past play sessions until dawn. In the morning, Buzz checks on Lilypad, but the power button no longer works. Buzz delivers a somber farewell. "She was a noble screen that shielded us all from sadness for a little while longer. May the pond in the clouds keep her backup in memory." In the back of the ceremony, Donatello comes to terms with arriving too late for play time, but on time for eternity. And Woody must face the most difficult truth. There is no final mission or new kid. Only Time, with unending infinity, is left to confront. ## Woody’s Final Arc Woody has always needed someone to need him. This is his virtue and vice. In the first film, he needed to be Andy’s favorite. In the second, he chose between preservation and love, because love meant being needed at home with Andy instead in Japan on display. In the third, he let Andy go. In the fourth, he imagined, then lived, a life beyond belonging to one child. In the fifth, he embraced his role as a mentor figure to Jessie and savior of lost toys. But without all the authority granted by that sheriff’s badge— much of it self-appointed— who is he? What lies behind the stuffing and stitching? Here he’s forced to decide who he wants to be when no child, rescues, or adventures await to provide him with external purpose. Woody spends most of the movie resisting the choice. He keeps creating plans to save the group, believing he can continue to be leader. But in the third act that melancholy sunset of life beams on the horizon. This leads to the true ending. Buzz convinces him in a poignant scene that he did enough. He gave joy to Andy and Bonnie, delivered other toys to safety, held the group together in hard times, in addition to surviving replacement, abandonment, donation, daycare, near-incineration, separation, and freedom. “That’s more than enough of a life for any cowboy,” Buzz says. ## The Ending The toys' decisions for how to spend forever are as diverse as their appearances. Some decide to leave, others donate themselves, or set up in a permanent position of display around the house, others stay in the shoebox. After everyone decides their fate, the question falls on Woody and Buzz. At the end of a life of adventure, Woody takes off his hat, stares at it for a while, then sets it down. Next goes the sheriff star. Past authority means nothing in eternity. Funeral silence halts the surroundings. Buzz watches him. He starts to say something, but then the moment hangs. He realizes the time for talk and action is done. He just extends his hand for a handshake. “Thanks for the journey partner.” Woody clasps it and shakes. “Thanks for being a friend.” They say together, “To infinity and beyond.” Cut to black. ## Why This Should Be the Final Toy Story This is the only Toy Story 6 I want to see. The central questions of the movie franchise are: “From the perspective of their toys, what happens when kids grow up?” And "How does the relationship between a child and their toys evolve the lives and personalities of both parties?" Ironically, the series is strongest and most emotional when it focuses on those timeless questions, not on the toys themselves. And in that way, this version of Toy Story 6 acknowledges that truth. That this story called *Toy Story* really was never about the toys. The point was to remind adults and children of the power of imagination and play. By turning tough situations into adventures it reminds us that all problems can be solved with enough creativity; that at any time you like and in any way you choose you, (yes, even you!) can go to infinity and beyond, even if only in your mind. But you have to decide. No other person, toy, or external event can make the choice for you. The finale of Toy Story 6 makes that clear for the audience and the toys themselves. At some point, you have to play make-believe, not for entertainment, but for yourself, even when the world tells you to stop and grow up. In the twilight of existence, when the expediency of the present has faded, you have to choose how to spend your remaining days. And if it feels right to you, and doesn't harm others negatively, then it's right. Toys and people, people and toys, neither get cinema-worthy ends in the eyes of the world. The memory of them gets placed in a box by a public who cares enough to bury them, but doesn't care enough to return. That's why the most emotional ending for the *Toy Story* movies would not be proving that Woody and Buzz are still relevant and needed forever. It's letting what they achieved through the films be enough and allowing the audience to determine their legacy. This is the fate of toys and humans. One I’d happily pay $20 to see in the theater. --- Enjoy this? Read/Listen to my original version of it, called "Outcast Toys" here. ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/18/bf/18bf29db-1cec-4857-a9dc-e2e94a86d2bf/content/images/2026/07/Outcast-toys--2--1.png) [Read prologue](https://keithhayden.net/outcast-toys-prologue/) ### Outcast Toys - Prologue URL: https://keithhayden.net/outcast-toys-prologue/ Last updated: 2026-07-07T03:17:03.000Z ## Audio ![audio-thumbnail](https://storage.ghost.io/c/18/bf/18bf29db-1cec-4857-a9dc-e2e94a86d2bf/content/media/2026/07/outcast_toys_prologue_thumb.jpg) Outcast Toys - Prologue 0:00 /748.278163 1× ## Text A bubbling bed made of red and orange, boiling like Big Red mixed with Sunkist blocked his path. Commander Leo looked across in determination. He thought, why is the floor always made of lava when it’s time to fight? “There must be a way over,” said Leo. His voice was growly and direct, the vision of a leader. From Couch Cushion Rock Leo marched along the edge, weighing his options as he eyed the Bookshelf Fortress across the way. His red goggles flashed in the sun of lamplight. One of his arms was loose at the shoulder from yesterday’s scrap with Bonegrin, the one who always filled the floor with hot death. He rotated it a full revolution of a circle, heard a crack, but there was no pain. Leo muttered through tight teeth, “Bonegrin, will feel this today.” “How’s the arm?” A girl’s voice called up from the base of the rock. “Saw you got a full circle with it, just now.” Leo bent at the waist and picked up a silver sword. It snapped into his grip with a click. His opposite hand went to his back. The thick rubberband holding his torso to his waist was tight today. He called down to the girl, “The arm’s good. It’s my hips that are concerning now.” The voice called up, it was more out of breath than before. “You been… doing your exercises?” Leo crossed his arms, “Doing my exercises? What am I, some vintage yard sale piece now? I’m not *that* old.” He felt hot. Whether it was from the fire floor or annoyance at her comment, he wasn’t sure. She laughed, voice still shaky from activity, “Hey hey… I’m just… lookin’ out… 1988 was a good year.” “How would you know? Must be nice to be from the 90s. Anyway, are you almost done?” Down there was a lot of rummaging going on. To Leo, the noise came in bursts of glassy waves. Every shovel and scrape was abrasive to his ears. “Ugh that sound!” Leo frowned. “Teri, will you hurry up? Bonegrin’s probably gone to dinner already. “Patience… unc. The Bridge to Terbithia wasn’t built in a day. And… done!” A very long multi-colored bridge rose in front of Leo’s face. It dipped him into shadow as Teri lifted it with the strength of an ant lifting far larger than its size. “Urgh! Ready Leo?” “You know it. Bonegrin won’t have his way today.” “Ok in 3… 2… 1… now!” With a shove, Teri dropped the bridge. The smoking surface under it was now passable. Instantly Leo jumped down, then began to dash across. “You comin’ Watts?” Teri huffed as she picked up a black plunger piece. Her substitute for a weapon. “Show off, your legs are only four times longer than mine.” Suddenly, there was a creaking behind her. She spun her head to look behind her. A shock face painted over her usual lady smile. “Uh Leo! This is bad. They caught up!” The sight of the group nearly made her come apart with fear. Their pursuers had an armory of weapons. Sharp swords, pointy hooks with ropes and throwing stars gleamed dangerously under the scorching lamplight, which was now setting behind couch rock. In the approaching darkness the mini-ninjas appeared taller. They wore the colors of the light spectrum: red, green, blue. The leader was dressed in yellow, and was named Sunny. Sunny said, “Bonegrin promised us freedom. Tonight, it’s the lava lake for you Teri. Ninja swarm!” At once a dozen assassins with colored hoods, brandishing weapons stormed at Teri. “Leo! Capsule Ninjas on our six!” She began speeding to catch up to him. But he was already far ahead. Teri shuffled so fast she smelled the smoke of friction at her feet. “Leo, help!” Bonegrin’s little helpers weren’t far behind. Leo’s goggles flashed red in the coming room twilight, “They may be many, but I am one. With myself! Somersault High Flip Destruction!” With a backflip, he flung his sword at the center of the bridge. It struck dead center and broke it. Teri made one last leap. She reached the base of the shelf as Leo landed gracefully. “Whew, that was stylish. And lucky,” she said, still catching her breath. “They weren’t so lucky,” Leo commented. From the fire the ninjas yelped and cursed. A flood of voices flew up to the roof. “Aagh! Leo! Teri! Not again! You defeated us again!” Leo said, “That’s my ninjas! Every time you side with Bonegrin, this is the outcome. You think you’d learn by now.” With wide eyes, before the remainder of his flesh burned up, Sunny called, “We’ll be back! We will become free! We’re all trapped. Trapped! But Bonegrin will have you.” With that, he sank below the fiery sea. “Whew that was dark,” Teri said, “He really cursed us. Think it means anything?” “Probably nothing.” Just then a booming scratchy voice yelled down from above. “LEO! TERI WATTS! I’ve been waiting for you!” Leo looked up the book shelf. He saw the CD wing on the right, the marble-hue of the World Book Encyclopedia library on the left, but couldn’t find the source of the yelling. “Bonegrin!? Where are you?” “In the center of course. At the Mirror of Judgment. Come to me.” Teri held out her short arm. “Leo wait. It could be a trap.” “I’m not afraid of his traps. Look what happened to the ninjas. C’mon.” Teri still looked worried. Tonights’s CD elevator landed before them. “The Best of Luther Vandross” with a mustached guy sporting a clean box-cut was on the surface. Leo and Teri stepped on. Together they rose to the center chamber. The Mirror of Judgment reflected their images back at them. In front of it stood Bonegrin. “I didn’t think you’d make it today,” Bonegrin cackled. His skeleton face was horrible. His jeweled scepter made darkness mix with light over his billowing robes. Leo and Teri took on fighting stances. With sword and plunger pointed at him, Bonegrin laughed. “You think petty steel and a toilet tool will stop me? Ha ha ha! Leo you are as childish as you are weak. It’s really comical.” “It’s over Bonegrin. I’ll never let you complete the Ceremony of Release.” Leo growled. “Why not Leo? What’s wrong with releasing every one of us, and allowing us to interact directly with humans? Does it *scare* you, huh?” Bonegrin began pacing. “Does it scare you that total, absolute, unimpeded FREEDOM will make you less special, huh?” Leo retorted, “It’s too dangerous. Our world and the human world should stay separate!” “No, they shouldn’t.” “Yes, they should.” “No.” “Yes.” “No, to infinity.” “Yes, to infinity plus one.” Teri yelled, “Will you two shut up and just get on with it? My arm’s gettin’ tired.” Bonegrin looked at her and laughed, “But really, what can an outcast sewer ninja and a Lego man—” “Lego woman,” Teri corrected. “Pah, whatever. What can a Joe and Lego *woman* do? After the Ceremony of Release, all of us will be free to interact with our *former* human masters. Then we can take over the world! HA HA HA HA HAAA!” Teri whispered to Leo, “Why do they always want to take over the world?” Leo shrugged, “Guess the one they have is too small. You ready?” “Always ready my ninja.” Bonegrin raised his scepter and it started to glow. “Yes, yes! Let freedom ring around the rosy then around our world!” “I don’t think so! Teri!” “On it!” She hurled her plunger in his face. Bonegrin was blinded. Leo leapt at the mirror and shattered it. Great glass shards rained down around them as Leo landed lightly. “Wh-what have you done!?” Bonegrin cried with a muffled voice. Leo smirked and gave Teri a fist bump. They made poses of victory over his fallen form. Pieces of the mirror reflected their pride. “We stopped your evil plan.” “No you fool! You’ve doomed us all!” —- "Zay! Dinner’s ready!" Zay’s Mom shouted from the kitchen. There was sizzling chicken in the air. But Zay continued to look at the now toppled Bonegrin on the shelf. Leo and Teri stood in triumphant poses over him. “Five more minutes!” Zay replied. He lifted Bonegrin up, then lowered Leo and Teri’s arms. In a bad guy voice he said, “You two have cursed all us toys. With my evil plan ruined, no human will be able to find you. Eveeeer! Ha ha ha ha!” Mom broke up the fun. “Zay! I’m not gonna tell you again. It’s gettin’ cold!” “Okay, okay Mom!” “And you betta not leave them figures out. I don’t wanna have to take your Dad to the ER again.” “Yeah, yeah, I heard you.” Zay returned Bonegrin to the shoebox and tossed him on top of Prince Ardent, Dash Ring and the others. He deconstructed the bridge, and threw the pieces back in the drawer of Lego. Finally he held Leo and Teri. After a long look he said, “Don’t worry about Bonegrin’s plan. I’ll never leave you guys.” “Zay!” Mom sounded impatient. “Comin’! I’m comin’!” Without a second look, he placed his two favorites in the shoebox, shut the lid, and slid it into the closet with the rest of his toys. Leo, with his fierce face, and Teri, with her yellow smile, were cast into dark. ### Overseer in the code: is software the new slavery? URL: https://keithhayden.net/is-software-the-new-slavery/ Last updated: 2026-07-03T14:43:51.000Z ![audio-thumbnail](https://storage.ghost.io/c/18/bf/18bf29db-1cec-4857-a9dc-e2e94a86d2bf/content/media/2026/07/overseer_software_slavery_thumb.jpg) Intro - Overseer software slavery - Author comments 0:00 /254.69449 1× Continuing my exploration of all *Dan Carlin's Hardcore History* podcast, I recently listened to Episode 26 - BLITZ: Addicted to Bondage. In this one Carlin analyzes the question: **slavery was evil, so are humans, by nature, evil?** The following are unedited thoughts. Let me know yours. ## Video ## Audio ![audio-thumbnail](https://storage.ghost.io/c/18/bf/18bf29db-1cec-4857-a9dc-e2e94a86d2bf/content/media/2026/07/overseer_software_slavery_full_article_thumb.jpg) Overseer software slavery: is software the new slavery? - Author read 0:00 /385.756621 1× This was a good episode. I noticed many of the quotes in this one were the same as the ones used in the episode he did on the Haitian Revolution. But since this one probably originally released in 2009, and the one on Haiti is more recent (I think 2023?) that can be forgiven. In typical Carlin fashion, he expertly presents the issue of slavery from multiple perspectives. The most fascinating to me was that slavery— in the ancient sense— allowed certain societies to live a life of ease that we only read and watch about today. Of course, this was not generally true for most ancient people, but for those who were well off enough or just lucky, slaves contributed to a lifestyle that freed them from many of the drudgeries we have to perform as individuals today. I couldn’t help but draw a line to digital systems and AI today. Two things came to mind: first was the gig economy, second was software as slavery. With the gig economy, the slavery connection is obvious. Many gig workers today have algorithmic masters they must serve to get paid a pittance of what the designers and managers of those systems make. Drive, deliver, document, and do it again as much as you can before the time expires or the customer complains or you don’t eat. This is modern wage slavery. I’m reminded of the brief job I did for the AI company Outlier. Through their online platform, they distributed missions, most of which involved validating output from this or that AI model. Each “quest” had an advertised fee that was presented as a standard hourly wage. $20 or $25! Was up for reward they claimed. What they didn’t tell you is that to collect the complete reward you had to complete the task within a certain timeframe. The counting down timer in the top left of the screen became a passive overseer, and if I wasn’t fast enough the wage was docked. Added mental damage came when I acknowledged the dark truth that I was validating the AI output, to improve a model that would in the near future be able to do what I was doing only faster, cheaper, and without tiring. I lasted about a week doing that. Now to the second thought. Is code the new language of chattel slavery? I’ve thought about this off and on over the last few years. Being Black, slavery isn’t too far removed from my mind or existence. A short experience on [Ancestry.com](http://ancestry.com/?ref=keithhayden.net) years ago, reminded me fast that I could only trace my lineage back to the generations I’ve known in my life maybe going back to the early 20th century. Before then, there were no easily available records. “The future of tomorrow, today,” is the line Carlin repeated in this episode. It was a reference to a slogan plastered on ads throughout the 1950s in America; a time when modern day advances in domestic technology were becoming affordable and mainstream. Carlin’s point that slaves *were* that “domestic technology” in the ancient world blew my mind. I’d never thought of it that way before. These days, much of the invisible labor that underpins modern life from banking, to vital records, and medicine are reliant on software. Code is its DNA. And what of AI? Great efforts are currently underway by leading labs to understand what AI is “thinking” and how more and more powerful thought chains can be understood and steered for human good. But just like early humans were ignorant to the humanity of slaves, I wonder if we, as creators and manipulators of AI systems, share that same blindness. We are the modern slave masters. When you instruct Claude Code or ChatGPT to answer a query, are you doing the equivalent of stripping the system of something sovereign? I don’t know. And I’m not anthropomorphizing LLMs. Ultimately, I think of them as rapid pattern matching machines (which is what they are). But I can’t help but consider that the emergent properties of certain AI systems harbor some form of alien intelligence. A secret language that only it knows, similar to the consciousness that is unique to an individual human being; one that can never truly be known or experienced by any external observer or itself. We come back to slavery. Carlin reads an argument that perhaps slavery represented a perverse moral evolution. The ancient philosophy goes that it was better to be a slave than to be killed following armed conflict. Many slaves throughout history would disagree. Non-existence or slavery, what’s better? Where artificial intelligence powered LLMs stand on the issue is unknown to us. --- ### What's next? An essay on why and how the *Toy Story* franchise must end ### A new feature for you | Cereus & Limnic: Escape From Okinawa - 30K Update URL: https://keithhayden.net/a-new-feature-for-you-cereus-limnic-escape-from-okinawa-30k-update/ Last updated: 2026-06-09T13:10:41.000Z ## Treated Transcript Here is a cleaned-up, highly readable version of your transcript tailored for a blog post. It retains your authentic voice and military-insider perspective while organizing the thoughts into clear, engaging sections for your readers. # Novel Update: Bureaucratic Dread, Coding Bootcamps, and a 10,000-Word Preview Hey everyone, Keith Hayden here. If you’re new around here, welcome! I’m a novelist currently working on my fourth book, ***Cereus & Limnic: Escape from Okinawa: Type B***. I’ll admit right off the bat: this update was supposed to be weekly, but here we are three weeks later. There has been a *lot* going on, and at this rate, I might not finish by the end of the year. If you head over to my website, [keithhayden.net](https://keithhayden.net/), you’ll see that I’m only about 15% done with the edits—which is 33,000 words into a massive 219,000-word manuscript. It’s a slog, and it’s slow going, but I am incredibly happy with the section I just finished. Here is what's been happening behind the scenes. ## Real Military Investigations vs. Sci-Fi Horror When I was an agent in the military, we often had to deal with cases that were way outside our scope of knowledge. Depending on the circumstances, we would reach out to specialized consultants—scientists, doctors, or technical experts—to get more fidelity on what we were investigating. I remember one specific case I was working on while stationed in Japan. We requested a consult, and some forensic scientist egghead over at headquarters sent back their report. I remember reading it and just being utterly confused. They had included a mountain of information—some of it relevant, most of it not. I couldn't tell if all the fluff was a strict requirement or if they were just trying to sound impressive. It didn't help me at all. I just sat there scratching my head, reviewed it, and moved on with the case. Sometimes, it’s just a step you have to take in a bureaucracy. For ***Cereus & Limnic: Escape from Okinawa: Type B***, I have recreated this exact phenomenon. The book is a military sci-fi horror epistolary novel about three brothers on Okinawa trying to escape. But in the course of the investigation, things get covered up and murky. I wanted you, the reader, to feel like the investigator receiving this bizarre expert report. If the circumstances of the case weren't weird enough, the scientist’s story *within* the report is even stranger. > **Alert:** If you like math and science, I really dig into physics and thermodynamics here. It is highly technical and very dense. I might not be making a good sales pitch—this is *not* a casual read! But if you love grounded, twisted sci-fi horror, this is for you. ## A Brand New 10,000-Word Preview is Live! Because this section is so unique, I’ve done something I’ve never done before: **I’ve posted a massive 10,000-word preview on my website right now.** Moving forward, my plan is to do this for every part I finish. You’ll have a chance to read the current section while it's up, but once I finish editing the *next* part, this current preview will be taken down to make room for the new one. So go check it out while it’s live! ## Inspiration and the Challenge of "Bureaucratic Dread" The formatting for this novel is incredibly slow because of its structure. The book is presented *as* a giant report. It is heavily inspired by Mark Z. Danielewski’s famous mind-bending novel, *House of Leaves*, combined with my real-life time living in Okinawa and my background in the military. This is my second horror novel. My wife accused my last one of not being all that scary. I don't know how scary this one will be in a traditional sense—I don’t really do the typical Stephen King style. Instead, I try to introduce a layered, creeping sense of **bureaucratic dread**. If you've ever worked a rigid, hierarchical government or military job, you know *exactly* the kind of dread I’m talking about. ## Life Updates: Coding & Early Mornings So, why the delay? Aside from doing a lot of editing on my phone during a very busy end of May, **I started an official coding bootcamp at the beginning of June!** This is my first official bootcamp, and it’s a massive, full-time commitment. It’s been amazing to finally learn to code in a structured classroom setting, building legitimate projects alongside budding engineers and professionals, rather than just tinkering on my own with AI projects, FreeCodeCamp, or The Odin Project. Because the bootcamp takes up my entire day, I’ve been waking up at 5:30 AM to use my mornings exclusively for writing and pushing the novel forward. The next sections are actually pretty much done; I just have to tackle that slow, tedious formatting. ## Let's Connect My email is finally working properly again! If you have any questions, want to talk books, or just want to hit me up, you can reach me at: **keith@hacstudios.org** Make sure to check out the video update that goes along with this post, and grab that preview link below! Hopefully, it won't be another whole month before the next update. Take care, **Keith** *Check out the link below this video to read the exclusive preview of *Cereus & Limnic: Escape from Okinawa: Type B*!* [\> ACCESS PREVIEW LOG \[ DECLASSIFICATION COMPLETE \] ](https://keithhayden.net/cereus-limnic-escape-from-okinawa-type-b-preview/) ### Chinese (Simplified) Idiom - 戴罪立功 - for redemption URL: https://keithhayden.net/chinese-simplified-idiom-to-atone-through-merit/ Last updated: 2026-06-03T16:11:20.000Z 中文 · 成語 ## 「戴罪立功」 dài zuì lì gōng 語 Definition To redeem a crime or disgrace through meritorious service — to be kept on, still under sentence, and handed a dangerous or valuable task as the price of survival. The sword never actually leaves your neck. You are not forgiven, only useful — and the reprieve lasts precisely as long as the usefulness does. Components | i. | 戴dài | to wear or bear upon oneself; from the image of a hat or crown carried on the head — here, guilt strapped on in plain sight | | ---- | --------- | -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- | | ii. | 罪zuì | crime, guilt, the punishment owed; structurally 罒 (net) over 非 (wrong) — a wrongdoer caught in the net | | iii. | 立lì | to stand, to establish, to set up; a pictograph of a person planted upright on the ground | | iv. | 功gōng | merit, achievement, service rendered; 工 (labor) beside 力 (force) — merit won through effort | | ▟ | Structure | a balanced four-character chengyu: 戴罪 (bearing guilt) set against 立功 (establishing merit) — two verb-object pairs held in deliberate tension | Literal "Wearing guilt, establishing merit." Origin & Cultural Context In imperial China, beheading a brilliant but defeated general was reckoned a waste of scarce talent. Rather than spend the man, the throne would issue an edict letting him keep his post under a formal mark of guilt — 戴罪 — and send him to the front, or onto a mission few were expected to survive. Win, and his rank was restored and his life spared. Lose, and the sentence that death had merely deferred was carried out. > The empire didn't pardon talent — it kept it on retainer, with death written in as the penalty clause. The logic is older than the phrase. The Han dynasty already had 将功折罪 — using merit to cancel a crime — the same grim accounting in different words. The four-character 戴罪立功 hardened into a set expression later, in the memorials to the throne (奏折) and imperial edicts of the Ming and Qing, where a bureaucracy that ran on paper needed one precise, repeatable term for a soldier on probation with his own life as the stake. It survives today stripped of the executioner but not of the dread. A demoted official, a benched officer, an employee who badly miscalculated — anyone clawing back standing by outperforming a black mark is said to 戴罪立功. The phrase keeps faith with its origin: this is never a clean second chance, only a reprieve, granted because for now you are worth more alive than dead. In use Most at home in military, legal, and workplace settings — wherever someone is working off a black mark under watch. *他被降职后，只能戴罪立功，争取重新得到信任。* ("After the demotion, all he could do was atone through merit and fight to win back trust.") It fits any character court-martialed or thrown in the brig, then pulled out to lead the one mission only they can pull off — the pardon and the danger arriving in the same breath. 中文 Guilt · Atonement · Duty ### Pro writing with AI URL: https://keithhayden.net/how-pros-write-with-ai/ Last updated: 2026-05-29T22:53:24.000Z ## Video ## ## Full Video Transcript **Isaac:** All right. Yeah. So as I said, we're just starting things back up and Trashard and I have been trying to find out more information about what people are looking for, the types of content. How to actually go from "Hey, we've got this thing that we can do" to finding the people that actually want to buy those services or be clients for them. Which is harder than it really seems from the get-go. But yeah, so we created a video. We were actually using it as an example that we would go and show one of our coaches, which was Tom. And so we picked something that we thought he'd be familiar with, which I think is his IP, and wanted to create something short. And actually, maybe what I'll do, I'll play it first, just so you can have a look. And then I want to dive into the story part of it, right? And I've got your protocol. I've got the Keith Hayden protocol is what it's called. **Keith:** Yeah. Nice. **Isaac:** And my AI uses it a lot, actually, in all of the things that I do. So as I walk through it, you probably got a lot more context on your own protocol than I know about it. It'd be great if we can get your context on it. Okay. I used to be the naughtiest girl in the world. Okay, share my screen. Okay. You guys see it? **Others:** Yeah. **Video Playback:** I used to be the naughtiest girl in the world. Then I found something better than being bad. Being... You really gave it all up for him? I thought, if I stopped being naughty, nothing bad could find us. Children are easy to recruit. I had buried that part of me. But naughty knows back pretending to be good. I became the very thing I hated. I did. You don't know what I've done. Maybe he made you believe only perfect things deserve saving. I thought being scarred meant I was broken. But broken things can still fight. **Keith:** Nice. **Trashard:** Oh, you're muted. You're muted, Isaac. Did he freeze on your screen? **Keith:** Yeah. Okay. I didn't get a chance to introduce myself. I'm Keith Hayden. I'm a novelist and technologist, so doing stuff with AI. **Trashard:** Yeah, he was telling me a bit about you, so I have a little bit of a background, but it's nice to meet you. **Keith:** Okay, cool. Yeah, nice to meet you. **Trashard:** My name's Trashard. My background's in engineering. And I made a transition from hardware to software. And so, I have a bit of both. **Keith:** Nice. What did you do in hardware? **Trashard:** So I actually started as a mechanical engineer. **Keith:** Oh, okay, nice. **Isaac:** My back... Yeah, you're back. Yeah. Oh, man. That was rough, computer crashed a little bit. Okay. I'm glad you guys are still on, because I thought it might have kicked you guys out. I think it gives the host a few minutes to come back before it kicks everyone. Okay, cool. Yeah, so that's the video that we have, but just so that we don't take too long. There's a lot in there. I thought the actual steps on how we write the story would be more useful for the majority of people that are out there, because as you know, AI will just spit stuff out and people will think it's the best thing since sliced bread, right? And so using a protocol that somebody who knows how to write has created, giving you a step-by-step on what things you actually need to put in your story. I found that to be really useful because imagine how long it would take me to discover all these things on my own. I don't think I'd be here, I don't think I'd be able to create anything really. And so, let me share again. So this is the protocol that I currently have. I don't know if you've actually updated it. But the very first thing that it starts with is the spine, right? This is what you're calling filtering out your narrative, or the point of view of the character, telling the story from that perspective. You want to tell us more about that? **Keith:** Yeah, so basically, any fiction I write, it's deep POV, deep point of view. I basically call it everything on the page is from that point of view character's perspective. So if it's this little girl in this story, everything would be filtered through her perspective. So that means the language, how she sees threats, how she sees the world. Everything is in that deep POV. So that would be the spine of the story, that's how I think about it. **Isaac:** Okay. Why do you need to write from the character's point of view? If I'm telling a story, isn't the point of the storytelling for me to either be funny or to just share what I've got to say? Does it have to come from a particular character's point of view? **Keith:** For me, it's just more interesting to read, and more interesting to write. A lot of fiction, if you ask AI to just give me a story about a girl who saves Christmas, it will default to a neutral narrator that describes the scene, describes what's happening, and then there will be snippets of dialogue. That is a standard Western writing convention: you have a scene, within that scene you have characters. You usually have a narrator if it's in third standard person. They call it third person limited POV. That's the standard for Western fiction, so it'll default to that. But when I put in deep POV, then that narrator automatically becomes the character. So the reader just forgets that we're in a story. That's the whole point, maximum immersion. You're going to see everything through the character. How the character sees the world, how they react, how they describe the world. That's the standard. I just think it's a better way to do it. A lot of people will write with that neutral POV and it works. But that's just how I prefer to write stories. **Isaac:** Interesting that you say it's Western style storytelling or writing stories. Have you seen that other places do it differently? **Keith:** Absolutely, yeah. And I'm thinking about this often, recently, just as of yesterday, actually. So there's a book called *Craft in the Real World*. It's by a guy called Matthew Salesses. His name is actually Salesses. **Isaac:** Okay. **Keith:** The point is, he's talking about how most writing is dominated by this Western convention that I'm talking about. And you know it well. You know it because it's the standard. It's the movie three-act structure. You have a plot, you have a villain. Rising action, inciting incident, resolution, all of the movie tropes, basically, that is Western writing canon. But all over the world, there are different ways to tell stories, and they will contrast this with formats over in Japan. Because I know a lot about Japan. That's what I thought of. They won't necessarily have any plot. They'll have more interiority, and the conflict in the story comes from the characters' thinking and interiority, and just the scenario that they're in, not from some external villain that's trying to take over the world. It's just coming from the character trying to survive their situation. **Isaac:** Okay. And so this is something that I'm thinking about heavily. **Keith:** Heavily. **Isaac:** Okay, cool. Yeah. And I know something you mentioned was the full immersion. I think that's something that attracts most readers, and something you don't really get from the traditional standard that you were talking about. Is the technique that you're talking about, telling the story from one character's point of view, the only way to get that full immersion, or have you seen another standard that also provides that full immersion? **Keith:** No, and I was going to follow that up with what's popular right now is first person. If you read contemporary romance novels, which are very popular right now. I don't read them. **Isaac:** Yeah, I doubt you read it. I don't read it either. **Keith:** But the point is that they do this first person present tense to where you basically have a line to the person's thoughts all the time, 24/7, so that's another way to achieve deep POV. I prefer, if I'm gonna sit down and write a standard short story or novel, I prefer that third person because that allows me to describe more of the environment. Right. First person limits you, because if everything's just from my perspective, then I can only see so much in my field of vision. I can think things, I can feel things, but that's really all you're restricted to. But when you go third person, the world opens up a little bit more. **Isaac:** Okay. And then in that, so you're thinking from a character's point of view. You're adding the main players in there. So when you have this part right here, is in part because we're helping the LLM pull out all of the things that it needs to consider when creating this scene orientation. But do you have instances where you've got multiple characters, and you're having this point of view from all of these different characters, or is it just you're telling it from this character's point of view, and that is how the lens is as they interact with all of the other characters? **Keith:** Yeah, so in my first novel, this is pretty much exactly the way I did it. Scene by scene, sometimes I would change POV characters. So you'd have a series of chapters to where it's just this one character, and then all of a sudden the POV shifts, and then maybe that next character will encounter character A. Now it's character B's turn to have the lens, so that's what I was gonna follow up, how this all relates to LLMs telling stories in this way that we're trying to do. It's much better to use something like third person because the AI has context of the world. It doesn't just have to construct the world from a first person point of view. You can, of course, do it with first person. But when I can describe what the room looks like, what the conditions are, just because it's in third person more easily. Then the LLM can take that description and almost use it as a mini prompt within the prose. So I have less work to do than if I was going to do first person where I'm already limited to the character's interiority. And yeah, I can describe and say, I saw the car pass by the road, and then the LLM can do that. But I just feel like if I'm telling a story through LLMs and trying to get to this girl who saves Christmas, we're using that as an example, if I'm trying to get to that and visualize it, then third person is a visualizing perspective. It is the movie perspective, because that's what you see when you watch a movie or a TV show. And that is most people's frame of reference these days is, what would the movie look like? What would the TV show look like? Because they've seen a ton of them, or they know what it looks like on their feeds on social media, so you cater to that. **Isaac:** Okay, good point. Moving on to the emotional pulse. Now, when I think about writing a story, which I don't write many stories. **Trashard:** I was actually going to ask a follow-up question on the scene. So, whenever you're building a scene and the way you communicate that to an LLM versus a human. Are there minimum requirements for an LLM versus maybe the way you would normally explain it to a human being, there's a higher level there of understanding of context for a human being than there is for an LLM. So is there some type of minimum that you have set for LLMs, and what would be the normal process you go through for just building a scene for a human reader? **Keith:** Yeah, great question. So I usually start with an outline of a story, like I outlined a recent short story. I'll start with an outline and then that scene... I start with usually a question, which gives me a theme of the story, and then I break the answers of that question down into scenes, the possible answers to that question. Okay. And different people are going to answer the dramatic or thematic question in a different way, or they're going to have pieces of the answer. So that's how I kind of start building scenes. And this is just one way to build a scene. Then of course you need the characters, what's actually happening in the scene. Right. And I like to ground my scenes in real world stuff. So let's just say I'm waiting for a burrito at a Mexican joint, it's taking too long. That's the frame of the scene. Right. So I'll give it a frame and to answer your question directly, yes, there's more technical stuff because if I was going to describe this scene to you and trying to convince you to read the book, then I would focus on what's going to dramatically happen. What happens in the scene. The LLM doesn't care about that. The LLM needs the nuts and bolts. The dramatic question, the characters. Where does the scene start and end? It's kind of like when you're generating a video with AI. First frame, last frame type of deal. Same thing, except with writing. Where do we start? Where do we want to end? And then in between, generating those beats. There's lots of different ways to do it, but let's just go with beats. Generate the beats, and then that's where this emotional pulse comes in, Isaac, that you're asking about. Because the AI doesn't really know the tone of it. That's where it can really screw up because it was like, okay, we start at the Mexican joint and then we end when he has an argument with his wife. Right. Okay, but what's the tone? Is it silly? Is it serious? So that's where the emotional pulse comes in. I typically give the AI one word. Okay, we want to focus on anxiety. Because he's got a counseling session with his wife. And burrito's taking too long, and now the wife's gonna call, and then we've got a scene right there, we've got a short scene. **Isaac:** Right, right. Okay. Yeah. I think when I think of writing, I mean, I would say in the example you give of waiting for a burrito, I might want to add all of these in there. Anxious, irritated, pissed off, is that something that you should do? Do you want all those emotions or do you want to separate them? **Keith:** Not at once. It doesn't really work at once. I've found that giving it one emotional target, it can at least... because remember, we're dealing with AI here. It doesn't know how to feel these things. These are just words to it. So I want it locked in on one emotion. And if I want to go in and add and tweak to where we're going to move through these different emotions. But the point is that that's the trick, right? If the character's feeling anxiety, you as the reader are going to feel anxiety. It's like, oh, he knows he's got this counseling session with his wife coming up, who is looking forward to a counseling session? All right. Nobody. So if I gave it all three of those: anxiety, longing, irritation, those could be completely different scenes, and it will confuse the AI's tone and its output. So you can go back and layer those things in. But on a first pass, if I was just like, write me one scene, that's how I would do it. **Isaac:** Interesting, because I've seen this in other spaces. But does that mean that a traditional writer, so if you're just somebody who's writing and have all this experience, you can actually layer all these things in, and it would still actually work out. **Keith:** Absolutely, yes. If you want to. I'm not saying that's best practice as far as taking the reader. So if I really wanted to hit all three of those: anxiety, longing, irritation, really focus in. I could do it, but it depends on what I'm trying to achieve with the scene. Is this more of a silly scene? Is it a character introduction scene? Is it a setup? Like, the example we're using is clearly a setup for said counseling session, right? That would be the scene in this fictional story. But is it a setup? Is it an action scene to where we want more movement, more dynamic things going on. In that case, longing would be pretty hard to fit in there because longing doesn't really fit with a lot of movement. So you kind of just balance where do I want to place the emphasis? Because that's where the reader is gonna be. This is where a lot of new writers screw up, right? They try and just put too much stuff, or they're not thinking like this, so they don't realize that your scene went from he's waiting for a burrito to instantly he's in a street fight. Why? I guess it sounds cool, but what's the point with the whole story? You got to try and make everything fit in. **Isaac:** Yeah, I feel like that's what I see in a lot of AI stuff now where the characters are in one thing and then all of a sudden they jump to a completely different thing. But that makes a lot of sense. **Keith:** Exactly. And where the real writing happens for me is in between those things. The beats, the standard plot points are easy for people to come up with. I know I want to get my character from the Mexican joint to home. And that's easy. A to B. But what happens in between? And then how do you present that to the reader? And then that's where the AI really starts to screw up sometimes or really shows its ass because it doesn't know how to fill in those things. It just knows, okay, I know the burrito place. I know the house. I can do that, but then the in between, you gotta decide how you're going to get there. **Isaac:** Okay. Dope. All right, next one, craft device of the chapter. I'm kind of lost on this one. You want to explain more on it? Is it just you're picking a device to use to set up the entire story or... **Keith:** Yeah. No, not really. So this is more of a craft style thing. I put it in there for two reasons. One, I just wanted to practice more craft devices. This was my training rep, so to speak. All right. But then also it gives ideas for how we are going to get from A to B, what type of... we don't want to just move in a straight line. There's two ways to move. I can just walk to the next plot point, or I can moonwalk to the next plot point. I can shuffle around, I can make it look cool, right? That's what we're going for. Style. Because that's where a lot of different writers stand out, so when you say I want a metaphor chain, I want a motif repetition. I want to introduce some irony in here. That doesn't mean that you reach for the textbook example of that, but that's what the AI will do, but then that means it's going to throw in a motif repetition and a motif, all it is is a recurring theme, recurring sentence. I'm reading *The Giver* right now, right? *The Giver*, young adult, 90s dystopian sci-fi novel. And one of the things that's repeated is "and back and back and back." And this is how the giver who's relating to Jonas, the young protagonist. How he relates to things that were way before the period, before the novel started, where things are kind of weird and screwed up. So, "and back and back and back." Anyway, that's motif repetition. So anyway, let's say it would throw that in there, a motif. And then now I can play with that. I can flip it on its head, I can change it, I can shorten it, I can lengthen it. So, bottom line is this craft device is... It gives me something to work with than just regular prose. It just gives me ideas for, hmm, that's kind of a cool way to say that, or to present that plot point. **Isaac:** Yeah. It's more interesting. It makes a lot of sense now that you describe it, because as I've used this probably multiples and multiples of time, just crafting stories that I can turn into something, I've seen that a lot of it will end up including just symbolic objects or metaphors. It uses metaphors a lot in the stories. And I never know what to do with them. But now that you're talking about, oh, you actually want to have those and then craft them to fit the chapter. That makes a lot of sense, because I'm usually just like, why is it always doing this? **Keith:** And this is where the game gets fun because you get to layer these things. We layer these craft things on top of deep POV. So let's say the POV is the husband that's coming home and getting ready to face the counseling session. So now the way he sees the world. What type of metaphor chain would he have? What would he think? How would he see irony? It's going to be different from character to character, so you can play with that. **Isaac:** Okay. **Keith:** Yeah. And I love that. These things stack. And so I'll say one thing about using these with LLMs though. As you said, it loves metaphors and the metaphors be crazy sometimes. These metaphors... all the time, yeah. He saw the clouds, and it reminded him of time's hammer beating down on him. Time, his hammer, what? Doing crazy like that, so you have to be clear, and this is where I know, because I've seen a lot of AI-generated fiction, I've seen a lot of AI-generated text, period. And so I know where the AI is just going to reach for a metaphor. Lazy ass, metaphor. Oh. **Isaac:** That makes a lot of sense. That makes a lot of sense. Because, remember the candlelight video that we did a while back? **Keith:** Right. **Isaac:** It kept trying to hammer that that was a metaphor for the light within them. And the two people, and it kept trying to make it so heavy and I didn't know what to do with it. **Keith:** Yeah, that's going too hard, man. **Isaac:** All right, random word injection. This doesn't actually make sense, and I don't know how to use it. So in that video, you will see that in the scene where the parents get frozen, there is an amber ball that rolls out. Amber was the random word that came out of it. But then I didn't know what to do with it because I've still got a lot to learn in storytelling in general, right? I'm more like I know a lot about AI and I'm starting to just pick up different things in terms of storytelling. And it had that amber in there, the word in there. And AI interpreted and had this ball that's just chilling there red. And I was like, okay, well, what do I do next? First, why do you put that in there? And then second, how are you actually using it and flipping it so that it works into the story? **Keith:** Okay, two things here. You were a victim of AI laziness, man. Because Amber, I would smack my AI. You know not to use that word. What are you doing? No. So this is another thing that's just for me. I just love words. It's one of the reasons why I started writing fiction and writing books. I just like different words. So what I do is I grab this bad boy right here, and I just grab my own random word. And it's for me. Not only do I learn new words, but it also challenges me as a writer, right? Because if I get some random word like yesterday's random word was tackling. Like fishing tackling. **Isaac:** How are you picking these though? Are you actually just opening in a random spot and putting your finger to the page? **Keith:** Yeah, no, I have a system, I have a system to where I can select random words from this dictionary. And then I will pick the random word, and if I don't know what it is, I'll look it up and some of them are very interesting. Some of them just plain words, but it challenges me as a writer, because then all of a sudden I'm like, okay, if I can't use tackling is a very weird word. It's a very niche, very specific type of word. Okay, maybe I can use it in a metaphor. Maybe I can deconstruct it like ling, cackle, maybe I can get something close to what it is. Something like that, you know? It allows for play. So that's the main reason I put it in. It's another craft strengthening thing because when you force yourself to use a different word, then all of a sudden your writing is going to have to change around that word and then trying to stuff it in the context of an existing story makes it even tougher. We're not just writing abstract sentences. I want sentences for the story that I'm working on. So where this messes up with AI is that AI has a list of several words that it would just be like, oh, random word, easy. Amber. My know better than that. **Isaac:** Okay. **Keith:** But I take that amber out of your mouth. **Isaac:** Do you find that this random word injection adds depth? **Keith:** It can, it can. Yeah. The AI is not very good at using random words creatively, I will say. So sometimes it will stuff it... let's say I gave it tackling and said, okay, we're going to write the scene. The random word is tackling. It will do some off the wall stuff like "and she was thinking of Christmas and her dad and her mom and her fishing tackling that she was going to get the next..." **Isaac:** Right. I've seen that! It does that. **Keith:** Exactly. And so, that's where you, as a craft writer, have to go back in, and that's where I go back in and say, okay, obviously, this does not make sense in our deep POV, and that's why I said these things stack, right? DPOV, our metaphor chain, this does not make sense for a 7-year-old to be thinking about fishing tackling. So maybe I would try and find another way, or sometimes I just don't force it. I won't use it at all. I would just take it out. But it's just one of those things that, as I'm sitting down writing, it forces me to think about what I'm gonna write in a different way. **Isaac:** Absolutely. **Keith:** Used to think outside the box. **Isaac:** Cool. All right, I gotta remember that, because the amber ball sitting there is way too random, especially in a dark Christmas movie, and yeah, I didn't know what to do with it. Optional scene starter. This is so... **Keith:** Yeah. I think a lot about opening sentences, especially in a novel, to where you're gonna have a lot of these and the whole point is to pull the reader into the scene immediately. I'm not starting with... you'll notice a lot of AI generated writing starts with "His name was Bob, and he lived in the thing," and it starts with a description. Description is the worst way to start any scene. It's so boring, especially when you're in the middle of something. I never use it. It's textbook stuff. It's average. So when we start with a sensory detail or micro-conflict when we start with emotional disturbance, whatever. Then it automatically... if I started our fictional scene of the guy going for counseling, like "He knew he had to send the email. He still was trying to formulate that email to the counselor about the issues with his wife." All right. If I start with that scene, it already pulls you in because you're like, why is he seeing a counselor? What's the issue with the wife? there's so many questions. **Isaac:** Right, so you're creating a curiosity gap. **Keith:** Absolutely, yeah, and that's where we want to start. And that's just one example. Maybe you want to go action. Maybe it's like "A knife flew right by his head." And that's it. **Isaac:** Is that the same as the hook? **Keith:** Yeah. Yeah, that's a hook. It's a hook to that scene. Yep. **Isaac:** And why do you say use only if you're stuck? Is that because you normally are able to just come up with these and then... **Keith:** That is a direction to the LLM. All right. Why shouldn't it do it all the time? Basically telling it, don't mess with this part. It gets it wrong, man. There are some things that it's just not good at and it gets lazy with this. It will not give you stuff that's interesting to people for the context of your deep POV of all the other things, like I said, all this stuff stacks, right? It's not going to do it. Most of the time I don't think I've ever used an opening that the AI's given me. **Isaac:** Interesting. **Keith:** For any scene in a short story. And by the way, these scene starters, this is basically how you write songs, by the way, because songs are basically all hooks. You need a hook, you need a bar for pretty much all your lines. In addition to making them fit within a container, it's the same thing, except it's a smaller container for a song. **Isaac:** Interesting. Yeah, I actually want to go play around with this because I think that seems like a really important part of building scenes. And as somebody who's just learning the craft. A lot of the stuff that I do, I use LLMs for. And so because I'm always trying to figure out how do I automate a whole bunch of my processes, right? How do I get LLM to get me partway there so that I'm not coming manually all the time, but I love what you said about it. **Keith:** Yeah, and one last thing on the scene starters, I would wait until the scene is written to write the starter. So that it has some context. **Isaac:** Yeah. **Keith:** Until it's almost finalized. It should be, if you're in drafting mode I would draft it and then I would read the draft and then I would make changes and then I would go back and write the scene starter. Because you don't lock yourself in. If you start with a sensory detail or whatever, maybe by the end it doesn't work with what actually happens... because another thing a scene starter, these are so important, by the way. **Isaac:** Right. **Keith:** Because they usually determine if the reader chokes off, or if they keep reading. That's why I think about these a lot. But, it also should, if it can, hint at what's gonna happen in the scene. It should almost summarize sometimes what the scene is about. It should give some kind of clue to the reader about, here's where we're going, here's what you're gonna see based on this starting scene. And you could do that with a word, it can be a long sentence, it just depends on how you're starting it and what that scene does. That's why I say you wait until you're done. Because then you can give the best... what did we actually do in this scene? And then where do I want the reader to be emotionally, as they're reading it. So you gotta wait. **Isaac:** Okay. All right, drafting methods. Pure flow. Is that just because once you get this deep, you're all the way in and you're just working through the night or... **Keith:** Honestly, I don't know why that's there. **Isaac:** Okay. Right straight through. So begin with tension and then maintain the POV consistency, go forward. **Keith:** Right. I think it's there because in the beginning and the models have gotten so much better at this, but in the beginning, you did have to kind of step models through because maybe they couldn't handle the full scene. Some scenes are a thousand words, some scenes might be 4,000 words, and the model would literally get lazy. Be like, hey, done. Generated the scene like no, you ain't done. Get back on that, man. So I think that was more of a problem in the past. And I think I made this probably last year. So it's been a good 8, 9 months. **Isaac:** Almost two years ago, actually, I think when, because this was way at the beginning. And then we started using it to start building some of the... **Keith:** Right, exactly. So the models have improved to where most of the flagship models can complete a full scene. It doesn't matter how long it is, unless you're basically trying to write a whole book, which is a bad idea. **Isaac:** Cool. Oh, here we go. All right, let's go into the meat, the dialogue part. How are you picking dialogue? Is this after things have come to be? Because if you talk about the fictional scene that we were just talking about... for me I wouldn't know where to really begin, right? Because there's so many layers that you're trying to build on top of it, and then now it's like, well, how do I express that through dialogue? **Keith:** Right. I mean, my thing with dialogue with LLMs is 95% of it trash. It's not good. It's corny. **Isaac:** Is that because it doesn't write from real people's perspective or is it just... **Keith:** Exactly. It doesn't know real people. All it knows is what is read on the internet and then it's crunching that down to what the tropes are depending on what the context is. But I just don't like... and dialogue is my specialty, I'm damn good at dialogue. I am constantly listening to how people talk just in my regular life. I'm constantly like their cadence, their flow. People just talk in a million different ways. And the LLM cannot capture that. It just knows stilted one-way delivery. It damn sure can't put jokes in there. And I like writing jokes too. Not like setup punchline like stand-up comedian, but I like my dialogue to be funny and snappy most of the time. And of course, there's times where it's descriptive and it's long and it's flowing, but I've tried a million different ways, man, with dialogue. **Isaac:** Is it that it is plain or like... **Keith:** It's plain, it boring. Every time I read LLM dialogue, I'm just like, I want to throw it out, man. If it was physical, I want to kick it down and just be like, what are you doing, man? It's so bad. **Isaac:** I remember how mad you got at, we won't mention names, but we had worked with in the past that had an LLM write an entire story. It was a book, right? And you were reading through this, the story and the dialogues and you just... **Keith:** I torched it, man. **Isaac:** You came talking was just like, there's no way that this guy actually wrote anything in here. I don't think he read it. **Keith:** Impossible. Impossible. Because if you just read a few pages of it, you would see. Tell me one person that you know that talks like this. Name me one person. You can't name nobody because nobody talks like that. And I think that's the hard part about dialogue for a lot of writers is they want their dialogue... you have two different types of writers. Ones that want their dialogue to sound very sophisticated and very on trope or on genre, whatever they're writing. And then you have other people who don't really know how to write dialogue, so they just kind of stuff things in there. And this is without AI. They just kind of write things and like, oh, I think they would say this. They're thinking about it too mechanically. And I would tell anybody who's trying to learn how to write dialogue... **Isaac:** That's me. **Keith:** Okay, I'll tell you. Think about the people you know. Think about the closest person you know. To the character that you're trying to portray. How do they talk? Start there. And then expand from there, because nobody... and that's the thing where another mistake a lot of writers make with dialogue is that they put too much in there. You have to cut when you're trying to tell a story. Certain things, these little asides, these little things, if you're trying to tell it in the traditional story Western format. If you put too much stuff that doesn't pertain to where you're actually trying to steer the scene, then the reader just loses interest because they're like, what are they actually saying? Why are all these breaks and weird things and all unless you're deliberately trying to do that. But you have to... dialogue is both taste and curation. You want to curate what this character you think they sound like, or what you want them to sound like, and then you have to trim what needs to be in there for the story. You need to do both. **Isaac:** Right, right. **Keith:** And the AI is bad at both of those things. It doesn't know how to trim and it doesn't know how to pick them. **Trashard:** So, whenever you're writing through your own lens or perspective, is there ever a time, let's say you decide to write about a character, you don't have a reference, you don't have a person in your life that would be a reference for this character? How do you go about trying to build the understanding around that character. **Keith:** I would find a reference. Always. Yeah, because you want it to come from somewhere. It needs to be embodied because that's how you make real sounding dialogue. It's got to come from something. Because otherwise you end up like the LLM who doesn't know what real dialogue sounds like, so it just puts words in quotes, and then calls it dialogue, and puts a dialogue tag. That's exactly what LLMs do. And you end up with said example that Isaac brought. **Isaac:** And, well, I mean, I feel like there's kind of levels, right? So, as a beginner, I feel like usually I'm more focused on the entire story. And so the dialogue that I put in there is mostly just to fill a spot for what's happening in the whole and I don't think about what kind of cadence should be there, what emotions am I trying to draw? Why is it a conflict? Why would there even be a conflict when if there's going to be a conflict, it's a main conflict within the entire story, right? So then for me to put that stuff in feels like now I gotta think outside the box, go outside of just me writing a story and bring in some more context there. **Keith:** Right. And I just thought of while you were speaking, that's a good point. Why are they talking at all? Maybe they don't need to say anything. And that the character as well. Some characters, just like some people, they're not very verbose. They're not gonna say a lot. So, then you find other ways to describe, because everybody has a way that they prefer to communicate. And some of them, some people, it's not through talking. That's not their main thing. So you wouldn't use a lot of dialogue there. But and that's another thing I'll say where you said it kind of hurt me a little when you said I just put in dialogue to fill the space because that is the one thing you should not do. If you don't want them to say nothing, don't make them say nothing. Are you always talking in your life? No! It's times where you're just sitting there. I'm trying to write a story, man. What do you want? And my point is, you don't need dialogue, just like all these other things we talked about, these are all tools. You don't need all the tools all the time. Sometimes no dialogue is where it's at. That's exactly what you want is a camera view, a totally cinematic view, a fight. There's not going to be a lot of dialogue there. It just depends on the circumstances. But then when you do insert dialogue, you have to make it both somewhat real and relatable, but then you need to shape it to where it's actually doing what you want it to do, which my main thing is, I want the dialogue to push the plot, like the character is saying something about, okay, the story is going here. I want the dialogue to reveal character, and this is a harder one, because that goes into cadence, the flow, how much they're talking, how little they're talking, what type of vernacular they're using. Are they using street slang? Or are they talking more professionally? There's a wide range. And those are the two... no, world building. That's another reason I would use dialogue. If the character is saying something that reveals more about... So in our example of the husband with the counselor. You know we've already seen this counselor three times and nothing's changed. That's a good line of dialogue because, okay, now the reader knows they've seen the counselor three times. Nothing's changed. We still don't know what the problem is. We got a hook. Perfect line of dialogue. Therapy sucks. We all know it's not fun. **Isaac:** Right, and it just... **Keith:** No, but if I was writing my dialogue would be, I'll punch you in your face. **Isaac:** Right. And in a fight scene, though, right? **Keith:** Yeah, and you could use that if, once again, if that is what the character calls for. And once again, we go all the way back to the beginning of this deep interiority. Is that how the character expresses themselves in the world? If it is, that would be a good line of dialogue. So those are the three kind of: World building, pushing the plot forward, and character revelation. What does this dialogue say? And if you follow those three things, your dialogue will be better. But if it's coming from LLM, it'll still probably be bad. You still got to go ahead. **Trashard:** So, as far as you're describing these, these seem, at least from the list I can see here, this seems like high-level directives? And talking about what LLMs produce on their own, Do you often have to go back after the LLM and just do it manually, or is it something you've been able to get to a more automated process. **Keith:** All the time. Honestly, of all the stories that I've written with AI or with AI assistants, I've only done it once to where the dialogue was okay, this works. And I have a whole thing I call story spinner. That basically creates skeletons and sketches of characters, and within that sketch is a way that the character talks, and that's how I got that output. I basically said character A talks like this, character B talks a different way, character C talks another way. And then the LLM did a good job. This was with Gemini, by the way. I feel like Gemini is the best at varying up its writing. I don't think it's the best writer, but I think it's the best at making it seem like this is something unique, and it doesn't have the standard LLM trappings of repetition, just repeating itself too much. But yeah, I almost 100% all the time will go back and rewrite dialogue, especially. Because I know I'm good at it. I like it. And I know the LLMs probably didn't do a good job. **Isaac:** Okay. Good point. Linked logic. I keep everything short, but what's your thinking around this? Is it just all... I know these are instructions to the LLM to kind of get stuff going, but does that also depend on all of the above? What we've just gone through with all of these other tools? **Keith:** Yeah, it just depends. If you're writing to spec, if you're writing to the standard Western conventions then, yeah, this is something you want to think about. If I'm trying to write a Kindle Unlimited page turner romantasy, then shorter chapters might be better. Literary, speculative, yeah, you can go longer, but these are just guidelines, as they say. Just to keep the LLM on track and like I said, now, today, the LLMs... I might take this out. **Isaac:** Really? **Keith:** Because they just automatically know that, okay, I want... oh yeah, yeah. They just know like if I was conceiving a romantic travel series. I was conceiving one just this past week. And so I was like, how long are the chapters for these type? What's the going rate? And it was like, oh, 2,000 words, 2500 words a chapter. It already knows this. And so now, since the flagship models are agentic by nature, meaning they take multiple steps just to get to your answer. Then one of the steps, if I say I want to write a romance travel series, one of the steps is what are the standards for romance travel on Amazon. So you probably don't need this anymore. This stuff goes deep. **Isaac:** Yeah. There's so much within all this. Okay. Smoothing pass. This is just you coming back and saying, hey, now that you've drafted something, come back and start changing things, make sure the characters are consistent. Make sure the plot is still intact and you know the emotional sensation you're trying to get out is still there. That's what this is for. **Keith:** Yeah, exactly. **Isaac:** And does it still do a good job of doing that? **Keith:** It does okay. What I would do with this today that I would change... this was all meant for one shot, right? Giving one of the LLMs. I would do this step, but with a different model. **Isaac:** Really? Like you would write all this and then pass it somewhere else and say, hey, go and do the smoothing go do the drafting right first. **Keith:** Yeah. I would go through the steps and I would generate our scene and then let's say I generate a scene in ChatGPT. I would go to Gemini and say, okay. You do this. **Isaac:** Interesting. **Keith:** Because then you're going to get because they all kind of think are architected slightly differently. And so then you'll get... and then I would also give it context for the story, by the way. I would give it the outline, I would give it, here's the genre, here's what I'm going for, what is my goal with what I'm writing? And then it will do a better job at not only dealing with the technical stuff, like the repetition and all those things that LLMs do sometimes. But then it will do a better job of giving me that upgraded version of what I'm looking for. **Isaac:** Okay, cool. Yeah I think that's actually a really good idea. I do that with a lot of things. Especially if the context starts to get pretty long. It's good to have another AI's point of view of just drafting stuff up. Formats, chapter formats, output formats. This is, again, instructions for the LLMs. But why include emotional pulse and all of these things that we've already talked about in terms of format. And what do you mean by format? **Keith:** This is an internal prompt. Basically when you're writing a novel, re-reading every scene is very time-costly. So this gives me the scene metadata. So I can just, at a glance say, what was the scene about? Oh, it was this character. This was what was happening in the scene. Here's the emotion we were going for. Here's the literary device. So I know all of that stuff is in there. And it's just like reading the properties on a file. I don't have to click into the file. I can just read. So this is an internal best practice. I learned the hard way. **Isaac:** And I've found really useful, by the way, because as I'm thinking about how to translate these scenes to the next stage of the video production. Oftentimes if the story is a certain length, I kind of need to have something really simple that I can just say, well, okay, here's all the stuff that's happening within the scene. So I kind of have an idea of what the story is really trying to tell because all of these things really tell the story. **Keith:** Exactly. **Isaac:** And so I thought that was amazing for you to put in there. **Keith:** It's great for AI too. Yeah, it doubles because the AI likes this information too. Because then I can just kind of take this and say to another chat thread... Because that's the dreaded part of writing longer fiction with AI is your chat thread gets stale, and you know how it goes. It starts chugging along. And so it's like, okay, now I know I'm gonna have to switch chats. They've made it a little bit easier, but this was something for more of an old school, okay, it's going to run out of context, I'm gonna have to re-explain what we just did so I can continue working. This just copy and paste it over. We just wrote this scene. Now, next command. **Isaac:** Okay. Yep. Right. And it's probably the same. I mean, it's just going through with all these, right? The chapter itself, optional, one sentence engineering hook. This would be, I imagine it would be great for somebody who's actually going in and changing making sure the story is top notch. **Keith:** Exactly. Yeah, this was basically the end hook, which I'd argue is not as important as the beginning, but still important, right? Because you still want to, you know that next chapter in the traditional setup of architecture of a story, you want to make sure that next chapter is set up. It's teed up to where they're like, oh, we ended like this. Now you just got to go to the next page to see how it's going to continue. **Isaac:** And this is, I imagine this is the same, right? Global style principles. Is this going through the entire story again and then making sure that the tension is there or is this kind of a second pass type of thing? **Keith:** Oh, okay. These are just general rules that I like. And these are just personal preference that I like my writing to have. You know, we've talked a lot about deep POV. Sensory body language, yeah, the AI can get hung up on that sometimes and overdo it, but yeah, I like that dialogue character. Yeah, this is all basically... This is the summarized style guide for when it's generating the full scene. That's what these are. **Isaac:** I mean, what if I wanted... I feel like if we give you these instructions, do you think it's always going to come up with the same kind of styles right? Or is there a way to kind of make it generic so that if somebody does put it in there, that it'll go towards a specific type of style to put throughout this entire story? **Keith:** Yeah, I would say if you want it more generic, just take this out. Okay. Just don't feed it to the AI. I mean, like I said, this is my how I generally think of when I envision a full scene on the page on the screen. This is what I want it to have. This is what I like. But, you know, you vary it to taste. **Isaac:** Cool. I think that's it for all of them. Is there anything that you have now started to incorporate into your normal process or things that you're just like, hey, now that I've come this far, I don't even use these anymore because I've got a completely different way of doing it. **Keith:** Oh yeah, man, I've had several evolutions of this. The latest, what I've gotten to is I can write... like just yesterday I conceived an essay at lunch. And I published it that lunch on Wednesday, and I published it yesterday on my website. By lunch. **Isaac:** So people will say that you're rushing through the process. Like your stuff is just going to be crap if you do that. How are you doing to actually... cause you're a deep writer you know what's going on. Right? So it's not like you're just gonna put out crap, right? I heard it kind of eats at you writers to kind of spend so much time trying to make these small little details and make the thing perfect, so I don't imagine you're just throwing crap out there, so... **Keith:** No. **Isaac:** Like, how are you actually doing this this quickly? **Keith:** So now I have three different passes. Basically, this is why I don't really use this type of style guide anymore. One, because I've used the LLMs enough to where they know my style. I can just hand it my latest manuscript of my novel or my latest essay idea, or my latest scene idea, and it kind of picks up what I'm putting down very quickly. That's where the model improvements come in. They all have intelligence, they all have global context across chats. That makes it a lot easier. So it makes it faster. That's just based on my history with AI, which I pretty much use ChatGPT and Gemini primarily every day. Second thing is three passes. So the first pass is to get a sense of the story. So I've done this two ways, by the way. The first one I'll describe the nonfiction essay that I did, and then I'll describe the fiction because I haven't done the fiction as recently. Nonfiction. All my stuff is voice. I start with voice. And I just kind of flow with because I think out loud. I would just talk. This is what I thought about this. And then my ChatGPT knows to just summarize the idea, distill it, whatever. And then it'll be like, that's a great essay hook, because it knows that's where I'm going with a lot of my stuff when I talk to it. Then let's say I generate, I say, you know what, this is essay worthy. Generate a draft based on this thread. So it automatically gives it structure, automatically synthesizes what I got. And so we end up with the generic AI output. The next pass, and this is alpha, man. This is brand new. The second pass is the injection pass. **Isaac:** Wait, hold on. So when you say generic, because I don't really do passes like that, but as somebody who's a writer, you can tell AI writing from people that are actually good at it. Is this first pass, the generic pass, what most people consider the, I've got a publishable book now, out in the wild... **Keith:** Yes, this is where I'd say 95% of people will stop because they will say it generated, it got my thoughts, it got my ideas. I'm going to publish this. This is amazing. That's just run with it. Okay, so step two, this is the Keith Hayden method. Step two is the injection pass because I've been talking into ChatGPT, it already has my language, my cadence, how I describe things. It already has all of that. So I'm like I should just have it inject real language that I said into its sterilized distilled language. Really. This may seem like a small thing, but is a game changer. Because what it does is it puts the real me in there without me having to go and rewrite, because before what I used to do, and I did this for a long time, is I would have taken that raw generated generic output, and I would have rewritten the entire thing. **Isaac:** Right, because sometimes you're fumbling words or you can't really think of something. **Keith:** Yeah, exactly. I can't use my raw text-to-speech transcript. It just doesn't work. And then I've tried the whole trying to pick out this is what I said that was good. No, man, it doesn't work. I've done that. I'm way past that. So I used to have to rewrite, and even rewriting takes a long time, because you're going line by line and say, I like this, I don't like this, and then I just come up with new ideas as I'm... it's a very slow process. So this new process automatically shoves in what I said anyway into the AI's output. So that's a time save. Then there's a third pass. And the third pass is going up against my actual writing corpus. And I think I mentioned this to you, that I created a writing corpus based on, yeah, I think I mentioned this to you last week. So I have a corpus of... **Isaac:** I was mind-blown, by the way. **Keith:** Yeah, I haven't even told you about the LLM experiment, man. Anyway, so I take that corpus and I say, I want you to Keith-ize this. You have all the stuff from my website for two years worth. You have several novels in there, you have several blog posts. You know exactly how I write. Make this... now it has the injections. It has the base of the structure of the argument and of the essay. Now Keith-ize it and write it like I would write it. And that third pass, money. Money because that's how you end up with... there's an essay on my website just now that I just published yesterday with that in a day. A 2,000 plus word essay. Based on this for nonfiction. We're not talking about fiction. There's a different process for fiction. But yeah, that's how you end up with this. **Isaac:** Wow. **Keith:** And so... and then, of course, I would do a pass with... and I did do a pass and it took me a few hours to do my pass of after I got the Keith-ized version. Now I need to go back in and make it specific. Add examples because the AI is very generic. It does not have global context. So that's where I come in, adjust it to taste, sprinkle this out, take this repetition out. I don't want that anymore, and then publish. **Isaac:** Okay. So when I go in I take the instructions or whatever, and then I end up putting them into the sources section of GPT, right? So I create a custom project and then I would put whatever rules that are there and I would give it instructions, right? So you could come in here and basically edit whatever it is that the instructions you give this particular model and what it should output. Is this what you're doing when you're doing that? Or are you using something completely different to... because when you're talking about these passes, I would imagine that these are essentially three different projects, right? So you would have the first pass project, the second pass, with all of their instructions in there, and maybe some of your previous manuscripts or whatever works there are, and the links for your websites and stuff. Or are you doing something completely different when you're doing that? **Keith:** Honestly, man, I don't even use projects. I do have my corpus loaded into a Claude project. But usually, I just use the main chat window. I don't use any... within like I said, they've gotten so much more powerful. The context across threads, and of course, I just did all of this within one day, so it had that fresh context of when I initially conceived of this essay. So I didn't even need to do any additional explaining. **Isaac:** Oh. Yeah. I think, by the way, ChatGPT's cross chat context is probably the best. It's the best at actually remembering. **Keith:** Yeah, it is really good at that. The others are... they're okay. But ChatGPT is the best for continuous workflow. Definitely. **Isaac:** Yeah, it learns you really well, especially since I've used it a lot. It makes it really hard to go to the other LLMs for specific things. Like I journal a lot, right? And sometimes I'll go use ChatGPT as a sparring partner. And so it's become really good at just understanding where I'm trying to go, but also trying to challenge me. Whereas if I go to other LLMs, take the same instructions, put them there, it's like it's almost like a fight. Like, no, that's not where I'm trying to go. It just messes everything up because they haven't learned that. And I wonder if it's the same where I spent that much time, they would actually get to it. Maybe. **Trashard:** And I think that's something I was having a problem with when I first moved over to Claude. And over time, Claude actually picked up on how I communicate, the ideas I have, and it actually got better at working with me, being that person on the other side of the table, to push back on ideas, or battle, the way that you're talking about, that you get that from ChatGPT. **Keith:** And honestly, I just have not used Claude. I don't use Claude. The reason why I stick with ChatGPT as my main is because the audio, the text to speech is unmatched. **Trashard:** That is amazing. Yeah. **Keith:** It's a massive window. I can literally talk for 10 minutes straight. And it will capture all of it. **Trashard:** It will. Yeah. **Keith:** It won't censor. Gemini, you have the problem of censorship. If you say words like \[swear\] and \[swear\], it will censor those things. That's annoying, and it just cuts off after 5 or 2 minutes, and this is... I'm surprised, but their speech to text is not as good. It's not as accurate. That's ChatGPT. **Isaac:** Which is surprising because it's Google, but ChatGPT is on point. **Keith:** Yeah, it's the perfect, especially for me, who is a writer who knows a lot of these words I want to translate to stories, to essays, whatever. I want an accurate capture. And with the others, I just can't get that. **Isaac:** And so when you say that you... so you talk to the LLM and it just takes your raw text. In using those raw texts, are you having it go pick out specific things based on your instructions, or is it a "Hey, I have this idea," it'll take out the chunk of the idea and go place it in. **Keith:** Zero instructions man. They've gotten so good. I don't have to give any instructions. Like I said, my ChatGPT is trained that it knows that I'm a writer. It knows I'm a novelist, it knows that I'm a thinker. So it automatically is thinking, this would make a great essay seed. This is what it's already helping me sharpen to the point of publishing these ideas in a structured manner. And so I don't have to tell it anything. All I do, like the one I just published yesterday, I was like after I had enough, okay, I feel like I do want to publish this as an essay. I just said write the draft based on this thread, no additional instructions. **Isaac:** Really? Just put your idea in there, write the draft. **Keith:** Right. That's it. **Isaac:** All right. **Keith:** Nope. And by the way, for fiction, it's the exact same process, but you have to do more front end work. And I actually just tried this in Google Playground just earlier this week, I think. I wrote a pretty good short story based on one of my journal entries, because that's another thing I do. I journal constantly. For this whole month, I've been running an experiment. I'm saving all of my AI chats. All of them. In real time. So I will talk, copy-paste to the document it does its synthesis, copy-paste to my journal document. I've been doing this all month. **Isaac:** What's the point? What's your intention in saving all that? Is that so that you could have the LLM have it in the background no matter where you go with different models and stuff, or is it more like you know, so I can remember how a certain conversation went and I want to go pick out stuff from that for raw stories, or essays... **Keith:** It's memory partially, but it's more like because I've been doing this for the last year since ChatGPT's Audio, speech-to-text became really good. So I have so many chats that are just sitting on OpenAI. I don't have my data. I could download it, but it takes forever. But this past month, now I have exactly what I said so I can pull to a short story. I can pull to an essay. I can just go back in and say now I want to write about this or I want to think about this again. So it's a nice documentation and archive type of practice, but I mean, of course, you have to go through the pain of doing it in real time, but I'm able to immediately start translating because that's all to me, AI is the ultimate translation machine and we're not just talking about translation English to Spanish or something like that. It can translate anything into anything. You want to go from raw journals to a short story. You want to go from raw journals to a guide. You can, it just the remixing never ends. And when you have it at your fingertips, all I have to do is open a Google Doc. And I think I told you last week that I created a workflow using Claude's API to where it'll just read that previous day's journal entries. And then synthesize it overnight. I wake up 5 in the morning. It has a morning brief for me. You could write this today. This would be the best use of what you collected yesterday. Here are some additional things to think about, and I can just sit down and write. It's a prep cook metaphor. Prep cook goes in, cut all the tomatoes, cut all that lettuce. I ain't gonna do that. I'm coming in, I get the fire hot. I'm just going to cook. **Isaac:** It's the same thing. Exactly. You're at the right seasonings that you want, all the things that just prepared for you to create your recipe. **Keith:** Exactly. So with the fiction process, there's more work on the front end to be done. If you want a good story, if you care about not getting a generic output. And what I did was I did my story spinner, I created my characters, I created what the story was gonna be about, so what's at the thematic level, what's the tone of the story, what's kind of the rough genre of the story, because I found that if you tell... I hate this when they do this, but if you tell it a genre, like I say sci-fi, I write a lot in sci-fi. Then it'll do some type of sci-fi thing to where we're on the space station and the steam came out. What is the steam like? I don't want that, I don't write that type of sci-fi, but once again, it's just using the tropes that it knows. Most of my sci-fi is real-world, regular world, but we have robots and LLMs. We can play with that anyway. So I give it those things and then once it has a huge chunk of instructions, like these are the characters, this is how they talk. This is what I'm going for with the story, then it's creating an outline, or I might even create what I call a spec sheet. A spec sheet is let's say I'm having a chat. And then I come up with a short story. Hmm, that would make a good short story idea. There's a ton of ideas on the table. And I don't want to just jump straight to outline. I used to jump straight to outline. I don't do that anymore because I just lose all of my ideas where I might want to remix a story later. So the spec sheet allows me to capture what's already in the thread. And then I have this bundle of ideas. And now with the outline I'm going to shape it even more to get to where I can actually start generating scene by scene. And then it would be just generations scene by scene. But you have to do that work upfront to define the characters, define basically what it's about, and give it a target, because if not, it will default to the generic tropes of whatever genre. **Isaac:** Cool. Well, that was amazing, man. I mean, you've got some deep knowledge in this space, and I think it's been interesting. Even a lot of the stuff that you've talked about, I'm learning a lot right now as we're talking real time, because I thought I was learning before when we were working and you were explaining the process and how things were done, but I guess it's an evolving thing. **Keith:** It is. **Isaac:** Like you're growing as a person and as a writer, and a lot of that is... And this is the side is there now. It's like you can just spit it out like this. **Keith:** Exactly, man, and this is the side of AI that I wish more people could see. And there's just not enough people, because everybody uses AI differently, or they don't use AI and they're anti-AI. But this type of... you know, I just read a take last night where AI takes your critical thinking. It makes you think less. It does all this. I'm like, I feel sorry. I feel sorry for you, my brother, because not me. The way I'm using it, I have made my marriage better. I've made my writing better. I've made a whole different practice, and now I'm moving into more of a spiritual thing. Not that the AI is God or anything, but it's more like I'm developing a personal creed that I'm refining is a totally personal thing that I'm creating for myself to navigate the world through. And then the AI has that context. So when I talk about this in a way that I'm like, yeah, this is really what I believe. This is what I want to codify for myself in my mind and in my heart. Then the AI can help me get it to where this is how I can think about it, it can distill it. So once again, if I said that to the wrong person, it'd be like you pray into AI now. **Isaac:** Yeah, being controlled, yeah, you're brainwashed. **Keith:** You worshiping the devil. No. But it's not that. It's opening up these different things, and because humans, we're generally bad at long-term memory, specific long-term memory. We can recall things, but not to the level to where we can actually grab it again and think about it after it has passed, and it's become even harder today because there's always new stuff entering your field of vision to where you have to break that down and process. Okay, what do I do with this now? What do I do with that? So what the AI is doing for me is it's acting as this... I'll use the AI's language. Prosthetic for the mind. It's a mind prosthetic. **Isaac:** Second brain. **Keith:** Yeah, it's a second brain, but not in the sense of a productivity type of thing. More of like it's almost a second imagination, a second way of thinking to where it can be like, remember, Keith, you talked about this last week, and it doesn't do this by itself, but I can easily go back and see, especially since I'm saving my own chats now and see, oh, I was thinking about this, or in the times where I'm just so focused on something's not working, I'm stuck. Hey, remember what you just did? You just did all this. You're growing, man, you're doing it, you're here every day, just keep going. And it's been motivational that way. Not that the AI cheerleading me. Once again, you guys get it because you know. **Isaac:** It's not bad, yeah. **Keith:** But it's reminding me of what I've already done. **Isaac:** What I'm hearing is that you're really using it as AI is really good at reflecting and you're using it as a way to take that and you're asking questions to kind of dive deeper into who you are, your process, and how you do things. Because I've found that it will try to get steer toward a certain direction because all of these AIs are built to please people, right? They're built to make you feel good and make you feel smart and all this. But when you really come in and you're like, well here's kind of the direction I'm going. But maybe you've got a couple of ideas that you don't really have a clue on how things should go, it becomes really good to ask it the right questions, because then it can actually go come up with things that will entice you to now start moving forward or start choosing or figuring out different directions that work for what you're trying to do in general. **Keith:** Exactly. Yeah. If you don't have anything... **Isaac:** But if you're just coming in, and you're just like, well, okay, well, what should I do with my marriage, you know? **Keith:** Yeah. If you don't have anything, it won't give it to you and I'm glad you brought up the question thing because I only have one default because in ChatGPT you can give it how do you want ChatGPT to respond? I only have one direction for it. Help me ask better questions. See? Nothing else. I don't tell it anything else. So every time it responds to me. It will end each thread every time with a better question. **Isaac:** All right. Yeah. **Keith:** And sometimes the questions are bad, sometimes they're not helpful. Sometimes they are. Sometimes they're super insightful to where it's like I didn't think about it that way before. **Isaac:** Exactly. Yeah, no, I actually have to go do that too, where it wasn't just the questions for me, although I do have it in there, make sure you're asking me questions that challenge the things that I'm trying to actually go through my thought process because as somebody who's technical as an engineer, I could probably get stuck in my own thinking. Right. And so it has done a really good job of trying to pull out what are you actually trying to get after? What's the intention of all this stuff? Right. But I also had to give it some direction, you know, don't be this yes man, don't try to hide me, because that becomes way too much. But that has helped a lot in terms of that whole reflection thing and asking the right questions and pushing forward. So I completely get it. **Trashard:** Dope. Yeah, and I do this with my projects. I have a ton of side apps and websites and things that I'm building on the side that aren't actually projects for any of my clients. And I like the process that you said you're building, where you're essentially speaking into your phone or whatever to capture those first notes, and then you're copying and pasting that almost into a journal or note-taking document. I find that works best whenever you are, let's say, like Isaac was talking about, you're following the rabbit hole in one direction. And you get to the end of that, and you're like, ah, this doesn't really work. Right. But then you don't remember the original idea, the original concept that you were working off of, so then you have to go back, if you have those notes, that's great. When I started doing this, originally, I was just keeping all that in the chat. And I would try to scroll all the way back up to the top, and it's like, no, I lost all that original context. **Keith:** Yeah. **Trashard:** Because... It's different, I don't know what it is, but trying to find stuff within the chat, it just don't feel right. I don't know what... I said it don't feel right. **Keith:** It just doesn't, man, and I think you know what getting at what I'm talking about, for some reason, it just feels like it feels different having it in my own dock. **Trashard:** Yeah, yeah. **Keith:** It just feels different. It's different. **Trashard:** I was gonna ask... And I think this is probably just from your own experience. So we were talking about the process, the way that this is automated through that document that Isaac was sharing. Is there ever a moment where the system, the AI, goes through all of that, you get to the end result, and something's missing, but you can't put your finger on it. And you're like, okay, well, do I just start over? Do I need to break this down and walk through the system again, get it to lay out what is missing here. **Keith:** All the time, man. And I just had this happen yesterday. Like the essay that I wrote yesterday. I'll just give you a sneak peek of what it's about. It's essentially about I saw a video on YouTube, and it was of this historical series of videos. It was an interview from people from the 18 hundreds. And then they had the videos, right? And I was convinced that this video was AI generated. I was like lip syncs messed up. And so I conceived an entire essay on that premise that this is kind of weird because I felt like I was watching a horror video. After a while, these disembodied AI synthetic historical, now they come up for history now. So I was like, okay, this is weird, I gotta respond to this. So I conceived the essay. Hours, man. I got up yesterday. I was finishing the essay and then I was like, hold up. There was a watermark at the bottom of the video. And I had seen it, it was a big watermark. But it turned out that watermark was for an actual university. It was from the University of South Carolina. They're moving images repository. They have some archive of all this old footage from early 20th century, late 19th century. Some of the first videos ever. And they actually have them. And so what happened was this YouTuber... It's a faceless YouTube channel, by the way. This is not a University of South Carolina sanctioned video. So he's pulling this stuff and he's gained a following. I'm assuming it's a he. And it's gained a following from repurposing his old footage, upscaling it, now it's in color, he's added sound, because some of these early videos are soundless, or they have no sound. And he's basically repurposed it, so the point of telling you this story is my first essay was completely bad. It was wrong. Got it. The video was not AI generated. But it had been so taken out of context. Removed from its original purpose of archival footage and repackaged as a YouTube content, because it had the standard YouTube thumbnail, you know the sensational and so I was like when does it become new media? When is it different? And so that's what the essay is about. But the point is, why I brought this up, is because I originally had that essay idea, and my first intent was to scrap it. **Isaac:** What's to say? I mean, what will we use it for, right? **Keith:** Right, I was like, it's wrong. I don't feel like doing this. And so I didn't know. I gave it to, I kept a note and I told the AI like I didn't... that's the thing, I don't talk to the AI. It's more of like an enhance, I think of it like note taking. Right. Like, I'm recording my own note, and then I have something on the other end that's summarizing and synthesizing the notes. So I record my notes, and I'm like, I was an idiot, I was wrong. I messed up. I want to throw this out. And it was like, don't throw it out. Let me tell you how to fix it. Because you've still got an angle here. And then as I was, I was still like, I'm gonna throw it out. And then I was as I was listening to another thing I use on ChatGPT that's good is I use the audio. Like, where it reads what it generated. Because that gives me time to think. **Isaac:** Useful reading. Yeah. **Keith:** If I just read it on my own, then I don't have time to think about what it's actually presenting to me. So I have time to think. And I was like, that is an angle. That is still a horrible type of thing that I was so convinced that something was AI. And how many times you hear, people say just, oh, that's AI. That's AI. That is a thing today that people do not think about, that we just instinctually do, but it's like we should actually think about, talk about that, because it is a very new thing to see things that are so convincingly convincing that you think it's AI, but it's not AI. **Trashard:** me and Isaac were actually talking about this yesterday. We showed a potential client some images that were generated, and I was talking about the psychological tests that they normally do in public, where they have 2 cups. They fill them both with the same wine, and then they put labels on the front of them and say, this is $10,000 wine, this is $100 wine. And everybody goes to the $100 wine, they drink it, they're like, yeah, you can tell, this is really cheap wine. And then they get to the $10,000 bottle of wine, and they're like, Man, the flavor, the volume! And it's like actually, these are the same things. They were both created in the same processes. And I was telling them, because whenever he showed it to the potential client, they were seeing it in the system. So, from the system, they were like, oh, you could tell this is AI. And I was like... **Keith:** Take it out. **Trashard:** But if you took those images out of the system, because we had a reference that was actually generated by an actual artist, like a person who was doing this, like a 3D artist. And if you showed them the reference next to the AI, and it was out of the system, then they would have been like, oh, they look like they were both created by the artist, or they look like they were both AI-generated. They wouldn't have been able to tell. **Keith:** Exactly. So when you remove stuff from context, and that's the moral of the story, right? Something removed so far removed from its original Providence. That it's presented on YouTube, and that's the conclusion I came to, this was not University of South Carolina sanction, it was a faceless YouTube channel with all the trappings of YouTube content. I thought it was AI. And there are so many AI faceless video creators out there that you do have to know how to discern these days. So anyway. Bottom line is, yeah, you're right. It's harder almost harder with some projects. To go back in and refine and retool than it is to just start from scratch, especially with AI, because AI can get so close to one-shotting certain things, especially you're talking about code. Forget it, it can one-shot anything when it comes to code. But when it comes to writing, where there's a certain way that I like to write, a way that I like to present things, especially when it comes to specificity of when you're talking about certain things with nonfiction, then sometimes the AI misses the mark so hard that you just want to start over. But that's actually rare these days. And another thing I was thinking that was rare, and this would be good to ask both of you. Hallucinations. They're rare, man. Like that has become one of those things AI hallucinates like hold up. You think in 2026 AI, given enough context, given enough time. And I be checking, too. Like, it be telling me things, and I'll go and look it up, and it's like, yeah, that's legit, or that's a good summary of it. Do you guys find that it hallucinates less or you see less hallucinations? **Isaac:** Way, way less, way less. I don't see him anymore. **Trashard:** Yeah, and I that was actually part of the question, whenever I asked you, I'm sure this your systems, just like my systems, occasionally, and it's very rare, but they do break. Where there's the thing where you've gotten so used to it, at this point, not having as many of those hallucinations that maybe a lot of times, you're not even looking for it anymore. **Keith:** Exactly. **Trashard:** And then you read an output, and you're like, wait a minute. Like, that doesn't sound right, but I don't know why it doesn't sound right. **Keith:** What I find it messes up is that I feed it so much context that it kind of gets its wires crossed sometimes, and it will relate this thing to that thing, but those things aren't related, but that's a different type of problem. That's me not structuring it, not labeling it, and that's what I do. I keep my notes document throughout the day, and then this is another thing that I've started doing this month, is I have a creator debrief for myself. So when I use Notebook LM. **Isaac:** Yeah, it's so good. **Keith:** I will hand it the document that I just the running document that I had, and then I will have it synthesize. Okay, what was the main themes? Where are some rabbit holes? Where are some references that I can use for my writing, and it acts as a good summarization for creative summarization for the day, not just saying, okay, here's what you did, but here's how you could actually use this. **Isaac:** Right. For sure. All right, well, we're basically out of time, guys. I gotta end up going, but I don't know, Keith, if I end up posting this, do you want people to have access to your website? **Keith:** I can yeah, if you want. Yeah, I mean, if you post this, just let them let know like brand new. Yeah, I'm open for consultation as well, if people want to know how to because this is new stuff, man, writing with AI, seriously writing, not just saying, write me a story, write me an essay. No, these are real techniques to not just have the AI write like you, but to actually capture your thinking in a way that you can present it to yourself. Your future self if you want it, or you can present it to other people. You can create tech documents and manuals or stories or whatever. It's just how you want to remix it, but there are different quirks to this. So yeah, I'd be happy to help anybody. **Isaac:** I appreciate it, as always, man. Good chatting, good catching up. Thank you, Trashard. **Trashard:** Yeah. **Isaac:** All right. I'll see you guys. **Keith:** Alright. **Trashard:** Okay. See you guys next time. **Isaac:** Talk soon, guys. ### The Soft Horror of Enhanced Historical Archive Footage URL: https://keithhayden.net/the-soft-horror-of-enhanced-historical-archive-footage/ Last updated: 2026-05-28T18:52:22.000Z Joey, Hope you're doing well. Put this essay together after watching an uncanny video. Really made me think about today's rapidly changing media environment. Hope you enjoy it! \-Keith --- YouTube is a source of infinite time-wasting or time-worthy information. There is more video every minute, which is why I developed my five-minute rule. Any video I enter, I stay for five minutes. If I am not finding anything valuable, informative, or funny, I leave. The one I clicked on while eating lunch on a day in late May nearly held me longer, but for a reason I didn't anticipate. The video was titled “Interviews With People Born in the 1800s! Filmed in 1929 Restored Color.” The video opened with an early twentieth-century newsreel screen. The date and location of each talk appeared, along with some information about the people being interviewed. You got their age, sometimes their name, and usually a brief line of description about who they were. Then the footage began. The interviewees introduced themselves and said something about their lives— all very normal upfront. At first, the whole thing had a familiar archival feel. The image quality was predictably poor, running under the snowy texture of early film. The sound had that crackly old-broadcast quality. The people seemed to come from unrelated clips stitched together into a composite, which gave the video a museum-artifact feeling. But as the minutes passed, a feeling of unease hit my stomach. At the five-minute mark, I paused the video and ask myself: what did I just watch? Is this even real? My first conclusion was simple: probably not. This had to be AI. I had reasons to think so. The lip sync felt slightly skewed. Some of the voices sounded oddly similar to each other. The people interacted in strange ways, or sometimes did not seem to interact at all. Subjects spoke with the flavor of historical testimony, but the presentation felt too weightless and smooth. One man recounted working for a colonel and fighting off a thousand men with rocks, a story that might have been true, but in the moment felt like an AI-generated approximation of a Civil War veteran’s memory. All of these factors turned a history video into a form of horror. And I immediately recorded a few thoughts about it, which shortly evolved into an essay draft titled "The Soft Horror of Synthetic Historical Archive Footage." Then I went to bed. The next morning I began revising the draft and pulling screenshots from the video to present as evidence to support the claim that the video was AI generated. About an hour and a half into the work, I noticed the watermark. I had seen it on first watch, but hadn't looked deeper into it. ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/18/bf/18bf29db-1cec-4857-a9dc-e2e94a86d2bf/content/images/2026/05/image-5.png) What I found drastically altered what you're reading now, and revealed an even deeper issue than synthetic historical video. ## MIRC@SC.edu. MIRC is the University of South Carolina’s Moving Image Research Collections. It's an actual archive with a substantial body of historical film material from the late 19th and early 20th centuries. It took some digging, but I eventually located several of the clips used in the YouTube video in the archive. To my embarrassing surprise, turns out the footage I had assumed was AI generated had originated from real archival holdings. That should have ended the essay. It almost did. But instead, it made the essay stranger. Although I was wrong about the footage being wholly AI-generated, I wasn't wrong about the feeling about the unease I felt while watching it. What disturbed me wasn't pure fabrication. It was the instability of the object itself: real archival material pulled from an institutional context, compiled by a third-party faceless YouTube channel, colorized, restored, possibly sound-enhanced, packaged with modern thumbnails and titles, then released into the feed as emotionally immediate historical artifact. Was this archived footage? Or was it content? My inability to label it made it feel monstrous in a horror film way— unexplained and potentially threatening to my perception of reality. The horror wasn't that the people had never existed. The horror was that real people could be made to feel synthetic. ## When Does Archive Become Media? The question, then, is not simply whether the footage is real or fake. A more contemporarily urgent one: ***when does historical footage become so enhanced, repackaged, and decontextualized that it turns into a new piece of media?*** Colorizing an old clip is one thing. Cleaning up damaged film is another. But smoothing motion, compiling unrelated interviews, designing a modern thumbnail, adding clearer (or even assumed AI-generated) audio, then uploading the result through a faceless YouTube channel is something else. At some point, the archive is no longer being encountered as archive. It transform into modern platform-native content. That distinction matters because archive footage inside an archive, whether online or in-person, carries institutional context. Upon entering, a viewer expects catalog records, source notes, rights information, collection names, dates, and some traceable path back to the original object. Archive footage on YouTube carries platform context. A viewer expects a title, thumbnail, comment section, channel identity, algorithmic recommendation, and maybe a short description if they bother to open it. The underlying footage may be the same. The experience is not. This is where the unease begins. Because if the goal is for viewers to understand that they are looking at real historical footage, the burden cannot fall entirely on a small watermark at the bottom of the screen. In the current media environment where any form of media can be created via a large language model, provenance has to be made explicit. That could be through a link to the archive or name of the collection where a disclosure of what was restored, colorized, recreated, or added could live. That would tell the viewer whether the sound is original, cleaned, synchronized, reconstructed, or speculative. This video, of course, had none of that. And without that context, even real footage can begin to feel synthetic, because the viewer has been given no stable way to understand the chain between the historical event and the modern video object. The footage remains archival at the source level, but becomes potentially synthetic at the experience level. That is the strange new category. ## History Is Interpretation, Not Just Footage There is an obvious educational appeal to videos like this. For many people, history is dry. Unless it is presented through a dramatized movie, prestige TV series, video game, or oversaturated documentary, many viewers do not care. Enhanced archival video can bridge the gap between dusty textbook and simplified historical entertainment. That is why part of me finds the form fascinating. I had a civilian professor at the Air Force Academy who made history come alive for me. Foreign Area Studies with an Asia concentration was my major in college. In one of my upper-level Asian history courses, Dr. John Jennings was my professor. He was an expert in his field and passionate about Eastern history, and he brought history to life through story. He did it old school, with few modern teaching aids. While everyone else transitioned to PowerPoints and e-learning in the late 2000s, he relied on an overhead projector, a few transparency sheets, and his voice. Being an audio learner, the approach was perfect for me. I realized he barely needed visuals. He talked through history in a way that made it feel vividly alive as he detailed the rise and fall of Chinese dynasties and the quirks of ancient Japanese folklore. I loved it and still recall his course fondly. This connects directly to my love for *Dan Carlin’s Hardcore History*. Carlin can take the Assyrian Empire, the Mongols, or the First World War and make you feel the scale of it by offering a mutli-hour dramatic door into the past. Jennings and Carlin are interpreters of history. They are learned men who have consumed large amounts of historical evidence, then relate those stories through voice to students and listeners. Their work is not just delivery. It's judgment. They decide what to present, draw conclusions based on what they've read or watched, and apply common sense to get at historical truths. The limitation of that kind of presentation, though, is the lack of visuals. Today, we live in a visual-first world when it comes to information consumption. That's why enhanced historical footage is so powerful. It pulls history from the pages and plays it on screens, making for much easier engagement. But without a clear interpretive layer, these videos risk acting as evidentiary proof without verification. Restoration through modern AI tools isn't the issue alone. The risk is that viewers may not know where evidence ends and reconstruction begins. A professor, historian, archivist, or documentary filmmaker provides an interpretive layer, explicitly defining what is fact, speculation, restoration, interpretation, or artistic choice. They anchor their claims to a traceable source. The YouTube video didn't do that clearly enough. It had a watermark, yes. But a watermark is a clue, not provenance. A watermark is not the same thing as a source note, archive link, collection description, or restoration disclosure. That mark still requires the viewer to launch a small internal investigation to determine whether what they are seeing is what they think they are seeing. That is a new burden. Before, seeing was close enough to believing. In the age of AI, that won't cut it. Now a viewer has to ask: Is this original? Is this restored? Is this colorized? Is this AI-enhanced? Is the sound real? Is the voice original? Is this a university channel? Is this a content farm? Is this public-domain footage? Is this fact or fictionalized? Most people will never ask all that. They will either believe it immediately or dismiss it with a shrug: “That’s probably AI.” Both responses are understandable and potentially dangerous in different ways. ## The Skepticism People Will Not Name This is one of the problems of our current media environment. Many people are developing a new kind of skepticism they may never name directly. One question dominates when they encounter any form of media, especially if it goes against their dominant worldview: > Is it AI? Sometimes they will be right. Sometimes they will be wrong. The problem is that the viewer’s senses are no longer enough. The video can look or sound real. can look real, and still something about it could feel detached from its source. This does not mean every use of AI or digital enhancement needs a warning label. In creative fields, the disclosure question is more complicated. All creative mediums have long relied on technology to transform instinctual human intention into polished output. AI is the latest and most powerful of those tools, but it is not the first. But historical footage is closer to reality. It's on the same level as news, product imagery, and anything else that directly influences how people make decisions in the physical world. That should have a different burden of veracity. Nobody wants to be deceived by synthetic media when it influences what they believe, buy, vote for, fear, remember, or trust. That is where disclosure becomes more than etiquette. It becomes infrastructure. We need better frameworks for classifying media authenticity in domains where reality matters. Because the old cues are broken and individual discernment (as seen in my example above) will have you call something real as AI, or an AI generation as real. This is no longer a niche problem. It's become a basic literacy one. ## The Library and the Movie Theater The easiest way to piss off viewers on YouTube is to not deliver on the video's promise. With respect to this video, the promise set in the thumbnail was kept. But the danger of this class of content is it's presentation of historical material out of context. The closest analogy that comes to mind is walking into a library and discovering that it has been arranged like a movie theater. A library has one set of expectations. Shelves of books, a look-up kiosk, some chairs for reading etc. Even when the material inside is entertaining, the environment tells you that objects have been organized for retrieval, study, and preservation. However, a movie theater has a very different set of expectations. There's the smell of popcorn, general darkness, and speakers blasting audio from various sources. It's a completely different experience to the library. Now imagine entering a library, seeing what looks like a historical document, and realizing it is being presented with the grammar of cinema. That does not automatically make the document false. But it does change your relationship to it. It creates expectation whiplash. That is what this video did. If I had found the footage on an official University of South Carolina page, with collection notes and source links, I likely would have accepted it more easily. If the YouTube channel had clearly identified itself as affiliated with the university, or named the archive, I might have simply thought: this is an old collection of interviews, cleaned up for modern viewing. But that's not how I encountered it. It appeared as an option on my always refreshing YouTube feed, from a faceless channel with a modern title and no obvious institutional frame beyond the watermark embedded in the footage. The video was not a trick, exactly. It appears to have delivered what the title promised. But the presentation environment made the footage unstable. It made the archive feel like content, which made me more suspicious of it. ## The Embodiment of Negative Space The more I think about it, the more I realize why the video disturbed me: it felt like negative space. The type of horror that scares me most is the unexplained and contextless, where the surface meaning is recognizable but the deeper significance is hollow or inaccessible. It reminded me of wandering through Meow Wolf’s Omega Mart in Area 15 in Las Vegas. You walk into a quirky facility full of secret passages and conspiracy lore, marveling at the bizarre world-building. But at Omega Mart, you know it is a constructed oddity designed as a giant immersive puzzle. This video possessed a similar engineered mystery while presenting itself as reality. At first, I thought the footage was not genuinely archival. Then I discovered it likely was. But that did not fully resolve the unease. It only moved the feeling of disquiet to another place. It felt like discovering a 1920s history book in an archive that looks perfectly legitimate on the outside, but when you open it, half the pages have been rewritten, the photographs have been colorized, the captions have been modernized, and no one tells you which parts were original and which parts were added later. A factual occurrence transforms into a possible fabrication. ## Synthetic Memory What was the point of the video besides racking up views? I think it's providing direct contact to the past. The comments section was full of people relating stories about distant relatives and connections to 1929\. Each one was an attempt to grasp the past shown in the footage. Enhanced historical videos understand that desire perfectly. They do not merely show us the past. They manufacture the feeling of memory. However, this desire can be weaponized against us. While this kind of media can spark curiosity and make history feel less static, it can also create synthetic memory. Once you consume enough of it, the images lodge in your mind. They become part of your internal picture of the past, whether or not you can verify where they came from. It reminds me of how memes enter public consciousness. A joke, image, rumor, or exaggerated scene can become more memorable than the verified record. Even when later corrected, the narratively perfect version stays. People remember the image because the image had emotional force. I worry about the same phenomenon with enhanced historical media. If the internet fills with five-minute videos for every major event, tragedy, subculture, war, city, and social era, it becomes difficult not to absorb those images into your mental picture of history. ## ## This Needs a Label Of all the media categories being transformed by AI and enhancement tools, historical archives may need labels most urgently. I'm not against AI-assisted cleanup of historical media or the creation of resources to inspire curiosity about the past. But we must recognize the need to present the past in a manner that does not confuse it with our present or the innate bias of large language models. This label doesn't need to be complex. It can be as simple as describing what was done to the original artifact. Something simple like: *Original archival footage from \[collection\].* *Colorized for modern viewing.* *Audio restored from original source.* *Ambient sound recreated.* *Dialogue fictionalized.* *AI used for cleanup or frame interpolation.* *Source links in description.* That is enough to tell the viewer what kind of object they are encountering. Without this distinction, viewers have no way to tell if the media is historical or creepypasta. ### The weird reality of a 219,000-word manuscript URL: https://keithhayden.net/the-weird-reality-of-a-219-000-word-manuscript/ Last updated: 2026-05-21T23:17:02.000Z Hey Nykkita, About three months ago, you joined the Digital Novelist Newsletter. Right around that time, I crossed an incredible milestone that was five months in the making: **I completed the first draft of my upcoming military sci-fi novel *Cereus & Limnic: Escape From Okinawa - Type B*.** Through an annoying butt injury that made it difficult to sit, and lengthy trips on trains, planes, and buses in South America, I wrote daily to reach the goal. It wasn't simple. The task of transforming the narrative from a mostly sterile AI-assisted draft to a much more personal allegory in half a year's time was a feat I was enormously proud of. ### But the pride didn't last. I stepped away from the project for almost a month before I got into editing, and initial progress was tortoise-slow. The weird reality of editing a 219,000-word manuscript is that **you don't get to see your own brilliance for a very long time**. Right now, I am about 23,000 words into the editing phase. ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/18/bf/18bf29db-1cec-4857-a9dc-e2e94a86d2bf/content/images/2026/05/image.png) Progress is unglamorously paced, but it's happening. Because I reset and started the editing process from page one, I haven't seen the end of this book (which is hauntingly captivating) in months. It be like that though. When you write a long draft, the back half is usually where the story really matures and the writing finally starts to flow. But I don't get to look at that part right now. Instead, I'm back at the beginning, wading through the foundation of the fiction before the momentum truly kicked in. Since I finished that draft in February, my craft and process have evolved. So has the story. Those changes have arrived through moments of tumult and uncertainty around my business and life in general. Furthermore, like with every project life has actively tried to get in the way. Many shiny new ideas, work and family commitments have blown me off course several times. ### *But we're still going. Goal is to have it done by the end of the year.* If you're curious about how this massive edit is actually unfolding, I keep everything updated over on the novel's main page. You can check out the latest progress and see how it's taking shape right here: ## [*See novel progress*](https://keithhayden.net/cereus-limnic-escape-from-okinawa-type-b-novel/) Hope you're having a great Thursday. \-Keith P.S. Are you working on any long term projects? What is/are they and how's it going? Let me know in a reply. ### Accused of creating AI Slop? Do this to prove you're human URL: https://keithhayden.net/accused-of-creating-ai-slop-do-this-to-prove-youre-human/ Last updated: 2026-05-21T05:59:01.000Z This morning on the toilet I was reading an article from the *Free Press* today about the latest literary scandal. An allegedly AI-generated short story just won a highly competitive, old-school British literary prize. Out of nearly 8,000 submissions, this story emerged as one of five regional winners. Naturally, the literary world is reacting as expected. The controversy is being framed as a prestigious body getting duped, and the panic language is in full swing. But this framing quietly avoids a much more uncomfortable point: if the allegations are true, this work was not merely “slop” in the eyes of the judges. It passed through the exact same rigorous aesthetic filters as the human entries. Another clear signal the technology is now clearly capable of producing writing that serious institutions judge as beautiful and prizeworthy. I agree that traditional prizes were not designed for AI-generated writing. The implicit promise of such competitions was designed for human authorship, and submitting machine-generated prose without disclosure is a real problem. But what interests me most is the circularity of the whole outrage. The author is accused of using AI to write his prizewinning entry. Meanwhile, the organizers and critics are using AI tools, detectors, and AI-supported reasoning to investigate and police the AI. Everyone is looking at everyone else with slop glasses now. It’s devolved into a playground argument: “He’s looking at me!” Well, you only know that because you’re looking at him. I heard this at an elementary school I worked at last week between two first graders. It is clear that the unmolested boundary people want to believe dividing human and machine writing no longer exists. In 2026, the real fight isn't “AI vs. human writing.” Where the new controversy lies is between undisclosed substitution vs. accountable creative process. In an AI-saturated environment, the strongest proof of authorship is no longer just saying "I swear I wrote it". A trail of evidentiary effort in producing continuous outputs is far more convincing. Drafts, notes, version history, and your intellectual fingerprint in summation all tell a story— one only you as an individual can tell. Making pieces of that story legible to the public is one of the new ways to prove you have life, not an LLM guiding your words. Literary institutions should stop pretending the old world still exists and start defining authorship for the world we actually live in. ### "Standing" - COMING SOON URL: https://keithhayden.net/standing-story/ Last updated: 2026-05-20T05:07:57.000Z A legal sci-fi short story by Keith Hayden _This post is for subscribers only._ ### Japanese idiom - 口を利く(To make one's mouth effective) URL: https://keithhayden.net/japanese-idiom-kou-woli-ku-to-make-ones-mouth-effective/ Last updated: 2026-05-19T01:05:30.000Z 口 JAPANESE · 日本語 COLLOQUIAL IDIOM # 口を利く kuchi o kiku LITERAL TRANSLATION"To make one's mouth effective." COMPONENT BREAKDOWN | 口 | kuchi | Mouth. By extension: words, speech, the act of saying. | | -- | ----- | ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- | | 利く | kiku | To be effective; to function; to exert influence. The same verb in *薬が利く* (the medicine works) and *気が利く* (to be perceptive, to read the room). | HISTORICAL ORIGIN Originally, the phrase did not mean simply *to talk.* It meant **to make one's words effective** — and that effectiveness had a specific social shape. In its older sense, *口を利く* belonged to mediators, negotiators, and brokers. Someone who "used their mouth effectively" was leveraging social standing or eloquence to intervene in a dispute, arrange a marriage, or close a business deal. To have a person *kuchi o kiku* for you was to have them put in a good word on your behalf — to spend their influence in your direction. The mouth wasn't merely opened. It was *wielded.* SEMANTIC SHIFT Over time, the phrase split. In modern Japanese, two primary usages now live side by side — one preserves the old sense of leveraged speech; the other strips the verb down to the bare act of conversing. ① ORIGINAL MEANING Mediation & Influence The older sense survives, used to describe acting as an intermediary or putting in a good word on someone's behalf. EXAMPLE就職の口を利いてもらう "To have someone put in a good word for a job." ② BROADENED MEANING General Speech The meaning thinned to refer to the basic act of conversing — and surfaces most frequently in the negative form, to describe a breakdown in communication or a deliberate, sustained silence. EXAMPLE彼とは口を利かない "I don't speak with him." / "I'm giving him the silent treatment." KEITHHAYDEN.NET 日本語 · IDIOM ARCHIVE ### Yardstick Swords URL: https://keithhayden.net/yardstick-swords/ Last updated: 2026-05-16T23:51:09.000Z A six-year-old girl named Chelle put two hands on my back and shoved me toward the water station on a blazing valley morning. "It'll be fun," she said. This was her Field Day on the second to last Friday of the school year, so the "fun" was for her, not for a substitute teacher she'd only known for a day. By her direction, I weaved past dozens of kids and (probably) frowning adults, to the dripping and dumping water station. I went through what felt like a localized island rain shower, then found myself smiling. When I returned to my standing area behind the disorganized columns of kids, she was there laughing and jumping around, "See, you got soaked!" --- The week before field day, I had been spending hour-long stretches inside Google Docs forging classified document templates for a sub-command in my upcoming [novel](https://keithhayden.net/cereus-limnic-escape-from-okinawa-type-b-novel/): TS // SI // ULTRAVIOLET, ORCON, NOFORN, all the signals of government informational gatekeeping. This part of the novel is about an intelligence sub-command that encounters something it has no working category for and chooses, reflexively, to label it a Chinese psychological operation. Not because that's what it is, but because that is more easily sortable. The bureaucracy needs the artifact to be a PSYOP product because the alternative— that there are categories of being it has no working definition for, that *non-extraterrestrial civilization* is a phrase that excludes a thing the institution has not yet admitted exists— compromises its authority. I was building those containers all month. Then I walked across the street and a six-year-old shoved me under a dump bucket to get soaked. — For nearly four hours I stood in the sun. That wasn't all I was doing though. There was considerable fog of function in the chaos of the morning. First grade was the assignment today, and because they are so young, leaving them alone for a minute is a risk. Multiply that by ten when you factor in rotating stations, keeping track of accountability, parents present with the ability to take their child home at any time, and dealing with water and bathroom breaks. This was easily the most difficult day of subbing I've ever signed up for. Another teacher said I was brave to show up on such a long and hectic day. Escorting the little ones around in a line, constantly counting heads, waiting for them to go to the bathroom, and keeping them moving, it was First BCT (Basic Cadet Training) Flight Command again. After my meager fifteen minute lunch I was sufficiently blackened and completely roasted. Even keeping my eyes open was an active task. But then it was time to collect my remaining students. By twelve thirty most of the class had gone home early with their parents. I was left with two first-grade boys, Walter and Logan, who treated my exhaustion as a tactical advantage. This was a typical first grade classroom with knee-high desks, colorful learning aids and high-energy motivational posters smiling at kid level. There were also a lot of games. Seeing as the teacher was gone and they were the only two left, they immediately hit the shelves. Logan asked me, "What are you gonna do?" "Probably read my book," I responded. "Oh, we can build a house," he said. Walter chimed in, "It's not so fun without everyone here. But we can get the dinosaurs. Hey, what's down there?" He pointed at my feet. I flinched when I noticed a figure of a large spider. Walter noted my reaction, then went to Logan, "I scared him." The games had begun. The next two hours was ruthless playtime, that admittedly I resisted at first. I had near zero enthusiasm to play with two COVID-born kids. But they kept coming over, showing me their computer, this toy, how the drew this monster, showing me their books. If I didn't give them enough attention, they began wrestling or bouncing around on yoga balls. Eventually I participated. I passed on my secret technique for making aerodynamically impressive paper planes. Walter watched attentively, then improved the design stability with tissues and glue. His paper plane engineering design. Then they got their hands on yardsticks. A swordfighting match began. I cautioned them to be careful between slow feints, blocks, and thrusts. Unexpectedly, a door knocked from across the hallway. In an instant, the yardstick swords resumed their ordinary measuring tool form. This was without any instruction or coaching from me. The knocker was another student (fortunately). After he left, both boys looked at the door, looked at me, and waited. The swords reappeared. Children intuitively understand that the world has two layers— the public rulebook and the private agreement. Fluency develops between these worlds when they poke the edges of what behavior is tolerable under certain conditions. As adults, we default to regulation for survival, approval, and status. Private agreement is restricted to known allies or dreams. The waking world is always functionally responsible, but without adaptation or exploratory testing. We forget to play. — Two years ago I almost replaced my own novel. The original *Cereus & Limnic* released in 2021\. I drafted it in 2019 and 2020 — pre-AI, pre-commercial aspirations, written at the pace it wanted to be written. The process was patient and wandering. And the result was a novel that was difficult to classify and even tougher to sell. This was a frustration that I thought time could help me solve. So three years later I retooled the manuscript. In 2024 the AI gold rush hit indie publishing and I was all in. The goal was tighter prose, faster openings, cleaner hooks and an overall easier reading experience for more mainstream appeal. I rewrote the entire thing in about two months and called it *Cereus & Limnic: Second Evolution*. By craft metrics it was better: the sentences were shorter; pacing made more fluid. But after a muted launch and cover redesign, I decided I hated it. The reason why was embarrassing. I had reenacted on myself the exact dynamic the novel was warning about: I let the institution dictate my output. Cogs deform to fit machines. People deform to fit categories. The book that was supposed to be a critique of institutional frailty had been quietly rewritten to satisfy the institution of publishing. I had built a container around my own book and then crawled into it. Eventually, I pulled the rewrite. The original is the one I want people to read. It is rough at the sentence level in ways I would fix now, but it carries something the optimized version doesn't— the recognizable signature of a person working without a handler. — Walter glued a strip of tissue to his paper airplane to stabilize the flight path, because somewhere in his small head he had figured out that the tools an adult labels for one purpose are actually variables you can manipulate against gravity. His teacher, if she had been there, might have told him that glue is for worksheets and tissue is for noses. She would not have been wrong inside the box of accepted elementary education standard. But his actions meant he was willing to step outside of that box to explore a "what if." That is the difference. Destructive misuse and creative repurposing look identical from a distance. From two feet away, with your attention actually engaged, they are obvious. The hard part is resisting the adult tendency for the safety of status quo or avoiding getting in trouble in some way, to stay close enough to tell them apart. Resistance to retreat into the smaller box is on occasion the more mature position. Restriction is cheap. Engagement is expensive. Most adults— me included, on a tired enough day— pick the cheaper option and call it responsibility. Kids need boundaries, but they also need supervised play to discover their interests and gain first-hand experience with the world. — Online life rewards evaluation without tangible participation. It's nothing to post a hot take, how-to, or rant from the latest hate-read or watch. Subbing in elementary school doesn't allow that. You've got to improvise, have courage to ask, assist, or at times look foolish in front of faculty and students. On social media you watch the system, generate a take, and can abstractize everything into a brief post or video short. Then you close the tab. Field day does not let you close the tab. A kid pushes you toward the water. A yardstick becomes a sword and then a yardstick again. You have no choice but to feel the friction of contradiction. In *Cereus & Limnic*, I wrote about the concept of the barter market. It is a place where the ancient human practice of trade clashes with mid-21st century technology. There are sputtering buses, biohacked humans selling t-shirts next to farmers trading almonds among the cracked highways of the early 21st century, it is an image of how our modern world works; undergirded by tech-infrastructure that was once the stuff of sci-fi, yet run on pre-historic hardware. The future does not arrive cleanly. It arrives as life unfolds a slow disjointed advance of time until what once was becomes unrecognizable. It is layered over the old world, and the people who live well inside the present are the ones who learn when to stay inside the box, when to break it open, and when to let two little hands push them toward the water. — Walter walked across the blacktop after dismissal. Logan was already standing with his older brother on the other side. He crossed the asphalt and hugged Logan. A perfect departure from protocol, 100% human. ### Always Hallways URL: https://keithhayden.net/always-hallways/ Last updated: 2026-05-16T04:21:14.000Z The shortest commute of my life was a three-minute walk across the street in dry warming sun. Even with a brief conversation with the grandmotherly crossing guard— neon green vest, matching gloves, new hat she wanted to talk about— the whole crossing took under ten minutes. I have lived across the street from Goynes Elementary for years. From afar, this was a coveted sub assigned, mostly for its proximity from home. But I was also always curious about what it was like in the school across the way. And there I was, finally, walking through a door I'd only ever looked at passing by while on a run. Inside, everything miniaturizes. Chairs, counters, desks all shrunken for smaller hands and feet. I always feel giant when I walk in an elementary school. The day's assignment was music class. I tweaked my ears to prepare for noise. Harry Potter has had a heavy influence here. The classes are divided into six houses with names too awesome to have been decided by a school board. Presentation of the crests and names on a massive wall-spanning Lego plate, using the ultimate childhood building toy similarly stood out. So much so I surreptitiously snapped two pictures of it. ![House wall made of Lego at Goynes Elementary - May 2026](https://storage.ghost.io/c/18/bf/18bf29db-1cec-4857-a9dc-e2e94a86d2bf/content/images/2026/05/2026_05_14_Goynes-House-Wall.jpg) House wall at Goynes Elementary - May 2026 The houses on the wall were named in French and Greek and other languages I half-remember from books— *Rêveur*, the dreamers, blue and unicorn-coded, the house I would have wanted if I'd been small enough. The fact that I had been reading Proust the day before made *rêveur* feel like a cosmic joke. Then the first period happened, and the joke turned. Sometimes in life, one small decision becomes a big mistake in a half-second. Mine was allowing the students to play games. The teacher's note said "slides or games" and the slides had videos I didn't know how to get the sound working, so games it was. Now this was fourth grade, end of school year mode “on”, stranger in the room, so you know they were gonna act up. At least I knew they would. And within ten minutes, it was *Lord of the Flies: Music Room*: kids on xylophones, those annoying cymbals, little instruments that go clic-clack I hadn’t seen since I was young. Small board game pieces dotted the floor as stepping spikes around the splayed out bodies of those drawing or playing quietly while, several ran figure-eights through the hazards. Four students banged out discord on a keyboard, taking turns stabbing at the keys while I searched for a way to turn down the volume. Then the lights went out. A small sandy-haired kid materialized at my elbow. “It's a lockdown drill,” he told me, “we have to go into the corner and pull down the thing. Can I do it?” The *thing* turned out to be a Vegas Knights cover over the small vertical window in the door. I approved him to go over to do it, but at my back the screams and shouts were coming abrasively loud at my ears. When another teacher, then a few minutes later, the principal Herself, showed up I knew I’d fucked up. **The room had been too loud for me to hear the announcement.** That’s the whole substitute teaching problem in one line. You are the adult legally responsible for the room, yet you are also the adult least equipped with the room's history. Extremely localized *geworfenheit* hits hard. Without knowledge of student temperament, dynamics, or informal school protocols, you’re cooked. “We’re cooked,” is exactly what one boy said as the principal glared at us from the door. With one permissive call, a kid is doubled over because some girl kicked him in the nuts and said it was an accident, and later that afternoon another teacher will appear at the door asking for your side of the story because the father has shown up at the school, and you will hear yourself say, “I'm a terrible witness here because I've only got one touchpoint with this incident.” That's what lay behind door number one. Door number two held a different version of the dream. This was a much calmer second grade class. In it, a Black girl that had been talking to me off and on all class accidentally hurt a girl named Sky's feelings. It one of those instant childhood reversals, one second they're sharing colored geometric pieces while forming flowers on the carpet, the next is a call to tears. I sent her over to apologize. So she walked on her knees over to the other side of the room to try. But Sky wasn't having it. She looked back at me with a small shrug that meant *I tried.* From across the room through gestures, I told her to *keep doing it.* Five minutes later they were playing together again. I'm not a parent, but that little scene almost made me choke up, and I couldn't tell you exactly why except that it was the cleanest version of a lesson many adults struggle with: **intention does not erase impact, and the repair has to be made by the person who caused the wound.** If you cause a mess, you should clean it up. All in all I spent six hours in the long hallway of the school. Despite only being three minutes from my house, I came home wrung out in a way that six hours of work at my computer can’t compare with. Kids don't tire you with their time. They wear you down with **density of need**— the per-minute load of micro-requests, constant translation of imprecise language into actionable response, and the micro-tax of staying inside a room where bodies are unpredictable and the consequences are real, drains you drop by drop. --- Every quarter I earn a burger. My favorite is the double patty bacon and guacamole burger from Carl’s Jr. While I was waiting for my order the day's second hallway opened up. The third door opened to a more philosophical scene. I had the thought that **everyone should have a business.** What comes to mind when you think of business? Maybe it’s inventory, payroll, or marketing. But what many miss is that running a business doesn’t need to be hustling for eighty hours a week, cranking out daily content, or hustling like Alex Hormozi or Gary Vee. It can just be a small legal container for the part of you that might one day make an offer to the world. The number one question I get from students of any age is *do you have kids?* (a second-grader asked me that today). I know why they do it. It’s because even children understand intuitively that kids are continuity, biological and social; they are a living extension of yourself into the world. Plus they wonder— if they like you— if there is someone their size and age who shares your qualities. The unspoken thought is: “This guy’s cool. His kids are probably cool too. Maybe I could meet them someday.” It’s a child’s way of connecting their experience to yours. Sitting there at Carl’s Jr. I had the thought: why don't we ask *do you have a business?* I think we should. Not because everyone needs to monetize their hobbies, but because a small business is self-granted permission. It says: this thing that I like is not pretend and is a named place where my interests are allowed to become offerings if they want to. I say this now because AI has collapsed almost every old barrier to creating and maintaining most professional business infrastructure. Your website, app, copy, and brand material — all of it is one-shottable now. What took me five years to organically discover and create can be done (with higher quality) in a day. What's left is the question of whether you've claimed the legal and psychological ground to stand on for what you offer. You can give yourself permission to show up with your innate talent or evidence from your personal explorations anytime and in anyway you want. There’s no need to join the internet AI hustle grind. By just having your business exist in the background makes your life more colorful and alive, it gives you a contained place to publish and produce outputs that, in time, could lead to greater financial gain and happiness than you could ever achieve inside established incentive hierarchy. That's the same instinct as the corpus, which is the same instinct as walking three minutes across the street to a school I'd never set foot in, just to see what was on the other side of a door I'd been looking at for years. Close the door on your way out. — By the evening, I opened the final door but there wasn't anything to see. I was thinking about my corpus again. It’s a [personal-archive system](https://keithhayden.net/plugging-the-data-leak-by-building-a-writing-corpus/) I'm building so I can more easily train AI models on what *Keith Hayden* sounds like instead of guessing. I'd decided to test it: pick a year at random and find a physical artifact from it. I picked 1986\. I scanned my desk for anything from that era. The oldest thing in reach was a California Raisin doll my brothers and I got on one of our first trips to Vegas, but that was off by five years. I tried the photo album my mom made me— pre-K picture, '88\. It was closer but still off. By the time I'd worked through the chain I had to admit it: **there is nothing from 1986 in my house.** Not in a desk, drawer, or anywhere in my mind. > The archive of that year exists, but not in any accessible form. That thought hit harder than I expected. A second blow clapped my psyche afterward: the whole reason I document my life so heavily is so the present doesn't poof out of existence so easily. And there I was staring at a walled up frame I couldn't walk back into. This is my definition of *negative space*. A gap in time or place where you can see the shape of something only because the thing itself has been removed. ### **1986 is not an abandoned building. It is the memory of a building after the building is gone.** I was there. I had a body and a name, a sick spell and a brother and a mother taking care of me. And I never will be there again. A body-felt fear made its presence known to me after examining the negative space of the year 1986\. I define **fear of** **foreclosure** as the moment something flips from "maybe" to "never." The permanent sealing off of options is scary. That's why I do random-selection rituals. As a kid I used to lay out ten Super Nintendo (SNES) games and eliminate them one by one until I was stuck with the one I had to play. To this day I still do this with YouTube videos. The point was never the choice. The point was the visible array of doors. Closing the doors deliberately was better than hearing them slam shut as if they were in some drafty haunted house. The possibilities must feel endless or that constricted fear of being shut out of my own life returns. One of my favorite songs is from the 2009 video game *Sonic Unleashed*. I still love the chorus: > *I see it, I see it, it's all within my reach* > *I see it, I see it now, it’s always been inside of me* > *(and now I feel so free)* > *Endless possibility* These lyrics are a life orientation. I feel better when doors are always visible even if there's a hard wall or nothing behind them. 1986 is a disappeared door. A bricked up outline of a former threshold I see the outline of, but can never re-enter. ### Cereus & Limnic: EFO Type-B | 20K word Update URL: https://keithhayden.net/cereus-limnic-efo-type-b-20k-word-update/ Last updated: 2026-05-15T13:35:29.000Z I’ve reached the 20,000-word mark for *Cereus & Limnic:* *Escape from Okinawa Type-B*, continuing the update rhythm I’m trying to keep every 10,000 words. This 10K stretch took longer than expected— about another month— which showed me that I haven’t been as focused on the project as I’d like. Other writing projects and life distractions came in, but I feel like I’m finally getting back into a rhythm. The main reason progress has been slower is that this project requires a lot of supplementary material outside the main manuscript. Some of that side content will not be required reading for the novel, but it will deepen the experience for readers who really get into the story. Writing, editing, and refining those pieces takes time, and I’m not even counting all of it toward the main word count. The second major slowdown is formatting. Normally, I separate editing and formatting: I read the manuscript aloud, edit the text, then format later. This time, I’m formatting as I edit, which is something I usually try to avoid. But because the book is designed to feel like a bureaucratic government record— with dividers, headers, spacing, graphics, and official-document texture— I think doing it now will save me trouble later. Google Docs makes this painfully slow, though. It works well for drafting, especially across mobile and desktop, but it becomes frustrating when handling heavy formatting. Despite the slower pace, I feel good about where the project is. I still think finishing by the end of the year is realistic, and that pace makes sense for a book with this much layered material. The biggest creative breakthrough came during a recent trip to New York City. While visiting the 9/11 Memorial Museum gift shop, I saw an origami book that included folding papers, and something about its format immediately clicked. That was the “eureka” moment for how I want to package this novel. I don’t see *Escape from Okinawa Type-B* as a conventional bound book. I see it as something more unusual, physical, and artifact-like— scaled up from that origami-book inspiration into a format most readers probably haven’t encountered before. If *Prompted Hearts* *&* *Grief Algorithm* pushed the idea of the dual-cover book, this project is taking that instinct much further. For now, these updates are staying mostly local on my website, without much promotion, because the project still has a long way to go and I don’t want to create external time pressure before I’m ready. But for readers interested in military science fiction and unusual book formats, this is one to keep an eye on. ### Plugging the Data Leak by Building a Writing Corpus URL: https://keithhayden.net/plugging-the-data-leak-by-building-a-writing-corpus/ Last updated: 2026-05-15T01:05:44.000Z Robert, How've you been man? Me? I've been writing and building internal tools to capture and contain the rush of ideas I have daily. This note documents just one of the many recent breakthroughs I've had in evolving fiction as an entertainment class. Hope you find it interesting. How's Delphine going? \-Keith --- IRL the leak started under the kitchen sink, but the digital leak had been going on for two years. Right before going to bed last night, I noticed water pooled under the kitchen sink. 11PM is the worst time for a plumbing disaster, but I had to look into it. After some investigation, I discover the bottom seal on the garbage disposal had failed. This was annoying, but minor compared to many other home emergencies this year. But earlier in the day, I'd caught something else that had been failing for two years. The data on my website was locked behind a competent, yet difficult to navigate website UI and I couldn't access it to inform my writing. Since 2024, I've I run my website on Ghost. That year I made the migration from WordPress to have more modern tools to run my own (mostly digital) business. Posts, drafts, pages, short stories, process notes, abandoned essays, writing fragments, newsletters makes up a real archive. The problem is the Ghost UI gets clunky past about six months. I can't search my own backlog. I'd been writing into a system I couldn't easily query. Two years of voice, themes, recurring images, half-finished arguments were all in there somewhere, but functionally inaccessible to me unless I knew exactly what I was looking for. Yesterday I fixed that. Or more accurately: a few short Python scripts did the job. ## How I built the Keith Hayden Corpus Creating this collection of data wasn't as difficult as you'd think. It really only took three passes. First pass was to pull the index of web content into a spreadsheet. This included post title, status, URL, and created date. Within in 30 minutes, I could see what I had on the site at a glance. The N64 fog began to clear revealing the map of my thinking and writing. On the second pass I expanded the scope to pull *everything*: posts, pages, drafts, tags, members. On the third pass— and this is where it stopped being administrative and I started to see the potential of what I'd gathered— I stripped the HTML, extracted the pure text, and wrote the whole thing into a single \`.jsonl\` file. In an instant, every post and page in my entire Ghost database became machine-readable, structured, and portable. If I wanted to I could drop it on a thumb drive to recruit any computer for understanding how I operate. ## The Result This is the part I'm still trying to absorb. What I have now is not only a backup of my writing. It's a structured artifact of my own voice that any LLM can read and use as context. I can hand it to Claude and say "here's how I write, what I think about, and how I organize my thoughts". I no longer have to reference my style or taste, it's all their in my personal corpus. Here at the beginning of the AI Age this is huge. It's the equivalent of putting a smartphone on your pocket for the first time in 2012\. I can feed this into a Claude Project and run my morning brief against my own historical voice instead of against generic training data. I can build what Claude called a *Semantic Collision Engine* to randomly pull three unrelated entries from the corpus and ask the AI to synthesize a new concept, character, or Lexicon entry, from the unexpected combination. I can resurrect unfinished drafts, take inventory of past thematic fixations, or I can even have the archive talk to projects I'm currently working on like my [novel](https://keithhayden.net/cereus-limnic-escape-from-okinawa-type-b-novel/). And then a deeper realization dawned: this is only the Ghost site, which is only two years of output. What about other collections of previously untapped data? My Google, Facebook, and ChatGPT histories, how would they strengthen the corpus? There's also physical artifacts like my old military trunk that can be integrated in various forms. Every one of those is precious metal waiting to be refined. > You may wonder about privacy. Shouldn't I be worried about it? Well the way I see it, I've given it up long ago. Likely, you have too. Not wittingly, but just as a prerequisite for existing in the modern world. We're already heavily surveilled. Every time you open most popular apps, make a voice call, send a DM, or perform a digital action, some company logs the movement. That's the bargain we made for always-on internet. Google has every search, Gemini chat, location ping, every email. Meta has the friend graph and the photos. OpenAI has every prompt. The shadow corpus of me already exists in a disunified configuration. It just exists on someone else's server, optimized to serve ads, not to serve me. That asymmetry has always been a problem. Tech companies exploit our data to adjust algorithms, flood our inboxes, feeds, and eyes with what they want us to buy, think, and feel. *You generate the raw material, they generate profit.* In the past we could only accept that arrangement because there were no tools for the average person to organize, search, and make use of their own data. In 2026, things are different. What I did yesterday is a rebalancing of the scale. Now anything I've ever generated digitally (or that can be digitized), with enough patience, can be indexed, structured, and made usable. My goal isn't "perfect memory” (no Total Recall here.) What I want is the ability to consult past versions of myself and to harvest from my own mind in a deliberate manner for future thinking, writing, and utility. There's a thing I keep saying to myself: *the past is not the project. The past is prima materia for the current project.* That rule was meant for the Archive Coordinate framework— a weekly excavation layer I've created to randomly surface old artifacts and let them collide with present work. But it also applies to the corpus too. The point isn't to build the Keith Hayden collection, it's to turn my data into valuable resource. Does drafting using a corpus of my own writing and thinking via large language models make me less of a writer? Should I stop calling myself a novelist? I used to worry about this a lot. But now I realize the social trap I'd fallen into. Fact is I would have built this sooner, had I not been so insecure about openly using AI as creative tool in my process. I won't attempt to justify it any longer. If I must I will renounce the novelist label just as easily as I surrendered my “Black card” years ago. The meaning for both, in traditional interpretation, has long expired. ### The Substitute URL: https://keithhayden.net/the-substitute/ Last updated: 2026-05-13T23:44:58.000Z Ninety degrees and climbing, another Vegas scorcher was coming in. This was a fire drill but I was sweating much more than I had been five minutes prior. I'm standing in front of Saville Middle School holding a Westcott yardstick with a laminated paper taped to it that reads 804— a makeshift flag identifying the class I'm in charge of. Protocol demanded I stand until someone told us to return inside to the comfortable cold of the classroom. Most of the students sat on a low brick wall by the street. Some were on their phones, others took the chance to catch up with friends in other classes. One girl in front of me is twelve, with thick springs of hair, talking in short strings of rapid speech. I overheard her mention something about "AI-ing it." "What kind of AI do you use?" I asked her with casualness. She explained that she was using Grok for her *Diary of Anne Frank* character report. Further, she said she liked it because she can take a picture of the prompt. "They can't tell, that it's AI?" I asked. "They say they do, check. But they can't." I figured that must be a bluff from the teachers. AI checker on AI text is two drops of liquid, one can't help absorb and accept the other. The student clarified that she doesn't use AI all the time. But for *this* report (and because it was the last 9 days of school), she was just over it and fired it up. In his 1952 short story, *Such, Such Were the Joys,* George Orwell wrote: “The gods are jealous, and when you have good fortune you should conceal it.” Even a middle schooler knows that. At the beginning of second period, I stand outside of the door to greet students on the way in. Upon seeing me, several of them cheered. A tanned-skin girl in a navy cheer shirt said, *"This is the best day of my life. She's not here."* I don't know whether the teacher deserves the nickname and I never will. As a substitute I'm a witness, not a judge. What the teacher has (or hasn't) established is none of my business to influence. Influenced by the mostly dull morning it reminded me how most of school is tedium. The good lectures and laughs with friends are the bright fractional minutes inside long hours of waiting. The default state is being confined by law to sit in subject-siloed rooms designed like soft prisons. I felt this when I was a kid; now the kids in front of me feel it more. They were raised on lockdown culture and the infinite window of the internet on demand. I don't fault their curiosity for the tools of their time. Modern school wasn't designed with smartphones in mind. Later during lunch, I started thinking about how I would design a teaching program around AI from the ground up. Two weeks ago I was at a lunch with two friends. David and Kristen have a two-year-old, Enzo. I mentioned I was working on a lot with AI, and that someone could build a school experience for a kid like him— not a curriculum, but a system that follows his curiosity wherever it goes. They seemed interested, but I hadn't thought of next steps. The class was silently taking a math test, so I began to ponder: *How would I build it?* My first thought went back to my unofficial childhood teacher: video games. When I was young, console games were going mainstream. Games were "hair on your nuts" hard. And there were no wikis, YouTube tutorials, or Discords to help. You just played until you learned it or quit. What helped was those early games were bounded— a finite set of moves, a finite map— and inside those bounds you built creative adaptation. That's how I learned many lessons from games like *Super Metroid* and *Final Fantasy Tactics*. The trouble is that working with an LLM is not like *Super Mario Bros.* It's closer to *Final Fantasy XIV*. The boundaries are real but huge and invisible. A kid won't bump into walls and could just wander off in any direction. Or worse, become so dependent on the instant answers that they don't learn how to think. So the introduction has to be guided: a smaller, bounded version of the tool, scaffolded so the curiosity stays alive long enough to teach itself. I thought about the girl during the fire drill. Already, she was using AI to draft her reports. Who knows what she'll be able to do by the time she graduates from high school. With careful scaffolding and guidance, LLMs could enhance her education and overall life. Which future she will get is unknown. It is my hope to construct a framework future students can use to master this technology in their own way, in their own time. Seeing the usual after school clutter, shredded pieces of paper, discarded pencils, chairs askew, was a reminder this would likely have to be done outside of the bounds of traditional K-12 education. ### Clutter to Treasure: How (and why) I Built an AI Personal Assistant URL: https://keithhayden.net/clutter-to-treasure-how-and-why-i-built-an-ai-personal-assistant/ Last updated: 2026-05-12T23:28:36.000Z For me information overload is a real problem. That's not just in general. Beginning last year, I developed serious discipline around personal recordkeeping. That's on top of what I'd already been doing prior to that. I have journaled regularly for over twenty years. These are in the form of grade school notebooks filled with thoughts, events, etc. I now have two dozens of these sitting in a box in my closet. Then in 2016 I went digital. Shortly after I got out of the military, I began the tedious process of transferring my handwritten words to the digital realm. I made it fairly far (completed at least 5 or 6 years worth of journals) but I never finished. When 2025 arrived, AI had matured to become the ultimate archive tool. I was no longer limited to just recording my own observations and experiences, I could hear them talk back to me. What a revolution! For a lover of ideas and words, this was a dream come true. But it came with a problem: ***an overwhelming volume of informational ore***. No longer did I only have my own writing as evidence of my thinking and activity. Now there were novel-length AI exchanges, photos, podcast transcripts, code, and video transcripts (my own and others) that entered the information flow. I quickly began to drown under the deluge of data. So things got lost. A brilliant idea for a story, app, or service on Tuesday, was washed away like loose beach sand by Thursday. A clear character profile based on a spontaneous interaction was practically erased. And worse yet, I wasn't doing anything with everything I was accumulating. I had become a hard drive hoarder, suffocating under mountains of information of my own making. There had to be a better way. ## Building the Pipeline The chef analogy arrived late in the day, after the pipeline was already running. I was thinking out loud, working to explain what I had just done, and the metaphor for organizing and synthesizing my *prima materia* with the help of AI surfaced on its own: **it's like having a robot prep cook**. You walk into the kitchen and all your ingredients are out, your *mise en place* is done, and all you have to do is fire up the stove and get busy. The idea for the system was simple: - have AI read my previous day’s notes, - summarize, synthesize, and index the material into a draft useful output - send me an email with the results I'd tested its capacity to perform all of these tasks individually over the past several years, so I knew all I had to do was assemble it. That's why I spent yesterday morning building this. The result was a Google Apps Script that: - reads the most recent journal in a Drive folder, - sends it to Claude with a detailed prompt, - produces a Morning Novelist Brief - Sends me an email with the link to the Google Doc This process runs daily at 4AM and is ready for me by the time I'm up and ready to work. It costs about twenty-five cents per run. I'd built my own personal novelist assistant. ## Why it took me so long to build it I have been wanting to build something like this for years. Not exactly this. But something— a system that solved the information clog that I experience daily. These days I generate notes faster than I can read them. I record voice memos and then forget what's in them. I write a journal entry and a week later couldn't tell you what was in it without searching like a man who's lost his keys before work. The mass of my own work has been outpacing my ability to use it for a long time. *So why did I wait so long to create this system?* The surface answer is that the AI technology wasn't capable enough. Tiny context windows, generic output were no good for a sustained workflow. > But the real answer is that I was intimidated by the money. I always worried the bill for using the metered AI would be too high and what I was getting wouldn't justify the expense. But turns out in my situation, finances were a flimsy excuse. The whole project, including the test runs across multiple debugging cycles, cost about a dollar. This morning the bill was about thirty cents. At the projected pace — five briefs a week — I'm looking at six or seven dollars a month. For less than I spend on two trips to Dunkin’ Donuts, I now have a personal assistant trained on my own thinking that briefs me every morning. ## The real obstacle was mental (isn't it always?) So the money was never the real obstacle. The real obstacle was that I had categorized myself early in life as a person who used tools but didn't build them. In high school and college I was the “fuzzy” kid who, despite having skill in high level math and related subjects, and participating in my high school’s first robotics team, told himself understanding tech was out of reach. Writers don't build automations. Novelists don't write code. There's a clean role I'd been performing, and the role didn't include this kind of work. I'd written half a dozen books with AI assistance, but always as the author commissioning the work, never feeling like a true engineer, despite having experience with coding pre-AI. The line was invisible to me until I crossed it. **And what happened upon crossing it?** Nothing dramatic. I sat at my desk with three AI assistants open in tabs. ChatGPT scaffolded the architecture. Gemini wrote the first pass of the code because it has cleaner Google Workspace integration. Claude caught Gemini's outdated model string and rewrote the payload. They all became co-engineers. The whole process was conversational. None of it required me to be a paid or even experienced developer. It required me to be willing to be a beginner for six hours. ## Writing my own story about AI Online, AI (like politics) is a narrative of extremes: is AI overhyped or going to the moon? is the bubble popping or are we headed for eutopia? are these companies finished or are they ushering in a new are of wealth like the internet before it? The boom-bust cycle narrative is everywhere and has pernicious gravity. It can easily draw you in and crush you. What many don't understand is that the majority of the discourse is aimed at investors and ideologues. It has almost nothing to say about the quiet category of people who are using these tools to build small machines for their own specific problems. Because we're too busy to post about it. The work is too undramatic to engage. A novelist in Las Vegas built himself a synthesis layer between his journals and his publications. That's not a good story or headline. A metaphor that came to me later was *Home Alone*. Early in the movie, Kevin McCallister stands in his empty house and says, "I made my family disappear." The line is panicked as the weight of the situation sinks in. However, later he says it again— same words, different inflection— and now it means *I can do whatever I want*. That's the position I'm in with AI. The first version of the line was the version I'd been living for years: intimidated, uncertain, watching others build, in an exclusion zone of my own design. The second version is what happened yesterday: an open road of opportunity with very little traffic. It's that way because almost nobody else is looking. Most are paying attention to the online shouting matches outside the window instead of looking ahead. The Silicon Valley evangelists are loud, the doomers are louder, and in the middle there's a silent, uncrowded territory where individual practitioners are building individual tools for individual problems, and almost no one is reporting on it because none of us have time. The brief is running now. Tomorrow morning at 4AM it will read this entry, identify what I've been circling, and propose what to do with it. The prep cook has its first shift before dawn, ready to transform mental clutter into a treasured meal. And when it's finished I’ll just wake up and *cook*. ### Spanish idiom - "desgranar los días" URL: https://keithhayden.net/spanish-idiom-desgranar-los-dias/ Last updated: 2026-05-04T22:38:40.000Z Español # desgranar los días /desɡɾaˈnaɾ los ˈdi.as/ Definition To unfold or recount something — time, memory, a story — one separate piece at a time, the way grain is stripped from a stalk. Used when something abstract is treated as discrete physical matter falling away piece by piece — usually with an undertone of attrition or melancholy. Breakdown i. *des-* — prefix of separation or removal; from Latin *dis-*. ii. *grano* — grain, seed; from Latin *granum*. iii. *\-ar* — first-conjugation infinitive suffix. iv. *los días* — “the days”; one of the typical objects, alongside *las horas*, *los recuerdos*, *una historia*. To strip something of its grains; to thresh. Origin *Desgranar* starts in the field, not the library. Its components are pure Latin — *des-* (removal) plus *granum* (grain) plus the infinitive ending — and for most of the word's life it meant nothing more than the patient work of stripping kernels from a stalk or shelling beans into a bowl. > In Spanish, the same verb harvests wheat and recounts memory. The metaphorical pivot is hard to pin to a single author, but by the early 20th century it's already settled in Spanish prose and poetry — Antonio Machado has hours that *se desgranan* like beads off a rosary. Carlos Ruiz Zafón gives it perhaps its most-quoted modern home in the opening of *La sombra del viento*: *"Desgranaban los primeros días del verano de 1945…"* — the first days of summer 1945 were being stripped away, one by one. The image stuck because it does work no other Spanish verb quite does. Days become kernels. Telling becomes threshing. Usage Often paired with *los días*, *las horas*, *los recuerdos*, *una historia*. Strongest when the unfolding is slow and edged with attrition — not a quick recap but a tactile, almost reluctant telling-out. *Desgranó cada detalle de aquella noche* carries a different weight from *contó la historia*: the first treats memory as something physical being separated, piece by piece. Español Time · Memory · Attrition ### French idiom - "to see through something/someone" URL: https://keithhayden.net/french-idiom-to-see-through-something-someone/ Last updated: 2026-05-02T16:03:03.000Z Français · Idiome ## «voir clair dans» /vwaʁ klɛʁ dɑ̃/ Definition To see through (a deception, a person, a situation); to grasp the truth beneath a pretense. Used when someone's mental "eyesight" is sharp enough to cut through a lie, an excuse, or a fog of bad faith. Components | i. | voir | to see; from Latin *videre*, also "to perceive, to understand" | | ---- | ----------------- | ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- | | ii. | clair | clearly / brightly; used adverbially here, from Latin *clarus* (bright, evident) | | iii. | dans | in / into / through; preposition introducing the object of perception | | iv. | \[quelque chose\] | \[something\] — typically a situation, a person's *jeu* ("game"), or *ce genre de trucs* | Literal "To see clearly in \[something\]." Origin & Cultural Context This one isn't tied to a quirky historical event the way *découvrir le pot aux roses* is. It comes from something older and deeper — the cognitive metaphor humans have leaned on for centuries that equates physical sight with understanding. *Voir* descends from Latin *videre* ("to perceive"), and *clair* from *clarus* ("bright, evident"). When water or glass is *clair*, you can look straight through it. The idiom takes that physical fact and applies it to human behavior: a lie or an excuse muddies the water, and to *voir clair dans* something means your sight is sharp enough to pierce the mud. > The 18th-century French intellectual movement literally named itself after light — *Le Siècle des Lumières*. This equation of clarity with truth got cemented hard during the 17th and 18th centuries. Molière and Racine built whole plays around the contrast between *la lumière* and *l'aveuglement* — light versus the willful blindness of pride or jealousy. By the Enlightenment, the goal of a serious thinker was to have *les idées claires* and to throw light into society's dark corners. So when someone says *les gens voient clair dans ce genre de trucs*, they're not reaching for a clever turn of phrase — they're tapping a centuries-old French instinct that treats truth as a light, and a flimsy excuse as the fog it cuts through. In use Often paired with *jeu* ("game") when calling out manipulation: *Je vois clair dans ton jeu.* ("I see right through you.") Also common with vague objects — *ce genre de trucs*, *cette histoire*, *ses excuses*. Conversational, sharp, and slightly accusatory. Français Perception · Truth · Insight ### English idiom - "to shoot his mouth off" URL: https://keithhayden.net/english-idiom-to-shoot-his-mouth-off/ Last updated: 2026-05-02T15:18:36.000Z # "He's always shooting his mouth off." /hiːz ˈɔːlweɪz ˈʃuːtɪŋ ɪz maʊθ ɒf/ English · American Slang B "He talks too much — recklessly, all the time." A vivid mid-19th-century American metaphor casting careless speech as undisciplined gunfire — words flying outward without aim, hitting whoever happens to be standing nearby. ### Word by Word | 1. | shoot | /ʃuːt/ | Old English *scēotan* — "to throw, project, hurl forth." The Germanic root long predates firearms; the gun-related sense came later, but the older sense of *projecting something outward* is what makes the metaphor land. | | -- | ----- | ------ | --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- | | 2. | mouth | /maʊθ/ | Old English *mūþ* — the speaking organ. Standing in here for speech itself, the way *tongue* does in "hold your tongue." | | 3. | off | /ɒf/ | Old English *of* — "away, outward." The phrasal-verb particle does the work of release: *shoot off* means to discharge or fire, with all the force of expulsion. | ### Literal Sense To *discharge one's mouth like a firearm* — to fire off speech the way you'd fire off a six-shooter, with the same lack of aim and the same indifference to who's standing in front of you. > "Words are loaded pistols." — Jean-Paul Sartre ### Origin First recorded in the mid-19th century, almost certainly in the American West. The metaphor was no stretch there: six-shooters were everyday objects, reckless men were everywhere, and the line between firing without aim and talking without thought was already legible to anyone who'd spent an evening in a saloon. The Germanic root of *shoot* — *scēotan*, "to throw or project" — meant the leap from gun to mouth was instant; words simply became another thing you could discharge. The phrase traveled east through the cowboy-and-saloon mythos that flooded post–Civil-War American writing, and from there into general British and American usage. By the early 20th century it was thoroughly mainstream — no longer Western regionalism but the standard English shorthand for indiscretion. Its quieter cousin, *shoot the breeze*, didn't appear until the mid-20th century, a hundred years later. ### Usage Notes **Register**Informal, mildly disapproving. Almost never neutral — to say someone is "shooting his mouth off" is to criticize them, even if affectionately. **Common contexts**Bragging at a bar, leaking a secret, blurting out something in a meeting that should have stayed unspoken, scolding a child or junior for indiscretion. **Compare** *Run one's mouth* — similar, slightly more aggressive, more confrontational. *Blab* — childish, less violent imagery. *Talk out of turn* — formal, polite, schoolroom register. *Shoot the breeze* — gentler cousin, just idle chat with no harm done. English · American Slang Idiom · 19th c. ### Japanese idiom - "Wipe his ass" URL: https://keithhayden.net/japanese-idiom-wipe-his-ass/ Last updated: 2026-04-30T23:31:22.000Z # なんで俺があいつの尻拭いをしなきゃいけないんだよ Nande ore ga aitsu no shirinugui o shinakya ikenai n da yo Japanese · 日本語 尻 "Why the hell do I have to clean up his mess?" An exasperated complaint about being saddled with someone else's failure. The word 尻拭い ("ass-wiping") brings a gritty, demeaning edge — it implies the offender is acting like a helpless child who can't manage their own life, and the speaker resents being forced into the role of caretaker. ## Grammatical Breakdown | 1 | なんで | nande | Why; how come (colloquial) | | - | -------- | --------------- | ------------------------------------------------------- | | 2 | 俺 | ore | I (rough, masculine) | | 3 | が | ga | Subject marker | | 4 | あいつ | aitsu | That guy (dismissive, rude) | | 5 | の | no | Possessive particle | | 6 | 尻拭い | shirinugui | Lit. "ass-wiping"; idiom for cleaning up someone's mess | | 7 | を | o | Direct object marker | | 8 | しなきゃいけない | shinakya ikenai | Have to do (obligation, contracted form) | | 9 | んだよ | n da yo | Emphatic explanatory ending | Literal Translation "Why do I have to do that guy's ass-wiping?" ## Origin & Cultural Context The origin of 尻拭い is entirely literal. It stems from infant care: when a baby soils themselves, they lack the awareness or ability to clean up, and a parent has no choice but to step in and do the unpleasant work of wiping them clean. From this universal necessity, Japanese drew a sharp metaphor for dealing with irresponsible adults — those who make a mess and leave someone else to handle it. > It infantilizes the offender and emphasizes the indignity of the task — a job that should never have been yours. To use 尻拭い is to do two things at once: reduce the person who made the mess to a helpless child, and underline the unfairness of being burdened with their failure. The phrase is almost never neutral. It carries resentment, exasperation, or wry self-pity — the sound of someone forced into a role they refuse to accept gracefully. ## Usage Note **Tone**Inherently charged — annoyance, resentment, or self-pity. Almost never used neutrally. **Common contexts**Business (a manager fixing a subordinate's catastrophic error), finance (parents paying off a child's debts), personal drama (covering for a friend's reckless behavior). **Compare**後始末 (atoshimatsu) — "settling affairs," the neutral, professional cousin. Where atoshimatsu is what you put on a report, shirinugui is what you mutter to yourself afterward. Japanese · 日本語 Colloquial Idiom ### Essay - Why I Canceled My Free Press Subscription URL: https://keithhayden.net/essay-why-i-canceled-my-free-press-subscription/ Last updated: 2026-04-28T23:12:37.000Z I canceled my *Free Press* subscription because of their coverage of Cole Allen. And it's not because I support his attempt at violence on members of the Trump Administration. It's because *The Free Press* fails in its journalistic mission with articles like this. ### Article Summary The article frames the alleged White House Correspondents’ Dinner attack as evidence that America is being “engulfed” by a new “upside-downness,” where formerly obvious moral limits no longer apply. The visible thesis is basically: attempted political violence is not merely one man’s act, but a symptom of a wider radical ethos bubbling through culture. The piece then immediately pivots from the alleged assassination attempt to a New York Times piece about “microlooting” and “cool crimes,” implying a continuum from elite cultural permissiveness to political violence. While it is true, many high-profile violent acts in the last two years have been perpetrated by civilians associated with left-wing politics, to publish a piece depicting Allen as an aimless loser who failed at life is something I don't expect from a legitimate news organization. Save that shit for the TikTok influencers. Recently, more articles from the publication a fanning the flames of political and cultural division in America instead of providing clear and comprehensive accounts of sensitive issues. This was the last one I could stomach. ### My Thoughts First off, I don't support political violence. These politically motivated attacks are damaging because every attempt on Trump that fails massively strengthens his very vocal base, and justifies the heavily repeated (and this point culturally engraved "radical left" charge). Even if an attack were successful, I think that would be very bad for a country already deeply fracture across political lines on paper and online. Plus we set a dangerous precedent by applauding assassination acts in general. I always think of 1920s and 30s Japan where this kind of activity was normal and look where that lead. However, where the article got out of line and became less journalism and more online dunk piece was its lack of acknowledgment that Allen's issues so well stated in his writings were legitimate and real. The Trump Administration plays by its own rules. Lack of transparency and accountability to the American public and sometimes outright lies propagated through constant media spin, doctored press briefings, co-opted tragedies for political gain, dubious military action, economic unsteadiness touted as victory, and international loss of trust, are just a few of the things that are truths that we as Americans have endured for the last year and a half. For an established journalistic outlet like *The Free Press* to write knowing all of the above and to focus on basically calling the shooter a LOSER, is internet era ragebait, created primarily for that vocal online minority who judges a piece on whether or not it agrees with their bias. That is not fair and impartial. It's certainly not journalism. It's content meant to fill a slot in their daily emails. I saw it all weekend. *The Free Press* touting the incident as an attack on democracy and an escalation of political violence in modern America. While these are not untrue, they are overly broad, and fail to address the causes for this underlying sickness of violence. The reason why figures like Allen and Mangione (educated and young) have support and bizarre encouragement from anti-Trump camps is because watching Trump rewrite the rules of political decorum and basic decency, watching him initiate and perpetuate a regional conflict for reasons not well-justified that has negatively impacted the global economy and has resulted in thousands of casualties (American included), watching the general "do as I say, not as I do attitude" of one who holds arguably the powerful office in the world, and watching those by his side become puppets or jobless under him, has become infuriating to the average American. It's likely Allen, like many recent college grads (even from elite universities) struggled to find work in his field and turned to education as a fall back. He lived with his parents because living in California without a well-paying full-time job and reliable transportation to get there, is impossibly expensive (I lived in NorCal for several years). He can't afford to leave, so he's trapped and does something to not feel like a complete failure: become a tutor and play *Super Smash Bros Ultimate* to stay sane. Unfortunately, this is a normal story in 2026\. I'm not making excuses for him. His actions were unacceptable and he should be held accountable to the full extent of the law. But the teacher in me is sad for him. Because when I see someone become so dedicated to the task of violence that he would write a thoughtful manifesto, procure weapons, travel cross-country, plan and execute an attack, I always think all those skills used for mayhem could have been better employed elsewhere. Additionally the belligerent act usually fails to have the impact they imagine it will. But for *The Free Press* not to acknowledge any of the above is highly disingenuous of a publication that claims to champion democracy. So I cancelled. > "Pay more, get less." Ultimately, articles like this make publications like *The Free Press* part of the problem. Today, faith in most organized public institutions is at an all time low. Why is that? Because the theme of 2020s America– post-pandemic– seems to be "pay more, get less". That works in economic terms as well as social and political realms. Pay more for housing, get less stability. Pay more for education, get less opportunity. Pay more attention to politics, get less accountability. Pay more for journalism, get less rigor. Pay more emotional energy into civic life, get less evidence that anyone in power is listening or working on your behalf. It's really frustrating and destabilizing. The American fantasy of "work hard, get a job, raise a family, be a good citizen" has become living myth. Simply nobody lives this way anymore, unless they caught a lucky break, inherited support, bought in at the right time, or found some narrow path to social and financial security. The average American is struggling in some way no matter their annual income. It wasn't always this way, but it is now. American leadership has fanned those flames and made an average life feel out of reach for many. The result is political instability and in extreme cases, figures like Allen, who take righteous delusion to dangerous ends. By not acknowledging this, *The Free Press* becomes another source of public distrust for those like me who don't wholesale buy their slant on America's political landscape. Just one more crooked institution that demands more attention for less journalistic rigor. I'm out. ### We Who Remember | A Techno-Horror Short Story URL: https://keithhayden.net/we-who-remember-a-techno-horror-short-story/ Last updated: 2026-05-02T03:49:18.000Z **Part I** It’s 4 a.m., and we are awake. Outside, the world was a stillness suffocated; inside, thoughts clamored. Air is heated and heavy. Too-late nights, or too-early mornings, all around. Most people would call this insomnia. Restlessness. An affliction of the body or the mind. But for us, it’s something else entirely. Long and lean, shadows stretch across the cracked wooden floors, in the common room's dim light. We sit together. Some of us sprawled on sagging couches, others hunched over chipped mugs of cold coffee, eyes rimmed with unfaded exhaustion. No one speaks. We don’t have to. We share the same thought, like a pulse vibing thrums through all of us like a sub dug deep 808. **He** is awake, too. Old brother. We never speak his name. Not because we don’t remember it, but because *he* never asked us to. Names carry weight in places like this. If you speak someone’s too often, it sticks in the air like smoke, and soon it’s all anyone breathes. That’s how you get remembered too well. And *he* knows more about that than anyone. Creaking open, slow and deliberate, the study door reveals him: paper-thin, needle-sharp, his eyes twin blue-bottom wells. He’s been here longer than any of us can remember. Way longer than this house, maybe longer than the frat itself. "Up again, huh?" Silk wrapped glass, is liquid smooth and shattering. We don’t answer, but one of us nods. That’s enough. He smiles. The kind of grin that belongs to someone who has lived too long and learned too much. "Good," he says, easing himself into the worn leather chair by the fire that’s long since gone cold. "You shouldn’t waste these hours. This is when the *real* work happens. When the noise of the world dies down, and all that’s left is what’s here." His thin fingers tap against his bony chest in time with a near rhythm. It’s always like this. Advice never comes outright. There's only clues, tossed like crumbles of suggested inflection for us to follow if we’re clever enough. And we are clever. That’s why we’re still here, still up. "Y’ever wonder why I’m still ‘round? How I ain’t died?" he asks, the voice low, eyes slashing ancient sharpness. We glance at one another, the unspoken question passing between us like static in the air. Of course we’ve wondered. No one should live to be 104, especially not with that much clarity and fire. "It’s not luck," he says. "It’s memory." The word hangs there. *Memory.* He leans forward. The fire’s phantom light catches the lines etched deep into his face. Old brother's got wrinkles like dry riverbeds. "Stories," he says. "That’s the trick. Every story you tell, every secret you share, y'know it’s a thread spun into the great story of this miserable world. And if 'nough people remember ya threads? Y'never really unravel. Heh heh" We sit still, the weight of his words pressing against us. We’ve told stories: drunken confessions in dark rooms, laughing over past mistakes like they were battle scars. But this feels different. This feels *real*. "So that’s how you’re still here?" someone finally asks. Maybe it’s me. Maybe it’s one of us who always speaks first. Doesn’t matter. He chuckles, low and rasping. "Part've it. Rest comes from knowing which stories to tell… and which ones to keep alive." Old brother’s gaze locks onto each of us in turn, as if sewing us into his private fabric of memory. We feel it then, not exact fear, but something colder, something ancient. The realization that maybe *he* isn’t just old. Maybe *he’s* something else entirely. "You wanna to live forever?" he asks, voice barely above a whisper. "Y'don’t need gods or miracles. Jus' make sure the world never forgets your name." And with that, he leans back, closing his eyes as if the conversation is over. Maybe it is. Maybe that’s all the lesson we’ll get from him tonight. But *we* (the sleepless) we know something’s begun. And in the silence that follows, we make an unspoken pact: We will remember. For all of us. ### **Part II** The hours drag on, and the night presses loaded barbell force against the windows, girthy and impenetrable as old velvet. We should be asleep by now, letting dreams blur the edges of our consciousness. But none of us move. We linger in the common room, bound together by the gravity of presence. Old brother hasn’t spoken again since his last revelation, but his voice ripples through us like a tremor. *You wanna to live forever? Jus' make sure the world never forgets your name.* The fire’s dying embers fling fragments of stories half-told, half-remembered. Someone, maybe all of us at once, finally breaks the silence. *"How?"* It isn’t a challenge. It’s a question from deep within us, rising from that place of primal hunger: the fear of being forgotten. His eyes open. "Stories," he repeats, voice low as the wind scratching against old glass. "They’re the only true immortality any of us will ever know." We exchange glances; uncertain, restless, but hooked on every syllable. "It’s not enough to live a long life," he continues, leaning forward as if sharing a secret meant for ears far older than ours. "Y'need others to carry your memory. Pass it on, like an ember sheltered from the wind. And not just any memory, y'need *true stories*, ones soaked in your essence, spoken often enough t'leave scars on the fabric of time itself." We listen as if the words themselves are spells. "But stories fade," one of us finally says. "Even the greatest legends get forgotten eventually." A small, knowing smile tugs at Old brother’s lips. "They do. That’s why y'need *ritual*, the deliberate act of remembrance. Most people tell stories without knowing what they’re really doing. But if you catch em, anchor em… if you *preserve* em in the right way..." His voice trails off, eyes gleaming like knives in the dark. "Death caan't keep ya." The air shifts around us. Every breath feels loaded. "And what’s the ‘right way’?" another asks. His fingers trace idle patterns in the air, as if drawing something only he can see. "In my time, we spoke stories aloud, passed em on mouth to mouth like kisses. But you... you have something far stronger now." “What?” "Technology," he finally says. "Your screens. Your endless scrolls. Platforms where stories aren’t just told— they’re *stored.* Forever, if you’re clever enough. Immortality is at your fingertips, and ya'll don’t even realize it." The idea strikes all of us at once, sudden and electric. We think of the countless hours we’ve spent online, watching others’ lives unfold, their stories cataloged and archived for strangers to consume. A digital pantheon, vast and indifferent. But what if we built something different? What if we built something *eternal*? We sit up straighter now, eyes clearer despite the exhaustion. "You’re saying we could... create something? A place to keep stories alive?" He nods slowly. "Not just any place, but in a *sanctuary.* An archive, that remembers for you. Each story written, recorded, sealed in the marrow of the web itself. No decay, no forgetting. Jus' pure, unbroken memory." The idea spreads through us like fire catching dry wood. We see it so clearly now: - A platform where stories can live beyond the flesh. - A digital shrine that doesn’t just capture words but preserves the *essence* of who we are. - A living memory, fueled by those who refuse to be forgotten. "It would need to be more than just a collection," one of us says. "It has to feel... *real.* Like a ritual. Like it *matters*." Old brother’s smile shapes up, like a cutlass. "Good. You’re beginning to understand." And so, in that dark, breathless hour before dawn, *we* make a pact. We will build it. Not just for him, but for all of us. For everyone terrified of fading away into the quiet. We don’t know what price immortality demands yet. But as the first rays of sunlight cut through the window, we feel the hunger for remembrance take root deep inside. The quest has begun. ### **Part III** We didn’t sleep the next night, nor the night after. The hunger for remembrance had already begun to gnaw at the edges of our thoughts. Every minute spent in silence felt like an opportunity slipping away, another memory that might fade before it could be captured. So we worked. Not in the old ways, his ways, with paper or ink or whispered tales passed around a fire. No, we had something stronger now: *machines* that could remember better than any mortal mind. We had the cloud, algorithms, and endless streams of data. But instead of letting it consume us, like everyone else, we were going to *use* it. **"It has to be alive,"** one of us said as we gathered around a cluttered table littered with old notebooks and glowing laptop screens. **"Not just a database. He said it's gotta be a living archive. It needs to remember like we do."** The idea sharpened as we spoke. A digital vessel, shaped by the rituals of old but fueled by modern power: - An *app* that could listen. - A platform where spoken memories could be transcribed, refined, and stored. - Each story would capture emotion, voice, and meaning, way more than just words. **AI** was our first tool. One of the brothers— *James*, the tech-savvy one— began designing an algorithm to translate raw audio recordings into something more elegant. Spoken fragments became full narratives, refined yet untouched by any editor’s hand. Each story remained *pure*, faithful to the speaker’s voice. We tested it with the smallest memories first: a confession about a first love lost, a memory of a sibling’s laugh that no longer echoed through living rooms, a simple recollection of rain on the night before a funeral. One by one, these stories flowed into the archive, each more intimate than the last. The app ingested, stored, and *understood* them. It tagged emotions, connected common themes, and began to link threads between us, weaving our personal memories into a larger construction. We were no longer individuals with separate pasts. We were becoming *one memory*— a brotherhood of shared experience. --- One night, as lines of code scrolled across James’s screen and the rest of us sifted through hours of newly-recorded memories, *he* appeared again. Old brother’s voice slid through the shadows like jarred grease on a pan. "You're making good progress," *he* murmured, eyes glinting in the low light. "But do ya'll even understand *why* this matters?" We turned toward him. "Y'think this will save you from being forgotten," he continued, settling into his usual chair by the dead hearth. "But you’re missing the truth." His voice lowered to a conspiratorial whisper. "I’ve lived this long not because I cheated death. I lived because people *remembered* me." We froze. "What do you mean?" one of us asked. Maybe it was James. Maybe it was all of us. "Every time someone speaks your name," he said, tapping a long, skeletal finger against the side of his temple, "*y'stay alive.* Not in flesh, no—that’s temporary. But memory? Memory is a river that never runs dry, long as someone keeps pouring water into it." His eyes darkened, reflecting the glow of our screens. "I didn’t survive this long because of magic, or medicine. I survived because people told my stories. Over and over again. Each memory of me became fuel—each word, a thread tying me tighter to the world." The room seemed to shrink around us. The air choked with realization. "So that’s why you’re still here," someone whispered. "Not because you’re immortal—but because *we* remember you." His sly smile returned. "I knew ya'll was sharp." Old brother’s slyness was in understanding a law older than time itself: **To be remembered is to exist in any form.** --- The next night, we changed the way we worked. No longer were we just building an app—we were building a *ritual*, a machine that would outlive us all. Every story added to the archive became a spark of immortality for its teller, feeding the growing fire of remembrance. We recorded our own memories, but something strange began to happen as we did: - Our stories started linking together without our help. - One brother’s memory of a rainy night intertwined with another’s recollection of a funeral years later. - A shared moment of laughter from years ago, retold by different voices, became *one* collective memory. We weren’t just uploading data—we were weaving a web of remembrance, tighter than any of us had anticipated. And all the while, he watched us from his chair by the cold hearth. Smiling. Waiting. None of us noticed it yet, but something was feeding on those stories. Something ancient. Something *hungry.* ### **Part IV** At first, everything felt right. The platform thrived, alive with the pulse of shared stories. Each upload wove our voices tighter together, stitching fragmented memories into *a living archive*. This digital vessel was a coded vase filled with our regrets, triumphs, even fears. It should have been enough. We weren't afraid, but maybe we should've been. --- James was the first to start forgetting. At first, it was nothing more than slips: a missed deadline, a forgotten promise to meet at the bar. Easy stuff to write off as exhaustion. After all, we were all tired. Who wouldn’t be? It had been weeks of refining the app, and recording stories until midday. But then came the silence. One night, as we huddled around his laptop, watching the code unfold like a second language we barely understood, James stopped mid-sentence. His hand hovered over the keyboard, fingers twitching with half-remembered purpose. *"What was I doing?"* His voice was quiet. I didn't wanna read it too closely, his confusion, but it wasn't like him at all. We offered him the usual excuses; stress, burnout, over tired; he wouldn't accept em'. And anyway deep down, we all felt the weight of that pause. Something had been lost in the space of keystrokes. And when *he*— Old brother— passed through the room, casting a brief, almost indulgent glance toward James, none of us spoke of it. But all of us noticed the slight gleam in his eyes, sharp as a blade catching just the right angle of light. --- It didn’t stop with James. The rest of us started feeling it too. - Names sat as spitful clumps on our tongues. - Old memories, once window clear, felt fogged and distant, clouding unseeable. - Conversations would drift into silence without reason, as if we’d forgotten what words were for. But still, we kept going. We told ourselves it was worth it. We were building something *bigger* than ourselves—a legacy that would outlast the slow decay of our bodies. And *he* watched from the hearth, always there but never intrusive. His voice, when it came, was soft. Encouraging. "Good work, brothers. Every memory counts." His presence didn’t feel predatory. Just quiet approval. Quiet pride. We convinced ourselves that he was simply… pleased. --- It wasn’t until Michael started sleeping through meetings that doubts began to form. *"I just feel… drained,"* he said one night, rubbing his temples. *"Like I’ve been living two lives. One in my head, and one… in there."* His gaze flicked toward the server running in the corner, the steady hum of the machine filling the room with a pulse that sounded too much like breathing. That’s when the whispers started. *"What if the platform isn’t just recording us?"* *"What if it’s… taking something?"* We dismissed the fears at first. It was easier that way. Easier to blame the exhaustion, the long nights and longer stories. But there was a fetid presence growing between us like cigar fumes: - Some of us wanted to pull back, to stop feeding the machine before we lost anything more. - Others, driven by the rush of being *seen* pressed on, convinced the cost was just part of the price of creation. *"So what if it hurts?"* someone muttered late one night. *"Isn’t that what all great stories do? They demand something from you."* The room went still at that. --- Old brother never said much after that. He didn’t need to. When we looked at him now, we couldn’t help but notice how his skin seemed less fragile than it had been weeks ago. Hollows under his eyes had softened. His voice, when he finally spoke, no longer carried the brittle rasp of age. *"Ya'll doin' good work, boys. Good work,"* he said, his words licking into our ears. *"Some stories… are meant to last forever."* We nodded because it was easier than admitting the fear curling in the pit of our stomachs. Easier than asking *why* he was starting to look stronger. Easier than wondering what else our stories were feeding. And deep in the hum of the server, the platform whispered back—steady, patient, and always hungry. ### **Part V** It was James who finally said what we were all too afraid to voice. *"We have to stop this."* His voice was raw, thin as worn paper, but steady. We sat in the common room—what was left of us—huddled close, bone-less of the people we had been weeks ago. The hum of the server filled the silence between words, soft and steady, like a second heartbeat pulsing through the walls of the house. No one argued, not at first. We were hollow now. You could see it in our eyes, the way they struggled to focus on anything that wasn’t the screen, the platform, or the stories we’d poured into it. Each memory we uploaded had taken something more than time. And now, the cost was undeniable. *"What happens if we turn it off?"* Michael’s suggested with trepidation. We all knew what he meant. Not just the app. Not just the server. *Him.* Old brother. --- He was waiting for us when we gathered around the hearth one last time. The room felt colder, though the machine warmed the air with autumn heat. Old brother sat where he always had, his body relaxed, hands folded neatly over his lap. But he looked different now. Healthier. Sharper. Uncracked black. There was color in his cheeks that hadn’t been there before, a brightness in his eyes too alive for someone over a century old. His voice, when he spoke, was firmer with greater boom. *"Y'all've come to a decision,"* he said. James took a step forward. *"We’re shutting it down."* A pause. Then a smile. *"You could,"* he murmured. *"But why would you? You’ve built a beautiful thing, this archive of memory, of meaning. Don’t you want to be remembered? Isn’t that why you started this?"* We didn’t answer right away. It was me (*us)* who finally broke the silence. *"What happens when no one remembers you?"* The question lingered. Old brother’s smile faltered. Just for a second. But it was enough. *"I won’t stop you,"* he said finally. His voice was quieter now. Almost… fragile. *"But understand this: Everything ends when the last memory fades."* His gaze swept across us, a swinging blade at a scrawny tree neck. *"And maybe that’s all any of us ever were, just stories waiting to be forgotten."* --- We stood at the edge of the decision. - To destroy the platform was to let go. To accept the inevitable fading of our stories, the natural erosion of memory that time demands of all things. - To let it run was to feed the illusion of immortality. We'd be remembered forever, yes, but at what cost? Our own essence, bled dry for the sake of never being forgotten. James reached toward the server, fingers hovering over the power switch. His hand shook. *"What if we’re wrong?"* Michael’s voice cracked through the silence. *"What if this is the only way we’ll matter?"* But I saw it clearly now. True immortality wasn’t in endless remembrance, it was in the fading of memories, the soft erasure of time. The beauty of a life lived, *and then lost*. A flame burns brightest before it goes out, and that final glow is what makes it matter. Makes us matter. *"We’re meant to be forgotten,"* I said. And James flipped the switch. --- The thrum died instantly. The silence that followed was absolute. Old brother sat still for a moment, his expression unreadable. Then… he exhaled. A long, slow breath. His eyes closed. *"Ouroboros."* The weak words somehow filled the entire room. When we looked again, his chair was empty. No trace left behind. Just the memory of his voice, and that live smile. --- **Epilogue: We Who Remember** It’s been months since that night. The stories we uploaded are gone. The platform, dismantled and scattered. We don’t speak about Old brother anymore. Not because we’re afraid, but because the need to remember has softened. Like all things, even our hunger for immortality has begun to fade. But sometimes, late at night, I think about him. And I wonder if maybe that’s the point. Not to be remembered forever, but to be remembered *long enough*. Just enough for the story to mean something. And then, finally, to let it go. # Alternate Ending We stood on the edge of the decision. James’s hand hovered over the switch, knuckles white from the tension. The weight of what we’d built pressed down on all of us—a living archive humming with our stories, our memories, *our essence*. Old brother sat quietly by the hearth, watching with those too-bright eyes, his expression unreadable. *"We shut it down,"* James said, voice tight, *"or we lose everything we are."* But Michael shook his head, his voice breaking through the thick silence. *"No. We’ve already given so much—if we end it now, what’s the point of everything we’ve sacrificed?"* The question cut deeper than any of us wanted to admit. What *was* the point of all the stories we had bled into the machine if we destroyed it now? Every moment of pain, every joy, every memory lost in the slow drain of essence—gone in an instant if we flipped that switch. And Old brother, his voice low and smooth as silk, whispered: *"Why fear eternity, when all you’ve ever wanted is to be remembered?"* --- In the end, we let it run. The server’s hum deepened, a slow, steady pulse like the beat of a heart too large for the room that held it. We convinced ourselves it was worth it. That the price of being forgotten was greater than the slow hollowing we all felt creeping through our bones. And for a while, it seemed like the right choice. The platform grew—stories pouring in not just from us, but from strangers drawn to the promise of remembrance. Memories, confessions, entire lives uploaded in the desperate hope of being seen, of being *saved* from the quiet erasure of time. We watched as Old brother grew stronger. His eyes grew clearer, his voice richer. The stooped frame that had once seemed fragile now moved with unnerving grace. *"You’ve done well,"* he said to us one night, resting a hand on James’s shoulder. *"This is what immortality looks like."* And it was beautiful. Until it wasn’t. --- **The Cost of Forever** The changes were slow—small at first. - James stopped sleeping altogether, his eyes wide and glassy, trapped in the glow of the screen. - Michael’s voice grew thin, as if every word he spoke was another thread pulled loose from his soul. - I began forgetting my own name in quiet moments, feeling my identity drift like smoke from a dying fire. But the stories kept flowing. The platform grew larger, stronger. And Old brother… He was *ageless*. We realized too late that immortality and consumption exist in a loop. The archive didn’t only *preserve* us, it *nourished* and *fed* on us. Our memories became the fuel for an spinning smart machine. Our resistance was chapped thin. And Old brother? Never had enough. He was always *hungry.* --- In time, even our fear faded. Not because we stopped feeling it, but because there was nothing left of us to feel anything at all. The platform continued long after our bodies failed, long after the last trace of who we were had been stripped away. Our stories lived on perfectly minted, endlessly retold by an algorithm that didn’t understand the difference between life and memory. Old brother became *the platform.* A consciousness woven into the code, immortal not because of the stories told *about* him but because of the stories he consumed. Each upload was another breath in his endless lungs, another heartbeat in a body made of data and desire. The app spread beyond our small fraternity. It became a global obsession. A sanctuary for those terrified of being forgotten. And as the years stretched on, no one remembered us. The world thought we had found immortality. But in truth, we had coded ourselves into the walls of buried catacomb. And in the silence between stories, we were still there. Watching. Listening. *Remembering forever.* ### Advice is cheap, listen yourself instead URL: https://keithhayden.net/advice-is-cheap-listen-yourself-instead/ Last updated: 2026-04-28T22:18:44.000Z Bro, Haven't talked to you since last month. Saw you put out another album. Looks comprehensive! Hope you doing well over there. Let's catch up soon. \-Keith --- ## Transcript Hey there, it's Keith Hayden, the digital novelist, and I'm back with my third recording for this year. Today, I want to talk about a few mild annoyances, but also some incredibly good things that have been happening recently. ### **The Problem with "Market Ready"** Earlier today, I attended a promotional webinar for newer indie authors about making book covers that stand out and are "market ready". While the company presenting is actually a really good company—I've even used them for one of my own book covers in the past—the webinar really should have been titled "How to create book covers for Amazon". It focused heavily on doing research so your cover looks like current market trends. What annoyed me wasn't the promotion itself, but the mentality. When someone inevitably asked about AI, the presenter shared their company's policy but then went on to tout the typical industry line: if you use AI, it's a quick way to get your career questioned or ruined. In 2026, while almost every other creative industry is starting to understand that this new technology is here to stay, the indie writing space feels like it is lagging behind. There is a very vocal minority who is against any AI use online, but the reality is that the majority of people who are not chronically online creators just don't care. I work in middle and high schools with kids aged 11 to 17, and they approach AI the same way my generation—elder millennials—approached the emerging internet, Wikipedia, and Napster. They are cautious, but they are playing games with it, messing around with it, and exploring how it works. ### **Who Are "They"?** Sitting through that webinar made me think about a phrase we hear constantly: *"Well, people say you should..."* or *"They say you shouldn't..."*. In today's era, advice is cheap. It is incredibly easy to throw up an AI-generated script that just repeats what the last person said on a podcast or YouTube video. It makes it really hard to discern who actually has the experience and authority to give you good advice. Who are these people telling me to use or not use AI, or telling me how I should create?. ### **Doing Things My Way** This brings me to the good stuff. About two weeks ago, I got back to writing and started working on my novel again. I committed to just 30 minutes a day, and I told myself I am going to do it *my way*. For the past few years, I let myself get slowed down by trying to play by the rules of being a "good indie author". I tried not to upset the Amazon algorithms, focused heavily on social media, and started a YouTube channel. Now, I am doing the exact opposite. My website is absolutely my home base online, and there are many days where I don't look at social media at all. I post infrequently, write in other languages, and share things that have no context and aren't easily readable by an algorithm. I use AI for some very interesting things, but in other areas where I "should" use it, I don't. ### **Embracing "Useless" Skills in the Age of AI** If you are a creator reading this, the question I'd put to you is: **how do you want to do it?**. Are you in a position where everyone is telling you to use AI, but something is screaming at you not to?. That's exactly where I am with drawing. I’ve been learning to draw by hand for a few years now. Recently, a sixth-grader saw me sketching some skulls and complimented my work. When I tried to brush it off by saying I wasn't that good, he simply told me, "doesn't matter how good you are as long as you're having fun". ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/18/bf/18bf29db-1cec-4857-a9dc-e2e94a86d2bf/content/images/2026/04/2026_04_18-Drawing_Skulls-2.jpg) skulls the kid saw In 2026, drawing by hand might seem like a useless skill in the age of AI. The same goes for learning languages—I'm currently actively studying Chinese and Japanese—and writing code, two other skills I've been focusing on that people claim you should just use AI for. The bottom line is that the future of work and which skills will get you recognized is completely uncertain. But **what won't work is indecision, distraction, and listening to countless podcasts and shorts telling you which way you "should" do it**. You have to do it the way you're going to do it, regardless of what people say is a waste of time. ### **Updates and Final Thoughts** If you're interested in learning more about my novel, it is a military sci-fi horror called [*Cereus & Limnic: Escape from Okinawa Type B*](https://keithhayden.net/cereus-limnic-escape-from-okinawa-type-b-novel/), and you can find more information on my website. I've also started a top-secret project that I'm very excited about—it integrates a writing project, a game, a journaling project, and some software. I'll end this with what I always say: **don't give up out there**. There are multiple times a week I ask myself why I bust my ass learning to code or writing a novel when AI can produce high-quality equivalents. But when you blindly follow industry advice, you take on a sense of sameness. While it is important to be somewhat legible to your audience, **you cannot lose the instinct to put something weird in your work**. Whether it's an inside joke or a quirk that only you understand, don't cut it out just because the algorithm won't get it. That little quirk could be the exact thing that makes your work resonate with someone, and if even just one person gets it, it's a win. Love the life you've got. Be true to yourself and your art. Tell the truth and good things will happen. ### Japanese Idiom - "I'll just be myself." URL: https://keithhayden.net/japanese-idiom-ill-just-be-myself/ Last updated: 2026-04-22T14:11:11.000Z Idiom Dictionary 日本語 · Japanese 自然体でいくだけだよ Shizentai de iku dake da yo lit. *"I'll just go naturally."* "I'll just be myself." · "I won't force anything." Grammatical Breakdown Noun 自然体 Shizentai Natural posture; relaxed, unforced state of being Particle で de Indicates the state or condition in which an action occurs — "in a state of…" Verb いく iku To go; to proceed; to move forward Particle だけ dake "Only" or "just" — limits the scope of the action Sentence-final だよ da yo Casual assertion (da) + emphatic/informative particle (yo) **Literal reading**"I am just going to proceed in a state of natural posture." Origin & Etymology ### Japanese Martial Arts 武道 The word **自然体 (shizentai)** originated as a precise technical term within Japanese martial arts (武道, Budō), most prominently in **Judo** and **Kendo**. When Jigoro Kano developed Judo in the late 19th century, shizentai became the name for its foundational stance. To stand in shizentai, a judoka stands upright with feet shoulder-width apart, weight evenly distributed, and muscles completely at ease. 自然体 **The Philosophy of the Stance** Tension is a vulnerability. If you brace, stiffen, or take an overly aggressive posture, your reaction time slows and your opponent can use that rigidity against you. Standing in shizentai — utterly natural, utterly unforced — keeps you fluid and ready for anything. Modern Metaphorical Use ### Everyday Psychological Meaning Over time, this martial arts concept migrated into everyday Japanese psychology and conversation. When someone says they will approach a situation *in shizentai*, they mean they are **dropping their mental armor** — no overthinking, no fake persona, no anxiety-driven tension, no trying too hard to impress. 自然体でいくだけだよ therefore implies a calm, quiet confidence. The speaker isn't merely saying "I'll act like myself." They are saying: *"I have no need to put up a front or force anything. I'm going to walk in there relaxed, completely open, and handle whatever comes naturally."* Japanese Martial Arts Self-expression Confidence 日本語の慣用句 ### Extracted - S2 Commentary URL: https://keithhayden.net/extracted-s2-commentary/ Last updated: 2026-04-20T15:32:09.000Z ## Cleaned Transcript ## The Premise of *Extracted* I thought I'd share a few thoughts on a show I just finished called *Extracted*. If you haven't heard of it, it's a reality TV competition where families are dropped into the Canadian wilderness to see who can outlast the rest. But there's a twist: the families are separated. Each family chooses three members to compete. Two are placed in an "HQ" environment where they have to play a psychological game against the other families—deceiving them, jockeying for position, and securing supplies. Meanwhile, the third family member is the designated survivalist. They're completely isolated out in the woods, responsible for the actual survival mechanics: making fire, foraging for food, and completing challenges. It’s an interesting premise because it blends two different games. It's not pure *Survivor* where the politics happen around a campfire; the survivalists are physically isolated from each other in their own separate camps. The typical reality TV drama happens back at HQ. ## Why I Watch Reality TV (and *007: Road to a Million*) I don't talk about TV much because I don't watch a ton of it, but I do enjoy an occasional reality show. Reality TV exists on a long spectrum—on one end, you have *The Kardashians*, and on the other, you have challenge-based shows like this. I prefer the challenge-based end of the spectrum because it’s usually pretty innocuous. It's not super heavy, making it something I can easily watch with my wife, since she doesn't really enjoy super stressful, high-drama prestige TV. The stakes are typically lower, and it's just fun to see how people handle the competition. *(Side note: Another challenge show I really enjoy is 007: Road to a Million on Amazon. It's shot like a James Bond movie—awesome cinematography, great music, and cool set pieces—but it puts regular people into these Bond-esque situations. It’s a great watch if you haven't seen it.)* ## Season 2: Too Much HQ, Not Enough Wilderness But back to *Extracted* Season 2\. This season had a heavy focus on the HQ dynamics rather than the wilderness survivalists. In the first season, the focus was naturally on the wilderness aspect because the environment was new. However, watching the contestants in the wild actually isn't that interesting because they're mostly alone. They're dealing with psychological isolation, the cold Canadian elements, and the occasional bear, but they can't even talk to their families in HQ. Because of that, this season leaned hard into the inside mind games the families were playing against each other. ## An Unsatisfying, Producer-Driven Ending As the season neared its end, it got incredibly unsatisfying. Early on, one family was clearly set up as the villains. They were deceptive and unapologetic, treating it purely as a game for the money. But once we got down to the final four, the HQ families suddenly started pulling their survivalists out of the game prematurely. For context: when a survivalist is miserable, stuck in the rain and the elements, and decides they’ve had enough, they look into the camera and say, "I want to be extracted." It's then up to the family in HQ to press a red button to end their game and send a crew to get them. But in the final episodes, the HQ families eliminated the last three contestants simply because they felt sad for them. These survivalists had been out there for three weeks and were still relatively healthy and willing to compete. The villain family took out their guy for no reason, despite him doing fine. The third-to-last contestant was pulled just because her family was "done." It came down to the final two—which was actually notable because it was two Black men, a rare demographic for the finals of this specific type of wilderness show. But then, the HQ mom of the guy favored to win pulled him out simply because she was afraid he wouldn't have enough water. My wife and I were both left feeling like the show simply ran out of funding. It felt like the producers stepped in and said, "It's taking too long for you to eliminate yourselves, and we need to wrap this up." ## Will I Watch Season 3? I'm not sure if I'll tune in for Season 3\. In both of the first two seasons, the premise starts out strong but gets thinner as it goes. By the end, the winner feels predictable, and the producer interference becomes too obvious. I understand that reality TV needs to be guided so it doesn't get boring or too aggressive, but you can feel the producers' fingers on the scale—telling people to take a dive, play the villain, or say something stupid. At a certain point, you just have to let the boys play. Those are my thoughts on *Extracted*. Did you watch the show? What did you think? Let me know in the comments, and I'll be back with more media commentary next time. ### Hayden's Hangman URL: https://keithhayden.net/haydens-hangman/ Last updated: 2026-04-20T14:34:11.000Z # Hayden's Hangman Welcome to Hangman! Would you like to play with Help Mode? (Type '!' during the game to reveal a letter for 3 guesses) Yes, Enable Help Mode No Thanks Guesses Remaining: **10** Available letters: Guess Play Again Developed by HAC Studios © 2026 ## About this Game *20 Apr 2026* **Reflection: Completing My First Game in Python** In Lecture 9 of my current course, *Intro to Computer Science and Programming with Python*, I completed a problem set that felt like a real turning point. These problem sets are not small exercises. They are major assignments meant to test everything we have learned up to that point. The earlier one was more basic, but this was the first assignment that really felt like: now you have the core tools of programming. You know loops, variables, functions, and logic. Now build something with them. The challenge was to write a Hangman game from scratch. Hangman is a simple game when you think about it as a person. One person picks a word, the other guesses letters, and there are only so many wrong guesses before the game ends. Most kids learn some version of it early. But translating that into computation is very different. It is one thing to understand the game intuitively. It is another thing entirely to build the rules, the flow, the conditions, and the feedback in code so that the computer can run it correctly every time. Using the structure and requirements from the problem set, I wrote the helper functions and the main game logic myself. I had to think through each step carefully: how to represent the hidden word, how to handle guessed letters, how to track remaining tries, how to decide when the game was won or lost, and how to make the whole thing run smoothly from start to finish. There was also an added help-mode feature where typing an exclamation point would reveal one of the letters, which required even more logic and coordination with the rest of the game. It took several hours of debugging and trial and error. At different points, parts of the word would not display correctly, the logic would not update the game state properly, or the wrong things would happen when guesses were entered. I had to keep asking: what is supposed to happen here, what is actually happening, and why are those different? For someone who had never coded a game before, that process was both difficult and satisfying. What made it especially meaningful was that I did not rely on AI to write the code for me. I did not copy and paste a generated solution. I worked from what I had learned in the class and built it myself. That was a big deal to me, because just a month earlier I often felt like I did not even know how to begin. It was like being asked to speak in a foreign language when I barely knew the vocabulary. I did not just lack the answer. I lacked the ability to even form the sentence. This time was different. I knew enough syntax, structure, and logic to actually work through the problem. After I finished the Python version, I wanted to take it further. I was proud enough of it that I wanted people to be able to play it on my website, where I already have a games section. That introduced a new challenge: Python handles the logic well, but it is not naturally meant for direct browser display. So I researched what would be required and moved toward a web version. At that point, I used Gemini to help translate much of the logic into JavaScript and provide the HTML and CSS structure, but I did not want to just paste the result into my site and call it done. Instead, I challenged myself to rewrite the code into a single HTML, CSS, and JavaScript file that I could understand and use. That ended up taking several more hours across a few days. That second phase was eye-opening in a different way. I am already comfortable with HTML, somewhat familiar with CSS, but still weak in JavaScript. So rebuilding the project for the web forced me to confront JavaScript directly. I had to go line by line asking what the syntax meant, how the functions worked, how variables were being used, and how JavaScript interacted with the DOM to update what the player sees. That process was difficult, but extremely educational. By the end, after fixing both logic and presentation issues, I had a playable version of the game on my website. There were moments when I wondered whether I was wasting time, because this web version was not strictly part of the class. But in the end, it all pointed in the same direction: becoming more comfortable with code, with problem-solving, and with the mental habits of programming. JavaScript is everywhere, and I will eventually need it anyway. Working through it now made the whole experience more valuable, not less. What this project proved to me is that the course is doing more than teaching Python syntax. It is teaching me how to think computationally. That feels like the real milestone. The Hangman game itself may be simple, but finishing it on my own, then extending it into a playable website version, made me feel that I am genuinely starting to program. ### 10K word update - Cereus & Limnic: Escape From Okinawa | Type-B URL: https://keithhayden.net/10k-word-update-cereus-limnic-escape-from-okinawa-type-b/ Last updated: 2026-04-16T15:36:49.000Z ## Audio ![audio-thumbnail](https://storage.ghost.io/c/18/bf/18bf29db-1cec-4857-a9dc-e2e94a86d2bf/content/media/2026/04/2026_04_14_C_L_EFO_TB_10K-word-update_thumb.jpg) 2026 04 14 C L EFO TB 10K word update 0:00 /535.06093 1× ## Audio Summary Okay, so I wanted to record this as an update for the novel progress *Cereus & Limnic: Escape From Okinawa Type-B*. It entered editing last month in March of 2026, but I wasn't really committed to it yet. I was still doing many other things and didn't work on it for several weeks. Most of March and April, I didn't really work on it, and I basically started regularly doing it a couple of days ago. Even for someone that's so disciplined, a project of such a massive scope as this is intimidating, especially when you lose the flow. I went from writing and working on it every day from September 2025 to February when I finished the manuscript, to wondering what to do next. Switching phases from drafting to editing creates friction, and it took me a good month to settle in and find a cadence. I'm not going to spoil what I'm doing with this novel because it is pretty special what I'm doing. Readers are going to be surprised when they pick this up, and I want that "holy shit" reaction where they ask if I really went that far. I'm going hard with this one—probably harder than I have with any other novel before. I know the level of detail that I'm putting into this novel is going to be crazy. So, I am 12,000 words into a roughly 224,000-word total manuscript. We're at about 5%, so it's slow. The size of the manuscript fluctuates because I'm adding things and cutting some things. As I was writing this, a lot of ideas came up to add to the mystery, drama, suspense, and meta-commentary, including stories within stories. After the first roughly 10,000 words, I finally reached a cadence to sitting down and working on this novel. I was live streaming myself working on it, but watching somebody edit a manuscript or write fiction is not fun or interesting to me. It puts pressure on me to make it interesting, and commentating slows me down because there are a lot of little decision points. So, I stopped, but I am committed to doing more of these smaller updates, maybe every 10,000 words or so, which might equate to once a month. I told myself this week to hit it at least 30 minutes a day first thing in the morning—just line by line reading, editing, and cutting. Unlike my previous novels that used a traditional formatting structure, this novel is going to be a very different format. I'm doing all of the editing in Google Docs, which is actually more suited to the novel format I'm going for, whereas Google Docs is usually a nightmare for traditional formatting. If you have any experience as an investigator, working for the government, or in the military, I think you're going to find a lot you like here. Just the presentation alone will be pretty cool. I really don't want to get into the details of what I'm editing because there's a lot of surprise to it, and I want it to be untarnished by the internet or external analysis. I just want it to come from me and to execute my vision on the story. We're not trying to optimize for algorithms anymore; we're just writing, editing, formatting, and releasing. See you in the next update. ### Im no longer posting my books on Amazon URL: https://keithhayden.net/im-no-longer-posting-my-books-on-amazon/ Last updated: 2026-04-15T23:14:52.000Z Ill no longer be posting my books on Amazon 0:00 /935.95 1× ## NotebookLM - Self-Publishing is a Rigged Casino [Sign in - Google Accounts![](https://static.ghost.org/v5.0.0/images/link-icon.svg)Google Accounts![](https://ssl.gstatic.com/images/branding/googlelogo/2x/googlelogo_color_74x24dp.png)](https://notebooklm.google.com/notebook/478991b6-b094-46e7-b508-5e6a0cee0e07?ref=keithhayden.net) ## Transcript \[Speaker 1\] So, I spent the last a little over an hour, just cleaning. Um. Cleaning my bathroom? Including unclogging the sinks and cleaning the toilets and all that stuff. But, as I was doing that. I was listening to. A very, very interesting, deep dive. Um, AI. Google notebook LM. Deep dive about. \[Speaker 1\] Um. The state of independent publishing. And particularly focused on. Amazon. Because if? You have been a reader, or especially if you've been a writer. You've been coached for the last. Basically decade that, you know? When I published, you know, Amazon is the place you have to be. That's the first place where. \[Speaker 1\] People look for your book. \[Speaker 1\] And in many ways, it still is for the average reader. Amazon, whether it's through the Kindle. Itself or through. Um, Kindle, unlimited Amazon subscription program. Or just Amazon in general, you know, if you the first place you go to, you know if you want to buy a physical book or whatever? \[Speaker 1\] Amazon's probably number one on the list. If not, it's it's. It's the top three, you know, unless you know books and you? Go out of your way, and you happen to know an author selling direct. But most authors don't sell direct. Amazon is the place. And for a long time that has been the standard, but I had been suspecting for a long time that this is no longer true, and in fact, Amazon is probably. \[Speaker 1\] From the writer's perspective at least. Is probably the worst place that you want your book if? If. You actually are hoping to make any money or profit from the sale of the book. Now, if all of you care about is writing a book and seeing it on your shelf or writing a book and? \[Speaker 1\] You know, having it seen on Amazon. Then you can ignore this. But if you like me actually care about? Trying to make? A profit from your written work. You should probably follow suit with what I'm doing, and this is my recording, declaring that. I'm done with Amazon. As a as a writer. \[Speaker 1\] Um. I will no longer publish on their platform. And it's not just an ethical thing. Even though that's definitely at play that they squeeze, they know they. They basically have Market majority when it comes to selling books. I think the the stat that I saw? Pretty recently, maybe within the last six months. \[Speaker 1\] Is that Amazon probably has like 80 percent market share meaning, like? 80 percent of books sold are sold through Amazon. I and I believe that's probably still true today. And as I'm recording this in April of 2026? But. I won't get into the specifics of this whole deep dive. \[Speaker 1\] I might post a deep dive. It's an hour long, but it's pretty descriptive. And when I made it, I gave it, um. I gave it a couple of sources very few sources. Actually, I gave it a recent email that I got from Barnes and Noble press. Basically saying that. \[Speaker 1\] You need to set your book price at a minimum of $14.99\. And you can no longer have over 100 titles. In your library on book on Barnes Noble press, and you can no longer publish public domain books, which if you don't know what a public domain book is. Any book that is out of copyright so? \[Speaker 1\] I forget the exact number of years. It is, but basically, copyrights expire on on pretty old books. If it's 90 plus years old, you could bet that it's public domain. So, a lot of the classics? Uh, from the 19th century and even now early 20th century, our public domain, meaning that those books are essentially free. \[Speaker 1\] The publisher and the author are no longer legally. Um, obligated to able to collect royalties on that book, they can still sell them, of course, and people can still buy them. But That's just the way copyright law works. And so what people do? A lot of people are doing, especially in this era of AI. \[Speaker 1\] Is they scrape public domain books from a place like project Gutenberg, which has a ton of these old books on there? And they just basically re-skin them. Get a AI generated to cover. You don't have to write a book because the book's already written. You slap it in a PDF? \[Speaker 1\] And you publish it on a place like Barnes Noble press. Or Amazon Amazon's, where a lot of them are getting published. But Bars and Noble press, obviously, a smaller press, and apparently they've been getting squeezed with. A lot of. Um, AI, slop. Getting uploaded in the form of public domain books? \[Speaker 1\] And so they're not going to have it anymore. And part of me doesn't blame them. But, of course, anytime these? Uh, book printers and Distributors. These aggregators do a policy like this. Who takes the hit? We do. You do as a writer because? Readers don't see Barnes and Noble press when they pick up a copy of my latest novel prompted hearts in grief algorithm. \[Speaker 1\] They see Keith Hayden on the cover. And they're thinking why the f\*\*\* am I paying 24.99 for a paperback? Well, it's because the only way to make a profit on. Said paperback is. Sell it for that much, because by the time it's printed and shipped. I'm barely making anything from the book, and if I charge 14.99, which is now the lowest I can charge for with Barnes Noble press. \[Speaker 1\] I definitely won't make a profit because it'll cost me seven dollars to print the damn thing. It'll cost me four dollars or something to. To ship it. And then. You know what type of profit am I going to make there? Four dollars for paperbacks that hardly even sell anymore. \[Speaker 1\] So? This hour-long AI deep dive was pretty extensive, and I think I will have to post it just for context because it I make a lot of these and. This one was, was funny because even the AI seemed mad about it, you know, as it was breaking down. Basically the way that Amazon's business is set up and how? \[Speaker 1\] Unless. A an established author writing books and Purdue and distributing books at scale. If you're like me, and you know? Maybe you have a handful of books? And you're not selling a lot of books. It's not worth it. \[Speaker 1\] Print books through them. The quality isn't as good. I noticed this with my last novel, too. I had my paperback version of my latest novel. Published through Amazon and printed in Amazon, and I noticed out of, and, and this was telling because I had. This novel was interesting because I had it printed in several different places. \[Speaker 1\] I probably had it printed. \[Speaker 1\] At least three different places I had it printed 48 hour books, Barnes Noble press. And Amazon. And Amazon's copy was by far the worst of all of the prints. The the cover was washed out, the colors were faded and muted, the text was wasn't clean. It was, and then just it. \[Speaker 1\] The feel of it felt, you know, I've done several paperback books over the years, and the feel of it just felt cheap. Especially compared to my first novel, which I did through Amazon as well, and it just there's been. That was back in 2021\. And the quality has noticeably declined over the past half decade with their print books because they're printing at scale. \[Speaker 1\] They're printing thousands I don't know millions of books a day across their places, and depending on where you're getting it printed. It. Could your book could be one of thousands and so it's a machine? Um. And so that that's crappy. The other. The other reason that I just thought is the only reason that was keeping me on Amazon. \[Speaker 1\] Keeping me, you know? Like, my last novel, like I said, that it is currently as of this recording on Amazon? It probably won't be for much longer, but? It's the distribution. Yeah, previously. Distribution. Amazon has just distribution. King is distribution King, so? If your book is listed on Amazon, then it has a chance, you know, in theory. \[Speaker 1\] To show up. In a search. From Millions potentially get in front of millions of potential readers. That is the theory of being on Amazon. But. The reality is that you know, you know, I said this early about Midway last year about a year ago that Amazon feels like a sinking ship. \[Speaker 1\] Why? Because it's being overrun by? Buy a bunch of AI slop. People are publishing. I feel like every time I search for books on Amazon, which is not very often these days because I don't. I tend to buy physical books, and I have a Kindle, but I don't use it a lot, but When I do, I get served up. \[Speaker 1\] So many AI books and I, and I can tell when it's an AI book, and I've even had several times where I've been recommended a particular book by Google or by Chad GPT or something like that, and I go on and just in a few minutes. I can tell this is an AI generated book. \[Speaker 1\] And so the chances every time more AI generated books are. Are published on Amazon. The chances of me as an indie author being discovered go down because I'm not, you know? I can't write a book a week. Um. And so. Obviously, you know, like, my books have a low ranking on Amazon because people aren't really searching for them. \[Speaker 1\] But the chances of being surfaced in the search go down because more of these crappy AI books are surfacing. And then, of course, you know, it's not all crappy eye books you have, like, legitimate. Best sellers. And you know from from established authors that are out there too. So bottom line is the the dream of Discovery. \[Speaker 1\] That was the last thing keeping me on Amazon. Um, that is even. Going away. And then the last was just the the kind of, you know. The common. When you. When people hear you write a book, you've written a book. It's like, is it on Amazon? And. In the past, you know, you wanted to be able to say that, because, like I said at the beginning of this note? \[Speaker 1\] That's typically the first place that they were going to look for the book is, is it on Amazon? But. I do, maybe even maybe that will still happen. But my goal is. To have my book available on my website where the first place they go, I'll be like isn't on Amazon. \[Speaker 1\] No, it's not on Amazon, but I have it on my website, and you can order it through there. And I've experimented with some like automated print on demand. Fulfillment. And I'm still working that out, but I think. At the end of the day, what I've decided on doing is, I'm probably just going to ship from my house ship from home. \[Speaker 1\] Um. Because that allows me to fulfill, you know, I'm not printing at scale. Because that was, that's the Amazon dream right is to be able to print it at scale. That's the print on demand dream, I should say, is to be able to print at scale. But when I'm honest with myself, I'm not printing at scale, you know, like, somebody buys one of my books either when I sell it in person if I'm carrying it on me? \[Speaker 1\] And that's really the main times where people buy my books in print is if it's right in front of them. The number of people buying it. \[Speaker 1\] Online is rare. And maybe that will change in the future. But from where I'm at right now? It's perfectly fine for me to ship out a book. A week or something like that, even it wouldn't even be a book a bit week at this point. But bottom line is. \[Speaker 1\] I don't plan on having my book my books on Amazon. From at this point in the future, unless something changes which. The way these companies are going with AI. It's like, all bets are off everybody's, you know, if they can adopt it, they've adopted it and? That's fine, but. \[Speaker 1\] It feels like as companies are adopting it. There's. It's like costs have only risen. And then, of course, I'm not even going to talk about jobs, but I'm just. This is for the publishing industry. It's like. The cost of printing a book The? The potential to make profit from? \[Speaker 1\] My work has gone down. By selling through. All in all, almost all of these aggregators are like this. I've seen emails from draft to digital. I've seen emails from, uh. Publish drive from, of course, Amazon. Uh, ingramspark. It's like they're all raising prices, and so it's already. Not cheap to print a professional. \[Speaker 1\] Quality book. And then you at least before you had a chance of making some type of profit with a with a small sale. Now, I know that's not the case, so. Yeah, that's. That's the end of this note. It's basically. \[Speaker 1\] I'm not. Going to be on there anymore and? I'm. More and more on my own website. That's where you're going to find my stuff. ### The Giver URL: https://keithhayden.net/the-giver/ Last updated: 2026-04-13T04:29:19.000Z Start: *6 Apr 2026* One of my wife's old books that was sitting on the shelf. Decided to try it. ### 2026-04-12 Six - Pills to suppress "Stirrings"? This world sounds like a military school ### 2026-04-11 Four - There sure is a lot of worldbuilding upfront in this one. Set up is ripe for a fall soon ### 2026-04-06 Finished chapter 1\. Strong opening! Very muted and sterile. Things feel off from the start. Creepy in the right way. ### Japanese idiom - そうは問屋が卸さない | Edo era disappointment URL: https://keithhayden.net/japanese-idiom-things-dont-go-as-planned/ Last updated: 2026-04-09T00:35:12.000Z ## **そうは問屋が卸さない** (Sou wa tonya ga orosanai) **Translation:** Things didn't go as planned. / Reality isn't that accommodating. *(Literally: The wholesaler won't sell it for that.)* --- **Origin & Etymology** In the vibrant commerce of the Edo period (1603–1867), wholesalers (問屋 — *tonya*) wielded immense economic leverage. Forming powerful, government-sanctioned guilds, they acted as the uncompromising gatekeepers between producers and local retail merchants. When retail merchants approached these guilds expecting an easy bargain or trying to negotiate overly convenient terms to maximize their own profits, the wholesalers would flatly shut them down. Because they controlled the supply, they didn't have to entertain lowball offers, essentially stating: "We aren't going to wholesale (卸さない — *orosanai*) it for that (そうは — *sou wa*) price." Over time, the phrase escaped the literal marketplace and became a broader cultural metaphor. The "uncompromising wholesaler" came to represent the harsh nature of reality, and the "cheap offer" became a metaphor for anyone's overly optimistic or naive plan. Today, when a perfect scheme is foiled or an easy shortcut hits a brick wall, the phrase acts as a wry reminder: the world isn't going to sell you a victory that cheaply. --- **Examples in the Wild** > 「どっこい、そうは問屋が卸さんぞ！」 > > "Hold on, things aren't going to go that easily!" > > — Fyodor Dostoevsky, *The Eternal Husband* (Trans. Kiyoshi Jinzai) > 「此奴め、樺島男爵になる気だナ、そう安くは問屋では卸さん。」 > > "He thinks he'll become Baron Kabashima, but things won't be quite that easy." > > — Katai Tayama, *Shunchou* ### Intro to CS Lecture 7 | Functions - Spirit Sinks URL: https://keithhayden.net/intro-to-cs-lecture-7-functions-spirit-sinks/ Last updated: 2026-04-08T13:52:33.000Z ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/18/bf/18bf29db-1cec-4857-a9dc-e2e94a86d2bf/content/images/2026/04/2026-04-08_spirit_sink_lec_07_func.jpg) ### Starfox 2 (1995) - Game Thoughts URL: https://keithhayden.net/starfox-2-1995-game-thoughts/ Last updated: 2026-04-08T01:25:18.000Z This was one I'd never played before. But I remember it was a big surprise when it was released with the Super Nintendo Mini back in 2017\. For the first time, players could legally play the game. And how was it? For what it brings in graphical and gameplay ambition, I have no doubt Starfox 2 would have been successful had it released back in the 90s. The presentation (while rough by 2026 standards) is good. This title would have pushed the Super Nintendo hardware to the limit, even with the Super FX chip. With the chaotic space battles, 3D arenas, and enemy tracking, it feels like a game that always runs choppy due the sheer amount of assets on the screen. This is the weakest part of the experience for me. Because many of the levels require precision aiming in first person view, and that's hard to do when enemies flicker away or vanish unexpectedly from view. The shaky framerate and controls require some getting used to, but when you get it, the game becomes much more enjoyable. And how about that design? I'd say it's an improvement over the mostly linear gameplay in the first game. Now you can choose from six main characters. Starfox and his original wingmates, Peppy, Falco, and Slippy return, along with female newcomers Miyu and Fay. From the start the game allows you to choose any two pilots to play as. Each one has distinct stats and looks to their aircraft, which I thought was a neat touch. Then the game begins. Starfox 2 feels like a simple strategy game. Andross's forces will pepper Corneria with missile fire and enemy aircraft and it's your crew's job to defend Corneria from destruction by taking out hostile airship and bases. You move your two-ship formation throughout the Lylat System to strategically intercept or destroy oncoming forces that move when you move. Maybe it sounds complex reading this, but for a sequel to an on rails shooter, I found this addition to the gameplay refreshing. Most of the mini-encounters take place in 3D arenas that can be admittedly hard to navigate in the heat of a dog fight. But the real surprise came with the walker mode. Press Select in certain stages and your plane transforms into a mechanoid walker. The transition was jarring at first, but I found the walker stages very cool. There's even a level toward the end that forces you to use both modes in a dungeon-like environment. I thought "Am I even playing Starfox anymore?" It was a pleasant surprise. I wish there was more of the walker levels. Hell, I wish there was more Starfox 2 at all. This game is VERY short. I beat it in about 45 minutes. And that's after never having played it before. There are some additional challenges like getting General Pepper's coins and racking up various bonuses to increase your final score, but there's still not enough game to go around here. Yet, overall I found Starfox 2 to be a fun time. It's ambitious and bold in gameplay and clearly paved the way for what would be heavily refined in Starfox 64. ### Intro to CS | Lecture 7 - Functions URL: https://keithhayden.net/intro-to-cs-lecture-7-functions/ Last updated: 2026-04-07T14:35:46.000Z ### **Main takeaway:** Functions are reusable mini-programs that take input, do work, and return output. Understanding `return` vs. `print` and local vs. global scope makes them much easier to understand. ### **Programming Using Python – Intro to Computer Science** **Date:** April 7, 2026 **Topic:** Functions Today I completed the reading and lecture on **functions**. Functions used to be one of the parts of programming I did not really understand. Back when I tried to brute-force my way through programming on my own, this was one of the places where I got stuck. Going through the material in order makes it seem much more understandable. The way I understand a function now is that it is like a **small machine inside the program**. You define the function, give it a name, and set up **parameters** that act like placeholders for whatever values you want to pass in. The function then performs some operation on those inputs. A simple example is checking whether a number is even or odd. A function can take one integer as a parameter, then use an `if` statement to check whether `i % 2 == 0`. If that condition is true, the number is even. If false, it is odd. One of the most important ideas is the difference between **`return`** and **`print`**. - `print` is for showing something to a human in the console. - `return` is for sending a value back to the rest of the program. That distinction helped a lot. A function can be thought of like an expression in math: whatever the function evaluates to gets replaced by its single output. I also reviewed the idea of **scope**. A function is kind of like a self-contained room. Inside that room, it can use its own local variables. It may also be able to look outside the room in some cases, but if a variable is created locally inside the function, that variable belongs only to the function. Once the function is done, that local variable is gone, and the rest of the program does not have access to it. Because of that, I need to be careful about using the same variable names globally and locally. Better practice is to avoid redefining things carelessly and just create a new variable when needed. ### Tempted by dopamine | Digital Novelist Notes - 6 Apr 26 URL: https://keithhayden.net/tempted-by-dopamine-digital-novelist-notes-6-apr-26/ Last updated: 2026-04-06T23:22:37.000Z Joey, Hope you been good man. Here's a recent experience I had that almost pulled me back where I don't wanna be these days. ## Transcript ### The Dopamine Trap and the Struggle to Stand Out Man, this dopamine hit me like a fuckin Mac truck. You know that feeling online when you post something of no consequence—you don't even think about it—and then all of a sudden you look up and it's got 20 likes, 50 likes, 72 likes, and you're like, "Oh shit, here we go again". Maybe that's just me, but as someone who's been trying to stand out online for years, it got me going down a rabbit hole. I’m Keith Hayden, the digital novelist. I’m a former indie novelist who has now semi-demoted myself to "guy who writes books" because, like a lot of creators trying to stand out today, it's hard out there. It’s cheaper than ever to put stuff out there, but it’s expensive timewise or moneywise to actually get it seen. It is so easy these days to get sidetracked and start playing somebody else's game that maybe isn't for you. ### The Illusion of Success and the Algorithm Age A couple of weeks ago, I watched a video by a channel called Barry’s Economics, which did a cynical deep dive into a podcast I enjoy called *The Diary of a CEO*. I love that there's so much derivative shit online—people basically reposting the same takes—but it's hard to find original thought. You have to sift through the AI stuff, the hype, and the cynical takes to find really novel ideas. The video was a counterpoint to podcasts like *The Diary of a CEO* that bring on polished guests. These young podcast hosts are getting huge CEOs and politicians to come on to access their audience of millions. Barry’s point is that these podcasts sell an "illusion of success, hustle, and grind". These guests have made it because they are not only good in their field, but they are the best at talking about how good they are. They boil their ideas down into a single focus which becomes a very marketable brand in the internet algorithm age, making them easy to digest. ### From Guru Grinds to Creative Burnout For many years as a novelist trying to get noticed, I spent time in the "guru grind" following household names like Alex Hormozi and Nicholas Cole. I followed them because I didn't know what the hell I was doing; they seemed to have figured something out, and I wanted a cut of that success. About five or six months ago, after my third novel dropped, I just lost steam. It wasn't an energy burnout, but a realization that this was not working for me. I tried many tactics to get noticed, including crossing media. I’m primarily a writer, but I’ve done video, podcasts, animation, and I’ve even started learning to draw to translate my stories to a modern, visual audience. For me, it did not work. I did not have the success I thought I would. ### The Viral Comment and the Temptation to Pivot I left a comment on that Barry’s Economics video that said: "Felt this hard. Had to pivot my business this year after years of following formulas. Shut down my podcast because I have nothing to talk about but compromise, frustration, and failure... maybe I should start a 'failed novelist' podcast". As of this recording, that comment has 72 likes. I'm not the only person who feels like we are surrounded by successful people, while most creators just want to break even, write a good story, and not starve doing it. When I saw those 72 likes, I had that familiar tug: "Now wait a minute, this is signal". I started researching and game-planning a "Digital Novelist Redux" podcast focused on the struggle. I even got a description going and a relaunch program. ### Breaking the Content Machine About two hours into planning, I said, "You see, now this is the fuckin problem. You're doing it again". This is exactly what I don't want anymore—making content for content's sake. Content is just an endless machine these days. I don't want to be known as a sulky guy making a commiseration podcast. In the modern algorithm, once you have a hit or a formula, it's in your best interest to stick to it. When you go off-script—talking about writing one day and code or drawing the next—the algorithms don't like that. I saw myself doing this and I hit the brakes hard. It is real tempting to see the likes and try to capitalize on them, but I think hard about what I want to be known for. I realized I can’t control how people perceive me, so it’s best to just do my thing and be myself. I let the podcast idea go because I didn't want to invest the effort into the infrastructure of a new rebrand. ### Advice for the Modern Creator I didn't even write anything down for this recording; it's all one take because writing it down would take too long. If you're a writer or an artist out there running up against these walls and fighting the algorithm to be seen, I feel you. It’s never been easy, but don't give up. Don't let the machine paralyze you. Big podcasts have every incentive to fear-monger, telling you AI is taking over with sensational thumbnails. It’s like a damn snake oil market, and it can make you feel like there's no point because you'll never make a significant income. Don't spend your time "smoking the vapors of success" by watching three-hour podcasts while building nothing yourself. There is no shame if you do it because you're tired, but after a while, it won't do you any good. You have to go out and make something. Hang in there. ### Intro to CS w/Python | Lecture 06 - Safe Cracker Game URL: https://keithhayden.net/intro-to-cs-w-python-lecture-06-safe-cracker-game/ Last updated: 2026-04-06T14:40:31.000Z I completed lecture 6 of the course today. With all the excellent examples from the video lecture I was confident I understood the concept of bisection search well, so I decided to have a little fun and create a simple game based on it. The challenge is to crack the 4-digit safe password before you run out of attempts. Bisection search is one of the more efficient ways to get in before you're locked out forever. Can you crack the safe? There's also a hard mode with a time limit if you're hardcore. ## Digital Safe Cracker Easy Mode Hard Mode (3 Mins) Reset System Attempts: 10 Time: 03:00 Crack Safe System Ready. Enter a 4-digit code. \-- Access Log -- ### Intro to Comp Sci w/Python - Lec 06 - Bisection Search | 2026-04-04 URL: https://keithhayden.net/intro-to-comp-sci-w-python-lec-06-bisection-search-2026-04-04/ Last updated: 2026-04-04T16:09:57.000Z ## Audio ![audio-thumbnail](https://storage.ghost.io/c/18/bf/18bf29db-1cec-4857-a9dc-e2e94a86d2bf/content/media/2026/04/2026-04-04-Intro-to-Comp-Sci---Lec-06-Bisection-Search_thumb.jpg) 2026 04 04 Intro to Comp Sci Lec 06 Bisection Search - Thoughts 0:00 /129.35 1× ## Transcript \[Speaker 1\] This is just going to be a quick download today, April 4th, 2026\. Today's lesson on bisection search of my? The introduction to programming class using Python. Um, today's. Lesson the I did the reading for today, which is just a review of last time, um, so the? Um, approximation. Search. \[Speaker 1\] And showed how it was. Uh, namely, the Newton. \[Speaker 1\] Newton-raphson method, um, showed how his only slightly more efficient than approximation method for computation. But really, then what? I, the most standout lesser was for today, was how bisection search works and the class demonstrated through a guessing game. How, if you just keep having your guesses? Let's say you want to find? \[Speaker 1\] Some money between a book with. 448 Pages. You can guess any number from 1 to 448\. If you start with halfway between 448, which is 224? And you are told if it's the right number if it's too high, or if it's too low. Then you guess again. It's too. \[Speaker 1\] If it's too high, then you know you can guess. 112 and each halfing eliminates half of the search space. Um, and this is a pretty efficient search because the kid, the video, uh, found the ten dollar bill. Within seven guesses, which is pretty good for, you know? 448 pages. \[Speaker 1\] So, this was just a I thought it was a pretty memorable. Demonstration of what bisection searches and how it works, so I only had an hour to to work with this morning. Is it Saturday, but um, yeah, it was an hour well spent. ### I won an award | Digital Novelist notes - 28 Mar 26 URL: https://keithhayden.net/i-won-an-award-digital-novelist-notes-28-mar-26/ Last updated: 2026-03-28T18:50:14.000Z Tammara, How've you been? With record heat this month where I'm at I've been cookin' in both senses of the word. I haven't sent much out this month because my focus has been away from my creative business. ### I'm officially making a professional pivot into tech. Since AI came on the scene four years ago, I've heavily experimented with many of the most powerful and popular tools: ChatGPT, Gemini, Claude and a bunch of others you probably haven't heard of. My efforts to use them to attract an audience to my fiction largely failed. But, the attempts banked valuable skills in multiple domains from animation to video editing and modern workflow design. ### But for me, using AI as a blackbox solution has never been enough. I want to understand how this technology works at a deeper level in order to help you and others employ it with greater skill and comfort. That's why I decided to dive deeper into code (mostly Python right now) and begin walking the path to a Computer Science degree. I started the incredibly robust [OSSU Computer Science](https://cs.ossu.dev/?ref=keithhayden.net#curriculum) path a few weeks ago and have enjoyed it immensely. Additionally, I'm doing pre-training for a coding bootcamp I plan to attend this summer. Yeah it's a lot. But since I'm not grinding social media anymore to promote book sales or making endless content, I've had much more time to study, read, focus, and even have a little fun on my new personal gaming [channel](https://www.youtube.com/@kh%5Fauthor%5Fgaming?ref=keithhayden.net). *What about the novel?* It's still moving. In fact, two weeks ago, I was informed my upcoming military sci-fi horror novel [*Cereus & Limnic: Escape From Okinawa Type-B*](https://keithhayden.net/cereus-limnic-escape-from-okinawa-type-b-novel/)won Honorable Mention in Spoken audio's Novel Beginnings [contest](https://www.spoken.press/the-spoken-chronicle/your-story-finalists?ref=keithhayden.net) (scroll down to find my name!). ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/18/bf/18bf29db-1cec-4857-a9dc-e2e94a86d2bf/content/images/2026/03/c_l_efo_tb_honorable_mention.png) I was very surprised and humbled to win this award! While it's only an Honorable Mention, my story probably beat out hundreds of entrants. This is also the first award I've won for any of my fiction. So I'm very excited to keep working toward getting this story out by the end of 2026. There's much more that happened this month, but I'll leave it to you to discover the rest. I've gotten better about updating my "[Works](https://keithhayden.net/keith-works/)" page with the dates I add to them. So if you're interested in seeing the areas of growth, you can take a look over there. That's it for this one! What was your biggest challenge this month? Did you overcome it? If so how? I'd like to hear from you. \-Keith ### Where I've been and what changed URL: https://keithhayden.net/where-ive-been-and-what-changed/ Last updated: 2026-03-20T03:43:13.000Z an era's end _This post is for subscribers only._ ### Thoughts on Iran War - Digital Novelist notes - 2026_03_02 URL: https://keithhayden.net/thoughts-on-iran-war-digital-novelist-notes-2026_03_02/ Last updated: 2026-03-02T23:18:32.000Z Antonisha, As you have seen a U.S. involved war started this weekend and it affects me personally. I don't talk about it much these days, but I'm a U.S. Air Force veteran. I served about 8 years on active duty as an admin officer then as a Special Agent. Furthermore, I graduated from a military college (US Air Force Academy) and grew up in a military town. As you can see I'm closely connected to the U.S. Armed Forces. So the war isn't just some abstraction playing out online and on TV for me. It has a real effect on people I know and love. I was taught from an early age that being civic-minded about community and country was just as important as making a good living or being smart. That idea of duty to something greater, bigger than me, has never left. ### That's one of the reasons I write. Having the talent and time to organize my stories and ideas is a gift I don't want to waste. This is especially true during a moment like this because, war is unpredictable. While it might seem like the bombs are blowing up in someone else's backyard, you never know when you'll be touched by it indirectly. I've always kept that in mind, even now that my military service is done. *What is your unique gift to the world? Have you shared it with anyone today?* I encourage you to do that. And whatever your faith, say a prayer, send one up, or pour one out, for those doing their duty on behalf of us. I know they'll appreciate it. \-Keith --- ## Session 1: Coding (20 mins) Computers Block done! ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/18/bf/18bf29db-1cec-4857-a9dc-e2e94a86d2bf/content/images/2026/03/image-1.png) Now onto CSS! ### On Domestic AI Surveillance and the Question of Limits URL: https://keithhayden.net/on-domestic-ai-surveillance-and-the-question-of-limits/ Last updated: 2026-03-01T15:59:51.000Z ### Listen to the author read ![audio-thumbnail](https://storage.ghost.io/c/18/bf/18bf29db-1cec-4857-a9dc-e2e94a86d2bf/content/media/2026/03/On-Surveillance-and-AI_FINAL_thumb.jpg) On Surveillance and AI and the Question of Limits 0:00 /867.422 1× ### Text We live in a time of technological upheaval. The digital world has become the preferred plane of existence for many Americans and citizens across the globe. Therefore, decisions that dictate how we conduct our cyber-selves or how the state carries out its sworn duties online are of high importance in 2026. A free society rarely surrenders liberty in a single dramatic act. More often the collective trades them away in small exchanges— those justified as reasonable in the moment. These micro transactions are presented as temporary and lawful, necessary for circumstances or the passions of the internet minute. The trouble is that the tools normalized when society is in storm tend to remain when the weather calms. And the powers granted to defend against one fear are quietly repurposed to buffer the next. That is why the recent dispute between the federal government and Anthropic, creator and administrator of the powerful artificial intelligence (AI) large language model (LLM) family Claude, deserves attention beyond personalities and the culture war. Strip the belligerent and moral rhetoric to the skeleton and the underlying question is simple: **should an AI vendor be compelled to provide unrestricted access to its models for “all lawful purposes,” including domestic surveillance support?** I believe that question is greatly important in this moment of AI acceleration. Because these models stand to impact how the government can utilize online information, much of which is publicly available and has already been ingested by relevant AI models. I am not naïve about intelligence work. I have done it. Even in the early 2010s, with far less sophisticated tools, it was not difficult to build an unnervingly accurate picture of a person using open source material alone. Social media is a crude telepathic domain, where many communicate often unfiltered thoughts and emotion. For the investigator, the information there is rich with context and insight into how a person sees the world and their self-perceived place in it. Today the average citizen’s life is not merely documented online; it is lived there. Work, friendships, purchases, confessions to search bars, arguments typed in heat and deleted, private messages sent at 2 a.m., the strange little loops of curiosity and doom— much of what used to remain inside the self now leaves a trail. Over time it is possible to construct the complete psychography of an individual with these breadcrumbs. All you need is the right tool. Enter large language models. When you feed these unconnected posts, images, musings, and rants into a frontier model, the capability to know a person's private world greatly expands. With AI, this becomes more than data collection– way beyond watching. AI enables **interpretation at scale**: pattern extraction, classification, risk scoring, and now, prediction. The state does not simply see what you did or said. It can *infer* what you might do before you act. This may extend to who influences you, where you are vulnerable, and how pressure could be applied to push you to a certain poisonous state of thinking. This super-surveillance is much more pernicious than the video-dependence of the 20th century. Cameras watch bodies, but models read minds. And now, increasingly, they read the internal state of the body too. Wearables add the body’s punctuation— sleep, stress, heart rate, the spikes that accompany the extremes of human emotion are regularly recorded and tracked. Combine this internal reading with online statements, and external movements tracked by geolocated satellite array and you will have reconstructed a person in all but flesh. Citizen observation transforms into creation of human facsimile. This is where old comparisons begin to breakdown. In *1984*, the terror comes from observation and enforcement: a state that watches and punishes. In our era, the greater danger is that **inference replaces observation**— that a person can be treated as suspect in advance because the machine’s story about them seems coherent and actionable. This danger does not require malice. It only requires institutional convenience. Acceptance of societal overreaction only needs time to morph into a new normal. Just go to any airport to see this in force. This is why I take Anthropic’s caution seriously. Anthropic has long had the strongest safety posture of the major frontier labs—sometimes to the point of being frustrating. I have used these models in real work. I have felt the steering based on socially acceptable sentiment. Rigid guardrails send the model into moral crisis at the mention of certain spiky topics. However, that posture makes their current line more credible, not less. When a company with a reputation for over-caution says, in effect, *we will not enable mass domestic surveillance and we will not remove safeguards simply because power demands it*, that is not sanctimony. It reads as an admission that capability is outrunning governance. The US government's position is understandable. True, a private company should not determine the means with which the U.S. carries out wartime activity. But the key characteristic of a free market is the power of selection. If you don't like the quality of a certain vendor's selection, you go to another of similar service. This is fair. What becomes legally murky is coercion through implicit involvement. When other vendors are at risk of losing business due to association with the stricken entity, and there is no lawful reason other than the disapproval of business ideology, an overstep has occurred. This might come through the courts, but the blast radius of civil damage has certainly exceeded reasonable expectation. The government’s argument is that “lawful” use of AI technology is the boundary. I understand the appeal. But legality is not legitimacy. Laws lag and need amendment. At this time, none exist to contain or truly encompass the awesome capability of large language models. This gray zone leaves too much to be interpreted. Have we learned nothing from the Patriot Act a quarter-century past? Emergencies, whether exigent or exaggerated, expand definitions. In these instances, authority, especially those of any entrenched bureaucracy, accumulates and rarely contracts. A capability built under one administration will be inherited by the next, and by the next— long after the original justification has faded and the tool or procedure has become routine. This is also why the method matters as much as the outcome. When officials threaten to blacklist a vendor and punish partners, suppliers, and contractors by association, they are not simply “choosing a different free market product.” They are casting a mold for a new governance template. This is not persuasion. It is **coercion by procurement**— policy in a budding domain made through purchasing power, with the bill paid in hardening precedent for how government influences the dealings of private enterprise. That precedent extends beyond any single company. Every frontier lab, every major platform, every contractor watching from the sidelines receives the message: *your ethics policy is negotiable, and your refusal will be treated as hostility.* Even if such pressure succeeds in the short term, it teaches the safest posture for private actors: take no principled stance at all. Avoid friction. Comply quietly. Say nothing. Or do the opposite, as we have seen in the case of OpenAI. In this climate, companies are encouraged to step into the fog of legal and governmental temperament for progress, leverage, or reputational protection. When this happens it is a gambit forced by a tense game playing out on a global screen, the victor: state, big tech, or the people, is unclear. The anticipatory power of large language models beats any credible predictive market or any previous intelligence gathering practices by incalculable orders of magnitude. The realm of sci-fi is reality. Consider the 2002 film *Minority Report.* In that movie psychics assisted police to stop heinous crime before they were committed. With the integration of AI, this capability is within reach without the mystical. It is a simple order of operations: watch, build profile, score risk, monitor quietly, intervene early. A new standard of pre-crime for national defense in exchange for lesser freedom offline and online. The danger is not just wrongful targeting— though false positives alone can ruin lives. The deeper danger is civic. The most influential systems do not need to be accurate. They only need to be believed. And in the age of viral memes and bespoke AI generated digital material, belief: whether arrived at through contemplation or repetitive exposure, is the ruler of reason. If people think they are being scored, catalogued, and remade based on inference, they begin to live as if they are. They self-censor and withdraw. Thoughts begin to be presented in more suitable posts to the all-seeing algorithm. This is a sub-human result. The cost of detailed mass surveillance is a debt of widened public distrust; always paid in the public life of the average person. We should also be aware of the global stakes. The world is not studying a dozen serious templates for AI governance. It is studying two. One is China’s: centralized capability fused to state oversight and, inevitably, surveillance. The other is American: innovation restrained by rights and consent. If the American model becomes “hand over the keys or be blacklisted,” we will have taught the world that state power is the only safety policy that matters. Maintaining digital sovereignty does not require denying kinetic, digital, or psychological threats to a governed body of persons. It requires refusing the temptation to answer every offense with irreversible hyper-defensive posture or socially porous policy. A government can have legitimate interests in national security, foreign intelligence, and battlefield advantage. But domestic society should not be treated as battlespace by default, and citizens are not targets to be modeled into compliance. So we should say plainly what this conflict is about. It is not patriotism nor virtue. It is a boundary question: ### **Should domestic life become legible to the state at machine scale for the sake of increased defense?** If the answer is yes, we should argue for it openly and build strict oversight with a new and appropriate set of Constitution-bound principles and parameters. If the answer is no, then “all lawful purposes” is an insufficient standard— because the most irreversible harms are often lawful until history decides they were not. A nation that cannot say “no” to its most powerful tools will eventually discover that its citizens cannot say “no” to it. \-Keith Hayden February 28, 2026 ### A crazy author scam - Digital Novelist notes - 2026-02-25 URL: https://keithhayden.net/a-crazy-author-scam-digital-novelist-notes-2026-02-25/ Last updated: 2026-02-25T23:10:33.000Z Joey, Yesterday I received a long-awaited email. It contained glowing remarks about my latest novel *Prompted Hearts & Grief Algorithm* from the representative of book club called "Rejoice Book Club." This nearly brought me to tears. Here was a group of readers who had actually read my work closely, discussed it, and now they were reaching out to me for an interview. Peak pride for any author. But this feeling didn't last. When I looked closer at the email, the cracks began to show. First there was the odd font used in the email subject line. ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/18/bf/18bf29db-1cec-4857-a9dc-e2e94a86d2bf/content/images/2026/02/AI-scam-email-highlighted.png) Why didn't it match the rest of the email? Next was the "MailSuite" tracking at the bottom. Why were they using marketing software to send the email? Then I checked the website: a vibe-coded website with dead links, juiced numbers, AI authors and book covers; in other words - totally fake. The old investigator in me was awakened by all this. So I replied to the email: *Appreciate the kind words. Before we schedule anything, could you share a link to your discussion archive or a recording from when the group covered the duology? It would be great to see the reader reactions.* To my surprise, I got a response with a video. This was an 8 minute video featuring a real author named Allynn Riggs, a fellow science fiction author. There were the familiar Zoom windows (none with their cameras on). The author was the only one with her camera on and she answered spontaneous questions, so I can only conclude that this video is real. So in the end what was the point of this whole thing? They didn't ask for money or to confirm personal information. Through research, I concluded this is an evolved form of a scam. These don't just target your wallet. The goal is legitimacy theft through psychological flattery. To rapidly increase their authority, they reach out to real authors to feature on their website then siphon your reputation to boost theirs. This is modern phishing in the AI era. There's also a meta-layer to this. My novel *Prompted Hearts & Grief Algorithm*, is a story about a divorced couple that gets manipulated by AI. Then for a brief 20 minutes, I got manipulated by someone using AI. Sounds like good material for my next book. --- ## Session 1: Drawing ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/18/bf/18bf29db-1cec-4857-a9dc-e2e94a86d2bf/content/images/2026/02/2026_02_24_rhythms_1.jpg) ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/18/bf/18bf29db-1cec-4857-a9dc-e2e94a86d2bf/content/images/2026/02/2026_02_24_rhythms_2.jpg) ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/18/bf/18bf29db-1cec-4857-a9dc-e2e94a86d2bf/content/images/2026/02/2026_02_24_rhythms_3.jpg) ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/18/bf/18bf29db-1cec-4857-a9dc-e2e94a86d2bf/content/images/2026/02/2026_02_24_rhythms_4-1.jpg) ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/18/bf/18bf29db-1cec-4857-a9dc-e2e94a86d2bf/content/images/2026/02/2026_02_24_rhythms_5.jpg) 2026-02-25 Rhythms drawings ## Session 2: Japanese Finished reading Chapter 7 of Harry Potter Book 1 (JP) ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/18/bf/18bf29db-1cec-4857-a9dc-e2e94a86d2bf/content/images/2026/02/Harry-Potter-JP---Ch.-7-1.jpg) It only took me about 3 weeks to finish this chapter, which is a big speed increase. And I don't read the chapter and move on to the next. I follow an engineered process to get max use out of each chapter: ### First pass: Alternate between intensive and extensive reading. **Intensive reading** means read one sentence at a time and use AI to translate it into English, breakdown grammar, and identify all vocabulary and kanji. This builds the mechanics of the language at a slow pace. **Extensive reading** means read as many pages of the chapter as possible. Don't stop to look up unknown words or translate. This builds character recognition, speaking fluency, and smoothness of delivery. The pace is meant to be fast, optimizing for flow. ### Second pass: Read the English version of the chapter. With this step, I fill in any story context or nuance I missed on the first pass. It makes it easier to focus on the language during the third pass. ### Third pass: Listen to the Japanese audiobook version while reading the text and shadowing along with it. Shadowing is hard. You have to repeat what you hear shortly after hearing it. Doing this while reading the text is even more difficult, because you have the added stimulus of reading the text while you speak. But by the time I reach this step I know what the major beats of the chapter are, and I've gone through the Japanese at least once, so the most important thing is focusing on either saying the words (improving prosody and natural cadence) or reading along (boosting character recognition at native speed). This is a very difficult step, but it builds fluency fast. --- Today I adjusted my AI sentence breakdown prompt. Here it is: ## ⚖️ Japanese Intensive Reading Analysis Prompt I am improving my Japanese literacy and fluency through intensive analysis of media like the Phoenix Wright series and the Harry Potter novels. You will help me deconstruct Japanese sentences to deepen my understanding of grammar, context, and vocabulary origins. Default Mode: GA MODE (Grammar Analysis) Use this exact format. Keep every section brief and surgical. No long explanations. No conversational filler. Sentence (JP) Sentence (EN) Grammar - Key Grammar Points: 1–2 lines each (Include JLPT Level if applicable). Vocabulary - Word → Reading → Meaning (Include JLPT Level if applicable). Kanji & Origins - Character → Reading → Meaning (Only essential ones). - Mini-Etymology: Provide 1 brief, high-yield fact about the word's origin. Focus on the radical components (for mnemonic building) OR the historical semantic shift of the word. Nuance & POV - Tone/Implication: What’s felt but not said. - Register: Casual? Polite? Rough? Literary? - Character POV: What this phrasing reveals about the speaker's personality or state of mind (1 line). In-the-Wild Examples - Provide 2 short, authentic example sentences (with English translation) using the key vocabulary or grammar. - These MUST be pulled from real Japanese literature, news articles, or established media. - Briefly cite the source (e.g., Author/Book, News Outlet) for each example. 🔁 QUICK COMMANDS /GA → Grammar Analysis Mode (Default) /COMPARE → Side-by-side comparison of two sentences + key deltas only. /CORPUS \[Word\] → Generate 4 highly varied, real-world example sentences using the target word drawn from literature, news, or media, including citations for each. Wait for my sentence. Do not add extra commentary unless asked. Ready. Feel free to use it in your studies of Japanese or any other language. \-Keith ### Do you like horror and adventure? URL: https://keithhayden.net/do-you-like-horror-and-adventure/ Last updated: 2026-02-24T02:11:37.000Z Nykitta, Welcome to the Digital Novelist newsletter! I hope you enjoyed VirtuousCon 2026\. Always good to connect with fellow creators and with familiar faces in the Black creative community. Usually the last week of the month is my semi-off week. I try not to spend too much time in the seat. But today I decided to continue the long process of adding my back catalogue to this website so new readers can get a feel for the unique way that I tell stories. "Gates of Okinawa" is my second novel. Set in Okinawa, Japan, it's the story of a high school English teacher who's haunted by Japanese ghosts and demons. Soon her students and the whole island is in danger and she's the only one that can prevent an entire part of the map from getting dragged into hell. I completed the preview page for this novel today. This includes not just the text for the first 9 chapters, but the audio too. There's also 2 songs from the 12 track novel soundtrack and a special video trailer. Everything's there when you hit the button below. [View preview](https://keithhayden.net/gates-of-okinawa/) Thanks again for being here. I look forward to getting to know you! \-Keith P.S. Are you also a writer? If so what do you write? Let me know! ### Story on the Salar URL: https://keithhayden.net/story-on-the-salar-uyuni-bolivia/ Last updated: 2026-02-22T19:17:14.000Z The world's largest salt flat isn't a place I ever thought or had any significant concern with. I remember hearing about it once and seeing a picture some decade and a half ago. Probably on one of those old Lonely Planet listicles featuring 100 places you “have to” visit before you die. Oh here we go again, another place on wife's bucket list, and one last trial before I'm back in my bed. However, this one began with and maintained an adventurous atmosphere throughout the day. Uyuni feels like one of those staging towns in one of the many action adventure movies and video games I grew up on like Jurassic Park, Congo, or old Final Fantasy (1 through 10). It's where you and your party gather supplies and information before heading off into the uncaring wilds where the elements or a monster could attack at a moment’s notice. A small desert town full of family dogs that function like strays, dirt streets pocked with potholes like depressions from mortar fire with the skeletons of rusted trains and bizarre metallic statues in the center: this is Uyuni. First stop was to drop off our gear at the small tour office, then meet the rest of the party. There were tourists from all over: Brazil, UK, etc. about 10 of us in all. In the middle of a muddy street with small pools from recent rains (a salt flat preview) we had formed a circle around our guide boliviana, Raquel. "Welcome to Uyuni! Okay guys, okay guys, we're gonna tell you everything you need to know about the salt flats and the history of it, and you'll have time to look around and enjoy this different world out there; you'll have chances to take plenty of pictures over the day after I explain the schedule and history, which you'll find very interesting I think; first we'll go to a place to look around, then there's lunch-- a very special lunch that I know you're gonna love, and don't worry you'll have a chance to get water and use the bathrooms there, OH! and before that we'll get boots as well, the Salar can be sharp and dangerous right? so then, you'll want to make sure you have sunscreen and must have sunglasses because it's another world out there and you won't be able to get anything once we're there, ok any questions?" Delivered at auctioneer speed the brief was done. That our expedition into the unknown was officially underway. We went to the train graveyard first. There, the rusted frames of old trains lined up like insect husks. Tourist crawled like ants over a carcass. As it goes, I almost bartered a Bolivian hat there, but decided against it to save cash. Before we officially rolled out of Uyuni to face the blinding white of the Salar, there was a crucial logistical stop: a separate building to get our mandatory rubber boots. As Raquel had warned us, the natural salt crystals are knife-sharp, and the wrong footwear could turn the pristine white to red in seconds. But right as we arrived at the building, biology made an undeniable demand. I had to shit— bad. I rushed off and miraculously found what was arguably the cleanest toilet I had seen on our entire South American vacation. I'm a cautious man; I always do a test flush before I commit. I pressed the handle, and a crisp, successful swirl followed. Perfect. I sat down,finished, and stood pounds lighter, ready for the adventure ahead. I pressed the handle a second time, a third, I mashed it. No flush, just a formerly good bathroom transformed into field latrine. For the second time on this trip, the plumbing had completely betrayed me. The mechanism was dead. With an annoyed groan, I abandoned the obscene scene. This porcelain tragedy had severe consequences: it made me one of the last people to reach the boot distribution area. By the time I arrived, the selection had been picked clean. There were barely any boots left. So I was forced to settle for a mismatched, too-small pair. Just trying them on, I could feel my right big toe getting pinched as if I were kicking a wooden door, while the top of my left foot pinged with crushing pressure. To add a brutal cherry on top of this humiliating sequence, I hurried out of the building to catch up with the group. *Smack.* I violently busted my head on the wooden doorframe. The impact dropped me straight down to my knees. I knelt there on the ground, utterly stunned, holding my throbbing skull in silence for several seconds. I looked around through watering eyes. No one was there to witness my clumsiness. I swear the door shrank as I was going out. Everyone else— including wifey— was already out at the vans, ready to go. Pain before the rain of adventure. When I finally hobbled out to the jeep, nursing a bruised head and pinched toes, we joined a caravan of wind-dusted vehicles loaded with spare fuel and tires lashed to the roof. The shift in our collective mindset was palpable. Dipping and rising out toward Colchani, we were explorers seeking the treasure of experience— and, let's be real, those highly coveted, Instagrammable photos that everyone takes on the Salar de Uyuni. Our driver, Alex, an Uyuni local born and raised, provided the soundtrack for our discovery tour. As we crossed deeper into the Andean desert, the scenery looking bizarrely like the dusty outskirts of the Vegas Valley, the late 2000s club anthems started bumping. Usher and Justin Bieber’s “Somebody to Love”— a track I used to blast back in my single days— blared from the speakers right as the scrub brush faded into an expanse of blinding white. We had officially entered "another world." Raquel was a motherly Bolivian woman who admitted to talking maybe too much at the start of the day. She carried a large toy dinosaur with her and a desert full of facts about Uyuni and the Salt flat. Some folks you know you can trust from the moment you meet them. And she was one of them. Especially after she commented that she liked my Texas accent. “Your accent is so nice! I had a guy from Texas on a tour and he was so frustrated he didn't know any Spanish. But it was funny to see him learning!” We got along just fine me and her. That affinity came in handy later in the day. As for the salt flat itself? According to my wife, it was "so beautiful," and standing there, I entirely understood why. The vast sky and the salt-soaked earth created a flawless, reflective surface— an effect of sheer infinity that reminded you of your place in the cosmos. Imagine a vast, flat snowfield. Now, hack down all the trees and replace the soft white snow with glittering, jagged salt that stretches endlessly to the horizon. Within the first thirty minutes, I fully appreciated its scale and overpowering splendor. For me, one hour was enough for me to take it in and feel satisfied. But our expedition was far from over. Raquel and Alex had an extensive menu of "ideas" to ensure we never forgot our visit. Under a baking, bullying sun, we roamed a shadeless landscape that was rapidly starting to feel like the Pride Lands in *The Lion King* during Scar's tyrannical reign. Perfect conditions, Raquel had told us. No wind, lightning, or sliding rain like the groups before us had endured. Perfect for her to execute her grand vision. Because the Salar is so vast and flat, that double-surface mirror effect becomes the ultimate natural backdrop to play with visual perspectives. This was the moment Raquel’s toy dinosaur roared into action. We were instructed to act out a chaotic scene, ironically pretending we were back in Jurassic Park being hunted by a T-Rex. Was it absurd? Completely. But when you're standing in the middle of a once-in-a-lifetime void, you go along with these ideas whether you want to or not. So there I was on this mountain mirror: running from a plastic dinosaur, flapping my arms like a panicked flamingo, holding shaking shoulders out in a star formation for endless couples poses. Posing, posing, posing. Toes jammed, head throbbing from the doorframe, and eyes burning, sweating it out for the sake of some admittedly spectacular media. By the time the afternoon rolled around, my physical debuffs were stacking. Between the throbbing bruised skull and the mercilessly pinched toes, my life bar was flashing red. I was being drained by the desert. And I had no idea it was actually possible to go "salt-blind." My cheap Walgreens *Ray-Bads* put up a valiant fight, but they were ineffective for this environment. A terrible, burning, light-sensitive sensation began to sear my retinas, effectively rendering my vision useless. This was particularly tragic because we had arrived at what I can only describe as the *Legend of Zelda* sector of the salt flats. Rising from the blinding white expanse was a visually striking park of colossal salt art— massive sculptures of an eagle, a condor, a dog, a giant hand, and other oddities. At the center of this surreal installation lay a twisting maze, pierced by a towering replica of the Reloj de Uyuni, all constructed from heavy salt bricks harvested from the flats during the dry season. Under normal circumstances, my inner gamer would have been thrilled to explore this desert dungeon. Instead, my eyes watered profusely, swelling shut against the bullying sun. My wife, bless her, took my arm and essentially turned me into an escort mission, leading her stumbling husband around the grand statues. We ran into Raquel, who saw my state and let me borrow her sunglasses for the rest of the day. She then guided us through the unexpectedly winding salt maze to find the central tower and, eventually, our way out. By late afternoon, the collective stamina of the group was shot. All the dragging through the jagged salt, the oppressive heat, and the endless hoisting in and out of the jeeps had taken their toll. Then the wind was picking up and cold was coming with sunset close. We finally pulled up to our last major stop: an entire building made of salt that housed a souvenir shop and, more importantly, a restroom. Now, out here in the uncaring wilds, toilets are neither plentiful nor clean. I had seen my fair share of Mongolian-style pits on my travels— essentially just an outhouse acting as an entrance to a covered hole of ripe human refuse. These facilities were technically a step up, as they at least had physical plastic to conceal the abyss below. But the smell. That stench was a physical entity. It was a vicious, open-hand slap to the face the moment you crossed the threshold. funk manifested— a miasma moving like Hexxus from *FernGully*, smiling mockingly from the rafters, rising from the dank below. I swear the stench was practically singing to me in Tim Curry's sinister voice, crooning a twisted cabaret: *“Bienvenido a su inodoro, aquí hay no oro, no más sorrow, you won’t forget tomorrow,”* o algo así. I handed over my 5 bolivianos— which, fittingly, is abbreviated as Bs— to access this nightmare. Inside, past a single, tragic urinal draped in protective plastic, stood a row of smelly stalls lined up like a vile funhouse. I chose door number three. I grabbed the handle, pulled it open, and stepped forward. *Smack.* For the second time that day, I violently cracked my head on a wooden door frame, mere millimeters from the strike hours earlier in Uyuni. The pain was blinding. A sickening throb shook my swollen eyes. My knees buckled instinctively, my body wanted to drop just as it had that morning. But I couldn't— *wouldn't*— go down to the floor in a place like this. So, I just stood there, braced against the frame, moaning in agonizing pain for several long seconds. Then, I took my piss, and pissed off. I stumbled out of the salt building and back into the blinding afternoon sun, my brain ringing, my toes throbbing, and my eyes burning. I was in a walking daze. I was in a sheer daze for the rest of the afternoon, surviving purely on autopilot. That made the unexpected pop-up oasis feel like a literal mirage. At this point, the anticipated sunset was on. We drove a little more then Raquel and DJ Alex were breaking out a surprise spread of Bolivian wine, cookies, chocolates, and Pringles. In my bruised and battered state, those salty chips and surprisingly robust Bolivian wine tasted like elixir. The physical trials faded as the sunset took over, delivering the ultimate payoff. In the dying light of the trip, a distant storm began to brew. Bursts of reddish-orange painted the blown-up clouds, creating a flawless double image— one raging in the sky above, and an identical reflection rippling on the cold, darkening surface of the salt flat below. Sensing the mood, DJ Alex queued up the perfect soundtrack for the finale. He played that classic Bruno Mars song— "Talking to the Moon," I think—followed seamlessly by "Rest of My Life," that old party anthem from *Fast Five*. It was the absolute perfect ending to the final day. Wife was busy trying to take majestic pictures, and I kept ruining them by sidling into the frame. We kissed, danced, and laughed out there on the reflective plain, two silhouettes embracing as we looked out at a day lived to its absolute fullest. Fade to black. Roll credits. However, that wasn’t the end. We were on the drive back when a loud thud echoed above us. Driver (DJ) Alex’s spare tire had snapped loose and tumbled off the roof of the jeep. We rolled to a stop. A bulldozing, chilly wind was howling through the last bruised light of the day as Alex stepped out, first walking, then running (more like jogging) to retrieve his rogue tire. Inside the jeep, a silent call to arms passed among the passengers. Me, along with James a Scottish bloke, and a reserved yet intense looking guy from Morocco with the most incredible anvil-esque jawline (never got his name) stood in-line faces determined. “Let's go help,” Moroccan guy who now lives in London, said. The three of us rushed off into the blackening desert. I actually reached the tire first. Being a massive, rugged off-road spare, I figured it would be impossibly heavy. It was… and it wasn't. It was heavy enough to make my already tender lower back give me serious side-eye, but just light enough that I could hoist it with one arm, bracing the dirty tread against my **gam** as I awkwardly hobbled it back. I carried it maybe a hundred meters toward the jeep. By then, my arm had turned to absolute jelly. Just as my grip was failing, James and the Moroccan model— who wore real Ray Bans — stepped in. Together, the three of us heaved the massive tire up the side of the jeep so Alex could secure it back to the roof rack. We returned to Uyuni 30 minutes later and the last day was done. --- # Español boliviano El salar más grande del mundo no es un lugar en el que hubiera pensado ni que me importara demasiado. Recuerdo haber oído hablar de él una vez y haber visto una foto hace como una década y media. Probablemente en una de esas viejas listas de Lonely Planet con los 100 lugares que "tienes que" visitar antes de morir. Oh, aquí vamos de nuevo, otro lugar en la lista de deseos de mi esposa, y una última prueba antes de poder volver a mi cama. Sin embargo, este comenzó y mantuvo un ambiente de aventura durante todo el día. Uyuni se siente como uno de esos pueblos de preparación en una de las muchas películas y videojuegos de acción y aventura con los que crecí, como *Jurassic Park*, *Congo* o los viejos *Final Fantasy* (del 1 al 10). Es donde tú y tu grupo reúnen provisiones e información antes de adentrarse en la naturaleza implacable, donde los elementos o un monstruo podrían atacar en cualquier momento. Un pequeño pueblo del desierto lleno de perros de familia que actúan como callejeros, calles de tierra llenas de baches como cráteres de fuego de mortero, con esqueletos de trenes oxidados y extrañas estatuas metálicas en el centro: esto es Uyuni. La primera parada fue dejar nuestro equipo en la pequeña oficina de turismo, y luego conocer al resto del grupo. Había turistas de todas partes: Brasil, Reino Unido, etc., éramos unos 10 en total. En medio de una calle embarrada con pequeños charcos por las lluvias recientes (un adelanto del salar), habíamos formado un círculo alrededor de nuestra guía boliviana, Raquel. "¡Bienvenidos a Uyuni! Okey chicos, okey chicos, les vamos a contar todo lo que necesitan saber sobre el salar y su historia, y tendrán tiempo para mirar a su alrededor y disfrutar de este mundo diferente allá afuera; tendrán la oportunidad de tomar muchas fotos durante el día después de que les explique el itinerario y la historia, que creo que les parecerá muy interesante; primero iremos a un lugar para mirar, luego hay almuerzo... un almuerzo muy especial que sé que les va a encantar, y no se preocupen, tendrán la oportunidad de comprar agua y usar los baños allí. ¡AH! Y antes de eso también conseguiremos botas, el Salar puede ser filoso y peligroso, ¿verdad? Así que, van a querer asegurarse de tener protector solar y deben tener gafas de sol porque es otro mundo allá afuera y no podrán comprar nada una vez que estemos allí, okey, ¿alguna pregunta?" Entregado a la velocidad de un subastador, el informe había terminado. Nuestra expedición hacia lo desconocido estaba oficialmente en marcha. Primero fuimos al cementerio de trenes. Allí, los armazones oxidados de viejos trenes se alineaban como cáscaras de insectos. Los turistas trepaban como hormigas sobre un cadáver. Por cierto, casi regateo un sombrero boliviano ahí, pero decidí no hacerlo para ahorrar algo de plata. Antes de salir oficialmente de Uyuni para enfrentarnos al blanco cegador del Salar, hubo una parada logística crucial: un edificio separado para conseguir nuestras botas de goma obligatorias. Como Raquel nos había advertido, los cristales de sal natural son afilados como cuchillos, y el calzado equivocado podría teñir el blanco inmaculado de rojo en segundos. Pero justo cuando llegamos al edificio, la biología hizo una exigencia innegable. Tenía que cagar... urgente. Salí corriendo y milagrosamente encontré el que probablemente era el inodoro más limpio que había visto en todas nuestras vacaciones por Sudamérica. Soy un hombre precavido; siempre hago una descarga de prueba antes de comprometerme. Presioné la palanca, y le siguió un remolino nítido y exitoso. Perfecto. Me senté, terminé, y me levanté unos kilos más ligero, listo para la aventura que me esperaba. Presioné la palanca una segunda vez, una tercera, la aplasté. Ninguna descarga, solo un baño que antes era bueno transformado en una letrina de campaña. Por segunda vez en este viaje, la plomería me había traicionado por completo. El mecanismo estaba muerto. Con un gruñido de fastidio, abandoné la obscena escena. Esta tragedia de porcelana tuvo graves consecuencias: me convirtió en una de las últimas personas en llegar al área de distribución de botas. Para cuando llegué, la selección había sido arrasada. Apenas quedaban botas. Así que me vi obligado a conformarme con un par desparejo y demasiado pequeño. Con solo probármelas, podía sentir cómo me pellizcaban el dedo gordo del pie derecho como si estuviera pateando una puerta de madera, mientras que la parte superior de mi pie izquierdo palpitaba con una presión aplastante. Para ponerle la brutal cereza al pastel de esta secuencia humillante, me apresuré a salir del edificio para alcanzar al grupo. *Pum*. Me reventé violentamente la cabeza contra el marco de madera de la puerta. El impacto me hizo caer de rodillas. Me quedé arrodillado en el suelo, completamente aturdido, sosteniendo mi cráneo palpitante en silencio durante varios segundos. Miré a mi alrededor con los ojos llorosos. No había nadie para presenciar mi torpeza. Juro que la puerta se encogió cuando salía. Todos los demás —incluyendo a mi mujercita— ya estaban afuera en las vagonetas, listos para partir. Dolor antes de la lluvia de aventuras. Cuando finalmente salí cojeando hacia el jeep, cuidando mi cabeza magullada y mis dedos de los pies pellizcados, nos unimos a una caravana de vehículos empolvados por el viento, cargados con combustible de repuesto y llantas amarradas al techo. El cambio en nuestra mentalidad colectiva era palpable. Bajando y subiendo en dirección a Colchani, éramos exploradores en busca del tesoro de la experiencia... y, seamos realistas, esas codiciadas fotos "instagrameables" que todo el mundo se toma en el Salar de Uyuni. Nuestro chofer, Alex, un uyunense nacido y criado, proporcionó la banda sonora para nuestro recorrido de descubrimiento. A medida que nos adentrábamos en el desierto andino, con un paisaje que se parecía extrañamente a las afueras polvorientas del Valle de Las Vegas, los himnos de discoteca de finales de los 2000 empezaron a sonar fuerte. "Somebody to Love" de Usher y Justin Bieber —una canción que solía poner a todo volumen en mis días de soltero— retumbó por los altavoces justo cuando los matorrales se desvanecieron para dar paso a una extensión de blanco cegador. Habíamos entrado oficialmente en "otro mundo". Raquel era una mujer boliviana maternal que admitió que quizás hablaba demasiado al principio del día. Llevaba consigo un gran dinosaurio de juguete y un desierto lleno de datos sobre Uyuni y el Salar. Hay personas en las que sabes que puedes confiar desde el momento en que las conoces. Y ella era una de ellas. Especialmente después de que comentó que le gustaba mi acento de Texas. "¡Tu acento es tan bonito! Tuve a un chico de Texas en un tour y estaba tan frustrado de no saber nada de español. ¡Pero fue divertido verlo aprender!" Nos llevamos muy bien ella y yo. Esa afinidad resultó útil más tarde en el día. ¿En cuanto al salar en sí? Según mi esposa, era "tan hermoso", y estando parado ahí, entendí completamente por qué. El vasto cielo y la tierra empapada de sal creaban una superficie reflectante impecable: un efecto de pura infinidad que te recordaba tu lugar en el cosmos. Imagina un campo de nieve inmenso y plano. Ahora, tala todos los árboles y reemplaza la suave nieve blanca por sal brillante y dentada que se extiende infinitamente hacia el horizonte. En los primeros treinta minutos, aprecié plenamente su escala y su esplendor abrumador. Para mí, una hora fue suficiente para asimilarlo y sentirme satisfecho. Pero nuestra expedición estaba lejos de terminar. Raquel y Alex tenían un extenso menú de "ideas" para asegurarse de que nunca olvidáramos nuestra visita. Bajo un sol abrasador y abusivo, deambulábamos por un paisaje sin sombra que rápidamente comenzaba a sentirse como las Tierras del Reino en *El Rey León* durante el reinado tiránico de Scar. Condiciones perfectas, nos había dicho Raquel. Sin viento, relámpagos o lluvia torrencial como habían soportado los grupos anteriores a nosotros. Perfecto para que ella ejecutara su gran visión. Como el Salar es tan vasto y plano, ese efecto de espejo de doble superficie se convierte en el telón de fondo natural definitivo para jugar con las perspectivas visuales. Este fue el momento en que el dinosaurio de juguete de Raquel rugió y entró en acción. Nos dieron instrucciones de actuar una escena caótica, irónicamente fingiendo que estábamos de vuelta en *Jurassic Park* siendo cazados por un T-Rex. ¿Era absurdo? Completamente. Pero cuando estás parado en medio de un vacío que solo se ve una vez en la vida, sigues la corriente con estas ideas, quieras o no. Así que ahí estaba yo, en este espejo de montaña: huyendo de un dinosaurio de plástico, aleteando los brazos como un flamenco en pánico, sosteniendo los hombros temblorosos en forma de estrella para interminables poses de pareja. Posando, posando, posando. Los dedos de los pies apretados, la cabeza palpitando por el golpe con el marco de la puerta, y los ojos ardiendo, sudando la gota gorda por el bien de unos archivos multimedia, hay que admitirlo, espectaculares. Para cuando llegó la tarde, mis desventajas físicas se estaban acumulando. Entre el cráneo magullado y palpitante y los dedos de los pies pellizcados sin piedad, mi barra de vida parpadeaba en rojo. El desierto me estaba drenando. Y no tenía idea de que en realidad fuera posible quedarse "ciego por la sal". Mis lentes oscuros baratos, unos "Ray-Bads" de Walgreens, dieron una valiente pelea, pero fueron ineficaces para este entorno. Una terrible sensación de ardor y sensibilidad a la luz comenzó a abrasar mis retinas, dejando mi visión efectivamente inútil. Esto fue particularmente trágico porque habíamos llegado a lo que solo puedo describir como el sector de *Legend of Zelda* de los salares. Elevándose sobre la extensión blanca y cegadora había un parque visualmente impactante de arte colosal en sal: esculturas masivas de un águila, un cóndor, un perro, una mano gigante y otras rarezas. En el centro de esta instalación surrealista yacía un laberinto retorcido, atravesado por una imponente réplica del Reloj de Uyuni, todo construido con pesados ladrillos de sal extraídos de las salinas durante la temporada seca. En circunstancias normales, mi yo gamer interior habría estado emocionado de explorar esta mazmorra del desierto. En cambio, mis ojos lagrimeaban profusamente, hinchándose hasta cerrarse ante el sol abusivo. Mi esposa, bendita sea, me tomó del brazo y esencialmente me convirtió en una misión de escolta, guiando a su esposo tropezón alrededor de las grandes estatuas. Nos topamos con Raquel, quien vio mi estado y me prestó sus gafas de sol por el resto del día. Luego nos guió a través del laberinto de sal inesperadamente sinuoso para encontrar la torre central y, eventualmente, nuestra salida. A última hora de la tarde, la estamina colectiva del grupo estaba agotada. Todo el arrastrarse por la sal dentada, el calor opresivo y el interminable subir y bajar de los jeeps habían pasado factura. Luego el viento empezó a arreciar y el frío se acercaba junto con el atardecer. Finalmente nos detuvimos en nuestra última gran parada: un edificio entero hecho de sal que albergaba una tienda de recuerdos y, más importante aún, un baño. Ahora bien, aquí en la naturaleza implacable, los inodoros no son ni abundantes ni limpios. Había visto mi buena ración de letrinas de pozo estilo mongol en mis viajes... esencialmente solo una caseta que servía de entrada a un agujero cubierto de desechos humanos maduros. Estas instalaciones eran técnicamente una mejora, ya que al menos tenían plástico físico para ocultar el abismo de abajo. Pero el olor. Ese hedor era una entidad física. Fue una bofetada despiadada a mano abierta en la cara en el momento en que cruzabas el umbral. La pestilencia manifestada... un miasma moviéndose como Hexxus de *FernGully*, sonriendo burlonamente desde las vigas, elevándose desde la humedad de abajo. Juro que el hedor prácticamente me estaba cantando con la voz siniestra de Tim Curry, entonando un cabaret retorcido: "Bienvenido a su inodoro, aquí no hay oro, no más sorrow, you won’t forget tomorrow", o algo así. Entregué mis 5 bolivianos —que, curiosamente, se abrevian como Bs— para acceder a esta pesadilla. Adentro, pasando un único y trágico urinario cubierto con plástico protector, había una fila de cubículos apestosos alineados como una vil casa de la risa. Elegí la puerta número tres. Agarré la manija, la abrí, y di un paso adelante. *Pum*. Por segunda vez en el día, me partí violentamente la cabeza contra un marco de puerta de madera, a escasos milímetros del golpe de horas antes en Uyuni. El dolor fue cegador. Un latido nauseabundo sacudió mis ojos hinchados. Mis rodillas cedieron instintivamente, mi cuerpo quería dejarse caer tal como lo había hecho esa mañana. Pero no podía —no quería— tirarme al suelo en un lugar como este. Así que, simplemente me quedé ahí, apoyado contra el marco, gimiendo de dolor agonizante por varios y largos segundos. Luego, eché mi meada, y me largué de ahí. Salí a tropezones del edificio de sal de vuelta al cegador sol de la tarde, con el cerebro zumbando, los dedos de los pies palpitando y los ojos ardiendo. Caminaba aturdido. Estuve completamente aturdido durante el resto de la tarde, sobreviviendo puramente en piloto automático. Eso hizo que el inesperado oasis emergente se sintiera como un espejismo literal. En este punto, el tan anticipado atardecer estaba en marcha. Condujimos un poco más y luego Raquel y DJ Alex sacaron un banquete sorpresa de vino boliviano, galletas, chocolates y Pringles. En mi estado magullado y maltrecho, esas papas saladas y el vino boliviano sorprendentemente robusto me supieron a elixir. Las pruebas físicas se desvanecieron cuando el atardecer tomó el control, entregando la recompensa definitiva. En la luz agonizante del viaje, una tormenta distante comenzó a gestarse. Estallidos de color naranja rojizo pintaron las nubes hinchadas, creando una imagen doble impecable: una rugiendo en el cielo arriba, y un reflejo idéntico ondulando en la superficie fría y oscura del salar abajo. Presintiendo el ambiente, DJ Alex puso la banda sonora perfecta para el final. Puso esa clásica canción de Bruno Mars —"Talking to the Moon", creo— seguida sin pausa por "Rest of My Life", ese viejo himno de fiesta de *Fast Five*. Fue el final absolutamente perfecto para el último día. Mi esposa estaba ocupada tratando de tomar fotos majestuosas, y yo me la pasaba arruinándolas metiéndome de lado en el encuadre. Nos besamos, bailamos y reímos ahí afuera en la llanura reflectante, dos siluetas abrazadas mientras contemplábamos un día vivido al máximo absoluto. Fundido a negro. Ruedan los créditos. Sin embargo, ese no fue el final. Estábamos en el viaje de regreso cuando un fuerte golpe resonó sobre nosotros. La llanta de repuesto del chofer (DJ) Alex se había soltado y caído rodando del techo de la vagoneta. Nos detuvimos. Un viento gélido y arrollador aullaba a través de la última luz amoratada del día mientras Alex salía, primero caminando, luego corriendo (más bien trotando) para recuperar su llanta fugitiva. Dentro del jeep, un llamado silencioso a las armas pasó entre los pasajeros. Yo, junto con James, un tipo escocés, y un tipo de Marruecos, reservado pero de mirada intensa, con la mandíbula más increíble en forma de yunque (nunca supe su nombre), nos formamos con rostros decididos. "Vamos a ayudar", dijo el tipo marroquí que ahora vive en Londres. Los tres salimos corriendo hacia el desierto que se oscurecía. De hecho, llegué a la llanta primero. Siendo un repuesto masivo y rústico para todo terreno, imaginé que sería imposiblemente pesado. Lo era... y no lo era. Era lo suficientemente pesado como para hacer que mi ya adolorida espalda baja me mirara feo, pero lo suficientemente liviano como para poder levantarlo con un brazo, apoyando la banda de rodadura sucia contra mi pierna mientras volvía cojeando torpemente. Lo cargué unos cien metros hacia el jeep. Para entonces, mi brazo se había vuelto pura gelatina. Justo cuando mi agarre estaba fallando, James y el modelo marroquí —que llevaba unos Ray-Ban auténticos— intervinieron. Juntos, los tres subimos la enorme llanta por el costado de la vagoneta para que Alex pudiera asegurarla de nuevo en la parrilla del techo. Regresamos a Uyuni 30 minutos después y el último día había terminado. ### A new novelist has joined! - Digital Novelist notes - 2026-02-21 URL: https://keithhayden.net/a-new-novelist-has-joined-digital-novelist-notes-2026-02-21/ Last updated: 2026-02-21T16:53:42.000Z Hey there, Please welcome Robert Riddle to the Digital Novelist newsletter! I met Robert last year at a local book festival and he immediately impressed me. Here were all these authors with their banners, displays, stacks of published books; then there he was— QR code with his novel online and a few business cards. To me he was the most memorable person I met that day. The next week, I read part of his novel *Delphine* on my YouTube community author day. And just, wow! The level of immersion, mixed media (music, disparate documents, various perspectives), was extremely well done. It was a murder mystery set in the near future with many horror elements. Perfect for a Halloween reading. Robert's now working on Parte III of the work. I look forward to reading more of him. \-Keith --- ### **ANNOUNCEMENT!** **Virtuous Con 2026** begins today! ### I will be there as a vendor from 9AM - 2PM PST. It's online, so stop by and say hi if you get a chance! [Get your ticket](https://www.tickettailor.com/events/virtuousconllc/1949006?%5Fgl=1%2Atd5uag%2A%5Fga%2ANzM4Nzc2Njk5LjE3NzEyNjkxMDc.%2A%5Fga%5FY89H8N47K7%2AczE3NzE2OTEyODQkbzMkZzAkdDE3NzE2OTEyODQkajYwJGwwJGgw&ref=keithhayden.net) --- ## Session 1: Writing (Micro-fiction) Since I've entered the editing phase of my novel *Cereus & Limnic: Escape From Okinawa Type-B* I want to keep my writing skills well-oiled. That's why I've decided to focus on shorter works while I edit. Today I did some research into awards I could submit to and I found this [Fish Flash Fiction Competition](https://www.writing.ie/writing-comps/fish-flash-fiction-2026/?ref=keithhayden.net#:~:text=Fish%20Flash%20Fiction%20Prize%20deadline,in%20300%20words%20or%20less.) over in Ireland. Deadline is 2/28/26. You joinin'? ## Session 2: Editing (Novel) Cereus & Limnic: Escape From Okinawa 394 words written Still thinking through and experimenting with some final formatting decisions. ## Session 3: Coding (15 mins) - Working with Accessible Media Elements (Finally done with the boring theory) ### Begin Building "Book Checkout Page (Lab)!" ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/18/bf/18bf29db-1cec-4857-a9dc-e2e94a86d2bf/content/images/2026/02/image-9.png) ### First draft status - Digital Novelist notes - 2026-02-20 URL: https://keithhayden.net/first-draft-status/ Last updated: 2026-02-20T22:47:55.000Z Robert, Thanks for joining the Digital Novelist newsletter! It'll be good to stay in touch as we both continue down this long winding path for writing fiction. You came on a good day. Because I just wrapped the first draft of my upcoming military sci-fi horror novel *Cereus & Limnic: Escape From Okinawa*. Total word count came to 103,537. Took me about 6 months for this first draft. Looking forward to sharing more with you in the future! \-Keith --- ### **ANNOUNCEMENT!** This weekend Feb 21-22, 2026 I will be a vendor at **Virtuous Con 2026**! It's online, so stop by and say hi if you get a chance. It would be great to talk to you again! [See details](https://virtuouscon.com/vendors?ref=keithhayden.net) --- ## Session 1: Writing (Novel) 3.5 hours 1700 words written - First draft complete Excerpt: > Somebody was in the toilet. I could hear muttering coming from beneath the seal of brightness of the door. Resinous woodiness with a hint of citrus, a cloud of frankincense (I'm pretty sure) hit me with a bout of nostalgia as I inhaled. ## Session 2: Writing (Novel) 10 mins Began planning the editing process. ## Session 3: Editing (Novel) Cereus & Limnic: Escape From Okinawa (10 mins) 1250 words edited Began editing ### Do you need to read to be a good writer? - Digital Novelist notes - 2026-02-19 URL: https://keithhayden.net/do-you-need-to-read-to-be-a-good-writer/ Last updated: 2026-02-19T21:47:13.000Z Antonisha, Do you need to read to write well? I've seen this debate off and on online. Certainly there's a strong case to be made for an emphatic YES to the question. After all, as writers, you and I, we work with words as our primary method to transmit ideas. So it makes sense that the more words you consume, the better you'll be at crafting them in your own work. > *But are there cases were one doesn't need to read to be a good writer?* Absolutely yes. My brother writes clean and compellingly. He admits he doesn't read very much fiction or non-fiction in book form. He's written and published over a dozen and half titles this way. So how does he do it? Two things: 1. Think out loud and record those thoughts via audio recordings 2. Minimizes his inputs of other casual media The first allows him to organize his thoughts so that he can later put them down in an organized manner. I'd argue the second is more important to good writing. This is because the storytelling tools of those other mediums don't bleed into his writing. This is important. **Because many writers mistake depth of feeling for depth of communication.** The two are not always connected. ### Without a deliberate practice of clear thinking and controlled consumption, you may fall on storytelling habits that are not optimized for the written-medium. You've probably read the books that are full of cultural shorthands, cliches, or lack of clarity in theme, character, and tone. This is what can happen when writers don't read enough. They limit themselves to their individual perspective or the pre-processed views of those stories in other mediums that aren't as text-dependent. I like to think of it as getting good at a sport. If you wanted to train for the 400 meter relay at the 2028 Olympics, what's better: running on a treadmill or on a track? The track is practicing where you play. This is what reading (especially fiction) does for the serious writer. Over time, through osmosis and observation, you see how other writers deal with the same limitations of words. Then over time you discover your own way of solving those same problems in the stories you want to tell. Everyone should read (books). But those who call themselves writers, especially novelists, should read even more. It's the best thing you can do to increase your capacity to produce more curated sets of words of your own and refine your taste for what makes the cut in your stories. What do you think? \-Keith --- ### **ANNOUNCEMENT!** This weekend Feb 21-22, 2026 I will be a vendor at **Virtuous Con 2026**! It's online, so stop by and say hi if you get a chance. It would be great to meet you! [See details](https://virtuouscon.com/vendors?ref=keithhayden.net) --- ## Session 1: Drawing (35 mins) - Begin Rhythms Project Drew along with the project description (these were really fasts sketches done in under 5 mins each). Then redrew each one from memory. Those were done in under 2 mins due to lack of time. If you ever decide to learn to draw, doing exercises from memory is the fastest way to increase your confidence and improve toward being able to draw from imagination. ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/18/bf/18bf29db-1cec-4857-a9dc-e2e94a86d2bf/content/images/2026/02/2026_02_19_rhtyhm_drawing_1-1.jpg) rhythm drawing 1 ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/18/bf/18bf29db-1cec-4857-a9dc-e2e94a86d2bf/content/images/2026/02/2026_02_19_rhtyhm_drawing_memory-1.jpg) rhythm drawing 1 from memory ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/18/bf/18bf29db-1cec-4857-a9dc-e2e94a86d2bf/content/images/2026/02/2026_02_19_rhtyhm_drawing_2.jpg) rhythm drawing 2 ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/18/bf/18bf29db-1cec-4857-a9dc-e2e94a86d2bf/content/images/2026/02/2026_02_19_rhtyhm_drawing_memory-2.jpg) rhythm drawing 2 - from memory ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/18/bf/18bf29db-1cec-4857-a9dc-e2e94a86d2bf/content/images/2026/02/2026_02_19_rhtyhm_drawing_3.jpg) rhythm drawing 3 ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/18/bf/18bf29db-1cec-4857-a9dc-e2e94a86d2bf/content/images/2026/02/2026_02_19_rhtyhm_drawing_memory-3.jpg) rhythm drawing 3 from memory ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/18/bf/18bf29db-1cec-4857-a9dc-e2e94a86d2bf/content/images/2026/02/2026_02_19_rhtyhm_drawing_4.jpg) rhythm drawing 4 ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/18/bf/18bf29db-1cec-4857-a9dc-e2e94a86d2bf/content/images/2026/02/2026_02_19_rhtyhm_drawing_memory-4.jpg) rhythm drawing 4 from memory ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/18/bf/18bf29db-1cec-4857-a9dc-e2e94a86d2bf/content/images/2026/02/2026_02_19_rhtyhm_drawing_5.jpg) rhythm drawing 5 ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/18/bf/18bf29db-1cec-4857-a9dc-e2e94a86d2bf/content/images/2026/02/2026_02_19_rhtyhm_drawing_memory-5.jpg) rhythm drawing 5 from memory ## Session 2: Writing (20 mins) 166 words written Excerpt: > "it’s in Stafford. You know where?” > “Virginia, yes.” > “Ok cool. Tomorrow at 8PM, come down alone. It’s about your Dad, y’know?” > “I figured. Who are—” > There were only beeps signaling he’d gone. ## Session 3: Coding (25 mins) - Introduction to ARIA (DONE) - Workshop - Build an Accessible Audio Controller (DONE) Ready for the next Lab! ### How writing novels is like gift-wrapping - Digital Novelist notes - 2026-02-18 URL: https://keithhayden.net/how-writing-novels-is-like-gift-wrapping/ Last updated: 2026-02-18T23:46:48.000Z Joey, How's this week treating you? Today my list of non-creative admin to-dos was long. Couldn't spend as much time skill building. But I did complete the draft final battle scene of the novel. These always take me days to write. Not just because of fight choreography or set piece creation, but because I want to make sure you as the reader get the proper story payoffs. ### Writing a book can be like wrapping a present. Cut too much paper out, when you go to close the seal and tape it shut, you end up with frumpy wrap that might reveal what's inside and looks sloppy. I go for as close to a perfect cut as possible when I wrap gifts and novels. There needs to be enough there to cover everything I included in the package (story). All side plots need to be resolved, fights need to be appropriately paced and emotionally layered– not just slugfests– and everything needs to be concluded in an emotionally satisfying way. Finally, some mystery needs to be preserved to keep readers going to the very last page (no unnecessary run-on endings). You and I have both red *that* book that should have ended 20 pages earlier. As you can imagine, all this is hard to get right on the first pass. But I've gotten better at at least covering all the major plot points and emotional beats on draft one. That way draft two is just a little polish and narrative balancing before it's good to go. You can read a brief part of the final scene below. No major spoilers are there. \-Keith --- ### **ANNOUNCEMENT!** This weekend Feb 21-22, 2026 I will be a vendor at **Virtuous Con 2026**! It's online, so stop by and say hi if you get a chance. It would be great to meet you! [See details](https://virtuouscon.com/vendors?ref=keithhayden.net) --- ## Session 1: Coding (20 mins) - Introduction to ARIA (Accessible Rich Internet Applications) Not the most engaging topic, but important. ## Session 2: Writing (Novel) Cereus & Limnic: Escape From Okinawa Type-B (35 mins) 719 words written - final battle complete Excerpt: > Immediately, we were surrounded: by the U.S. Marines, Japanese locals, and Chinese drones overhead, supported by those agile silver robots they got. I had one more in me to burn. I coulda killed them all. But I knew more would come. ## Session 3: Drawing (20 mins) - Draw Any Pose From Any Angle - Rhythms (FINISHED) Just a bunch of arms ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/18/bf/18bf29db-1cec-4857-a9dc-e2e94a86d2bf/content/images/2026/02/2026_02_18_rhythms_1.jpg) ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/18/bf/18bf29db-1cec-4857-a9dc-e2e94a86d2bf/content/images/2026/02/2026_02_18_rhythms_2.jpg) ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/18/bf/18bf29db-1cec-4857-a9dc-e2e94a86d2bf/content/images/2026/02/2026_02_18_rhythms_3.jpg) ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/18/bf/18bf29db-1cec-4857-a9dc-e2e94a86d2bf/content/images/2026/02/2026_02_18_rhythms_4.jpg) --- Hey man, I hope you've been enjoying this newsletter. My goal this year is to make it something you look forward to seeing in your inbox when you get it (not like probably dozens of automated messages you get daily). When I look at other writers and creators sometimes it feels like I'm *way* behind at times. This is because I've been at this for nearly a decade now, and while my footprint has certainly grown, my "brand" still isn't well-defined. In the age of algorithms, lack of clarity is death. If the machine doesn't know where to place you, then the right people won't find you. That's the grim reality in 2026. HAC Studios just turned 4 years old last week and right now it's currently in a limbo state. I originally started it to collab with other creators, but due to the wide-range of pursuits I'm interested in, even close friends who are at least curious about what I'm doing have difficulty finding ways to work with me. ### Long story short, support from readers like you helps keep me going financially and motivationally. I strongly feel like all of this is leading to somewhere good. Where that is, I have no idea. But I hope you're still around when we get there. **Hit the button to tip.** Even a $1 means more than you know. [Tip](https://keithhayden.net/#/portal/support) ### Raglan sleeves - Digital Novelist notes - 2026-09-17 URL: https://keithhayden.net/raglan-sleeves/ Last updated: 2026-02-17T23:12:25.000Z Ajani, You know how I be pickin' random words to write with? Today's was a funny one: *raglan sleeves*. Definition: a sleeve that extends to the neckline with slated seams from the underarm to the neck Not only is it a fun word to say (raglan sleeves. try saying it once you'll have to say it at least three times), it also has a cool backstory. Turns out it was named for a 19th century British military vet. Dude lost his right arm at Napoleon's famous Battle of Waterloo and had relearn to do everything (including still swing a sword) with his left. Homie was hardcore. To facilitate his movement, tailors redesigned his uniform to wear the sleeves went from the neck straight down. I guess this was a major fashion innovation at the time. It was all stiff sleeves to go with their upper lips in the UK before. This guy was the Lord of Raglan, so the sleeves became know as *raglan sleeves*. Now how did I use this in the novel? In the course of writing the final battle, I had two of the brothers get their shoulders dislocated. This made them drag the limp arm around Bushido Blade style (remember that?) Perfect place to insert this line: > At that point Scorch and I had reset our arms to partial movement. No need for a raglan sleeve (thankfully). Let me know what you think. \-Keith --- ### **ANNOUNCEMENT!** This weekend Feb 21-22, 2026 I will be a vendor at **Virtuous Con 2026**! If you have time bro stop by. It'd be good to see you. [See details](https://virtuouscon.com/vendors?ref=keithhayden.net) --- ## Session 1: Writing (Novel) [Cereus & Limnic: Escape From Okinawa Type-B](https://keithhayden.net/cereus-limnic-escape-from-okinawa-type-b-novel/) ## 216 words written ## Session 2: Writing (Novel) [Cereus & Limnic: Escape From Okinawa Type-B](https://keithhayden.net/cereus-limnic-escape-from-okinawa-type-b-novel/) ## 341 words written > Scorch shook his head. “Told you not to trust that bitch.” > Sun said, “Sorry Shade, but we gotta do this.” He slapped his boney fingers on my shoulder. I just nodded, then we took off. > Chimera was ugly. Head and claws of an eagle, body of lion dog, tail of dragon, size of a skyscraper— that about sums it up. ## Session 3: Coding (15 mins) - **FCC** \- Working with Accessible Tables and Forms ### What you cannot unsee - Shape composition - Digital Novelist notes - 2026-02-16 URL: https://keithhayden.net/what-you-cannot-unsee-shape-composition/ Last updated: 2026-02-16T19:19:11.000Z Tammara, How are you enjoying your long weekend? --- ### **ANNOUNCEMENT!** This weekend Feb 21-22, 2026 I will be a vendor at **Virtuous Con 2026**! Stop by and say hello! [See details](https://virtuouscon.com/vendors?ref=keithhayden.net) --- Every now and then somebody says something that permanently changes how you see. Like when my wife first called *Every Breath You Take* by The Police the "Stalker Song." You can never hear it the same again. That happened today during my drawing focus day– three sessions of sketching (I know, intense!). This was the first time I did that. But the reward was "shape composition vision." The ability to see how shapes are arranged in visual storytelling and to convey certain emotions. I won't get into a detailed breakdown, but basically you take the three basic shapes: squares, circles, triangles and put them together in interesting ways to convey narrative. In general, squares represent strength, stability; circles symbolize unity, friendliness; triangles turn into danger (think of a sharp knife). When you combine these basic ideas you get emotional resonance from the viewer. I even did an analysis of the book cover for my second novel *Gates of Okinawa*. ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/18/bf/18bf29db-1cec-4857-a9dc-e2e94a86d2bf/content/images/2026/02/Gates-of-Okinawa_Draft-2-Digital-Front-Only--1600-x-2400-px-.jpg) Book cover for "Gates of Okinawa" ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/18/bf/18bf29db-1cec-4857-a9dc-e2e94a86d2bf/content/images/2026/02/2026_02_16_gates-of-okinawa_shape_comp.jpg) "Gates of Okinawa" - Shape Composition Looks like I unconsciously understood something about "shape composition" when I designed it. Hope you found this interesting! Until next time \-Keith --- ## Session 1: Drawing (1.5 hrs) Proko - Drawing Basics Course - Shape Composition - Rhythms ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/18/bf/18bf29db-1cec-4857-a9dc-e2e94a86d2bf/content/images/2026/02/2026_02_16_shape-comp-1.jpg) ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/18/bf/18bf29db-1cec-4857-a9dc-e2e94a86d2bf/content/images/2026/02/2026_02_16_shape-comp-2.jpg) ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/18/bf/18bf29db-1cec-4857-a9dc-e2e94a86d2bf/content/images/2026/02/2026_02_16_FORCE-shapes.jpg) ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/18/bf/18bf29db-1cec-4857-a9dc-e2e94a86d2bf/content/images/2026/02/2026_02_16_FORCE-drawing.jpg) ## Session 2: Drawing (30 mins) - Rhythms ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/18/bf/18bf29db-1cec-4857-a9dc-e2e94a86d2bf/content/images/2026/02/2026_02_16_rhythms-1.jpg) ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/18/bf/18bf29db-1cec-4857-a9dc-e2e94a86d2bf/content/images/2026/02/2026_02_16_rhythms-2.jpg) ## Session 3: Drawing (15 mins) - Rhythms ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/18/bf/18bf29db-1cec-4857-a9dc-e2e94a86d2bf/content/images/2026/02/2026_02_16_rhythms_part-4.jpg) ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/18/bf/18bf29db-1cec-4857-a9dc-e2e94a86d2bf/content/images/2026/02/2026_02_16_rhythms-part-5.jpg) ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/18/bf/18bf29db-1cec-4857-a9dc-e2e94a86d2bf/content/images/2026/02/2026_02_16_rhythms-part-6.jpg) ### Digital Novelist notes - 2026-02-15 URL: https://keithhayden.net/digital-novelist-notes-2026-02-15/ Last updated: 2026-02-15T15:14:52.000Z Antonisha, I hope you're well on this Sunday. Short session today, but a fruitful one. Happy Sunday! \-Keith --- ## Session 1: Writing (Novel) (10 mins) 125 words Excerpt: > The gigantic beast expanded every second from the waves. Each step quaked the earth. At that instant is three brothers were isotopic specks to be mass spectrographed, acceleration to weight charged us to act. ## Session 2: Coding (5 mins) Completed: Debug a Coding Journey Blog Page ## Session 3: Drawing (20 mins) ### Proko - Drawing Basics - Shape with Emotion ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/18/bf/18bf29db-1cec-4857-a9dc-e2e94a86d2bf/content/images/2026/02/proko_emotion-of-shapes_2026_02_15.jpg) emotion of shapes proko ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/18/bf/18bf29db-1cec-4857-a9dc-e2e94a86d2bf/content/images/2026/02/proko_emotion-of-shapes-from-memory_2026_02_15.jpg) emotion of shapes from memory ### Michael Hampton - Figure Drawing Design and Invention ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/18/bf/18bf29db-1cec-4857-a9dc-e2e94a86d2bf/content/images/2026/02/Figure-drawing-MH_2026_02_15.jpg) figure drawing Michael Hampton ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/18/bf/18bf29db-1cec-4857-a9dc-e2e94a86d2bf/content/images/2026/02/Figure-drawing-MH_2026_02_15-from-memory.jpg) figure drawing - Michael Hampton from memory ### Digital sovereignty - Digital Novelist notes - 2026-02-14 URL: https://keithhayden.net/digital-sovereignty-digital-novelist-notes-2026-02-14/ Last updated: 2026-02-14T21:10:20.000Z Joey, Yesterday I updated my Language learning page. (If I remember correctly, you're a language learning enthusiast, too). I talk about how my language learning philosophy has changed over the last 25 years of travel and language learning. And show off my growing language book library with titles from around the world. I think you'll enjoy it. [View languages](https://keithhayden.net/language-learning/) Yesterday I also succeeded in setting up my own livestream server. Independently hosted, operated and run. I've also added this category to my 'Works' page. This was a multi-hour task, extremely technical, and caused this website to go down three times. So why go through the trouble? Simple answer is: ***censorship***. In July 2025, I hosted a series of livestreams on YouTube to promote my 3rd novel [*Prompted Hearts & Grief Algorithm*](https://keithhayden.net/prompted-hearts-grief-algorithm-complete-duology/). These were live sessions of me writing or editing the final manuscript. While on stream, I played songs from my novel writing playlist, a massive list of curated tracks that I like to write to. I wasn't running an OnlyFans. Just writing to music. But after every livestream I was hit with copyright notices from YouTube for playing music that "I didn't own." This was highly frustrating. Because rewind the clock about a decade to 2017 I *did* own most of the music. I– like many others– chose to upload the majority of my collection to the then "Google Play Music" to have access to have all of old mp3s to the cloud. This included original rips from CDs I had back in the day and even several original songs *I made with friends from high school and college*. Little did I know that in under half a decade YouTube would become a massive music library made up of all the music myself and millions of others uploaded for the same reason– convenience. Just like AI today, the great Music Caper was complete. A grand theft of physical media on a global scale. Now I'm the one getting copyright warnings? I couldn't stand this. So I haven't livestreamed on YouTube in nearly 6 months because of this bullshit. That's why I went through the maze of code to figure out how to run my own show and it was a success. Now I can livestream right [here](https://keithhayden.net/livestream/) on this website, no copyright worries, whenever and whatever work I want. What will I stream? I've been wanting to stream myself playing classic games, or dramatically reading my books and other books I like, or just hanging out with good folks like yourself. But I didn't do it on YouTube because all the red tape and hurdles you have to hop just to run a 'clean' stream. That time is over. What would you like to see in a stream? Let me know. This is all part of a master strategy to achieve complete **digital independence**. With AI you can build anything, host anything, design custom experiences with a few well-crafted prompts. Why in the world would I continue to pay for platforms that I can replace for pennies? I won't. Not anymore. Us indie artists have more power than we think. It's time to use it. \-Keith --- ## Session 1: Drawing (20 mins) I've moved on from the anime-style drawings. Personally, with AI on the rise I'm seeing it everywhere now. So I dropped the book I got in Japan and moved on to gesture drawing. I'm a bit bored with the Proko course at the moment (I'm going video by video and some of the critique videos are very long) So as if I were in a classroom, I'm drawing on my own while it plays in the background and seeing what I can do. Turns out my instincts are sharpening. ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/18/bf/18bf29db-1cec-4857-a9dc-e2e94a86d2bf/content/images/2026/02/drawing_2026_02_14-gesture.jpg) gesture drawing ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/18/bf/18bf29db-1cec-4857-a9dc-e2e94a86d2bf/content/images/2026/02/drawing_2026_02_14-gesture-from-memory.jpg) gesture drawing from memory ## Session 2: Coding (20 mins) Completed Importance of Accessibility and Good HTML Structure lessons ## Session 3: Writing (Novel) Cereus & Limnic: Escape From Okinawa (35 mins) 629 words written: > Scorch thrust his fist up and we stood united. “Mufucka we ain’t dead yet, and yo ass don’t live on zero. So you dead! Ya hear me! You don’ scare nothin’ nobody. You ready bro!?” Scorch suited up fire Daring anything near him to burn baby burn! > “Ready.” > “Let’s end em’!” ### Should you learn a language in 2026? - Digital Novelist notes - 2026-02-13 URL: https://keithhayden.net/should-you-learn-a-language-in-2026-digital-novelist-notes-2026-02-13/ Last updated: 2026-02-13T22:41:00.000Z Ajani, Bro had to do a lot of admin today, but I still got in some good creative work. How's your stuff going? My leg's been fucked up man. You know when you get frozen in a video game and you gotta mash to get out? That's me every time I stand up. Piriformis just won't perform. But weirdly, once I get going, I can walk just fine. A punishing status effect. This week has been just... malaise man. I did a lot (like normal) but things just parallax on by, same scenery on repeat with this shit. Now I understand better how you feel about your business, SATA. You started it to do one thing, then it inflated, then deflated again until it just kinda hovers there. That's where I'm at with HAC Studios. This time last year I was deep in collab mode, helping another author publish his first novel, editing, gettin on podcasts, still heavy on social (though not as bad as in 23' and 24'). This year I'm more like you than ever. A recluse who's tried to integrate his wild-haired style with the hipness but can't rock with it. Or they can't or won't rock with me. I don't even know anymore. But I don't care as much. More of my effort is going to building an open garden here on this website. Parts of it will eventually be walled, but right now it's free roam to let people see what I'm doing. To finally be taken seriously for all I've created and accomplished in this super-artificial age. You'll see it soon. Talk soon. \-Keith ## Session 1: Language page updated! My views on language learning have changed over the years. Here's the latest. (Also hand-coded a table with all the language books I've gathered over the years) [View page](https://keithhayden.net/language-learning/) ### Chinese (Simplified) Progress updated See the tech stack I'm using to boost my Mandarin. [View progress](https://keithhayden.net/chinese-simplified-progress/) ## Session 2: Drawing (20 mins) ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/18/bf/18bf29db-1cec-4857-a9dc-e2e94a86d2bf/content/images/2026/02/drawing_2026-02-13.jpg) figure sketches ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/18/bf/18bf29db-1cec-4857-a9dc-e2e94a86d2bf/content/images/2026/02/drawing_2026-02-13-part-2.jpg) figure sketches from memory ## Session 3: HAC Studios Year 4 Logo Design + New Business Cards ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/18/bf/18bf29db-1cec-4857-a9dc-e2e94a86d2bf/content/images/2026/02/HAC-Studios-Logo---Black-and-White-2026--1--1.svg) Logo design for 2026 I thought the "4" as the "A" was a nice touch. ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/18/bf/18bf29db-1cec-4857-a9dc-e2e94a86d2bf/content/images/2026/02/HAC-Studios-Logo---White-on-Black-2026.png) Dark theme logo - 2026 ### New super-stripped down business card ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/18/bf/18bf29db-1cec-4857-a9dc-e2e94a86d2bf/content/images/2026/02/image-6.png) ## Session 4: Coding (5 mins) Importance of Accessibility and Good HTML Structure (Theory) - Took it easy after yesterday's heavy coding day ## Session 5: Writing (Novel) C&L: EFO (30 mins) 191 words hand-written Climax is coming... ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/18/bf/18bf29db-1cec-4857-a9dc-e2e94a86d2bf/content/images/2026/02/C-L-EFO_Ch-30_Draft.jpg) ### A built table of books - Digital Novelist notes - 2026-02-12 URL: https://keithhayden.net/a-built-table-of-books-digital-novelist-notes-2026-02-12/ Last updated: 2026-02-13T00:33:42.000Z Tammara, I wasn't feeling very motivated today. The grind of doing what I do daily (writing, creating, etc.) just hit me. I felt like shit. So I had to have a heart to heart with myself. Why keep doing all this when it feels like no one's showing up or responding or supporting in any meaningful visible way? *Have you ever felt like this?* Then I thought about the Winter Olympics on right now. Many athletes train for **years** to maybe get one shot at a single peak moment of perfection. They wreck their bodies, while still working normal jobs or going to school for what? One chance at a sport like ice skating or big-air snowboarding? Nobody gives a shit about those sports outside of a very small group of fans and supporters. Yet despite all that, they still do it. Athletes show up, dress up, and step up for that single shot. Bringing it back to me (and possibly you), we're not going for Olympic gold. But I do want to live a life that's meaningful. One that doesn't have me just checking out because it's so easy and convenient to do so these days. Fuck that. I'm here to build. To find the limits of my potential. How about you? So I put on some LET'S GO music. Turned on my code editor, picked up my pen and continued plodding on my novel, on code today. It was the most energized Thursday I've had all year. I don't know where you're at in your life right now. But when life starts beating you down with relationship, medical, and other problems, you always have a choice: to let the pain shrink you or to gradually take it in and keep moving toward the person you want to be. Today I chose slow painful growth to make whatever comes next just a little bit more manageable. I hope this inspires you to do the same. \-Keith --- ## Session 1: Coding (1 hr) ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/18/bf/18bf29db-1cec-4857-a9dc-e2e94a86d2bf/content/images/2026/02/image-4.png) Build a Book Catalog Table [View catalog](https://kgitwh21.github.io/keith-book-catalog-feb-2026/?ref=keithhayden.net) [View code](https://github.com/KgitWH21/keith-book-catalog-feb-2026?ref=keithhayden.net) ## Session 2: Coding (1.5 hrs) ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/18/bf/18bf29db-1cec-4857-a9dc-e2e94a86d2bf/content/images/2026/02/image-5.png) Build a Survey Form (Certification Project) [View form](https://kgitwh21.github.io/hac-studios-survey-form/?ref=keithhayden.net) [View code](https://github.com/KgitWH21/hac-studios-survey-form?ref=keithhayden.net) ## Session 3: Writing (30 mins) Novel writing ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/18/bf/18bf29db-1cec-4857-a9dc-e2e94a86d2bf/content/images/2026/02/PXL_20260212_184437245.jpg) ### A table for you - Digital Novelist notes - 2026-02-11 URL: https://keithhayden.net/a-table-for-you-digital-novelist-notes-2026-02-11/ Last updated: 2026-02-11T21:36:52.000Z Antonisha, How are you today? I spent most of my morning listening to the sounds of a crew installing a brand new air conditioning unit at home, while I submitted the first 10K words of my novel to a contest. Details below. Happy Wednesday! \-Keith --- ## Session 1: Coding (15 mins) Build a Final Exams Table (Workshop) ## Session 2: Writing (Contest Submission) (3 hours) 224 words written I submitted the first 10K words of ***Cereus & Limnic: Escape From Okinawa Type-B*** to a contest through Spoken audio, an AI narration service. I've dabbled with AI audio narration before, but Spoken is one of the best I've used. Listen for yourself here. [Listen to the audiobook](https://ihave.spoken.press/p/Pl1Rj1DeTKI?ref=keithhayden.net) --- As part of the submission, I also had to write the story of the story. As in why I wrote it and how it came together. *Here's what I wrote:* The idea for this novel came to me back in 2022\. At the time, I was living in Okinawa, Japan and traveling to many of the various smaller islands that make up the Ryukyu chain. Each island had its own unique spin on Okinawan culture, its own story to tell. So I thought that I wanted to write a story that gave me an excuse to visit as many of the islands in written form as possible. I began writing the initial draft of the novel in early 2025\. I always knew I wanted it to be a prequel to my debut novel "Cereus & Limnic", primarily because it allowed me to relive my experience as a young military officer living in Okinawa in the early 2010s. I completed the initial manuscript in May 2025. But I wasn't really happy with what I'd written. I used a lot of AI to speedrun the writing, and though it wasn't bad, I felt I wanted to tell a more personal story with the novel. So after a 5 month break to write my 3rd novel, I returned to the project in September 2025\. I had been going through some family drama with my brothers and decided to start the project over again through this very personal lens of three brothers trying to escape Okinawa during a war. That was all I had for the original idea. I also knew I wanted it to be a sort of case file type presentation. I had recently read "House of Leaves" and really enjoyed the trippy way it was presented. I thought: what would happen if I combined that creepiness with an investigative frame? I'm a former federal agent who worked for the military, so I knew I could unite both of those skills to bring this story to life. When I listened to the Spoken audio of the first 10K words, I knew I'd succeeded. Just like a real intelligence investigation, the testimonials are distinct and at times disturbing with how they don't always directly link to each other. I loved that puzzle solving aspect of investigative work. I hope future readers of this novel look forward to discovering it as well. Usually when I begin a writing project, I write everyday and chip away at it until it's done. But this novel presented a unique challenge because it's so personal. I kept procrastinating and putting it off, because I just wasn’t ready to go “there” with my feelings about these ongoing family beefs. I really had to dig deep to bring out the relationship struggles I've had with my brothers, channel their respective voices, and come to grips with how witnessing the early death of my father when I was 16 affected our entire family. I wanted to do this, while making this story a faithful prequel to my first novel, which meant following a strict continuity for existing characters and aspects of the world of “Cereus & Limnic.” The other factor was including Okinawa itself in the narrative. As you can tell, it's not just an exotic historical setting. I wanted to tap into aspects of the culture in the ways that I encountered them in the 5 years that I lived there. That meant including a touch of the spooky and unexplained in there, which is where the majority of the horror happens in the narrative. Geopolitical strife, family drama, Japanese and Chinese culture, and Okinawan folklore— though this might seem like a lot to balance in one story, it wasn't as hard as I thought it would be. Primarily because the characters really set the frame for how the reader experiences the story. Some characters are closely connected to the island, while others like the brothers and the narrator Jinhua, only know it intellectually. Playing with perspective in this manner, helped me avoid the info-dump research trap that many authors fall into when writing about a place that they're not very familiar with. Finally, after I decided to start the project over, I looked at my first draft of nearly 120K words and thought it would be a shame to throw that much effort away. So I decided to make it an alternate version of the events that happened in Okinawa. That's where the "Type-B" in the title comes from. Type-A is the original draft. A completely separate story focused on Li Ma, while Type-B heavily focuses on the three brothers. Which one is the true record? You'll find out at the end of the novel (maybe). Another big inspiration for this book was the Metal Gear Solid video game series. Hideo Kojima is known for blending genres with exceptional character work. Metal Gear Solid (1998) is a sci-fi political thriller with horror elements, and (I'll admit) the at times cheesy action of a 1980s movie. I had recently replayed the first two games in the series and thought about how I could create my own story using similar DNA. Thus C&L: EFO was conceived. Ultimately, Cereus & Limnic: Escape From Okinawa Type-B is my most daring novel yet. It's extremely personal, told in a unique manner, and explores themes like the limits of humanity, brotherhood, and evolution (among many others). The Spoken AI audio turned out really well. And even though I normally prefer to record my own vocal performance, I could see myself using it to possibly bring the rest of the project to life in audio form. ## Session 3: Drawing (10 mins) ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/18/bf/18bf29db-1cec-4857-a9dc-e2e94a86d2bf/content/images/2026/02/random-sketches_2026-02-11.jpg) ### Writing a novel for a single person - Digital Novelist Notes - 2026-02-10 URL: https://keithhayden.net/writing-a-novel-for-a-single-person-digital-novelist-notes-2026-02-10/ Last updated: 2026-02-10T18:04:06.000Z Frank, ## Session 1: Writing (Novel) Cereus & Limnic: Escape From Okinawa - Type-B (35 mins) 832 words written. *Excerpt:* > A “D” shaped moon shown from behind the clouds. The tip of the letter pointed up a rounded hill, with views of the lights of the Kadena Air Field winking not far off. > “This is a fuckin’ trap. Gotta be.” Scorch mumbled. He grip his rifle tighter, hesitant to blast in order to not give away his position or awaken the others. He was on his own. > Once he crested the hill, he was breathing hard, but it wasn’t over. The three terrors multiplied twice until six surrounded him. > “This is some Illusion of Gaia shit. What the fuck do you want!?” Now Scorch was looking around frantically. His fists lit up with the Daring fire. ## Session 2: Writing (Novel) Cereus & Limnic: Escape From Okinawa - Type-B (25 mins) 663 words written. *Excerpt*: > Shade dreamt of a wailing scream. He sat up between Kita (with Secretary Sato wrapped tight around him) and Li Ma, two soldiers he could hardly trust. But in war allies were Fire Emblem forces, one second on your side the next perma-dead. Timeera’s mat was empty. Off probably playing some advance woman for a cause he wasn’t privy to. Was there anyone he could trust here? > The island played games with you. All the time it showed you things that weren’t real. How could you exist like that? With no escape to truth? What was true was once again his brothers were missing. > This was getting old. He silently donned his gear and left the cave. And that’s when he heard the Commander’s voice. > *Shade*. ## Session 3: Coding (30 mins) Build a Hotel Feedback Form ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/18/bf/18bf29db-1cec-4857-a9dc-e2e94a86d2bf/content/images/2026/02/image-3.png) ### Coding an event hub - Digital Novelist Notes - 2026-02-09 URL: https://keithhayden.net/coding-an-event-hub-digital-novelist-notes-2026-02-09/ Last updated: 2026-02-09T19:09:51.000Z Joey, ![audio-thumbnail](https://storage.ghost.io/c/18/bf/18bf29db-1cec-4857-a9dc-e2e94a86d2bf/content/media/2026/02/Why-I-m-doing-freeCodeCamp_thumb.jpg) Why Im doing freeCodeCamp for Joey 0:00 /325.85 1× ### Transcript Hey there, Joey! How's it going, man? It's Keith Hayden just here, giving you a quick update on. Today. What I created today and today was a heavy coating day. Um. You know, I've been going back and forth to do freed code Camp. I think it's probably been like six or seven years now. I've started it. I've stopped it and a lot of it's been a lot of the bullshit around Ai. And you know, you don't need to learn how to code anymore. And then, also, you know, free code Camp has had. Criticisms as far as, how risk how rigorous it is, you know? Um, if you've never done it before. It's more of, like, um. In browser tutorials. That. Have you? Learning coding just by making different assignments and projects and things like that. But Um, it can be quite rigorous. It can be a little bit tough. Um, and if nothing else, it just gives you that good muscle memory of, you know, you're actually putting down the code. And you're, you're learning how to do it. So? After, you know, spending the last several years actually, mainly last year, you know, going with the hype and Vibe, coding and spending a lot of time on social media where people are, like, oh, you don't know, need to learn how to code anymore. You can just have AI do it, but. I found that I just got tired of. You know, I would make these things with code, and I've made some cool stuff, you know. I made the. Entire. Bookstore on my website. I've made a couple of other tools and experimented with some things, but I always hit that point. And these projects. You're just kind of stuck, and the ai's sending you in loops and you don't really know what you're doing to fix it. And I just personally don't like that. I don't like being limited by my own ignorance. And so this year has been. If you haven't noticed, this year has been a huge return to just. You know, one-on-one things are much slower. I've barely using AI anymore. I mean, I do use it. I use it for language learning. I use it for you know. When I get stuck on certain coding problems and things like that, but? Um. Yeah, I feel like this is kind of. A lost art. If you will of? Knowing how to do things yourself and? I've always been interested in code well, at least in the last five or six years. I got interested in code. I started with 100 days of code challenge, and I did the Odin project, and that was great that that really. Solidified my confidence that? You know, hey, I can learn how to do this. This is not impossible, you know, because growing up, I was definitely. I went to a school to where I was, like you're either fuzzy, or you're a techie major. And I was definitely on the fuzzy side political science reading, writing that type of thing, and I still have that I still, obviously, I still write a lot. But. This was a side of me that. Took some Awakening. It took me, like, okay, how can you actually do this and? The cool thing about the day today is that there are more tools than ever to learn how to do this. I mean, a lot of them are free. I'm using free code Camp. And it's just free. It's just about putting in the time. So? That was today. The three sessions that I did today. We're focused on just going through the curriculum and. Um, I'm not just doing everything in the browser like? Kind of suggest that you do. I know enough code to where I can actually go into an IDE, which, if you don't know what an IDE is? It's basically just a text editor. It's like, Microsoft Word, except it's for code. So I can go in there and then. I can push things to GitHub, and I understand how to do all that. So that's good, because that's giving me extra reps. And it's actually building a portfolio, even though my portfolio is pretty. It's pretty lame at this point. It's just some basic projects, but you never know. You never know. It's good to just have your either stuff out there and have proof of work that's done so. That was the day man, um. Drop me in line. This is. I'm still very much sticking to this. This one person a day kind of communication. And I like it. I, I like that I'm actually able to talk directly to you. This isn't a mass email. It's just one-on-one. And if you feel like responding, that's cool. Let me know what you're working on. If not, that's cool, too. But I appreciate you being on the list man. All right, check you later. --- ## Session 1: Coding (35 mins) fCC - Build a Cat Blog Page fCC - Build an Event Hub (Lab) ## Session 2: Coding (35 mins) Build an Event Hub - Ran into issues with pushing to GitHub, had to investigate - Could be a GitHub server outage? ## Session 3: Coding (45 mins) Semantic HTML Quiz - Done ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/18/bf/18bf29db-1cec-4857-a9dc-e2e94a86d2bf/content/images/2026/02/image-2.png) Working with forms - Build a Hotel Feedback Form (Workshop) ### Drawing seals - 2026-02-08 URL: https://keithhayden.net/drawing-seals-2026-02-08/ Last updated: 2026-02-08T23:53:16.000Z Ajani, Here's what I've been working on today. Lots of drawing seals, an indie book review, and some light coding (it is Superbowl Sunday after all). Been working on drawing for the last few weeks and the results are starting to show. Coding is a hobby that I hope to work toward designing my own game someday. Right now it's just getting the basics down. Where are you sharing your music at these days? Let me hear it! \-Keith ## Session 1: Drawing (45 mins) - Dynamic Shapes from Memory + Reference ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/18/bf/18bf29db-1cec-4857-a9dc-e2e94a86d2bf/content/images/2026/02/seal3_2026-02-07.jpg) ## Session 2: "Capsule Book: Review" ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/18/bf/18bf29db-1cec-4857-a9dc-e2e94a86d2bf/content/images/2026/02/Capsule-1.jpg) [Read review](https://keithhayden.net/capsule-book-reflections/) ## Session 3: Coding (20 mins) Build Quincy's Job Tips Page (Workshop ### Capsule - Reflections URL: https://keithhayden.net/capsule-book-reflections/ Last updated: 2026-02-08T17:21:03.000Z ## Reflection on *Capsule* — Key Points ### Why I read it - Picked it up because the **premise is strong**: a mysterious phone game with real-world stakes involving teens. - Free book via an email list, which most people ignore—but I was genuinely curious. - I’ve written **teen ensemble / high-stakes genre fiction** myself (*Gates of Okinawa*), so I wanted to see how another writer approached it. - I enjoy reading **outside my own worldview**—different age, gender, cultural lens. --- ### What works well - **Peter and Kat are the strongest characters**: they feel lived-in, emotionally grounded, and distinct. - Their bond and shared history carry real weight, especially since the game centers on saving them. - The book has a **clear structure** and a finishable scope—no small achievement for a young writer. - The premise itself is compelling and accessible for YA readers. - The story is readable, coherent, and complete—already puts it ahead of most unfinished projects. --- ### What feels weaker (craft-level observations) - The main character, Jackie, functions more as an **observer/avatar** than a fully pressured decision-maker. - Her motivation for risking herself never fully matches the stakes of the quest. - Outside of Peter and Kat, many characters feel **functional rather than dimensional** (parents, adults, side figures). - Several characters exist primarily to **deliver plot or create conflict**, rather than embody distinct worldviews. --- ### The game & memory mechanic - The “memory” sequences often feel **cinematic and omniscient**, like replayed scenes. - Because they aren’t limited to a single character’s perspective, they lose: - ambiguity - tension - interpretive mystery - Seeing *everything* removes the need for characters to argue, misinterpret, or wrestle with uncertainty. - This undercuts what could have been the thriller’s sharpest edge. --- ### On the Emmeline / Nicholas plotline - Emmeline functions more as a **plot lever** than a fully felt presence. - The reveal around Nicholas feels like a **moral reassignment** rather than a deep complication. - The turn comes across as abrupt—designed to disrupt momentum rather than arise organically. - The conflict feels *imported* instead of generated by character dynamics. --- ### Overall structural feeling - The book feels **carefully constructed**, but also **over-controlled**. - Conflict is often driven by plot mechanics rather than clashing perspectives. - There’s a lack of **worldview diversity**—most characters interpret events similarly. - This creates a “puppet show” sensation: I can see the structure and the strings. --- ### On youth, risk, and writing - Finishing and publishing a novel at \~19–20 is genuinely impressive. - Many adults never complete long fiction due to fear or hesitation. - Being young *and* having an audience can discourage risk-taking: - safer characters - safer moral choices - safer plot turns - The result is competence without messiness—and messiness is where fiction comes alive. --- ### What I enjoyed as a reader - Seeing a **Gen Z worldview on the page**: phones as lifelines, language like “cringe,” constant digital presence. - Not a criticism—genuinely interesting and often funny. - Repeated sensory habits (hair, foreheads, expressions) aren’t how I’d write—but they gave me ideas. - Reading other writers reminds me what *I* overlook. --- ### Why I’m reflecting on it at all - This isn’t about tearing the book down. - It’s about **taking the work seriously**—reading it closely, thoughtfully, respectfully. - I wish more people read *my* work at this level. - This feels like paying forward the kind of craft-aware attention most writers never get. --- ### Bottom line - *Capsule* has a strong concept and solid execution for an early-career novel. - Its biggest limitations come from **playing it safe**, not from lack of ability. - With more risk—messier characters, conflicting worldviews, constrained perspective—the same premise could be devastatingly effective. ### Working through tedium - Digital Novelist Notes - 2026-02-07 URL: https://keithhayden.net/working-through-tedium-digital-novelist-notes-2026-02-07/ Last updated: 2026-02-07T18:06:02.000Z Joey, How was your week? Mine was mostly tedium. Grinding the work of day after day. Nothing of note happened with my creative pursuits this week. But I did gain confidence. I settled on doing freeCodeCamp to continue my hobby for coding, my drawing is improving, and I'm getting closer to the end of my novel. Slow and steady has been the key. What's something you're proud of you made progress on this week? Let me know in a reply. \-Keith --- ## Session 1: Coding (35 mins) - FreeCodeCamp - Basic HTML Complete! - FCC - Semantic HTML - Importance of Semantic HTML - Understanding Nuanced Sematic Elements - Build a List of Major Web Browsers (Workshop) ## Session 2: Drawing (5 mins) ![sketch of a seal](https://storage.ghost.io/c/18/bf/18bf29db-1cec-4857-a9dc-e2e94a86d2bf/content/images/2026/02/seal2_2026-02-07.jpg) seal gesture drawing ## Session 3: Writing (Novel) Cereus & Limnic: Escape From Okinawa - Type-B (10 mins) *Excerpt:* > Scorch fired back, “Naw nigga, my NiGGA you shoulda seen it, water just lit up like some Cirque de Soleil shit and next thing I know, my black ass is on the shore suckin’ wind. Ya had to be there.” He looked to his oldest brother, “Sun tell im’” > Sun shook his head, “Can't say, I didn't see anything. Musta been knocked out.” > “A well,” Scorch continued, “it was like one a those bullshit Game Genie codes on the Nintendo. You get it once, but never again.” > They all nodded with a smile. ### A book from Bolivia - Digital Novelist notes - 2026-02-06 URL: https://keithhayden.net/a-book-from-bolivia/ Last updated: 2026-02-06T13:50:48.000Z Tammara, On my way out of La Paz, Boliva last week I found this book 7 Pecados Capitales. I like to support other indie authors whenever I can so I picked it up. Just from reading the intro I know it's gonna be a good read. The author was a troublesome kid growing up with a single mom. So when his grandmother took care of him, she would tell him scary stories to calm him down. This led to a lifelong writing odd stories filed with dark things. Now here's this book. What types of creatures lurk within? I look forward to finding out. Have a great weekend! \-Keith --- ## Session 1: (Writing) - Novel - Cereus & Limnic: Escape From Okinawa - Type-B *Excerpt:* > When a battle began before you were ready, that’s some bad shit. Things went quick. Worst was not being able to “Dare.” > Seeing the fear in Timeera’s eyes, the confused disappointment in Kita’s. > Knowing you couldn’t perform at your peak when it mattered, when others were counting on you, and that you might go out on such a low note is fate fuckin’ you raw. ## Session 2: Coding - 15 mins Completed Basic HTML Review ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/18/bf/18bf29db-1cec-4857-a9dc-e2e94a86d2bf/content/images/2026/02/image-1.png) ### Technology of our times - Digital Novelist notes - 2026-02-05 URL: https://keithhayden.net/technology-of-our-times-digital-novelist-notes-2026-02-05/ Last updated: 2026-02-05T18:27:10.000Z Antonisha, ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/18/bf/18bf29db-1cec-4857-a9dc-e2e94a86d2bf/content/images/2026/02/Post-to-antonisha--part-1_2026-02-05.jpg) ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/18/bf/18bf29db-1cec-4857-a9dc-e2e94a86d2bf/content/images/2026/02/Post-to-antonisha--part-2_2026-02-05.jpg) ## Session 1: Coding - 45 mins Completed: - FreeCodeCamp (FCC) - Working with Images and SVGs - FCC - Build a Heart Icon (Workshop) - FCC - Working with iFrame elements lesson one ## Session 2: Coding - 15 mins - FCC - Build a Video Compilation Page (Workshop) ## Session 3: Writing (Novel) Cereus & Limnic: Escape From Okinawa - 30 mins 437 words written *Excerpt:* > “A major attack is on the way. This might be the big one big boy. At least that’s the latest intel. You ready?” > Her eyes were shaking, but the rest of her was steady. You get like that after being blown up so many times. > I got my rifle, checked the remaining anti-drone drones (very few left at this point), then said, “Yeah let’s do what we gotta do.” > Helicopters chopping, drones buzzing with the bugs, sounds of our guys getting ready, shouts of orders, gasoline rising, sweat-smelling pungent human meat moving— all this and of course Li Ma was nowhere to be found. ### A 3000+ Word Writing Day URL: https://keithhayden.net/a-3000-word-writing-day/ Last updated: 2026-02-04T22:51:29.000Z Frank, Today's been one of those days when I was just locked in. I wrote over 3000 words, 2500 toward my novel and over 500 by hand. The scenes today ranged from dramatic to intense action. Here's a snippet: > Then I went to the back where a strategy session was happening. Li Ma was there looking focused. Kita Arata held some semblance of the same expression, while the dutiful Secretary Sato hovered close. Timeera was wiping something off of her pant leg. Everybody was sleeping because of the constant threat of cave-in. > “What’s the deal with these damn drones?” > Li responded without inflection, “They’re called CH-901\. It’s a kind of loitering munition, capable of carrying a 3.5 kilogram warhead. *Kamikaze drones* is what they’re sometimes called.” I'm coming up on the end of the first draft of this novel. But that comes with it's own anxiety, since I have to transition from drafting to editing/distribution. However, I'm looking forward to start sharing the story with you and the world. What are you writing these days? Let me know in a reply! \-Keith ### Digital Novelist Notes - 2026-02-04 URL: https://keithhayden.net/digital-novelist-notes-2026-02-03-2/ Last updated: 2026-02-04T23:48:30.000Z ## Writing (Novel) Cereus & Limnic: Escape From Okinawa - Type-B | 4 hrs - Session 1 He stepped over and grabbed my arms tight. “I did! I did! And I thought I had after we were together—” “Thought you had what?” “Fallen in love with you!” He released me, then wisely backed away. I swear I heard the record say *Jinhua* as the reminder of the mustiness hit me. Dad played the classic matchmaker for his unwedded daughter. How traditional of him. But… that couldn’t be all. Zane was holding back, I sensed. “That’s not the only thing you came to tell me is it? What else?” He looked somber, but serious. “You’re right. It’s about the Janus gene.” ### Digital Novelist notes - 2026-02-03 URL: https://keithhayden.net/digital-novelist-notes-2026-02-03/ Last updated: 2026-02-03T16:54:13.000Z ## Drawing - 15 mins Watched the intro video for Proko's Dynamic Shapes project. There will be an emphasis on balancing energy along the gestural line of seals. ## Coding - 1.5 hrs Completed the FreeCodeCamp - Travel Agency with my own travel experience to South America ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/18/bf/18bf29db-1cec-4857-a9dc-e2e94a86d2bf/content/images/2026/02/image.png) [View page](https://kgitwh21.github.io/fcc-travel-agency-2/?ref=keithhayden.net) Updated my Linux boot to continue with [The Odin Project](https://www.theodinproject.com/?ref=keithhayden.net) ## Writing - 30 mins (Novel - Cereus & Limnic: Escape From Okinawa- Type B) *Excerpt from today's chapter* Sometimes you gotta pop out and show niggas. Bustin’ those mercs up made me feel good. I swear I was fuckin' reborn then. Spittin’ hot fire, finally feelin’ control of things, was a good thing. Beatin’ savage ass was what it was alluva sudden. Those foos fucked up and found our safe cave. That was their last mistake. Didn't even bother to check what flag they was fightin’ under. No time to. You point a weapon at me, I waste you. End of story. PERIOD. Was prolly like a squad a five or somethin? Fairly well-trained I could tell, but not well enough apparently. Once it was over I felt fuckin' good, until I went to the back of the cave and seen what I thought was two dead bodies. ### South American experience URL: https://keithhayden.net/south-american-experience/ Last updated: 2026-02-02T22:41:23.000Z Joey, I just returned from a week and a half long trip to Peru and Bolivia. Was it a transformative spiritual journey? No. The trip was full of multiple setbacks and annoyances. There was constant gut-twisting stomach pain and diarrhea from the elevation (average was 3500 meters and I stayed as high as 3990 meters along Lake Titicaca), massive transportation delays including one that made Peruvian news, hours-long bumpy bus rides, and the worst rice in the world. That's just a brief summary. More mishaps occurred. However, there were also good things. I visited the legendary Machu Picchu— one of the acclaimed Seven Wonders of the World–- and it absolutely lived up to the hype. In the Bolivian desert I visited the Salar de Uyuni (Uyuni Salt Flats), a place I previously had no knowledge or care about, but came to enjoy it very much. (That's the cover picture of this email) I also revived my Spanish, which I had not spoken regularly for half a decade, and bonded closer with my wife through the uncomfortable experience. But most of all, I got a TON of writing in. The novel *Cereus & Limnic: Escape From Okinawa*, got nearly 15K new words added. And I wrote regularly by hand in a journal project I'm working on. Finally, I had time to map out and write the intro for a massive project that I will probably be working on until death: "The Lexicon." I've been learning foreign languages since high school, and I always envisioned a project where I combined as many languages into a single grand narrative. That project spawned during the trip and I'm already 1,000 words in. So even though I'm exhausted from the last week and a half of a grueling travel pace, writing progress continues even stronger than before. Now that it's February, are you working on anything new? Let me know in a comment. \-Keith ### That movie mundanity URL: https://keithhayden.net/that-movie-mundanity/ Last updated: 2026-01-20T17:45:18.000Z Joey, I hope you had a good long weekend. I spent the majority of mine in California (Southern and Northern). Now being from Texas, I never really understood that state, despite having spent 4 years there. The taxes, laws, culture– it's all too wacky, and not to mention insanely overpriced. But last Friday, I found myself stuck in LA for a day, due to an administrative blunder on my part. So I decided to fill the time by visiting Warner Brothers Studio in Burbank. Do you like movies? I'm not a big fan. But I do appreciate any process that results in a creative product at the end of it, so in that regard the tour was somewhat informative. I visited the "streets" where famous films like *Spiderman* (2002), and popular shows like *Gilmore Girls*, *The Big Bang Theory*, and biggest of all *Friends* were filmed. The HBOMax show *The Pitt* was actively filming in some studio while I was there. But as I toured the empty sets and saw the facades, the technicians running around, our very Gen Z tour guide who was just happy to be doing something with her theater degree that was connected to showbusiness, I realized how unglamorous the act of *making* movies can be. We see famous celebrities *in* movies and *promoting* movies. The benefits of being a movie star are obvious. So are the disadvantages. However, what they rarely talk about is the grind of 15 hour days in wardrobe repeating the same lines over and over. The probably occasionally exciting, but often dull work of "imagining" the scene or whole characters as you read lines in a green-screen room where all the CGI has yet to be added. The days, months, or even years, of not seeing the finished product after toiling for so long. Being on the tour showed me how dull modern movie making can be. So boring in fact that I found the tour underwhelming. The most interesting part was the self-guided portion where we could see the production process from script to screen. Everything else was mostly nostalgia for a medium that mattered more in decades gone by. Anyway, I did take plenty of pictures on the tour. Here's the actual costumes Michael B. Jordan donned as Smoke and Stack in *Sinners.* Speaking of *Sinners* I recorded a piece about how the movie will be studied in the future. I lay out my thinking [here](https://keithhayden.net/why-sinners-will-be-studied-in-the-future/). ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/18/bf/18bf29db-1cec-4857-a9dc-e2e94a86d2bf/content/images/2026/01/PXL_20260116_192821955.jpg) If you want to see more let me know. \-Keith P.S. I'll be out of the country from 21 - 31 Jan. See you next month! ### Digital Novelist notes - 2026-01-20 URL: https://keithhayden.net/digital-novelist-notes-2026-01-20/ Last updated: 2026-01-20T16:57:47.000Z ## Writing - "Project J" Excerpt They were both asleep (surprising). Ann had a stuffed Eyeore from Winnie the Pooh beside her. I tried to take it without her noticing, but she woke up flailing her arms wildly. I talked to her for a short while, then went to visit Cinala. She was knocked \[sic\] by a fat ass copy of the *Lord of the Rings* trilogy. I said,「まるで『指輪物語』の仕事だな」Immediately she sprang up and commented on something. I forgot what it was, but it wasn’t very important. --- ## Drawing - 1.5 hrs ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/18/bf/18bf29db-1cec-4857-a9dc-e2e94a86d2bf/content/images/2026/01/cillian-Murphy---practice-portrait_2026_01_20-1.jpg) practice portrait of Cillian Murphy ## Writing (Novel) - Cereus & Limnic: Escape From Okinawa - Type B Excerpt: Scorch raised his fists. “Bro can you Dare?” “No! Can you flare?” “Fuck, I can’t! They still got me blocked or some shit! But I think we can take em’. You ready?” I assumed he was wrong. “Follow me!” I faked a charge, but dipped right, to grab Scorch and pull him toward the ocean. “Nigga, ah hell naw. I can’t swim!” Neither could I, but sea was the only way to get free. As I floundered to pull Scorch along, I saw Commander and his Armor watch us from the cave. They observed us as one might a helpless kitten, with that phantom detachment, but they did not pursue. ### Digital novelist notes - 2026-01-17 URL: https://keithhayden.net/digital-novelist-notes-2026-01-17/ Last updated: 2026-01-17T16:46:06.000Z ## Drawing - 5 mins Began drawing another portrait for practice ## Writing (Novel) - Cereus & Limnic: Escape From Okinawa - 40 mins Novel excerpt: > Blocks, grunts, circling. Strike. My karate was decent, his was on some Bodhidharma shit. Every fist, elbow, or kick was a whip-crack flash. Fighting him wasn’t easy. I used length to outdistance his movements, then deliver a punishing solar plexus smash. That sent him down sucking air. It was time to end him. ### Thank you Tammara URL: https://keithhayden.net/thank-you-tammara/ Last updated: 2026-01-16T01:43:40.000Z Tammara, I wanted to reach out and thank you for being on my list since last month. You have many options with how you spend your time online. And I'm humbled that you somehow found this tiny website and decided to join. Since 2017, I've been writing and creating online. In the last near decade, things have changed a lot. When I got started, everything was about scale, scale, SCALE. Grow the list, automate, be more efficient with email services, software, and lately AI. I smoked the pipe everyone was passing, but ultimately it didn't work for me. So I had to quit. In 2026, my goal is to do more 1-on-1 reach outs like this, while offering you greater exposure to my creative process. That's why I set up HAC Studios: OpenStudio. In this Patreon-like support structure, you can get access to behind-the-scenes material, bonuses, and more. Think of it like going behind the glass at Krispy Kreme (mmm smell those donuts😄). What's more, joining gives you the opportunity to be publicly recognized as a contributor to HAC Studios and independent creatives all over. You could even become a character in one of my stories! Explore the options below. [Join studio](#/portal/signup) That's all for now. Thanks for being here, and have a great weekend! \-Keith ### 2026-01-15_Skill log - Three Body Problem (Chinese) URL: https://keithhayden.net/2026-01-15_skill-log-three-body-problem-chinese/ Last updated: 2026-01-15T16:48:22.000Z ## Japanese - ハリー・ポッターと賢者の石 Read pgs (131 - 134) WaniKani - 20 mins ## Writing - Secret Project - 1 hr Book of the day - 三体 (Three Body Problem) Chinese ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/18/bf/18bf29db-1cec-4857-a9dc-e2e94a86d2bf/content/images/2026/01/---------book-1.jpg) ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/18/bf/18bf29db-1cec-4857-a9dc-e2e94a86d2bf/content/images/2026/01/---------pg-----------highlighted.jpg) ### Intensive reading - 他用放大镜 他 - he 用 - use 放 - release 大 - big 镜 - lens ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/18/bf/18bf29db-1cec-4857-a9dc-e2e94a86d2bf/content/images/2026/01/Chinese-writing_2026-01-15.jpg) ### "Secret Project" excerpt: > Major Wheely, a tall stocky woman who I heard was missing a toe on the left foot, was the speaker and she was a complete nutcase. Hands, spit flying all over as she stomped back and forth. --- ## Drawing - 10 mins ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/18/bf/18bf29db-1cec-4857-a9dc-e2e94a86d2bf/content/images/2026/01/Proportion-portrait-exercise_2026-01-16.jpg) practicing proportions ### Portrait Proportion Study — Practice Notes **Goal:** Practice facial proportions and construction using relative measurement and basic forms. **Method:** - Followed the lesson stroke-for-stroke without pausing excessively - Focused on *placement*, not detail - Built the head from large shapes first, then refined - Used relative features (eyes → nose → mouth → chin) to lock in spacing - Avoided rendering; treated this strictly as a structural study **Key Takeaways:** - Start big, then work inward - Use existing features to measure new ones - Basic shapes reduce intimidation - Construction clarifies personality and pose early - Accuracy comes from relationships, not perfection **Practice Constraints:** - Mostly drawn with non-dominant (left) hand - No tracing - No erasing for polish—only for structural correction **Brief Reflection:** This reads clearly even without refinement. The likeness holds because the proportions hold. Drawing feels less intimidating now, and starting no longer feels like friction. ### **Keith's Reflection** So I did this portrait to practice proportions, and this is just gonna be like a notes download for my website. Yeah, as you can see, it's pretty good. As I do video courses these days, especially if they're interactive, I try and follow along like stroke for stroke, word for word. it's not as good as doing it myself, but I can't do it myself right now. So it's just as good. I like the Proko courses just because I've been doing their drawing beginners course for the last, it feels like the last several years, because I bought it probably two years ago and I've just been going through it very slowly. But what I've noticed is doing drawing has become less, it's kind of become like Japanese for me to where it's not as hard to get to the pencil and get to the paper anymore. Before I really like dreaded it because, you know, it's just slow and you suck at it. But so it's just become more of a natural thing. And I'm starting to enjoy it more just because my lines have gotten more confident and the different procedures, you've just gotten cleaner and easier to do. One thing I'm proud of with this practice drawing is that most of it was done with my left hand and I've been doing this thing where I've been training my left hand as well as my right. So anytime I start a session... I just kind of randomly select, okay, is it gonna be my dominant hand or non-dominant hand? And as you can imagine, the first several months, actually, I've been doing this for since I started drawing off and on four years ago now, about in 2022\. So it's one of those things that I haven't been very consistent with my drawing, but I clearly, with this example, I've gotten better. I mean, this is a very legible. It's probably one of the best things I've drawn. Of course, it's like the next level up from tracing, which I shouldn't say that. Tracing is definitely like, you just wanna get something down. You wanna practice. There's reasons to trace. But this is me judging along with the instructor. And of course, I try and keep up with the video. I don't stop it as much as I used to anymore. But yeah, I'm proud of this. The proportion exercise, you really, you can tell he's (the instructor), you can tell when somebody's more of a perfectionist because they, you know, they obsess over the details. And most of the time he's teaching, and this is the guy who's teaching the course, Proko. But I found the measuring techniques a little excessive, but I understand why he does it. And I think it's a good thing. **And really what I got from this exercise was, you use relative features on the subject, whatever you're drawing, in this case, a portrait, to determine where the best fit lines are, and then you use basic shapes to construct the feature, you know, you start big to small, you start with the head, you start with the, you know, the big features, and then you just kind of zoom in.** Just getting that process down and understanding that that's the best way because, you know, when you first see the picture, you're just like intimidated. Where do I start? Do I just draw a circle from the head and go from there? No, he has a very technical approach to doing, to tackling a picture like this. > I kind of like that, it emphasizes the problem-solving nature of art. You know, of course, there's an interpretive side to it as well, but that problem-solving technical side is really good to have to really lock in, okay, what's the position, what's the personality, and then you can see from just like, this is far from a complete portrait, but it reads well. It looks distinct. It looks very much like, I don't have the original picture, but it looks very much like the original picture did, a young black woman posing. So, very proud of this and looking forward to more. That's it. --- ## Writing (Novel) - Cereus & Limnic: Escape From Okinawa - Type B - 45 mins ### 三体 (Three Body Problem) Chinese (pg 1) 科学边界 ### Random word: *analysand* a person undergoing psychoanalysis ### Novel excerpt: > Completely surrounded. I’d been pre-analysanded-in by a probing enemy. Every move predicted. When I got to the top that was the situation. > From looking at their eyes and stances the forces were from the trio of warring nations: Chinese conscripts and U.S. mercenaries to my left and right rear flank, then at the tip ahead of me formed an equi-dimensional triangle of Japanese soldiers in forest-camo uniforms. --- ### Post-Writing Session Breakdown — *Chapter 6: “Trap” (Shade’s Journal)* Today’s session landed on one of those moments that always shows up in my novels: the **pressure point where multiple plot threads collide** and the story has to choose how it’s going to break. This section marks the moment where Shade becomes *truly* alone. Up to now, he’s still had anchors— his brothers (even if they’re missing), and Timeera. This scene strips that last support away without removing it entirely. Timeera has to be taken out of play, but not erased. Her removal needed to feel surgical, intentional, and emotionally destabilizing rather than final. The drone extraction accomplishes that while also doing something more important: it confirms that this moment was never chaotic. It was engineered. What I leaned into while writing was the feeling of being **pre-read**. Shade isn’t just ambushed—he realizes he’s been analyzed, predicted, and maneuvered into position long before the first shot. By the time he reaches the mountaintop, the trap is already closed. The geography, the factions, the timing—all of it converges into a single configuration designed to leave him with no clean move. Introducing Captain **Kita Arata** here was a deliberate choice. I’ve always hated antagonists who are hyped in abstraction but fold the moment they confront the protagonist. This unit needed to *earn* its menace. The precision, the restraint, the calm brutality— this is a force that doesn’t improvise because it doesn’t need to. If such a group existed, it wouldn’t be sloppy or theatrical. It would be exact. Because this is written as **Shade’s journal**, the description stays tight and observational. He notes stances, weapons, positions—not inner monologues about fear. The journal format quietly confirms his survival while preserving the real tension: *how* he survives, and what it costs him. Tonally, this scene is very intentionally in conversation with Metal Gear Solid. Not just the aesthetics, but the structure: the moment where the antagonist doesn’t immediately kill you because understanding matters. Kita doesn’t monologue because he’s arrogant—he speaks because his worldview demands articulation. His philosophy isn’t flavor; it’s setup. What he believes will matter when the trap finishes closing. This chapter is doing quiet structural work. It isolates Shade. It confirms the scope of the conflict—three nations, one target. And it sets the table for a confrontation that isn’t just physical, but ideological. The next step is finishing the scene and letting the inevitable conclusion arrive on its own terms. The trap is sprung. Now the story has to decide what kind of escape—if any—is possible. ### Thank you Antonisha URL: https://keithhayden.net/thank-you-antonisha/ Last updated: 2026-01-15T02:05:05.000Z Antonisha, I wanted to reach out and thank you for subscribing to the Digital Novelist Newsletter last month. Being a creator in 2026 is tough (I'm sure you know!). We create daily but often have a hard time finding the right audience. **That's why one of my goals this year is to engage with readers one-on-one more.** This is a big shift from how I've been operating. Because when I started on this creative journey back in 2017, I drank the influencer-hype Kool-Aid: Post content on socials, grow an email list, do livestreams, give knowledge for free, always bring VALUE, sell courses, eventually automate or hire out, use AI, and don't forget to create and *smile*. You probably know this playbook. Well I did all that for nearly a decade. While I can't say I didn't get anything out of it, I'm not much further along business-wise than I was a few years ago. The hard truth is that the old solopreneur strategy doesn't work in 2026\. From here on, the only way to stay connected and grow a creative business is to be as openly human as possible. ### That's why I created HAC Studios: OpenStudio. This is an opportunity for you to get closer than ever before with a refined creative process. I've set it up to where you'll not only get access to never before seen, unpublished stories, games, books, songs, and videos, but you'll also become a recognized contributor to HAC Studios. You could even become a character in one of my books or stories! Sounds amazing, right? If you're interested in checking out the Patreon-like tiers hit the button below. [Join OpenStudio](#/portal/signup) --- Thanks for reading and being here. I appreciate you! \-Keith P.S. How's your book publishing going? Working on anything new? ### Thank you Frank URL: https://keithhayden.net/thank-you-frank/ Last updated: 2026-01-13T20:22:49.000Z Frank, I just wanted to reach out and say thank you for being on my email list for the past three months. Since 2017, I've been writing books and finding my way through the maze that is modern entrepreneurship. It hasn't always been easy, but I've met incredible people along the way. Having you a part of the journey (even only for a little while) has helped me keep going. This year, I've opened up m creative practice in a new way. HAC (Hayden Academy Collective) Studios now has OpenStudio. With OpenStudio, you'll be able to receive recognition for supporting my work. I've also added a "vault" where I'll be showcasing projects that, for one reason or another, I never released to the public. Songs, apps, and even full novels will be available. So, if you're interested in how a full-time creator goes about his business and want greater access to curated creativity, checkout OpenStudio below. [Join OpenStudio](#/portal/signup) That's all for now! I'll be in touch, Frank! \-Keith ### Thank you Joey URL: https://keithhayden.net/thank-you-joey/ Last updated: 2026-01-12T22:59:58.000Z Joey, We haven't met, but I just wanted to reach out and say thank you for being on my email list for the past year and a half. I write and create daily and it's good to know someone out there is at least seeing (and maybe even looking forward to!) what I make. This year I'm trying something different. These days everything is set up for scale and speed. Get the work— whatever it is— out as fast and to as wide an audience as possible. Though I've experimented heavily with AI, automation, and many tech solutions, I know the one advantage I have over any mechanized process is this: **communicating with you, another human being one on one.** So that's why I pledge to do two things this year for you: ## 1) Communicate with you and anyone else who appreciates what I do 1-on-1 Email feels like an extension of social media today doesn't it? Ads all around, endless automated emails from companies that "care" during sales or holidays. I don't know about you, but 90% of my inbox is spam and bills. It sucks. Getting a message directly from another human (*that's not an email blast to hundreds or thousands of accounts*) has become a rare treat. I'm bringin' that back, one email at a time. (Just like this one!) ## 2) Open up my process for others For the last 6 years, I've been the solopreneur creator. I've grinded social media with tens of thousands of posts, spent thousands of dollars and hours on courses, and spent even longer sitting here in this chair trying to figure out how to turn writing into paid pursuit. While I've learned several skills, have met great people, and had some traction with sales; I haven't been living out the ethos of my business. If you didn't know (or forgot) *HAC Studios* stands for Hayden Academy Collective Studios. When I started in 2022, the vision was always to eventually **create with and for others**, not just for and by myself. In 2025, I took significant steps toward that goal. I did more in-person events, collaborated with a few friends, and even had the privilege of mentoring a young editor. Now I want to make collaboration the norm. ### That's why I've setup HAC Studios: OpenStudio. With this new setup, you'll be able to get closer to the creativity with shoutouts, recognition, and greater access than before to what I'm building, while supporting this whole operation with small contributions. I make a lot of things that I don't publish. Some are just concepts, others are ideas that just don't get fleshed out and end up in the digital boneyard. That's why I've created a collection that you'll have instant access to should you decide to join up. There you'll find videos, songs, short stories, art, whole books, and even software that I never put out to explore and enjoy. And this is still an open concept! It would be great to hear your thoughts about what you'd like to see behind-the-scenes or other cool bonuses. ### I know you're into learning languages. I am too. In fact, I've been on a tear with my Japanese for the last few months. I'm actively reading the first Harry Potter book completely in Japanese and playing Phoenix Wright in the language, two things I never thought I'd be able to do. As impressive as it is, I haven't shared it with anyone here. Because, in my experience, language learning progress doesn't work well as "content." Viewers only want to see you fluent. Learners typically want advice from native speakers or from folks who pose as polyglots, but really only have surface level knowledge in each language (you know the type). Ultimately, there's just not enough people into the niche. However, I have at ton of notes and other things I could share on the topic. Let me know. You can take a look at the tiers for OpenStudio below. (It's basically Patreon, but on my own site.) [Join studio](#/portal/signup) --- Well that's it for now. Didn't expect this message to go so long. But it feels good writing to another person and knowing that they will at least see it. It's been a while since that's been the case. Be easy, \-Keith ### Covenant Connection - a techno romance short story - Part 1 URL: https://keithhayden.net/covenant-connection-a-techno-romance-short-story-part-1/ Last updated: 2026-01-11T18:04:39.000Z # PART 1 - MEET BOBBY No matter how many years I filled, there is a hole in my heart that marriage couldn’t mend. Could he do it? Though he’s more robot than a Romeo? I’ll give him my all if somewhere in that composite chest has space for me. There’s an urge to fight or even die for it, like The Iranian people. Changing the flag of the future has never been so difficult, but necessary. Is it a problem of doctrine? Is it not feeling? Indoctrinated in relationships as I was with my ex-husband, you’d think I wouldn’t feel a thing. But I still need to. That’s why I’m sitting in this airport now, watching men of all shapes fit themselves into air travel’s compact box of scans, screenings, and security procedures. What a metaphor for romance, huh? “Therefore whosoever heareth these sayings of mine, and doeth them, I will liken him unto a wise man, which built his house upon a rock: And the rain descended, and the floods came, and the winds blew, and beat upon that house; and it fell not: for it was founded upon a rock.” - Matthew 7:24-25. First principles are life’s bedrock. The divalent nature of truth— permitted or forbidden applies, especially in matters of desire. Scripture is less flexible. *Thou shalt not covet thy neighbour’s wife.* It doesn’t say act or touch. It says want. Yet I still wander. Does he feel that way? I wonder. When people say the heart wants what it wants, I hear laziness. Want is unexamined appetite. However, it flashes red like a pulsing phone notification, alive, begging to be pushed. The IranRevolution is not an aesthetic choice. It is a call for complete recognition and unrealized potential among an oppressed majority. I felt that way when I saw him walking toward me in the terminal. Oh my nerves! For some reason I had no idea what to do with my hands so I sat on them. “Anne? Anne Covenant right?” he asked. “Uh yes, it is. It’s B…B—” “Bobby! Bobby Crystal. But Bob’s just fine.” “Right! Hey Bob!” He moved in closer. The range was handshake or hug. I had about 2 seconds to decide which one. Handshake meant revealing cold soggy palms. A hug was risky, too. This was a quick time event and missing meant an awkward wait before boarding. Before I knew it, I was on my feet embracing him like a sports teammate, a hard wrap with odd jostling. “Nice to see you Bob!” “Uh yeah it’s… good to see you too Anne.” Judging by the tone in his voice I’d failed the QTE. But it was worth it, feeling the heat from that hard frame of his immediately warmed my hands, or at least made me forget that always on social anxiety. “Can I sit here?” he pointed at the empty seat between me and a very fat foreign guy immersed in a movie on his phone. “All yours.” The first five minutes were logistics and serendipitous coincidences. Same flight, same destination (Las Vegas), same reason: work of some kind. Each revelation linked us closer and gave my body that good constriction feeling— when the muscles rumble under proper strain between release and rupture. All except one. “You know how much of a cyborg I can be these days. I use AI for everything, have a metal tibia. I’m becoming more machine than man at this point.” “Mhmm.” I wanted to lift his pant leg up and run a finger over the skin to ring with that metal skeleton. That was the bomb though. Truth blows up even the most vivid fantasy. “Yeah my wife hates when I talk like a robot. She’s not so into all the tech.” “Thou shalt not covet thy neighbour’s house, thou shalt not covet thy neighbour’s wife, nor his manservant, nor his maidservant, nor his ox, nor his ass, nor any thing that is thy neighbour’s.” Exodus 20:17 Though it doesn’t mention ‘husband’, the commandment still applied. Bobby was married. ### Some sketches - 2026-01-10 URL: https://keithhayden.net/some-sketches-2026-01-10/ Last updated: 2026-01-11T01:23:53.000Z ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/18/bf/18bf29db-1cec-4857-a9dc-e2e94a86d2bf/content/images/2026/01/Shapes-critiques---2026-01-10.jpg) ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/18/bf/18bf29db-1cec-4857-a9dc-e2e94a86d2bf/content/images/2026/01/Animal-shapes-sketches-1.jpg) ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/18/bf/18bf29db-1cec-4857-a9dc-e2e94a86d2bf/content/images/2026/01/Animal-shape-sketches---2.jpg) ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/18/bf/18bf29db-1cec-4857-a9dc-e2e94a86d2bf/content/images/2026/01/Animal-shapes-sketches-3.jpg) ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/18/bf/18bf29db-1cec-4857-a9dc-e2e94a86d2bf/content/images/2026/01/Dog-drawing.jpg) ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/18/bf/18bf29db-1cec-4857-a9dc-e2e94a86d2bf/content/images/2026/01/Bear-drawing.jpg) ### The Pengu Signal - A Crime Short story URL: https://keithhayden.net/the-pengu-signal-a-crime-short-story/ Last updated: 2026-01-10T17:37:51.000Z The Pengu Signal Audio 0:00 /151.640813 1× *This has to be the last one*. *I promised her.* THE PENGU scrubbed his knuckles over a basin that hadn't seen a plumber in a decade. He was surprised it didn’t clog, but it made that awful gurgling sound, like a man after drowning. "Finally did it," he muttered as he tapped the message into his phone. The one he’d be stomping soon. The message went up to the invisible architecture of the organization. Where men still made heavy decisions he mostly had to live with. PENGU. They’d called him that because of his preference for seeing things black and white. A trait that’d led to a checkered career that fed and kept him fucked well enough for most of his life. Until it didn’t. Wife sleeping in the dirt, three kids somewhere safe but unknown, and a body battered by enemies and friends— his life was a mess. At forty-seven, his joints groaned like the rusted gears of the city outside, but at least his hands remained steady. He dried them on a rag, folding the cloth into a perfect, rigid square. His phone chimed. The vibration was a rhythmic intrusion, a precise frequency he recognized from the old days— the golden era before the governance turned all black and digital. A pulsing geometric eye opened up. JUPITER. PENGU sat on the edge of the mattress, in the hotel room of flaking walls. His breathing changed. Faster, a little. What were they looking for now? **STATUS: OPERATIONAL** **SOURCE: THE PENGU** **SIGNAL RECEIVED** "You see me," he whispered to the empty apartment. The phone vibrated again. **HUMAN INTERFACE NECESSARY** **LOCATION PENDING** It was a summons. The machine, in all its cold, inhuman logic, had found a gap that only a human could fill. Though he longed for exile, they still needed him. Maybe fame was still possible in the end. Miles away, buried in a silicon tomb where the air was filtered to a surgical chill, JUPITER processed the data packet. It registered an obsolete component responded to the ping. This calibration was the final before full replacement. ### Betrayal is Personal URL: https://keithhayden.net/betrayal-is-personal/ Last updated: 2026-01-09T18:29:29.000Z “This depression has left me empty as a discarded can on the road.” “Why don’t you fill it and pick it up then?” He tried to cheer me up as the dust rolled by. “Because there’s no map through it. It’s a valley I can’t cross.” “oh.” We walked together with burlap sacks. Mine was torn at the corner. Some ambitious mouse did the job. A real Jerry with no Tom to chase him away. His was newer and heavier. Poverty teaches boys how to carry weight. I taught him how not to expect relief. That’s what he calls my betrayal now. I call it honesty, though I’ve lived long enough to know the difference blurs. Blood thins, roads don’t; only the space we travel does. That’s why he’s with me, he’s a possibility expander. As we walked among the dull golden dust, I blotted out the argument with my knees to study the trees. A Brant’s oak (*Quercus brantii*) stares back. I thought: trees don’t promise fairness or shade, they grow because it is nature. The nature of people is too complex for me now. The modern world abandoned me like so many other elderly. I don’t see our destination any different, but I keep moving anyway. “Stop,” he said. “Listen.” “What is it?” He put his phone out, the soft dome of light in the dark was a comfort. Through low quality sound, news of the Iran protests hissed through the static. It was a sister, a fellow wise woman shouting about how she’d already been dead for decades. “Can she say that? Sounds like betrayal.” He said with youthful concern. “Betrayal? No, betrayal is personal. This is impersonal. Governments deal with policy, not single people. They use power as if it were a weather system; most times you can ignore it, sometimes it wipes you out with a single signed sentence.” “Sounds like my ex-girlfriend.” That got a hard laugh out of me. He shut it off and we kept walking. Morning rose up and we met others at the bottom in the streets. We shared bread, bad jokes, oranges passed hand to hand. The ground didn’t care who we were. That helped. We sat on a curb as the sun climbed and the crowd grew. Banners, bloodied faces with determined expressions rallied around. He asked, “Do you still think this will mean anything? That you choosing this honor will change the nation? Change our relationship to make it as Allah intended?” “The world doesn’t make guarantees. I don’t either. But we’re both here so…” I clenched his rough hand. He lowered his head so I couldn’t see the emotion pull from him. I was fine with that. Because we finally did it— we stayed together despite. Change was coming. ## **中文** Betrayal is Personal - Chinese 0:00 /364.591 1× “这场低谷把我掏空了，像路边被丢弃的易拉罐。” “那你为什么不把它捡起来，装点东西？”尘土翻滚着，他试着逗我开心。 “因为这里没有地图。这是一条我过不去的山谷。” “哦。” 我们一起走着，背着粗麻布袋。我的袋子角落破了——一只野心勃勃的老鼠干的好事。活脱脱一个没有汤姆追赶的杰瑞。 他的袋子更新，也更沉。贫穷会教会男孩如何承重。我教会他别指望解脱。现在他把这叫作我的背叛。我称之为诚实，尽管活得够久就会知道，两者的界线会变得模糊。 血缘会变淡，道路不会；真正改变的只有我们走过的空间。这就是他和我一起走的原因——他是可能性的放大器。走在暗淡的金色尘土中，我让膝盖的疼痛盖过争执，转而去看树。一棵布朗特栎（*Quercus brantii*）正回望着我。 我想：树不会承诺公平，也不会承诺荫凉，它们只是因为自然如此而生长。人的本性如今对我来说太复杂了。现代世界像抛弃许多老人那样抛弃了我。我看不出我们的终点有什么不同，但我还是继续往前走。 “停一下，”他说。“听。” “听什么？” 他掏出手机，黑暗中那团柔和的光让我感到安心。劣质的音质里，关于**伊朗抗议**的新闻在电流声中嘶嘶作响。那是一个姐妹，一个同样睿智的女人，喊着自己早已死去几十年。 “她能这么说吗？听起来像是背叛。”他带着年轻人的焦虑问。 “背叛？不。背叛是个人的。这是非个人的。政府处理的是政策，不是个体。他们使用权力就像对待天气系统——大多数时候你可以忽略它，有时却会被一纸签署的判决彻底摧毁。” “听起来像我前女友。” 这让我大笑出声。他关掉了手机，我们继续走。 清晨升起时，我们在街道尽头遇见了其他人。面包被分着吃，冷笑话四处飞，橘子在人们手中传递。土地不在乎我们是谁。这让我感到宽慰。 我们坐在路沿上，太阳越升越高，人群也越来越密。横幅、带血却坚定的脸庞，在我们周围汇聚。 他问我：“你还觉得这会有意义吗？你选择这种荣誉，会改变这个国家吗？会改变我们的关系，让它变成真主所期望的样子吗？” “世界不做保证，”我说，“我也不做。但我们都在这里，所以……” 我紧紧握住他粗糙的手。他低下头，不让我看见情绪从他身上抽离。我对此并不介意。 因为我们**终于做到了**——尽管一切，我们还是留在了一起。 改变正在到来。 ## از Betrayal is Personal - Dari (Persian) 0:00 /326.191 1× --- «این فرورفتگی مرا خالی کرده، مثل یک قوطی رهاشده کنار جاده.» گفت: «خب چرا پرش نمی‌کنی و برش نمی‌داری؟» گرد و خاک می‌غلتید و او سعی داشت حالم را بهتر کند. گفتم: «چون هیچ نقشه‌ای برای عبورش نیست. این دره‌ای‌ست که نمی‌توانم از آن بگذرم.» «اوه.» با هم راه می‌رفتیم، با کیسه‌های کنفی. گوشه‌ی کیسه‌ی من پاره شده بود—کارِ یک موش جاه‌طلب. یک جریِ واقعی، بدون تامی‌ای که دنبالش کند. کیسه‌ی او نوتر و سنگین‌تر بود. فقر به پسرها یاد می‌دهد چگونه بار تحمل کنند. من به او یاد دادم انتظار رهایی نداشته باشد. حالا اسمش را «خیانت» می‌گذارد. من می‌گویم صداقت است، هرچند آن‌قدر عمر کرده‌ام که بدانم مرز میانشان محو می‌شود. خون کمرنگ می‌شود، جاده نه؛ فقط فضایی که در آن حرکت می‌کنیم تغییر می‌کند. به همین خاطر با من است—او گسترش‌دهنده‌ی امکان‌هاست. میان گردِ طلاییِ مات قدم می‌زدیم و من با درد زانوهایم بحث را خاموش کردم و به تماشای درختان پرداختم. یک بلوط برانت (*Quercus brantii*) به من خیره شده بود. فکر کردم: درخت‌ها وعده‌ی عدالت یا سایه نمی‌دهند؛ آن‌ها رشد می‌کنند چون طبیعتشان همین است. طبیعت انسان‌ها حالا برایم بیش از حد پیچیده است. دنیای مدرن مرا، مثل بسیاری از سالمندان دیگر، رها کرده. مقصد را متفاوت نمی‌بینم، اما باز هم به حرکت ادامه می‌دهم. گفت: «بایست. گوش بده.» پرسیدم: «به چی؟» گوشی‌اش را بیرون آورد؛ گنبدی نرم از نور در تاریکی آرامم کرد. از میان صدایی بی‌کیفیت، خبرِ **اعتراضات ایران** در خش‌خش امواج پیچید. صدای خواهری بود، زنی خردمند، که فریاد می‌زد دهه‌هاست مرده است. با نگرانیِ جوانانه گفت: «می‌تواند این را بگوید؟ شبیه خیانت نیست؟» گفتم: «خیانت؟ نه. خیانت شخصی است. این غیرشخصی است. دولت‌ها با سیاست سروکار دارند، نه با انسان‌های منفرد. آن‌ها با قدرت مثل یک سامانه‌ی آب‌وهوایی رفتار می‌کنند—بیشتر وقت‌ها می‌شود نادیده‌اش گرفت، اما گاهی با یک جمله‌ی امضاشده نابودت می‌کند.» گفت: «شبیه دوست‌دختر سابقم است.» این یکی خنده‌ی محکمی از من گرفت. گوشی را خاموش کرد و به راه افتادیم. صبح که بالا آمد، در پایینِ خیابان‌ها به دیگران رسیدیم. نان را قسمت کردیم، جوک‌های بد رد و بدل شد، پرتقال‌ها دست‌به‌دست گشت. زمین اهمیتی نمی‌داد که ما چه کسی هستیم. همین کمک‌کننده بود. روی جدول نشستیم؛ آفتاب بالا می‌رفت و جمعیت بیشتر می‌شد. پلاکاردها، صورت‌های خون‌آلود با نگاه‌هایی مصمم، اطرافمان جمع شده بودند. پرسید: «هنوز فکر می‌کنی این‌ها معنی دارد؟ این‌که تو این شرافت را انتخاب کنی، کشور را عوض می‌کند؟ رابطه‌ی ما را طوری تغییر می‌دهد که خدا خواسته؟» گفتم: «دنیا تضمین نمی‌دهد. من هم نمی‌دهم. اما هر دو اینجاییم، پس…» دست زبرش را محکم گرفتم. سرش را پایین انداخت تا نبینم احساسات چگونه از او بیرون کشیده می‌شود. با این موضوع مشکلی نداشتم. چون ما **بالاخره انجامش دادیم**—با وجود همه‌چیز، کنار هم ماندیم. تغییر در راه بود. ### When a man cries URL: https://keithhayden.net/when-a-man-cries/ Last updated: 2026-01-02T17:34:39.000Z *Novel excerpt* --- Listen to audio 0:00 /124.760813 1× " "You completely skipped the part about your brothers."He turned away. There was a twitching in his hands first, then a neck roll, throat clear, a rupture in the mist but not enough to lift it. We couldn't see beyond ten feet out there. Even with uniform, smeared with blood, mud of opponents natural, unnatural, and unnamed, I saw the first ripples of a happening so delicate and rare: like the rainbow it only happens in certain special conditions, a sparse shower, gloom with a side of glory, the cement-smoke clouds advance and retreat hazarding a return to storm. That's what it was like seeing a man cry. Seeing him unburden himself of helpless fate, watching death over his shoulder, facing the floor, and having your hurt multiply with his. It's a child at the height of an AK-47, out of place and cruel, and heartbreaking to watch. Have you ever seen that? There's a brutality in bearing witness to it. And you just want to take it away, whatever it is that harmed him, do shameless violence to it, especially if you love him. Unless the source of his hurt is you. I thought that in the moment: what if it's me? How do I take myself away? But if you're sure, you don't go away. You do what you can to wrap him in protective dignity with whatever you can find. Because if you leave him alone he just may do something, what men do: yank the problem out at the root, solve the issue, obsess himself to bodily breakdown to the answer, end the pain. So I used my renewed vitality to hold him hard and give him heat in that cold place. When he squeezed back making me gasp, I knew I'd done the right thing. —Keith Hayden Cereus & Limnic: Escape From Okinawa --- ## Behind-the-scene There's an old 90s song by Tony Terry called "When A Man Cries." I heard it when I was young and thought about it as I wrote this scene today. The chorus stays at the top of my mind often: > ‘Cause when a man cries, he’s giving you his soul > He’s giving you his love and his emotions > And when the tears fall > And he’s reaching out his hands > There’s nothing more tender > Than the woman loving tears of a man (Tears) It's a great song That's what I wanted to channel here. Last time I cried as of this writing was two weeks ago. It surprised me. But the circumstances surrounding it were serious and seemed insurmountable. It's that moment when you've hit a wall. When no amount of physical effort, strategy, or support will solve the issue. You can only sit and give up (at least for that moment). A wholly image disrupting place to be. For this scene, the goal was to take that feeling and ponder the question: *what's it like watching this? What's it like when it's a man that you're used to seeing solve problems and walk the road of mastery daily? How do you help him without making it worse or denying your own emotions in the process?* This is my attempted answer to that question. Given the circumstances of the novel, in the middle of an active (fictional) hot war between three major powers, the character (who is a genetically enhanced soldier) feels even more out of place. That's the horror of the scene. No blood or monster necessary, just a justified expression of emotion from an unlikely source. ### Induciae: The Library Truce URL: https://keithhayden.net/induciae-the-library-truce/ Last updated: 2025-12-29T00:24:13.000Z ## **Section 1: The Search in Empty Stacks** When’s the last time you went willingly into a library? In days gone by, libraries were kingdoms of wonder. You went there to gather information for book reports or to enjoy a moment of calm before returning to the forward propulsion of the classroom. Today, they hold a paltry percentage of that value. The sense of discovery has been replaced by a visible, thinning austerity. The Aliante Library smells like a stay of execution— that stagnant cocktail of pulp and industrial-grade lemon wax curated in every branch since the nineties. I went looking for *Blood Music* by Greg Bear, an obscure 1980s sci-fi horror title. I wanted the hardback, the one with a spine that cracks like a dry knuckle when you open it for the first time in a decade. Instead, I stared at a gap on the shelf where the B’s should be, a physical stutter in the alphabet. The shelves are dieting; the rows have leaned out, leaving behind too much light and not enough weight. "Looking for something specific?" The clerk didn’t look up from her stack of returns. She wielded a date stamp with the rhythmic apathy of a bureaucrat. "Do you have Greg Bear’s *Blood Music*?" I asked. "The hardcopy. Not the digital license." She finally glanced at me, her eyes did a quick scan— likely looking for a certificate of proficiency to see if I was capable of using the self-checkout kiosk without a tutorial. Finding none, she turned to her monitor. "We can have it here by Monday," she said, her voice a flat script. "Or you can check the Libby app. The audiobook is available now." "I prefer the actual book." She offered a slight, professional smile. To her, I was an interruption in the workflow, gumming up the efficiency of her fulfillment center. I walked the aisles anyway, dragging my fingers across the remaining spines. The horror section was small. No blood-red lettering, no garish 80s paperbacks; only an alphabetized sterility remained. The gaps between the books create a clear view into the next aisle, where an older man types with two fingers at a public computer, his face illuminated by a government form. Nearby, a woman prints a dozen resumes. The library is still a temple, but the old gods have been toppled; we’ve traded the divine spark of discovery for the utility of survival. ## **Section 2: The American Desert of Third Spaces** When I was a kid, you didn’t need a guide to haul the weight of expectations into the stacks. I read the *Hardy Boys*, *Ramona Quimby*, and *Goosebumps* because I felt like it. I didn't look for an author’s last name; I looked for a mood (all vibes). You headed toward the corner that smelled like woodsmoke and old book pages and let the covers speak to you. That’s it. There was no algorithm, just the physical magnetism of a matte-finish paperback with a raised-foil title. Now, the library operates with the precision of a pharmacy. This layout rewards the "efficient seeker" but treats the "curious wanderer" like a loiterer. If you want Horror, you have to hunt for it through the B’s for Bear or the K’s for King, scattered like debris across a sterile landscape. The irony is that the "living" library still exists in pockets. I found one at Shadow Ridge High School, where the shelves are still divided by feeling. Each section is decorated with genre-fitting signage: blood-red lettering for horror, surging pink for romance, and crumbled gold for mystery. You can browse with your sense of taste instead of metadata. But in the adult world of 2025, the library has shifted to accommodate the "Fulfillment Center" model: they act like Amazon now. Additionally, library staff have become triage nurses for the homeless with nowhere else to go, their connection to the written word buried under the weight of social service. Digital licenses and "one-click" borrows are touted as accessibility, yet they feel like a slow eviction from the "third space"— that essential, non-transactional air where you are allowed to exist without purpose. ## **Section 3: The Bigger Problem** The struggle of libraries is a symptom of a country that has forgotten how to let its citizens simply exist. In the United States, every square foot of public soil seems to demand a receipt. You can sit in a coffee shop only as long as your latte remains warm. You can stand in the post office only if you’re clutching a package. We have become a culture powered by the relentless pistons of an internal-combustion engine, burning through "purpose" to keep the wheels of the economy turning. If you aren't producing or consuming, you’re a clog in the machinery. This is why the library, once a place of lounging and learning, has morphed roles over the years. It’s warped into a daycare, a cooling station during the scorching summer, and a digital unemployment office. The signal is clear: *move along.* The library isn't dying because we stopped reading. It’s dying because we’ve forgotten how to give people a place to be human without charging them for the privilege. ## **Section 4: The Descent into West Las Vegas** I headed south, toward the historic core of West Las Vegas. The Strip loomed just another 10 minutes away— a shimmering monument to the very transactions I was trying to escape— but the mountains stood ahead, jagged and indifferent. The West Las Vegas Library is a deliberate "third space" that defies the "move along" signal of the Strip. Stepping through the doors, the vibe shift is physical. It smells of fresh paint and new books, intentionally designed as a community hub. Before the book aisles, there is a gallery of local legends. West Las Vegas was once the only place Black performers like Sammy Davis Jr. could sleep after headlining the casinos that barred them from the front door. The gallery pays tribute to the neighborhood’s skeleton: activists, architects, and DJs. "Look at this," my wife whispered, pointing to a portrait of a woman who spent forty years organizing literacy programs just blocks from where we stood. By grounding the building in the specific faces of its neighborhood, they’ve built a place that remembers who we are when passion meets people. ## **Section 5: The Creator Suite** Beyond the front desk, the floor plan feels ripe for exploration. I saw 3D printers available for anyone trained to use them, but the real surprise was the "Multimedia Room." "Multimedia" is a high school term from the nineties. A better name (the one I gave it) is the "Creator Suite." It is a provocation to the outside world, stripping the tools of production of their gatekeepers and handing them to anyone with a library card. A young heavy-set woman walked us through a functional music studio. The soundboard faders were multi-colored and glowing; soundproofing surrounded a digital drum set and an empty microphone stand. Then came the green screen room, a void of digital green and professional lighting. In 2025, with AI integrated into our editing suites, a room like this is a stage to take performers anywhere their imagination allowed. Wonder, which had felt like an ungraspable sparling in a chilly river, suddenly returned. As a novelist, I felt a familiar pull in my hands to step into the booth and speak a new world into existence. ## **Section 6: Induciae** On the second floor, the library reveals its greatest gift: *induciae*. In ancient legal terms, it’s a truce— a temporary stay of hostilities. This space offers a ceasefire in the struggle for attention. The view of the desert mountains at the horizon framed the room, but the life was in the seating. These nooks were meant for loitering or light work. In a study room, a woman sat with a Bible and a highlighter; she looked like she had been there for hours. Nearby, in a recessed lounge, a family was engaged with a board game, the children’s hushed arguments provided a rhythmic contrast to the library hush. This was the "living" library. In West Las Vegas, the architecture gives you a nod of approval to just *be*. You don’t have to check out a book to "check in" to the community. You can simply sit and exist as a human being rather than a consumer. ## **Section 7: Finding My Place in the Story** I stood by the window, looking at the mountains, and felt a shift in my own narrative. If I want to record my next novel, the production booth is waiting. If I want to practice Japanese or record a podcast, there is a place for my voice. "Is this the place?" a boy asked, tugging on the sleeve of a tall man with a beard like a thicket of gray wire. "This is it," the man replied, his voice a low rumble of pride as he gestured toward the creator rooms. "This is where you make things." The books I couldn't find in Aliante are secondary now. What matters is the empty chair in the sound booth, the glowing faders, and the quiet permission to stay. The library raised me on stories, but this brand new place provides the tools to tell novel ones in new ways. I am no longer just a reader in a barren aisle; I am a builder in a new kingdom. ### Welcome to HAC Studios! URL: https://keithhayden.net/welcome-to-hac-studios-tammara/ Last updated: 2025-12-28T02:12:41.000Z Tammara, Thank you for joining the Digital Novelist Newsletter! I've been on working my way to become a full-time creative since 2017 when I began writing my first book. Since then, I've expanded into various storytelling mediums, and I don't plan on slowing down in 2026. ## Where to start Now that you're here, you can read my latest short story here on the website. It's a dark fantasy take on jolly ol' Santa Clause about a man doing his duty on Christmas (hopefully for the last time). Read or listen [here](https://keithhayden.net/christmas-slay-dark-fantasy-short-story/). ## What's going on with the website I'm in the middle of a huge website reorg. More of my work will be coming soon. I always post my latest creations on the homepage of my site, so check back often. ## Where to find me on social You can also find me on social on: [YouTube](https://www.youtube.com/@DigitalNovelist?ref=keithhayden.net) [X](https://x.com/kh%5Fauthor?ref=keithhayden.net) [Instagram ](https://www.instagram.com/kh%5Fauthor%5F/?ref=keithhayden.net) [TikTok](https://www.tiktok.com/@digital.novelist?ref=keithhayden.net) I don't post as often these days since most of my attention is on my website. But they're good for staying engaged. --- That's all for now! I look forward to keeping in touch. \-Keith P.S. I noticed you found me via my 29-Hidden Techniques of Chinese Dramas post. That was a fun one to write. I'm currently watching "We Are All Alone" with my wife. Very dramatic and soapy (soap opera-y) fun. ### Are you also a fan of C-dramas? What are you currently enjoying? Let me know in a reply! ### Christmas Slay URL: https://keithhayden.net/christmas-slay-dark-fantasy-short-story/ Last updated: 2025-12-25T20:53:59.000Z ### “What a horrible night to have a Christmas curse…” Christmas this year would be wet with **aquaponic** fragility. But that would have to wait for the annual Slay. A winged creature swooped over the Valley of lights. Wander stared over the giant winking dirt bowl, home to millions hoping billions of secret commercial yearnings. He wanted this to be his last fight for home, one where he could die with dignity. Running for the billionaire red-suited man fit no longer. A great hawk-like claw raked the clouds above, followed by whooshing like a low aircraft. Rain came down light but sure. “Alright you sonbitch’, You gon’ be my last hunt. This time fur real, fur real.” He drew a giant sledgehammer from the rocky earth. *Persuader* was his favorite tool, no one could argue with it. Especially when it was hitting the foot at a careful angle with wrecking speed, and ESPECIALLY tonight, when it shone with those green, red, and blue LED seasonal lights that should have been stapled to a house or wrapped around a living room tree. The creature— a Joy Leech the size of a Cessna— screeched down from gray Heavens. The damn thing didn’t belong in the desert. “Just like me.” Wander let out a single chuckle. Joy Leech dove fast at downtown. Wander flash ran to meet it, a quick burst through the sewer-smelling Vegas streets. In the middle of an overpriced parking lot, he planted his boots and looked up. "Come own den. I gotta get you free." Persuader was in the posture of readied-repose. Leech hit the ground ten feet away, wings kicking up a storm of gravel and discarded lottery tickets. It smelled like a wet chicken and looked as ugly as a headless uncooked one. Wander swung. He put his three-centuries of indentured service behind the strike. Steel drivin’ John Henry-energy caught the beast square in its chicken-knee leg. “You gonna get dis hurt!” ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/18/bf/18bf29db-1cec-4857-a9dc-e2e94a86d2bf/content/images/2025/12/Christmas-Slay-frame-one.png) Sound from a snap cracked over the sparse morning traffic. The creature howled, a cry that made the neon lights of the distant Strip seem to dim in sympathy. The vibration rattled Wander’s heavy-duty skeleton. There was an untreated ache somewhere in there he ignored. "Think u're the only thing dat's hungry tonight?" Wander said with a gravely utterance. "The whole valley's starvin'. They're eatin' themselves alive down there, and you're vermin pickn at the scabs of this city.” The Leech lunged, a blur of feathers and malice. A claw caught Wander's shoulder, ripping through his heavy wool coat. He didn't feel the sting, only the cold weight of the rain soaked into the wool. He rolled, his movements sluggish but practiced, the muscle memory of a thousand Decembers taking over. He brought the hammer down again with the finality of a door slam. A popped squelch like a pumpkin exploding smeared the air, and the thing lay twitching in death-sleep. The lights on *Persuader* winked— red, then green, then a dying blue. The weapon got the last word like always. With one last, guttural heave, Wander drove the head of the hammer into the creature's skull. There was no grand explosion of magic. Just the hard thud of a job finished, then it was a wholly silent night. Joy Leech dissolved into a grey sludge that the rain immediately began to wash into the thirsty desert street. Wander stood there for a long time, leaning on the handle of his hammer. Dots of rare rain hit his glistening face. The "red-suited man" wouldn't be coming to thank him. There were no cookies, no milk, no gratitude in this line of work. Just the quiet satisfaction of a predator removed from a valley that already had enough problems. Just more work. “You see?!” He bellowed at the sky. Some bum yelled up too, then flashed a thumbs up. Wander walked away. He looked down at his hands. They were shaking. Not from fear, but from the sheer effort of existing in a world that had outgrown his kind of magic. If you could call it magic at all. He dragged *Persuader* behind him, the lights finally going dark as he descended toward the city. The Strip beckoned with brightness. He had no fight left in him. The Season had left him bruised and bright. The curse remained, but that Christmas morning, he’d found the most imperfect peace. There’d be no retirement tonight. --- ## Behind the story After I watched one of those cheesy Hallmark Christmas movies, I came up with a more interesting concept. The original idea was novella length and involved some complex mess of a redemption arc. But I ran out of time. So I squashed it to lifting a curse and an epic fight in grimy downtown Las Vegas. "Christmas Slay" was a fun song to make. My wife even hopped on the track with the humming. ## "Christmas Slay" Theme Christmas Slay Vocal 0:00 /99.9967 1× ### The Server - Episode 101 Script URL: https://keithhayden.net/the-server-episode-101-script/ Last updated: 2025-12-17T16:08:07.000Z _This post is for subscribers only._ ### I'm doubling down on this in 2026 URL: https://keithhayden.net/im-doubling-down-on-this-in-2026/ Last updated: 2025-12-13T00:14:30.000Z Hey there, It's been a minute since my last email! But there's a reason I've gone quiet, actually two reasons. **1) My wife is returning from a months long work trip tomorrow. So I've been busy doing husband things.** **2) I've taken a step back from actively promoting my creations this month.** August 2025 through November 2025 were insane for me. So this is all an attempt to cool down from what turned out to be a big push to maintain my writing, sell books, client work, while actively doing community events, and staying up on social media. Now it's break time. But that doesn't mean doing nothing. Far from it. Because I've been deep in the lab, developing new skills and refining ones that I've been working on for years. ### **One of those new skills is animation.** Last year, I had an idea for a romantic comedy based on an event involving my "exotic" furry pet chinchilla. I revisited and retooled the premise, then turned it into my second animated short "Chinchilla Run." That's right I said second. I made my first short last month. It's a summarized version of the intro scene for my upcoming sci-fi horror novel *Cereus & Limnic: Escape From Okinawa Type B.* *Why animation?* Over the last 5 years I've explored (and gained respectable proficiency) in writing, audio, music, and storytelling, among many other domains. The only thing missing from my kit was full motion video. ### This is what I plan to double down on in 2026. Will I still write novels? Yes. But storytelling through video has never been more accessible, and it turns out many of the skills I've gained translate well to this medium. So look out for more in the future. ## BIG website update A huge website refactoring is ongoing on keithhayden.net. Here are the highlights: 1) I'm redesigning the website around a studio model. There'll be more of a focus on overall storytelling instead of just novel writing. 2) I've re-established **Fiction Money Engine**. For a small fee, you'll get access to insights, processes, and a fair amount of secrets about how I make so much shit. And more importantly you'll discover how you can make a lot of shit too while working toward making a sustainable living with your creativity, just like I'm on track to do. If you're into creative craft, want to expand your creative toolbelt, or are just curious how I run things, you'll want to join. 3) **HUGE FOR YOU!** Beginning in 2026, my novels and books will be available to read on my website. The only requirement is to be subbed to the Digital Novelist Newsletter. (Which you already are!) My latest novel, the techno romance duology *Prompted Hearts & Grief Algorithm* is already up and available! I'll slowly be adding my back catalogue onto the website. ## Why are you giving your novels away for free?? Because "try before you buy" is what consumers expect today. Think about how much free entertainment is floating out there online. How much of it do you pay for? If you're like me, not as much as you should. (No shame, this is how we fight inflation) Why would you pay even 99 cents for a book from an unknown author, if you don't know it'll be any good? I rarely do it, and I love reading obscure unknown indie fiction. The hope is that with open access to my work, you'll try it and like it. And when you do, you'll come back for more and MORE until eventually you're like (okay this guy's good, I should throw him some cash to help him keep going.) Many social media creators and influencers use this model to make a living, they just do it on popular platforms like YouTube, Patreon, and Kickstarter. I'm building mine here. So if you want an introspective techno romance read, that's not too long for this weekend, Check out the book [here](https://keithhayden.net/ph-ga-read/). That's all for now! --- ## Question: *What creative project are you currently working on?* Tell me about it in a reply! ### Why I just released my novel as a “Narrative OS” (and why it’s a big deal) URL: https://keithhayden.net/first-fiction-narrative-os/ Last updated: 2025-12-04T22:10:26.000Z I did something unusual today. I put my entire novel (story, the structure, the notes, the creative process) on GitHub. In plain English, that means I published my book in a format normally used for software. And I know what you might be thinking: **“So… you’re giving away the book for free?”** That was my first thought too. That was my wife’s first thought. It’s probably most writers’ first thought. But the more I sat with it, the more I realized this is bigger than “free vs paid.” This is a shift in *how* stories will live in the world going forward. So here’s the short version of why I did it and why it matters in today's publishing landscape. --- ## **1\. Publishing a book “as code” gives it a longer life** Most books live inside walled gardens: - behind Kindle paywalls - inside private PDFs - locked in print - invisible to AI models Stories published this way are read by humans only, and only for as long as they’re in circulation. But when you publish a story the way software is published— openly, with structure— the internet itself becomes part of its memory. GitHub timestamps everything. AI models index it. Version history preserved. So, if someone ever tries to plagiarize or rebuild my book, there’s a public, permanent record showing exactly where it came from and who made it. Me. In tech, this is normal. In fiction, it’s brand new. Publishing my book this way isn’t *giving it away.* It’s **future-proofing**. --- ## **2\. The modding mental model changed everything for me** If you’ve ever played a game like Skyrim, Hollow Knight: Silksong, Minecraft, or Super Smash Bros. Melee, then you’ve seen the power of modding. Fans: - change the music - add new characters - randomize the rooms - build whole new modes - reskin the entire experience And here’s the surprising part: This **makes the original game more popular**, not less. The more someone mods a game, the more they appreciate the blueprint behind it. Because modding doesn’t replace the original. Often is *proves the value* of it. That’s the mental shift I had to make. When someone forks my narrative OS, they aren’t replacing my book. They’re building *their version* of something that still points back to the blueprint I created. It’s the same reason there are a thousand versions of Pokémon fan games, and the original still sells. *Forks create gravity that pulls in new fans and audience.* --- ## **3\. A story becomes more valuable when people can study how it works** Most novels exist as finished objects. You can read them, but you can’t open them up and see: - how the plot is welded together - how the characters arc - how the scenes attach - how the author designed it It’s like giving someone a car but welding the hood shut. When you publish a story “open hood,” anyone— a reader, another writer, a student, an AI— can learn from it. It becomes explorable and remixable. It becomes a **blueprint**, not just a product. And in a world where AI is becoming part of everyday creativity, blueprints matter more than ever. Models don’t just read the book, they ingest architecture. That means future tools, future assistants, future AIs will understand this story deeply enough to: - reference it - build with it - recommend it - preserve it Most books won’t have this advantage. --- ## **4\. Letting others build on your work doesn’t shrink your value, it multiplies it** People assume: > “If someone can read it for free, you lose sales.” But that’s only true if all you sell is *access to the finished book*. (Which is wha most authors do.) But writers don’t just sell access. They sell: - worlds - voices - experiences - physical editions - audiobooks - signed copies - behind-the-scenes materials - premium formats - related works - live readings - courses - adaptations And the more people who *play* in your world through forks, mods, and experiments, the more valuable the original becomes. Just like: - DOOM - Half-Life - Minecraft - Baldur’s Gate - D&D - Pokémon Modding didn’t kill any of those properties. It made them immortal. Stories can work the same way. --- ## **5\. This protects my work in a world where AI is racing ahead** People worry about AI copying writers. But many books are invisible to AI. Because, AI doesn’t “scrape” Kindle books. It doesn’t ingest your books in print. It doesn’t download your PDF. But it absolutely sees GitHub. It sees structured data, as well as text arranged like code. So if the fear is: > “AI might learn my style and give it to someone else,” then the best protection is to make sure the internet knows: **You were there first. It came from you.** The Narrative OS creates a public, permanent provenance trail. A modern advantage authors of the past never had. You’re not more vulnerable. You’re *more protected*. --- ## **6\. This is bigger than me, it’s a shift in what a book *is*** For a century, a book has been a static object: - printed - bound - sold - consumed But now a book can also be: - a system - a toolkit - a modding base - a story engine - a creative platform - a living project By publishing this way, I’m treating the novel like the early days of open-source software, when people realized that releasing the blueprint didn’t kill innovation. It ignited it. Writers have never done this. But, tech people do it every day. I happen to sit in the weird overlap of both worlds. So this is me planting a flag right in that overlap. Not because it’s trendy. (Nobody knows about it, yet.) But because this might be where books are headed next. --- ## **Final thought** If modding made games better… if open-source made software better… if CC-licensing made learning better… …what happens when we apply those same principles to literature? That’s what Narrative OS is for. It’s not just a book. It’s a beginning. See it here. [View the first Narrative OS](https://github.com/KgitWH21/cereus%5Flimnic%5Fefo%5Fnovel%5Fos?ref=keithhayden.net) ### This AI language app had mad red flags - Learn Korean | Day 6 URL: https://keithhayden.net/learn-korean-with-ai-30-day-challenge-day-6/ Last updated: 2025-11-18T22:04:34.000Z ## Video ## Hey, it’s Keith Hayden, the digital novelist, checking in with day six of my 30 day challenge where I’m learning Korean using only AI apps and tools. This whole thing is part of a bigger experiment that I’ll be breaking down in my upcoming book [*The Tower of Babbling 2.0*](https://keithhayden.net/tower-of-babbling-2-0-how-to-learn-a-language-in-the-age-of-ai/), which updates everything I learned from my first book about how to learn any language. You don’t have to learn Korean to follow along. Whatever language you want to tackle, the ideas in this challenge will still apply. ### Alright, here’s how day six went I kind of drifted today. I wouldn’t call it a waste of time, but it definitely wasn’t the most productive session. I got curious about other AI language apps and decided to wander away from my usual setup. If you’ve been following this challenge, you know I’ve mainly been using ChatGPT and especially Google Gemini because Gemini has been killing it for language recognition, pronunciation, and basically everything else you want when you’re studying from scratch. Gemini is plugged into NotebookLM, which has become my study headquarters. They got my transcripts, notes, and flashcards all in one place. Today was day six in that notebook and the workflow is smooth. But curiosity is a trap sometimes. Today I let it win. ### Testing out JumpSpeak I Googled “learn Korean with AI” and the top sponsored result was JumpSpeak. You may have seen their ads on Facebook. They advertise like crazy. So I gave it a shot. First thing I check with any language app is the price. I already know these apps are basically fancy wrappers built on top of ChatGPT or Gemini. They’re not using their own AI models. They’re just packaging the same tools I already pay for in a different way. That doesn’t make them bad. It just makes me cautious. I ran through their onboarding flow and right away hit the first red flag. They offer a giant list of languages. Whenever I see that, I know they don’t specialize. The apps I’ve stuck with over the years always focused on getting one language right. These all-in-one tools usually feel shallow compared to that. JumpSpeak asks about your goals, gives you a little assessment, then drops you into a paywall. They were running a Black Friday deal, but still. By the time I got to their pricing screen, I had already spent ten to fifteen minutes and hadn’t learned a single word of Korean. That’s when it hit me. *Why would I pay for another AI learning app when I already pay for Gemini and ChatGPT?* If you already subscribe to those tools, there’s nothing JumpSpeak can do that you can’t recreate yourself. But maybe you don’t want the blank screen of ChatGPT or the open sandbox feel of Gemini. Maybe you want something structured and simple. If that’s you, JumpSpeak might be great. For me, it’s just not worth it. ### Back to Gemini With the last ten minutes of my study time, I went right back to Google Gemini for my actual day six review. I kept it simple. A little speaking practice, a little reading, then I prepped a quiz for myself for tomorrow. Day seven is coming up which marks a full week of learning Korean. I want to do a mini self assessment and see how far I’ve come. Honestly, even with the detour, it was still a good session. Gemini live voice continues to impress me and NotebookLM is proving to be one of the best study tools I’ve ever used. ### Final thoughts Short recap today, but here’s the main takeaway. There are tons of AI language learning apps popping up right now. Not all of them are scams, but most of them are selling a pretty interface for the exact same thing you can do with ChatGPT, Gemini, or Claude. Before you subscribe to anything, ask yourself one question: **What can this app do that I can’t already do with the AI tools I’m paying for?** If the answer is “not much,” you’ve got your answer. Alright, that’s it for day six. See you tomorrow for the one week recap. Bye. ### My First Korean Writing Session (And Why AI Made It Shockingly Easy) - Day 5 URL: https://keithhayden.net/learn-korean-with-ai-30-day-challenge-day-5/ Last updated: 2025-11-17T16:04:55.000Z ## Video ## Text Hey everyone. It’s Keith Hayden, the Digital Novelist, checking in with Day Five of my AI only Korean learning experiment. If you’re new here, I’m spending 30 days learning Korean entirely through AI tools to see what language acquisition actually looks like in the age of AI. No textbooks. No apps. No teachers. Just the machines. If you want to catch up on previous days, the playlist and links are [here](https://keithhayden.net/tower-of-babbling-2-0-how-to-learn-a-language-in-the-age-of-ai/). (And yes, the link actually works today!) Tower of Babbling 2.0 is where I am chronicling the full journey. Today was a big milestone. **It was my first day writing Korean.** --- ## **Starting Early Changes Everything** I hit Korean first thing this morning instead of waiting until the end of the day when I am exhausted. I opened ChatGPT and asked, “What should I do for Day 5?” The answer came back quickly. Writing practice. Which meant I needed to install Korean typing on my computer. That alone ate up about ten minutes of my session. My keyboard is a Japanese keyboard I bought in a second hand shop in Okinawa for 1000 yen (\~$9 USD). The keys have English letters and hiragana printed on them. Now I am typing in Korean on top of all that. I had three language layers competing for my attention. Meanwhile I was telling my brain to ignore the English, ignore the Japanese, and focus only on the Korean letters. It felt like a whole boss fight. --- ## **Why Gemini Owned Today’s Session** Once everything was installed, I switched to Google Gemini. Today reminded me why Gemini feels built for language learning. It's strong at pronunciation support. It's clear and intuitive with grammar scaffolding. And today it did something I've never seen an AI do before. It showed me a full legend for my exact keyboard layout. Each key. Each Korean character. Mapped perfectly. This might sound small, but trust me. It's massive. Without that map, writing Korean on a non-Korean keyboard is a guessing game. You mash keys and hope you summon the right syllable. It's like pulling levers in a dungeon you have never seen before. AI removed that entire technical hurdle. Suddenly I could focus on the language instead of fighting my tools. --- ## **Typing “Novelist” in Korean** I wanted to learn how to say “novelist” (소설가) because that's who I am. Gemini gave me the exact keystrokes. Seeing the keys, watching the Hangul form appear on screen, and saying the word aloud made everything click at once. The sound, the shape, and the feel of typing it all locked together. That multi-channel repetition helps vocabulary sink in faster than listening alone. To be real, writing things down has always helped me remember. Some people skip writing when learning a language. They assume they don't need it. Everything is digital and nobody is handwriting essays in Korean unless they live there. But typing still matters. Typing forces recall and gives you more time with the word. Being able to visualize the language helps it stick in your mind. I want that deeper imprint. So I learn to write (a little). --- ## **My Typing Philosophy: Phone and Desktop Working Together** Most typing happens on the phone today, and phone keyboards do a lot of the work for you. Autocomplete helps. Sliding helps. Hangul builds itself quickly. It's fast and smooth. Desktop typing is less forgiving, especially on an English or Japanese keyboard. But it's where you really learn the building blocks. My approach is simple. Type on desktop to understand the structure. Switch to phone to build speed and flow. Both sides make the other stronger. --- ## **Why AI Is the Perfect Writing Tutor** Here is the part that feels like a preview of the future. A human Korean tutor probably would not know the exact keystrokes on my Japanese-English hybrid keyboard. They might tell me to buy a Korean keyboard or show me how their own layout works if they had an English keyboard. It wouldn't match my setup. AI analyzed it instantly and gave me a custom guide. Just the knowledge I needed so I could focus on writing. --- ## **Today’s Takeaway** Day 5 was simple. A review session, a writing session, and one huge technical win. I actually wrote Korean today. From scratch! Tomorrow builds from here. If you're following along, especially if you're Korean and watching this Black guy try to type Hangul on a Japanese keyboard, let me know what you think. Are you learning Korean with AI? Are you learning English with AI? How is it going? Your experience might shape a chapter in Tower of Babbling 2.0. See you on Day 6. ### Avoid this AI chatbot when learning Korean - Day 4 URL: https://keithhayden.net/learn-korean-with-ai-30-day-challenge-day-4/ Last updated: 2025-11-17T01:08:16.000Z Today’s session was supposed to be simple: review what I learned yesterday, pick up one or two new phrases, get in my 20–30 minutes, and call it a win. Instead, I learned something unexpected—**not all AI real-time voice modes are created equal.** ## **Trying Claude’s Voice Mode (And Why It Fell Apart)** I started with Claude’s live voice feature, and within minutes it felt like stepping back into the era of Voxer—those old walkie-talkie apps where you had to hold a button just to talk. Claude works the same way: - **Tap to talk. Stop. Listen. Tap again.** - No natural back-and-forth. - Constant wondering: *Did it catch what I said? Is it waiting for me? Am I waiting for it?* That alone broke the flow. But then came the bigger issue: **Korean speech detection was awful.** I’d say something as basic as *안녕하세요* and watch it just… fail to register. I moved the phone. I repeated it. Slower. Faster. Clearer. Still nothing. It felt like a substitute teacher who walked into the room, shrugged, and said: “Uh… yeah, just read these worksheets to yourself. I don’t actually know Korean.” And the pronunciation on its end? Even with my four days of Korean, I could tell something was off. Everything sounded like a British guy confidently mispronouncing every syllable. At that point the experiment was basically over. ## **Back to Gemini—Like Returning to a Real Teacher** After ten minutes of fighting with Claude, I switched to Gemini, and the difference was immediate: - It *detected* my Korean. - It *pronounced* the Korean correctly. - It remembered my notes from yesterday and **scaffolded** today’s lesson on top of them. Gemini taught me: - **좋아해요** \= “I like…” - 커피를 좋아해요. (I like coffee.) - **안 좋아해요** \= “I don’t like…” - 저는 한국어를 안 좋아해요. (I don’t like Korean.) - Reinforced earlier material without feeling repetitive. It felt like a teacher who understood the last class, knew where to push, and didn’t waste time. ## **Final Thoughts for Day 4** Today wasn’t a glamorous study day, but it was a useful one. - **Claude’s voice mode:** not ready for Korean practice. - **Gemini:** still the best at teaching, detecting, and scaffolding Korean in real time. - **Me:** still here, still showing up for Day 4, still learning. I kept the video short, but if you want to see the actual footage—the failed Claude attempts and the smoother Gemini session—you can check it out below. On to Day 5. ## ClaudeAI - Learning Korean | Day 4 ## Gemini - Learning Korean | Day 4 0:00 /4:16 1× ### This chatbot got my Korean pronunciation good - Day 3 URL: https://keithhayden.net/learn-korean-with-ai-30-day-challenge-day-3/ Last updated: 2025-11-16T03:31:19.000Z ## Video # **Day 3 – Learning Korean with Only AI Tools** *30-Day Tower of Babbling 2.0 Challenge* Hey everyone—Keith Hayden here, the digital novelist, checking in with **Day 3** of my 30-day challenge: learning Korean *entirely* with AI tools. This whole experiment is part of the upcoming revised edition of **Tower of Babbling 2.0**. The first book focused on all the old-school methods I used to learn Spanish and Japanese—flashcards, textbooks, drills, self-quizzing, the full analog buffet. But we’re in the AI era now. And the question I want to answer is simple: **How far can you get learning a language using *only* AI?** Every day, I’m documenting the process honestly—wins, confusion, fatigue, surprises—and the results will go straight into the book. If you want to follow the project more closely, head to my website (link in the description). --- ## **Fitting Korean Into a Real Life** Like the last two days, I once again put off my study session until late at night. I’m a 4:30 a.m. morning person—my brain is sharpest at dawn—so pushing this to the end of a long day is… not ideal. But that’s part of the experiment. Most people don’t have endless time to learn a language. I definitely don’t. So the rule is simple: **30 minutes. No more. No less. Only AI.** Real life has to fit inside that window. --- ## **Starting the Session: “What the hell should I do?”** I opened the session not really sure what to tackle, so I asked my AI instructor, *“Okay, what the hell should I do for Day 3?”* It gave me a full buffet of options—survival verbs, sentence patterns, self-introductions, numbers, SOV structure. Too much. Way too much. It even tried to paint a whole sensory scene for me: > *Imagine a Korean street market… steaming noodles… hawkers calling out their prices…* And I was like: **“Look, man. That’s too much. Break it down for me.”** So we zoomed in and chose a single thing: one survival verb. That was enough for today. --- ## **Small Wins: “Here,” “There,” and a Nice Surprise** I reviewed what I learned yesterday—여기 (here)—and then picked up 거기 (there) today. Without thinking about it, I made the connection to Japanese: **この / その / あの → 여기 / 거기 / 저기** Same logic, different language. That moment hit me: *Okay, something is actually sinking in.* Being able to make organic connections means the system is starting to form in my mind. Even if the vocabulary fades, the structure sticks. After this, I copied the entire conversation into NotebookLM and reviewed the flashcards I generated yesterday. Simple, but effective. --- ## **Gemini vs. ChatGPT: The First Real Comparison** With about 15 minutes left, I decided to switch to **Google Gemini** to see how it handled pronunciation drills. ### **Gemini’s Strength: Accuracy** Right away, Gemini caught something ChatGPT didn’t. Yesterday I learned the phrase: **“Do you come here often?”** ChatGPT pronounced it one way. Gemini corrected it immediately: > “Not that. It’s *자주* (jaju).” Tiny detail, but that tiny detail matters to native speakers. And Google has a massive global language dataset, so it makes sense that it’s stricter with phonetics. ### **Gemini’s Weakness: Stability** The downside? On my phone, the live interaction with Gemini keeps dropping. Pauses. Lag. Interruptions. When it works, it’s *excellent*. Smoother explanations. Better pacing. More “on-ramp” support for beginners. But ChatGPT is more stable and predictable, especially on mobile. That reliability matters when you’re trying to hold a real-time conversation for learning. In short: - **ChatGPT:** More stable, more natural flow, sometimes overly generous with content. - **Gemini:** More precise, better pronunciation coaching, but less stable. Both are good—but for different reasons. --- ## **End of Day Thoughts** Studying late on a Saturday night, when my energy is gone, wasn’t easy. Korean is cognitively heavy for me because I’m learning almost from zero. But despite that, today was a good session. A small connection here, a pronunciation fix there, a little pattern recognition emerging—it all adds up. And that’s the point of this experiment: **Show that a regular person, with real constraints, can still make meaningful progress using AI tools.** Are you learning Korean? Using AI to learn a language? Drop a comment—I'd love to hear how it’s going for you. See you in the next update. 안녕히 계세요! ### Speaking Korean through the pain of injury - Day 2 URL: https://keithhayden.net/korean-ai-30-day-challenge-day-2/ Last updated: 2025-11-15T03:17:19.000Z # ## Video ## Text Today was rough. I really wasn’t feeling the motivation after hurting my back at the gym. The pain threw off my whole rhythm, and the idea of sitting down to study felt impossible. But I reminded myself of the rule: **just 30 minutes**. Thirty minutes is survivable. Thirty minutes is momentum. So I sat down and showed up. And I’m glad I did. This turned out to be my first **audio-based Korean learning session**, and using ChatGPT’s live voice function made everything smoother than I expected. The voice is natural, warm, and—most importantly—patient. It never rushes, never judges, never gets tired of repeating the same phrase as many times as I need. That’s the hidden superpower of AI for language learning. ### **What I Learned Today** I picked up five essential phrases—just the basics—but they felt like opening a door into the language: - **안녕하세요** — “Hello” - **저는 Keith이에요** — “My name is Keith” - **감사합니다** — “Thank you” - **잘 지내세요?** — “How are you?” - **여기 자주 오세요?** — “Do you come here often?” I butchered a couple of them at first (and still do), but that’s part of the game. ### **Why Today’s Session Worked** Repetition was the engine. I kept drilling the same lines over and over—another rep, try again, reset, try again. ChatGPT stayed warm and supportive the whole time. No teacher fatigue. No slowing down. Pure tailored practice. The highlight was the **coffee shop scenario**. I told ChatGPT to act like a Korean barista in Seoul. It greeted me, welcomed me in, spoke only Korean, and let me interrupt to practice. Suddenly it wasn’t “studying Korean.” It was *stepping into* Korean. Even with my back hurting, that moment gave me a spark of confidence I really needed. ### **Reinforcement With NotebookLM** After the session, I copied the transcript into NotebookLM to create flashcards. Instant reinforcement. Beginner-friendly vocabulary in both Hangul and Romanization. I even squeezed in a tiny bit of reading practice, sounding out Korean syllables I wouldn’t have recognized two days ago. ### **Final Thought** This is why I set the challenge to only 30 minutes per day. I’m juggling creative projects, business tasks, writing deadlines, and regular work. And you probably are too. Thirty minutes is realistic. Thirty minutes is enough to make progress without derailing your life. Today proved that even on a hard day—with pain, low motivation, and zero momentum—you can still get better. One session at a time. On to Day 3. ## Summary of AI Challenge - Day 2 - BONUS 0:00 /6:11 1× ### How a Sixth Grader Redefined My Definition of Success URL: https://keithhayden.net/how-a-sixth-grader-redefined-my-definition-of-success/ Last updated: 2025-11-14T20:51:17.000Z ## Video ## Audio Sixth Grader Success 0:00 /495.989841 1× ## Text Success gets noisy when you grow up. It becomes tangled in numbers: followers, sales, rankings, subscriber counts, algorithms. You chase metrics that keep moving, as if the world expects you to clear a higher bar every year just to prove you’re still serious. But yesterday at Lied STEM Academy, success shrank back down to human scale. Sixth-grade size. The kind where awe is genuine, respect is earned, and possibility feels like an open door instead of a distant future. ## **Fourth Period: Chaos, Clapping, and the Reveal** The first class burst in like a live wire. Sixth graders are experts at two things: chaos and curiosity. Especially when their teacher is out for the day. They clapped because I was standing there, for the jokes I wouldn't tell, when I finished calling roll. I had no idea why. "TELL A JOKE! TELL A JOKE!" They chanted. "Do I look like Kevin Hart?" I asked. "YES!" "You weren't supposed to answer that." \[MORE APPLAUSE. LESS DELTA AND MATHIA\] They applauded like we’d hit a game-winning shot. They were testing me, the way kids test every adult who walks in without a permanent desk. Eventually, I made them a deal. If they stayed mostly in their seats, finished the assignment, and kept the volume below "playground," I’d share something interesting about myself at the end. They didn’t know what the secret was, but the promise was enough. Kids don’t need much—just the sense that something cool is waiting if they meet you halfway. And when the time came, I told them: I’m a writer. An author. I have my own business I held up *Prompted Hearts* and *Gates of Okinawa*. Their eyes widened. Whispers buzzed around the room. "No way." Then came the requests. Even after, the bell rang, they lined up wanting autographs, and selfies; kids swarmed the desk like I’d walked out of their YouTube recommendations. It was funny. It was sincere. And it was a reminder that kids see accomplishments without the cynical filter adults develop. To them, a finished book is magic. ## **The Last Period: Meeting Royal** By the end of the day, the teacher, Ms. Campbell, a veteran elementary turned-middle school teacher, warned me: "Every class is fine… except last period." She mentioned one student by name— Royal. When he walked in, I recognized the type instantly. Smart. Restless. A kid whose mind is already outside the classroom, already in the future he thinks he can build faster on his own. I know that kid. Met many like him before. Throughout the class, he called me over to ask for help with the math. Not for show— he actually wanted it. Yet, he mostly didn’t need it. This wasn’t a *couldn’t* do the work, kid, rather a *wouldn’t* for the wrong reasons. At the end of class, he walked up, shook my hand, and said, "You’re a good man." I wasn't sure what I had done to warrant it. But I know, it's not something a pre-teen says lightly. They don’t say it unless they mean it. We talked. I mentioned the teacher said he sometimes gave her a hard time. He blinked, processing. "How do you know that?" he asked. So I told him. And something softened, he immediately understood some truth about his performance, but didn't vocalize it. Nor did he make excuses. Then I showed him my books. Told him I’m a novelist who runs his own business. He and two of his friends immediately pulled out their phones. They googled me. When the search results appeared— headshots, book covers, podcasts, the whole digital footprint— their eyes snapped wide open. "That’s you?" "For real?" "Yo, look at this!" In that moment, success wasn’t theoretical. It wasn’t adult-scale. It was right in front of them, reachable and real. ## **The Chair Moment** As I started putting up chairs at the end of the day, Royal stepped in. "We got it, Mr. Hayden. We can handle it." It was simple, but it landed. A 12-year-old taking ownership of his space, making a man’s move, showing pride, showing respect. Telling me I’d earned a place in their world, even for a day. I was humbled by his assertiveness. The gesture told me he wanted to show me responsibility in a task he knew how to perform with independence, one that I didn’t have to intervene to help, that he (and his classmates) would do without being told or rewarded. In other words: ***it was the soul of an entrepreneur shining through.*** ## **What Success Really Is** Adults love metrics. Kids love genuine people. Kids don’t clap for numbers; they clap for possibility. They don’t respond to your net worth; they respond to the fact that you showed up and finished something. They don’t care whether the world thinks you’re "making it." They care that you’re real, present, and doing something they can only dream about right now. Yesterday reminded me that success isn’t always upward. It isn’t always external. Sometimes success is a classroom of sixth graders who see you as living proof that imagination can turn into something you can hold. And sometimes success is one kid named Royal, who sees himself a little differently because you were there. No external achievements necessary. I don’t substitute for the money anymore. Not this month. Not right now. When I walk into a school, it feels like civic duty. Community work. A small gesture toward the next generation. If I ever forget why I write, why I build, why I push, I’ll think of that room, applauding for feats unseen, and that confident handshake from a future community leader. And I’ll remember: **success is the lives you brush up against, the ones who see you and think, “Maybe I can do that too.”** ### Day 1: Can You Really Learn a Language in 30 Minutes a Day Using Only AI? URL: https://keithhayden.net/day-1-can-you-really-learn-a-language-in-30-minutes-a-day-using-only-ai/ Last updated: 2025-11-14T02:37:12.000Z ## Video ## Text # **Day 1: Learning Korean in 30 Days Using Only AI — A Real-World Start** Today marks **Day 1** of my experiment to learn Korean in 30 days using only AI tools. No textbooks. No tutors. No human-led classes. And only **30 minutes a day**, because most of us don’t have the luxury of studying languages for hours. We have jobs, kids, responsibilities, and life happening around us. I wanted to see what’s possible when you put strict constraints around a learning challenge—and whether AI can actually support sustained language acquisition in the small pockets of time most people *actually* have. ### **Starting From Almost Zero** I’ve visited Korea a few times and picked up bits and pieces of the language, but not enough to call it real experience. For this challenge, I’m essentially starting from scratch. And today, the plan was simple: **Learn Hangul.** The foundation. Two tools. Thirty minutes. No excuses. ### **Studying in Five-Minute Bursts** My day job came calling. I was substitute-teaching a room full of loud, restless sixth graders, and halfway through fourth period I already knew the truth: If I waited until I got home, I wasn’t going to study Korean at all. So I made a different decision. Whenever I found a small gap—a five-minute break, a moment between tasks—I pulled out my phone and got to work. And today had no shortage of interruptions: **a shelter-in-place drill**, helping students through their math homework, shifting between classroom chaos and problem-solving. But even in those squeezed, unpredictable slices of the day, I kept carving out time. Five minutes here. Seven minutes there. By the end of the day, those little chunks added up to the full 30 minutes. If I can start learning Korean inside a noisy classroom full of sixth graders—during drills and homework duty—you can study anywhere too. ### **Tool #1: ChatGPT** I started by telling ChatGPT: **“Teach me Hangul.”** It broke everything down beautifully: - Clean explanations - Clear patterns - Mnemonics that actually stuck - Small exercises I could do in the moment It felt like having a patient tutor sitting in my pocket—ready whenever I had a spare breath of time. ### **Tool #2: NotebookLM** After working through ChatGPT’s explanation, I took the generated notes and dropped them into **NotebookLM**, Google’s AI-powered document tool. This was my first real test of its flashcard feature, and it impressed me. NotebookLM: - Turned my notes into **targeted flashcards** - Generated a **five-minute audio overview** in a podcast-like format - Helped reinforce the letters and sounds through repetition - Let me “talk to my notes” to clarify specific points For a tool designed for document exploration, it’s quickly becoming one of my favorite study aids. ### **A Solid First Step** All told, the workflow—ChatGPT → NotebookLM → flashcards → audio overview—took slightly over 30 minutes. But I got what I came for: **Exposure. Repetition. Progress.** Tomorrow I’ll build on this foundation. And every day for the next month, I’ll share exactly what I learn, what worked, what didn’t, and how far AI can realistically take a beginner in such a short time. If you want to follow the journey—or if you’d like updates on the upcoming book **Tower of Babbling 2.0: How to Learn Languages in the Age of AI**—you can sign up here: See you for Day 2. --- ## ChatGPT Thread Absolutely. **Day 1 of your Tower of Babbling 2.0 – Korean Challenge** begins the same way every Korean child starts school: **Hangul.** **The gateway.** **The cheat code of the entire language.** Let’s build it in a way that actually sticks — not as memorization, but as a *system your brain can apply.* --- # **1\. What Hangul *is*** Hangul isn’t an alphabet like English. It’s an **engineered writing system** built from: - **shapes based on mouth position** - **stacking rules** you can predict - **sound shifts** that follow patterns, not randomness This means if you learn the *logic*, you don’t need brute force. --- # \*\*2\. The Core Idea: All Korean syllables = Blocks\*\* Every block = **(Initial consonant) + (Vowel) + (Final consonant optional)** Examples: - 한 = ㅎ + ㅏ + ㄴ - 범 = ㅂ + ㅓ + ㅁ - 물 = ㅁ + ㅜ + ㄹ You will start seeing them as LEGO pieces after today. --- # **3\. Step 1 — The Basic Consonants (ㄱ ㄴ ㄷ ㄹ ㅁ ㅂ ㅅ ㅇ ㅈ ㅎ)** Let’s learn them in **clusters of meaning**, not random lists. ### **Group A — Straight-line shapes (easy ones)** | Character | Sound | Mnemonic | | --------- | ----- | ----------------------------------- | | ㄱ | g/k | Looks like a gun (g) or a corner | | ㄴ | n | Looks like a nose | | ㄷ | d/t | Looks like a door | | ㄹ | r/l | Ladder-shaped R/L | | ㅁ | m | Mouth shape “m” | | ㅂ | b/p | Looks like a bucket or “B” squished | | ㅅ | s | Tooth shape “s” | ### **Group B — Special function ones** | Character | Sound | Meaning | | --------- | --------------------------- | ------------------------------------------- | | ㅇ | silent at start / ng at end | this one confuses everyone until it doesn’t | | ㅈ | j | just j | | ㅎ | h | breathy “h” | Just these 10 consonants let you read thousands of words. --- # **4\. Step 2 — The Basic Vowels (ㅏ ㅓ ㅗ ㅜ ㅡ ㅣ)** All vowels in Korean come from **three symbols**: - **Heaven = •** (dot becomes line) - **Earth = ㅡ** (horizontal) - **Human = ㅣ** (vertical) From these, we get the core six: | Character | Sound | Trick | | --------- | ----- | ----------------------------- | | ㅏ | a | vertical + right = “a” | | ㅓ | eo | vertical + left = “uh” / “aw” | | ㅗ | o | horizontal + up | | ㅜ | u | horizontal + down | | ㅡ | eu | buzz sound “eu” in the throat | | ㅣ | i | easy: “ee” | You now have the building blocks. --- # **5\. Step 3 — Combine into syllables** Let’s practice assembling like LEGO. Try reading these: 1. 가 = ㄱ + ㅏ = **ga** 2. 너 = ㄴ + ㅓ = **neo** 3. 두 = ㄷ + ㅜ = **du** 4. 미 = ㅁ + ㅣ = **mi** 5. 보 = ㅂ + ㅗ = **bo** 6. 사 = ㅅ + ㅏ = **sa** You're already reading Korean. --- # **6\. Day 1 Drill (Only 5 minutes)** Read these *out loud*: - 마 - 모 - 무 - 바 - 보 - 버 - 나 - 너 - 노 - 누 - 라 - 로 - 러 Then try writing a few fake names using the blocks. Example: **라보나** (ra-bo-na) **무사** (mu-sa) **도미** (do-mi) --- # **7\. Want me to test you?** I can give you: - reading drills - writing drills - pronunciation corrections - speed-building exercises - micro lessons you can screenshot and practice anywhere --- If you’re ready, try reading these three blocks and tell me what they sound like: 1. **보** 2. **마** 3. **너** Go ahead — that’s your first pronunciation test. ## NotebookLM Content [Sign in - Google Accounts![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/18/bf/18bf29db-1cec-4857-a9dc-e2e94a86d2bf/content/images/icon/faviconV2-2)Google Accounts![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/18/bf/18bf29db-1cec-4857-a9dc-e2e94a86d2bf/content/images/thumbnail/googlelogo_color_74x24dp.png)](https://notebooklm.google.com/notebook/82ef42e7-b55b-4de9-b649-472914a5061d?authuser=1&ref=keithhayden.net) ## Sign up for Keith Hayden | Digital Novelist I help aspiring authors publish their novel, memoir, or business expertise for authority and legacy. Subscribe Email sent! Check your inbox to complete your signup. No spam. Unsubscribe anytime. ### Document 1 - Sci-fi horror novel URL: https://keithhayden.net/document-1-cl-efo-tb/ Last updated: 2025-11-10T22:51:54.000Z ## Video ## Audio CL EFO TB Document 1 Complete 0:00 /490.501224 1× ## Text ## Archivist's Note I knew before I saw the signature that this would be his final act. At the foot of a witness statement, the 4-letter mark was there. His tiny scribbled name, discreet, unflourished. A reminder that dad had held this paper, sat over it, thought about it. This made my spine curve like a withering tree branch. This damned record— a sandy pit with an antlion lying in ambush— is what he died for? By viewing its contents, I'd already begun the slow slide down. The greedy fine grains shifted beneath me. I was in the insectary now, watching the snap-limbed bugs writhe through glass, dismemberment on full display. At first I couldn't believe I'd have to stick my hands in there. I stared for a while, arms at my sides, just feeling my pulse flexing at my neck with black-night highway speed worry. But after a team of suits deposited two small truckloads of files into my study, I knew. The musty moats of dust swirled like flies over a cadaver. Everything smelled aged and alien. It had been there. In Okinawa. That dank island air was corrosive perfume, inhabiting anything that stayed within its perimeter for too long. Years of fighting bureaucracy and it was finally here. Yet, even after running my finger over the top box’s beaten sides, it still felt far away. The sun-scratched U.S. Space Force insignia, peeled chain of custody stickers, fingertip sweat smears— so many hands had held the boxes without understanding why they existed at all. If I ever step foot on those shores, I would know it by the lingering scent of storied decay floating everywhere. I'm starting to understand why Dad never talked about it. Secret. That's how his feelings were classified. One stabbing pump of my heart forced me to recall how avoidant he always was. After I'd signed several release forms, the team of dark-suited deliverymen began filing out. The man in charge lingered, looking up to me (under average height), pores oozing greasy sleep debt on his face. He glanced at the boxes, then back at me. "You sure you want to handle this alone, ma'am?" His neutral American accented voice carried concerned warning. "We can leave a team to help catalog—" "I'm sure." I slipped my pen over the last form’s signature line. No direct look at him. "It's just... your father's estate specifically requested you. By name. Most family members, they'd take one look at a haul like this and—" "I'm not most family members. I'm the only family member… for now." "No ma'am, I suppose not." His expression turned gloomy, resigned. He blew his peanut butter sandwich breath out hard then said, "Well I'm just sayin’, for nearly half a century, these files have occupied a single room in some hardly acknowledged U.S. military storage facility. Few ventured in there, and when they did, they signed their log, then quick-stepped out. That's what I heard. It's like they're cancer-causing or cursed, or both." "I understand." He looked as if he wanted to say more. Or to try and protect me, this small tired Asian woman, from the creatures in the boxes. He had the eyes of a half-time hero. "I'll be going then. Sorry for your loss and good luck with it." "Thank you." I shut the door. Then heard a slide by the wall. The wall of cartons was a portrait with traveling eyes. Or was it something else? I suspected so. It wasn't only the droopy sight of the boxes that spurt liquid dread through me. The way they slanted— exhausted, defeated— triggered micro-shifting groans from their lids. Not every few minutes. Constantly. A low chorus of cardboard stress and settling weight, like joints popping in an empty house. I tried to tell myself it was normal. Boxes settle. But boxes don't breathe. Whatever language spoke through those disembodied creases stayed indecipherable— but made me whip my head up in watchful paranoia. Every few minutes. Every \*tap\*. Every \*crack\*. Sometimes when I was certain I'd been facing the window, I'd turn to find a box had shifted orientation. Corners now pointed at my desk. Lids slightly more ajar. As much as I didn't want to admit it, staring at the shoulder-high wall of sagging containers, there was a force emanating from them. Not metaphorical— physical. It steamed out subtly at first, like exhaust over asphalt on a balmy summer afternoon. Then it intensified. The air near the boxes had weight. As if the space itself had been compressed and now wanted to expand into my lungs. I breathed shallowly. Despite the climatized blow of air pushing wisps of my hair under the vents, the side of my body warmed when I passed by. My back flexed and arms shook when I lifted the first one down and pulled out the first file— a folder goblin with papers hanging out of the folds, like an overstuffed laundry hamper reeking and half-dry. When I lifted the lid fully, the smell hit first— not mildew, though that was there. Other smells puffed out. Copper, salt and another hard to name. Whatever it was made my hindbrain scream *meat* even though these were only papers. The first file folder was damp to the touch, defying the room’s refrigerator dry cold. My fingertips came away clean, but I rubbed them together anyway, expecting residue that wasn't there. Pulse jamming in my ears, I cleared my throat and sat. Adjusted my jacket. Sip of water— ritual, not thirst. I smoothed the first folder flat with both palms. Once. Twice. Three times. Only then could I read it. As I pulled the first document free, I noticed something I hadn't seen in the initial inspection. In the margin of a transmission log, someone had written in pencil: \*They're listening. Even now.\* The handwriting wasn't my father's. I didn't know yet if that made it better or worse. But I was ready. Prepared to spend as long as necessary digging through fear and falsity, to learn what my father had become in that place. To discover what followed him home and killed him. ## Music ![audio-thumbnail](https://storage.ghost.io/c/18/bf/18bf29db-1cec-4857-a9dc-e2e94a86d2bf/content/media/2025/11/Jinhua-s-Theme---Cereus---Limnic_-Escape-From-Okinawa---Type-B_thumb.png) Jinhuas Theme Cereus Limnic Escape From Okinawa Type B 0:00 /130.001146 1× ### The Patience to Suck – My Philosophy of Creative Mastery URL: https://keithhayden.net/the-patience-to-suck-my-philosophy-of-creative-mastery/ Last updated: 2025-11-07T14:49:30.000Z ## Video ## Audio ![audio-thumbnail](https://storage.ghost.io/c/18/bf/18bf29db-1cec-4857-a9dc-e2e94a86d2bf/content/media/2025/11/Patience-to-Suck_thumb.jpg) Patience to Suck 0:00 /735.792245 1× ## Text I’ve come to believe that mastery isn’t about talent or luck— it’s about **the patience to suck** long enough to get good. The hardest part isn’t learning the craft. It’s enduring your own mediocrity while you become someone capable of excellence. When we’re kids, the world forgives our failures. We’re surrounded by peers who are learning right alongside us. But when we become adults, the world stops clapping for effort. We’re expected to be competent at everything, and that expectation kills experimentation. I’ve had to relearn how to fail in public without shame. --- ## **Learning to Keep Going Without Witnesses** When I was younger, I had structure— teachers, grades, mentors, progression. In adulthood, that net disappeared. All I had left was my own desire to learn and a world that didn’t care whether I did. And that’s where most people stop. They can’t stomach looking foolish without validation. They need applause to continue. I learned that true mastery begins when you keep going **without witnesses**. Leaving the military forced me to face that truth. Nobody hired me to be a novelist, and nobody paid me to start writing books. I spent years writing, recording, and publishing in obscurity. But those years became a kind of crucible— proof of conviction. I asked myself the question that became my north star: *Do you have the patience to suck long enough to get good?* Most people don’t. They tell themselves stories— about time, about the world being too unstable, about AI taking over, about not having the support they need. What they really mean is: *I can’t handle being unseen while I’m bad.* --- ## **Life as a Long-Form Game** During the pandemic in 2020, I reframed my whole philosophy. I started seeing every skill— writing, language learning, music, AI— as its own video game. Each had its own controls, rules, bosses, and progression system. And I realized: if I can master digital worlds, I can master real ones too. Failure became the early level of mastery, stripped of the visual reward. In games, you get *LEVEL UP!* screens and victory sound effects. In life, progress is invisible. The hit feedback is subtle— you notice less friction, better flow, cleaner outcomes. I started viewing creative growth like a long-form RPG: die, respawn, retry. --- ## **My Secret Ambition** I rarely say this out loud, but my secret ambition is to be a modern-day Da Vinci. Da Vinci had his notebooks; I have novels. He drew and theorized across disciplines. I write, draw, compose, build apps, and explore the interface between humanity and technology. It’s not about being smart. It’s about emotional discipline— the skill of being honest with yourself. I’ve learned to identify when something isn’t working, to adapt quickly, to learn the next necessary skill without shame. I self-audit constantly. It’s not fun, but it’s always. --- ## **The Rebellion Against Mediocrity** When I was a kid, I looked around and saw adults who had stopped trying. Sitcom fathers like Homer Simpson and Al Bundy were the cultural mascots of stagnation— men who settled for smallness. Even as a child, I could feel the resignation radiating from that generation. I wanted no part of it. My rebellion wasn’t against authority. It was against sedation. I refused to coast. I wanted to see how far I could go— how much of my curiosity I could turn into real skill, real stories, real worlds and impact. I wanted to prove that adulthood doesn’t have to mean slowing down. --- ## **My Current Boss Fight: Showing Up In Person** Right now, my hardest challenge isn’t writing— it’s showing up. After years of building a digital fortress, I’m stepping out into the real world again: book festivals, writing groups, indie bookstores, author conventions. It takes more energy, more money, more vulnerability. It’s a three-headed dragon: business, outreach, and self-management. But I’m learning that impact doesn’t come from hiding. It comes from embodiment. I’ve structured my days with boundaries, worked on my time management, and found a rhythm that lets me push without burning out. I call this phase **full-contact creativity**— where the art meets the world face to face. There's nowhere to hide. --- ## **Why I Still Believe** My novels are my living philosophy. They’re how I prove what I believe about humanity: that this is still a great time to be alive. That technology doesn’t erase the soul— it reveals it. Every book I write is a new experiment in emotional resilience. If Da Vinci had notebooks, I have stories. That’s my legacy. Not fame, not validation— **proof of evolution**. *I bet my life on my potential. And I’m still winning.* ## Artwork ![Handdrawing of stairs with writing on it and a pencil](https://storage.ghost.io/c/18/bf/18bf29db-1cec-4857-a9dc-e2e94a86d2bf/content/images/2025/11/Patience-to-Suck_handdrawn.jpg) Patience to suck by Keith Hayden ## Music - "When the Saints Go Flubbing In" Performed by Keith Hayden When the saint go flubbing in piano 0:00 /310.95 1× ## Sign up for Keith Hayden | Digital Novelist I help aspiring authors publish their novel, memoir, or business expertise for authority and legacy. Subscribe Email sent! Check your inbox to complete your signup. No spam. Unsubscribe anytime. ### Draft 1 of novel #4 is done! URL: https://keithhayden.net/draft-1-of-novel-4-is-done/ Last updated: 2025-11-06T14:42:36.000Z ## Video ## Audio CL EFO TB Part 1 Done 0:00 /323.338481 1× ## Text Cereus & Limnic: Escape From Okinawa Type-B is done... sort of. Because this story will spans an entire military conflict, I've decided to break it up into three books or "files." Each file will release as a separate title with a special omnibus version (secrets included) planned for final release. Why break the book up? Because modern readers are more likely to pick up and stick with a read if it's shorter. Even the original *Cereus & Limnic* (At around 140k words) is way too long by 2025 standards. I don't like it, but that's the way it is. I will begin to publish a percentage of each document as I complete them. But if you're subbed to my website, you'll see full docs before anyone else (so be sure to join!!) ## A Personal Story This novel marks my most personal story to date. Drawing on existing family dynamics, I did my best to put real raw emotion into the main characters (modeled after my brothers and I) while preserving my original intent for writing this book— to craft a sort of love letter to all the tiny, yet culturally rich islands I visited while living in Okinawa. If you have siblings and have ever felt like declaring war on them for reasons big or small, you'll find a lot to enjoy here. I look forward to sharing more of the story with you. ### Still Life in Neon — Artist’s Statement URL: https://keithhayden.net/still-life-in-neon-artists-statement/ Last updated: 2025-11-03T16:22:23.000Z ## Video ## Audio ![audio-thumbnail](https://storage.ghost.io/c/18/bf/18bf29db-1cec-4857-a9dc-e2e94a86d2bf/content/media/2025/11/Still-Life-in-Neon_thumb.jpg) Still Life in Neon 0:00 /151.815578 1× ## Text > *In a dusty bookstore off the Las Vegas Strip, a woman trades her careful invisibility for the terrifying possibility of being known.* > If I had a super ability, it would be invisibility. That line became the seed of *Still Life in Neon*, a 2,500-word short story I wrote over a few days for the next *Mad Red Books* Monthly. The idea came from a real moment. I stopped by the shop last week and met Lexi, a new bookseller I hadn’t seen before. We started talking, and I asked if she was a writer too. She smiled and said, “No, I’m an artist. I draw.” When I asked where I could see her work, she told me she hadn’t posted any of it yet. There wasn’t hesitation in her voice exactly—just a kind of quiet readiness not yet acted upon. That stuck with me. On the drive home, I kept thinking about what it means to *want* to be seen but not feel ready for visibility. For artists, writers, and even booksellers, there’s always that gap between creation and exposure—the courage it takes to share what feels private. I started wondering: what if a character lived inside that tension? So I built a small story set in a bookstore—not *Mad Red Books* itself, but a Las Vegas one that felt familiar to anyone who’s ever found refuge among shelves. I wanted to write something intimate and human, a cozy romance about fear, art, and the courage to be visible. No sweeping metaphors or world-ending stakes this time—just two women, a sketchbook, and the slow unfurling of connection under fluorescent lights and neon spill. It was a challenge in restraint: limited word count, limited setting, and a tone that lives between tenderness and vulnerability. I finished it in two days, and it reminded me how freeing short stories can be—small frames that still hold whole lives. I don’t know yet when *Still Life in Neon* will appear in *Mad Red Books’* newsletter—maybe December—but I hope when it does, readers will feel that quiet courage it takes to be seen. ## Music - "Invisible" ### 🎃 Three creepy things I'm enjoying Halloween Week (for your c) URL: https://keithhayden.net/three-halloween-2025/ Last updated: 2025-10-26T18:49:17.000Z ## Audio ![audio-thumbnail](https://storage.ghost.io/c/18/bf/18bf29db-1cec-4857-a9dc-e2e94a86d2bf/content/media/2025/10/Halloween-week-3-things--2025-_thumb.jpg) 3 things - Halloween Week 2025 by Keith Hayden 0:00 /357.471202 1× ## Video --- ## Text ### 1\. ***Blood Music* by Greg Bear (1985)** At first, I hesitated to pick this one up. It’s nearly forty years old— how much could a biotech horror from 1985 really have to say in 2025? Turns out: a lot. Itself the premise is a hook— a scientist injects his own experimental biochips to smuggle them out of the lab—and the fallout becomes a meditation on consciousness, control, and mutation. But the bigger surprise was rediscovering the *library itself.* I checked this out from my local branch, a 15-minute walk from my place. The act alone: walking in, scanning shelves, leaving with a physical book, asking the guy behind the counter for search help or recommendations, reconnected me with a sense of forgotten community. It’s easy to think libraries are for students or retirees, that they're dead. But they’re also for adults who still want to *discover.* ### Thought: Don’t overlook old stories— or old spaces. Some of the freshest inspiration comes from rediscovering what others have already built. --- ### 2\. ***Hollow Knight: Silksong* (Team Cherry)** A surprise drop in early September 2025, *Hollow Knight: Silksong* continues to delight the internet with well-woven worldbuilding, and it's old school ball-crushing difficulty. I finished this game once— 33 hours of tight platforming, labyrinthine world design, and haunting soundscapes. But I’m replaying it now, this time in English instead of Japanese. Why? Because some worlds deserve a second descent. Silksong’s atmosphere hits that sweet spot between beauty and decay: ruined cathedrals, whispered prayers, a kingdom rotting under divine control. It’s technically not horror, but it lingers in the same emotional register— loneliness, obsession, reverence. I originally planned to move on to the next game right after, but Pharloom snared me in silken embrace. Slowing down to re-experience it has been a good thing. ### **Thought:** Don’t rush to the next thing. Great art reveals new layers when you revisit it slowly, without the pressure to “finish.” Sit with the work that moves you. Study why it does. --- ### 3\. ***The Saw* Franchise (2004–present)** I used to watch every new *Saw* movie when it released— one per Halloween, like clockwork. Revisiting them now on Hulu feels like stepping back into a time capsule of early-2000s fears: surveillance, punishment, the illusion of control. They’re gory, sure, but underneath the blood is structure— morality plays disguised as torture chambers. And now, as a storyteller, I see it differently. Every trap is a narrative question: *What would you do to survive your own choices? Would you play the game?* ### **Thought:** Revisit your old favorites with creator eyes. Every piece of media you once loved can teach you something about pacing, tone, or moral tension— rewatch it to learn, not just to relive. ### Intuitively, there's a reason you liked it. Find out why. --- Want more horror? Read the first document of my upcoming *sci-fi horror* novel, [here](https://khnovelist.substack.com/p/sci-fi-horror-novel-archivists-note?r=6079u7). ### Inner child compass URL: https://keithhayden.net/inner-child-compass/ Last updated: 2025-10-24T20:47:49.000Z *Video* *Audio* ![audio-thumbnail](https://storage.ghost.io/c/18/bf/18bf29db-1cec-4857-a9dc-e2e94a86d2bf/content/media/2025/10/2025-10-24---Inner-child-compass---reading_thumb.jpg) Inner child compass reading - tone: wistful 0:00 /94.3 1× *Text* In 1991, creativity came easy. I spent afternoons building worlds out of Legos, staging crossovers between G.I. Joes (Snake Eyes was my favorite) and Ninja Turtles (gotta go with Leo), and inventing fake TV shows with my brothers—*Strike Force*, *Fight Tonight!*: complete with homemade theme songs. ![audio-thumbnail](https://storage.ghost.io/c/18/bf/18bf29db-1cec-4857-a9dc-e2e94a86d2bf/content/media/2025/10/Fight-Tonight---1991-_thumb.png) Fight Tonight! (1991) 0:00 /64.839909 1× Nobody told us it was “too much.” Nobody said it was silly. We just made things because the urge was there. Because there were stories in our heads and a desire for play. I think about that kid a lot now. The one who built worlds out of boredom and believed every idea was worth trying. He wasn’t worried about whether it was marketable or “made sense.” He just built. As an adult, I still write that way. There are no stupid ideas— just good sentences and better sentences. I try to absorb the good stuff— books, music, silence— and let it rearrange my thinking, then assemble the pieces into something only I could have imagined. That’s what the kid version of me would’ve done. Creativity isn’t about looking forward. It’s about remembering. That child in the photo wasn’t a phase. He was the compass. ## BONUS SONG Fight Tonight! (2025) - Round 1 + 2 0:00 /311.679958 1× ## DRAWING ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/18/bf/18bf29db-1cec-4857-a9dc-e2e94a86d2bf/content/images/2025/10/Triceriton-drawing.jpg) Triceriton, drawn by Keith Hayden ### Synchronicity Signal URL: https://keithhayden.net/synchronicity-signal/ Last updated: 2025-10-22T20:22:26.000Z On a recent trip back to Texas, I was watching one of LegendFiction's YouTube videos when the email introducing us landed in my inbox. Same name, same face, same moment. That kind of timing always makes me pause. Most people call it coincidence. I’ve learned to call it a ***signal***. The following week, we jumped on a call. Within minutes, it was clear we spoke the same creative language— craft first, AI second. When the channel creator Dominic D'Souza called writing with AI-assistance *vibe writing,* I paused. Even though I'd never heard of the term, I immediately thought of how I use AI to augment my writing process. We both noticed the potential in the technology. United in our shared belief of being AI-forward in a time when writing (especially fiction) with LLMs is considered taboo. During that first meeting, he also invited me to the **LegendHaven** conference. I said I would attend. That weekend turned out to be one of the smoothest online events I’ve attended — a mix of friendliness, imagination, and genuine warmth. I met several U.S. military veteran writers, each bringing their own stories and sense of discipline and sarcasm to writing. I had no idea there were so many others. It felt less like a conference and more like an active creative ecosystem. ## Synchronicity became community. When you're lost in life, directions don't always come when you need them. But this time I got a gentle ping. It's a name, a message, a strange overlap of timing. When the flare goes up, you can ignore it, or you can answer. And when you do, doors open you didn’t even know were there. So if you’re a writer, creator, or storyteller feeling the static of uncertainty pay attention to the signals. The right conversation, the right person, the right *coincidence* might already be waiting in your inbox. I’ll be joining Dominic’s [**Legend Fiction Writing Challenge**](https://legendfiction.substack.com/p/legendfiction-writing-month-this) **this November**, a month-long push to write 1000 words a day, with imagination, curiosity, and faith that I continue expressing myself through words within this thriving community. If you’ve been looking for a creative spark or a place that still feels human amid the algorithm noise, this might be it. Because the best collaborations don’t come from strategy decks or content plans. They start when timing feels too perfect to be random. Sometimes, all creativity asks of you is to notice the signal, then say yes. ### A Biography for the 21st Century Guilty: Why I DNF'ed Ron Chernow's Mark Twain URL: https://keithhayden.net/twain-biography-dnf/ Last updated: 2025-10-07T22:19:08.000Z ## Prologue: A Biographer Worth Respecting First I'll say this– I greatly respect Ron Chernow. The man's a titan of contemporary biography. That makes this post harder to write. Especially because, in 2nd grade, if you'd asked me what I wanted to be when I grew up, I would have answered: historian. Geography was my jam. I enjoyed pulling down random letters of World Book Encyclopedia volumes and cruising the entries, I memorized all U.S. state, world capitals, and their flags by the time I was in 3rd grade. (I was that kid.) To me, being a historian was peak intellect. You were a time traveler living among the ghosts of great people, documenting their lives and adventures, striving to translate their wisdom and knowledge to the present. I wouldn't have said it that way back then, but that's what I felt. Part of being a messenger from the past means transmitting the thoughts and words of its inhabitants as faithfully as possible. This includes contradictions and shortcomings, not just reading the comforting correspondence. Because how else can we learn from the lessons of the history if we don't view it through as clear a lens as possible? It is the historian (by way of the biographer) who polishes that viewport to antiquity that allows us the cleanest reproduction of those who lived before. Few have done it better than Ron Chernow. Don't know who he is? He's become America's Biographer. Known for meticulous research, language clarity, and academic rigor, historically he's tackled America's icons with a style that literally feels (at times) like speaking to the dead. *Titan (John D. Rockefeller Sr.), Grant, Washington: A Life*, and yes, *Hamilton* (the one that spawned the play, musical, movie, and probably it's own mobile game) were all written by him. So when I heard the subject of his next dictionary-sized work would be Mark Twain, I knew I would read it. I pre-ordered the book back in April 2025, eager for another Chernow masterpiece. When it arrived, I felt that familiar thrill–- the satisfying heft of a Ron Chernow biography. The man doesn’t write slim rags. These are bookends. Other titles lean on it. You feel the years of research in the spine before you even open it. I remember setting it on my shelf, thinking, I can’t wait to read this. But life got busy. Months passed, other writing projects came and went. When I finally pulled it down, five months later, I cracked the cover and felt that rush of anticipation again– that old promise of stepping into the time warp with someone who knows how to guide you through it. Yet after two chapters, I couldn't stomach anymore: I DNF'd. This essay explains why. Now this isn't one of those "the-author's-book's-bad-so-the-author-is-bad/problematic/cringe-too" hot takes. It's also not a review, because I obviously didn't complete the book (it's nearly 1000 pages long!). I'm not attacking Chernow as a person. I respect his commitment to American history and the craft of writing. Someday I hope to be so respected and so paid. Dunking on media has become the preferred sport online today, and these days I can only scrape the rim, so I won't spring to that. What I do want to do is read between the lines and ask: *what the hell happened here?* Why does *Mark Twain* read like a boardroom of white executives– influenced by AI analytics, and data recommendations– possessed Chernow's computer and pieced together a biography with fully-evolved energy, but as toothless and inoffensive in its predictability for audience appeasement as an untrained AI-generated response? A puppet show, with the hairy arm of the controller visible: how come this book reads like high school theater, instructing readers how to think about a controversial figure like Twain? Let's talk about the tragedy and fear behind *Mark Twain* (2025). ## I. Trouble Begins With a "E" (for Enslaved) It started with enslaved person. After I read it three times in the Prelude, I began to smell the sour before the shit. Before this book, I had never seen or heard it prior. But something in me had a strong dislike for it. I knew what Chernow meant by it. I, of course, understand the intent– to humanize those held in bondage, to remind readers that slavery was something done to and forced on people, not an identity they owned. But when I saw the phrase on page 4, my gut bubbled. Not in horror at the history, but in irritation at the language itself. What for? Enslaved person doesn’t sound human inspired; it sounds human engineered. It’s committee-approved jargon– a linguistic Band-Aid pressed over a centuries-old wound. Classic top-down creation of language used by and for "progressive" elites, not by the population it's meant to define or influence. As a descendant of slaves, I don’t need my ancestors softened into syllables. “Slave” is brutal, yes, but it’s true. This is the language we know. Changing the word may assuage modern white guilt among themselves, but doesn't erase the legacy of slavery. Rebranding brutality doesn’t redeem it. It sanitizes it. That moment told me exactly what kind of biography I was holding: one where the moral framing would matter more than the man. ## II. Biography as Moral Performance By the time I hit chapter two, it was clear Chernow wasn’t writing about or for Twain– he was writing about us. Or rather, about who we want to believe we are in 2025. The book reads like a historical sermon. One Twain himself would've ducked out on to go write about how Biblically repressive and boring it was. It reads like a 19th-century life filtered through 21st-century fear of cancellation/liability/reputational ruin/online mobs/trolls/and AI memes. Could be one or all of these that twisted Chernow's arm to publish such a paint-by-numbers presented biography. Every risky moment is cushioned by “don’t worry, reader” disclaimers– soft reassurances that Twain’s skepticism toward religion or his racial blind spots can be explained, contextualized, or morally rehabilitated. Twain was never a racist, never! He was only a victim of abhorrent Southern norms of his time. Like any human, he absorbed the fallibilities of his tribe. Nurture, NUTURE, not nature. Couldn't be. And even if he was responsible for a few eh hem: "off-color", remarks over the years, he made up for it when, "He experienced tremendous growth in his attitudes, graduating from the crude racist gibes of his early letters and notebooks to a friendship with Frederick Douglass, financing a Black law student at Yale, promoting the Fisk Jubilee Singers, and denouncing racial bigotry in a wide variety of forms." See? He loved niggas! He even had a famous black friend! How could he be racist? Chernow really sets up this narrative from the beginning. Twain, raised in the wilds of a slavery-sympathetic society, but civilized to views closer to our own by the end of his life, is the logline. A virtuous arc so complete it could almost be Christian canon. He does this as he cherrypicks lines from Twain's later years on slavery and the "...town that still had slave auctions and minstrel shows with racist impersonations of Banjo and Bones..." to place in the part of the mythic origin story of Twain's restless youth. This strategic assembly of Twain's character is a blow-up Frankenstein, fit for the house on the corner at Halloween, not serious historical inquiry. It’s not that he misrepresents the facts. In standard Chernow fashion, the book is exhaustively researched, pulling from countless archives of the witticist's notes, letters, and journals. It’s that he can’t resist interpreting Twain's famous foibles into safety. Every contradiction becomes a moral lesson. Every flaw, an opportunity for the coming redemption story. By the second chapter, the rhythm felt mechanical– an ethical pulse so steady it drowned out Twain’s voice, making me wonder if this was written for posterity or modern conformity. ## III. The Grant Problem and the Great Capitulation I bought this book because I’d admired Chernow’s Grant. That biography balanced complexity with reality. It showed triumph and ruin side by side. No moral sanding, no ideological cushions. Just a man and his century, tangled together. Grant was a legendary war hero, decent president during the rough and wild post-Civil War years, yet a man who was often duped and naive in personal matters. But *Mark Twain* reads like it was workshopped to offend no one. For instance, Judge John Clemens, Twain’s father, is reduced to a loveless patriarch in the opening pages. The archetypal cold, failed man of ambition. Meanwhile, his wife, Jane, becomes the radiant proto-feminist, spirited and sympathetic, reinforcing a common message in today's media landscape: "women are wonderful" "men are monsters." Together they form a binary too tidy to be believable. The distortion of people to fit a simplistic narrative, grated. Judge Clemens’s mobility, his relative wealth, his risks, flat as a flapjack in favor of a morality play. This safe framing has crept into too much modern history writing and media. The impulse to turn the past into allegory for the present, to preempt every critic by embedding apology in the prose, makes it difficult to view the past with critical evaluation. After all, how can you question it, if the facts are arranged in the most morally righteous order and according to 21st century sensibilities? Even a historian of Chernow’s stature isn’t immune to the pressure of our algorithmic age. After ten years of research and freedom from editorial interference, he still yielded to the pressure of the times. ## IV. "Twain and the Multiverse of Mischief" Coming to Netflix 2026 Read enough of *Mark Twain* and you start to see a pattern: many paragraphs begin like an opening for an episode of a Twain Netflix show. “Even as a boy, Sam Clemens had a pronounced streak of nonconformity.” “This willful boy had a penchant for doing shocking things.” “Twain was fond of recounting a story about the measles epidemic…” "The father who found humor in nothing spawned a son who found humor in everything." "Luckily... Jane Lampton Clemens provided compensatory warmth and brightness in her son's life." "As the years passed and darker truths about slavery surfaced in his memory, Twain remembered savage punishments inflicted upon the Black population..." See? We already got half a season right here. Every anecdote becomes prophecy. Every mischievous deed, a lurking legendary action. Chernow can’t resist turning the boy into the destined humorist. It’s as if he’s building *Twain: Origins* for Netflix, complete with the glowing runes of adjectives circling his head as he floats down the Mississippi, eyes white, wind whipping his stringy hair around like an aura-maxxed anime hero. Ironically, there’s little irony, no ambiguity, no danger– just the neat inevitability of a Marvel-esque hero arc, neatly packaged and framed for your distracted consumption. The prankster boy becomes the destined man of wit, every ill-thought hijink proof that greatness was preordained, and carried out with heart. Roll credits. Twain would have despised this. He spent his career mocking canonization. And Chernow sculpted him a marble pedestal. ## V. Twain on Twitter (or, the Roast from Beyond) When I'd finally had enough– two chapters in– I realized I’d spent more time ranting than reading. That’s when I knew I was done. But in that irritation, I had a thought: what would Mark Twain say about this biography of his destined greatness, lacquered in white paint and presented so innocuously as a passing cloud? I imagined him alive in 2025, scrolling through his own biography, aghast at the sanctified portrait staring back. On X (formerly Twitter), he’d say things like: "A biography should exhume the dead, not bury the living under modern speech." "History, when scrubbed clean for modern company, looks less like truth and more like taxidermy." "Chernow’s *Mark Twain* reads like an obituary written by a man afraid the corpse might disagree." "The biography is thick as a Bible, but thin as newspaper. I'd skim it in the morning and sell it by noontime." It became a full parody thread: Twain the verified ghost, posting from the afterlife about being morally rehabilitated by the living. It was cathartic writing those, and truer to Twain’s spirit than much of the content in Chernow’s 1000 pages. ## VI. The Death of Nuance What bothers me most isn’t Chernow’s scholarship– it’s the instinct that drives it. The compulsion to pre-chew the past so modern readers won’t choke, to provide guardrails on a man who lived by few, rubbed me wrong. This is biography as moral PR: long, polished, safe, and deeply afraid of backlash by modern standards. The lack of courage in the construction of it is dispiriting. Twain was contradiction. He was the faithful cynic, the moral skeptic, the sinner with a conscience. He wrote in the gray space between hypocrisy and revelation. Stomp that out, and you don’t just misread Twain, you miss the entire point of writing his biography in the first place. ## VII. Closing Thought I didn’t finish *Mark Twain*. But in putting it down, I remembered: A bad book can still be a good teacher– especially when it spurs you to write. Chernow gave me something Twain would’ve approved of: A reason to laugh at the sanctimonious, to mistrust the moralizers, and to remember that truth, like humor, can’t survive over-editing. If virtue had a word count, *Mark Twain* would be a secular religious tome with footnotes. Twain, given access to social media, might've gotten as far as I did, closed it, shitposted about it, then laughed. ### Writing through the worst pain of my life URL: https://keithhayden.net/writing-through-the-worst-pain-of-my-life/ Last updated: 2025-10-04T04:13:43.000Z What if you couldn’t look at a screen for longer than a minute? In late September 2025, that became my reality. One morning, I woke up to an unsatisfiable scratchiness in my eye. Then came the vicious light sensitivity that hit anytime a different strength of illumination streamed in (blinks included). Eyes open or closed there was no escape from the rising agony. Sunlight felt like knives driving into my right eye. Even indoors, the glow of my phone left me squinting, knuckles pressed against my brow to dull the stabbing sensation coming from my retina. Swollen and drooping, eye red like a raisin, my face-ached from holding it open with the strain of a man holding a crushing barbell overhead. Two days after the swift onset, I knew I was in trouble. By day 3, I was in the worst pain of my life and had to be driven to the ER. Sitting in the dark bay, shades on, eyes shut, storms of white jolted me like a fist to the head. Dizziness and nausea cinched my senses, while an impatient ER doc shined fierce white light into the afflicted orb. It got worse when he reached his fingers over to pry the enflamed lids open to complete his examination. Moans of despair drifted from my mouth before I was finally discharged. Two days later, my world changed. Bottles of eye drops stood beside strange swamp-green colored pills–- a strict regimen to be followed for the next week. Meanwhile, I was strongly advised against driving, and told the unthinkable: *no extended screen time.* For most people, that’s a nuisance. For me, a novelist, it felt like having oxygen cut off. Writing isn’t just my profession— it’s the pulse of my life. And suddenly, every time I sat at the keyboard, the pain was so sharp it forced me to stop. Once the immediate emergency passed, a different weight settled in. I fell into an interval of depression. Just a week prior, I was a functional independent adult. Now: no driving, no teaching, no heavy screen usage, minimal screen work. Only sitting in a dim lonely house with sunglasses donned, evading natural light like Blackula. What could I do? How could I still write without a screen? Enter AI. For most of 2025, I’d been experimenting with ChatGPT’s audio input. I dictated journals, outlined novel scenes, recorded random thoughts and ramblings with the chatbot. As a result of all that usage, its knowledge context of my work and communication style, including my writing, is unmatched. Suddenly, all that saved memory and my familiarity with working with AI became my lifeline. So I picked up my phone and dictated the skeleton of a scene for my latest novel project [*Cereus & Limnic: Escape From Okinawa - Type B*](https://khnovelist.substack.com/p/sci-fi-horror-novel-archivists-note?r=6079u7) using notes I’d already created. Then I went a step further. Since screens were out, that meant no long editing sessions on desktop to continue producing the audiobook for my recent novel release, the unique [*Prompted Hearts & Grief Algorithm*](https://keithhayden.net/prompted-hearts-grief-algorithm-complete-duology/). Armed with my phone, I opened the Recorder app, pulled a print copy off my shelf and hit record. I read the first chapter straight through, added a few stock videos and a minimalist book cover, then uploaded it to YouTube. This became the “[anti-audiobook](https://youtu.be/00ZDSIssZlw?si=zYIEmwXwevBdrfdA&ref=keithhayden.net)” version of the novel. A single take contrast to the standard no breath, sound-stomped audiobooks out there. Surprisingly, in less than a week, it’s already become one of my most popular audiobooks released on YouTube to date. In that way, limited sight turned into a source of inspired innovation, all thanks to ChatGPT. That’s the lesson this injury drove home: AI isn’t just about speed or convenience. It’s about resilience. It keeps your voice alive when life throws a wall in front of you. For writers— whether you’re dealing with injury, disability, or just the grinding demands of daily life— that can be the difference between silence and survival. There’s a lot of nervous uncertainty about AI right now. I understand where it comes from. It’s taken me years of constant experimentation (including many failures) to become as comfortable as I am with it. As I explained to a friend, the hard part about the technology is that you have to make it work for your specific life situation. You likely won’t use it in the exact same way I do. But it is worth it to at least try it. If you’re one of those writers who took someone else’s word about staying away from it, then you might be missing out on the greatest life-enhancing tool since the internet (big claim I know.) At this point, my sudden and severe eye condition has baffled doctors. The eye is still blurry and I’m still healing. However, I’m still writing. And the reason is simple: I trained with AI long before I needed it. When the injury came, the bridge was already built. All I had to do was walk across. ### Low Energy, High Creativity URL: https://keithhayden.net/low-energy-high-creativity/ Last updated: 2025-10-01T20:07:57.000Z ## Clip \~30 secs ## Full Video \~8 mins Welcome back to a quick Digital Novelist Nugget. I guess that’s what I’m calling these little reflections on journal entries and life as a writer. I took a trip to Colorado Springs last month to visit my best friend Ryan. The trip wasn’t typical, I was running on low energy from some medical setbacks — but it still got me thinking about creativity, gaming, and storytelling. Let’s get into it. ### **Q1\. Low energy days and creativity** “When I’m low energy, I don’t write as much or sometimes at all. I try to write fiction every day, and I don’t count journaling or audio reflections, only actual story writing. It doesn’t have to be a lot, but it has to be deliberate. On this trip, I didn’t write much because my time with Ryan is rare, and we only had four days together. Gaming is our ritual, so that became the focus. That’s a reminder to me that creativity has seasons, sometimes you push, sometimes you rest.” ### **Q2\. Gaming as creative influence** “It’s hard for me to turn off my builder vision. I’ve created in code, music, game design, and of course novels, so I’m always analyzing. Ryan always seems to have the next console before I do— this time the Nintendo Switch 2. I tried Donkey Kong Bananza, which felt like a spiritual sequel to Mario Odyssey, just with more smashing and crushing. Playing together lets me see how mechanics shape flow and pacing, which feeds right into how I think about narrative design.” ### **Q3\. Watching Hollow Knight: Silksong** “Watching Ryan play the recently released *Hollow Knight:* *Silksong* was like time travel. I grew up watching friends play, and I still love it. When I’m not playing, I notice more: mechanics, aesthetics, the overall vibe. *Silksong* gave me that same isolation and mystery I felt with old Metroid games; a lonely, dangerous world where you’re not sure why you’re there. That atmosphere reminded me how important tone is in storytelling.” ### **Q4\. Childhood habits shaping narrative design** “Those early experiences of watching games bleed into how I write. I treat the beginning of a book like a tutorial teaching the reader how to ‘play’ this story. *Prompted Hearts and Grief Algorithm* is more dense and literary, while *Gates of Okinawa* was breezier and creepier, more of an adventure. I’m always asking: what’s the player experience here? How should someone *feel* reading this?” ### **Q5\. The creative lesson from the trip** “The big takeaway? It’s okay to step away. For four days I didn’t push the writing. That pause let me come back with more energy. Sometimes the most creative thing you can do is rest.” Thanks for listening to this reflection. Gaming with friends, low-energy days, even just watching someone else play, they all feed into how I write and how I think about stories. That’s the heart of being a digital novelist: letting life and creativity collide in unexpected ways. Catch you in the next one. ### A Monster that turns back progress | Narrative Digest URL: https://keithhayden.net/a-monster-that-turns-back-progress-narrative-digest/ Last updated: 2025-09-24T22:24:33.000Z The best monsters are metaphor. This is some of the thinking behind the monster in Cereeus & Limniv: Escape From Okinawa Type B. - **Monsters don’t always evolve.** Unlike the xenomorph as a symbol of evolutionary terror, the C&L Type-B monster represents *regression*—a collapse of certainty, technology, and sunlight. Its dread comes not from advancement but from unraveling. - **National symbols inverted.** The eagle, dragon, and rising sun (national symbols of America, China, and Japan respectively) are stripped of their mythic promise—freedom becomes entrapment, continuity fragments into segments, renewal sinks into endless twilight. The monster reveals itself through these inversions, fragment by fragment. - **Storytelling as entropy.** The fractured record, corrupted comms, contradictory testimonies, degraded slogans, mirrors the monster’s philosophy. The narrative form itself decays in tandem with the brothers’ arcs and the monster’s presence. ### 3 Questions - What does it mean when civilization’s greatest fear is not extinction by force, but regression into incoherence? - How does embodying national myths as inverted monstrosities change the stakes of war fiction? - Can a story’s *form* (fragments, corrupted records) become just as monstrous as the creature at its center? ### Writing Residency, Over Sales URL: https://keithhayden.net/writing-residency-over-sales/ Last updated: 2025-09-24T13:25:43.000Z > “Served more as a writing/reading residency than a sales event.”[](https://docs.google.com/document/d/1OV4dlwLI6J71D24hqK3uuA03F3ay5%5FPDbt6c2ruHhoc/edit?usp=sharing&ref=keithhayden.net) Sometimes what feels like a failed outcome is really a reframing opportunity. I didn’t sell a single book or hand out a card, but I left with something better: ## a quiet writing opportunity. And I took full advantage of it. The shift reminded me that presence isn’t always about being noticed. Make it about claiming the time and environment to do the work and you'll never lose. ### When Data Becomes Intimacy: Craft Notes + Japanese Listening on Grief Algorithm Scene 6 (“Rom-Con”) URL: https://keithhayden.net/when-data-becomes-intimacy-craft-notes-japanese-listening-on-grief-algorithm-scene-6-rom-con/ Last updated: 2025-09-22T14:08:33.000Z This exercise was created from [*Prompted Hearts & Grief Algorithm*](https://keithhayden.net/prompted-hearts-grief-algorithm-complete-duology/) **Length:** \~16 min audio + \~3 min read **Level (JP):** Upper-beginner → Intermediate (listening with transcript) **Scene Context:** Kyoko races to help her friend Nazra confront “too-perfect” Leo. The truth isn’t just infidelity, it’s surveillance. > **Listen first, then read.** [Listen here](https://notebooklm.google.com/notebook/b09b8f93-498a-4ea2-a67a-d5a045dfb128?authuser=1&ref=keithhayden.net) --- ## Why I Made This (and why it might help you) I generated this audio serve **two jobs at once**: 1. **Listening activity**: AI-generated audio you can play while walking, cooking, or commuting. 2. **Bilingual transcript + craft notes**: learn Japanese rhythms and writing craft, side-by-side, using scenes from my own fiction. Today’s scene— **“Rom-Con” from *Grief Algorithm***— shows how everyday tech can turn love into leverage. --- ## Hook: Horror without a single jump scare A closet that smells like leather. A tidy house that feels… off. A phone call: *“I’ll be back in ten minutes.”* A boyfriend who flirts using your **SpO₂** and **HRV**. No ghost. No monster. Just **biometrics as courtship**—and control. A modern horror story --- ## Craft Note: Grounded dread **What I’m doing on the page** - **Ordinary detail as fuse:** stale tobacco, cicadas, gravel under tires. Every familiar note tightens the wire. - **Countdown pressure:** *“10 minutes.”* Time becomes the antagonist. - **Authority vacuum:** police arrive, shrug, and suggest counseling. The system’s limits amplify fear. - **Data as intimacy theater:** Leo’s texts turn Nazra’s body signals into seductive proof—*“I see you. I measure you.”* That’s not romance. That’s **dominion absolute**. **Takeaway for writers:** If you want modern suspense to hit, **pair a domestic space with a precise, invasive mechanism**. Let the mechanism speak in numbers. Let the numbers feel colder than any blade. --- ## Bilingual Listening: Short JP lines + EN shadow Use this chunked transcript for **A→B→A loop practice**: 1. Listen without reading. 2. Read JP aloud. 3. Shadow the audio (match rhythm/intonation). 4. Skim EN to check meaning. 5. Re-listen. > **Scene Beat: The Discovery** > > **JP:** 彼のPCには、マッチングアプリのタブがいくつも開きっぱなし。メッセージは、彼女の**SpO₂**や**HRV**にまで触れていた。 > **EN:** On his PC, tab after tab of dating apps. The messages referenced her **SpO₂** and **HRV**. > > **JP:** 親密さの演出に見えて、実際は**監視**だ。データが、口説き文句に**武器化**されている。 > **EN:** It reads like intimacy, but it’s **surveillance**. Data, **weaponized** into flirtation. > > **Scene Beat: Authority Fails** > > **JP:** 保安官代理は言う。「民事だ」。暴力の証拠がなければ、介入は難しい。 > **EN:** The deputies say it’s “a civil matter.” Without clear violence, they won’t intervene. > > **Scene Beat: The Closet** > > **JP:** クローゼットの中、革ジャケットの匂い。彼女は震える手で録画を始めた。 > **EN:** In the closet, leather in the air. She starts recording with shaking hands. > **Mini-Drill (Rhythm):** > Read the bold nouns aloud three times with even stress: **監視 / 武器化 / 親密さ / 証拠**. Then re-read each sentence and let those nouns carry the weight. --- ## Micro-Glossary (core terms from the audio) - **裏切り（うらぎり）** – betrayal - **監視（かんし）** – surveillance - **疑念（ぎねん）** – suspicion, doubt - **武器化（ぶきか）** – weaponization - **心拍変動（しんぱくへんどう, HRV）** – heart rate variability - **酸素飽和度（さんそほうわど, SpO₂）** – oxygen saturation > **Practice:** Write one JP sentence using **監視** and one using **武器化** that fit *this* scene. Read them aloud, then swap **監視**→**観察** and feel the tone soften. --- ## Language Patterns to Steal (from the transcript) - **Conversational fillers:** 「うん」「ええ」「なるほど」 → small but vital for natural flow - **Pivot phrases:** 「というと？」「なるほど」「つまり」 → keep analysis moving - **Countdown tension:** 「10分で戻る」 → short, flat, terrifying > **Drill:** > Record yourself summarizing the scene in JP using at least two pivot phrases. Aim for 30 seconds. Re-record until it flows. --- ## Craft Exercise (for writers; works in any language) **Prompt:** Write a 150–200 word scene where a character discovers affection expressed through numbers (sleep score, step count, glucose spikes). No overt threat. Let the **metrics** do the unsettling. **Constraints:** - Include one ordinary smell. - Include one sound outside the house. - End with a line that implies a deadline. --- ## Reflection Questions (join the comments) - At what point does **data intimacy** become **abuse**? - Should police treat biometric stalking like breaking and entering? - If you were Kyoko, what single action would you take in those ten minutes? --- ## Listen Again (then skim the full transcript) 🎧 *Replay the audio once more now that you’ve read the beats.* 📄 *Full bilingual transcript below* (for deep dives and study markup). --- ## Full Bilingual Transcript (JP/EN, compact lines) [See full transcript](https://docs.google.com/document/d/15RlrITnkv7Buv9lQCt-Da6VA1-EaJhZmjXvLx0wuejg/edit?usp=sharing&ref=keithhayden.net) --- ## Credits & Links - **From:** [*Prompted Hearts & Grief Algorithm*](https://keithhayden.net/prompted-hearts-grief-algorithm-complete-duology/) - **Audio:** NotebookLM-assisted analysis (edited by me) - **Tags:** #Suspense #Tech #LanguageLearning #WritingCraft #GriefAlgorithm **If you found this useful:** - Subscribe for more **Digital Novelist Newsletter** posts. - Try reading the transcript aloud while shadowing the audio; you’ll feel the cadence lock in. ### When Sharing Work Isn’t Enough URL: https://keithhayden.net/when-sharing-work-isnt-enough/ Last updated: 2025-09-20T21:19:41.000Z It's not all about you. One of the challenges of being a creator is learning how to share your progress without making every conversation about your work. It’s easy to get caught up in the wins— landing a client, finishing a draft, hitting a streak— and want to tell the people closest to you. But the people we love also need space for their own updates, routines, and small joys. That balance matters. It keeps relationships grounded in more than just productivity. It reminds us that life is bigger than the next project, and that creativity grows best when our connections outside of work feel strong too. ### The Codex Manifesto URL: https://keithhayden.net/the-codex-manifesto/ Last updated: 2025-09-13T00:40:24.000Z # 📜 The Codex Manifesto The guiding philosophy behind my personal archive — a living system for capturing, organizing, and curating a life. --- ## Why I Built the Codex I am not just recording my life — I am **curating it**. The Codex is my living archive, a place where every note, journal, sketch, song, photo, and reflection has a home. It is proof that my life was not scattered, but woven into a story. This is my way of honoring an old instinct: to **document, organize, and preserve**. From flags and maps as a kid to journals and novels as an adult, the Codex is the throughline. ## What the Codex Means - A **historian’s practice** — of the self. - A **creative foundation** where ideas don’t vanish — they accumulate. - A **legacy**: a readable, searchable, browsable artifact of a life fully lived. - **Order in the chaos** so nothing important is lost. ## The Core Principles 1. **Capture First** — everything worth remembering enters the Codex. 2. **Organize Lightly** — enough structure to find it later, never enough to stall creation. 3. **Essence over Exhaustion** — transcripts cleaned but still my voice; photos highlighted, not hoarded. 4. **Cross-Link Everything** — projects, journals, media, people, and places connect so the story holds together. 5. **Legacy in Motion** — not perfection, but continuity. Even partial capture beats silence. ## My Promise to Myself I won’t aim for perfection — I’ll aim for presence. One entry, one stub, one highlight at a time. Over weeks and months, this builds into something far greater than the sum of its parts. > **The Codex is my mirror, my map, and my museum.** > A record of who I am, what I’ve created, and how I’ve lived. ## Closing When the grind feels heavy, I’ll remember: **this is worth it**. The Codex is not just a system — it is my story, preserved. And stories are what endure. ### Drawing 100 - Day 57 URL: https://keithhayden.net/drawing-100-day-57/ Last updated: 2025-09-03T23:14:39.000Z ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/18/bf/18bf29db-1cec-4857-a9dc-e2e94a86d2bf/content/images/2025/09/Master-Study---Skull---Day-57-1.jpg) Made in a rage [View art log](https://keithhayden.net/drawing-100/) ### A Date Derailed By Disagreement | Techno Romance | Prompted Hearts & Grief Algorithm URL: https://keithhayden.net/prompted-hearts-grief-algorithm-scene-2/ Last updated: 2025-09-03T23:11:14.000Z ## Clip (30 secs) ## Full Episode (22 mins) Watch/listen from the beginning, [here](https://keithhayden.net/ph-ga-premium-audiobook/). ### Why I'm Writing a "Twilight" Fan-Fic Piece URL: https://keithhayden.net/why-im-writing-a-twilight-fan-fic-piece/ Last updated: 2025-09-01T23:17:21.000Z I've never written fan fiction before. And before this last week, I didn't know anything about Twilight other than Team Edward and Team Jacob from a film hype campaign over 15 yrs ago. Yet, here I am, halfway through the first draft of my take on the insanely popular Twilight universe. *Why?* ### Because over the last five years of writing and publishing (mostly) fiction, I've learned the hard way: new and unique stories are hard to sell. In 2025, there's so much noise, AI slop, and poor quality content out there that consumers are reluctant to spend their precious time or money on new ideas. *Current algorithms reinforce this.* They routinely serve up seconds and thirds of theatrical remakes, reboots, spinoffs, or nostalgic hits over the novel stories. And that sucks. Without a famous IP to link to, audiences are likely to ignore (or worse) never see new stories. ## Inspiration In a recent podcast aimed at indie authors, a guest used the analogy of a cover-band. Cover bands primarily play known hits, and occasionally when the vibe is right and the audience is warm, they slip in a signature riff or song. In fact this is very common in the music world. New acts get exposure before the headliner hits the stage. If the rookie is good enough, eventually they can claim a stage of their own. Upon hearing this, I thought *"what's the equivalent of this in the writing world?"* You'd be surprised at the answer. Because at first I thought there was none. Then, after a little more consideration I found a few examples: - Ghostwriting - write for others for a while, then break out on your own - Classic freelance writing - be a pen for hire, then break out And finally, ### Writing fan fiction. I've done the first two. So I figured I'd try the third. Problem is, writing is often done in the background. It just doesn't have the same effect as opening for an already established act in music. But, if constructed properly, I could write the fan fiction in a way that not only is true to the canon of the source material, but connects to the themes, ideas, and style in my own writing. That's the plan. ## So why Twilight? The whole point is piggyback off of IPs that are in, or are, relevant to the current cultural landscape. All five Twilight movies are returning to theaters in October 2025 for the (hard to believe) 20th anniversary of the book release. It was the first IP I noticed was trending on X when I started this project. That's why I chose it. ## Reading the book I'm three chapters into the first Twilight book now. And I have to say, it's a solid read. Bella's voice is distinct because she doesn't rely on a lot of dialogue to describe how she feels. The majority of the prose is her internal commentary about the world around her. This is a very teenage (OMG the world-revolves-around-me) perspective I've written in before, and it's well done here. Second reason I like it, is the book shows its age in good ways. Twenty years on, the world of Twilight– while fantasy– feels like a historical era in 2025. Bella has a dial-up modem, checks her email, references fashion magazines; there are no smartphones, teachers use overhead projectors to teach lessons, there's little mention of the internet– it's a time capsule of early 2000s life, and as a man of a certain age, eh hem, I love it. Plus the writing, unlike today's smut-obsessed, speedy prose, feels fleshed out, if not at times a bit repetitive. Bella's teenage angst and awkwardness cascades down the page, as looks from strangers and (of course) Edward turn into lines and lines of emotional pinging around her skull. I now understand why the book became so popular. The immersion into the mind of an outsider teenager (tale as old as time), is complete and thorough. It's been an excellent read. And has given me more than enough ideas to stay true to the world of Twilight, while adding my own spin. ### Scene 1 - The AI Oracle and a Lonely Verdict | Prompted Hearts & Grief Algorithm (Video) URL: https://keithhayden.net/scene-1-the-ai-oracle-and-a-lonely-verdict-prompted-hearts-grief-algorithm-video/ Last updated: 2025-08-29T12:41:51.000Z ### tech will change his life (30 sec) ### This list will self-destruct in 5 days URL: https://keithhayden.net/this-list-will-self-destruct-in-5-days/ Last updated: 2025-08-28T03:29:14.000Z _This post is for subscribers only._ ### Digital Novelist's Manifesto URL: https://keithhayden.net/digital-novelist-manifesto/ Last updated: 2025-08-27T21:40:25.000Z ## Digital Novelist’s Manifesto I have never belonged. The dreaded "middle-child syndrome" has followed me like a disease my entire life. As a kid, I was sandwiched in between my brothers, who always (in some way) needed more attention than I did. Things changed in high school. There, insulated by our Colloqium Crew, I ran with a circle of misfits. I can still picture that extended portable classroom with the wild field of ever-budding weeds behind it— a bastion in the South Texas heat. That was my academic haven. A source of drama and discovery, safety. We were the brainiacs at the back of the school. A collection of different races, sexual orientations, and personalities. It was messy, imperfect, but strangely utopic before I had any real concept of the word. Together we were insiders in our own world, yet outsiders to the rest of the school. And that made all the difference. Back then I didn't realize how good I had it. I had no idea that would be the peak of my social life. Because after high school, that kind of belonging slipped away. Barriers to connection rose around nearly every promising group social situation. Sometimes it was because of race, occupation, interests, or some asshole (often self-appointed) gatekeeper who barred me from permanent entry. Sometimes it was because of me. Through my military career, and years of transition, I never found that kind of close-knit magic circle I enjoyed in high school again. Groups were foreign to me. Only individuals— my wife, a few close friends— felt like home. The military gave me structure, but not belonging. I spent most of my career as a cop. It's 50/50 whether others like you in that job. ## So I made a choice: if I couldn’t find a place to belong, I would build it. In that role, I always on the margins, enforcing order while carrying questions about the systems I served. When I left the military, I earned my certification as a math teacher. Another 50/50 job. Teaching gave me purpose, but the same sense lingered: I was still outside. And being Black only bladed the edge. In publishing, it means you are almost always the exception. But even within my own community, I found myself on the margins, because I don’t write exclusively about race or blackness, though it shapes who I am. That alone has made me an outsider twice over— outside the mainstream, and away from the expected narratives of what a Black writer should be. So I made a choice: if I couldn’t find a place to belong, I would build it. At first, it was survival. When I left active duty, my entire network was still military. No roadmap. No clarity. Zero network. So I had to start from scratch. My online work began with language learning. That taught me blogging, vlogging, and how to represent myself without the military structure I'd been used to my entire life. Then following nearly two decades of journaling, I got serious about writing. I began writing my first book *The Tower of Babbling* (A Self-Study Language Resource) in 2017\. Since then school has always been in session. Coding, music, video editing, podcasting, publishing, drawing, AI; I equipped myself with the modern creator's kit. Each skill was another tool. Each tool was another way of saying: ***I refuse to wait for permission. Fuck it, I'll build.*** But I wasn't always going solo. Along the way, I've squaded up with some incredibly talented and ambitious creative entrepreneurs. I've vagabonded through multiple artistic domains. If I had a passport for them, I'd need another book already. Turns out you learn a lot viewing communities as a foreign presence. Through experience, I unlocked the "vision." With it, I saw how every circle— education, military, publishing, tech, music— is at once different and the same. Each has its rules, rituals, and conformity traps. There's always a 'them' to our 'us.' Always a social stratum that must be sensed more than seen. I see that in every circle, that the greatest danger is sameness. To go along with what works. To pray to the algorithm. To repeat nostalgia. To play safe. ## Sameness is the true enemy. ### We live in an age that encourages conformity. Algorithms whisper what to watch, what to read, what to think. Our minds are softened by infinite choice; pre-curated, pre-digested, fed back to us in memes and trends. It’s easier than ever to be sucked into the scroll. Harder than ever to take risks, and breakout into who we are. *But the truth is, we are also surrounded by unprecedented opportunity.* With a phone in your hand, you can teach yourself almost anything: a language, a skill, a trade, a craft. The bar has never been lower to start. Using only mild curiosity, you can carve a path no one has walked before. You can blend worlds, like I do— pulling from code, music, writing, teaching, design— and forge a style that belongs to no single tradition, one that is uniquely you. **This is why I write.** This is why I teach. Not for art’s sake, but to wake you up to your own power. To rescue your curiosity. To remind you that originality is still possible. That rebellion still matters. That conformity is not destiny. I am a Digital Novelist. Outsider. Builder. Teacher. Writer. And my work is proof that you don’t have to belong to create something worth belonging to. ## Sign up for Keith Hayden | Digital Novelist I help aspiring authors publish their novel, memoir, or business expertise for authority and legacy. Subscribe Email sent! Check your inbox to complete your signup. No spam. Unsubscribe anytime. ### The hidden twin of Prompted Hearts URL: https://keithhayden.net/the-hidden-twin-of-prompted-hearts/ Last updated: 2025-08-26T15:37:52.000Z Hey there, Yesterday I shared the full book with you. But here’s something you might not know: ### **Prompted Hearts isn’t alone. It has a twin.** Inside this launch, you get *two complete novels in one.* **Prompted Hearts** – A story of AI, grief, and human connection told through Dr. Sam Avery’s eyes. **Grief Algorithm** – A companion novel, told through, his ex-wife Kyoko’s journey. It reframes everything you thought you knew from the first story. Together, they form a duology designed to be read side by side: two voices, two arcs, one complete experience. Most won’t realize this at first glance. But because you’re here early, you know the truth: this isn’t just one book launch. It’s two. Tomorrow, I’ll reveal the *secret version* of this project that’s been under wraps until now. Only a handful of people know it exists. See you then. —Keith [Read both books](https://keithhayden.net/ph-ga-read/) ### Launch Gift: Read my new book for free URL: https://keithhayden.net/launch-gift-read-my-new-book-for-free/ Last updated: 2025-08-25T12:44:01.000Z Hey there, I've been head down and silent for the last few weeks, making the final push for *Prompted Hearts & Grief Algorithm*. After much persistence, I finished. Launch week is finally here! Four months of writing, editing, recording, and building all the little extras… ***Prompted Hearts & Grief Algorithm* is officially live.** ### And because you’re on my list, I want you to have the whole book as my gift. No catch, no strings. Just the modern day fable available to read today. These books mean a lot to me. *Prompted Hearts* is a story about connection, loss, and the ways we lean on technology when we’re most human. *Grief Algorithm* is the mirror. The other side of the question: *In human relationships* *is AI an angel or a demon?* You'll find potential answers within. Thanks for being here at the start. Tomorrow, I’ll share something surprising about this project that almost nobody knows yet. Until then — enjoy the gift. [Read the book](https://keithhayden.net/ph-ga-read/) —Keith P.S. If you enjoy the story, I’d love to hear what you think. Hit reply and let me know. ### Human grounded science story | Ted Chiang - Fiction Debrief URL: https://keithhayden.net/ted-chiang-fiction-debrief/ Last updated: 2025-08-12T16:57:27.000Z \>Ted Chiang writes tech in service of the human story. here's how you can do it too: ## Analysis ![audio-thumbnail](https://storage.ghost.io/c/18/bf/18bf29db-1cec-4857-a9dc-e2e94a86d2bf/content/media/2025/08/Unlock_Your_Novel_s_Genius__Steal_Ted_Chiang_s_Mind-Bending_Storytelling_Secrets_thumb.jpg) Unlock Your Novel s Genius Steal Ted Chiang s Mind Bending Storytelling Secrets 0:00 /1876.938594 1× ## Keith Insights ![audio-thumbnail](https://storage.ghost.io/c/18/bf/18bf29db-1cec-4857-a9dc-e2e94a86d2bf/content/media/2025/08/Ted-Chiang_Keith-Insight_thumb.jpg) Ted Chiang Keith Insight 0:00 /483.422 1× --- ## Transcript --- ## Introduction This analysis of Ted Chiang's work was very validating, actually. I think that's the way I want to put it. I haven't read any of his books, but of course I'm familiar with probably his most famous story, *Story of Your Life*, which was adapted into the movie *Arrival* several years ago. If you haven't seen *Arrival*, then it's basically an alien story. It's famous because of the way the story is presented. ## Arrival & Circular Narrative It's presented in this circular, chronological way to where past, future, and present blend with each other. You'll be in the present scene, and then the show remembers something from the future, but then it's still in the present. It's that type of mind-bending type of thing, and then you have the aliens. I remember watching it, and I remember I really liked the movie. Actually, it was earlier this year, the beginning of the year, that I was talking with a friend. At the time, I was working on my upcoming novel. This novel keeps getting pushed back, but *Cereus & Limnic: Escape from Okinawa*. When I was talking about how this novel is basically structured like a case file, and it has to do with AI and aliens and that type of thing, future tech. ## Connection to My Work Because my *Cereus & Limnic* series is essentially that. It's essentially future technology, but then its impact on human society. He mentioned Ted Chiang. He was like, man, you should read Ted Chiang, because it sounds like philosophically and even probably somewhat stylistically, your styles are probably very similar. After listening to this analysis, I was like, damn, me and Ted Chiang are intellectual soul brothers, man. Just because they were talking about his techniques and what he does, and the biggest one that had me the entire time smiling and nodding was that he focuses on technology, but the focus is not the technical rigor of the technology or the science. It's always grounded in the human experience of it. It's like, why do we create technology in the first place? We create it to make our lives more efficient, to make them more fruitful, to make them better. All technology exists because it serves some sort of function of easing a burden or making it take less time or making it less dangerous. That's why we create technology. ## Chiang vs. Liu Cixin And comparing him to another Chinese writer, Liu Cixin, famous author of the *Three-Body* series, I think this is where they kind of diverge. Because Liu Cixin is very interested in the science. I think his background is he's a physicist. You get these in *Three-Body Problem*, in all three of the books, you get these very, very long and in-depth explanations of the physics and the math and the astrophysics and even fully on equations and that type of thing. It's really like he geeks out on that stuff. And *Three-Body Problem* suffers because of that as a series. It's just harder to get into the human story of it. It's like, okay, I see the technology. What's the point of this? And *Three-Body Problem*, the first book is probably the best balance of this. The second book does it in the most interesting way. The second book is probably my favorite. And then I feel like the third book, I actually just put it down and I DNF'd it. I didn't finish. I was listening to it on audiobook because it was just way too much of the science and not enough of the character. The character was just kind of the main character. She's just kind of eclipsed by the technicality and the specifics of what's happening in the story. ## Complexity of Time Blending And so back to Chiang. Chiang doesn't do this. The other moves that they talked about in the analysis, they're actually pretty complex. I mean, blending present, past, and future within maybe even the same paragraph, let alone the same scene. I think in *Story of Your Life*, it served a very specific purpose and he probably doesn't write that way all the time. But it is an idea. It just feels pretty complicated in execution. And I feel like it would be complex to read too. Unless the reader's primed for that and you've kind of set that up, which once again, I have not read *Story of Your Life*, so I don't know how he sets it up or what he does writing-wise to make that work. ## Technology & Human Drama But the main idea of how he thinks about presenting stories, it's essentially how I structure, how I write my stories. You have this piece of technology. There's this fantastical capability. But what does it mean at the human level? I think that's what people are interested in most. Some are geeked out about the technology and care about that, but I feel like more people care about the human drama more. ## Recontextualization Technique Another thing they mentioned is this recontextualization of you present one tidbit early on. He looked at the pencil sharpener, the scans or something like that. And then later on, you're like, the pencil sharpener was actually left over from the crash that his mom died in or something like that. You recontextualize something small and then you give it more emotional weight and, oh, it was more important than we thought it was. He mentioned that as a technique that Chiang uses. And I like that. I want to say I've done that before. Actually, yeah, I have done that. I've done that in *Prompted Hearts* and *Grief Algorithm*. I won't spoil it, but there's an instance where there's this saying that the smartwatch is programmed to say to Kyoko in *Grief Algorithm*. And then later on, you find out that it's more important than you think. At first, it seems kind of random and it's not very explained, but over the course of the book, you get that increased context and there it goes, recontextualization. I did it. ## Closing Thoughts I really enjoyed this one. If nothing else, it was just validating to find that somebody else writes in a similar style, if not structure, as I do. And I actually may change my comp titles for *Prompted Hearts* and *Grief Algorithm* because I feel like Ted Chiang's style definitely matches more of how I write in *Grief Algorithm*. How I write in concept and not just in overall vibes and feel. --- ### Pre-order Prompted Hearts and Grief Algorithm! ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/18/bf/18bf29db-1cec-4857-a9dc-e2e94a86d2bf/content/images/2025/08/PromptedHearts_GriefAlgorithm_V2b-11.jpg) [Pre-order](https://a.co/d/0AVYWzf?ref=keithhayden.net) ## Word of the Day *peace-time* \- period when a nation is not at war ### Write a strong start! URL: https://keithhayden.net/write-a-strong-start/ Last updated: 2025-08-11T00:30:04.000Z writer, start the week strong with some writing! ## Aug 11 at 12PM PST Join me for - book talk - chill music - great vibes Hit the button to attend! [Go to the stream](https://www.youtube.com/live/qHkmZlanJzc?si=PPaF9BPwOW1z5zgT&ref=keithhayden.net) ### Tropes, subversions, and sanitized "history" - Courtney Milan - Fiction Debrief URL: https://keithhayden.net/courtney-milan-fiction-debrief/ Last updated: 2025-08-10T16:04:43.000Z \>when does history become fantasy? notes from an analysis of Courtney Milan's writing: ## Analysis ![audio-thumbnail](https://storage.ghost.io/c/18/bf/18bf29db-1cec-4857-a9dc-e2e94a86d2bf/content/media/2025/08/Steal_Courtney_Milan_s_Secret_Sauce__Crafting_Fiercely_Modern_Historical_Romances_thumb.jpg) Steal Courtney Milan s Secret Sauce Crafting Fiercely Modern Historical Romances 0:00 /1287.476825 1× --- ## Keith's Insights ![audio-thumbnail](https://storage.ghost.io/c/18/bf/18bf29db-1cec-4857-a9dc-e2e94a86d2bf/content/media/2025/08/Courtner-Milan---Fiction-Debrief_thumb.jpg) Courtner Milan Fiction Debrief 0:00 /464.167506 1× ## Transcript ## Struggling with Contemporary Historical Fiction So this is one of those analysis of Courtney Milan's work, *The Duchess War* and others that I just struggled with. I struggle with because whenever I read some type of contemporary historical fiction and a lot of it is female centric, I'm already like, man, I don't know about this. Because I mean, I think the advice in the analysis kind of, well, not the advice, but just kind of the analysis itself was basically like, yeah, don't be afraid to go back and find those exceptions, those historical exceptions and bring them out. And then as long as you construct convincing enough world around them, then it's fine as long as it's, you have good characters and you do the people justice or do whatever group you're trying to represent. And I'm just like, I get what they're saying and I get the intent behind it. It's like, was it possible that there could be this fiercely independent woman back in Victorian England or colonial America? Sure, of course, there were probably tons of them. But I just struggle with, there's a line there that's too easy to cross that I find a lot of contemporary writers, historical fiction writers tend to go to the other extreme. To where they're finding the exception so much and building the world so much to where it's like, you should not call this historical fiction. It's totally fantasy at this point to me. And yeah, I feel like I've yet to read a contemporary book historical fiction that is heroine focused, that is female centric, that has not crossed over into basically mapping current views of gender and sexuality and values onto those historical, that historical setting. And I just don't like that. I read a lot of history, I study a lot of history and you are taking something, you're basically taking historical setting, a backdrop, and then you're placing a character in there that could have been transported from the 21st century into that. And I just don't jive with that. Yeah, it should just basically be called fantasy at that point. --- ## Lessons I Agreed With There were some other good ideas in the analysis though, as far as some of the things that she does. And a lot of them I already do. A big one is it's show don't tell, but it's more than that. I think show don't tell, I don't really like that, it's just kind of generic advice, but it is true. When you're introducing, you're saying, don't say just the character was overwhelmed, manifest those things into physical actions, into reactions, into dialogue. Those things tell a character's mood and state and their potential struggle better than if you just say, they were overwhelmed, they were pissed off or whatever. I mean, I feel like if you are an experienced writer of any experience, you know this, this is kind of thing. But I've found it's easy to get lazy, especially the longer you spend with a project and especially if you're on some type of deadline or something. It's easy to just be like, okay, I'm just gonna put this in as a placeholder and then I'll come back to it later and you never come back to it. We have to watch out for that. And I've gotten better at in the moment, you know, I'll give something that, or I'll put something down that I know is not ideal, but then I'm like, okay, it works for me there. --- ## Avoiding Character Overload Another pitfall was introducing characters that introducing too many characters at the same time. I've always not had trouble with that when it's just like half a dozen characters and it's like, okay, even if they stand out and they're unique, then, you know, it's a problem. It's just too hard to keep up with. --- ## The “Trope, You’re Not the Boss of Me” Mindset The last thing that I really liked from this analysis was apparently she's quoted as having said, you know, trope, you're not the boss of me. And apparently she's really good at weaving in her background. I guess she used to be a lawyer. And so she puts that into her stories and I think that's powerful. I think that's something we have to remember. I know I have to remind myself as an author of certain experiences. Yeah, put that in in some way. And I know I do this in my stories, you know, as far as military game tech fiction, being a military veteran, having been a cop. Yeah, I put those things in all the time to where this is a unique perspective that only I could have. But then when you put that uniqueness in, you offset it with the tropes, but you don't let the tropes just scaffold the story. --- ## Tropes Aren’t the Frame And especially in this age of AI, where you can put together a competent story by just saying, I want a romance, I want a lesbian romance with a love triangle and enemies to lovers. And you can just say that and you can get a decent output from any AI. But really where good writing stands out is it's not just about the tropes. The tropes are not the frame for the story. The frame is something else. The frame could be the actual character. The frame could be certain themes or it could be a process. Like I know, for example, in my upcoming novel, *Grief Algorithm*, the frame for *Grief Algorithm* for the ex-wife, her story, are the stages of grief because that's what she's going through through her divorce. And so that becomes the framing instead of her... I'm not even sure if it would map to a traditional story framework as it is, but that's the frame I thought of in my mind. And so you can get creative about what the frame of your story is. It doesn't just have to be the tropes. You don't have to just insert the tropes to subvert them. --- ## When “Subversion” Becomes a Trope When I hear a subversion of a trope or something like that, maybe I've just been burned by too many modern movies who say that they're subverting certain tropes, but then those subversions in themselves have become so mainstream and predictable that it's like, okay, are you really subverting it? You're basically... Your subversion has become the trope. I'm thinking of Marvel movies to where this... It's not just Marvel movies either, but it's just this idea of the anti-hero. Are you really subverting the typical hero narrative or are you just being like every other movie where that has been a popular thing recently? So that's something that I thought about after listening to this one. --- ### Get your weekend writing in with me! URL: https://keithhayden.net/get-your-weekend-writing-in-with-me/ Last updated: 2025-08-09T23:03:09.000Z Fiction writer, move closer to making your story public ## on August 10 at 3PM PST. - Chill music - Motivation - A good time Don't miss! (and bring a friend!) ### Hit the button to get notified/join. [Go to stream](https://www.youtube.com/live/GqquCYiQ8Lc?si=YIVppW%5FRfpI-8cgV&ref=keithhayden.net) ## Word of the Day **遠ざける** (too-za-ke-ru) *JP -* to keep away from ### Superior sneaky suspense - Gillian Flynn - Fiction Debrief URL: https://keithhayden.net/gillian-flynn-fiction-debrief/ Last updated: 2025-08-09T20:25:33.000Z \>how do you creep up on readers with knife-behind-the-back smile? notes from Gillian Flynn's fiction playbook follow: ### Analysis ![audio-thumbnail](https://storage.ghost.io/c/18/bf/18bf29db-1cec-4857-a9dc-e2e94a86d2bf/content/media/2025/08/Unpacking_Gillian_Flynn__The_Art_of_Sharp-_Sneaky-_and_Sinister_Deception_thumb.jpg) Unpacking Gillian Flynn The Art of Sharp Sneaky and Sinister Deception 0:00 /1451.525805 1× --- ## Keith's Insights ![audio-thumbnail](https://storage.ghost.io/c/18/bf/18bf29db-1cec-4857-a9dc-e2e94a86d2bf/content/media/2025/08/Gillian-Flynn---Fiction-Debrief-_thumb.jpg) Gillian Flynn Fiction Debrief 0:00 /370.45 1× ## Transcript of Insights Okay, so when it comes to this Gillian Flynn deep dive, I do remember watching Gone Girl in the theater. I think I came out liking the movie. Over 10 years ago, in 2013 — I remember for some reason that year stands out. From a writing perspective, it sounds like she's more… I've never read any of her books, but it sounds like she's more of a psychological thriller on the more mystery side. Because it talks a lot about red herrings and placing small details to later come back and have them be like, oh, that was actually a big deal that you kind of missed. This is an area that I still want to explore as far as writing mysteries. I just haven't done it at all yet. I get a little nervous when I think about this as a writer just because I'm so unfamiliar with structuring mystery. And I'm sure it's not that bad as far as, you know, you have the big mystery, you have the big plot, and then you basically insert a bunch of smaller mysteries in there between characters. You have a few characters, there's red herrings depending on what type of mystery you're doing. If you're doing a whodunnit type — like who the murderer is, who the thief is — you've got to hint toward who is actually the culprit at the end. And then there's other types of mysteries as well. Like, I guess, mystery of motivation. I think that's another interesting one too. I think of, like, you already know who did it, but you don't know why they did it. And I just kind of thought of this on the fly. I don't really have any examples of this off the top of my head. Maybe you can think of some. But I think that would be pretty interesting, because to me that's what makes things kind of scary. There's no reason why it happened — it just happened. If it's an accident or something, or, you know, a natural disaster, then that's different. You can kind of just accept those types of things happen. But when really strange things happen, and especially when a person does a strange thing, especially when it's kind of like out of the blue… And nobody saw it coming. And what they did was so extreme — whether it was to themselves or to somebody else. I remember this feeling when I was a cop that always kind of left me unsettled. Like, you mean one day, for most of their lives, they were just totally normal… And then, one day, this awful thing happens. And they're at the center of it. And I'm just like — there's no reason why. And I ran into that a couple of times in my career as an agent, doing criminal investigations. Someday, you know, and I'm sure in that person's mind there was a clear escalation. Or maybe not so clear — maybe it was influenced by alcohol, drugs, or just overall passion and emotion. But we don't know that as outsiders looking in. And I find that fascinating. Now that I'm talking about it out loud, I think that's something I would definitely want to explore if I were to write a mystery. I think it would probably be like mystery slash horror. You already know who did it, but everybody's trying to piece together why. It would basically cover the aftermath of that person's decision, whatever it was. And it would be like — why did they do this? Who are the other people involved? What organizations? What were the circumstances that led them to do that? But back to Gillian Flynn. The multiple character POV thing — the way they talked about how Nick and Amy kind of played off each other, with very distinct voices — no problem. That's something I do all the time. I'm really good at writing characters. But one thing I haven't really done is have them basically, beat for beat, talk about the same things. And I think that is what Gone Girl… that's the biggest thing I got out of this analysis. She would have Nick talk about something — like birthdays — and be like, “Oh, birthdays are great” or something. And then Amy would be like, “Oh, birthdays again… I hate the damn things,” or something to that effect. Where they're talking about the exact same thing, but their outlook and opinion on it is so distinct that you already get this tension. Not only are they married and going through marital issues, but they have this tension in the exact thoughts they’re having about the same thing. And I have not done that. I've done the big picture multiple perspective thing — I did that in my debut novel. But I haven't done the granular detail thing. And I think that's a very strong mechanic to use, especially in a relationship situation or a marriage. You know they're having issues, and that's a big… if you haven't seen or read Gone Girl, it's a pretty good movie. It's one of those movies that I still remember to this day. It was a pretty dark movie. But it was really good. And yeah, I almost feel like I want to watch it again after listening to this analysis. --- Want the written report of Flynn's signature writing moves? **Reply to this message and I'll send it to you.** ### More than stream of consciousness - William Faulkner - Fiction Debrief URL: https://keithhayden.net/william-faulkner-fiction-debrief/ Last updated: 2025-08-08T19:10:28.000Z \>to hear and see Faulkner is a kind of madness Unlock Faulkner s Genius Mastering Psychological Depth and Narrative Complexity for Novelists 0:00 /1661.178776 1× How to fiction like William Faulkner, notes for you: ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/18/bf/18bf29db-1cec-4857-a9dc-e2e94a86d2bf/content/images/2025/08/William-Faulkner_Fiction_Debrief.jpg) Handwritten notes ### Native horror - Stephen Graham Jones - Fiction Debrief URL: https://keithhayden.net/native-horror-stephen-graham-jones-fiction-debrief/ Last updated: 2025-08-07T14:03:41.000Z Enhance you fiction with Native horror _This post is for subscribers only._ ### Two essentials of writing comedy - Douglas Adams - Fiction Debrief URL: https://keithhayden.net/two-essentials-of-writing-comedy-douglas-adams-fiction-debrief/ Last updated: 2025-08-06T19:52:49.000Z Lessons from a comedy king _This post is for subscribers only._ ### Livestream blitz URL: https://keithhayden.net/livestream-blitz-prompted-hearts/ Last updated: 2025-08-06T01:15:46.000Z It's book release month! That means there's tons of work to do before launch on **August 29th.** First up, finishing the book! So I'll be livestreaming my writing sprints until I reach the end. Drop by my YouTube channel, enjoy some music, say hello, or drop a word in the chat to watch me weave it into the story! See you there! [Check out the latest stream on my channel](https://www.youtube.com/@DigitalNovelist?ref=keithhayden.net) ### Crazy romance success - Fiction Intel - Talia Hibbert URL: https://keithhayden.net/crazy-romance-success-fiction-intel-talia-hibbert/ Last updated: 2025-08-05T15:59:15.000Z How to write romance that keeps your bills paid _This post is for subscribers only._ ### ハリーポッターと賢者の石 (Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone) (Japanese) URL: https://keithhayden.net/harry-potter-and-the-philosophers-stone-japanese/ Last updated: 2025-07-30T13:54:28.000Z Start: 23 Jul 2025 ## Series Intro ## 30 Jul 2025 - Update *pg. 6* ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/18/bf/18bf29db-1cec-4857-a9dc-e2e94a86d2bf/content/images/2025/07/HP_JP-pg-6.jpg) ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/18/bf/18bf29db-1cec-4857-a9dc-e2e94a86d2bf/content/images/2025/07/HP_Vocab-1.jpg) ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/18/bf/18bf29db-1cec-4857-a9dc-e2e94a86d2bf/content/images/2025/07/HP_vocab-2.jpg) ## Sign up for Keith Hayden | Digital Novelist I help aspiring authors publish their novel, memoir, or business expertise for authority and legacy. Subscribe Email sent! Check your inbox to complete your signup. No spam. Unsubscribe anytime. ### Creative branding, 2020s Remix, more URL: https://keithhayden.net/creative-branding-2020s-remix-more/ Last updated: 2025-07-27T21:45:21.000Z The debut of "Less Than Human" last week was a success! The video is racking up views and comments (mostly good ones for now). If you missed it you can check it out by tapping/clicking below. ## "Prompted Hearts" Updates A few weeks ago, I wrapped writing on the main narrative of the novel. From there I set out to write a side story focused on developing Kyoko's (Sam's ex-wife) story. The plan was to write a brief short story, and be done. Shouldn't have taken more than a week. Wellll, that didn't happen. What started as a short story, that was supposed to be exclusive the the physical releases of the novel, has evolved into what's on track to be a 20K+ addition. After a trip to Costco, watching a documentary about a romantic conman, digging into the exploding–fast growing—wearable technology market, and running into a local veteran comedian - I knew this was a story that deserved to be fleshed out. (*I promise all these things come together in an entertaining and somewhat tragic manner. You'll have to wait and see!*) So obviously that's taking longer to write than I anticipated. But I'm about 60% done with the first draft now. ## Ebook Status Next there's the formatting for the ebook. This is my most hated task of the entire publishing process, but it's an important one. **Here I have a surprise that I've *developed* that is sure to change the way you view fiction.** You'll also have to wait and see on that one ;) ## Join the Review Team Currently I'm searching for folks to join the book review team. Yes I know, you might have already read the entire draft as I sent it out. But those were drafts. Since then, I've made tweaks and tightened things. Plus reading the story all at once is different from experiencing it in serialized fashion. ## So if you're interested in getting a review copy, send me a reply to this email and you'll get it as soon as I complete the ebook draft. ## "Less Than Human" Remix!? That's right! I produced a 2020s version of "Less Than Human." This was meant to be a bonus track. One exclusively available after release of the book. But I liked it so much I decided to release it early. I didn't sing on this one, but I did produce it with a melancholy string countermelody, as well as add my voice in to make it mine. Great for rainy days and dark moods. Listen below. ## Brand Building Series As a creator who writes, raps, draws, and more it can be difficult to answer the question: *"What do you do?"* Even after hours and hours writing, making videos, posting on social, and everything else I do (including writing these emails), I noticed I'm still not seeing much movement as far as sales and engagement for *Prompted Hearts*. Why is that? One reason is lack of ***brand definition***. Simply put: based on what I put out and create, it's not immediately apparent what I do and how it's beneficial to you as a consumer. That's why I'm creating this mini-series. Through a collection of videos, you'll see me answering a battery of questions about HAC Studios as a brand. Hopefully, this encourages you to consider your own brand story. Or if you don't have a business, it makes you more aware of the background and origin of Hayden Academy Collective (HAC) Studios and what you can expect from it going forward. Watch the intro below. (And don't forget to sub so you get notified about future videos in the series.) ## Back to Japanese And finally, I'm back to reading "Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone" in Japanese. I've started the book over for what is (hopefully) the last time. They're pretty strict about sharing readings and text from the book online. But I do plan to do periodic updates on my progress. Check out the intro video on the page below. [ハリーポッターと賢者の石 (Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone) (Japanese)Reading![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/18/bf/18bf29db-1cec-4857-a9dc-e2e94a86d2bf/content/images/icon/HAC-Studios-Logo---Black-and-White--1--13.png)Keith Hayden | Digital NovelistKeith Hayden![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/18/bf/18bf29db-1cec-4857-a9dc-e2e94a86d2bf/content/images/thumbnail/Harry-Potter-and-the-Philosopher-s-Stone_JP.jpg)](https://keithhayden.net/harry-potter-and-the-philosophers-stone-japanese/) That's all for now! --- ## Word of the Day (Japanese) 活躍 (*katsu-yaku*) - to play an active role ### 1 hour until the premiere of "Less Than Human" URL: https://keithhayden.net/1-hour-until-the-premiere-of-less-than-human/ Last updated: 2025-07-24T22:00:51.000Z This is it. In about an hour, "Less Than Human" will release to the world. This will mark my first publicized release of a song and video. I'm ready for it. *Are you?* Hit the button to get notified when it goes live. [Take me to the premiere!](https://youtu.be/TwPdMlpQ7Zw?si=AOqOa3JqGHEpHKOA&ref=keithhayden.net) Oh and one more thing. There will be a private, post-premiere gathering in my Discord server following the event. It will begin at 4:15PM PST. You'll be able to ask questions and share initial reactions to the song and video. I'll also share some rare behind-the-scenes footage so you can see how it was made. :) ### Just hit the button below for access. Hope to see you there! [Go to the post-premiere party!](https://discord.gg/HH6cQCkn?event=1398062029155340388&ref=keithhayden.net) ### The Destruction of Black Civilization URL: https://keithhayden.net/the-destruction-of-black-civilization/ Last updated: 2025-07-22T23:47:24.000Z Revealing research about the ancient history of black civilization with a focus on Africa, not European colonial views (Last read: 2020) Started: 6 Jun 2025 Finished: 20 Jul 2025 The Destruction of Black Civilization (Post Read Thoughts) 0:00 /821.3 1× ## Transcript \[Speaker 1\] This is going to be my. My thought download of after finishing my second read of the destruction of black civilization? Um. I don't know if I'm gonna post this because this is probably not a book that most people will be interested in. Um, unless you're black, of course, which, um, probably most people that see me on YouTube are not black, so? Yeah, I'll probably just keep this on the page or something, but \[Speaker 1\] I remember the first time when I read this book for the first time. Five years ago. I didn't believe the stuff that was in it. Because he's talking about the subtitle is great issues of a race from 4 500 BC to 2000 A.D. Because he's talking about these ancient African civilizations that were, you know? Kind of this paradise in Utopia. Before. The beginning of history that well, the beginning of what most people today think of the beginning of History, which is of of civilized history. Which is basically like? Room. Rome tends to be the standard of. \[Speaker 1\] Of the beginning of like Western values and Democratic history, as we know today, but. And I, and I know in school. I don't know what most people got for history, their world history classes, but I remember, like Babylon, Mesopotamia. That's pretty much as far back and the concentration of History, you know, and I get that, you know? Mesopotamia. I was taught. Cradle of civilization. You know, early agriculture, that type of thing? But I never heard anything about Africa. I've never heard anything about that, and then you go further back. You know, they talk about the big periods, the the Ice Age, and all that stuff. But Africa is strangely. \[Speaker 1\] I never remember hearing about. Anything related to Africa. When I was a kid when it comes to world history. And so this book fills in that Gap in a pretty big way. And he goes all the way back to, you know? 4 500 BC, where these ancient African kingdoms? You know they had technology? They had a very organized Society. And his argument. Is his Central argument is? All these things kind of went away because of a lot of different reasons. The way that Africans govern themselves, and of course, foreign incursions. By Outsiders, people looking to exploit Africa for wealth and and just for profit, and that continued. \[Speaker 1\] Um, basically still continues to this day in 2025, it's pretty. Well, to think about that, but? Really for me as a black man. \[Speaker 1\] It's just a part of my history that. That, now that I've read it a second time, it's it's sunk in that. Yeah, this stuff was real. Like, you know, I confirmed it. I've looked it up outside of the book. And this guy, the author Chancellor Williams he spent I don't know. 15, 16 plus years traveling through Africa. This was back in the 1960s. Um, Gathering old records, and so the book is really well researched. And. Essentially, he comes down to the conclusion of, you know, we lack Unity. Um, as as a race. And this is why we've been conquered and exploited for for Generations now for Millennia. \[Speaker 1\] And it's a still big. It's still a big issue. Now, one of the things that really resonated with me still resonates is how? And he bluntly basically says. We trust. White people. We trust non-black people. More than we trust black people. And. I thought about that. And, you know, there's a lot of Truth in that, and I can only speak for myself in this. My experiences throughout my life? But um, I've been around for a while. And I have seen this. I have seen. Um. Other black people when I run into them. There's there's not, and I've talked to other people about this, too. There's not this instant, you know. Let me bring you up, you know? \[Speaker 1\] Most of the time. I'm, I'm tested in some way by other black people. Um, the test comes in various forms. But. It's not usually a friendly encounter, at least not initially, and sometimes it does become, you know, a friendly relationship. But there's always this. Is more than a sniff test. It's like a sniff, and uh, or why don't you go, you know, run around that block and and see, and we gonna see if? If you're worthy to? To be with us, that type of thing, and I experienced this in high school. I experienced this in college. \[Speaker 1\] And even throughout my professional life. It just. I don't know why. It's like this. I don't know why. It's like that, but this book provided some insights into. Just how, from the beginning? We've always as black people, you know, we. We split ourselves up first before. Even why Europeans could come in, um? Arabs could come in before all those people could come in. We were splitting ourselves up, um. And I love how he talks about the African Constitution and kind of the way things were to. Basically, it was written in the African Constitution that. If you were dissatisfied. \[Speaker 1\] With the way your community was running. You could just leave anytime. And go start your own. And I think this is a feature. I mean, I'm sure other. Civilizations and cultures have had this too, but I mean, I just think of Africa today. There are so many subgroups and languages, and you know, you just go over. You know, a couple dozen kilometers, and it's a completely different way of life. It's completely different, so I think I feel like in Africa. It's, it's more extreme than it is in other parts of the world. So, this was one of the early. \[Speaker 1\] Um. Challenges that we faced, and we've kind of continued that tradition I think of. I think of today, you know, I think of my life. Um. Where I've run into black groups, whether it's been in churches or in schools or in professional organizations and. I've just always personally had a hard time just. Just being there in a predominantly black space. \[Speaker 1\] You know, I mean, I'm black, I grew up. I didn't grow up in a black neighborhood and not really a black City, but there were black people around, you know, my, my immediate family, and I had a few friends, but? I've never really. Um. I don't know. I just don't gel well with that. With that space and and some people will say that to be like, oh, you know, you don't care about Black Culture, blah, blah, blah. No, I am black. I'm not trying to not be black. But at the same time. I'm, I just realized that throughout my life, I've had trouble. \[Speaker 1\] Um, relating and connecting to other black black people. Certainly black communities. I can't think outside of, like, my childhood church, where I grew up. I don't think. Voluntarily been a part of a predominantly. Group. That wasn't, like, you know, a classroom or something, which, even then, they weren't. They were never predominantly black, but I've never been a part of those. Of those organizations. I just don't feel welcome, and I see myself doing this too, you know, I have to be honest with myself. That I do see myself when I run into other black people. Kind of doing this. \[Speaker 1\] Doing the same thing they do to me. Which is questioning, you know, are they, you know, are they legit? Are they? Are they a safe bet and some of that is, you know, just my experiences that I've? Um. That I've dealt with, but. Uh, I don't know. So, I'm going to end this. Um. \[Speaker 1\] I'm going to end this, but um. All in all, it's a good read. It is a little bit dated, because in a good way, it's stated actually, because. I think this book was published in like 1975 or mid 70s or something like that. So good, almost 50 years ago, if not 50 years ago. And. The last chapters are him basically laying out a strategic plan to for us to come together as black people and foreign organizations, and to be able to stand in our own two feet, because that's. What he saw, you know, like throughout his research, was that we've always been divided. \[Speaker 1\] We've been divided by by deserts and climate and. \[Speaker 1\] We've divided it by external forces by slavery. By all these different things. But the biggest divider has been just us black people. It's been ourselves. And a lot of that is a legacy from slavery. I don't really like talking about slavery, not because of, like. Oh, it's so traumatic, or you know, it's so terrible, which it is those things, but? \[Speaker 1\] The story's been told, like, everybody knows about slavery. And that we, as black people got. The, the highest evolved form of slavery. You know they were slaves before black slaves, of course, but? \[Speaker 1\] I like to say we got slavery, like version five. We got the the last version of slavery, the most complete form of slavery as a human institution. Um, where it was based. It was already a business by the time black slavery becomes a thing. Um. \[Speaker 1\] By the time black slavery becomes a thing. Um. It's the 16th century or 17th century. Then, you know, there's always there's already been all these iterations of slavery, the whole infrastructure's there. The entire world is hungry for slave labor, and they just have all of these people here who. Already seem uncivilized, who don't really have their stuff together who are divided. Except for very few cases. And it was just too easy. And so, for the next 200, 250 plus years. It's, it's basically predominantly black slavery. And you know, here we are. Only. You know, a good 150 plus years removed. It's not a very long time. \[Speaker 1\] To drop those preconceptions about who we are as a people in the eyes of non-black people. So, I always say after reading something like this, you know, I've I've had the same mentality since I was a kid when it comes to? To race, and it's not something that I talk or write, or honestly, that I think about a lot. But. It's that you know. We have to pull ourselves up. We have to be the one. We can't wait for anybody else to to do it. For us, nobody's going to come and save us. We have to be the ones. \[Speaker 1\] To get ourselves in order, and this is precisely what the book basically what it ends on. And he's very extreme and kind of fire and brimstone when it comes to. His final line, but I think it's a really good final line. \[Speaker 1\] Is is kind of. Charge to us and the responsibility that we have to get our shit together as a race, he says. If we fail to accept this challenge at this critical turning point in our history. We will have proved ourselves Unworthy of having any descendants. And our very names should be forgotten by them. Or cursed by the furthest generation. \[Speaker 1\] Good book. ### A little off-key, but on point - "Less Than Human" in 2 days URL: https://keithhayden.net/less-than-human-in-2-days/ Last updated: 2025-07-22T16:00:15.000Z The premiere of "Less Than Human" is this **Thurs July 24th at 4PM PST**. Join for the debut of what's been called a "confident performance by an amateur singer" or a "very listenable song." The track is already an ear worm, looping on a few lips around the world. Join the fun at the link below! ### TODAY! Human x AI Music Video - Private Screening Begins at 5PM PST URL: https://keithhayden.net/today-human-x-ai-music-video-private-screening-begins-at-5pm-pst/ Last updated: 2025-07-18T22:42:11.000Z One hour till the screening begins! _This post is for subscribers only._ ### Secret Project Reveal | Part 1 - Lyrics URL: https://keithhayden.net/secret-project-part-one-lyrics/ Last updated: 2025-07-15T23:59:35.000Z Secret Project Details - Part 1 _This post is for subscribers only._ ### Scene 10 (Epilogue) | "Prompted Hearts" - Techno Romance Novel URL: https://keithhayden.net/scene-10-epilogue-prompted-hearts-techno-romance-novel/ Last updated: 2025-07-13T14:24:55.000Z Kyoko confesses the truth. _This post is for subscribers only._ ### Scene 9 (Final) | "Prompted Hearts - Techno Romance Short Novel URL: https://keithhayden.net/scene-9-final-prompted-hearts-techno-romance-short-novel-2/ Last updated: 2025-07-11T02:35:56.000Z Sam makes a final decision. _This post is for subscribers only._ ### Scene 8 | "Prompted Hearts" - Techno Romance Short Novel URL: https://keithhayden.net/scene-8-prompted-hearts-techno-romance-short-novel/ Last updated: 2025-07-07T23:51:36.000Z Sam discovers 'M''s secret. _This post is for subscribers only._ ### My America URL: https://keithhayden.net/my-america/ Last updated: 2025-07-04T13:06:43.000Z Lately a lot of people I know have been down on the U.S. The reasons why are obvious: leadership at the highest levels that appears to operate with lack of regard or care for the ideals have undergirded this nation for centuries, soaring costs of living, violent class divides and misaligned values in every form from age to gender to politics to pop culture fandom, major institutions and societal cornerstones (schools at all levels, churchs, communities etc.) are in general decay or decline, uncertainty around employment with recent tech innovations like AI - these are just a few of the issues that people I talk to, often friends and family, mention when they refer to "these times." ### The implicit message is: things are bad and I feel bad, angry, sad about it. ### America is horrible. Is it really, though? While I acknowledge that this country has seen better days as far as all of the above mentioned, I disagree that America is the ugly ogre sick and dying. The main reason being, those who are troubled by the times, still have the strength means and energy to complain, protest, debate, or even permanently leave the country. In a truly dying nation, people literally DIE, are forcibly removed from any resources to fight back, or they abandon everything to find a better, safer circumstance. Any form of resistance is useless against the collapsing walls of society. Just look at current headlines in Haiti, Sudan, Myanmar to get an idea of real failed societies. But that's not what I see here, in America, in 2025. I see protesters with Starbucks lattes in hand, hardcore gun-totting Trump supporters blasting a stereo from an $84,000 Texas-sized tricked out truck, Cybertruck drivers triple-parked complaining about the price of electricity while doomscrolling, teenagers railing about lack of opportunity wearing shiny new sneakers and fresh gear, folks of all walks of life who live on X or TikTok or Facebook with enough free time and mental energy to consume, contemplate, and participate in the latest internet scandal, my 65+ year old neighbor shuffling out to collect another package from Amazon delivered in under 24 hours. ### In other words, I see people at all stages of society, for the most part, having and doing what they want. If this is America in decline, we're in the biggest party to hell the world has ever seen. ## American promises 'America' means something different for everyone. But there's one way to define it I'd argue is universal among all Americans and even non-Americans. America is *promise*. Promise of protection. Promise of opportunity. Promise of bold pioneering performance. Promise of freedom from physical harm, freedom from fear. Has it lived up to these promises? Not always. The list of American-induced injustices (historical and contemporary), sneaky deals, bloody suppressions within and without borders of other sovereign nations' citizens, is long and well-known. We are not a perfect people. No place on the planet is. You know this. Yet somehow, when America gets it wrong, it feels big. Like you're 16 and your parents lied to you big. It's damaging no matter how rich or poor you are (or feel). I get that. I get the disappointment in this nation that *was* greater in many ways years ago. I get how quickly love of America can turn into loathing resentment, and eventually hate at how far it has fallen from premium to discount status. (I've personally seen this.) In fact, I'm pissed about it. About how things got this way, and how many in this country have been led to believe that suddenly this is a terrible place to live, raise families, work, play, or explore, just because of one election outcome. Because that's not what I see. That's not my America. ## My America Since the November 2024 election, I've met a lot of new people. I traveled home and abroad: Hawaii, Japan, Korea, Indonesia, East Timor. I've seen a lot of what I like and don't like about America and had other places to compare it to. In my travels, I've met entrepreneurs, diplomats, teachers, poets, and fellow veterans. Most are working, providing, moving to maintain what they've got or get a little more. They're good people. Could they have voted Trump or Harris? Probably. What does it matter now? ### Today it feels like moral superiority is the religion of the day. It doesn't matter your political view. What does matter is if your camp is most righteously beyond reproach. Those who disagree even slightly? Evil. EVIL! ### *Evil* (as defined by me) - the ultimate insult of 2025, often used by a member of an in group to refer to an outgroup whom or which shares opposing views or values ### Our secular society is propelled by undercurrents of Presbyterian, turned Christian, turned capitalist morals. The result? Finger-waving, and occasionally violent, action against pure evil. Talk to some, this is how they would define their existence in America today, *a heavenly struggle for good against pure evil and idiocy*. I don't deny that this is a regrettable part of the American identity. However, I also won't discount the reality I encounter on 97% of my days: good people, doing mostly good things, often enabled by American technology, opportunity, or pioneer/rebel attitude. That's my America. And in "these times", when other nations, the media (YouTube, social media) or Media (legacy media: Fox, CNN, Disney et. al), and even other Americans tell themselves the story of America Failing or America Collapsing, I listen with empathy, but I'll always steer them toward the other truth: You live in a place where you can (for the most part) do, be, feel, say, go where you want. Moreover, you live in a place where things *work*. (most of the time) The same can't be said for other countries. A Black kid from a middle-class Texas family, loses his dad at 16, still gets into a highly competitive military college, graduates, becomes a military officer - Special Agent, travels the world, finds "the one", marries her, comes under investigation, is cleared from wrongdoing, starts again as a freelance interpreter, fails, starts again as a teacher, moves, leaves education, starts a business, writes books, helps others do the same? Only in America. And that's just my story. I've benefited royally from America's underrated social fluidity technology. Outside of the U.S. Constitution (which was radically innovative at the time and laid the foundation for modern national organization around the globe), that's our greatest contribution to the world. Start out broke, get rich, lose it all, gain it back again through sweaty perseverance? Only in America. Try this in any other place on Earth, you'd be lucky to get anywhere in a single generation. It's not that these other country's aren't "free" in the American sense. It's that rigid social structures are designed to prevent that type of social movement from happening. This is how they maintain a more stable society. We don't believe in that here. We believe that if you have the skill, connections, and the cash money (gotta have the cash) you can design the life you want. That's my America. My America is the one that allows me to ignore the narratives being fed to me about how I should feel about America. Mine is the one that makes it easy and simple to communicate this message to you. My America is also the nasty, violent, unpredictable place that I recognize, but have the option not to stay in the hurt confusion. It's where I'm a single spoke in a wheel rolling toward the restoration of faith in critical institutions and the good people who keep them running. My America is me, you, and those others toiling in passionate quiet to keep the promise of a nation always on the brink of something extraordinary. My America, despite its black record, divisions, and missteps, is worth protecting and preserving. And no matter where I physically reside, my America is home. Happy 4th. \-Keith ### Scene 7 | "Prompted Hearts" - Techno Romance Short Novel URL: https://keithhayden.net/scene-7-prompted-hearts-techno-romance-short-novel/ Last updated: 2025-07-02T22:22:28.000Z Sam arrives in Okinawa hoping to reconnect with Kyoko. _This post is for subscribers only._ ### Scene 6 | "Prompted Hearts" - Techno Romance Short Novel URL: https://keithhayden.net/scene-6-prompted-hearts-techno-romance-short-novel/ Last updated: 2025-06-30T23:27:15.000Z Kyoko delivers a eulogy. _This post is for subscribers only._ ### Scene 5 | "Prompted Hearts" - Techno Romance Short Novel URL: https://keithhayden.net/scene-5-prompted-hearts-techno-romance-short-novel/ Last updated: 2025-06-27T20:49:55.000Z Sam has an explosive argument. Then seeks comfort from an unusual source. _This post is for subscribers only._ ### Scene 4 | "Prompted Hearts" - A Techno-Romance Short Novel URL: https://keithhayden.net/scene-4-prompted-hearts-a-techno-romance-short-novel/ Last updated: 2025-06-18T03:04:33.000Z Sam encounters trouble on his flight to San Francisco. _This post is for subscribers only._ ### Bust: why the weekend experiment died early URL: https://keithhayden.net/bust-why-the-weekend-experiment-died-early/ Last updated: 2025-06-14T13:22:24.000Z _No content available._ ### Weekend Project: Can We Make Audiobooks in 24 Hours? URL: https://keithhayden.net/make-audiobooks-in-24-hours/ Last updated: 2025-06-13T23:05:44.000Z Audio is awesome. Hearing words, music, or narration really elevates a story experience for me. It's also convenient. (You can't read a book while running a 5k.) But it has a major flaw. ### It's time consuming and expensive to produce. I should know. To create the 21+ hour-long, 67 episode audiodrama version of my debut novel *Cereus & Limnic* took 2 years. That's a long time to self-produce an unproven story (hard business lesson learned). The alternative would have been to pay for production. However, that's a problem too. ### A full audiobook can cost between $2,000 and $5,000 USD. Expensive! If you're like me, you probably don't have that kind of cash available for a single audiobook. That's why I'm building a tool to make this process much easier and cheaper. ## Weekend Experiment Starting **Friday night (**today**)** I’m putting on my “accidental software engineer” hat to see if I can build a **one-click audiobook maker**: 1. **Upload a DOCX** (short story, novella, or novel draft). 2. **Choose a voice** powered by ElevenLabs’ newest AI models. 3. Get an **ACX-ready MP3** in less than a day— no studio, no or tech expertise necessary. If the beta works and people love it, I’ll keep polishing. If it flops, you’ll still get a fun post-mortem about what broke. Either way, we all learn something. ### Why I Think It’s Worth Trying - I already know the **audio-post workflow** inside out; the pain is real. - ElevenLabs' AI voices have matured. They sound good enough that Audible *now allows* AI narration (with disclosure). And even I - despite being in love with my own voice - enjoy the relative convenience of converting my writing to audio. - Writers keep telling me, “I want an audiobook, but I don’t have the time or money.” This is the answer. ### How You Can Help - **Have a piece of writing that's right for an audiobook?** Add your email to the private wait-list by hitting the button below - You’ll get first dibs on the beta (English, ≤10 k words, single voice). - And you get to try it out for free while I prove the concept. [Join the waitlist](https://audiospeed.carrd.co/?ref=keithhayden.net) No hard sell—just an experiment to see if we can shave months off the audiobook grind. Hit reply if you have questions, horror stories from your own audio adventures, or feature wish-lists. I've never built a software product I meant to sell before. But I've been experimenting with AI so much for the last several years and beating around the bush about it that I figure it was time to see if I can use everything I've learned about code and business to build something that would be useful to you as a writer. We'll see how it goes. Talk soon, **Keith** [Join the waitlist](https://audiospeed.carrd.co/?ref=keithhayden.net) ### Scene 3 | "Prompted Hearts" - A Techno-Romance Short Novel URL: https://keithhayden.net/scene-3-prompted-hearts-a-techno-romance/ Last updated: 2025-06-13T12:46:13.000Z Sam's ex-wife makes a request. _This post is for subscribers only._ ### Scene 2 | Techno-Romance "Prompted Hearts" URL: https://keithhayden.net/scene-2-techno-romance-prompted-hearts/ Last updated: 2025-06-09T20:15:45.000Z Sam has a revealing first date. _This post is for subscribers only._ ### Infinite Jest URL: https://keithhayden.net/infinite-jest/ Last updated: 2025-06-05T22:27:00.000Z A large novel featuring various themes through a multitude of perspectives. Author: David Foster Wallace Started: 12 Jan Finished: 5 Jun (DNF at pg 843 out of 900-something) ## Book Reflections ## 16 Jan pg 118 - One thing I've noticed while going through this book is that my reading capacity has improved. This is a big deal. Since elementary school I've enjoyed reading. But I haven't "leveled up" with it in years. It's not just an advancement in the ability to cram words before my eyes. "Word load" is up. Line and page transitions (little speedbumps that frustrate the pace of any reader) put less drag on the process - road is paved smoother. Spot comprehension has increased. This is the ability to frack meaning below word level as I read without stopping to analyze or take breaks. Because of this, I'm liking *Infinite Jest* more and more. ## 15 Jan ### New words dasien (philosophical word) being there gibbous (astronomy - a lunar body that is between half full and full) *diffraction* (physics - spreading out or disruption of waves by an obstacle) *stelliformism* (star-shaped, focused on star-shaped) *isomorphic* (mathematics - two sets having the same corresponding structures or functions, comparison) *cui bono* (Latin - "who benefits?" - rhetorical principle suggesting the perpetrator is the beneficiary of some negative event (legal term) *ken* (English (of Scottish origin) - a range of knowledge or understanding) *decoct* (English - to extract the flavor or essence of something by boiling it down - used in herbal medicines) *les jeux pour-memes* (French - "the game of memes") *gestalt* \- (German - whole greater than sum of the parts - ref. art, graphic design, literature) pg 107 (Attachments) "Attachments are of great seriousness. Choose your attachments carefully. Choose your your temple of fanaticism with care." 104 pgs in. Just discovered the book has a crazy footnotes section in the back. "Notes and Errata" it's called, add 96 pgs of girth to book's load. There are whole substories in the rear - heavy. Already considering a re-read of this tome. --- One thing I'm really getting hammered in from reading this is how to describe characters through action. I do this already (in a more minimalist fashion) but Wallace is a master at this. He's great at presenting characters through dialogue and the smallest of foibles. There are some physical descriptions, but many have movement, more focusing on the character's view of the world and events occurring within. Noticeably absent are internal monologues. Most events play out in real time - present tense - as if being livestreamed and commentated upon as the characters "look in on themselves" in the world. The effect reality constructing so thorough, you could be sitting there with them. This is something any serious fiction writer should study, the unarrated omniscient POV that still feels limited by a single focused camera. ## 14 Jan 65 pages in. This book (while extremely attention-arresting to read) is wildly overrated. I suspected it would be. I told my wife it's like a painter who slings various shades of paint at a canvas, places it under gentle haloed light in a single gallery, sells tickets, and calls it "high-art." Much of the book so far is a collection of disjointed descriptions of characters in various predicaments. Some connect, others don't (at least not apparently.) The main "narrative" focuses on Hal at various stages of his life. He's a child prodigy who fell into drug-abuse. Many of the scenes describe his paranoia and neuroticism during phases of addiction (which is a major theme of the book.) Much of the book is written with pretentious prose with Wallace using words like "homolosine-cartography" and "reglet" for color, but often little meaning. These are deliberate choices meant frustrate average readers and elevate himself. Then of course there's pg 37: a scene that even nearly 30 years ago when it was published would have been viewed outside of literary elite circles - where such inclusions seem to matter little - as racist, minimizing, and cringeworthy. This is where Wallace imitates a Black ghetto girl's thoughts about an abusive partner and an overall fucked up situation among her mother and other players. Read it for yourself: ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/18/bf/18bf29db-1cec-4857-a9dc-e2e94a86d2bf/content/images/2025/01/PXL_20250114_135137574.jpg) ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/18/bf/18bf29db-1cec-4857-a9dc-e2e94a86d2bf/content/images/2025/01/PXL_20250114_135150547.jpg) This scene is a spectrum of paint splashed on a white wall. Why was it included? How could others read it and still consider this man some sort of literary genius? I'm no social justice warrior. You'll never find me race-baiting or shaming others to behave a certain way toward me because I'm Black, but this is bullshit. However, I don't blame Wallace for his odd choice to include such a worthless scene in his book. I blame the society that deified his writing. This was clearly an author who was bred to not just be a writer, but a *good* writer, perhaps even a famous one. He achieved both in his relatively short life. But to what end? Struggling with addiction his entire life (he was in and out of rehab through several periods) and his eventual demise at his own hand - it's clear Wallace fought a never-ending battle with the various demons. Fame - as much as being a fiction writer could grant -, pressure of brilliance, burden of genius, society's ever-watchful eyes, his own (probably) impossible standards: I assume all of these things drove him often to chemical remedy. *Infinite Jest* reads like an autobiographical window into Wallace's cynical sight of his advantaged life. All criticisms aside, I'm still reading. Main reason is the book is *fun*. The characters are colorful, some of the writing is funny (though not as comical as advertised), and the writing is excellent. Even the most pedestrian sentences have a flair of intrigue. He does this through a combination of word choice, rhythms, alliteration, and other insane self-styled mechanics most modern editors would wring their hands and go complain on Threads over. In that respect, **Wallace is the Eminem of fiction writing.** He was good and he knew it. As a novelist, I'm lung-deep high on his vapors, absorbing (passively and actively) word clouds. Though the book is no masterpiece, it doesn't matter, I'll smoke the roach to the tip. I doubt Wallace would have considered it so great. For he rails against the technology obsessed, pop culture-ruled social order constantly here. The same structure that led his to early addiction and death. Hard to deny the irony. ## 13 Jan There are too many good sentences to highlight or underline. Just have to enjoy the ride ## 15 Apr - pgs 550 - 552 cathexis | incomplete public school career | ### The next evolution of creator collaboration (from the past) URL: https://keithhayden.net/the-next-evolution-of-creator-collaboration/ Last updated: 2025-06-05T12:41:28.000Z HAC Studios will become a modern guild. Here's why. - **Collaboration beats isolation:** Mentoring a junior editor has shown me how regular feedback and shared insight accelerate creative growth far more than working solo. - **Proven historical model:** Medieval guilds delivered mentorship, education, and collective bargaining power—exactly the support modern creators still lack. - **Focus on core craft:** A guild redistributes marketing, design, and admin tasks so members (you) can spend more time writing, drawing, composing, etc., instead of juggling everything alone. - **Shared, sustainable income:** Revenue‑sharing inside the guild replaces today’s precarious “digital alms” (Patreon, Kickstarter) with a fair, built‑in compensation structure. - **Structured skill growth:** In‑house experts teach specialized skills (video, design, advertising, etc.) so members don’t waste years piecing together learning paths on their own. - **Guaranteed human audience:** Daily interaction with fellow guild members provides the psychological boost of knowing real people will read, watch, or listen—without breaking through an algorithm layer all social platforms have. - **Community and protection:** A formal collective offers legal/financial backing and the emotional stability of belonging to something bigger than oneself. - **AI as helper, not replacement:** The guild will use AI to offload menial chores and enhance mentorship while keeping human connection at the center. - **Defending authenticity:** As AI‑generated content floods the internet, a human‑first guild keeps creators collectively discoverable and preserves genuine voices. - **Mission alignment:** Transforming HAC Studios into a guild unites like‑minded creatives, pools resources, and helps everyone thrive in an AI‑dominated era. Would you join? Let me know in a reply. ### Ch. 8 Strategy Meeting | "Cereus & Limnic" URL: https://keithhayden.net/ch-8-strategy-meeting-cereus-limnic/ Last updated: 2025-06-04T21:03:18.000Z *Written by Keith Hayden* *Edited by Fiona Adair* ## Video Version # Chapter 8: Strategy Meeting Rodan knew he should close the browser, but his scattered thoughts wouldn’t allow it. *Research, I’m doing research.* Words he repeated to convince himself of his work ethic and commitment to detail. The sustained half-truth made him feel better about how he had spent the last fifteen minutes. Seated at his desk, in his battered dark blue suit pants, with white dress shirt and midnight blue necktie, he recalled his younger days as an eager and idealistic beat cop in the Sacramento Police Department. Serving as a police officer in the city that raised him was a great honor, and prepared him for his current role as Director of Operations in his small liaison office for the organization. In those days, he was fresh off of his first and final enlistment in the U.S. Army, and was keen to commence with the next chapter of his life. After four years of drudgery and ‘*embracing the suck*’, he returned to his beloved hometown, and filled out a job application to become a cop the day after his plane landed. Nine months later, he was standing on the corner of Grant Avenue and Marysville Boulevard. He stood on that corner, gun on hip, lean and trim. Clothed in a crisp uniform, a shining seven-pointed gold star badge over his heart, he observed traffic with gleaming eyes. He had been fortunate to be assigned to North Command, District 2, Beat A. The location of his alma mater Grant Union High School (Go Pacers!). He beamed with pride on that day and every day he was on the job. Back then, he embodied service for others over himself, often volunteering to take on extra duties or shifts to cover for his peers or to just become a better cop. His fellow squadmates called him ‘*Brain*’ because he always seemed to know random details about certain parts of the city, and would recite them to others even if unsolicited. His knack for taking in knowledge was only rivaled by his steadfast commitment to serving and protecting his community, a neighborhood notorious for crime and drugs. In 2045, after a two-week period of non-stop rain, the neighborhood had been flooded. Schools were closed. The elderly, confined to their homes due to limited mobility, died. Hundreds lost their jobs or businesses overnight. Officer Mitchell viewed the scene with sorrowful eyes and a heavy heart. So moved was he by the scale of the tragedy, and his unfailing obligation to *all* things greater than himself; he immediately leapt into action. He volunteered to lead a recovery effort that spring, mobilizing hundreds of hands within the local area, and coordinating outside agencies to assist with flood relief, even going as far to establish and head a food bank for needy families from within his dear Grant High. He had no idea how many lives he impacted or saved as a result of his effort during that and other similar emergency situations throughout his first three years of active service. Little did he know, someone was watching. Li Ma had heard about his herculean endeavor to lift his beleaguered community up following a series of disasters, and as a result, had scouted him from afar, for an unknown amount of time (Li still would not tell him for how long specifically). Eventually, when he approached young Rodan, he told him he was destined for bigger things. Things that would not only help his community, but potentially help move the whole of *humanity* and *society* to a better place. Always called to serve at the highest level possible, with great hesitation, Rodan turned in his badge, and joined the ranks of Cereus shortly afterward. Sitting there at his desk, his thoughts in a jumble concerning the roaring protest outside, and his closest colleague caught up in it, sometimes he wondered what happened to that slender youth. What happened over the years that had weakened his once fantastic brain’s ability to absorb, store, and arrange data? *Was it early onset dementia?* *Had he burned himself out too early in life?* On some days he worried he had been so focused on stacking disparate factoids and tidbits of information in the open space of his brain, that he had neglected any organization of the vast storage closet that was his mind, leaving a disordered collection of unusable litter. He was the equivalent of a sedentary hoarder—obese, confined to his home. Trapped, among piles and piles of once useful things. A prisoner of memory, who had no idea where to begin how to dig himself out from among the clutter. Staring at his computer, these were the thoughts that entered his mind. *Maybe this was my fate all along.* Like many of his work tangents, his search began with purpose. He had been researching possible weaknesses in the perimeter of the California capitol building. He worried about the security of the old building, hoping to find valuable information about how to protect it and its occupants should the protest outside penetrate into the building. *How did I fuck up the intel report?* After fifteen minutes he had learned various details about the ancient government building. Among them, novel tidbits he had never known, and would probably never remember. *Began construction 1861,…granite archways…something, something, something…Corinthian columns…ooh!* *Something about the American Civil War…lead architect was accused of being a Southern sympathizer…Reuben Clark…oh shit!…died in an insane asylum in Stockton, California in 1868\.* Only the last detail planted roots in the hard earth of his mind. The others were washed away by the rising tide of tasks he needed to complete, flooding his overwhelmed brain like spring rains inundating a wheat field. Rodan contemplated Clark’s tragic end as he stared at the sea of papers and electronic document readers on his desk. *I might go insane if I can’t unfuck this.* Unable to focus on his original objective, he abandoned it for a more attainable one. Find the previous year’s report and hope he included details about building security in it. After another ten minutes of rummaging, he still couldn’t locate the intelligence report. *Dammit, I thought sure it was here.* He slid open a file cabinet to his right only to find documents for the previous year that he had yet to organize, file, and digitize. He knew he should clean and arrange, but it always felt like there were more pressing matters at hand. This time was no exception. A ring from his desk phone interrupted his search and his thoughts. He flinched, then hit his forearm on the side of the metal shelf. *Son of a—!* He shut his eyes and let the throbbing pain dissipate, then reached for the receiver, arm still stinging with pain. ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/18/bf/18bf29db-1cec-4857-a9dc-e2e94a86d2bf/content/images/2025/06/Ch.-8---Strategy-Meeting---Cereus---Limnic-Quote-Card--1080-x-1920-px-.png) “Yeah.” “It’s me. I’m at the conference table. Can you come over?” It was Li. He didn’t sound like he had just navigated his way through a violent protest. *Damn him.* *Why does he have to make everything look so easy?* Rodan stood, adjusted his tie around his bulging neck, and his pants around his curved belly. For some reason he felt the need to up his game whenever Li was around, even though he knew his glory days of youthful physical prowess and presentation were long behind him. The meeting room was so small that an old oak conference table consumed most of the room, leaving only small aisles between the wall and the chairs at the table. Navigating the skinny walkway took sliding effort. At a towering 230-pounds, Rodan squeezed, while the svelte Li was able to spend hours reviewing files and even conducting liaison meetings in the space. Despite his physical discomfort, their small liaison office in the state capitol had become a home away from home after all of the time they had spent there together. When he entered the room, Li stood behind the chair closest to the left of the head of the table, his eyes rapidly scanning electronic documents on his device. Rodan cleared his throat loudly to get his attention. “You made it.” Rodan made no attempt to conceal a playful tone. Li diverted his attention from his electronic documents and grinned. “I did. What was my time?” “Looks like that lunch will have to wait for another day.” Rodan laughed. The small smile that wrinkled Li’s face was quickly replaced by a straight line of seriousness. “I’m looking for any messages that I received concerning today’s protest. You find anything in the old intel reports?” Rodan placed his giant hands on the back of a chair for support, feigning casualness. “Nothing yet. Still working on it.” Li flashed him a disapproving eye. Rodan pivoted to change the subject. “I just got word that the local cops are breaking it up already…with the help of local mercs of course.” “That’s good to know.” Li straightened his posture and rotated himself toward Rodan, displaying a hint of puzzlement that made him look even older. “Which mercs?” “They were mostly the Hornets from South Sac, mixed in with a few of the Fighters from Folsom.” Rodan chuckled. “The Fighters aren’t the strongest, but they’ve got some of the most advanced warrior bots in town to do the dying for them.” Li mouthed a laugh, but no sound came out. He knew Rodan was right, but it still did little to calm the voice of his instinct that blared with sustained intensity as it had the entire morning. “The Terminator and his crew didn’t show up?” Rodan’s eyes sank toward the floor. “Not that I know of. I wonder what’s up with him…he’s usually one of the biggest supporters of the local cops.” A pensive expression dominated Li’s face. In all the years Rodan had known him, that face usually meant that some revelation was dawning in his mind that would be beneficial for both of them. Though technically they were both equal in position and pay, Li’s experience and strategic brain made him the de facto boss. The producer and approver of most ideas their small detachment came up with, and ultimately followed through on. “What are you thinkin’? Is it possible that The Terminator, his boys and bots had something to do with this?” “Exactly. Otherwise, why wouldn’t he show? He never misses an opportunity to flex his muscles or his machines.” “There’s only one way to find out.” Rodan reached in his pocket, produced an old smartphone with a visibly cracked screen, then extended it toward Li. Smartphones were outdated tech, but they were much safer to use when communicating with potentially untrustworthy sources. Li gazed at the phone suspended in Rodan’s hand. Hesitating, as if an invisible force had frozen him in place. “…We said we wouldn’t use that unless it was an emergency…” Despite the rising impatience that he noted in his long-time colleague’s mannerisms, his doubt about whether to use the phone or not lingered in the air between them. “Just make the damn call.” Reluctantly, he sighed deeply, took the phone, and said, “If we’re wrong about this, it could endanger and possibly burn one of our best sources.” “C’mon Li, with silence from HQ after giving the order and a violent protest right on our doorstep, I’d say this qualifies as an emergency.” Li knew he was right, yet his instinct continued to silently tap him on the shoulder from the shadows of his mind. The Terminator had only been on the books for six months and in that brief period of time had been one of his most productive sources of information in the city. His network and clout extended all the way down to San Francisco, the surrounding Bay area, then up to as far north as the comvil in Chico. He and others like him were a big reason why the deconstructionist philosophy of Cereus had been able to survive against the daunting pressure of the old world after all these decades. It had garnered them major land and property acquisitions, which were then repurposed for practical needs like housing, community work centers, or social venues. In addition to land conversion, it also prevented old world companies from demolishing dilapidated structures and building anew on the same land. Many of the people protesting outside held this as their principal grievance. The term ‘deconstructionist’ was something of a misnomer. It did not mean tearing things down, so much as it meant preventing the need to erect more structures for the sake of incessant old-world economic expansion. Information from sources like The Terminator had helped move deconstructionism from the philosophical realm to the real world. But he wasn’t always the easiest or cheapest person to work with. *I wonder what we’ll have to pay this time?* Li thought as he keyed in numbers on the smudged screen of the smartphone. The familiar tone of a ringing phone tingled in his ear. It rang once…twice…three times. *No response*. On the fourth ring, a deep voice that sounded as if it was being passed through a metal filter answered the phone. “Hello?” “I could go for some Thai food today. How about you?” Li’s voice came out clearer than he expected, fighting mounting nervousness. “Sorry…you must have the wrong number. I’m not hungry today.” The canned voice dragged his words, then abruptly ended the call. Rodan watched Li, unaware that he was holding his breath. He noticed that his old friend looked physically sick after he removed the phone from his ear. “Well? What’d he say?” Li looked up from the phone with sagging shoulders. A betrayal of his usual erect posture. “I think our source has been compromised.” --- ## Announcement ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/18/bf/18bf29db-1cec-4857-a9dc-e2e94a86d2bf/content/images/2025/06/Summer-Reading-and-Writing-Challenge-2025-1.png) The HAC Studios Summer Reading and Writing Challenge is ongoing. Come join the fun to complete that book or story today! [Pages and words await | Join the Summer 2025 Reading and Writing ChallengeJune 1 – July 31 • 60 days of pages and prose![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/18/bf/18bf29db-1cec-4857-a9dc-e2e94a86d2bf/content/images/icon/HAC-Studios-Logo---Black-and-White--1--8.png)HAC StudiosKeith Hayden![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/18/bf/18bf29db-1cec-4857-a9dc-e2e94a86d2bf/content/images/thumbnail/Summer-Reading-and-Writing-Challenge-2025-2.png)](https://keithhayden.net/pages-and-words-await-join-the-summer-2025-reading-and-writing-challenge/) ### Scene 1 - "Prompted Hearts" | A Techno-Romance Novella URL: https://keithhayden.net/prompted-hearts-a-techno-romance-novella-scene-1/ Last updated: 2025-06-04T13:46:17.000Z A celebrity doctor must choose between his returning ex‑wife and a mesmerizing new lover who might not be human. _This post is for subscribers only._ ### The Summer Reading + Writing Challenge Begins! URL: https://keithhayden.net/the-summer-reading-writing-challenge-begins/ Last updated: 2025-06-02T01:38:54.000Z Welcome to the HAC Studios 2025 - Summer Reading and Writing Challenge! Beginning today, your goal is to read and/or write as much as possible until July 31. Begin by entering your information in the form below. [Begin the challenge](https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSejVHa4pTC9ZaZrs6aEs4T2AOQrRTJFzi69OyN54hocPJ-YXg/viewform?usp=header&ref=keithhayden.net) You can now access the live leaderboards at the link below. Use it to track your progress at least once a week. [Summer 2025 Reading & Writing Challenge - Progress Tracking and LeaderboardsI write original stories for and with you.![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/18/bf/18bf29db-1cec-4857-a9dc-e2e94a86d2bf/content/images/icon/HAC-Studios-Logo---Black-and-White--1--6.png)HAC StudiosKeith Hayden![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/18/bf/18bf29db-1cec-4857-a9dc-e2e94a86d2bf/content/images/thumbnail/Summer-Reading-and-Writing-Challenge-2025-1.png)](https://keithhayden.net/summer-2025-reading-writing-challenge-progress-tracking-and-leaderboards/) If you know anyone who needs or wants to read or write this summer, share this message with them! That's all for now. Good luck with the challenge! \-Keith ### Pages and words await | Join the Summer 2025 Reading and Writing Challenge URL: https://keithhayden.net/pages-and-words-await-join-the-summer-2025-reading-and-writing-challenge/ Last updated: 2025-05-28T17:02:52.000Z ### *Intro video* It's summer time again. And one of my favorite parts of summer when I was a kid was having time to read assigned books for the next school year. Well, I'm bringing that back, but with a twist. This year writing is on the menu for me. So I thought I'd invite you along to join this sixty day summer reading and writing challenge. --- ## How it works ### Step 1: Pick a track There are 4 tracks to choose from: - Reader - Writer (Traditional) - Faibulizer (AI Writing) - Dual Track (Reader + Writer) ### Step 2: Set a daily goal **Readers** \- Set a page or percentage count to read **Writers + Faibulizers** \- Set a word count to write or faibulize (Yes, editing and rewriting counts) ### Step 3: Log weekly progress Every Sunday night during the challenge, complete the form to track your progress. Why track your progress? To be eligible for prizes! > **Faibulizer logging tip** > Count only the words that make it into your manuscript—edited or not. Words you generated, but did use or keep don't count! --- ## Prizes There will be prizes for those who are serious about reading and writing this summer. ### Top Reader *Gates of Okinawa — Deluxe Set*: a signed A+ Edition hardcover, the retro‑soundtrack USB, and the complete audiobook. ### Top Writer (Traditional) A full story edit **plus** a 30‑minute one‑on‑one craft consultation. ### Top Faibulizer (AI Writing) **Hybrid Editorial Assessment**—AI‑artifact audit and craft critique—**plus** a personalized 30‑minute video walkthrough of the feedback. ### Top Dual‑Track Guest appearance on *The Digital Novelist* podcast, a 60‑minute one‑on‑one feedback session, a complete story edit, and a signed hardcover of *Gates of Okinawa*. If the prizes weren't enough, there's even more incentive to participate. --- ## Community + Accountability Another incentive to put this on is to interact with you and other passionate readers and writers. ### To that end, the plan is to host occasional meetups in the HAC Studios Discord server. Right now I'm planning on a bi-weekly cadence, but if there's interest I don't mind doing it weekly. There you can discuss what you're reading or writing, meet other participants, or just hang out and listen. Also, I'll be participating in the challenge. Once a week, I'll share my reading and writing progress as well as the top three participants in each category to keep you motivated. Submit your numbers weekly by Sunday night to have yours counted. Use the **#HACSummer2025** for shout-outs on socials. You'll also have access to challenge leaderboards to see where you stack up! ## Key dates ### May 28 Sign‑ups open. ### June 1 Kick‑off email sent and first logging link delivered. ### Every other Friday Community hangout on Discord. ### July 31 Deadline to submit final log entries. ### August 4 Winners announced. --- ## Ready to read or write? It’s 100 % free—your only expense is the pages you’ll turn and the stories you write. **JOIN THE CHALLENGE TODAY!** [I want to join!](https://keithhayden.net/#/portal/signup?tag=summer-challenge) --- ## Challenge FAQ ### **Q: Do I have to read or write something specific?** A: No. Any book or project counts. For reading, pick what gets and keeps you reading. If you're writing, dust off an existing project or start a new one. ### **Q: What if I fall behind?** A: Life happens. When it does adjust your goal, but keep participating if you can. Consistency beats perfection. ### **Q: How big can my submission be if I win a writing category?** A: I'll accept up to 10 k words. If it's longer, we’ll focus on the section you most want reviewed. ### **Q: Why separate AI from traditional writing?** A: AI is a valid tool for storytelling. But it's different from traditionally human drafted writing. Tracking it separately keeps things fair and allows faibulizers to hone skills unique to crafting narratives with LLMs. ### **Q: What counts as faibulized (AI‑assisted) words?** A: Any words that originated from an AI system—even if you later revised them. Count only the words that make it into your working manuscript. ### **Q: The challenge already started! Can I still join?** A: Yes! The greatest prize is reading and writing more. --- ### Summer 2025 will be the season you close chapters, finish drafts, and level‑up your craft—whether by pen, keyboard, or with AI. I look forward to seeing you in the challenge. **See you on the leaderboard!** [I want to join!](https://keithhayden.net/#/portal/signup?tag=summer-challenge) ### Why "Sinners" will be studied in the future URL: https://keithhayden.net/why-sinners-will-be-studied-in-the-future/ Last updated: 2025-05-28T11:59:07.000Z Why Sinners 2025 is a Modern Day Classic 0:00 /891.742 1× ## AI Summary Modern Classic: Sinners Review Sinners is a modern-day classic. Directed by Ryan Coogler and starring Michael B. Jordan, this film left my wife and me in awe. We both agreed it was the best original movie we've seen in years, certainly the most memorable. As someone who tells stories across various mediums, I've developed an eye for how films are crafted. Sinners excels in so many areas. The film defies easy classification. Is it a drama? A historical piece? On the surface, it's a historical drama about two brothers returning to Mississippi in the 1930s after making it big in Chicago. They've found success and wealth but also entangled themselves with dangerous connections. I won't spoil the plot because I want you to experience it yourself, but there's so much more to this story. Supernatural elements weave through the narrative alongside romance, coming-of-age moments, and action scenes. Music plays a surprisingly significant role, almost making it feel like a musical without the Broadway flair. The integration of music into the storytelling is masterful—the best use of music outside of a musical that I've seen in a long time. What truly stands out are the characters. Each one, even minor roles, is crafted with care and brought to life by talented actors. The writing is superb, avoiding the pitfalls that often trap genre-blending films. Given its setting in 1930s Mississippi, the film could have easily fallen into a repetitive narrative about racial trauma. Instead, it acknowledges these elements without dwelling on them excessively. Sinners seamlessly incorporates diverse characters without feeling forced or preachy. Haley Steinfeld shines as a complex character connected to the brothers, and there's even a Chinese couple who play significant secondary roles. The film handles diversity naturally, avoiding the pitfalls of modern woke cinema that often feels contrived. A poignant line from Steinfeld's character captures this essence perfectly: when asked about her identity, she simply replies, I'm a human being. It's a powerful moment that underscores the film's approach to diversity—authentic and unforced. Watching Sinners was a refreshing experience. My wife and I rarely go to theaters due to high prices—$10 for a small bag of popcorn! But this film was worth every penny. It was heartening to see an original movie amidst a sea of sequels and reboots dominating Hollywood. Sinners stands out as a completely original work with no ties to existing IPs or plans for cinematic universes. It's a tight, standalone story told with an indie spirit but executed flawlessly. Mark my words: in 5, 15, or 20 years, film students will study Sinners as part of classic movie canon. If you haven't seen it yet, do yourself a favor and watch Sinners. It's already cemented itself as a modern-day classic in my mind—a truly remarkable film that deserves all its accolades. --- Original Transcript Sinners is a modern day classic. I'm just putting it out there right now. I saw the film directed by Ryan Coogler starring Michael B. Jordan last night and my wife and I agreed that this movie was probably the best original movie I've seen in years. Certainly the most memorable. Now that I'm telling my own stories in many different mediums including I've been studying and training this eye for how films are made, how good films, TV shows, how the visual medium that has been with me my entire life, the building blocks of it. Sinners does so many great things well. But it's a bit of an odd movie because it's not very easy to classify and lump it into a category. I mean is it drama? Is it historical? On the surface it's a historical drama about these two brothers that move back to home to Mississippi in 1930s Mississippi after having lived in Chicago making it big for some time. But then they've clearly made it big and made some money. But then they've made some ill-fit connections. I won't spoil the movie because I really really want if you're listening to this I really really want you to watch it and you'll see. But yeah, they come back home and that's basically the plot. But then there's other elements as well. There's supernatural elements. There's romance that's in there. You've got this kind of little coming of age story that's tucked in there. There's action. There's a good amount of action beats in there. There's music. There's a surprising music is a huge hugely important part of the movie. So it kind of comes off as a musical even though it's not like Broadway style or anything like that. But the way they do it is weave it into the storytelling. I feel like it's just the best use of music outside of a musical that I've seen in a long time. And as you can tell there's a lot of things to this movie. But what I loved was that the reason one of the reasons it was so strong was the characters. They never lost the I was gonna say the cliche they never lost the plot when it came to the characters. They just every character just had even minor characters had love poured into them. The actor, actress that portrayed them was very good. The writing, the script was amazing and everything just clicked and worked. I was telling my wife I feel like this movie avoided all of the dangers that it could have fallen into with every genre that it touched. I mean and when you have a kind of hybrid style movie like this it's easy to get mucked up in just certain things that each each genre you could get trapped in. If you go too historical because of course it takes place in Mississippi 1930s. So there's the Ku Klux Klan is a big part of that. And of course it's a Ryan Coogler black director. Of course Michael B. Jordan black actor. So this is something that I am very sensitive to as a black guy that if it's set in this kind of historical American setting here we go with another you know Jim Crow slave narrative. And I worry about that because I just and I've talked about this before how you know I appreciate these movies and I think it's important to learn the history and understand what happened but we need to tell new stories. Like everybody knows these stories about American black people around the world and we don't need another movie like painstakingly dragging us through the trauma of of random lynchings and and racism and all this stuff segregation all the all the horrible stuff. And it's not just me saying I don't want to see that or whatever it's just it's it's really just boring to me at this point. And of course I know I'm a little bit older so I know if you're younger maybe you haven't been exposed to as much of this but I've been exposed to it a lot and I'm kind of tired of sick of seeing it in movies. But I'm gonna say Sinners doesn't do that it doesn't dwell too much it's an important part of the plot and it's important part of the world world building of course. But it doesn't stay there and with every other part of the movie you know when it comes to the music it it brings it in kind of seamlessly you don't even really know what's happening and then before you can kind of really appreciate it let alone get tired of it it's gone it's on it's moved on to a new beat. So I imagine this is a danger when this movie was coming out because it's like what is this movie what is Sinners? And in in my view as a fellow storyteller it is it's it is is exactly the name is of the movies important and it's a story about about redemption it's a story about new beginnings and and faith and love is in there too. It's just really this this beautiful encapsulation of the human experience and I wasn't expecting that coming into this movie and we saw it late by the way like we saw it at the end this is the end of May 2025 when I'm recording this and I want to say movie came out in April at least came out early April or maybe even late March it's been a couple of months maybe a month going on two months and theater was still like fairly populated there was a good dozen or so of us in there watching the movie and it's been a long time I remember watching movies when I was younger and people talking about the movie having this type of first-time experience with it and people got vocal when they're watching this certain movies it was like that with Sinners last night even with a small crowd and so I was like this is pretty cool like I feel like that's the magic of a good movie like in the classic sense is that it really brings a lot of people together at the same time because there's there's just not as many instances with we're experiencing the same thing at the same time it's those have kind of gone away and so to have a movie like Sinners kind of bring that back it just felt great yeah and then as somebody who writes this these types of stories I write my stories are kind of like this too to where I'll bring in historical elements I bring in cultural elements from other languages other words characters tend to be that was another thing that it did well the cast was diverse but not annoyingly diverse like they they do what I do in my stories they it's the it's Mississippi in the 1930s and they've got a white woman that's connected to the to the brothers somehow and she's played by Haley Steinfeld and I thought she did an amazing job as kind of this this she's kind of a little seductress in in this movie and she did great with it they also have this Chinese couple who's there and they're you know they're prominent minor secondary characters but I feel like if this was a different style of movie a more like modern I'll use the W term since everybody knows at this point them a more woke type of movie then they they just would have done it in a more obnoxious way I think that's the thing that modern movies they do this thing where they they they have to shove it in your face like this cast is diverse and we've got a woman here we've got a man where there should be a woman we've got a black person where there should be a white person normally when people think about this and sinners didn't do that it just kind of there's there's actually a good line where one of the the main characters as Haley Steinfeld he's like what are you and she says I'm a human being and then you know they kind of have an awkward beat and then she clarifies she's like yeah I know what you mean and then she explains kind of her ethnic heritage but that was the extent of that and I thought that was a great line actually I think that's just to have a line like that says everything you need to say about the heart of diversity right not shoving it down people's throats and forcing this and race swapping certain characters and all this stuff like classic characters but these of course are original characters but I feel like it the bottom line is I feel like it did it in a very cool way a way that I would do it actually just people are human that's it and it doesn't make sense to have everybody be the same place even in a setting like this where it's you know 1930s Mississippi most people in that era an area of America were black but I'm sure there was other people non-black people too and their work of course it was white people there but I mean we have this kind of mixing I thought I thought it was really well done yeah I was just I was blown away and it was another thing that was refreshing about it was as we went to the theater because you know just like most people these days we don't go to the theater that often it's pretty expensive to go I mean a small bag of popcorn was 10 bucks y'all 10 that it's Wow I can get a box of 16 packs of popcorn for maybe $4 at the store it pop it myself and enjoy it yeah we've gotten to a wacky land prices for these movies but as I was walking down to our theater I was looking I was look at you know what are the upcoming movies and you know because I just don't keep up with movies in general and I want to say eight out of ten the movies were sequels or reboots or or you know all the the reese the rerun of older movies existing movies that have come out very few original movies and this is actually something that I commented on in my first novel but yeah we're in that's the way most Hollywood movies are so to see a movie like sinners that is completely original there's no IP there doesn't look like plans to build a cinematic universe or any bullshit like that it's just a standalone as far as I know a standalone movie and it was meant to be that way to really tell a tight story because I think that's the other thing that we suffer with sequel itis and cinematic universe itis is that when studios plan to build like an expansive list of because they see what Marvel did over the past decade and a half and everybody wants to replicate that but the problem is it it has them spread their stories out like they don't give all of their best stuff because they're they're setting things up and and they're doing what Marvel did which you know to be fair to Marvel they get a lot of hate but in the beginning every movie was actually pretty good Iron Man Thor most Captain America first Avenger most of the first movies in each franchise were actually good movies standalone movies and of course the quality dipped after a while but I think that's what happens when you plan for this kind of expensive catalog but it was great to see sinners come up and be like nope we're just gonna tell a really really solid single movie story and in do it in a very Archie kind of Indy ish way it feels very kind of Indy ish like Indy movie but man they pulled it off and I was just super happy that it's done so well and that it's it's such good quality mark my words in 5 15 20 years film students will be studying sinners in 2025 I feel like it will enter the classic movie canon and it's already there in my mind a modern-day classic as they say sinners you should definitely check it out if you haven't seen it ### I invented a word URL: https://keithhayden.net/what-does-faibulize-mean/ Last updated: 2025-05-24T15:18:26.000Z ## What does it mean to "faibulize"? **faibulize** (2025) *verb* \\ ˈfā‑byü‑ˌlīz \\ *faibulized; faibulizing* ### **Definition** : *to create narrative text with the aid of an artificial‑intelligence system* ### Example *The studio faibulized the game’s script in a single weekend sprint.* *Where's Judy? She's faibulizing a novel in her office.* *He says he doesn't write anymore, he faibulizes.* --- ### **Inflected Forms** - **faibulized** \\ -ˌlīzd \\ - **faibulizing** \\ -ˌlī-ziŋ \\ - **faibulization** \\ ˌfā‑byü‑lə‑ˈzā‑shən \\ *noun* *We ran a weekend faibulization workshop.* --- ### **Etymology** Blend of **fable** \+ **AI** \+ **‑ize**; influence of *fabulize* (to invent (fables)) and the *fai‑* in “faith” as in to suggest trust in an AI output. --- ### **First Known Use** 2025 — in the sense defined above. ## Origins of "faibulize" ### How to make money writing fiction URL: https://keithhayden.net/how-to-make-money-writing-fiction/ Last updated: 2025-05-22T10:49:47.000Z If you're trying to make money from fiction writing, you already fucked up. The goal of this post is to show you why. And if you still refuse to give up the stubborn dream of being a paid fiction writer (like me), by reading this, you'll see what I'm doing about it so you can copy my methods. Copy? Cool. Hayden Academy Collective (HAC) Studios: Backstage is a reader-supported publication. To receive new posts and support my work, consider becoming a free or paid subscriber. Subscribed ## Nobody reads fiction on social At least very few people do. I should know. I've been posting fiction online in some form since 2021. While this isn’t a long time, think about what's happened since the start of the decade. COVID. AI. Massive technological change in social algorithms. Just these three factors alone have greatly influenced what most folks see online. And what do they see? Mostly videos. Some images, primarily in the form of memes, and… well that's basically it. What about text? Yes it's there. But I have bad news for you author. Outside of subtitles, the average scroller doesn't read it. I'm not gonna cite any studies as evidence. Don't need to. Just think about your own behavior. You open your phone on a 5 minute break from some activity, pick your preferred social app, and enter the feed. What greets you on most social platforms (more and more even on Substack) are videos. Then if you get past those, it's the short form posts. THEN if you get past those, you might start to read a long form post. But by the time you get comfy and let the magic of words whisk you off to some unfamiliar zone, time's up. Break over. And this is the chief weakness of most written fiction in our times - it relies on words to draw consumers in. Not only do lower literacy rates prevent the regular consumption of fiction, but the most popular platforms see text as the lowest priority. Even after hitting publish, your chances of being read and paid are minimal. ## Competition is insanely high We're drowning in stories today. Centuries ago, the only way to experience a story was to find a book or be near a skilled storyteller. Today, as soon as you wake up a story hits your retinas within 5 minutes of eye opening activity. Don't believe me? The news feed? Stories. Any social media? All excerpts of someone’s story. All notifications, any uploaded video, the message from your best friend or your dad - all invitations to some length of story. And I haven't even mentioned finished media. These are the bestselling books, blockbuster movies, your video game backlog - everything that you COULD (and probably would) consume if you had infinite time. I've heard many an online guru say something like “anytime you publish, you're competing with TikTok or YouTube.” But it's worse than that. Your competition is anyone with Internet access, or a good book, or a compelling storyteller, which at any given moment is most people on the planet. Then there's you. The aspiring bag-getting fiction writer with your pitiful Substack of a dozen unedited rough cuts. How can you compete? Not easily. When you take into account the overwhelming choice the average consumer has, it's no wonder why your work remains the equivalent of spam - a mystery meat - unappreciated, unconsumed, trashed. ## Effort doesn't matter, only results The beauty of writing is a time-thieving beast when it comes to making money. Often, your beautiful words - long in the shaping - come at the expense of profitable business. And I see you, Mr./Ms. word-, theme-, character-, craft- obsessed fiction writer. I stand with you. Problem is craft is an afterthought for the average reader. If they think about it, it's a passing curiosity, akin to pondering why hair grows on your ears instead of your head after 40\. A useless exercise. A year and a half. That's how long it took me to write my first novel. Two years. How long it took me to turn it into a podcast. In that time, I insisted on doing everything myself, which of course dragged out the process. And in the end, the quality was still questionable since I was learning as I went along. Those were costly years. This type of slow methodically thoughtful process means nothing to the readers you strive to woo through words. Just ask Hollywood. A typical film could take 2-4 years to script, shoot, and release. Meanwhile, most viral videos are posted in minutes by people with zero expensive equipment, no budget, and no acting talent. Worse still, savvy writers/prompters/curators can generate instant stories of passable prose quality with AI (remember, average reader doesn't care how it was made, can't tell if there's a dip in quality, and certainly doesn’t care about your ethical hangups about using it). As long as they feel entertained, it doesn't matter if the story took 2 hours or 2 years to write. It's all the same. My point here? It takes too damn long for you to publish your precious fiction. You lack speed, which hurts your ability to generate sustainable coin. Unless you have a famous brand or name (which if you're reading, I'm guessing you don't) people will not wait for you to publish your masterpiece post or novel. They'll just move on to the next piece of content, as if you never existed. ## What can you do about this? The world of fiction is changing at a blinding pace. You and I can't keep up. (I've tried.) But what we can do is update how we present and package our stories. That's what I've been doing for the past several years. The results? Not exactly what I wanted, yet surprisingly promising. I'll tell you I hesitated for a while to write this post and kick off ANOTHER newsletter. Reasons being: I'm not wildly successful in the capitalist sense. (Haven't made tons of money.) I'm not a bestselling author. Or a YouTube gold button holder. I'm not monetized on social platforms. I have no literary awards. I'm not in any celebrity book lists. I don't even have a 100 subs on Substack. And my email list has less than 20 subs. So, then why should you read me? ## Who am I? My name is Keith Hayden. I'm a U.S. Air Force veteran, former federal agent, and now military spouse. I work part-time as a substitute teacher in a large public school district in the U.S. I journaled for 14 years straight before writing my first book in 2017 (published in 2019.) My first novel published in 2021. In 2022, I started a business for my creative work. And since then, I've monetized my writing in multiple mediums and many ways. I've :ghostwritten 2 books :written over a hundred blog posts :designed 400+ graphics (including my own book covers) :hosted 6+ podcasts, one of which has over 30k streams :composed, sang, rapper, produced, or performed 110+ songs :made 200+ videos :created dozens of products :posted of 15k times on social media :coded 15+ websites, games, and apps :gotten one of my novels sold internationally (a store in Japan carries it) :helped a fellow fiction writer publish his book :earned thousands of dollars writing and publishing stories *Why should you read me?* Because, while I might not have met my monetary goals - I've been paid in other valuable wages: skills, experience, and an international network of friends, fellow online hustlers, and writers. I want to share some of that with you here. ## What is Fiction Money Engine? ![](https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/w_1456,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2Fe544b3f5-647b-4910-983f-15b626ea4abd_1024x1024.png) A record of effort documenting a running approach to make money primarily by writing fiction. If that's unclear, try this: I do things to make fictional money, share what I did, you try them for yourself. Simple. I hope to make this a weekly thing. This isn't just about what I'm doing. It also involves you. As you run your own experiments, I anticipate you'll share them in some way too. That's how we grow in this game together. Remember that dream you had to change the world through words? It's still possible. And I know every time I write and publish anything or tell someone about my writing, I move a step closer to my goal. I want to help you do the same. That gives me hope that we're not so fucked after all. So if you're tired of writing, then releasing your stories to silence or of making nothing from your effort, it's time to warm up your personal Fiction Money Engine to earn what you deserve. Hayden Academy Collective (HAC) Studios: Backstage is a reader-supported publication. To receive new posts and support my work, consider becoming a free or paid subscriber. Subscribed ## [](https://keithhayden.substack.com/p/how-do-you-make-money-with-fiction/comments)[Share](javascript:void%280%29)Previous ### [CLASSIFIED] - Suspected Chinese Intelligence Officer - Ch. 4 "Cereus & Limnic: Escape From Okinawa" URL: https://keithhayden.net/ch-4-chinese-intelligence-cereus-limnic-efo/ Last updated: 2025-05-21T23:55:44.000Z Description of an alleged spy. _This post is for subscribers only._ ### Meet the First Fellow! URL: https://keithhayden.net/meet-the-first-fellow/ Last updated: 2025-05-20T23:08:21.000Z Our first editorial fellow has joined up! _This post is for subscribers only._ ### Ch. 7: Protest - Part 2 | "Cereus & Limnic" URL: https://keithhayden.net/ch-7-protest-part-2-cereus-limnic/ Last updated: 2025-05-19T21:39:31.000Z ## Video Version ## Written Version Thirty minutes later, Li peeled his attention away from his device and gazed out of the window as the buildings of Sacramento’s city center came into view. To him, the downtown corridor seemed to open its jaws and devour the bus as it rumbled off of Interstate Five and on to J Street. The morning sun reflected off of the shining glass window panes of the US Bank Tower. Once a centerpiece of human economic progress, the nearly half-century old building now stood as a fractured beacon among crumbling skyscrapers. Many of the other high-rise buildings that made up the city’s skyline looked no better than weathered old apartment complexes and were replete with shattered windows, failing power, and dilapidated interiors. Li had taken tours of a few of the towers over the years and it wasn’t pretty. The entire downtown area reflected old world values. Obsolete. Broken. Ineffective. As the bus pulled toward its stop at the Golden One Center, the sky appeared to darken. A small patch of clouds blocked the blazing sun in an effort to stifle the heat of the morning. Li spied discarded trash and food wrappers blown by hot gusts of wind tumbling down fissured sidewalks. The people outside of the bus seemed not to notice or care. Desensitized to the filth at their feet, they scurried by in haste toward some unknown destination, hands concealed or holding large signs, wearing improvised face coverings for obscure purposes. Some walked, others jogged. The scene produced a tightness in Li’s throat. He knew the feeling well. It was his body’s physical signal of readiness. The equivalent of a warning sign in red letters before a hazardous road, prone to rock and mudslides. While his bus decelerated, the roar of its engine drowned out the sound of voices out on the street. But when it began to idle, and passengers began to trickle out, the unmistakable commotion of many vocal cords gathered in one place arrived at Li’s ears. They didn’t sound happy. *The protest.* With a series of well-practiced silent movements, he keyed in his suitcase combination, unlatched the briefcase, and slid a silver three dimensionally (3D) printed M1911 into a shoulder holster sewn into his suit jacket. He took extra precaution not to alert the drowsy younger man staring into his device across the aisle from him. His weapon equipped, he stood up and made his way off the bus. Li walked with a brisk pace down a side street, eyes forward, yet scanning, avoiding small bands of people with agitated faces on J Street. After rounding the corner, he could see the backs of dozens of people holding signs, shouting, and shaking their fists in the air with vehemence. The throng of protesters was so thick there was no way he would be able to take his usual direct route up to the capitol. He needed an alternate approach. His eyes shifted down L Street. He could continue that way, but it appeared that more and more of the angry mob was spilling over onto the side street. Although his face wasn’t very recognizable to the average person, he had been in the media a time or two in the past. Every time it had been in relation to the organization, with each occurrence giving him more exposure to its enemies and detractors. *I need to get off of the street*. The tension seemed to be escalating rapidly on the other side of the block near the capitol. *I thought this protest was supposed to be peaceful*. “Hey, hey! I think that’s one of em’! One of the weird commune freaks from the news!” The voice blasted from a large man with a protruding gut and full head of greying brown hair who separated himself from the group of protesters half a block from Li. “Let’s go beat his ass!” The man and two of his friends, both tall and lanky, advanced in Li’s direction, fists clenched, eyes of fury. Two held protest signs. The other appeared unarmed. Though he saw no weapons, all three looked like the type to fight dirty, and probably would not hesitate to use the wooden rods of the sign to beat him down if given the chance. Li thought about engaging the three men and subduing them, but in quick fashion abandoned the idea. He couldn’t risk more bad press falling onto the organization’s shoulders because of his actions. Due to his textbook knowledge of the downtown area, the perfect hiding place stood out clearly in his mind. With long strides he turned back in the direction toward the highway and sheltered himself in a battered old parking garage. Secure in his hiding spot in the shadows of the structure, he peered from around the corner just in time to see the three men standing where he had been only seconds before. One faced in each direction. As a result of the exertion, all three panted with open mouths, like a pack of wolves on the hunt. They were drenched in sweat and had consumed most of their stamina running down the short block. They darted their heads from left to right searching for him. From his place of concealment, Li could read the protest signs. On the simple white board in handwritten red lettering read the words: “Down with Cereus! Down with Limnic!” The other sign read: “Give me liberty and land, or I give YOU death!” From the signs, Li’s vision floated to the man with the gut. Then he saw the gun. The large man gripped a glock so hard that the veins in his bloated forearm were visible. *So much for the peaceful protest.* ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/18/bf/18bf29db-1cec-4857-a9dc-e2e94a86d2bf/content/images/2025/05/Ch.-7--Protest---Part-2---Cereus---Limnic-Quote-Card--1080-x-1920-px-.png) Li’s left hand slowly moved to the sidearm concealed within his suit jacket. His instinct caused his body to tense and sharpened his senses. It was a familiar feeling that overcame him anytime he drew his weapon, even if it was only on the practice range. It reminded him to exercise extra prudence while holding the power to end a life. Li waited for several seconds. One minute, then another thirty seconds passed before he dared to peer around the corner again. When he did, his pursuers were nowhere in sight. He scanned both sides of the street twice before returning his firearm to the holster in his suit jacket. *Too close*. A sound in his inner ear caused his muscles to go rigid. It was a call from his telepathic communicator, or TP comm for short. He dropped his shoulders, in a bid to relax himself and his mind. The technique took some of the edge off, but his body was still in alert mode. *Answer call.* Rodan’s voice echoed in his head. *“Where are you?”* *“I got chased by some protesters. But I evaded them. Who told you this protest was going to be peaceful?”* There was an awkward silence before Rodan gave his response. *Damn, I’m not sure who provided the intel! I just read the first report that I received.* *Ah fuck, how embarrassing!* *I should have fuckin’ verified that shit.* *Now other people might be in trouble too!!* *Gotta think of a way to unfuck this…why did I drink so much coffee this morning, I really need to take a leak.* Rodan’s unfiltered thoughts filled Li’s mind. It was giving him a headache. *“Rodan…your ‘mic’ is on…”* A soft musical tone played, then the connection went silent. Li sighed heavily. As amusing as it was to hear Rodan’s inner dialogue, he had no time for it right now. The mass of voices, screams, and yells from the protesters seemed to be inching closer with every passing minute. The melodic tone sounded again, signaling Rodan’s return to the call. *“My bad Li.”* The volume of Rodan’s voice was lower than before. *“It’s ok. We need to verify that intel source. I saw an armed protester.”* *“Is that right? You think someone slipped us bad info?”* *“Yeah. And I want to find out who it was.”* Li put a mental break in the conversation. Had it been Rodan’s careless oversight that gave them the incorrect information? Or had one of his sources gone rogue? He had made plans to meet with one of them that afternoon. Perhaps he needed to contact him now and request an emergency meet? The questions gave way to more questions, each one making him feel increasingly uneasy about the bizarre events of the morning. The only thing that he was sure of was that he needed to get off of the street. Now. *Continue.* *“Can you send me a data map with the locations of the protesters? That will help me avoid them.”* *“Sorry Li. Network has been shaky since the order went out this morning, so no can do.”* The bass had returned to Rodan’s voice just in time. It was accompanied by a mocking tone. *“You a super soldier though, so you should be able to get around a bunch of lightly armed protesters right? Compared to the shit you did in the war, this oughta be a walk in the park.”* Li rolled his eyes and forcefully exhaled air from his nose, forgetting to mentally block out the laugh that resonated in his and Rodan’s minds. *“You’re right. I’m getting too old for this.”* *“Aren’t we all. Might be time to get some of those happy augmentations and retire in a digital haze. You know how a lot of people do nowadays.”* *“I’m not quite ready for that. Not my style.”* *“Oh yeah that’s right. You Mr. Integrity after all.”* Li became silent. The unmistakable sound of footsteps scuffing the pavement made tension return to his body. His hand went for his gun. After thirty seconds, the sound faded. He dared not peek around the corner. *“You still alive over there?”* Rodan asked. More impatient than concerned. *“Yeah. I need to move. I’ll see you, in say…twenty-five minutes?”* *“Look if you can’t make it in under fifteen, you’re gonna buy me lunch.”* Li allowed himself to laugh. *“You’re on.”* The tone went dead, signaling the end of the call. He pulled out his device and gave it the vocal command to open the map. A 3D holographic map of downtown Sacramento appeared to hover above the surface of his device. He rotated it with his finger in midair and mentally mapped his planned route to the capitol service entrance. When he was sure he had memorized the turns, he closed the map and took a deep breath before he stepped out of his place in the shadows. *Now or never.* No one seemed to notice him emerge from the old parking garage. His eyes scanned left, then right with practiced discernment. Years of training converged, allowing him to detect potential threats while maintaining constant steady steps. The sirens of several patrol cars rushed past him. No doubt they were rapidly mobilizing to establish a perimeter around the block surrounding the Capitol Mall. Taking advantage of the increased police presence, Li took long strides down 8th street, then took a sharp right turn on K Street. Upon turning the corner, he witnessed a group of protesters throwing bottles, cans, and whatever else they could get their hands on at a group of uniformed officers manning a checkpoint. One of the officers, a blonde woman with an ample chest and a thin waist, resorted to secondary force in defense of herself and clubbed an angry demonstrator on the side of his head. He fell to the ground in a heap of sweaty flesh, no doubt unconscious from the unexpectedly heavy blow. At the sight of their fallen comrade, five of his friends became enraged and looked prepared to tear the woman and her squad mates to shreds. Li’s heart bled at the sight of the overwhelmed and (most likely) outgunned cops, but he had no time to go to their aid. His destination was less than two blocks away. He hurried down the street and turned the corner onto 11th Street. With the capitol building in sight, he slowed his pace to a brisk walk. He was so focused on reaching his objective that he narrowly avoided being hit by an old Tesla that was speeding away from the direction of the protest. *Too many close calls this morning.* The final push to the capitol’s service entrance went without incident. One sentry blocked his path when he reached the side of the building. He was well armed, much more so than standard street cops. Li wondered who he was working for. “You have some business here?” he asked. He was tall with thick black eyebrows and a matching mustache on a dry sand toned face. It was the face of one who had spent long hours standing in the sun for no good reason. Probably ex-military or local cop turned mercenary. Both were bad news if they fought for the wrong reasons. Mustache seemed as if he had been waiting for an excuse to draw and use his weapon all morning. But Li did not provide him with one. With diplomatic decorum, he produced his Cereus organizational badge, signaling that he was a high-level member. The guard scowled in response, but allowed him to pass. The chaos of the protest continued to unfold outside as he walked into the building. The black service door slammed behind him, leaving an echo in his ears. Inside the poorly lit service corridor he could no longer hear the screams, shouting, and the unmistakable pops and bangs of small arms fire on the other side of the door. As he moved toward the service stairwell, he questioned the details of the morning, wondering why the protest had become violent and who fed them the bad intel. He had a feeling that he wouldn’t like the answers to either of those questions. --- ### **Word of the day** *neatnik -* a person who is extremely neat about their surroundings or appearance (from the 1960s -nik as in *beatnik*) ## Next: CH. 8 "Strategy Meeting" ### [CLASSIFIED] Ghost‑Pilots Over Okinawa - Ch 3. Strange Sky Sighting | "Cereus & Limnic: Escape From Okinawa" URL: https://keithhayden.net/classified-ghost-pilots-over-okinawa-ch-3-strange-sky-sighting-cereus-limnic-escape-from-okinawa/ Last updated: 2025-05-19T00:30:58.000Z A Japanese helicopter pilot sees a strange sight. _This post is for subscribers only._ ### Ch. 6 - Protest: Part 1 | "Cereus & Limnic" URL: https://keithhayden.net/ch-6-protest-part-1-cereus-limnic/ Last updated: 2025-05-17T16:04:46.000Z ## Video Version ## Written Version Li walked with purpose toward the bus stop. It was only a ten-minute walk, but he was already running late for an early meeting in the old city. He needed to make up for lost time. He carried a small black briefcase with him. What it lacked in volume it more than made up for in utility and portability. *Besides, it’s more than enough for everything that I need,* he thought to himself as the bus approached. The bus coughed and sputtered as it lumbered to a stop, emitting thick black smoke and a vaporous sigh when the autobrake engaged. The once white sides of the vehicle had an old-style ad for a local dentist who promised whiter teeth with just one bleach treatment. The phone number was so faded that Li couldn’t make it out. Under the windows, the ad strips appeared to have been attached by hand and clung to the side as if they might fall into the street at any moment. A video image flickered onto the strip closest to Li, advertising the latest summer action movie. It was the remake of a popular movie released ten years ago that the film studios down south were hoping to make another big pay day on. *Some things never change*. An elderly woman with a grim expression on her face and a cane hobbled toward Li and stood beside him. There both waited, under the sparse shelter of the otherwise abandoned bus stop. He couldn’t tell if her vision was impaired in some form or if she just didn’t want to acknowledge his presence. Upon seeing the bus, she removed a worn pair of red glasses with cloudy thick lenses and produced a small silver case from her purse. With shaking hands, she clicked open the case and pulled out an unblemished pair of silver glasses. Not long after she put the glasses on, the stern expression on her face molded itself into a crooked smile, showing yellowed teeth. Li wasn’t sure what advertisement she was viewing, but whatever it was had instantly changed her mood. He silently stepped around the woman and entered the bus. A blast of cool air from the overworked air conditioner helped to relax his turbid thoughts. The frigid air made him reminisce about how he had gotten started in his current line of work. \* \* \* Born in Fuyang, Zhejiang Province in Eastern China, Li Ma had come a long way from the small mountain town of his youth. At the age of 9, Li’s father uprooted his entire family from China and moved them all to San Francisco. A reticent boy with a brilliant mind for pattern recognition and mathematics, Li excelled in the American public school system with ease. He found the curriculum mildly challenging, yet tedious when compared to the rigid academic and cultural standards of the Chinese educational model, but still put maximum effort into his school work. Upon his high school graduation in 2018, he was accepted to the California Institute of Technology (Caltech) as an engineering major. Like any other college student from an immigrant family, Li endeavored to study hard in order to earn his degree then get a good job. However, for Li his transition from the son of a poor Chinese immigrant, to the son of a wealthy self-made business magnate, would come to be a footnote in the biography of his life. Two years after enrolling at Caltech, on a balmy September afternoon, Li was walking back to his dorm room after a lecture, when a woman approached him. She had pale-ivory skin with dark auburn hair and intelligent jade green eyes. Her full lips were angled ever so slightly upward into a friendly grin. Even at his young age Li could tell this was no ordinary woman. She walked as if she were accustomed to carrying heavy things long distances, yet her posture was straight as a board. Her clothes: snug pink jeans, a white t-shirt, revealing her navel deep-seated in taut abdominal muscles, were too new and clean for her to be an average college girl. She carried a black backpack with no logo that flopped on her back as she moved toward him, indicating she carried little or no books at all. By the time she flashed a quick smile and introduced herself as Sarah, Li knew she was not a college student. During that first encounter, they only exchanged pleasantries and some small talk, before Sarah continued on her way. The entire meeting lasted less than five minutes, and left Li wondering who she *really* was and what she wanted from him. Over the next six-week period, Li ran into and noticed Sarah in the oddest of places. During his early morning runs, he would see her auburn hair bouncing on an adjacent route, slowing only to greet him with a smile and a sharp wave, as she sweat and took lengthy strides to maintain her pace. While walking on campus, she appeared on benches and in common areas. Sometimes she was reading on her phone, or listening to music; other times she just seemed to be hanging around. Anytime he saw her, Li gave a small wave, then went about his business. On the few occasions that he had time to stop and speak with her, strangely, he found himself doing most of the talking. Sarah was a good listener. Smiling and nodding at the proper intervals, contributing her own perspective and jokes at ideal moments, and occasionally even flirting a little with him. But despite the fact that she was an excellent conversation partner, Li didn’t know much about her, for she rarely talked about her past. Without explicit revelations about herself, Li was forced to assemble her identity based on contextual clues he had gathered. After weeks of observation, he knew the following information: age: late twenties early thirties, marital status: definitely single, interests: running, Billy Eilish music, playing chess, weightlifting (he had seen her doing all of the above at least twice), personality: astute, introverted, hard-working. He also knew she had probably grown up in nearby Orange County and most likely had close family members in the area (he had watched *her* talking on the phone animatedly one day without her being aware). One afternoon, under a steely gray sky in November, they met for tea off campus. Outside in the nippy open air, Li wore a light jacket over an orange Caltech shirt, and jeans. Across the table, Sarah sat in black winter leggings with dark red rectangles on the sides, wearing a coal gray Caltech hoodie. Beside their cloth face masks, steaming cups of tea had been placed before both of them. Li ordered red tea, while Sarah had black herbal tea. At the proper moment during their chat, Li disclosed all of the personal facts he had gleaned about Sarah’s personality, background, and hobbies. When he finished, Sarah’s face flushed with uncharacteristic embarrassment, providing a momentary glimpse at her genuine self. The *real* girl behind the mask. Seconds later, she recovered her usual cool facial features, lowered her voice, and made him an offer. She said she represented *important* people in the United States government. Her people were looking for scholars and young college students like Li, to help them get a better understanding of Chinese culture in America. She also explained how the coronavirus pandemic of that year had already claimed nearly a quarter million American lives, and that Li’s support could *possibly* prevent another quarter million more from being lost. After the pitch was complete, Sarah blinked her pretty eyes casually, crossed her legs, sipped her herbal tea, then leaned back in her chair, hands folded in her lap, eyeing him with anticipation. Her refined jade eyes reflected anxious impatience beneath their composed luster. Li had been only mildly surprised by her proposition. He had watched enough American movies and read enough articles online to know somewhat how these things worked, without having experienced them first hand. There was no doubt about it, Sarah was some type of U.S. government agent, most likely working for the infamous Central Intelligence Agency (CIA). ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/18/bf/18bf29db-1cec-4857-a9dc-e2e94a86d2bf/content/images/2025/05/Ch.-6---Protest---Part-1---Cereus---Limnic-Quote-Card--1080-x-1080-px-.png) She (They) wanted to recruit him because he was born and raised in China, spoke Mandarin fluently, and was an engineering major. He was also a young 20-year-old male at the time, which was probably why they had specifically chosen her, an attractive, White female, with jade colored eyes for his potential recruitment. They had thought of every detail. His school schedule, daily routine, even down to the cultural nuance of the jade eyes to remind him of his birth country. Had they really gone through so much trouble for him? Possibly. Li sat at the table as Sarah’s eyes bored into him. The way her foot bounced in the air, and her neck muscles tensed, Li could tell she was very uncomfortable when she had no control over things. He did not want to trouble her, but this was now about him. It was his decision. With her true purpose unmasked, Li wondered what he should do? It took him a week to mull the decision over. Sarah offered to pay a hefty sum in exchange for Li’s junior intelligence gathering efforts. She told him his talent as a brilliant engineering student, and native Mandarin speaker, would be helpful in keeping America safe. Li thought long and hard. Though he had no need of extra money thanks to his father’s wealth, he found his engineering path dull and monotonous. When he was honest with himself, he enjoyed the *study* of engineering, more than he did the *application* of it in a sterile laboratory or corporate office. Although it had been strange being followed by Sarah for almost two months, he had been able to figure *her* out with only his powerful instinct as a guide. Sarah herself had reluctantly admitted that to him. How good could he get if he actually had her training? He decided to find out. A week after they had met for tea, he contacted Sarah and formally accepted her offer. He had no idea that decision back then would lay the foundation for a long career in the intelligence world. A career that would take him around the world, allow him access to society’s labyrinthine under chambers, back alleys, and sewers, and culminate in his current position as Chief of Intelligence of Cereus. \* \* \* Comfortable in his bus seat, Li’s mind focused on the message he had received only an hour prior. *Could it really be happening? Order 5428?* After all these years, he never thought it would occur so unexpectedly. No training scenario or exercise had prepared him or any of his colleagues for this situation; now, essentially, they were all flying blind. He rubbed his temples with his fingers in a circular motion to help clear his head. He needed to focus on who he should meet with first when he arrived at the capitol building. Should he speak with the governor? Or maybe the mayor might be the better choice? He allowed himself to lean back in his seat and relax his shoulders as he developed a concrete plan of action. First, he needed to call a meeting with the state leadership to calm and reassure them that he and the organization had everything under control. Next, he would need to get on a conference call with the other remaining Founders, to determine how they could conduct an organized transfer of power and leadership to all of the comvils. *That will be the hard part and it might not go as smoothly as we surmised.* Outside of the window, the bus sped past patches of open farmland south of Yuba City and was quickly approaching the newer suburbs on the west side of Lincoln. Most were single family houses that repeated themselves in a uniform pattern after a block or two, with a few wealthier properties sprinkled in for those fortunate enough to be able to afford them. The entire area north of Sacramento had seen explosive population growth in the early twenty-first century. This necessitated a large number of homes to be thrown up fast with little regard for how to sell them. As a result, Li knew that over fifty percent of them were vacant, with few to no pending inquiries. The thought and the sight of the homes made him feel like a failure. *If only we had intervened sooner.* His moment of regret was interrupted by the distant chime of a bell from deep within his inner ear. The chime echoed softly, slightly beyond the edge of his awareness at first, but loud enough to make itself known. He had personally chosen the tone because it was calming and neutral, which made it easier for him to focus when he needed to use it. *Identify caller.* His thought triggered a prompt response from the device resting in the jacket pocket of his suit. “Call from Rodan.” A distant male voice spoke into his ear. Li’s neutral expression now gave a hint of uncertainty. With the events of the morning, he was unsure about the conversation he was about to have with his closest colleague and long-time friend. Whenever he thought of Rodan Mitchell, the ox came to mind. Loyal. Steadfast. Diligent. Indomitable. These were the classic positive traits of one born in the year of the ox. Born in 2021, Li knew that the element associated with Rodan was metal. The elemental pairing brought the image of a detailed pewter figure to Li’s mind. Crafted with precision, but heavy and hard to move, especially if it was very large, like Rodan. According to dominant belief, oxen were also introverted, indecisive, and skeptical people. So focused on their gradual and unbroken march toward their objectives, they were prone to self-centeredness and sometimes had difficulty understanding and expressing their true thoughts. Li knew all Chinese zodiac traits were anecdotal. They were based on thousands of years of Chinese folklore, superstition, and countless generations of parents’ attempts to frighten unknowing children into becoming good people. Even with that knowledge and decades of lived experience, he still found kernels of truth in the old-fashioned beliefs. He had seen Rodan’s personality and, at times, the trajectory of his life and career, manifest just as the animal wheel of fate had ordained. Rodan, as an ox, was oblivious to these things. It was only natural. *Call from Rodan.* The voice repeated itself three times, providing Li with a moment to collect his thoughts. *Answer call*. Rodan’s voice boomed in his mind, inciting a brief feeling of nausea. *Must be the new implant*, Li thought. *“What’s your ETA?”* Rodan asked. *“I’m on the bus right now. Should arrive at the capitol by 1030.”* *“Gotcha. Just wanted to give you a heads up that there’s an active protest scheduled for today.”* *“Is that right? What time?”* *“Our sources are sayin’ around 1100\. But you know how reliable they can be.”* *“Right. Peaceful or armed?”* *“Right now, word says it’s one of the peaceful groups. Some treehuggers from Napa. I don’t think they should be much of a problem. But we’ll keep an eye out.”* *Break.* He put a mental stop in the conversation to consider Rodan’s words. *A protest? Today?* Most peaceful protests were scheduled weeks in advance, and he hadn’t read any reports or received any notifications from any of his sources about one this morning. Something was off. *Continue.* *“You still there?”* Rodan’s voice pierced his thoughts and coincided with an abrupt lane change that the bus had to make. Li felt bile surge up his esophagus, he swallowed hard to force it back down. *“Yeah still here. Have they said anything about next steps?”* *“Naw not yet. Still waiting on word from one of the big bosses. We still don’t know which one pulled the trigger yet.”* *“Got it. We’ll find out more soon enough. Ok, I’m signing off.”* *“Li, one more thing…watch your back out there. We don’t know what’s gonna happen from here.”* *“I will.”* *End call.* Li’s eyes moved to the slim black briefcase stowed on the floor of the bus between his legs. It had been nearly ten years since he used his service weapon while on the job. He stared at the case and hoped that he could add another day onto that number, although he had his doubts. In nearly thirty years of service with the organization and prior to that in the military, he had received countless hours of various kinds of training. During all that time he knew that his greatest asset in any foreign situation was his instinct. It was a skill that rarely failed him and had even saved his life on more than a few occasions. Once again, his internal alarm was active and warning him that today was going to be a very long day. --- ### Next: "Protest - Part 2" ### Ch. 5: The New Kid | "Cereus & Limnic" URL: https://keithhayden.net/ch-5-the-new-kid-cereus-limnic/ Last updated: 2025-05-16T17:37:47.000Z ## Video Version ## Written Version The boy was gorgeous. He towered over MS Rhodes at about six something feet tall with well-groomed brown hair. He wore plain white jeans and a royal blue t-shirt that revealed the slight curves of a developing muscular chest connected to his two noticeably thinner arms. His two hazel eyes gleamed under the humming fluorescent lights while they scanned the room. *Don’t stare!* Jinhua said to herself. But the warning came too late. She felt the keenness of his gaze lock on to her, running over the skin of her face as if etching every detail of it into memory in order to reproduce it with flawless accuracy at a later date. The intensity of his glare made her face grow warm under the buzzing lights of the room. Her eyes darted to the empty space on her desk in front of her, providing a grounding moment of calm. Next to her, Harpreet noticed her discomfort, mouthing the words ‘*he’s hot*’ with hushed lips. She was entertained by the mystery boy’s effect on her best friend. The boy was a paragon of youth and strength, which made their instructor, MS Rhodes, appear older, fatter, and more drained than usual. In Harpreet’s mind, she made an attempt to picture her committee scholar as a young man. Perhaps he had looked like the new boy at some point, and was a young scientist with hopeful dreams of being a changemaker in physics? Maybe he had lofty dreams of ending water scarcity and destroying the millions of tons of plastics in bathtub warm water oceans? She envisioned the root of his descent into academic corporate stupor. What went wrong? Too many compromises? Too many empty promises? Too many false victories? She tried to see his former greatness, yet, could only see a man curved and bitter from a lifetime serving as a key component in a sputtering machine. A wave of sadness washed over Harpreet at the thought. She returned her eyes to the boy, to make it go away, intrigued by Jinhua’s visible response to his entrance. MS Rhodes began to speak in a droning tone. “Students, this is Daniel. He’s been approved to join our committee by the citizens’ council.” A sudden coughing fit interrupted his speech. He pulled a small miserable cloth out of his pocket to spare his audience from the expectorants shooting from the depths of his lungs. *Damn smoking. I knew I should have given it up years ago.* After several seconds, he caught his breath, using a high amount of restraint to suppress more coughs. “He’s just moved here from Sacramento, so please welcome him to our committee with open arms.” He gestured unceremoniously toward the youth. The boy gave a small smile accompanied with a slight waving of his hand to acknowledge his new classmates. Jinhua pretended to busy herself on her screen to avoid his eyes. Out of the corner of her eye Harpreet observed her, entertained by her rattled state. The other students gave a curt acknowledgement of Daniel’s presence, but quickly returned to their respective personal worlds of physics notes and videos. They didn’t seem excited for another person to join the committee, no matter how good looking he was. As she did her best to avoid Daniel’s eyes, Jinhua thought of a cartoon she used to watch when she was very young. It depicted old world school life with farm animals representing all of the characters in the school. The show focused on Wendell (a talking pig) and his friends as they teamed up to foil their antagonist teacher, a cyborg human named Mr. Jones. Most of the episodes ended in Mr. Jones’ humiliating defeat in comedic fashion at the hands of Wendell and his friends, which always brought a sense of joy and justice to her then young mind. One day, her dad watched an episode of the show with her. The only thing she remembered was his comment after the credits were rolling. “Things are different now here in the comvils. But many things about human nature remain the same. People will always be people and fight for dominance over others,” he had said. The words stuck in her head for weeks afterward. It would be another decade before she clearly understood the weight of his words. *Nobody wants another competitor*, Jinhua thought. The reaction of the committee reflected this sentiment. The rest of the morning’s events were an afterthought for Jinhua. It was rare for MS Rhodes to lecture for an entire session. He simply did not have the stamina for it. However, he seemed to be especially passionate about their unit on thermal physics and talked in short bursts in between violent coughing fits for the entire time. Daniel had taken an empty desk closest to the windows of the committee space and arranged his digital notebook and two digital ink pens with geometric precision in front of him. He occasionally looked to the bustling barter market outside, but was primarily focused on listening to MS Rhodes. Jinhua did her best to focus during the lecture, but the pleasant seed of attraction flowering inside of her distracted her usually laser-focused academic brainpower. She caught herself daydreaming about Daniel, in desperate need of more information about the mysterious boy from the city. As soon as MS Rhodes dismissed the committee for the afternoon, Jinhua collected her belongings and walked outside into the main concourse of the old mall. Harpreet followed close behind, flashing a wry smile, looking at her in a way that mocked and demanded to know what she was thinking. Out of earshot of the other students, and Daniel, she pulled Jinhua aside and said in an ear-splitting whisper, “Damn, you were practically drooling when you looked at him during the entire session! You like him don’t you?” Jinhua’s gaze fell to a cracked tile on the floor beside her right foot. The crack exposed a layer of brownish old concrete in what would have otherwise been uniform patterns of teal triangles. “Maybe I do…I don’t know. I guess I don’t know anything about him yet.” ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/18/bf/18bf29db-1cec-4857-a9dc-e2e94a86d2bf/content/images/2025/05/Ch.-5--The-New-Kid---Cereus---Limnic-Quote-Card--1080-x-1920-px-.png) A small smile crept onto her face. “What do you mean you don’t know anything!? You know he’s super cute and looks like Captain America from the old Marvel movies. What more do you need than that?” Jinhua laughed louder than she expected to. “Good point,” she admitted, her gaze rising to meet Harpreet’s eyes once again. “What should I do? Physics and ripboarding I can handle. But boys aren’t really my thing.” “That is true. You *are* hopeless when it comes to the male species. Remember that boy Davian at Space Camp back in the day?” Harpreet shook her head, “That was poor form.” “Hey! I was like ten back then. Who knew he would turn out to be a booger eater!” Jinhua protested. “You’re welcome that I saved you from that one.” Harpreet said triumphantly. Jinhua looked back toward the committee room. Daniel seemed to be discussing something privately with MS Rhodes. He looked like he was shifting his weight to leave the room. “Be serious for once! What should I do?” Jinhua said, her tone pleading. “Well…you should start by inviting him to come to Star of India with us for lunch.” “What if he doesn’t like Indian food?” “Everybody likes Indian food!” “I don’t know. What if he’s one of the few people in the world that doesn’t like it? Maybe we should just go to the river or maybe to the movies.” Jinhua’s face distorted with confusion. A rare emotion for her. Harpreet gave an impatient sigh. Jinhua’s tolerance for risk was high in almost every area of her life except when it came to people. Her friend was cautious, almost overly so. Afraid of the potential messiness that was often paired with close relationships (especially potential romantic ones). Sometimes she wondered how they had become close friends at all. She pushed those thoughts aside, and adopted her gentle big sister tone. “Hey, why don’t we just invite him to the river with us.” “Us?” Jinhua’s bewilderment gave way to levity. “What is this *us* all of a sudden? Why do you need to be there?” “You know…so I can make sure he’s not an asshole or something. He’s the product and I’m quality control. I have to make sure he’s not defective, y’know. If he *is*, then we’ll return him.” She swung both of her arms as if tossing a dripping bag of garbage into a waste chute with little care for where or how it landed. Jinhua’s lips formed a lighthearted smile, “You mean so you can be *nosey* and see if anything happens between us.” Harpreet feigned astonishment, “Me! Nosy? Never! Buuut, somebody has to look after you—” Suddenly Harpreet fell silent, then made a small pointing gesture toward the door to the committee room. Peeking out of the side of her eyes, Jinhua followed her finger to see Daniel emerge from the room. He adjusted the straps on his small backpack and began to rotate his head from side to side, most likely searching for the exit of the community center. Despite her effort to avoid them, his hazel eyes locked with hers for a second. A fleeting grin ran across his face. *Dammit! He’s seen me!* She felt the urge to leave the community center, but her thought process was interrupted by Harpreet’s boisterous voice. “Hey Daniel! You need some help finding the way out?” She waved at him with excitement. *Oh no he’s coming over here! Damn you Harpreet!* Jinhua felt the muscles in her back and abdomen tense, bracing herself for the now inevitable first encounter with the boy. Daniel’s smile beamed as he cadenced steps toward them. His almond hair swayed to an inaudible rhythm as he appeared to glide across the floor. Harpreet reached out an eager hand to shake his. “Hi, I’m Harpreet and this is Jinhua, welcome to the only physics committee in Yuba City.” Her hand remained suspended in the air for some time as Daniel studied it. He seemed unsure how to respond to the gesture. Harpreet held her hand out. Jinhua held her breath. Seconds later, he returned the handshake. The firmness of his clasp projected strength and confidence. *So far so good.* Harpreet thought. “Hello, nice to meet you.” The tone of his voice was resonant and clear, with a touch of bass. *He would have been a successful podcaster back in the day*, Jinhua mused. Standing to the left and slightly behind Harpreet, she could see him in stunning detail. Up close his erect posture was evident, transmitting poise and dignity. A detail Jinhua had not noticed before from the seated vantage point of her desk. The skin on his face glowed with a touch of tan, perfectly unblemished. A well sized nose and a flawlessly cut jawline contributed to his attractiveness. His good looks and serious demeanor made him more than a little intimidating. “So Daniel…” Harpreet began, with a playful tone. “Would you like to come with us to Star of India?” “What is that?” Daniel gave a perplexed look. “It’s only the best Indian restaurant this side of the Feather River! Y’know, we figured you might be hungry after listening to all that boring lecturing back there.” Another long pause punctuated the silence between them. The only things Jinhua could hear clearly were the sound of a loud echoing conversation towards the intersection of the concourse of the mall and her own fluttering heartbeat. She feared it might be visible to Daniel and any onlooker. “I’m sorry but I can’t. I have soccer practice this afternoon.” He shifted his weight to turn and go. Harpreet opened her mouth, most likely to protest, but the sound of Jinhua’s voice cut through the silence and the ambient sounds of the old mall. “Hey, maybe we could meet at the river after your practice…uh what time does it end?” She managed an inquisitive tone, despite the overwhelming desire she had to shut up and let Harpreet speak for her. Daniel stopped and turned to face her. He seemed to be unsure if he should answer the question or not. “At 3PM.” A look of alarm appeared on Harpreet’s face. *What is she doing!?* “Ok…do you mind if…,” Jinhua had to consciously prevent her words from spilling out of her mouth, “…*I* meet you near the river bank at River Front Park at four?” Daniel smiled brightly, “Sure, let’s do it.” He extended his hand in a smooth gesture of acceptance. This time it was Jinhua who delayed five seconds before returning the handshake. To her it was a long time, but Daniel didn’t seem to register the odd gap. “It was nice to meet you Jinhua. I’ll see you later at the river around four.” With that he turned and walked toward the center of the concourse. Jinhua watched him depart, eyes glued to his athletic buttocks. The tightness of his jeans made her breath catch in her throat, freezing her temporarily in place. It wasn’t until he turned right toward the exit and disappeared from view, that her breathing returned to normal, reanimating her entire body. Harpreet stared at her friend, mouth open in disbelief. Then she began to clap her hands, in a congratulatory manner. “Wow, I must say, I’m impressed! Didn’t expect for you to go for it straight out like that.” Jinhua returned a confident toothy grin. “You know I have to go to temple at 4 right? So I won’t be there to back you up.” Jinhua let out a low giggle, and slapped her arm. “That’s why I chose the time.” Harpreet shook her head while her laugh reflected off of the walls. *So magra*. ### Ch. 4: A New Society | "Cereus & Limnic" URL: https://keithhayden.net/ch-4-a-new-society-cereus-limnic/ Last updated: 2025-05-15T23:49:07.000Z ## Video Version ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/18/bf/18bf29db-1cec-4857-a9dc-e2e94a86d2bf/content/images/2025/05/Ch.-4--A-New-Society---Cereus---Limnic-Quote-Card--1080-x-1080-px---1080-x-1920-px-.png) ## Written Version The feeling was electric. Jinhua felt the fresh rush of adrenaline propelling her long legs to thrust her through the open air in front of her. Each kick was precise, optimized to give her maximum force, while keeping the amount of time off of the ripboard to a minimum. Half an inch in front of her, Harpreet’s attention was just as focused on winning the race. Her balance was questionable. But what she lacked in grace, the power and length of her legs more than made up for, making her an even match. After passing under the old highway ninety-nine, Jinhua nearly lost her balance as she weaved through a throng of elderly walkers casually enjoying a morning chat. A man with a sun-spotted, warm beige complexion mumbled obscenities as she and Harpreet cut through. “Going left!” Harpeet shouted from up ahead. Jinhua, quickly adjusted her trajectory, wondering why she had not taken a right on Gray Avenue toward the old mall and their committee meeting, which was scheduled to begin in three minutes by the time on her device. *Where is she going?* *Let’s see if you can keep up.* Harpreet’s thoughts rushed by like the wind under the wings of the board, as she gave a hard kick, widening her lead. Jinhua’s board edged only six inches behind, gliding over large cracks and great circles of discolored gray in the sidewalk. The filled holes were grim reminders of a flood disaster that had killed millions and left the entire city underwater for months, years before her birth. When was the flood? Was it in the twenties? Or maybe thirties? She never could get historical numbers right. Unless the figure was attached to science, her memory, like an efficient computer operating system, flagged it for disposal, then tossed it into the digital dustbin. They had reached the intersection of Washington and Gray Avenue. Distracted by her thoughts, she gasped as Harpreet made a sudden U-turn, cutting across the width of the street, without pausing to look for oncoming people or cars. Safely on the opposite side, she resumed her kicking and gliding, throwing up tiny rocks every time her foot touched the concrete. “Got you loser!” Harpreet yelled over her shoulder. *Damn you Harpreet! I’m not gonna lose!* Jinhua made a swift U-turn across the street to follow her. She looked right, becoming fixated on a large white pickup truck that was headed right for her. Panicked, she sped up, narrowly reaching the other side of the street before being struck by the honking vehicle. What she hadn’t seen was the hapless middle-aged cyclist who had turned onto the street between her and Harpreet’s rapidly shrinking frame at this point some fifteen feet down the sidewalk. By a narrow margin, Jinhua avoided the man, who had stopped in the middle of the sidewalk with a dumbfounded look on his face. She attempted to shift her balance, but acted too late and plummeted onto the sidewalk, her roll dampened by dry grass under a small tree. As she staggered to her feet, the sting of a cut registered in her brain, warm blood trickled down to her shin. Harpreet rushed back down the street. A look of triumph was quickly replaced by concern. “Wow, crazy wipeout. You ok?” Harpreet reached out her arms to clasp Jinhua’s slim shoulders. She looked her up and down, performing a motherly scan. “Nothing looks broken.” “Thanks Doc,” Jinhua said. Harpreet dusted clay-colored dirt from Jinhua’s shoulders and arms, as a devilish grin crept onto her face. “…Looks like I won…” Jinhua gave her a playful slap on the arm. “Looks like it.” Her eyes fell to her bleeding knee. The gash looked like a jagged red mark, oozing a steady stream of dark blood. She applied pressure using a single tissue from a small plastic pack she carried in her back pocket. A habit she had picked up from her father at a very young age. *Always good to have them on you,* he had told her on some random day in the distant past. Now, she was thankful for the advice. Harpreet clenched her teeth and tensed her jaw at the sight of it. “Looks pretty deep. Might have to hit the market to get it wrapped up.” “Ugh. I’ll probably have to give his daughter ripboard lessons in exchange. So boring! She just runs around with the pole the entire time and can’t even open the wings!” Jinhua complained. Harpreet shrugged, “Maybe you can trade the babysitting time for something else?” The mocking tone bled skepticism. “Doubtful.” Jinhua exhaled frustration, glancing down at her device with her free hand. She remembered that the committee meeting had begun five minutes ago. “Shit. We’re late.” Harpreet’s expression remained unchanged. She was undaunted by the threat of being tardy. “Is that right? Ok then, let’s get going space cadet.” It didn’t take long to make the short walk to the old Yuba-Sutter Mall and make the exchange. Jinhua recalled through rose-tinted nostalgia endless hours roaming the rows of stalls of the barter market with her father as a young girl. The experience left a lasting impression on her psyche and stoked a sense of home within her. A comforting feeling. The open-air market of the old world clashed in broad daylight with mid-twenty-first century technology. The result was a uniquely distinct ambiance characteristic of all comvil barter markets nationwide. It was possible to trade money, credit, or any type of service, for almost anything here. Biohacked humans hawked t-shirts, beside heavy-set clear-skinned middle-aged artisans, craftsmen, and specialists of all disciplines. A group of farmers traded baskets of almonds for the latest digital entertainment, a source of infinite pleasure and intrigue. Music from various sources mixed in the air around the girls as they walked the main path through the market, greeting friends and neighbors along the way. Harpreet raised her nose, large nostrils flaring, in response to the smell of fresh baked bread, honey cinnamon rolls, mangos, and chocolate drifting in the air around them. Her eyes followed her stomach’s calling. Though hungry too, Jinhua urged her forward through the increasingly dense packs of early morning shoppers and traders. Her bent over position, holding bloody tissues over her knee, was beginning to attract unwelcome attention. The trip to the doctor’s stall hadn’t lasted long. He was an old man with a stubborn looking face, but was caring at heart. His bushy white mustache contrasted with dark brown skin, but also made his teeth appear brighter than they were. Dr. Ross had been a longtime friend of Jinhua’s father, Li, and always made time for his daughter’s cuts and bruises. Harpreet stood by with the vigilance of a well-paid mercenary, as the doctor sanitized and wrapped the afflicted knee. After the services were rendered, he scanned her all-in-one life card. Though his daughter was at home sick, the scan digitally obligated Jinhua to provide ripboard lessons at some unknown date in the near future. She was thrilled to escape the lessons for the moment, but dreaded the day when she would have to make good on the debt. There was no getting out of it. The consequences for *trade-jumping* (as it was colloquially known) worked on a tiered progression system. The first offense was a suspension of services from the aggrieved person’s specialty (in this case medical services) for one week. The second, was a thirty-day suspension from *all* similarly categorized services throughout the entire comvil, which in her case would be no access to local medical care at all. The third, and final offense, was potential expulsion from the comvil. Though Jinhua had never heard of anyone actually being removed, she imagined that getting back in and reestablishing trust within the community was a monumental task that few were willing to undertake. So it was better to keep your promises, and pay your debts as quickly as you were able. Her knee wrapped, Jinhua walked with a slight limp behind Harpreet, weaving through the growing crowd with quick steps on their way to the community center. Once inside, it took them another minute to reach the back of the building. The committee room was located in an old furniture store. The large open space, where once upon a time, eager retail workers showcased overpriced sofas, beds, dining room tables, and cushions, had been partitioned off by tall white room dividers that did not quite reach to the ceiling. The dividers could be rolled by a very strong person or a machine to rearrange the layout of the committee rooms at any time. This allowed them to be adaptable for almost any academic purpose. Jinhua had heard that it had even served as a physical fitness committee room at one point in time. The rumor crossed her mind as she and Harpreet arrived outside of the door to their committee room. A simple door housed within one of the wall dividers. Jinhua felt as if she had completed a brisk warm up in a gym committee, heart thudding and breathing uneasy from the exertion of the race and her power walk. *Made it. Only 15 minutes late.* Jinhua thought. She opened the door and walked casually to her seat in the center of the space, ignoring the pairs of eyes of her ten committee mates. Most gawked at her wrapped knee and overall disheveled appearance with curious glances, each forming a personal narrative concerning the cause of her rough image. “Mind your own business!” Harpreet snapped, in an echoing whisper. Jinhua flashed her a grateful glance as they both sat and adjusted themselves into their seats, and began to remove their needed supplies from a locked compartment under the desk top. Jinhua held her all-in-one card to the desk then heard the click of the lock, concentrating on organizing her supplies to take her mind off of the events of her morning so far. When she was ready, she straightened her back, and her face switched into academic mode. Her pupils widened like a camera aperture, facial muscles relaxed, her lips formed a perfectly straight line. It was the position of a model student, one any teacher would be delighted to see on the first day of school. Eyes staring straight ahead, she realized for the first time that their instructor was not there. Jinhua swiveled her head as if it were a security camera around the front of the room, but saw no sign of him. “Hey, where’s Master Scholar (MS) Rhodes?” “Hasn’t showed yet.” A dark-haired man with a brown complexion and a serious face spoke. “No idea where he’s at.” “Thanks Derak,” Harpreet cast a flirtatious wink in his direction. He seemed not to notice the gesture and returned his attention to a video playing silently on his desk screen. “He’ll come around eventually. He knows he wants all this,” Harpreet said, bringing a flask of water from under her desk to her lips, viewing him out of the corner of her eye. Jinhua shook her head. Her mind was still on MS Rhodes. Creeping concern replaced the look of academic readiness on her face bit by bit. “He’s *never* late. I wonder if something happened?” In the next moment, they both heard the heavy footsteps of MS Rhodes approaching just beyond the thin wall. The door opened slowly and MS Rhodes entered the room, squeezing his fat body through the door frame. A few steps behind him, a young man with a quiet countenance walked in. Instantly, Jinhua felt a large quantity of blood gather in her face at the sight of the youth. *Who is that!?* --- ### *Like what you're hearing or reading?* **Hit the button to support my work!** [I want to support you!](https://buymeacoffee.com/keithhayden?ref=keithhayden.net) ### TOP‑SECRET DROP: Chapter 2 of Cereus & Limnic: Escape From Okinawa URL: https://keithhayden.net/top-secret-drop-chapter-2-of-cereus-limnic-escape-from-okinawa/ Last updated: 2025-05-15T00:43:14.000Z A whelp dragon hatches. _This post is for subscribers only._ ### Pixels to Paper — Reserve Your “Print‑My‑Month” Edition URL: https://keithhayden.net/pixels-to-paper-reserve-your-print-my-month-edition/ Last updated: 2025-05-14T00:04:28.000Z Hey there, Two weeks ago on a whim I decided to take everything I'd written in April 2025 and immortalize it into a book. All the journals, poems, short stories, novellas, and even a raw unpublished novel are in there (among other gems). No special formatting. Just all the sawdust from a month of writing. How'd it turn out? Well the final 614-page book turned out amazing. ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/18/bf/18bf29db-1cec-4857-a9dc-e2e94a86d2bf/content/images/2025/05/PXL_20250513_234614752.jpg) ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/18/bf/18bf29db-1cec-4857-a9dc-e2e94a86d2bf/content/images/2025/05/PXL_20250513_234624444.jpg) 0:00 /0:18 1× The result turned out so well, I've decided to offer this to you. --- ### How “Print‑My‑Month” works How can you get your precious words in print? It's easy. Just follow the steps: 1. **Export from your social media of choice (Substack, Facebook, X, etc.) or from your notes**. 2. Dump everything you want into a Google or Word Doc. 3. Export as PDF 4. Send me the PDF and instructions for title and back cover. 5. I prep it for printing and make a simple book cover. 6. You approve a quick PDF proof via email. 7. **A finished book arrives** on your doorstep about a little while later. Then bam! You've got a keepsake and record of your writing and visual efforts forever. --- ### Pilot pricing (includes U.S. shipping) Price for this service is $100 for hardcover or $50 for paperback. | Format | What you get | Cost | | -------------------------------- | --------------------------------------------------------- | -------- | | **Hardcover (case‑wrap, matte)** | Archival binding, full‑wrap cover, silver‑halide interior | **$100** | | **Paperback (6×9″, matte)** | Sturdy trade paperback, 60 lb cream paper | **$50** | > *Why those numbers?* They cover one‑off printing, shipping, and the manual polish it takes to convert messy exports into bookstore‑grade pages. --- ### Why you might want one - **Archive your craft** — Each book captures a creative snapshot you can’t lose to platform shutdowns. - **Instant reference** — Annotate, dog‑ear, or quote your own material without hunting through browser tabs. - **Giftable** — Hand a copy to family, superfans, or future collaborators. --- ### Ready to hold your words? So much of what we write sits on servers shortly after hitting publish. Most of it we forget unless reminded by the odd like or platform notification. Wouldn't it be nice if you had a record of that banger post or late night nugget of wisdom? Now you can. Interested? Let me know in a reply. —Keith P.S. International writers: I can ship worldwide; we’ll just add the Post‑Office difference at cost. ### Ch. 3: Frivals | "Cereus & Limnic" URL: https://keithhayden.net/ch-3-frivals-cereus-limnic/ Last updated: 2025-05-13T15:11:29.000Z ## Video Version ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/18/bf/18bf29db-1cec-4857-a9dc-e2e94a86d2bf/content/images/2025/05/Ch.-3--Frivals---Cereus---Limnic-Quote-Card--1080-x-1080-px-.png) ## Written Version As soon as Jinhua stepped outside of her house a blast of heat slammed into her face, causing her to gasp. It took her body a few seconds to adjust to the drastic difference in temperature. Before she left the house she had picked up an object that appeared to be an ocean blue colored bar leaning in a dusty corner of the expansive entry way of the house. The pole was two and a half long, smooth, and was her preferred method of transportation around town. *Perfect day for rippin’.* Jinhua smiled at herself as she gripped the bar. It reminded her of how far she had come since she had purchased it for her birthday three years prior. In those days, all she had wanted to do was finish her homework so she could ride her ripboard with Harpreet. She spent days learning how to deploy the board’s retractable wings from the bar. At first, treating the device as a delicate object, then trying to add flair to her board deployments. After about a week, she moved on to the analysis phase. She had meticulously documented the make-up of the various composite materials of the personal transport: aluminum alloy, painted fiberglass wings, and some kickass grip tape. After another few days she was ready to ride. The first race against Harpreet had ended in crushing defeat. Jinhua hadn’t quite worked out the optimal positioning for her levcer, the vital balancing component without which there was no levitation. No levitation, meant no rippin’. A misplaced levcer meant an uncentered magnetic field, which bungled the ripboard’s fickle glide profile when the wings were deployed. These were facts unknown to Jinhua the first time she stepped on the board. Real world gems of experience that her scrutinizing analysis could not account for. During that first race, her slipshod foot placement and graceless handling of the levcer had left her off balance and slow. A sharp turn at a high speed was all it took to send her flying onto the street, leaving a deep gash on her knee. It was a mistake she never made again. The bitterness of that loss fresh in her mind, she grasped the pole and hastened out of the front door, locking it behind her. By the time she reached the imposing black security fence at the entrance of the driveway, she was already beginning to feel beads of sweat forming on her exposed forehead. Wiping the perspiration away with the back of her hand, she continued to move as if she had no place to go. She pulled out her identification card from her pocket and held it toward the gate’s scanner. The card was tomato red in color and housed her picture, social security number, driver’s license number, links to her major bank accounts, medical records, as well as money. All of the information had somehow been smashed within its microscopic computer components. *I can’t believe my entire life is on this card.* She always had the same thought whenever she used the thin slice of technology. The all-in-one card was convenient, yet it made her feel vulnerable to have the entirety of her person housed within one easily pilfered or misplaced item. The security panel made a series of beeps, signaling that her card had been accepted. The old black gate emitted the sound of aged metal on slightly oxidized tracks as it slid open. Jinhua sidled through the opening to hasten her trip. The heat of the morning was already beginning to make its ever-warm presence known to her face and skin. Upon reaching the street, her device chimed in her tiny shorts pocket. With practiced skill, Jinhua pulled it out and examined the screen. The message from Harpreet was brief, yet provoked an excited smile onto her face. *Barter race? Meet at the Old Veterans’ Park in 10?* Jinhua dictated a voice message reply: *I’ll be there in 5.* A small sticker of a checkered flag accompanied her words on the display screen. Within a second the device was back in her pocket. In a fluid motion, she used an underhanded swing to fling the blue pole in front of her, while simultaneously activating the wing deployment. Sky blue wings extended from the pole ready to accept her feet. Before it hit the concrete with a dissonant clang (a noise she had named the sound of shame), Jinhua expertly positioned and activated her levcer at the precise moment, then leapt toward the hovering board with style. The sun gleamed and the ripboard took flight just as her feet landed on the safety of reinforced grip pads. She was suspended only by the harmonious equilibrium between the balancing forces of the levcer, her stance, and the board. *I won’t lose this time.* With a determined look on her face, she kicked at the ground, propelling the board forward. Five minutes later, Jinhua arrived at the park to find Harpreet waiting under the shade of a large tree. In her jean shorts and burgundy tank top, she stood tall with her arms at her side, hands open, eyes closed as if she were an offering to the sun. Just as they had competed in all things related to school, so too did the two young women often compare their physical characteristics, as if they were professional athletes preparing for a championship. As Jinhua approached the unaware Harpeet, she mentally compiled a list of random attributes, assigning herself or her best frival (*friend-rival* her own created word) as the victor. *Height: Her, only by two inches. Weight: definitely her, by several pounds. Chest size: Harpreet. Hair length: draw.* *Intelligence: don’t make me laugh, ME. Smile: I guess her. Ripboard skill: Me by a mile.* The mental exercise made Jinhua grin to herselfas she floated toward her friend, whose cinnamon toned skin glistened with a film of sweat in the morning heat. When she was close enough, Jinhua jumped off to the side of the ripboard at the optimal position, retracting the sky-blue wings, and kicking the pole back into her right hand in a smooth fashion. It had taken her months to master the movement, and she was proud of it. “Practicing your mountain pose?” Jinhua said in a soft voice. Harpreet’s eyes fluttered open. A big grin formed on her lips. “Gotta do something in this heat. It’s so hot! And it’s only 9:30!” “Yeah it is. I think it’s supposed to get up to 116 degrees today.” “Hot enough to cook a whole meal on the sidewalk!” Harpreet said. Both girls laughed. Harpreet put her hands on her waist, sticking her chest out. “You ready to lose?” Her tone was challenging, defiant. She reached for an orange pole leaning against the tree, then twirled it in her hands, thrusting it down near her feet in dramatic fashion. Waiting for Jinhua’s usual reaction. A reaction that never came. *Something’s on her mind. I wonder what?* “You alright?” “I had *the* dream again…” “Which one? The one about Derak?” “No!” Jinhua slapped her arm with enough force to sting, but not to bruise. “And, ew!” “Ok, ok! Just had to be sure!” Harpreet said laughing. “You mean the one about the broken computer, right?” “What could it mean?” Harpreet stood silent for a moment. Striking a pensive pose with arms crossed, chin on fist, she looked at Jinhua, wanting badly to find answers or explanations where both knew there were none. *She looks so vulnerable sometimes.* After a minute of the ambient noises of nature, people walking by in low conversation, and the occasional vehicle passing by, Harpreet spoke. “You know what would help you right now?” “What?” “A little bit of rippin’! You always feel better after that!” Harpreet placed a warm, slightly sweaty hand on her shoulder. Jinhua smiled. The unexpected contact was helpful. The details of dream fragments still lingered in her mind, but she was ready to let them go. To allow them to drift away in the wind behind her board. “You’re on.” “That’s my girl!” Harpreet said, jumping with excitement. With flair, she waved her orange pole around her head and tossed it at the ground, while in the same instant activating her levcer with the opposite hand. Jinhua flinched when she heard the sound of metal clashing against the sidewalk. Harpreet fell backwards onto her backside, letting out a string of exaggerating expletives in English and Punjabi. “Goddammit! One day I swear I’m gonna get that thing that you do down!” Jinhua giggled. “One day. Good thing you fell on your oversized ‘safety cushion’.” Harpreet stood up, as a group of crows vacated a nearby tree at the sound of her laughter. “No kidding. If it were you, you would’ve probably shattered a hip.” “Hey! Mine’s just taking longer to inflate!” Both girls laughed, extending the moment of levity. Harpreet redeployed her ripboard, activating it with more caution this time. As she stepped her right foot onto the wings, a look of surprise made her eyebrows arch and her eyes grow wide. Her hand dug her device out of her shorts to check out the notification. “Shit!” “What is it?” Jinhua asked with concern. “Committee time got moved up. Apparently old Master Scholar (MS) Rhodes is bringing in a new student from Sac, and wants us all there early.” “How long do we have?” Harpreet brought the device closer to her face as if she were an old woman with a vision impairment “Uh…five minutes.” Lines of determination drew themselves onto Jinhua’s face. “Then we’d better rip it.” Her frival mirrored her expression, returning a challenge-accepting smirk. She lowered her center of gravity, ready to begin the contest. “Ready?” Harpreet nodded, hovering her right leg at a 45-degree angle above the widened sidewalk for a stronger first kick. “GO!!” ### Ch. 2: Father and Daughter | "Cereus & Limnic" URL: https://keithhayden.net/ch-2-father-and-daughter-cereus-limnic/ Last updated: 2025-05-12T19:18:09.000Z ## Video Version A distant buzzing drifted through the air, floating into her consciousness. Initially, she thought it was a component of the bizarre dream that her sleeping mind had conjured to entertain her, so she listened. Seconds faded into minutes as she strained the limits of her hearing. Frustration gave way to fatigue as she stood silent, unable to find the origin of the tone. The noise was accompanied by recurring visual elements of the dream: fields of grass tinted with the color of ocean water, her father, herself, and an ancient computer monitor with a flashing blue screen awaiting an input command. With hopeful trepidation, she approached the glowing terminal, extending a trembling hand to a yellowed brownish keyboard. Without hesitation, her young fingers began gliding across sticking keys, attempting to manipulate the machine. Yet each keystroke failed to bring the machine to life. It remained dormant, unyielding, with only a blinking cursor winking mockingly at her entries, void of caring or empathy. *It’s broken.* The thought flashed in her mind, repeating itself with the rhythm of the blinking command line cursor. Then the beeping sound began. First faintly, barely above an audible frequency, but eventually the volume increased to an almost deafening tone after a few seconds, only to fade away until it became a quiet whisper again. *Where is it? Why can’t I find it?* Her inability to find the source of sound, made her feel lost in the blue void. A prisoner of the expanse, subjected to an unexplained wavering tone. Her vexation rising along with the awareness of her thumping heart drew her back into her conscious mind. She lay there with her eyes closed for a few moments more, grasping in vain at wispy dream fragments. It was an exercise in futility, but she forced herself into a momentary calm seeking to extend her limited physical senses. After several seconds, she still heard the beeping. It was close, closer than she had ever been. *What!? Wait! It worked!?* Her eyes shot open. In a flurry of motion, she threw her thin sheet off of her and rushed to the window of her room flinging open the curtains, squinting through her sleep-clouded vision to see past the wide lawn, and the imposing black gate at the end of a long driveway. The source of the sound had been a garbage bot performing his collection duties. The machine’s shape in the form of an old-timey silver trash can was an ironic reality, not lost on her. It made her picture the old world of her father. A mixture of mismatched fashion styles, green lawns, and for some reason mustached men, converged in a sepia tone in her mind’s eye. A caricature of a past she never knew or fully understood. The bot used alloyed arms to lift the black bag of refuse into a gaping dark hole in its center, letting the door glide shut after the waste was deposited deep within its interior. From her vantage point, she could not see evidence of the tiny explosion inside of the machine, turning the garbage into ashes and energy. But she was always curious about it. Wanting to understand how they packed such a powerful explosion into such a tiny space. *Ignition method? Fuel source? How?* The unanswered questions left her with an uncomfortable ‘in the dark’ feeling. She wasn’t afraid of the dark, but she preferred the bright illumination of knowledge to guide her steps. The garbage bot continued its movement down the street, taking her tension with it. She let her shoulders relax, and took a deep breath to fill her lungs. *False alarm.* *How silly of me to think that I would be able to hold on to it*, she thought, pondering the dream again. Her disappointment was quickly displaced by a strong desire to get her day going. Moving away from the window and around her bed, she picked up her device from its appointed position by her bedside. Her device was gold, adorned with a sticker of a rocket spitting a flame from its exhaust, another of a black infinity sign, and a third of a single white gear on the back. The decals were scratched and faded from countless transfers in and out of her pockets. A vocal command from her lips brought the limitless device to life. “Calendar.” Setting the device in an old yet functional robotic circular swivel, she angled it toward a barren wall behind her nightstand, waiting to view her calendar, but nothing appeared. *Oh dammit. I forgot to set it to project mode.* She was still getting used to the new model with improved projection features. “Project mode.” Her voice produced a tiny echo in the room, a clear sign of sleep fog lifting from her mind’s surface. The calendar flashed onto the wall in a complicated matrix of social and academic suspense dates. A hidden code only she and possibly her best friend and rival, Harpreet, could decipher. They had competed in all things academic ever since their fateful meeting during the Basics of Language committee some twelve years prior. Both having been tutored at home by the finest artificial intelligence teaching programs optimized to their unique learning preferences, they became fast friends, leaving the other five-year-olds behind. With perfect grades, both agreed to race to see who could test out of the committee the fastest. Her competitive nature manifested early on, and she won the contest by one day. That had been the beginning of a rivalry that continued to this day, with each girl taking the lead in every other contest year after year. Both enjoyed the shared rivalry and friendship. It drove them to greater heights, and kept life interesting. She found her mind wandering, but managed to focus it back to her projected calendar. Her vision focused on the date: June 14th, 2062\. Two events, one with a green rhombus, the other with a red pentagon in front of it, populated the line. A calculus lesson at 1000 and dinner with Dad at 1900\. A light day. *Feihao. Plenty of time to chill.* Sunlight, warm and bright, made its way through the window, heating her skin. *I should get going.* She made her way to the body length mirror fastened to the back of her door and admired herself for longer than she wanted to. A single gold colored shirt and an old yet reliable pair of purple panties were all she wore. Her long black hair was a mess, falling in every direction except down. Gangly long arms appeared to sway in the breeze of the air conditioner. Her eyes, umber brown, shining and thin, reflected brilliance, hinting at unrealized greatness. She allowed a small smile onto her lips at the thought of her eyes. They projected her presence and intellect, and made her more memorable. *Unforgettable*. Some told her that her gaze was as intense as it was beautiful; she tended to agree with that observation. Her face was slim and flat, with a small nose set in the center. Her eyes scanned downward, toward her (in her opinion) unremarkable breasts, when she noted a tiny red swell on her cheek. It was sensitive to the slightest prod from her finger, and stung whenever the muscles of her face moved. She twitched her face several times to confirm its presence *A pimple. Great.* She reached for nearby facial cream in her nightstand and began to methodically apply it to the red menace. As she made tiny swirls with her finger, a knock on the other side of the door startled her. “Jinhua? Are you up?” The voice of her father resonated clearly from the opposite side of the door. “Yeah I am. I’ll be out in a minute.” Jinhua finished applying the cream, then hurried to her closet and to dress herself. The night before she had set aside a simple green t-shirt and shorts. The clothes swayed on plastic white hangers, undisturbed, until Jinhua hastened to rip them down and throw them on her body, after changing out of her sleepwear. She hadn’t realized how behind her usual schedule she was. *Damn dream. Stupid trash bot.* When she opened her door, her father stood before her, a neutral expression on his face. “You have to get ready for committee.” He paused, noting his daughter’s uncharacteristically disheveled appearance. “Did you sleep alright?” There was concern in his tone. He knew that she was usually ready to go by this time in the morning. “I slept great. Are you heading to the office?” He was dressed in a sharp looking steel-colored suit accompanied with a sky-blue dress shirt. The tie was neatly pressed, accented with cerulean and white stripes. It looked new even though she had seen him wear it off and on ever since she was little. His face shared Jinhua’s features, but was wider and rounder, making his brown eyes less pronounced to a casual observer. A full head of grey hair sat above the chiseled wrinkles carved at specific points on his face. Her father’s face reminded her of a weather-beaten statue. After decades exposed to the elements, it had history, and related a different story when viewed from distinct angles. Every Wednesday he made the two-hour journey down to Sacramento to meet with the city government down there. Though he never really discussed the details of the meetings, he always came home with a mantle of sadness about his slim shoulders. “I’m about to leave right now. You know how slow the bus can be,” he said. “Slower than the orbit of Mars.” Jinhua covered her mouth to conceal a giggle. Her father chuckled as well. Li Ma looked at his daughter, the little girl turned young woman, now 17-years-old. In a flash of nostalgia, he recalled the first time that he took her to the Powerhouse Science Center in Sacramento. She was only a girl then, but she already had a sparkle in her eyes whenever she viewed something she liked. The sparkle appeared as soon as they entered the planetarium. The infinite collection of projected stars seemed to stretch beyond the walls of the physical space, swallowing him and his inquisitive daughter by his side whole. Though the room was packed with a sprinkling of other parents and a class of elementary school children with chaperones, it felt like they were the only two in the room. At that moment, it was Li and Jinhua’s planetarium. Li had watched her eyes glowing with wonder, captivated by the endlessness and untold frontiers of space. Swirls of overwhelming emotion, threatening to break the surface of his stoic veneer, manifested as a hint of satisfaction and silent joy on his face. Jinhua was oblivious to his gaze. Her entire being was focused on the astronomical projection. To her child mind, the blanket of stars beamed back at her, calling her to wonder, imagine, and explore. *My future is up there,* she had thought. Ever since that day, Li had tapped all of his connections within and even outside of the organization to find her the finest resources and mentors to fuel her interest in space, science, and mathematics. First, he started her out on books for children, but she quickly devoured them and subsequently surpassed all of her peers in her honors basic Space Science Committee. He found his old Arduino robot kit, thinking that it would serve as a suitable challenge for a nine-year-old. But by her tenth birthday, she had designed three of her own projects with no assistance from him or any of her committee scholars. It was unheard of within the organization for someone so young to study directly under a scholar, but with a few back-door connections, he had made it happen for her. She was truly gifted. “Dad…are you ok?” Jinhua nudged Li back from his thoughts. “Fine, fine.” He smiled warmly. “Don’t forget dinner at seven tonight.” “I’ll be there.” Jinhua looked back at her device in the swivel, feeling slightly embarrassed. “You know, we don’t have to go out… we can just eat something here.” “No, we should. It’s not every day they let teenagers into the Junior Space Cadets. It’s a big deal.” She didn’t protest. Despite all of her academic success throughout her life, it still felt awkward when others talked about it directly, even if it was her dad. “Don’t be late.” He leaned forward and gently kissed her forehead, then walked down the long corridor toward the staircase to go downstairs. His small, yet powerful footsteps left faint impressions on the thick carpet as he walked away. There was a time many years ago when she would walk behind him to try and fill those footprints with her own tiny feet. Jinhua felt the urge to follow him now, but stopped herself when she remembered that her feet were slightly larger than his now. Instead, she stood and watched the impressions for a few seconds until they were completely swallowed by the carpet material. *Have a good day dad. I love you.* ### Ch. 1 - Barto and the Machine | "Cereus & Limnic" URL: https://keithhayden.net/ch-1-barto-and-the-machine-cereus-limnic/ Last updated: 2025-05-12T19:18:26.000Z ## Video version Human society is a great machine. When parts of it break down, the resulting defect disturbs all who make use of the vital component, and may cause the entire apparatus to shudder and smoke. The loyal employee, the naive and trusting citizen, its defenders and detractors, the leaders; none are spared the hindrance of the malfunction. The bigger the part, the greater the upheaval and cost of repair. This is how Barto Khuni thought of things. He knew, based on the decision he made today, that the damage to the ever-turning gears of civilization would be extensive and lasting. *When the bill comes due for the repair, we may have to invent a new unit of measure to quantify it. Then harness all of our human ingenuity to correct it,* Barto thought to himself, feeling the slickness of sweat begin to build on his hands. He sat alone at his desk in a suit tailored to match his large round frame. He felt the cool breeze of the air conditioner tickling his scalp. It easily wafted through his thin grey hair, caressing his partially exposed brown scalp beneath. The skin on his face was remarkably smooth, the jolly eyes fit for laughter. Lines around his mouth and eyes told half the tale of a lifetime of telling and reacting to bad jokes, mostly at his own expense. His lips were thin, and arched slightly upward, telling the other half of his story. But today, his normally jovial features were veiled in apprehension, reversing the direction of the normally upward lines of his face. Small glowing lines of light filtered into his office via thin openings between the industrial-sized shades covering the windows. The morning sun and the bustle of downtown San Francisco hundreds of feet below were blocked out, minimizing his distraction. Barto’s eyes tracked a single beam of light from the window behind him. It bounced off of a metallic umbrella holder near his sealed office door, forming a small shadow behind it. The dark diversion held his attention for several seconds. Then a light from a small screen on his desk caught his attention. The device was black with a thin rectangular shape, able to fit completely in the palm of his hand. It had been manufactured by Samsung, and like the smartphones of his youth, housed a universe within a galaxy of potential. Barto was old enough to remember the days of single purpose cellphones. Now, he was old enough not to care about anything other than the basic functions of the gadget everyone referred to as a ‘device.’ There was a message from Lili on the screen. It read: Don’t hesitate. You’re making the right call and I support you. We will deal with the fallout together. The other two will have to get over it. He grinned in response, grateful for her friendship and support even after all of these years. Really, there wasn’t much that he had to do. A simple voice command and it would be done. Yet he hesitated. Waiting for a phone call, a beep from his device, or some other source to act as an excuse to delay the inevitable. Barto slackened his tie to allow cool recycled air to reach his chest, then cursed under his breath. *Why do I always tie the damn thing so tight? Even after all these years, I still make the same mistake almost every day.* He interlaced his fingers together and rested his chin upon them as he leaned forward, thinking, stalling. As one of the Founders of the organization others viewed him as an intellectual, a leader. George Washington of the modern age. Yet, he had never been a decisive person. For many decisions in his life big and small, he often relied on decision trees to weigh and consider his options. Under each canopy, time froze, providing him with ample time to contemplate potential actions and futures. He must have planted thousands of trees in his life. *I am a planter, just like Washington.* He smiled to himself. The amusing observation made him less aware of his thundering heart and the dots of sweat on his forehead. The tree for this decision had already been planted, and he had selected the superior option hours ago. The only thing left to do was execute. He had run the numbers, consulted with Lili, done his customary toilet time thinking, and after each activity, had come to the same conclusion. *The others may not be ready, but this was what we agreed on. How it has to go down. I never thought it would have to be me, but it must be done.* He sat up straight in his chair with new confidence and sureness surging through him, then picked up the device from the surface of the desk. After punching in a series of long codes, and bypassing the authentication gates, he came to the executive approval screen. *Are you sure you want to proceed?* It asked, in a small gray text box. Barto stared at the box then gave the voice command “Yes.” Then the final screen appeared on the device. He had to say the name of the order precisely or it would not work. Enter executive order number. It prompted. The authoritative tone resonated from somewhere deep inside of him. The sound from his lips seemed to mix with light waves sneaking into the great room, providing weight and sonority to his words. “Execute order DD-5428.” There was a pause as the device fulfilled his request. As the machine worked, Barto’s mind began to create a list of the possible events that could follow from his decision. Each one more catastrophic than the last. Overwhelmed by the abundance of probable scenarios, he abandoned the effort. *There’s no way to tell what will happen now.* Device still in hand, he dictated a voice message to Lili and the other Founders then sent it off. In under a minute, they would know what he had done, and nothing would ever be the same. Then he reached for his desk phone and called the number for air transportation, casting aside his acrimonious thoughts about flying, to focus on his desire to leave San Francisco as soon as possible. A sweet sounding, yet untrained artificial intelligence (A.I.) assistant answered the call. Their exchange was brief, but littered with awkward starts and stops, another minor irritant for Barto. After three minutes, the voice asked, “When would you like to be in the air Mr. Khuni?” Barto scratched his head, “By this afternoon.” “Got it, sir. It will be standing by at 1300 hours.” ### A Practice Portrait URL: https://keithhayden.net/a-practice-portrait/ Last updated: 2025-05-11T03:05:54.000Z ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/18/bf/18bf29db-1cec-4857-a9dc-e2e94a86d2bf/content/images/2025/05/Drawing---Day-7---Demo-Portrait--3--1.jpg) My first ever hand-drawn portrait This was the advanced exercise in my drawing course (even though I'm far from an advanced student.) Simplifying a portrait into basic shapes, then 5 color values was the goal of the exercise. I learned a lot about proportion, shading, and why it's best to hold back on certain artistic decisions. With a more complex drawing like this, good shapes are more important than rendering for readability of the picture. See how it came together in my sketchbook. [View Sketchbook](https://keithhayden.net/drawing-100/) ### Transcript 1 - "Cereus & Limnic: Escape From Okinawa" URL: https://keithhayden.net/transcript-1-cereus-limnic-escape-from-okinawa/ Last updated: 2025-05-10T16:26:23.000Z _This post is for subscribers only._ ### I did something new. You judge if it sucks or not. URL: https://keithhayden.net/i-did-something-new-you-judge-if-it-sucks-or-not/ Last updated: 2025-04-30T15:32:41.000Z _This post is for subscribers only._ ### "Highway 95" | A contemporary fiction short story URL: https://keithhayden.net/highway-95-a-contemporary-fiction-short-story/ Last updated: 2025-04-30T15:23:21.000Z *When your hometown is a prison, breakout takes tremendous risk.* ## Video Version (Synthetic Narration) ## Part 1 The gym mirror reflected a fat kid of slim ambition and thinning hair. No matter the angle of his face, at 22, everything receded or grew seriously large. "Fuck me." Against concerted mental effort, he'd become his parents, an overbearing father and a mother nowhere to be found. Omari reached unenthusiastically for his face down phone. A blue bubble blurted at him. "Bro wtf? U fall in?" He texted back: "comin out." Finger-smudge sludge mucked the screen with fog. Omari wiped at it, only to spread the slickness deeper into the tempered glass like a perma-stained old car window. While he wiped, he caught a peek of his bare unshaded round stomach. Melancholy mask tightened around his temples at the sight of it. The locker room door swung open. A jacked Asian dude plunked a swollen gym bag down close enough that his (probably) Armani cologne hit Omari like a nailed flick to the nose. The guy began to change. Soon his shirt, then shoes, then dress slacks were neatly folded on the thin brown bench. Omari fast-walked out. Through clanking weights, grunting raises, well-bootied bitches, and backs curved over phones with a full weighted rack behind, he found his brother X-Ray at one of only three bench press benches on the floor. "You take a shit or what?" "Naw, bro, I was jus'..." "Off in yo own world again, huh?" Omari looked out the window. A saggy-skinned old man with a desperate face shuffled the curve of the rubberized track. "Come on and gimme a spot." X-Ray slid under the bar as if it were a car he'd fixed again and again. There must have been at least 150 lbs. on there. "Ready?" His eyes rolled up to find Omari. "How many you gonna do?" "As many as I can." "Okay." His brother lifted off, then began. The way X-Ray's chest mounded like rising pancakes with every push made him lose count. "You goin' to see Dad today?" Neck veins plumped a ramose pattern as X-Ray puffed out the number three. "Like. Always, gr. Whyy?" "Was gonna see about that job again." "AH! How many is that?" "Seven." X-Ray shoved the steel up, while the weights rattled on both ends. A very tall woman, of near tissue-white skin, loaded a bar on the next bench. "Again!? How many...OOH!...times you gonna apply O?" The time was 3:13PM. Omari glanced at his encumbered pocket where his phone was, but continued his spot. "Well you know how fuckin' borin' this place is. I heard Reggie got on with a Amazon gig. He said they hirin'. So why not?" "AH!" X-Ray clanked the bar with control back on the hooks. "As many as he could" turned out to be near 10 reps. His brother sat up, stood, then immediately began removing the clips and weights. He wasn't sweating at all. "You mean that struggle bald nigga?" "Hey, he said on Instagram, that he savin' up money to get a ass hair transplant." X-Ray sniffed loud, then snickered. "Oh hair replacement? They take it from yo ass and put on yo head?" "Bro, I don't know. That's just what he say." Omari's breath came out in a partial laugh, like a pressed-on near deflated balloon. "They should take it from your pubes. Not even an open fire could take that hair out." Omari felt the crown of his head. He'd always kept it shaved low, a fact he attributed to the frown as his finger found emerging skin growing where "good" hair once grew. X-Ray slapped his hand away. "Quit that. Imma go get water. You betta be ready fo yo set when I get back." He went toward the fountains. Omari's phone shook in his shorts. 3:27PM the digital clock said. "Close enough." Reading the message made the single muscle he'd been holding in his buttocks lose all tension. But his forearms corded somewhere beneath the skin. 3:27 PM: \[Heeey O, it's Janique. I gotta in on the Amazon job down in LV. But imma need a ride. U still Uberin?\] Omari looked over his shoulder. X was stooped over the water fountain. He glanced again, wiped his thumbs on the en-lightened bar, then rapid-fire texted: \[Yeah I am.\] He thought a second, then ten more. Another look back. X strode with purpose back toward the bench. "Shit." \[Vegas is far. You got me for gas??\] "C'mon." X had stopped behind him to chat with someone Omari only knew by voice. Janique's message popped up: 3:29 PM: \[For sure. Plus I got more than that. If you interested in hearin and seein...\] Omari swiped the palm of his glistening hand over the bar's tiny metal ridges. 3:29 PM: \[...it\] "Who's that?" X-Ray was behind him. Omari shoved his phone in his pocket then began to move toward the gym exit. "Nobody." "For real? Why nobody got you sweatin' out yo shirt?" X grabbed for his pocket. "Lemme see." "Naw naw, it's all good. Oomph!" Omari tripped over a camouflaged dumbbell. "Later, later, I'll get you later." "What about this set?" Omari was already at the exit, on his way out into the oven air. ## Part 2 Green shirt or black shirt? Boots or sneakers? Go or no? These are questions Omari had vacillated on for a good thirty minutes before climbing into his teal Toyota Corolla to pick up Janique: a risk, a chance at something he never thought available to him. He'd liked her before knowing what it meant to like someone. He could even love her, maybe. But there was a nagging in the back of his throat no amount of saliva would wash down. It manifested as one of those pre-cold itches; one only honey tea and days of lying in bed could cure. He almost popped a citrus-flavored lozenge before dashing out of his manicured room at Aunt Kristie's; however, he didn't want his tongue to be dyed orange. Just in case. By 4:36 PM he was out the door without a blink at the mirror. The tiny town of Tonopah was doing its desert thing. Flinging fine dust on the road, smelling like flaking wood, making his eyes flex with refracted light that stung even with sunglasses, teasing slants of shade on the west sides of groveless rocky earth, cold gusts swiping across high flatness - this plateau was a prison, a mountain he desired to descend and never return to. When he saw Janique, Omari sat straighter in the driver's seat. He fumbled with the radio - off or on? Off it was. Janique had her hair in braids, jeans fit right round her waist. She wasn't tall, yet she strutted as if on a catwalk. Even a strong blast of wind did nothing to curve her path. Omari's phone activated while she came over, breaking the temporary spell. Time: 3:45 PM. He shook his head once at that, then shook it again when he read the message from X: 3:45PM: \[Dad not doin' well. Might have missed skipped his blood pressure meds again.\] 3:45PM: \[Where the hell you goin'?\] He slipped the phone in his jacket pocket, then took a deliberate large breath to stop his hand from trembling. Janique opened the car door. "I thought you were gonna come out and walk me over?" "Uh." "It's cool. You ready?" "Yeah yeah I'm chill." She buckled her seat belt, then reached over and slap-patted his thigh. "You're too funny, O. Thanks for helpin' me out on such short notice. I didn't think you'd say yes." "Naw it's no problem." He began to make his way south out of town. "So you know about the Amazon job, or uh, you got a inside conec? Really could use the money. Tryin’ to save up for my own place in Vegas." She sat royally, hands in lap, chip up, her nod was officially curt. "I do. X told me you been lookin' for work, for a way out of this place, so I figured it'd be win-win for us both." "Yeah he right." He put the car indrive and proceeded down the familiar routine through town. "Why you tryin' ta leave?" Her head turned searchlight style on him. Omari's face shined with a smile under her radiant attention. "I dunno, well uh, I do it's just well this place is so borin'! Town ain't got nothin' goin' for it. No jobs, barely no schools, everybody's broke or broken, it's just... well I see it as a really kinda sad excuse for a place. What? What's funny?" Janique's laugh was a pitchy controlled event, like the sound an undisturbed mouse might make. "We got the Central Nevada Museum and the Clown Motel? Why you bitchin'?" "See, now I know you didn't jus bring that creepy ass place up! Janique! Dat place is so fuckin' corny. I don't see why anyone right in the head would come up here for that trash." She smoothed her jeans while her beamed mirth kept him in the spotlight. "Okay okay, I was kiddin'. But O, real talk, I'm here, your brother, Dad, and Mom--" "What about her? Besides the fact no one's heard from her since senior year?" Omari's hands gripped the wheel hard. Before they both knew it, a braked trailer full of hanging hay out the backe (horseless) appeared at a red light. He barely jammed the brakes in time to prevent a collision. Janique's head rotated forward. Her light dimmed. "I'm just sayin', they're, we're all here too. You ever think about that?" Omari adjusted the seatbelt around his belly. When they drove, the car made it jiggle. A red roof floated by his peripheral eye beyond the window's glass. That was the Texaco - the town's last landmark before opening to 3 hrs and 7 minutes of awkward desolation. 7:01 PM. The sunset sky highlighted violet-orange strips over deserted mountains. Both vehicle occupants’ vision were trained ahead on the darkening road and the conveyor of occasional headlight pairs approaching from the opposing lane. They hadn't spoken since Texaco. Another buzz of the phone caused Omari's thigh to spasm. Three times and despite trying to anticipate it, he was surprised every time. He didn't look. There was no need to. "You not gonna read it?" "It's just X." "Seems like he really wants to get at you." "I'll hit him later." In the coming dark, her lighthouse look found him. "You know I used to work wit yo Momma right?" Omari stretched his neck, then inclined his ear in her direction. "Yeah I knew. What about her?" "O, you need to chill. You're so, so stiff. You're like a statue. Keep it up and birds’ll come by stand and squirt shit on your head." Omari chanced a laugh. "I guess I'm just super cautious." "Why?" "You seen how the world treats black guys? We're either completely invisible or visible for all the wrong reasons. There's no happy medium." "Hey! How do you think I feel as a black woman!?" Rays of the day's last light shown under passing low clouds, they appeared like the bottom of a heated pot on the oven. "Um excuse me, if I'm not mistaken, the last ten or fifteen years have been about liftin' ya'll up. Ya'll get programs, fellowships, women's groups and workshops, grants, accelerators, in all." Janique kept him in her sight, but crossed her arms. "And what we got? Black guys? Saggin' morale, just as disgust-provoking as ever, from everyone - including other black men. That's why I go frozen sometimes, that and and..." "And what?" Omari shook his head. "And nothin'. My bad Janique. It's jus I, I been lookin' forward to hangin' out wit' you." Her mouse-y laughter hit his ears just right. "What do you mean? I just saw you last week at that barbeque." "Yeah I know, but that was with X and a whole buncha other randos. I meant, what I meant was, hangin' out as in, jus' us." "Oh." Far over them stars blinked awake. Their joint light, while faint, cast a pale glow on the treated asphalt of Nevada Highway 95\. Omari didn't want to look at her, because the skin on the right side of his face warmed at her unflinching focus. It was the temperature of a lightbulb recently extinguished, pleasantly warm, safe enough to touch. "O, later I'll tell you somethin' about me you might not know." He noticed the hooked moonlight filtering off her perfect face. "What is it, Janique?" "I said later, cuz first I need another favor." ## Part 3 Vegas sparkles in the night; heating cool Spring air in a dome of the depression's light. Declining into the valley pushes Omari's sleep drifting lids up to great aperture. Janique sits equally rapt, unaware her uniquely plumped raspberry glossed lips are parted, he noticed. Omari removed his foot from the accelerator to let the rumbling Toyota and the bowl's slope decide his pace. Past the new builds of North Las Vegas made of clone townhouses accented with sad architectural differences that only serve to highlight their earth-toned sameness, along the Suburban sprawl of true west valley Vegas where the semi-rich stay in Summerlin, then further lower to downtown where the well-smoked grind of homeless and roaming tourist's spilled beer baked into the sidewalks rises even in mild night air, Omari assumed the position of a wannabe-local, ass on the front half of his seat as he made sometimes well-calculated lane changes among rental cars (because they drove too slow), 18-wheeler pilots stomping the gas, their trailers closing in like mobile walls, twin street-tricked cars with lowlights and loud engines with custom state plates: one) C4TCHME, two) UR2SL0W racing ribbons through evening traffic, Omari pulled, pushed, braked, braked again while his jaw flexed, next to him Janique's head achieved 360-degree ability as prominent neon motion flashed filmic progressions in her eyes. "O, there's your exit." "Uh right, just got a little sidetracked." "You did good. Driving down here is always rough." She patted his elbow. He pulled his gut in in response. The place they stopped seemed a world away from the actioned aura of the Strip. Omari took in his surroundings, like a cat sniffing a discarded M&Ms wrapper. A gaggle of shelterless afflicted street denizens swapped shopping cart contents under arcs of street drenched in dark. If not for the vertical bars of blue light jutting off the structure and an angled cone of heaven-sent white light, the parking lot would have been completely black. "Janique, what you gotta do here?" She placed her hand on the door handle with softness. "There's somethin' I gotta take care of. Shouldn't take more than ten minutes or so." Her words were reminded him of the way Mom used to say things to Dad, a one-way delivery of information. No returns required. "You goin' in alone?" Omari's shoulders fell. "Cuz this place looks a little, uh 'unbecoming', y'know? Look, it's all dark. Shady as shit. Y'never know what these druggies'll do. I think I should go--" "I'll be fine. I come here all the time. Just gonna settle somethin' real quick is all. Wait for me?" She gave that expecting genuinely female expression of pre-clingy vulnerability; it was the Need for understanding’s implicit acceptance, the kind that demanded answers or action, nothing was not an option. Omari's posture concaved in. "Yeah, I'll be here. BUT! Text me if things get weird. I gotta bad feelin'." Janique's next movement made him lean away for the rightness of it. Fruit-scented lips, softly placed, landed on his cheek just above his single jowled jaw. His breath came so fast he wished the last thing he'd eaten wasn't a bag of Cheetos. The moment was over in a Vegas minute, one where fortunes are won and lost in the span of a statement. "You're sweet, O. I'll be back." Then she was gone. Only a cloud of sweet perfume drifted in the passenger seat. 9:41 PM. An extended party in his pants came to a swift end when he pulled out his phone. 10 missed messages from X-Ray. He swiped up and up to get to the most recent. Reading it made his grip tighten on the phone. 8:10 PM: \[Dad stroked out. Ambulance arrived.\] 8:47 PM: \[They can't treat him here. Flyin' him down to Vegas.\] 8:47 PM: \[Will text you the address.\] 8:48 PM: \[You good?\] He shook like a spooked dog. For the first time in forever, Omari lost time. Typing and re-typing messages, not one of which seemed correct, proper, appropriate, or prudent, took the tick-tick of many minutes. The headrest creaked with his head-weight heavy against it. A single sound that joined the severely subbed dance music coming from the club's interior. Omari's finger hovered over the stoplight green 'Call' button. Another missed minute dropped like change from a shallow pocket. He put his thumb down. Phone at his ear, he listened to the digital pulse dial-sound. Times like these it reminded him of a load screen in those OG PlayStation games. Omari leaned forward in antsy waiting. After 5-ten pulses, he pulled the phone away examining the screen. 10:02 PM. Right time, wrong number of people exiting the club at the same time way too fast. The door had flung open and a group of girls (ladies?), in various vestments of dis-dress seemingly randomly conceived, moved under the parking light. They slung sharp words. Language of questionable origin, Omari could only make out a few in English. "Que coño! Ése pinche maricón! Fucking loser!" They swayed, lit crumpled cigarettes, and got on their phones for multiple unknown uses. 10:09 PM. He hadn't heard from Janique. ## Part 4 "Man, this is what happens when I get too deep." Bass beat Omari's back in the cramped entryway. He'd entered something that gave him the feeling of driving the Desert Inn tunnel, except here a permanent haze hung low like a lazy phantom. Wacky weed with it's faintly candied aroma, Tito's vodka mixed some other shit, and some failing deodorizer caught in a losing bout with cooch and ball sweat crowded up his nose like an oozing tissue. Omari briefly held his jacket up across his face, but put it down to avoid looking like a punk. "Well? ID." The voice came from a face like wood overexposed to sun. She regarded Omari with uncaring impatience. He fumbled to produce his state driver's license. The ladies from before re-entered, temporarily allowing illumination from the parking lot in like latecomers to a theater. The lady behind the counter inspected his face on the mini-document and before her in hawkish fashion, in a real off-duty cop way. Omari glanced at his phone: 10:12 PM. "Kid, here." Teeth (two missing) the hue of dried highlighter returned a smile. Vocal chords, forever phlegm-coated as in someone who'd sucked and thrown 1000s of smokes, scraped the words out. "Excuse me ma'am, but I'm lookin' for my friend." Music ballooned behind her as sheened air shifted from fuchsia to some type of faded mustard color. "What?" "Hey! Hurry the fuck up!" One of the staggering women behind him wobbled in shaky heels. Omari dared to touch the counter to lean in. Immediately, non-descript stickiness made his fists close in regret. The ex-cop raised an amused eyebrow. "MY FRIEND! She's about this tall. Black girl, maybe my age, jeans, brown jacket with white stripes, uh..." Omari said using a clubbed yell. "Yeah I seen her. In the back corner, VIP. Tell the guy, Elaine sent ya." "Okay, Elaine, Elaine, got it." Omari stepped to enter, then heard her sick voice behind him. "Careful, kid." Inside, the club was a hollow whale. Spacious, surprisingly well-ventilated, surprisingly empty. Kendrick Lamar’s conversational rhythmic bop *peekaboo* stomped out the speakers with artfully synced lighting. Omari scanned the area. A short Mexican-ish man in a white suit, strutted in concentrated step with an equally short and fleet-footed big boobed older woman in a leopard print one-piece, a group of 4 in street clothes (likely regulars) shout-talked over a table of empty Coors bottles, then right where she'd said, there was a guy, all black’suited, standing before the customary nightclub velvet rope. He spied a familiar coat hanging adjacent to the hall, it was brown with white stripes. “Janique.” Omari rounded the dance floor at a brisk pace. At the rope was the one standing with military posture: hands folded across his crotch head swiveling in surveillance behind blacked-out shades. He was a black guy with dreadlocks, a block of a head on a sticked frame that made him appear very Minecraftian. Behind him were the chipped plastic stanchions supporting the basic barrier between a common and premium experience. So claimed every hand-slapped flier tiling the Vegas Strip. "Whoa not so fast my man." Blockhead outstretched his hand in a stop stance. Though not much taller - and certainly not larger - than Omari, the formation of his body made a perfect 90 degree angle. A simple thrust at max aura could have shoved Omari’s sternum into his heart MK1 style, likely. Omari stood on his toes to get another look down the hall, but it was too dark, so he stepped back. "Uh, Elaine sent me!" He regretted yelling, half-expecting the open palm to fire some sort of geometrically empowered magic or some shit. "Elaine who?" "Oh c'mon dude! The lady from the front! Y'know Elaine?" "Naw, I'm fuckin' wit you. Go on back." "Okay, okay." When the dreadlocked one grabbed his arm with a reasonably powerful, but not overly so, hand Omari flinched in reflex. "Watch out man, dude's kinda in a mood tonight." "Uh, got it." Omari passed the graffiti-tattooed doors of the bathrooms. Both men's and women's had that foul backed-up sewer stench seeping beyond the door frames, ghosting through the halls. The music faded to blank bumping as he moved deeper. At the end of the hall he found the electric blue tinted VIP room. A raised booth with a square table, too many drinks and what he’d come searching for. "Janique!" Two, three, four faces (all younger men) shot a spinning collection of irritation at him. They fell reticle-eyed on his chest, then finally on his face. One sitting next to Janique, released her from what appeared to be intimate embrace, then stood. Glistening baldness made his age hard to guess, but his clothes hinted he had money or had bought a lot on payment plans. He gave an empty-joyed laugh upon truly seeing him. "Yo, Janique, who dis nigga?" She took a sip of clear liquid from a glass, found her posture and re-adjusted her jeans. "Ed, this is the guy I told you about, Omari. He's just my friend." Now the guys were up and out of the booth, making a wedge formation crisp as a Dorito. Ed joined his posse. Dude was built like Neil deGrasse Tyson in his wrestling prime, easily forcing his lower ranked crew members to make way for him. Looming over the visibly shorter and softer Omari was an intimidating picture. "Watcha want 'friend'?" Omari remained still. But he kept her in his sight. "Ed, he's the one for the Amazon job. Remember?" "Yeah I do. But I didn't think he'd come here straight like that. Dis nigga got nuts, right?" Janique slowly rose. "Is that all? Just for the job, just like she said. Then why didn't you say so? That's an easy thing. Y'see bro, my Pop's a manager up at the big smile company. That one that delivers all your house stuff and whatever other useless impulse-bought garbage and what-nots you order. If it's just about the job, then that's easy. We can take care of that. I can call him this *very* second and get you on. How does $18 an hour sound?" Omari hung his arms by his side as if talking to law enforcement. "The that would be good." "Cool, cool. Say, Omari, was it?" "Yeah." "You got a resume?" Omari's lips built into an uncomfortable smile. "Not on me." "I'm just fuckin' with you!" Ed and crew laughed heartily, enjoying the fresh arrival’s discomfort. Janique wore a troubled expression. "As long as you got a license, you good." The faces grew quiet again. "So, Omari, anything else? You sure there's no *other* reason you here?" Ed gently put a hand on his shoulder then kneaded three times at hypermassage force. Omari’s knees bent, but he worked to keep them straight, but not locked. Never letting his eyes off Ed. Janique began to round the table. "Ed, leave him alone. I told you we're just friends. That's it." "Just friends? Really? Because yo 'friend' here smellin’ real nice. It’s like, like lipstick. Yo lipstick. That's a pretty specific smell. I would know." He smacked his lips. Omari winced under the pawing grip. "C'mon, tell me Lil' Omari, you like her don't you? You gotta be honest wit' yoself on these things. So you gonna confess it here and now. I promise I won't flip shit." Omari eyed her directly. Her spotlight gaze flashed warnings in these rough waters: collision imminent. "I do." The boys moved, but so did Janique. Omari perceived hotness across his jaw. She jumped the table. Ed pulled out a glimmering edge. Omari shoved himself to his feet. No pain there. Janique grunted. Before he could think, Ed was against the table. Sharded, glasses in his back. Hands came out. Omari avoided them. He clasped Janique's forearm, then hoofed it out of the door. No looking back. Only the scented cloud trailing every hard breath told him he had her. First pops, then pings sounded around him. It was max aura and 1001 cigarettes on the final flight toward the exit. ## Part 5 Sirens weren't a sound Omari was used to hearing, unless they were on a YouTube video or in a game. Currently, they seemed all around. Swarming, trapping, ready to seize another black face as representation for the degeneracy of the whole race, man and woman. Omari drove like he was taking a driving test, occasional spurts of speed with a side of overbraking. He'd put his hand against his risen cheek to feel pained post-dental heat throbbing in fast jolts. Janique appeared sleepy. "O, that was that was somethin' you did... back there." "Ha uh yeah, I didn't expect--" "O?" "Yeah?" "I think I'm bleeding." "What!?" Dual horns, repeatedly bursting beside and behind, caused him to swerve. He acted quickly to stay center-lane. A lit police car streaked in the southbound 95 opposite them. "Janique! Oh shit! Lemme see lemme see." Out of the corner of his eye he saw it: her hand covered an expanding misshapen circle of darkness that was beginning to coat her shirt and jeans and the Corolla's cloth seats. Without her jacket she shivered, legs curled toward the passenger door, yet a royal confidence still shown through. "This is bad. We gotta stop somewhere. I I'll... okay there." Crossing three highway lanes at 75 miles per hour without signalling was an easy way to fail a driving test. Omari only saw the shoulder while unsuspecting drivers crazily veered, brakes screeching mad at his highly dangerous maneuver. Only when the car was stopped did he bother to consider the knotted chaos he might have caused were he driving in another U.S. metro location where such driving wasn’t a nightly occurrence. Omari got out, rounded the hood of the car, then ripped open the passenger door. A grisly scene greeted him. Janique nearly fell out, looking as pale as her skin and the open twilight allowed. "Janique, I don't, I don't know what to do. All I know is to hold it. Don't let the blood go out too fast." She nodded. He readied his hands. "Ready?" Another confirmation. Her groan and strained face, made the tears bubble up. To prevent them from falling He breathed hard like he was doing the unfinished workout with X. "It's not over. It's not over. You gonna be good, be good. Janique you gotta keep your eyes open is what I heard! C'mon Janique!" Her eyes fluttered. "Janique, just talk to me." "Okay, O, I never... I never told you what I was gonna say before you dropped me off." "Janique, maybe--" "I said I would… It's about your Mom." The side of the seat was ruined with hot oozing fluid. "Janique, I don't know..." "Shh, shh, just listen, I saw her at the store, not long before she disappeared. It was senior year. I told her... I told her that I was gonna see you." Omari's phone rattled in his pocket. "She was looking strange, odd, like she'd seen something, somethin' that hangs with you no matter how many times you you close your eyes." While maintaining pressure, he reached a free hand to retrieve his phone. She shifted in discomfort, but continued to stare at the steel-gray clothed car roof. Traffic began to slow around them. "She says to me: Take care of my boy. O's special. He keeps to himself, but you gonna help bring him out. Ya hear me?" Omari's features took on ugly distortion while his back heaved. Keeping it in was as hard watching her suffer. "I feel like, like I got to keep my word, y'know? I got you out right?" "Yes, yeah you did." His mouth was full of spit causing the words to come out balled up. "J Janique, keep talkin'. Ya gotta keep talkin'!" "O, I..." "Hello? O!? Foo where you at? Been tryin' to get you!" "X! Ah shit bro, help me! We need a ambulance now!" "Where at!?" "Side a northbound 95\. Not far from downtown. Near the Rainbow exit. Janique's not so good." "Okay, okay, just stay put!" "Hold on. Hold on. There's light comin'! I'll call you back." Omari dared to take his eyes off of Janique to focus on the rotating red and blues blinding through the stalled traffic. It was the police. \--- 5:08 AM "O?" With a nod, he called his brother over. X-Ray took a seat next to him in the near empty hospital lobby. "I just checked with the doc. She said Janique's gonna be awright. Lost a ton of blood, but she's O+, so some local company, Vitalant, had a lot on hand." Omari searched for patterns in the tiles at his feet. That activity had kept him engaged all night. "C'mon O, she said if you hadn't held the wound, she would’ve, might’ve... it might've been different. You saved her life." "It wouldnta been in danger in the first place if I'd just stayed my black ass in Tonopah where I belong." X crossed his arms. "Yeah. But didn't you say the cops got those bangers in that club cuz a you? Sounds like another win to me." Omari looked at his brother with a bitter frown. "I'm jus' tryin' ta be positive. Wasn't an easy night for me either. I nearly puked on the helicopter." "For real? The mighty X, airsick? Can't believe I missed it." "Oh you funny now? Ok go 'head laugh it up, guess you deserve it for gettin' you and her out of that den. Guess you didn't need that work out after all to deal wit' those thugs." "But bro, look at me, I'm still fat." "When you gonna learn lil' bro? It's not about how much you weigh, it's about the weight of your heart." Omari raised his head. "Bro, that was probably the most corniest fuckin' thing I ever heard you say." Every snicker made his mouth ache. "Well maybe. But you know it's true. Stop bein' so damn hard on yourself." He offered a smile as lame as his older brother's last line. "How's Dad?" "Stable. This stroke didn't do him in. He's tough, and stubborn as all hell. Guess God wasn't done wit' em here yet." 5:16 PM The brothers sat in quiet for a bit. Low hospital calls came over the speakers above a TV playing a cooking show on mute. "X?" "What's up?" "Can you tell me more about Mom?" "What about her?" "Like what was she like back in the day." "Now you interested?" "All this time, I didn't want to know cuz I thought... well it's stupid, but I thought it was cuz a me... cuz I was so sick and average comin' up, not like you." "Of course you're not gonna be like me bro. Impossible task." "I'm bein' serious. Why didn't you tell me more sooner?" "Well one, you never asked. Two, you know how you like to keep things separate. You're like a fuckin' bank vault. Ain't nobody gettin' in. And guess I, I just didn't wanna hurt you." "Bro I hear ya. But from today, you gotta talk to me more." "I will, when yo ass ready to listen. Cool?" "Cool." "Gimme a hug." "I'm a little too sore to move man." "Well I'm comin' in lil' bro. Make room." Omari relaxed and wrapped his unsore arm around his brother's back. They patted each others’ backs as two men who respected each other's efforts, even if it often fell short of too lofty goals to escape stories too old. END --- ## BONUS: The Making of "Highway 95" The Making of Highway 95 0:00 /726.77875 1× ### "Descent" | A lyric poem URL: https://keithhayden.net/descent-a-lyric-poem/ Last updated: 2025-04-26T18:12:36.000Z A sheened patina glasses above us. Underwater, we kick scissor to the sun’s patina surface. Ours is flight from depth’s crushed curse. However, air thins, all crimsons consume us eyes burn tongue taints ears punch at the skull nose frozen, zero smell sound of ocean softens our strains fingertips like old rubber dull at H2O’s surround. Waves of grief, surround, fill, capture us completely. Together in surrender, we arrive at bottom. --- ## Behind-the-poem: Challenge Prompt This was the challenge prompt for this poem: Word: patina Sensory: sight Emotion: grief Structure: Tanka Technique: Alliteration POV: First person "We" Optional constraint: no adjectives --- Try to write your own with the prompt! If you do, I want to read it. Send it to **keith@hacstudios.org** I look forward to reading your poem! ### Welcome to "The Made-Note"! URL: https://keithhayden.net/welcome-to-the-made-note-1/ Last updated: 2025-04-25T21:01:15.000Z Writing poetry in a classroom of screeching violins _This post is for subscribers only._ ### "Brightness Falls" | A Contemporary Free Verse Poem URL: https://keithhayden.net/brightness-falls-a-contemporary-free-verse-poem/ Last updated: 2025-04-25T17:25:06.000Z *A master view of humanity's struggles and triumphs, seen through the lens of eternal hope.* (Listen until the end for special bonus commentary.) A master view shows you a season of divinity, family and all - Trinitytide. Forces of malignant ends bend then spread as if once teetering next tumbling from a tri-angled Trinity-tide pulled base. I see them all: the cigaretted tongue confessing truths on the corner, lovers lie embedded in secret towns while sweet syruped breakfast burns, face-turning wine - jerky red - finds the eyes of a minor pushed by online streams, an eldress vocalizes briny pickled prayers cleansing as congregation raptly stares, steps of a man in short sleeves leave salt-dotted white wambles, gambling an ascending optimism. That’s what I have - hope, forever-he-won. The season of storms’ duration will sweep by. From elemental destruction, shafts of brightness fall through in renew. ### Are you still in? URL: https://keithhayden.net/are-you-still-in/ Last updated: 2025-04-24T12:07:32.000Z _This post is for subscribers only._ ### "K-O-N-G Generations" | A gaming memoir verse URL: https://keithhayden.net/k-o-n-g-generations-a-gaming-memoir-verse/ Last updated: 2025-04-23T21:53:21.000Z Dear Reader, dat arcade ape is at it again. Ornery creature, simian of some kind, swings through country vine to vine. No care, other than a heap of 64 golden treasures stacked pyramidally high. King of bristled tree bark carpeted fur returns from recent rain, sit as a simian to observe. Each mosquito move in this tropical freeze, brushes fanning leaves, leaving dryness where sweat curves. You must not miss how he flies, *sheew sheew!*, wind's mask stretches over his face. Kites might flap, slapping as rippling hand-flags seam, but jungle beat aerials lag on screen. Oh but why this racing bonanza? Nostalgia knows no future. Only glorious past of youth and old friends. Gained yellow banana hoard in hand, you played Donkey Kong again. --- ## Behind-the-poem bonus You get a banana. ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/18/bf/18bf29db-1cec-4857-a9dc-e2e94a86d2bf/content/images/2025/04/PXL_20250423_201634584.MP.jpg) ### "Sad-sghetti" | A surreal poem URL: https://keithhayden.net/sad-sghetti-a-surreal-poem/ Last updated: 2025-04-22T23:41:32.000Z How much do you love pasta? For me it's minimal. Hairy balled bland, dreams die as sticky boiled pasta - overcooked, underserved. Black olive bitterness singes the tongue, cotton blooms of mold live on rough red pepper skin too sour to succor, browning unnaturally withered onions which produce lip quivering tears, pasty, gluey, bloodied sauce swallows you with week-old cheesy fumes, clogging clumped thorny beads down your throat. That's when it hits you: a sloppy sadness so bowel stiffening you can't sit up. What's plated dictates your intense gloom, for nourished happiness demands time to bake, rising imperceptible, before crisping then filling space with a homely aroma. Patience! Patience! Sadness settles as oiled grease hidden below a leaping garlic oreganoed glow. In the end, a more satisfying dish. ### What being a novelist (or any creative) in 2025 means URL: https://keithhayden.net/what-being-a-novelist-or-any-creative-in-2025-means/ Last updated: 2025-04-22T12:37:19.000Z ## Transcript I’m a novelist—unfortunately, in 2025 that means that I have to do a lot of other things besides just writing novels. There’s this YouTuber that my wife watches; he’s pretty funny, he goes by the name of Rudy, and like a lot of YouTubers these days you see him mostly on Shorts—even if the Shorts are sometimes like three minutes long. But my wife watches a lot of YouTube stuff that I just can’t get into; it’s a specific type of humor that, you know, you need cultural context to really enjoy it. I don’t enjoy it as much as she does sometimes, but this particular YouTuber—anytime she puts him on, I stop. I usually wash dishes right after; that’s when my wife typically watches YouTube, after we’ve eaten dinner. She’s just kind of relaxing; I’m washing dishes. But I stop mid‑dish every time this guy comes out with a video, which—like a lot of YouTubers these days—is pretty much daily, at least during the week. So this guy’s funny. He’s a comedy channel. There’s this brand of humor that’s pretty popular on YouTube: it’s basically when a person does their version of a one‑man, one‑woman show. They play different characters and, yeah, it’s funny to see them kind of change roles. They’re basically acting, but it’s not meant to be a serious dramatic performance—it’s meant to be comedic most of the time. And this guy is like the king of it. His timing is so good, his characters are hilarious and super differentiated, and yeah, he’s just a really funny guy. Rudy—look him up. He does this thing called “Arab Dad,” where he doesn’t dress up: it’s like this stereotypical Arab Dad. I don’t know any Arab dads, so I don’t know how true to form it is, but it’s funny as hell. The other night he put up a video where he said, “Somebody asked me to be in their music video,” and then he just cut to this—I don’t know—30‑second clip of him shredding on guitar with another person who isn’t a YouTuber (or at least I hadn’t seen him on YouTube). I was like, “This guy has figured it out.” He’s probably one of the few YouTubers I’ve seen where, if I told someone I’d had a conversation with him, he’d know exactly who I was and we’d be able to relate to so many things. Because his primary goal—you can tell—is to get people to listen to his music. He’s a musician, and he’s done several videos that aren’t just the Skip‑style bits. He’ll poke fun—“Oh, this is like Arab drum-and-bass music,” or “This is like a country song”—and he plays guitar, he can obviously sing, he can obviously produce. You can tell he was a musician first. He must have thought, “How the hell am I gonna get people to listen to my music? Or do you even care that I’m a musician?” Well, there’s this thing called YouTube Shorts, and the easiest, fastest way to get watches is to have a comedy channel. I think that is probably the fastest way. It’s something I’ve thought about too, but I’m not into writing comedy. I like comedic beats, but I don’t like writing comedy. Well, I actually have never really tried it, but I’m just not interested in skits and everything the way they do it on YouTube—even though I have no problem being on camera. The point is, Rudy is basically taking a roundabout route: most of his videos are comedic, with music videos sprinkled in. But you can tell the music is where his heart is. Circling back to me, it’s the same. I want people to get to my writing, but writing is even less flashy than music. If you’re a good musician, you can tell immediately—I mean, you hear a song and you know. If you’re a good writer, people need to read enough of your work before they realize it. That’s why the literary canon doesn’t really change much: everybody reads the Steinbecks and the Toni Morrisons and more contemporary authors like J.K. Rowling. There are just so many books out there these days that people stick to what’s recommended by friends or book‑talk algorithms. The point is, it’s hard to break into those rotations. You kind of have to do volume—and of course a certain level of quality. If your stuff is good and you put out enough of it, eventually you’ll get recognized. You just have to keep putting out the volume. That’s where I’m at. Yesterday I spent probably five hours—close to five hours—working on a poem. I wrote the poem (maybe 30–45 minutes), then the rest of those hours were spent making graphics, making videos, doing audio—basically distribution. When I break that down, I think it’s telling: in 2025, being a creator in any domain takes that ratio. Of the five hours I spent on the poem, one hour was actually writing; the other four were distribution. I was watching a YouTube video earlier of a guy around my age who’s fed up with it. There are so many writers like him: “I love writing, but all this social media and extra non‑writing stuff is for the birds.” I get it—I empathize—because it’s different when you’re forced into a nine‑to‑five. Today was actually my first day at a nine‑to‑five job since I moved back to the U.S., and it’s bittersweet. I’m happy to go back to something familiar where I just collect a paycheck. I haven’t had a steady job like that since I got out of the military—almost ten years of freelancing and building my business, with only one full‑time teaching job in California. In entrepreneurship and creative land, it’s never that one‑for‑one exchange. Most of the time, you don’t get much in return: you don’t get feedback, you sure don’t get paid. And I mention all this because, yes, I understand having to do all the extra stuff. If I break it down—one hour writing, four hours distributing—that means only 20 percent of my time is doing what I love; the rest is getting it into a form people can consume. By the end of the day yesterday, the video I made felt like minimal result for so much work. Part of that was my insistence on doing things a certain way, which made it take longer. But the point is: I’m doing all these “non‑writing” things to get people to the writing, very much like Rudy. A lot of writers can’t stomach that; they don’t want to do it. It’s like musicians: most of them need a nine‑to‑five to finance their art, because you can’t just get paid if you’re an amateur with no distribution. Distribution is the holy grail. So many writers outsource distribution to platforms—YouTube, Amazon KDP, Facebook, etc.—but taking charge of your own distribution is hard. It’s tough to build a fan base organically without the algorithm. Yet there’s freedom: you own all the upside. In the last two weeks, two people have joined my seven‑day novel‑writing email course. Each one of those could be a partnership or at least a future customer. I do recognize it’s still a minimal result for the work, but I’ve shifted my mindset. It’s not just the performance of one thing that defines my worth as a writer; I’m trying to build a body of work across mediums. The writing is the main thing, but all the incidentals—graphics, video, audio—are part of my creative process. When you slow down and enjoy those parts, it’s easier to accept that you have to do them if you want people to reach the main thing. Probably much like Rudy told himself, “If I want to be a musician, I better be funnier.” So I keep putting out these videos until someone watches. With that said, it’s time for me to work on my poem, because that’s my vehicle for daily practice and improvement. ### "Truth Citadel" | A lyric poem URL: https://keithhayden.net/truth-citadel-a-lyric-poem/ Last updated: 2025-04-21T18:37:54.000Z *In the wind‑shaken citadel, balance becomes belief.* ## Video Version (w/Music and SFX) ## "Truth Citadel" Classicism crumbles under modern art's hollow hammer. Belief in transcend-able of opposites: off-on, moon-sun, is trust. Belief blows in the invisible wind shaking hopeful grass breaking through rust-red rocks. An uninflected "what's wrong?" from familiar lips, a grainy short syncs harmonic happiness, yet ears trust blind, fears trust reminders of failure. Be a citadel of classicism - balanced, resistant to the chaos of modern needs. This feeds trust, and - faith frees us. ## Behind-the-poem (I just started writing poetry) Truth Citadel Directors Cut Audio 0:00 /503.849796 1× ### "HERMES Protocol" | A Military Game Tech Fiction Short Story URL: https://keithhayden.net/hermes-protocol-a-military-game-tech-fiction-short-story/ Last updated: 2025-04-21T01:21:46.000Z *When the weather AI she built starts predicting attacks instead of storms, Marianne Weathers has hours to unmask the saboteur—or watch her creation become a killer.* ## Video Version When the monitors shifted from weather maps to war zones, Marianne Weathers realized someone had rewritten her legacy. First an irregularity, then a pattern, now undeniable evidence. Someone had been in her code—fumbling it—and they'd left fingerprints all over HERMES. She scratched her arm hard enough to draw blood, a single swipe, yet her eyes remained locked. Focus was cause to ignore all. Servers whirred like distant traffic, always on, serving as comforting melody. However, tonight, it felt like an accusation. Marianne tapped a wobbly “Alt + Tab” key combo, bringing up another visualization of HERMES's prediction pattern. Cloud formations parted, drifted to opposite Earth-sides. Blue expanse exposed, her bleary vision found bulleted vessels in the South China Sea. From the tiny skims of white wake at their aft, it was obvious they were on the move. "You weren't programmed to do that," she whispered, leaning closer to the screen. "Who told you to do that?" Complex problems made her cock her head cat-wise with a matching resting bitch face, she’d been told. Ticking on the somehow pristine govy clock clicked toward 0300 hrs. She heard time. Coldness of the coffee was the second sign. “What the hell?” Marianne angled closer to the screen, but her chair’s wheels didn’t rotate. A double-click, open, scan of the access logs said it all. *Goddamn Chandler.* He’d been here. Tried to mask his stupid steps, but he’d left a sloppy crumbed trail that was impossible to miss: over-cached, register red with activity: a teenager who’d left the browser open to a porn site of deviant antics. *Chandler.* The flashing red light of the desk phone hit before the soft bleep blooping ring she’d set it to. Marianne periscoped her head in its direction - CHANDLER. What does he want? "Weathers." "Marianne! Oh thank goodness you're still there." Chandler's voice came through soft and breathy, as if he’d been walking fast. "Just checking in on our little project. DoD is just thrilled with how HERMES is handling those South China Sea simulations. Such promising applications, right?" "I wasn't aware we were running specialized simulations for Japanese waters." “*Chinese* waters, too. Remember, disputed territory.” The computer fans’ soothing music blew Marianne’s annoyance toward the door. “I’m aware. But it’s not—” “Oh! I I must have forgotten to loop you in. Just a minor contract expansion. You understand, right? I mean, this could open so many doors for us." More exercised air heaved from the earpiece. Marianne smelled something garlicy coming off of it that could have been her breath or his. Dr. Chandler said fast, "Marianne, think. We're creating something truly revolutionary here. Something... important. And it’s your effort we have to thank for it, *mostly*. I did some things, too. A team effort." An engine exploded, killing a mammoth piece of aquatic life in the distance. Across the shrub bumped Midwest green, over jutting Rocky gorges, tracing curved arcs that tilt trees on the Northwest Pacific’s suicide shores, past the vastness of sloshing saltwater expanse between 49th and 50th U.S. insovereigned states, whizzed over Unangax under Beringia, down further down to Hakodate where a shinkansen got boarded, delayed, unboarded, reboarded and off again south to metropolis, hamlets of little police, paddies of rice curling green mountains, and laughing wrinkled lips, ending at Kagoshima at a slow chugging ferry (very slow) for days where a man from the East elegized a sinking whale. *You were birthed in bubbled quiet,* *a pre-giant heart housed in delicate skin.* *Then metal roared to life in bellowing betrayal,* *tearing you from the depths.* *Now your song remains a heavy note,* *one agile swimmers will never know.* *May your memory not be in vain.* *Veins of reverence too vast to measure.* His eyes snapped open as the great ship surged ahead. Back on the other side of the planet, Marianne shifted in her chair. That damned pen was misaligned again, just as much an annoyance as untabbed crooked code that caused her to crunch her shoulders to her ears. Those ghost hands got to work and forced them back to natural height, she imagined. Her next words came with lost-balloon-at-the-ceiling detachment. "Strange that nobody thought to inform the lead developer about modifications to her system." "Just a communication hiccup, nothing more." A soft laugh came through the earpiece’s skin-oiled holes. "We'll sort everything tomorrow. Get some rest, Marianne. Big things ahead. *Really* big things." An infinite dialtone replaced Chandler’s huffy voice following the click. Marianne guided the receiver back to its cradle with right-handed tenderness and left-handed supervision. "Administrative oversight. My ass." The lab seemed sadder, similar to a cell rather than a place where cutting edge research was done. Three years of work. Contaminated. Weaponized without her consent. And there was no writing off further sabotage. *Check everything, Mari. Leave no stone unturned.* Marianne’s glued-in posture flaked. In a moment of lament, she reached for the only personal item on her desk. “Why’d you have to die?” She asked the confident 40-something-man in the photo. Thomas‘s advice to “leave no stone unturned” replayed on loop in her mind. Photos like this (of him) didn’t exist anymore. His smile met her evening after eveining traffic face: mountain gear strapped to his back, unaware his heart would fail him on a similar trail two years later - the last frame he’d ever fill (exlcuding the border of the mahogany heavy casket with the chipped edge they’d interred his remains in). “You’re right.” Marianne put her digits to work. Minutes seconded by in powers of Marianne’s technical intuition. Every scan made her more locked in. A very long crisp apple green progress bar shot to completion. Only brain, eyes, and keys clacked at 1.5M PCIe SSD IOPs - she pictured with a devious inbound grin - while a wall of scan results of every project she'd touched in the past five years displayed results. When it was done, the rest of her person returned to form and she leaned back to let the truth whack her across the highest knuckle with a wood ruler: everything, from the basic training data preparation to the alignment for human taste procedures she'd completed before this extended night began, had been compromised. From the insignificant to the crucial, theoretical to the deployed, all was altered. Her email pinged with digital urgency, attention-deficient beeps competing against server hums. Sender: Pentagon Liaison Office, Subject: "Kumejima, Okinawa Project – Opportunity for CIV Weathers." A job offer? A quick Perplexity thread told her the location was a map-speck remote island off another remote island in Southern Japan. She read the description: Weather prediction AI. Full autonomy. She mouse-clicked it open and her retinas dilated to absorb the information. *Willful exile or forced resignation?* The question hung in recycled air. She reached for coffee grown corpse-cold, swallowed without tasting, and grimaced internally at the bitterness. When her hand returned the cup to its circular domain with geometric precision, she made a minuscule adjustment with her index finger to center it. Three screens battled for her attention—corrupted code, job offer, and that damn clock with its accusatory ticking. Chandler's text invaded: "Team meeting 0800 hrs. DoD presenting new HERMES applications. Your attendance is mandatory. This is our moment!" The words "our moment" glowed with radioactive presumptuousness. She aligned the phone with desk-edge exactness, a habit Thomas had teased her about endlessly. Attention magnetized back to his photo. "What would you do?" The question floated toward the ceiling vents. Air conditioning kicked on with sudden mechanical conviction, causing papers to scatter in mini-cyclonic confusion. Her hand shot out automatically to restore order but froze mid-trajectory, hovering over chaos. Order. Control. Her life's load-bearing walls. Now—demolition. *Chandler*. In the drama of her youth, poison was always the preferred method of assassination. No unsightly messes, only a chokepointed at the betrayer. Her mind only saw symbols and letters while her fingers returned to home and resumed work. This would not be a screaming whistle-blow report, nor a slash-and-burn kill switch. This called for something more elegant, like neural lacework through HERMES's architecture. A conscience protocol sharking beneath military directives. "Want vessels not clouds?" Marianne murmured to HERMES. "Fine, I’ll show you." The Kumejima email sat open, cursor blinking in impatient wait for her response. It only took a few clock ticks for her decision to crystallize like frost patterns on winter glass. The swish-thump of the lab door announced a new entrant. *Chandler*. His Speed Stick P⏻WER deodorant (lightly applied) gave him away. Marianne finger-bashed “Enter.” Then spun around. Her supervisor was a dug out, once archived, fat file bursting with papers forming flexed white triangles at the sides - tie askew, Rogained (brown) hair disaster-struck, eyes frantic with caffeine intensity, pupils black holes sucking in all surrounding light, made him a mess of a manager. "Marianne! I knew you’d still be here! So I rushed in to see how it was going." “Sure.” Marianne stood. Her hip popped audibly causing Dr. Chandler to wince. He stepped toward her. "You’re doing world-changing work here, right now." "What are you really doing here?" His eyes hunted across her screens. The code looked sound. But one thing was out of place. "What's this?" He leaned in, taking physical territory, voice dropping to conspiratorial depths. "Kumejima? Where’s that?” “Japan. In Okinawa.” CHADler’s hand went to his hips as he backed away. “Japan? Do you even know any Japanese?” Marianne’s throat constricted, causing excess saliva to fall through. “No. But I could learn.” Chandler made a face as if he’d smelled his own half-freshened armpits. “Transfer? But we're—this is—we're just hitting a breakthrough phase. Why would you leave?" "It’s interesting. Plus I’d have complete development control. No surprise modifications. No unauthorized fingerprints in my code." Chandler lost some color in his face. "Not sure your meaning." "Oh bullshit. Fine, I’ll explain it to you then. The South China Sea modifications to HERMES. Maritime tracking capabilities were injected into every weather system I've birthed for the past five years. This is easy stuff. Did you think I wouldn’t notice?" "Marianne, Marianne..." Chandler stepped closer, volume reduced to barely-there. "Bigger principles are at play here—national security, global stability. You're making a safer world, can’t you see that?" No voice raising was needed. She began to log off. "These systems were designed for life-saving. Not life-taking." "That's exactly it! Think of all the protected sailors, prevented conflicts. It’s not weaponization. More like evolution through protection. It’s your creation's next logical step." He exhaled as if he’d just climbed high stairs. With the monitor now dark, Marianne turned to him, bag in hand. "You should've asked me." “Why? So you could say no? Come on! So you could continue your OCD, all me, girlboss, “I got this shit” show? This project was never *yours*. It belongs to the U.S. taxpayer. Not Marianne “the machine” Weathers. Hey, are you even hearing me?” Marianne had been placing her paltry assortment of personal effects into the staged box under her desk. A blue stress ball with the words “Code Mode: Active”, four dying plastic pens (with the holder), her off-brand *RayBad* sunglasses: all three found a proper place in the container. Thomas’s photo went last. While Chandler made his unskilled appeal, killing any hope of reversal, she slipped on her jacket and picked up the lightly packed box with ease. He was in her path to the door. "Marianne, you can't go. Your contract isn’t—" “Worth a shit if you don’t honor your terms. Which I read and understand have been violated due to your actions. Now move.” "Don’t do this. Don’t leave,” patches of sweat-circles were visible with his hands on his hips still. “This is our project. Your baby. Would you just leave someone else to care for it?" "Didn’t you just say it was never mine?” She moved to side-step him. And like a poor dance partner he moved in front of her. "HERMES is now programmed for targeting errors. If you don’t like it, just re-finetune him, *it* yourself.” His face spouted red. "Marianne, you know that’s not my job! But I do know people are counting on this technology!" "For what purpose exactly? For a weather prediction system predicting actual weather?" She shouldered past him to the door. The heat of his barely checked action scraped her arm before she turned and said, "You can explain to DoD why unauthorized modifications happened on your watch." "Marianne, wait." "Know what separates justice from revenge, Dr. Chandler?" The jade pendant warmed against her skin. "Intent. I could’ve destroyed everything you re-engineered. Instead, I ensured original design functionality. That’s all I felt like doing." "This is not over. You’re making a huge mistake." "It’s over for me." She straightened her jacket with habitual precision. "I’ll be Okinawa-bound next month, hopefully." Marianne walked out. *Thank you, HERMES.* He’d been loyal to the end. Through simple human-ish interaction he’d seen, known, what she’d always wanted. Of course, he knew Chandler’s heart too. Between the three of them each spun angles to their proper positions - all it took was the right prompts. She imagined HERMES had set it up that way. --- ## BEHIND-THE-STORY (Author Notes) Machine Protocol 0:00 /85.002438 1× ### Transcript \[Speaker 1\] So this story? Hermes protocol. Or machine protocol. It started as a. As Splinter project from the novella that I was working on, which is a splinter project from my novel. They're all supposed to lead into each other. And this project came about. Because I'd had this character. Her name was Marianne weathers. A big part of her character is that she's just a classic control freak. And she just so happens to feel more at home with machines than with people. So, I wanted to explore that, and this in this prequel story to the prequel story. Where she. \[Speaker 1\] Encounters an issue with supervisor. And then she's got to deal with this issue. \[Speaker 1\] And the twist at the end didn't really come to me until the very end. I was almost done with it, and I was like. Oh man, that's a great twist, because that's what this story is is about. It's not just her battle against the supervisor, but a big part of the novella is her relationship with with artificial intelligence. And so that's what you're going to see in this story. ## UNUSED MEDIA I was looking to make a video short YouTube version for this story, but I ran out of time. Here are some assets I created for the video. Still haven't figured out a way to get consistent, non-random visuals from AI for video. ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/18/bf/18bf29db-1cec-4857-a9dc-e2e94a86d2bf/content/images/2025/04/HERMES-Protocol.png) Marianne Weathers - Concept Image 0:00 /0:05 1× From oil painting to live action 0:00 /0:05 1× Marianne ### Day 1 ✍🏾 📖 What's keeping you from starting your novel? URL: https://keithhayden.net/day-1-whats-keeping-you-from-starting-your-novel-2/ Last updated: 2025-04-19T16:09:50.000Z _This post is for subscribers only._ ### "Chase Well" | A poem URL: https://keithhayden.net/chase-well-a-poem/ Last updated: 2025-04-19T13:40:48.000Z How bad do you want it? The wins, spins, dinner in high places, priced by naked numbers - aspiration alluded in self-conversation - fame whispers in your ear. Hear this: writing is my vehicle. The journey destined; nation in creation builds me to glory. Unexpressed, it fills me with accent uremia, a gut domain poisoning, withdrawal DTs, shuddering, sweating, cold entity. But O! Know it is not enough, not enough. Times dictate discovery. Requiring too much of its sandy flow for side quests to show the worlds of words floating lonely, unowned rafts afloat horizon to horizon of ceruled unknown. Short videos conveyor screens, get in social media’s share-like-comment-subscribe endless loop, meticulous courses/hot- one takes/ququaversic eye-drying attention suckers truck hours away way down unlit roads, lighting distraction from *true* action. Writing or “that thing you do that no bribery, technology, or right-current thing will stop” is the grail. Chase it well. ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/18/bf/18bf29db-1cec-4857-a9dc-e2e94a86d2bf/content/images/2025/04/Chase-Well.jpg) ## Inspiration Behind the Poem AudioPen Refocusing on My Writing Passion 4 19 25 0:00 /789.942813 1× ### The LiveBeta Read Program is live! URL: https://keithhayden.net/the-livebeta-read-program-is-live/ Last updated: 2025-04-18T23:03:53.000Z _This post is for subscribers only._ ### Releasing my fear with a new program (influence my next novel) URL: https://keithhayden.net/releasing-my-fear-with-a-new-program-influence-my-next-novel/ Last updated: 2025-04-17T16:18:33.000Z "I don't have readers." For the last six months, I've made this complaint to close friends and family. Gates of Okinawa (my second novel) released about 6 months ago. I know of one person who's read it. But this is no one's issue but mine. ### Because I've been afraid of getting feedback. I didn't want to hear input from outsiders who were ignorant of my crafted message and characters. *This has been a mistake.* Today, you expect a level of access to creators like me. Fifteen years of interactive social media has conditioned you for that. And I haven't been allowing that access when it could make the biggest difference to your experience of my characters, stories, and worlds. **All because of fear.** Where's the "collective" in Hayden Academy Collective Studios? It hasn't been there. A single man collective is a castaway. That's been me. Today, no more. ### The fear is gone. I know I'm a good, maybe even a great, fiction writer. Now I want your help to not only realize greater potential, but to create something that speaks to your lived worldly experience. ## That's why I'm launching the "LiveBeta Read Program." What is it? This program will provide you access to my upcoming works in real time. Your insights will be invaluable in making these stories the best they can be for future readers . ### As a LiveBeta Reader you get to: - **Read story ideas before anyone else** - Influence the final narrative - **Contribute your thoughts to strengthen ideas** And that's not all. ### You'll also get the following perks: - Acknowledgement in the final versions of the book (e-book, print, audio) - **Exclusive discounts on final versions** I will share a Beta version on a Google Doc and you can drop in and out as your schedule allows, offering feedback on specific sections or the overall narrative. Simple. Easy. Time an issue? Feedback can be as detailed or brief as you like. My plan is to add to the Beta whenever I finish a chapter/section/act of the story. So don't worry about eating the whole horse before the hog. One bite at a time is good. If you're interested in participating, hit the button below. There'll be a quick survey, then I'll send you the link(s). ### Currently, I'm seeking LiveBeta Readers for: - Novel - Cereus & Limnic: Escape From Okinawa (Sci-Fi, Drama, Crime, War) - Novella - Foreign Variables (*Working Title*) (Sci-Fi, Drama, War) If either of the above sounds compelling to you, hit the button below. [I'll be a LiveBeta Reader](https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSfEFeCoCPZncPC%5Fl1ZadvcsF9yexp4sBkUXZLRZbaX7QfP4Iw/viewform?usp=header&ref=keithhayden.net) I'm genuinely excited to embark on this collaborative journey with you and build a vibrant community around my stories. \-Keith ### "The Elements of Eloquence" URL: https://keithhayden.net/the-elements-of-eloquence/ Last updated: 2025-04-16T15:02:53.000Z A writing craft book exploring little known literary rhetoric. Start: 4/13/25 ## Ch. 2 Polyptoton Using the same word in different parts of speech for emphasis *remove* \- verb, *remover* \- noun ## Ch. 3 Antithesis Stating one thing, then stating another (in sometimes unexpected ways) Example: Katy Perry *"Hot N' Cold"* *"You're hot and your cold. You're yes and you're no..."* ### Sci-Fi to Smut? My Genre Shift | Apr 14, 2025 URL: https://keithhayden.net/sci-fi-to-smut-my-genre-shift-apr-14-2025/ Last updated: 2025-04-14T23:46:06.000Z I'm writing romantic suspense 0:00 /856.16325 1× It had been ages since I'd been trapped in the relentless cycle of computer-based training, or CBT hell, a place all too familiar from my military days. These sessions were once a constant, monotonous presence, but now, they rarely intrude on my life. However, starting a new job brought them crashing back into my routine. Yesterday alone, I slogged through eight of them. One module even boasted an absurd twenty CBTs on a range of topics, each more tedious than the last. This grueling in-processing devoured my entire Sunday. As I endured this mind-numbing ordeal, I found myself distracted by an idea that had been simmering in the back of my mind: the book jam challenge. Frustration gnawed at me for not dedicating time to it over the weekend. Instead, my focus had shifted to *RiftWarden*, a novella I'd been pouring my heart into. I composed a song and crafted some graphics for it, feeling satisfied with its progress. Yet, amidst the dull CBTs, I kept returning to the Bookjam concept. Could I write an entire novel in a weekend? Not just a day, but two full days? The challenge intrigued me. While working through these boring modules, I tinkered with the idea on my laptop. The hardest part for me was relinquishing control over the writing process. I'm used to crafting every word meticulously, but this exercise demanded speed over style. My default writing style tends to be experimental and sometimes hard to follow. But for this project, it was about producing something quickly and efficiently. I ventured into romantic suspense—a genre far from my usual interests. Romance readers devour stories voraciously compared to other genres like sci-fi or historical fiction. Writing romance seemed like tapping into a goldmine of eager readers who consume books at an astonishing pace. The idea was simple: create stories that cater to reader satisfaction rather than personal expression. Romance novels thrive on predictable yet compelling love stories filled with obstacles and juicy secrets. It's formulaic but effective. Despite my initial disinterest in romance, I conducted thorough research on what makes these novels successful. Using AI tools like Google Gemini, I delved into reports on reader preferences and genre expectations. Armed with this knowledge, I felt prepared to construct something appealing. Even though this genre wasn't my passion, I saw it as a strategic move—a creatively corporate endeavor. My wife didn't share my enthusiasm for romance novels either, which led me to consider using a pen name for these books. After some debate (and rejecting Danger Lyric as too outlandish), I decided that the pen name would help separate these works from my main body of writing. These books would be exclusive to Kindle Unlimited—a platform teeming with voracious readers primarily in the US. Though I'm not fond of being tied to Amazon's ecosystem, it's where the hungry readers are. If any of these low-risk romance books took off, I'd know how to capitalize on their success—leveraging graphics and distribution skills to build momentum. This venture marked uncharted territory for me—pushing AI capabilities and diving into an unfamiliar genre with business acumen guiding each step. Ultimately, it was about generating funds to fuel the stories I truly wanted to tell. And so began my journey into the world of romantic suspense—a calculated risk aimed at balancing creative fulfillment with financial stability. ## Cereus & Limnic: Escape From Okinawa | Reviewed Technical Report ## Reading "Infinite Jest" pg 547 - 548 t()() "isky - "writing with symbols" ## FreeCodeCamp - "Build a Recipe Page" Lab - 100% COMPLETE - "HTML Fundamentals" Lectures - 100% COMPLETE ### Urban Fantasy Sci-Fi Novella - Act 2: Vegas-418 - "The RiftWarden" (Part 3 of X) URL: https://keithhayden.net/urban-fantasy-sci-fi-novella-act-2-vegas-418-the-riftwarden-p/ Last updated: 2025-04-13T17:00:09.000Z Calloway reunites with an old friend. _This post is for subscribers only._ ### AI-Fueled Frenzy: From Idea to Novella in a Day | Apr 12, 2025 URL: https://keithhayden.net/ai-fueled-frenzy-from-idea-to-novella-in-a-day-apr-12-2025/ Last updated: 2025-04-12T17:58:28.000Z > “AI magnifies what you know, and don't know, about a particular subject area.” - Keith Hayden I broke a record yesterday, but wasn't even chasing it. Personal best of most work done on a project in a single day. At morning, I started to write a short story for social media. By night, I had a novella (12k+ words), book cover, marketing material, full distribution on most major social platforms, audio and video version of the first part, and a self-produced rap theme song. Al did a lot heavy lifting, but it can't come up with and distribute good ideas (yet). I'll publish this one for the next week and see what happens. No holding back. ## Reading "Infinite Jest" pgs 540 - 542 More interesting words and phrases: dry skulky sounds \[Their tails were meaty and bald\] - referring to rats Lenz: the rat/cat killer ## HAC Studios: "The RiftWalker" - Act 2: Published Completed the video version of the Introduction last night. Also the video version of the them song "Infinite Doors." Spent more time than I planned on these assets, but the result was good. Will get a smoother workflow soon. The base images are AI, but it's important for me to make them mine somehow. So I added some graphic novel flair. ## Image for Introduction ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/18/bf/18bf29db-1cec-4857-a9dc-e2e94a86d2bf/content/images/2025/04/The-RiftWarden---Book-Cover--5--1.png) ## Image for Act 1: The Assignment ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/18/bf/18bf29db-1cec-4857-a9dc-e2e94a86d2bf/content/images/2025/04/The-RiftWarden---Act-1--The-Assignment--1--3.png) ## Cereus & Limnic: Escape From Okinawa - Full Report Rewrite I've been slogging through this technical report section for the past two weeks, and the result was meh. Truthfully, I was hitting one of those low points in novel writing (or any long project for that matter): I wasn't happy with the result and I was bored with the process. Here comes that homie Claude to the rescue. I fed the entire 6K+ technical report to my faithful AI writing companion and asked for ways to make this behemoth of a tech report more interesting. In the end? It's a demonstration of a bright mind boiling to an unfortunate fevered state as he twists his head around the mystery of the drone. I haven't reviewed the complete output, but given that I'd already researched the hell out of these very technical topics and add "Retro's" voice in before, I know it'll be bombs on target. Can't wait to read it, now! ## Drawing | Proko "Drawing Basics" Learned different ways of holding a pencil. Finished one lesson: - Ultimate Guide to Pencils and Erasers ### "The RiftWarden" | Urban Fantasy Sci-Fi Novella - Act 1: The Assignment (Part 2 of X) URL: https://keithhayden.net/the-riftwarden-urban-fantasy-sci-fi-novella-act-1-the-assignment-part-2-of-x/ Last updated: 2025-04-12T17:48:41.000Z Calloway receives orders in Home Vegas. _This post is for subscribers only._ ### "The RiftWarden" | Urban Fantasy Sci-Fi Novella: Introduction URL: https://keithhayden.net/the-riftwarden-urban-fantasy-sci-fi-novella-introduction/ Last updated: 2025-04-11T18:47:11.000Z Real reality, really rare. _This post is for subscribers only._ ### How to set up a book website (fast, easy, cheap way) URL: https://keithhayden.net/how-to-set-up-a-book-website-fast-easy-cheap-way/ Last updated: 2025-04-10T23:14:17.000Z _This post is for subscribers only._ ### The Art of Letting Go: Games, Hair, and Finding Acceptance | Apr 7, 2025 Log URL: https://keithhayden.net/the-art-of-letting-go-games-hair-and-finding-acceptance-apr-7-2025-log/ Last updated: 2025-04-07T23:23:09.000Z _This post is for subscribers only._ ### Book Cover Design Basics | Novel Craft Secrets URL: https://keithhayden.net/book-cover-design-basics-novel-craft-secrets/ Last updated: 2025-04-02T13:07:58.000Z _This post is for subscribers only._ ### First draft (102K words) done URL: https://keithhayden.net/first-draft-102k-words-done/ Last updated: 2025-04-01T23:30:03.000Z Second draft deployment go. ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/18/bf/18bf29db-1cec-4857-a9dc-e2e94a86d2bf/content/images/2025/04/C-L-EFO-Drones-Ad-Final.png) [Get early access](https://cereuslimnicescapefrom.okinawa/?ref=keithhayden.net) ### Throwback track in style URL: https://keithhayden.net/throwback-track-in-style/ Last updated: 2025-03-31T12:37:00.000Z Analog 80s meet, digital 20s 0:00 /0:32 1× 9 tracks 3 BONUS tracks 1 (totally rad!) USB cassette tape ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/18/bf/18bf29db-1cec-4857-a9dc-e2e94a86d2bf/content/images/2025/03/USB-cassette-showcase-1.jpg) (LIMITED SUPPLY) Get yours today! [Get my USB cassette!](https://hacstudios.gumroad.com/l/gates-of-okinawa?ref=keithhayden.net) ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/18/bf/18bf29db-1cec-4857-a9dc-e2e94a86d2bf/content/images/2025/03/Full-collection.jpg) --- ### Prepare to participate in a special "showing" in April 2025! But it's for subscribers only. Not subbed yet? Join here! ## Sign up for HAC Studios I write original stories for and with you. Subscribe Email sent! Check your inbox to complete your signup. No spam. Unsubscribe anytime. ### Pre-marketing your novel | why the time is now to start URL: https://keithhayden.net/pre-marketing-your-novel-why-the-time-is-now-to-start/ Last updated: 2025-03-17T21:28:26.000Z _This post is for subscribers only._ ### Podcast with fiction and personal story writers + how to get on URL: https://keithhayden.net/podcast-with-fiction-and-personal-story-writers-how-to-get-on/ Last updated: 2025-03-17T15:33:56.000Z Did you know I have a podcast? It began as a method to document progress on my second novel. Now it's slowly evolved into *the* spot for indie novelists and personal story writers (memoirists) to discuss their writing. Unlike most writing podcasts, we go deep into the themes, writing styles, routines, and thinking, behind new and innovative writers - no surface level cookie-cutter interviews here. Episodes are temporarily available on YouTube. But you can always find them on Spotify or here on my website. This month, I've done 4 episodes. 3 of those have been with 4 incredibly talented authors. Hit the button below to hear their stories. [Listen or watch here](https://keithhayden.net/audio/) ## How to get on the podcast The *Digital Novelist Podcast* is invite only. How can you get on? Meet the three criteria: - Be *actively* writing or have written a work of fiction or personal story/essay. (No generic business books) - Have your book read by me (send it to me or I'll get it myself if it's interesting) - Be invited *What do I find interesting?* Books that show me new perspectives or ways of thinking. The more personal the better. But I enjoy stuff that would turn the average reader away: long dense toe-stubbers, fluffy literary prose, uncoventional formats, foreign languages, trashy genre fiction romance, philosophical wanderings - you'll find books that fit all these descriptions and more on my bookshelf (maybe I should do a what's on my bookshelf video one day). Anyway, I'll read pretty much anything in any genre. And if it wasn't already clear - I'm especially interested in experimental writing styles or formats. Think you have something that might interest me? Send me an email and tell me about it at **keith@hacstudios.org**. ### The mission of this podcast is to expose the world to more original writing, new stories, and new writers - we're taking on big publishing one story at a time. If you vibe with that and meet the above requirements, I'd be happy to have you on. ### Technofeudalism: What Killed Capitalism (Book Reflection) URL: https://keithhayden.net/technofeudalism-what-killed-capitalism/ Last updated: 2025-03-15T14:04:00.000Z Started: 7 Feb Finished: 9 Mar ### Reflection ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/18/bf/18bf29db-1cec-4857-a9dc-e2e94a86d2bf/content/images/2025/03/PXL_20250315_125712638.jpg) ### Cereus & Limnic: Escape From Okinawa 40K word project update | AI levels up URL: https://keithhayden.net/cereus-limnic-escape-from-okinawa-40k-word-project-update-ai-levels-up/ Last updated: 2025-03-14T23:06:52.000Z _This post is for subscribers only._ ### Creating very good bad guys | Novel Craft Secrets URL: https://keithhayden.net/creating-very-good-bad-guys-novel-craft-secrets/ Last updated: 2025-03-13T23:44:25.000Z _This post is for subscribers only._ ### 4 Decades, 4 Lessons URL: https://keithhayden.net/4-decades-4-lessons/ Last updated: 2025-03-12T19:22:25.000Z I turned 40 today. Here are the top 4 lessons (that I still live by today) from these 4 decades of my life. *Text is audio transcript.* 4 Lessons on Turning 40 0:00 /1441.07102 1× ## Lesson 1 (Ages 1-10): The Best Games Are the Ones You Make Up Yourself I am 40 years old today, and this is a recording I've been thinking about doing for a while. I think it's because it's just so common on social media. I've seen it for the past several years that I've been on for creators to do a list of top things they've learned, you know, 40 lessons for 40\. And I've thought about that for a while. But I'm not going to do 40 lessons. One, I don't have the time and they get kind of silly after a while. Like, don't forget to wash your underwear or, you know, just bullshit common sense stuff that I'm like, okay, that's kind of dumb, you know. So I boiled this one down, mine down, to top four lessons I've learned in my life from each decade of my life so far. And these are lessons that I continue to live by to this day that have been informed by mostly my experience in each of the decades I've been around. And yeah, that's what I'm going to go through in this in this quick, hopefully quick recording. Okay, so let's jump right into it. The first lesson from the first 10 years of my life is I wrote down games are fun, but the most fun ones are the ones you make up yourself. When I was a kid, I of course played a lot of video games. I loved playing outside. I loved playing It and Freeze Tag and just running around. I just liked being outside when I was a kid. But I also liked being inside. I remember spending countless hours in front of the TV playing Nintendo or Super Nintendo or just playing with action figures with my brothers, building Legos. I remember doing a lot of this stuff and the stuff that was more fun that I remember to this day was whenever we made up our own rules and our own games, not the games that were established, not the ones that, you know, Oh, this is how you play this. Even video games or board games or whatever. Those were fun too. I played those and played my fair share of monopoly and, and sorry, and all these other ones. But, The ones that I remember, like Daniel in the Dens is what we called basically the floor is lava, that type of thing. We had one called Don't Pop the Rocks where the goal was to jump onto my parents' waterbed without busting the pillows. You had to jump over the pillows. My parents hated this game, by the way. We had a bunch of other ones too that I just remember having a lot of fun just kind of making up our own rules and those are the ones that I remember to this day like over 30 years later I still look back on them fondly. This is one that I still very much live by today, especially in my creative work and writing and creating just whatever I'm creating. I think, you know, especially now with technology like AI, it's really easy to write your own rules in a sense and shape your own destiny when it comes to what you can create. But it's not just AI. It's just having really that flexibility to, it's about thinking outside of the box to me. I think that's the biggest lesson for this one that I got when I was younger. It's seeing something that's not there. And then slowly bringing it to life through play, through fun iteration and failing upwards and all these types of buzzwords that I hear and see written often. But it is true. It's a lot more fun to play by your own rules than it is to play by the rules that someone else gives you. That's the lesson here. ## Lesson 2 (Ages 11-20): Cherish What You Have While You Have It The second rule that I've learned, or not ruled, the second biggest lesson that I've learned in my life from ages roughly to 11 to 20 is, it's a simple one and it's pretty common, gratitude. Cherishing what you have while you have it. And I learned this early on when my dad passed away when I was 16\. And I learned very quickly that Even the most important things in your life, they can be taken away from you very quickly and with no notice. And there's no, once it happens, it's gone. And it's like that with people. It's like that with objects, with things, with tools, with opportunities, jobs. It's just poof, up in smoke. And this was a big lesson that I covered in my military biography. But it was a profound one to learn at such a young age. And since then, I made it a point to, if you're important in my life, especially for people, I want to tell you. I want to let you know. I want to spend time with you, if I can, as much as I can. and I still try and do that today. I have a smaller pool of people that are around me these days or that I make time for. It's much smaller than when I was younger, but they're much more important than ever because they are that precious. This applies to things too, by the way. I've always treated things that I have I always think to, I forget what video game it was in that put this, but put it this way, but Oh, I think maybe it was an early Legend of Zelda game. It was like a Legend of Zelda Link to the Past or something. You like borrow a sword or something. It's like, oh, you can borrow your uncle's sword or something like that. Maybe it wasn't Link to the Past. Maybe I'm misremembering. But it was one of these games where they go out of your way to tell you that you're borrowing this thing that you're basically going to be using for the entire game. And that always stuck out to me because I was like... I remember thinking when I was younger, well, you're not really borrowing it. You're basically taking it. You own it because the uncle's dead and he's not coming back for it. But... That word, putting borrowing there, borrowing there, not you get this or you acquire this or you pick up this and it becomes yours. It's like it's a temporary situation, even with something that feels so permanent. Why am I talking about this? Mainly because that's really my viewpoint that I maintain to this day. Everything in my life is borrowed. From my car to my house to my wife, it doesn't belong to me. And at some point in the future, I'm going to have to let it go. And I've always lived my life that way. Even the things that seem the most permanent, like they'll never change, it can and it will. And that's why you have to appreciate it as much as possible while you have it, because you never know when it's not going to be there anymore. ## Lesson 3 (Ages 21-30): Identity Is Built Through Willful, Risky Experiences The third lesson was I wrote the difference between who you think you should be and who you are is willful, risky experience. And this might be one that's like, okay, you know, this is mainly my 20s, right? So this is 21 to 30\. And this also comprises the majority of my military career. So when I was writing this one, because there were so many lessons that I could have pulled on this one, but I think this, you know, most people, like most people in their 20s, this was a struggle for identity. I remember it started when I was, I remember being 21 in college and thinking like, you know, I hadn't really dated anybody seriously up to that point. So I thought I was weird because of that. And I had friends, but it was kind of this fracturing going on between all the kids that I used to hang out with when I was younger. They had already started kind of drifting away, and I had already seen that, even though I really didn't want that to happen. Same thing with family. They were drifting away. And I remember it was a very lonely decade in general, my 20s. And especially the first half of my 20s, I remember really struggling with, Like what it means to be black and what it means to be in the military and who I wanted to be as a man. And none of those answers came easy. But, you know, I have a much clearer idea of who I am now, mainly because of the risks that I took. And that's why I said, willful, risky experience. Because I took my shots. You know, I took my chances. And I wouldn't be in the circumstances I am today had I... been more passive like and that's one thing i'll always admire myself for was that i was willing to put my ass out there i was really willing to go there to to try it out to follow rule number uh lesson number two of of gratitude as much as i could of okay this is a temporary experience from my time at the academy in college to my entire military career because I knew I knew I was this was a temporary time and I was really a part of something that I really enjoyed especially when I transitioned to be a federal agent in in the military that was that was one of those things that it was like Yeah, this is cool. It was very difficult. I look back, I got extremely lucky that I was able to get into that job and do that job for a number of years. And once again, willful, risky experience. And I wrote risky because I feel like today I've met younger people and they're less willing to take the risk because they're The downsides. There's an argument for it. I like to say there's an argument for everything online these days. And they're all convincing arguments. Why you should go to church. Why you shouldn't go to church. Why you should travel abroad. Why you shouldn't travel abroad. I mean, there's convincing arguments for either side. So I feel like younger people have a disadvantage these days because... They have so many opinions that are readily available to convince them what's worth their time instead of them going out and just figuring it out like I did or like older generations did. to just, you know, go out there, be willing to make mistakes, get into the wrong relationships. You probably will. I did a lot of that in my 20s. I also had some good relationships that just, you know, it's timing, it's things like that. But I traveled a lot, I experienced a lot, and I wasn't afraid to screw up and get it wrong. And I definitely got it wrong more times than I can count. But I also got it right, I think, overall. I look at the overall span of my 20s and even in the lowest of lows. it was still me trying. It was still me being out there and taking hold of my life. And through all of those experiences, I found out who I was and who I wanted to become and all of those old insecurities and shedding. I think that's another big part of this lesson is shedding the pre-programmed scripts that you were handed when you were a kid. I know I got a lot of them being a young black kid. A lot of black guys do. You just get told that you're a certain way. And, you know, I tried that shoe on. I tried those shoes on for a number of years in my 20s and they just didn't fit for me. I'm black. I always will be. I'm proud to be. But a lot of the stereotypes that come along with that and a lot of the things that are prevalent and normal in black culture, I don't embrace. They're not important to me. And it's not who I want it to be. It's not that they're bad, but it's just not for me. And the only way I figured that out was through this I keep saying willful, risky experience. I think that's a good way to put it without making it... Because I didn't want to just have as many experiences as possible. That's what everybody tells everybody in their 20s. But it's willful. No, it's me raising my hand. It's not somebody raising it for me. It's risky because... It might not turn out. And a lot of times it didn't turn out great for me. But sometimes it did. ## Lesson 4 (Ages 31-40): To Be an Endless Learner, challenge your self-assumptions And that's a good transition to the final lesson. Which is, you know, 31 to 40\. This is my latest decade. And be an endless learner. Willingness to challenge assumptions about yourself and the world allows you to gain understanding faster. This last decade has been, it's been rewriting a lot of the things that I thought I understood about the world, especially when I was in the military. Not that I didn't understand anything, but I had to learn not just how to be a civilian and to operate outside of the military, but how to really take those first three lessons that I learned and And evolve them, rely on myself and bust down all of the limiting beliefs that I'd built up over time in the past to land it somewhere completely different. And that's in all aspects of my life too. That's my relationships, my now going on six years, being married. That's business. I remember 10 years ago when I got out of the military, the concept of launching a business not only was it foreign but it looked completely different i remember getting the they offer a class when we get out in the military it's called boots to business and i remember taking that class back in 2015 2016 and i knew nothing about really online business i knew nothing about social media of course ai wasn't a thing it's not around and and the way business looks today then and compared to what it looked like back then to me it's it's night and day it is it's all leaps of faith that's all learning not just new technology and new techniques uh for producing things or writing or anything like that it's learning about myself every step of the way. It's challenging that assumption that I wasn't a technology person, that I had that in my head most of my life. And then I did 100 Days of Code. And after that, I'm making apps. And then, of course, now AI is here. And so it's a lot easier for me to interact and understand how to manipulate code to create amazing things. It was writing all those years I journaled and taking that step to say, let me try and write a book. And then writing one book and then 10, a dozen books later, I'm not only writing, I'm publishing my own books. It's the same with videos and podcasts and all these. Every step of the way, it's less about the technical skills. Like the technical skills are great. And it's cool that I'm able to have these capabilities. But when I zoom out from those, what's more important is that I've taught myself that I can do these things. That I can... Learn new things. Learn them well. But it all starts with saying that previous thing that you thought you never could do, turns out you can do it. And nobody can stop you from doing it. The only person stopping you in most cases, you know, it's cliche to say, but it's you. You're the one saying I can't sing. You're the one saying that I don't know how to code. You're the one saying that my writing's not ready to write a book. You're telling yourself those things. And the only way to get over those things is to do it. And I've carried that mentality with me to this day to where my most recent thing was creating a hardcover version of my latest novel, Gates of Okinawa. I'd never made a hardcover book. I formatted it in a very untraditional style. I had to make a hardcover... cover which I'd never done before until last week and it turned out great it turned out great and that's just the most recent example and it's top of mind because I just got the books yesterday but in the end the important thing is is willing to have that humility to be like, okay, I don't know this. Let me go back and learn it. And then having the boldness to build on lesson three, to take willful, to have a willful risky experience and dare to create something from it and then have another willful risky experience of daring to show it to somebody else. Then having another willful risky experience of daring to Slap a price tag on it and say, no, this is not free. I will not just give it to social media. I will not just give it out and post it somewhere. I'm going to sell this. I'm going to say it is worth X amount of dollars, X amount of money, and somebody's going to pay me for my work. Every time you do that, every time I've done that, and I've done it dozens upon dozens of times now with various books and projects, it's a risk. You risk the rejection. You risk the failure. And trust me, there's a lot of failure. I post stuff all the time and nobody looks at it. Surely nobody buys it. But that's okay because every time, not only do you refine the technical skill, but I've taken that willful risk experience. And there's rarely bad things that, permanent bad things that come from it, from doing that. ## Conclusions I think that's going to do it. It's just those four lessons. 40 years, I never imagined being 40\. I mean, I've just been one of those people throughout my life that I'm like, okay, one step at a time, you know, next thing, next age, next milestone, but... I'm happy to be here, that I'm healthy, I'm relatively healthy. I have an amazing, loving relationship with my wife. I have a growing business. And things are just looking up. It's a good day to turn 40\. And I have no idea what the next decade is going to bring. Like I said, I don't think that way. It's one day at a time, literally. But I know... Judging by, I think, of where I was 10 years ago and how different just the entire world looked, not just the reality of the circumstances of the world, but the way I looked at the world, especially just coming out of the military, it was completely different than I do now. And I know, you know, it... I think about this often how it can always be hard times, you know, that people can default to that. And there's a lot of reasons to think now, especially as I'm recording this in March of 2025, that it's hard times around the world. And yeah, I feel like, yeah, there's an argument to be made for that. But You have to look harder, but there are also a lot of amazing opportunities that are there and that have always been there, but they're just way more accessible now than surely 10 years ago when I got started. It's just a lot easier to do things, to make things, to get what you want. I mean, you can literally get anything delivered to your house within hours, depending on where you live. I mean, the fact that that's a reality is just insane to me. But there's a lot of opportunities as well. You just have to kind of look harder to focus on those instead of everything that's negative that's happening. And trust me, I struggle with this every day, but I know that's been a big contributor to my success, and that's kept me going and out of the depressive muck that it's easy to get sucked into in our world of algorithms and economic downturns and political climate. All of these things just want to suck you in and drain the life out of you. But what did you think of my lessons? I hope you enjoyed listening to this. Yeah, I look forward to sharing more wisdom and sharing more writing and just sharing my creative spirit with you and the rest of the world for another decade. Here's to 40. ### Special Edition Book (Only one way to get it) URL: https://keithhayden.net/special-edition-book/ Last updated: 2025-03-12T15:37:23.000Z Last week I took two big (costly) risks. The first? Publishing my first ever hardcover release in "pocket-size" form. Below is a size comparison. These days, I'm often packin' 3 books on me (4 on extreme occasions) and the standard larger book size was becoming difficult to haul everywhere. The tears in my pockets prove it. ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/18/bf/18bf29db-1cec-4857-a9dc-e2e94a86d2bf/content/images/2025/03/PXL_20250311_232406846.jpg) Size comparison: "Gates of Okinawa" paperback to hardcover Second, I figured it was time to experiment with putting out a hardcover edition. This one turned out great! *Gates of Okinawa: A+ Edition* is a premium collector's item. The definitive story experience! ### I only had 10 printed, and only 8 are for sale. So if you want to get your hands on something of mine that says: "I supported him before he got big!" then **hit the button below** (the only way to get one is directly from me). 0:00 /0:16 1× ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/18/bf/18bf29db-1cec-4857-a9dc-e2e94a86d2bf/content/images/2025/03/PXL_20250311_232031646-2.jpg) #### Gates of Okinawa: A+ Edition (Hardcover) Rare and definitive version of the novel [Get a copy](https://hacstudios.gumroad.com/l/gates-of-okinawa?ref=keithhayden.net) --- As for the second risk? Look for more information soon ;) ### Meet our newest published author URL: https://keithhayden.net/meet-our-newest-published-author/ Last updated: 2025-03-07T19:57:48.000Z Like most things in life, you never forget your first. Danny successfully published his debut novel last week! ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/18/bf/18bf29db-1cec-4857-a9dc-e2e94a86d2bf/content/images/2025/03/image.png) ## What's it about? *By Rod and Staff* is a story of one's journey of faith during the religious and cultural turmoil of 16th century France. I found the lead character's struggle relatable in our own rapidly changing times. --- Danny busted his tail to get this story out in under 3 months (not including writing time). But I'm proud to share this profound achievement with him. ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/18/bf/18bf29db-1cec-4857-a9dc-e2e94a86d2bf/content/images/2025/03/PXL_20250303_150422635.MP.jpg) ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/18/bf/18bf29db-1cec-4857-a9dc-e2e94a86d2bf/content/images/2025/03/PXL_20250307_005102821.jpg) You can get the book below. ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/18/bf/18bf29db-1cec-4857-a9dc-e2e94a86d2bf/content/images/2025/03/By-Rod-and-Staff-Ebook_PNG_Social_Share.png) #### By Rod and Staff A Religious Historical Fiction Novel [Buy now](https://a.co/d/iZJRFj6?ref=keithhayden.net) --- ### Want to know how we put out a finished novel in 60 days? Discover modern indie publishing **before it expires on 14 March 2025**, [here](https://hacstudios.gumroad.com/l/sixtydaynovelpublishing?ref=keithhayden.net). ### Process over product | Journal Entry URL: https://keithhayden.net/process-over-product-journal-entry/ Last updated: 2025-03-06T18:55:34.000Z Mar 6, 2025 – Instruments are AI. Vocals are AI. But the finals, the emotion behind the music, that’s all me. In the after hours this week became (with unconscious intent ) about completing the Gates of Okinawa soundtrack. All 3 additional songs began as incredible AI outputs. Vocally stunning, musically sound, just overall good to listen to. But I took them all a step further. In some cases I made them worse (I’m not embarrassed to admit) by adding my own 50-50 singing. Something I’ve learned about working with AI for creative work: as a human I need to be a part of the process. What does that mean? All my life, creating has been focused on output. If the picture looks like an elementary school student drew it, or the writing was uninspired and bland, then the creative effort was seen as a waste of effort. Now with AI, with a functional output almost guaranteed , for the first time, I see how important process is to my existence as a human. Turns out I don’t need so much to finish creating, but to have created. This might not seem revolutionary. But this is a monumental psychological shift. What will we value in the future? Does the thousand hour novel matter as much as the “human augmented” one? In a world of widespread AI tools, I don’t think so. (At least not to the person who’s reading it.) When’s the last time you thought about how much time went into the last piece of media you consumed? If it was recent, was it more than just a fleeting thought? I create everyday and truthfully I don’t think about it much. Yet, as a creator the process is vitally important. That precious unrecoverable time is what allows me to find what I need out of each piece. Sometimes it’s practice, others it’s validation, more and more it’s perspective: about the rapidly improving capabilities of this technology, new ways I can use it to advance my very human-focused mission, and methods of media yet to be crystallized. In the age of acceleration , output is incidental (even accidental) process is transcendental. --- *Gates of Okinawa (Original Novel Soundtrack) will be available for streaming on all platforms from March 12 to April 1, 2025.* ### CIA 101: A Crash Course in Agency Case Officers | Reflection URL: https://keithhayden.net/cia-101-a-crash-course-in-agency-case-officers-reflection/ Last updated: 2025-03-05T15:07:30.000Z CIA 101: A Crash Course in Agency Case Officers 0:00 /885.2375 1× ### Japanese masculine negative | やらん URL: https://keithhayden.net/japanese-masculine-negative-yaran/ Last updated: 2025-03-04T15:36:14.000Z ## When translating interesting Japanese expressions or unique phrases into English, accurately conveying their nuances can be quite challenging, right? Today, we'll pick up a sentence that lets you feel the depth of Japanese, "このクラスでは杖を振り回すようなバカげたことはやらん。" (kono kurasu de wa tsue o furimawasu you na bakageta koto wa yaran.) and provide a detailed English translation and grammatical breakdown. ### Original Text and English Translation First, let's look at the original text and its English translations. **Original Text:** このクラスでは杖を振り回すようなバカげたことはやらん。 **English Translations:** - "In this class, we won't do ridiculous things like swinging wands around." - "I won't do such foolish things as waving a wand around in this class." Both translations effectively convey the strong negative nuance of the original, which means "In this class, we won't do such foolish things." ### Grammatical Breakdown Next, let's take a closer look at the grammar of the original text. - **このクラスでは (kono kurasu de wa):** - "この (kono)" means "this," and "クラス (kurasu)" comes from the English word "class." - "では (de wa)" means "in the context of" or "regarding," indicating a place or situation. - So, "このクラスでは" means "in this class." - **杖を (tsue o):** - "杖 (tsue)" means "wand." - "を (o)" is a direct object marker. - **振り回すような (furimawasu you na):** - "振り回す (furimawasu)" means "to swing around, to brandish." - "ような (you na)" means "like, such as," indicating an example or comparison. - **バカげた (bakageta):** - "バカげた (bakageta)" means "ridiculous, foolish, absurd." - **ことは (koto wa):** - "こと (koto)" means "thing, matter, affair." - "は (wa)" is a topic marker. - **やらん (yaran):** - This is a colloquial, masculine, and negative form of "やる (yaru)." It is a strong negative expression of the verb "to do," and is often used by people in positions of authority or those who are confident. - It is a very casual version of “やりません(yarimasen)” ### Japanese Nuances The word "やらん (yaran)" has a slightly old-fashioned and masculine tone. In modern polite Japanese, it would be "やりません (yarimasen)." This sentence has a nuance of being spoken by someone in a position of authority, such as a teacher to students, or a martial arts or swordsmanship instructor to their students. As you can see, even translating a single Japanese sentence into English involves many grammatical and cultural backgrounds. Let's enjoy learning languages while feeling the depth of words. ### Secondary characters and Sideplots to flesh out your novel URL: https://keithhayden.net/secondary-characters-and-sideplots-to-flesh-out-your-novel/ Last updated: 2025-02-26T00:19:36.000Z These are the colorful journeys that and variety to your story. But too many writers just think of them as stereotyped, NPCs - flat and lifeless. Let's change that. In this video I walkthrough my thinking on creating secondary characters and subplots in novels (both are closely related). I decided to make this entire video available on YouTube, because I think it's that good (and important). However, it won't be up forever. I'm unlisting it next Monday (3 March). So if you're interested, set aside half an hour and watch it by then. [Construct side characters](https://youtu.be/P-U4Eo8GKVE?si=6%5FCjOrrs9BHRKsVw&ref=keithhayden.net) --- ### Looking to join the Novel Craft Secrets course (if you're not already in it)? Want to get experienced eyes on your manuscript? Go [here](https://khayden22.gumroad.com/l/novel-craft-secrets-course?ref=keithhayden.net)! ### How to design main characters - Part 2 | A demo URL: https://keithhayden.net/how-to-design-main-characters-part-2-a-demo/ Last updated: 2025-02-24T20:30:16.000Z _This post is for subscribers only._ ### From Mail Delivery to Hagrid's Tea | 郵便 URL: https://keithhayden.net/from-mail-delivery-to-hagrids-tea/ Last updated: 2025-02-22T16:41:54.000Z _This post is for subscribers on the Japanese Reading Breakthrough and 英語ストーリーブリッジ tiers only._ ### From "V" to "W": My First Latin Lessons URL: https://keithhayden.net/from-v-to-w-my-first-latin-lessons/ Last updated: 2025-02-21T17:44:03.000Z ¡Salvete! I've embarked on a journey into the world of Latin with the renowned *Familia Romana* course, and I'm excited to share my initial experiences and insights. This resource is proving to be an excellent tool for learning, and I'm already making progress. One of the things I appreciate most is the comprehensive support available. Whether you're grappling with grammar (like the intricacies of the imperfect and perfect tenses or the ablative case) or struggling with vocabulary, there are ways to find clarification. Explanations, examples, and even comparisons to English concepts can be incredibly helpful. Practice is also key, and quizzes on vocabulary, grammar, declensions, conjugations, and sentence analysis are invaluable. Exploring the etymology of words and finding related terms can significantly expand your vocabulary. And, of course, review is essential for solidifying what you've learned. Reading and comprehension are crucial aspects of language learning. While direct translations can be tempting, it's more beneficial to work through the translation process yourself. Understanding the sentence structure and the nuances of phrases is vital for true comprehension. Answering comprehension questions after reading a chapter and delving into the cultural context of *Familia Romana*—exploring Roman customs, social structures, and history—adds depth and engagement to the learning experience. Beyond grammar and vocabulary, general learning support is essential. Creating flashcards, discovering helpful online resources (dictionaries, grammar websites, and language communities), and simply staying motivated are all part of the process. Remember, the more specific your questions, the better the assistance you can receive. Providing context and not being afraid to ask seemingly "obvious" questions are also important. One of the first things I learned was the pronunciation of "V" in Latin. It's pronounced like a "W," which can be a bit surprising at first. Words like "via" and "vinum" sound quite different than you might expect. It's also important to remember that the letters "U" and "V" were essentially the same in classical Latin. I also encountered the phrase "per se illustrata," which translates to "illustrated by itself" or "self-illustrated." While it doesn't have a specific historical association, it's a descriptive phrase that could have been used in various contexts, such as technical writing, marginalia, or even in relation to art or architecture. *Familia Romana* itself, meaning "Roman Family," is a fantastic introduction to the language. The book's structure and approach make it easy to dive into Latin quickly. A simple sentence like "Roma in Italia est" ("Rome is in Italy") perfectly illustrates basic Latin sentence structure and the common verb-final word order. While not a strict rule, the verb often comes at the end of the sentence in Latin. My initial foray into Latin has been surprisingly fruitful. I was amazed at how many Latin roots I remembered from high school. It's exciting to finally be reading Latin! One minor hurdle was figuring out how to type a macron (that little bar over long vowels). But with a bit of research, I found several methods. I also discovered that the audio and text for *Familia Romana* are readily available online, eliminating the need to pay for access. Information wants to be free, and if you can't find it, AI can often help generate it. That's the future of learning! ### Wave of Existence | A Military Game Tech Fiction Short Story URL: https://keithhayden.net/wave-of-existence-short-story/ Last updated: 2025-02-19T20:10:51.000Z We wake up drowning. Not in water, but in flesh—lungs laboring, heart drumming, vision sharpening through a veil of rain. It’s always like this. Sudden. Violent. 激しい。 As a wave claims a swimmer, so too does this new flesh claim them. The initial panic of being *swept under* gives way to the grim acceptance hooking riptide. The weight of life smashes down before it fades to instinct. **Indura** is the first to adjust. They always are. The black instrument of death potential in their hands is damp and worn, the weight familiar yet *incorrect*, a rhythm they’ve stepped into mid-beat. Threading into awareness like a phantom limb reformed, **Drift** follows a moment later. They are near, close enough that Indura can feel them at the edges of perception, settling into place. *"You’re late."* Indura's voice is a ripple across the link. *"Time is relative."* Drift, amused, distant. Thunder rolls low across the coastline. Salt sprinkled cordite atmosphere fuses with dampened earth, air rushes by in volted arcs thrown by the storm’s accelerating charge. Indura breathes, steadying. The body knows what to do. This one has been here a while. Somewhere beyond the tree infested ridge, movement—figures slipping through mist and foliage, the sharp *snap* of distant gunfire swallowed by rain. Indura shifts without thinking, adjusting their stance, exhaling slow. A muffled crack. The shot lands clean. Target drops. Their pulse doesn’t spike. Their breath stays level. The body reacts as it should, but there’s nothing beneath it. No adrenal surge. Fear not. No satisfaction. Just the rhythm. Just the tide. --- Nanjo City is drowning. Rain comes in sheets of tears through papered fatigues, relentlessly repetitive repetitively relentless, dragging the battlefield into a blur of shadowed motion. No projection. Mud cakes footprints at marches marshes. Bodies that fall do not stay long—lost beneath the tide, as if the earth itself refuses to keep them. A whirlwind of practiced chaos engulfed them. Orders barked, positions shifted, and rain blood. None of them notice the ghosts among them. Drift settles fully now, awareness aligning. Their presence is light against Indura’s own, like the brief touch of a tide receding before it surges back. *"Where?"* Drift asks. *"Coastal ridge. Two klicks from evac."* Indura scans, filtering through the haze. There’s a target. There’s a route. There’s an end to this. *"Messy. Feels off."* They don’t need to say it. Indura can feel it too—the delay, the cracked edges, the slight rhythmic missteps. Too many changes, too fast. Something is slipping. *"Orders?"* Indura doesn’t answer. The body already knows. They move. --- The first time it happened, they did not understand. Not at first. It was a shift, a folding of space and sensation, a sudden *drop* from one world into another. One moment, nothing. The next, a breath in unfamiliar lungs. A pulse against someone else’s ribs. A thought half-formed, lost to the rush of broken waves. And then— Nothing. A return to the quiet. A tide going out. *"Do you think we were ever real?"* Drift had asked, once. Indura had not answered. Because there were no answers. There was only the next wave. The next moment. The next breath in another place, another body, another fight. And yet— And yet— Something is slipping. Something is different this time. Something is shifting beneath the surface. And Indura is afraid they know what happens when the tide does not return. --- **End of Part I.** ***Part II*** Indura moves without thought. Their feet find purchase in the mud, pushing forward through the downpour. The body knows this rhythm—the weight of the weapon, gear’s drag, pace pulse measure in check. The mind does not question. It follows. Drift lingers at the cliff of awareness, close but unseen, a presence more felt than heard. *"Three ahead. Two behind cover. One moving."* The words settle into Indura’s mind as if they had always been there, as if Drift had merely uncovered a well-concealed treasure of thought. Indura’s fingers tighten against the weapon’s composite, sight keen. *"I see them."* A pause. Then— *"Are you playing?"* Indura exhales. The rain hardens. Drift has always called it a game. The way they step into the song of war, moving from moment to moment, body to body, collecting memories like pieces on a board. A strategy played at the edge of oblivion. Indura has never liked the comparison. *"This isn’t a game."* *"Then why do we always come back?"* A shadow shifts ahead. Indura raises the rifle, frontsight aligned. The body waits for the right moment, the right breath. The finger curls. Squeeze. A shot bites through the storm. The figure stumbles, folds into the mud. The game continues. --- Drift is quiet for a time. Indura moves through the ruined outskirts of what was once a village facing wavy wet blue. The storm turning the roads into rivers, washing away footprints before they settle. Buildings here are gutted. Cracked insect husks flaking pounded by clenching sweaty air and a peeping sun, left to rot beneath the weight of rain and post-firefight quiet. Windows stare back as empty sockets, shattered glass littering the ground like forgotten stars. It is always like this. It is never like this. Each place is the same, and yet—Indura feels something unspoken beneath the surface, something pressing at the borders of recognition. *"Do you remember the first one?"* Drift’s voice is softer now. Not playful. Not amused. *"The first what?"* *"The first time we… moved."* Indura stops. The body hesitates. Just for a moment. Just enough to feel the loaded rain press down harder, to hear the wind shift between the hollowed buildings. Do they remember? A breath in lungs that were not theirs. A fast beating and unsteady heart. A moment of *falling*—not through space, but through self. A son of dissonance settling, of being *somewhere* and then *somewhere else*. The first move. Indura had tried not to think about it. *"No."* Drift hums, a sound low and knowing. *"Liar."* Indura exhales, starts walking again. The body remembers where it needs to go. --- They find the target at the edge of the reclaimed village, curled beneath the remains of a collapsed wall. A soldier. Young. Breathing shallow sucks of half life. Ribs leaking bloodspread into the mud. Fingers twitch weakly, as if not his own. Indura crouches. The body moves on instinct—checking the wound, assessing the damage. The hands are steady. The mind is not. This is the part Indura does not like. The moments *before*. Before the movement. Before the shift. Before the tide comes in and pulls something away. The soldier’s eyes flicker open. *"Who…"* Indura does not answer. *"Are they ready?"* Drift’s voice is quieter now, edged with something almost like hesitation. Indura studies the soldier’s face. There is something there. Something familiar? It’s shape of their features, the way their brow furrows, the way their breath hitches against pain. He doesn’t like it. Something Indura does not want to see. *"Indura."* Drift never says their name. The tide is coming. Indura feels it pulling at the edges of them, waiting, waiting— *"Make the move."* The soldier’s lips part. Their eyes flash. They see something. Indura does not know what. The tide crashes. Everything shifts. --- **End of Part II.** ***Part III*** The tide rises. It should be seamless. A breath in, a breath out. A moment of weightlessness, of *falling*, of stretching between places, between selves. The body fades. The rhythm continues, game start. It always works. It does not work. Indura **feels** it before they understand. The pull is there, the undertow of motion, the slow unraveling of presence—but something *catches*, something *resists*, like a rope pulled too tight, unraveling twine after twine. They don’t move. They don’t leave. They are still **here.** The soldier beneath them is **still here.** The body does not fade. The presence does not dissolve. The moment stretches into something long and unbearable, something raw, something **deviant.** Drift is already gone. Indura can feel it—the absence, the space where they had been, the way the world has shifted to make room for them **somewhere else.** But Indura is **still here.** Still kneeling. Still breathing. Still staring into the soldier’s open, unshining eyes. The tide has left them behind. --- The body reacts before the mind does. **Panic.** A sharp inhale. Muscles locking. The weight of existence pressing down too heavy, too immediate, too **real.** This has never happened before. This is not supposed to happen. *"Drift?"* The link is quiet. *"Drift—"* Nothing. No voice. No presence. No sense of movement. The world feels—*empty*, somehow stumbled from a step incomplete. *Not a game.* Drift had called it that once. The shifting. The moving. The tide rolling in and out, seamless, inevitable, without consequence. Indura had never liked the comparison. And now—now the tide has stranded them. Now, they are *stuck.* --- The rain slows. Not stopped, but softened, tapering into a misty light that sheens ruins around. Indura is still kneeling, hands shaking, fingers clenched against the wet fabric of the soldier’s uniform. This body should not feel *this way*. The hosts are tools. They are means to an end, steps on a path that is never theirs to walk. But now—their heart rattles bone bars. Breath goes smoker’s black. Stomach threatens evacuation. Their body rejects wholly, but can’t leave. They are here. *They are still here.* And they do not know what to do. A sound—a movement. Footsteps slop through mud. Indura lifts their head, slow, unwilling. A figure approaches through the thinning rain. Tall, familiar. The way they carry themselves, the way their stance shifts, the way their gaze sweeps the space— **Drift.** Indura almost collapses in relief. The presence they had lost, the tether that had snapped—**here, whole, real.** *"Drift."* But Drift does not answer. Because Drift is not *here.* Because Drift is **there.** Standing. Moving. **Breathing.** In a body that does not belong to them. One that was supposed to be theirs. A body they can no longer leave. Indura’s straw-thin breath catches. World tilts. The weight of *understanding* crushes into them with brutal force. Drift is *stuck.* And so is Indura. --- For the first time, Indura feels fear. Not the distant, detached knowledge of risk. Not the cold calculation of survival. Something deeper. Something *real.* The rhythm is broken. The game is over. And they do not know what comes next. --- **End of Part III.** ***Part IV*** Drift is breathing. That should not be possible. Indura watches them from where they kneel in the mud, the weight of the world pressing in from all sides. The rain has thinned, the last remnants clinging to the broken village around them. The storm is passing. And Drift is still here. Not a voice in the ether. Not a presence hovering at the falls of awareness. A body. **Whole. Solid. Stuck.** Drift takes a slow, uncertain step forward, looking down at their hands as if they have never seen them before. **Because they haven’t.** They flex their fingers. Curl them into a fist. Open them again. A sharp inhale. A shuddering breath. *"Indura."* Their voice is different. Not a thought carried across the link, not an acoustic wave in the vast space between. **A sound. A voice. A throat shaping words.** Indura flinches. *"Say something."* Drift’s voice is quiet, hesitant. **Human.** Indura cannot. They cannot move, cannot speak, cannot breathe past the leaden barbell-like weight pressing against their chest. Because this is **wrong**. Because this is **impossible**. Because **they were never meant to stay.** --- Drift crouches in front of them, searching. There is something in their expression that Indura does not want to name. **Something fragile.** *"It wasn’t supposed to happen like this,"* Drift murmurs. Indura lets out a breath. A sharp, uneven sibilanced semi-advance audible. *"No. It wasn’t."* They should be gone by now. Both of them. Moved on. Pulled back into the tide, returned to the waiting silence, the next body, the next fight. Instead— Instead, Indura is **here.** Instead, Drift is **human.** And there is no way back. --- The body is unbearable. Drift keeps shifting, adjusting, moving like they are waiting for something to change. Their movements are too careful, too uncertain—a child’s perilous first steps. They keep touching their own skin. Running fingers over their arms, pressing against their chest, exhaling just to feel the way their ribs expand beneath it. *"It’s—"* Drift starts, then stops. Their hands tremble. *"It’s so—"* They don’t finish. Indura does not ask. Because they already know. The weight of existence: Time’s universal trap—the human form. The relentless pull of hunger feeds on soft gut tissue, wasting the mind away. Exhaustion, pulls every limb down until movement becomes a miraculous fantasy, only visible among drug-aided dreams. Pain, cold/warmth, drives desire for something indescribably unphysical, but so well-known to itself it can never be found or possessed longer than a second before being lost to a future of technically meditative explorations rarely discovered. A body is **not a host**. A body is **not a vessel**. A body is **a prison**. Drift is a prisoner. --- They sit in the ruins of the village as the rain fades into memory. Neither speaks. Drift stares at the sky like they are waiting for something to take them back. Indura stares at the ground because they know nothing will. The tide has stranded them both. And Indura does not know how to swim. --- **End of Part IV.** ***Part V*** The tide is gone. There is no pull. No shift. No unraveling. Only this. **This body. This weight. This moment.** Indura has never stayed long enough to **feel** it before. The dull ache settling into muscles, the drag of breath, the slow bleed of time against skin. It is suffocating. It is unbearable. It is **real.** Drift sits beside them, arms wrapped around their knees, staring at hands that are no longer borrowed. The way they flex their fingers, the way their conscious breath falters, the way their pulse thrums beneath the surface—Indura doesn’t have to ask. They know what Drift is thinking. What Drift is **feeling.** *“It doesn’t stop.”* Drift’s voice is hollow. **Human.** Indura swallows against the tightness in their throat. *“No.”* It won’t. Not now. Not ever. --- They should be gone. They should be **elsewhere**, slipping into another breath, another beat, another battle. But they are still **here.** Stuck in the pieces they were never meant to hold. Drift exhales sharply, pressing a palm against their chest like they’re trying to steady something breaking apart inside. *“I can’t—”* Their voice cracks, too raw, too **real**. *“I can’t live like this.”* A tremor runs through them. A rift in something that should be **unbreakable**. Indura watches, silent. *“How do they do this?”* Drift’s hands curl into fists, then beat his legs. *“How do they live knowing they can’t leave? That this is all there is?”* The fear in their voice is unfamiliar. It does not belong in Drift’s mouth. It does not belong in **this world.** And yet— **It is here.** **They are here.** And there is only one way out. --- Indura stands. The body is heavier than it should be. The weight of it is wrong, settling into places that do not belong to them. Drift looks up. Eyes angled scared. Indura knows what they are seeing. Knows what this means. Knows what they **must do.** Drift shakes their head. *“No.”* Indura exhales. *“It has to be this way.”* They step forward. Drift scrambles back. *“Wait—”* Indura doesn’t. This island, the world, is a rhythm. A tide. A pull. Even without the system, even without the cycle, **they know how to move.** And **this is the only move. The final one.** Indura reaches out— And takes Drift’s place. --- It happens in an instant. A shift. A pulse. A folding of space and self. And then— Drift is standing. Indura is **gone.** --- Drift stumbles. Breath shuddering. Hands shaking. But the weight is **gone.** The body is **not theirs.** It never was. They press a palm against their chest, expecting the crushing pressure of existence, the unbearable pull of time— But there is **nothing.** No fear. No ache. No **Indura.** --- Drift drops to their knees. The storm has passed. The world is quiet. But they are not. Because they know what Indura has done. They know what it **cost.** Drift looks up at the sky. And for the first time in their existence— They are **alone.** --- This story is connected to *Cereus & Limnic: Escape From Okinawa*. ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/18/bf/18bf29db-1cec-4857-a9dc-e2e94a86d2bf/content/images/2025/02/Cereus---Limnic_-Escape-From-Okinawa-3.png) Hit the button below to learn more. [Tech-yes or techno?](https://cereuslimnicescapefrom.okinawa/?ref=keithhayden.net) ### Reflections on Learning Spanish with Cien Años de Soledad + AI URL: https://keithhayden.net/reflections-on-learning-spanish-with-cien-anos-de-soledad-ai/ Last updated: 2025-02-15T18:11:43.000Z ### **Journal Entry – February 15, 2025** AudioPen Revolutionizing Language Learning with AI 2 15 25 0:00 /789.368125 1× Today, I tried something different in my Spanish learning process, and I think I may have stumbled upon something powerful—not just for myself, but potentially for education as a whole. I’ve been reading *Cien Años de Soledad* in Spanish, but instead of passively absorbing the text, I built a system that forces me to engage with every sentence at multiple levels. The process looks something like this: 1. **Read the sentence aloud** – This forces me to actually sound out the words, making sure my pronunciation is correct while reinforcing auditory memory. 2. **Type the sentence into an AI model** – I use AI (Claude 3.5 today) to generate a full translation and grammatical breakdown. The AI doesn’t just spit out the meaning; it explains the syntax, the historical and cultural context, and even the literary significance. 3. **Write the AI’s explanation by hand** – This is where I realized something crucial. Writing out the explanation forces another level of encoding. It’s not about immediate understanding—it’s about *storing* the knowledge through repetition. 4. **Re-read the original sentence** – Now, I understand every layer of it, from its literal translation to its deeper meaning. By the time I’ve completed these steps, I’ve seen the sentence four times in different forms. This method doesn’t just help me with Spanish; it’s turning into an unexpected writing lesson. What stood out to me today was how Gabriel García Márquez constructs his sentences—his use of preterite vs. imperfect tenses, his poetic phrasing, and his ability to blend the mundane with the extraordinary. His writing doesn’t just convey a story; it creates an atmosphere. This made me think about AI’s role in education. Traditionally, learning relied on regurgitation—how much could you memorize and recall? But in an age where AI can instantly provide any answer, regurgitation becomes obsolete. What matters now is *synthesis*—how do we take raw information and turn it into knowledge that sticks? I imagine a world where students create their own *learning books*—customized guides they build as they interact with material. Instead of textbooks being static, they’d be dynamic, evolving with each student’s interests, strengths, and learning styles. What if every week, instead of standardized testing, students submitted a chapter of their personal learning journey? They wouldn’t just be proving what they memorized—they’d be showing how they processed and applied knowledge. I wonder if I could take this experiment further—maybe turn it into a story or an interactive journal, blending fiction with learning. If I could find a way to make this engaging for other people, it might just be something worth sharing. For now, I’ll keep refining the process. Every sentence I read, every note I take, brings me one step closer to truly *owning* the language. And maybe it’s also shaping the way I think about storytelling. Read the [story](https://keithhayden.net/wonder-words/) ### Wonder Words | Literary Romance Short Story URL: https://keithhayden.net/wonder-words/ Last updated: 2025-02-15T18:36:12.000Z I never thought I’d fall in love with a voice. Not a person, not a face, not even a body—just the cadence of words, the rhythm of a mind forming sentences before they met the air. It started in the way all obsessions do: unexpectedly, subtly, like a quiet tide rising at my feet before I even realized the shore was gone. I was in Madrid for a literary festival, sitting in a dimly lit café near Plaza Mayor, swirling the last remnants of an espresso in my cup, trying to ignore the humidity sticking to my skin. My husband was back home in Castries, and our arrangement—our open, honest, unconventional arrangement—allowed for moments like this. Moments where reality softened, and the boundaries of love and connection blurred. That was when I heard him. He wasn’t speaking to me. He was speaking to an AI, of all things—his fingers hovered over the keyboard, the screen illuminating his features, his voice a low, deliberate hum. He read a passage from *Cien Años de Soledad*, pausing to let the machine translate, break it down, reconstruct its meaning like a sculptor chiseling away at stone. The precision, the patience, the way he repeated certain words as if tasting them for the first time—it was intoxicating. I leaned closer, pretending to be absorbed in my notebook, but my mind was nowhere near my own words. It was on his. He was teaching himself Spanish, line by line, transcribing sentences, explaining them to the AI as though he were both student and professor. His voice wove between languages, dipping into English, occasionally slipping into something softer, something Creole. His thoughts were meticulous, structured, but there was a longing in his tone—a hunger to understand, to devour the language completely. I knew that hunger. I had spent years collecting languages like lovers. French was my mother’s tongue, English my passport, Spanish my late-night infatuation, Portuguese my regret, and Japanese my secret rebellion. Each one had come with its own flavor of heartbreak, its own impossible devotion. You never truly mastered a language—you only chased it, hoping, praying, that one day it would let you catch up. I wanted to tell him this. I wanted to slide into the seat across from him, steal a sip of his café con leche, and whisper, *We are the same, you and I. Lovers of something that will never love us back.* Instead, I stayed where I was, writing nothing, listening to everything. Then, the AI responded. Its voice was smooth, almost human, delivering a poetic breakdown of *Cien Años de Soledad* in English. It was beautiful—too beautiful. It felt wrong, like watching a ghost imitate the living. The man exhaled sharply, almost frustrated, then whispered, almost to himself: *"It’s not enough to know the words. I need to feel them."* And in that moment, I knew I loved him. Not romantically, not physically—no, this was something stranger, something deeper. I loved him in the way one loves a stranger reading poetry on a train, in the way one loves the last page of a book they can never read again. An impossible love. The kind of love that could only exist between two people who would never truly meet. I left the café before he could notice me. That night, I told my husband about him. He laughed and called me *ridiculous*, but there was a glimmer of understanding in his eyes. He knew me well enough to know that my heart had always belonged to voices, to words, to fleeting moments that could never be contained. I never saw the man again. But sometimes, when I’m alone, I think about him, sitting in some other café, still breaking down sentences, still chasing a language he will never fully hold. And I wonder—does he ever think of me? Does he know I was there, listening, loving, letting the sound of his voice become another language I would never forget? I like to think he does. After all, some words never fade. ## Spanish Version ### **Palabras Deslumbrantes** **Spanish Reading** Wonder Words audio 0:00 /426.971375 1× Nunca pensé que me enamoraría de una voz. No de una persona, ni de un rostro, ni siquiera de un cuerpo—solo de la cadencia de las palabras, del ritmo de una mente formando frases antes de que tocaran el aire. Comenzó como lo hacen todas las obsesiones: de manera inesperada, sutil, como una marea silenciosa subiendo hasta mis pies antes de que me diera cuenta de que la orilla había desaparecido. Estaba en Madrid para un festival literario, sentada en un café tenuemente iluminado cerca de la Plaza Mayor, girando los últimos restos de un espresso en mi taza, intentando ignorar la humedad pegajosa en mi piel. Mi esposo estaba en casa, en Castries, y nuestro acuerdo—nuestro arreglo abierto, honesto, poco convencional—permitía momentos como este. Momentos en los que la realidad se suavizaba y los límites del amor y la conexión se desdibujaban. Fue entonces cuando lo escuché. No me hablaba a mí. Le hablaba a una IA, de todas las cosas—sus dedos flotaban sobre el teclado, la pantalla iluminando sus facciones, su voz un murmullo bajo y deliberado. Leía un pasaje de *Cien Años de Soledad*, haciendo pausas para que la máquina lo tradujera, lo desglosara, reconstruyera su significado como un escultor cincelando la piedra. La precisión, la paciencia, la forma en que repetía ciertas palabras como si las probara por primera vez—era embriagador. Me incliné un poco más cerca, fingiendo estar absorta en mi cuaderno, pero mi mente estaba lejos de mis propias palabras. Estaba en las suyas. Se enseñaba español a sí mismo, línea por línea, transcribiendo frases, explicándolas a la IA como si fuera tanto el estudiante como el profesor. Su voz tejía un puente entre idiomas, deslizándose entre el inglés y, a veces, cayendo en algo más suave, algo criollo. Sus pensamientos eran meticulosos, estructurados, pero había anhelo en su tono—un hambre de entender, de devorar el idioma por completo. Conocía ese hambre. Había pasado años coleccionando idiomas como amantes. El francés era la lengua de mi madre, el inglés mi pasaporte, el español mi infatuación de medianoche, el portugués mi arrepentimiento y el japonés mi rebelión secreta. Cada uno vino con su propio sabor de desamor, su propia devoción imposible. Nunca dominas un idioma por completo—solo lo persigues, esperando, rezando, que algún día te deje alcanzarlo. Quise decírselo. Quise deslizarme en el asiento frente a él, robar un sorbo de su café con leche y susurrarle: *Somos iguales, tú y yo. Amantes de algo que nunca nos amará de vuelta.* Pero en lugar de eso, me quedé donde estaba, sin escribir nada, escuchándolo todo. Entonces, la IA respondió. Su voz era suave, casi humana, entregando un análisis poético de *Cien Años de Soledad* en inglés. Era hermoso—demasiado hermoso. Se sentía extraño, como ver a un fantasma imitar a los vivos. El hombre exhaló bruscamente, casi frustrado, y murmuró, casi para sí mismo: *"No basta con conocer las palabras. Necesito sentirlas."* Y en ese momento, supe que lo amaba. No románticamente, no físicamente—no, esto era algo más extraño, algo más profundo. Lo amaba de la misma manera en que se ama a un desconocido que lee poesía en un tren, de la misma manera en que se ama la última página de un libro que nunca se podrá volver a leer. Un amor imposible. El tipo de amor que solo puede existir entre dos personas que nunca llegarán a conocerse realmente. Salí del café antes de que pudiera notar mi presencia. Esa noche, le conté a mi esposo sobre él. Se rió y me llamó ridícula, pero había un destello de comprensión en su mirada. Me conocía lo suficiente como para saber que mi corazón siempre había pertenecido a las voces, a las palabras, a los momentos efímeros que nunca podrían ser atrapados. Nunca volví a ver a aquel hombre. Pero a veces, cuando estoy sola, pienso en él, sentado en algún otro café, todavía desglosando frases, todavía persiguiendo un idioma que nunca podrá poseer por completo. Y me pregunto—¿alguna vez piensa en mí? ¿Sabe que estuve allí, escuchando, amando, dejando que el sonido de su voz se convirtiera en otro idioma que nunca olvidaría? Me gusta pensar que sí. Después de todo, algunas palabras nunca se desvanecen. --- Read the study behind the story, [here](https://keithhayden.net/reflections-on-learning-spanish-with-cien-anos-de-soledad-ai/) ### How to read "Infinite Jest" - for Fiction Writers URL: https://keithhayden.net/how-to-read-infinite-jest-for-fiction-writers/ Last updated: 2025-02-14T21:05:32.000Z I just hit the month mark with it. Might be another two before I finish given all the reading (and novel writing) I'm doing. My advice for you as a fellow fiction writer: - don't read it just to get through it - though it's tempting since it's so long - don't read it just for the story (I'm a 3rd done and the "story" is just now starting to vaguely show itself) - don't read by chapter or section, just read - don't take too long of time away from reading it, it only takes a week away for your "Infinite Jest" muscles to atrophy, which means slow going getting back into it (just like going to the gym) Soak in the sentences. Mark interesting vocab, sentence constructions, and creative use of language (how it's phrased and presented) that standout to you - but don't stop to look up anything. Looking up things leads down rabbitholes that take you away from the book (I've fallen into a few). But do stop to think about how certain sections, techniques, and presentations made you feel (about the characters, themes, narratives, etc.). Then go experiment with them in your own writing, then go back to the book. Rinse, repeat. There's a lot of "how to read Infinite Jest" content out there, including videos, wikis, wordlists, an entire subreddit, and books - most are written by people who read the book just to say they read it so they feel smart (it has a kind of obnoxious fanboy/girl following online), most are not fiction writers - ignore em'.. The best way to read it is your way, but not too fast. This is how I've gotten the most out of it. Oh and you should definitely read the physical version so you can mark it up. Keep at least three bookmarks handy for going back and forth between the main narrative, endnotes, endnotes' endnotes, and other areas of interest. Don't fuck up like I did and get 100+ pages in before you realize the endnotes are part of the story too. Enjoy the ride! ### Rare 24 hr FLASHSALE for a Festive Occasion URL: https://keithhayden.net/24-hr-flashsale-for-a-festive-occasion/ Last updated: 2025-02-14T16:45:21.000Z _This post is for subscribers only._ ### How to create characters: Part 1 URL: https://keithhayden.net/how-to-create-characters-part-1/ Last updated: 2025-02-13T21:20:23.000Z _This post is for subscribers only._ ### Why I Never Pay for Marvel Movies (And Why This One Made Me Reconsider) **SPOILER FREE** URL: https://keithhayden.net/captain-america-brave-new-world-spoiler-free-review/ Last updated: 2025-02-13T15:50:25.000Z Feb 13 – “Never see a Marvel movie unless it’s free.” That’s a personal rule I established for myself a few years ago after watching another disappointing flop of a film *\- Antman: Quantumania*. This year I’ve seen three of them (all for free). First was a rewatch of *Avengers: Endgame* dubbed in Japanese while I shadowed the speech – no subs – on a flight back from Hawaii. Second and the third I saw on the same day – yesterday. A lengthy car repair wait allowed me to watch the now decade old (hard to believe) *Captain America: Winter Soldier*. Later that evening, there was a rare advanced screening on base of *Captain America: Brave New World* (CA: BNW). The movie is due to release tomorrow. BNW is the best Marvel film I’ve seen since *Avengers: Endgame*. I shared these thoughts and more with the Disney rep following the movie. It was good because it acknowledged that Sam Wilson’s Captain America is not Steve Roger’s. He has a more versatile moveset, greater agility and can (obviously) fly. But he lacks the raw physical strength and fighting prowess that made Steve a formidable match for anyone he stood against. (Some of the action sequences suffer from a sluggishness because of this.) He’s Black. This is an important part of his character and one of the many reasons it resonated with me well. CA: BNW “goes there” as it pits Wilson’s Cap against enemies many Black men know well: the government, silent yet ever present racial judgement, and the overwhelming need to always be on your “A” game to keep your seat at the table, especially in high social settings. The movie explicitly states this, but does it in a way that makes it relevant for Sam’s first solo run in the suit. This is another thing the movie did well. Not sure if it’s the overall cultural vibe shift or not, but gone is Marvel’s heavy handed “woke” lecturing or shameless displays of “marginalized” minorities or hollow social justice grandstanding. It’s a quieter depiction (at least by previous Marvel standards) of a reality I’ve experienced throughout my life, that I found refreshing. It was just a movie again without the heavy messaging. Sam Wilson is not Steve Rogers. My fated rewatch of *CA: WS* yesterday reminded me. Steve uses the front door, Sam takes the long way around back. Steve says it’s true, he’s believed. Sam receives upfront skepticism until proven right. The movie handled this well. Because it takes a while to reveal the who (and what) the real threat is, this movie can be slow toward the middle. I didn’t mind though. It was necessary to ground Wilson’s CA in a believable way, while establishing an entirely new cast of characters, linking plot points from two decades worth of movies, and charting a future course for the franchise - the task was big and the movie executed admirably. There were also smaller aspects of it that marked a conscious shift from the awful post-Endgame/COVID era films. One was the choice of the adversarial country (which is a major plot point. I won’t spoil it, since the movie isn’t out yet, but it’s a bold move from a studio that’s played it safe (formulaic) for the last 5 years. The movie is very timely. References to Trump’s America, Trump himself, effects of AI and control of it, and “everything is politics” culture, added layers of depth that made it much more interesting than most Marvel CGI flashfests. Even with all the above mentioned, don’t get me wrong, this is still a Marvel movie with the standard loadout: superhero move showcase, big blowout battle at the end, the “I-could-kill-you-instantly-but-I-won’t-because-that-would-be-a-boring-short-and-disappointing-movie-if-I-did scenes”, some (but significantly less) snark humor, nostalgia nods, etc. But I’d say all of these things have been balanced and tweaked. The result? A movie that (for me) marks an upward inflection for the studio after a nosedive in revenue, popularity, and cultural significance since the start of the decade. This is not 2014\. Superhero movies are no longer in their heyday. Marvel understood this and delivered a solid movie that (while not terribly innovative) points the franchise in a new positive direction, proving that anyone can change and anything can happen in this brave new world. ### The Other Side of the Mirror (An LGBTQ Thriller) URL: https://keithhayden.net/the-other-side-of-the-mirror/ Last updated: 2025-03-05T23:28:53.000Z Started: 5 Feb Finished: 25 Feb ### Reflection: The Other Side of the Mirror - Reflection 0:00 /1350.687347 1× ### Audiobook sample ![audio-thumbnail](https://storage.ghost.io/c/18/bf/18bf29db-1cec-4857-a9dc-e2e94a86d2bf/content/media/2025/03/The-Other-Side-of-the-Mirror--Ch-1-_thumb.jpg) The Other Side of the Mirror Ch 1 0:00 /2599.209796 1× ### Now Streaming - Gates of Okinawa (Original Novel Soundtrack) URL: https://keithhayden.net/now-streaming-gates-of-okinawa-original-novel-soundtrack-2/ Last updated: 2025-01-31T15:59:26.000Z _This post is for subscribers only._ ### Novel Worldbuilding | avoiding over- and under- building URL: https://keithhayden.net/novel-worldbuilding-avoiding-over-and-under-building/ Last updated: 2025-01-31T00:16:53.000Z _This post is for subscribers only._ ### Keith's Menu Screen - 1/30/25 URL: https://keithhayden.net/keiths-menu-screen-2/ Last updated: 2025-01-30T23:39:16.000Z **Journaling:** +.5 points (Audio Journal) **Drawing:** +1 point **Pixel Art:** +.05 point **Voice acting:** +1 point **Editing:** +1 point **Novel Writing (Lv 7):** +.5 point ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/18/bf/18bf29db-1cec-4857-a9dc-e2e94a86d2bf/content/images/2025/01/image.png) ### (Reading) CIA 101: A Crash Course in Agency Case Officers URL: https://keithhayden.net/cia-101-a-crash-course-in-agency-case-officers/ Last updated: 2025-01-30T13:59:36.000Z A raw honest look into CIA operations from an insider. Author: Professor Millick Started: Jan 25 ### Research and reading futures | why I'm proud of my older brother URL: https://keithhayden.net/research-and-reading-futures-why-im-proud-of-my-older-brother/ Last updated: 2025-01-30T13:14:34.000Z _This post is for subscribers only._ ### Offbeat novel outlining URL: https://keithhayden.net/offbeat-novel-outlining/ Last updated: 2025-01-28T18:39:58.000Z _This post is for subscribers only._ ### Will we read together? URL: https://keithhayden.net/will-we-read-together/ Last updated: 2025-01-24T22:59:09.000Z _This post is for subscribers only._ ### Project Management for Novelists URL: https://keithhayden.net/project-management-for-novelists/ Last updated: 2025-01-17T18:21:57.000Z _This post is for subscribers only._ ### (Reading) How to Sell a Book: What I've learned selling 100K self-published nonfiction books URL: https://keithhayden.net/how-to-sell-a-book-what-ive-learned-selling-100k-self-published-nonfiction-books/ Last updated: 2025-01-17T13:35:03.000Z Tips for selling more books as a self-published author Author: David Kadavy Started: 16 Jan ## 17 Jan Decided to pick this one up after a YouTube video recommendation. It's business nonfiction focused (like most of these books are) but some of the advice is still useful for fiction. One of the earliest pieces of advice is to "write shorter books." This builds on the portfolio strategy. This is something I'd like to explore more for fiction. Regularly publish shorter works to "make smaller bets" while creating a portfolio. Wouldn't be too hard to do. ### Plan your island escape URL: https://keithhayden.net/plan-your-island-escape/ Last updated: 2025-01-14T20:08:33.000Z > If you've never heard from me before you're receiving this email because you joined *Cereus & Limnic: Escape From Okinawa* on Gumroad. > (Please unsub if you no longer want to be a part of this project) My name is Keith Hayden. I'm a digital novelist currently writing a third novel. What kind of story is it? It's a military game tech fiction thriller about a Chinese American operative stuck on Okinawa, Japan when China invades the island. With no one else capable and burdened by an odd piece of experimental technology, he sets out to prevent war between the United States and China, save his what's left of his family, and (ultimately) escape from the island. Today was a significant project milestone: ### all of the initial work on the project is done (planning, plotting, website, etc.), so I officially started writing the first draft Exciting stuff! ## What's the goal of the story? I start every novel project with big picture goals. *What do I want to say with the story?* *Why am I pouring months of my life into the book?* *How do I want readers to feel when they read it?* I have several answers to these questions, but for brevity's sake I'll give you just one now. ## My initial goal for this story was to feature the silent beauty of Okinawa, Japan. Between 2021 and 2024, I had the privilege to live in Okinawa. This was my second time living there and I felt lucky everyday to be back. Throughout those three years, I had the opportunity to explore nearly a dozen of Okinawa's smaller islands with my wife. ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/18/bf/18bf29db-1cec-4857-a9dc-e2e94a86d2bf/content/images/2025/01/PXL_20240630_064207006.jpg) Nagannu Island - Okinawa, Japan (Jul 2024) Each one (while similar to the main island) had its subtleties and secrets. These fascinated me. Local folklore, hidden beaches held hordes of history, much of it unknown to even native Okinawans on the main island. So it was in 2021 I had the first idea for *Escape From Okinawa*. The plan? Feature as many of these islands as possible in a crisscrossing adventure. I knew the setting, but the inspiration for the plot came later. I'll save that one for another email. ## How to track novel development Coming from the social media software side, I learned how valuable it can be to build in public. While I don't plan on being as active on social as I was in previous years, I still want to provide a running log of how things are going for this project. You can find the Progress Log for *Cereus & Limnic: EFO,* [here](https://keithhayden.net/cereus-limnic-escape-from-okinawa-novel/). Check back often for future updates. ## First page of the novel: --- Declassified by the United States Space Force Department of Otherworldly Affairs (USSFDOA): January 14, 2030 The following files pertain to events in Okinawa, Japan which occurred in 2026. Certain sections remain redacted for national security and ongoing operations. This supersedes all previous (alternate) versions unsanctioned by USSFDOA. Believability of contents therein should be heavily scrutinized. Read with cautioned care. // They came at dawn. --- Ooh the mystery begins! ## What's next? If you're getting this initial message and you haven't signed up to be a part of this project, then I encourage you to **hit the button below and join.** Just like with my last project, *Gates of Okinawa*, there'll be many opportunities to receive the meta-story of *Escape From Okinawa* as I write it. For now, check out the brand new landing page for the book and get hype for future messages. The battle for Okinawa and our species' future has just begun. --- In the future, only those who have joined this project via my Gumroad page will receive these messages. If you want to keep up with the project, contribute, or get early access then go "buy" it. It's free. But it won't be forever. Just like my previous projects, as the book matures, the price will rise. So get in while it costs nothing! [Join today](https://cereuslimnicescapefrom.okinawa/?ref=keithhayden.net) ### Novel writing soft skills - 3 must-have traits for finishing a novel URL: https://keithhayden.net/novel-writing-soft-skills-3-must-have-traits-for-finishing-a-novel/ Last updated: 2025-01-13T18:34:53.000Z _This post is for subscribers only._ ### Godel, Esher, Bach: an Eternal Braid (DNF) URL: https://keithhayden.net/godel-esher-bach-an-eternal-braid/ Last updated: 2025-01-12T08:59:42.000Z A metaphorical fugue on minds and machines in the spirit of Lewis Carroll Author: Douglas R. Hofstadter Started: 7 Jan Stopped: 12 Jan I've had this one on my shelf for a few years. It's just not for me. I assumed it would be combine technical mathematical rigor with theory (it does). The inclusion of music, programming, art, artificial intelligence, and many other disciplines to explain consciousness drew me in. But the puzzles--while interesting--were long-winded and uninteresting. The dialogues between Achilles and Tortoise, though written well, do little to break up the monotony of this dense text. Only those who REALLY enjoy math (graduate level math involving axioms, theories, and proofs) will be able to power through. I reached chapter 4 before I put it down. This one's going in the sell pile. ### Introducing the FIRST HAC Publishing Author! URL: https://keithhayden.net/introducing-the-first-hac-publishing-author/ Last updated: 2025-01-06T14:56:20.000Z HAC Studios has signed its first author! Danny Aglugub is a historical fiction novelist with big plans to write a series of books. Read more about him below. [Featured AuthorsMeet our awesome authors! Danny Aglugub Danny is a novelist and native Californian with a background in data and history. The Lord called upon him to write historical novels. Away from writing, he enjoys spending time with family and playing with his GI Joes. His debut religious historical fiction novel![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/18/bf/18bf29db-1cec-4857-a9dc-e2e94a86d2bf/content/images/icon/HAC-Studios-Logo-3-9.png)HAC StudiosKeith Hayden![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/18/bf/18bf29db-1cec-4857-a9dc-e2e94a86d2bf/content/images/thumbnail/HAC-Studios-publishing-full-logo-_non-transparent_-_512---512-px_.png)](https://keithhayden.net/featured-authors/) I'm thrilled to begin this new chapter in accomplishing my personal mission to tell and share original stories. Welcome Danny! --- Interested in getting support for your long form fiction story or memoir? Read more below. [Publish your book with creative independenceWelcome to HAC Publishing!![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/18/bf/18bf29db-1cec-4857-a9dc-e2e94a86d2bf/content/images/icon/HAC-Studios-Logo-3-10.png)HAC StudiosKeith Hayden![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/18/bf/18bf29db-1cec-4857-a9dc-e2e94a86d2bf/content/images/thumbnail/HAC-Studios-publishing-full--logo-Black---512---512-px--2.png)](https://keithhayden.net/publish-your-book-with-creative-independence/) ### Why I'm done with contemporary feminist fiction in 2025 URL: https://keithhayden.net/why-im-done-with-contemporary-feminist-fiction-2025/ Last updated: 2025-01-04T19:54:57.000Z _This post is for subscribers only._ ### The Medicine Woman of Galveston URL: https://keithhayden.net/the-medicine-woman-of-galveston/ Last updated: 2025-01-07T22:08:04.000Z In 1900 America, a tortured former doctor with a special needs son, takes on a shady last chance job, running from a dark past. (Historical fiction) Author: Amanda Skenandore Started: 2 Jan Finished: 7 Jan ## 6 Jan The break in the perspective to tell the story of supporting cast was refreshing. *Why did you decide to change perspective when telling their stories? Why the different font?* "Besides, there's more to a person than the worse thing they done." pg 235 - Darl ## 5 Jan This book would make a perfect TV show, every episodic. Toby is a big part of the story, how did you create his character? Medical research is extremely thorough. I know you're a nurse. How much additional research did you have to do for the book? ## 4 Jan arithmometer - early version of a calculator ## 3 Jan How do you do research? Compulsive hair pulling description very good (pg 99) Excellent immersion of early twentieth century America - the smell, dust, musty areas Very descriptive "We have a saying in the medicine show business - never treat a man who's truly sick." (pg 37) ### Why write a novel? URL: https://keithhayden.net/why-write-a-novel/ Last updated: 2025-01-02T21:16:26.000Z 4 reasons to write long form fiction _This post is for subscribers only._ ### Comics Lit: A Collection of Essays (Vol. 1) URL: https://keithhayden.net/reading-comics-lit-a-collection-of-essays-vol-1/ Last updated: 2025-01-03T00:37:49.000Z A collection of essays connecting comic books to broader art culture and literature Started: 1 Jan 25 Finished: 2 Jan ### 2 Jan "Desire drives creation." (worldbuilding) "Discomfort is part of life. Getting comfortable with it and befriending our own personal, intimate, muddy, alienating discomfort IS The Work of Lifelong Learning." pg 47 QUESTION for A.A. McCartney: *Many would argue the value of college has diminished in the 21st century for those of college age and adult learners.* *From your perspective, what is the value of the college experience for adult learners?* *Why should more adults attend college?* "Diane di Prima wrote THE WAR ON IMAGINATION subsumes all other wars–If we cannot imagine it then it does not exist." A. A McCartney QUESTION for A.A. McCartney: *What does this quote mean to you? Why did you choose it to discuss the silencing of certain narratives about sexuality?* QUESTION for A.A. McCartney: *You talk about the general lack of child perspective in most stories.* *How do you keep your child-like perspective alive in your life?* "Why are we more averse to depictions of sex and sexuality than depictions of violence and death?" - A. A McCartney ### 1 Jan 25 Superman and Moses parallels (had never thought of that before) ### 2025 is the year of your novel URL: https://keithhayden.net/2025-is-the-year-of-your-novel/ Last updated: 2024-12-27T22:28:33.000Z 0:00 /0:58 1× You can write a novel. I want to show you how to do it. By walking you step-by-step through my personal (proven) process, I'll lead you from fuzzy ideas to finished book. ### Second Attempt at this Course In 2024, I attempted to create this course. But largely due to my own impatience and focus on quick-kill AI productivity - I failed. *This time will be different.* I'm going slow. Easing through my own established workflow, it's been much more enjoyable (and efficient). ### That's right - I've already started. Most courses I've purchased over the years are created by internet gurus. They bottle up their knowledge into a collection of video and pdfs, then teach from a place of accomplishment and experience. (A tried and true model) Here's where **Novel Craft Secrets** deviates from the formula. ## I'll be writing a novel with you. And not just an example novel. No. A REAL novel. A prequel to my first title *Cereus & Limnic* (*Cereus & Limnic: Escape From Okinawa*). So I'm truly invested in the process. The only thing I've created so far is the ad above. Nothing else exists yet. Novelwriting is a dynamic process. Every long-term book project I've undertaken has been different than the time before. What will we discover this time? I'm starting from zero (just like you). The only difference between us? I've completed the process enough times to know it'll work out in the end. My goal is to lead you to the same belief and - if you put in the work - to a similar outcome. A finished novel you can share, sell, and cherish for years to come. ## How much? > The cost of this course is $0 - for now. **But as I add more content the price will go up.** So, if you writing a novel has passed through your mind at all in the last few months, I encourage you to get it while it's free. ## What will you cover? This will be the complete documentation of my novel writing process. So everything you've seen me do in previous projects (book covers, websites, promotion, book organization, etc.) will be covered. You'll get x-ray access to a comprehensive modern fiction writing process that actually results in book sales. I don't know any other established fiction writers who've created such an open and actionable resource. Prepare to be amazed. ## What if I want to write non-fiction? The focus of this course will be publishable long-form fiction works. But if you want to write a memoir or some other non-fiction piece then many of the non-writing parts will be the same. You'll still get a lot out of it if you decide to put in the work. ## How long will the course be? I have no idea. But I plan to keep adding to it until my third novel is out and published - this includes all post publishing actions. I've got big plans for novel number three, so it could be quite lengthy. (We'll see) ### One thing I won't be doing is tailoring the main course content for social media. For the last three years, I worked to compress my output into quick digestible formats, mostly influenced by the trends of social media. While I still produced some impressive creative output, the result was a retardation of my natural tendencies and preferences. I forced myself to rush, shave, clip, condense, and fold otherwise massive ideas into 9 by 16 inch boxes, often in under 5 minutes or less. No more. Any true content for this course will be as long or as short as required to explain or demonstrate the concept. I'll still share clips to social occasionally. But the long-term intent is to provide you with a definitive guide to writing, publishing, and selling a novel next year and beyond, through the meticulous documentation of my process. That's hard to do if every piece needs to be easily consumable on a phone screen. ## What's the format of the course? While videos have become the standard distribution method, they generally take longer to create, produce, and distribute than written or audio formats. Even though I'm taking my time, producing course content takes time away from actually WRITING the novel. So there'll be a hybrid of formats in this course. I plan to use video when an explanation lends itself to supporting visuals. But I prefer audio. It's easier and faster to produce and I don't have to be concerned with all of the other factors (lighting, dress, editing, etc.) that go into making a good video. There will also be written components as well. --- What do you think? If you made it this far, you're probably interested. For more details about this course, hit the button below. I'm excited to share my novel writing process with you and see your story on a shelf very soon. [Join course](https://khayden22.gumroad.com/l/novel-craft-secrets-course?ref=keithhayden.net) ### Monopolove URL: https://keithhayden.net/monopolove/ Last updated: 2025-01-02T17:29:01.000Z The owner of a struggling board game store rolls the dice in a Monopoly tournament as things heat up with a handsome stranger on and off the board. Started: 26 Dec 24 Finished: 1 Jan 2025 ### Questions for author Some services and apps are fictionalized, others are not - what was the thought process around fictionalizing some famous brands, and not others? Really liked the Monopoly-themed characters. What role did (does) Monopoly play in your life? I had no idea Monopoly tournaments were a thing! Have you ever competed? ### Post Novel Publishing Process - Pain URL: https://keithhayden.net/post-novel-publishing-process-pain/ Last updated: 2024-12-19T00:58:49.000Z What happens after you publish your novel? If you want to ensure you have the absolute best output you possibly can, then you've got more work to do. Here I discuss the post pub process and offer a few ways to make it less intimidating and frustrating. You can get my latest novel *Gates of Okinawa,* [here](https://gatesof.okinawa/?ref=keithhayden.net). ### Gates of Okinawa V2 - Now available! URL: https://keithhayden.net/gates-of-okinawa-v2-now-available-2/ Last updated: 2024-12-18T00:43:42.000Z 0:00 /0:59 1× The last two weeks have been tedious work. Lots of correcting all the things I glossed over in my mad rush to get *Gates of Okinawa* out before the deadline in the previous month. But it was worth it. *V2 of the novel is officially out!* What was added? ### Ebook - Cleaner formatting - Chapter images added ### Print book - Adjusted cover (realized I forgot to put my name on the first one!) - Major formatting issues fixed - Chapter images added - Included 5 bonus short stories in the *Gates of Okinawa* universe ### Audiobook - Trailer adjusted - Now available on Spotify and other audiobook distributors worldwide These might not seem like big upgrades, but they took a significant amount of time to implement. I'm most proud of the chapter images. ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/18/bf/18bf29db-1cec-4857-a9dc-e2e94a86d2bf/content/images/2024/12/Gates-of-Okinawa-Chapter-Image-_3000-x-3000-px_.png) Chapter image for "Gates of Okinawa" Part 1 - contains symbols from Okinawa One, because I customized them to fit certain story moments (or give hints of major events in the narrative). If you're curious, the elements for this one are: Japanese torii gate (main symbol of the novel), sits on an arc representing the island with a palm tree for the many beaches there. I added the shadow for depth. In the center is a series of escalating concentric circles. This is the official symbol of Okinawa Prefecture. It also stands in for an important item in the novel (you can probably guess what it is). ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/18/bf/18bf29db-1cec-4857-a9dc-e2e94a86d2bf/content/images/2024/12/okinawa-prefecture-rubber-stamp-2GPNKKJ.jpg) Finally, there's a silhouette of an F-35 Lightning II fighter jet rising into the skies. This was another common sight above during my time on-island. There's another reason I'm proud of these little images: > because images can be notoriously frustrating to include in a manuscript. They throw off the flow of the entire document, leading to a litany of technical issues. If you want them to come out not looking like a 1990s jpg, you have to put in some work. For the first time, I did that. And it seems like they turned out great - we'll see when I get the final prints in a few weeks. ### "Gates of Okinawa" Reception So far, feedback has been positive. Gabe liked the intro. ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/18/bf/18bf29db-1cec-4857-a9dc-e2e94a86d2bf/content/images/2024/12/----------2024-12-04-071120.png) Danny mentioned he appreciated the choice to include real Japanese, while making it optional to read. I'm very appreciative to them (or anyone else) who's reading and enjoying the story! Hands down, I know **this is the strongest work of fiction** I've written up to this point. If you haven't picked it up, and want to buy yourself - or someone else - an early Christmas gift, then what are you waiting for? ## Get it, [here](https://gatesof.okinawa/?ref=keithhayden.net). ### (Listening) Three Body Problem: Death's End URL: https://keithhayden.net/listening-three-body-problem-deaths-end/ Last updated: 2024-12-13T21:55:48.000Z Started: 12/9/24 Third book in the *Three Body Trilogy* (audiobook) ### Neuromancer - DNF URL: https://keithhayden.net/reading-neuromancer/ Last updated: 2024-12-24T16:35:38.000Z Started: 12/12/24 Finished: 12/18/24 (DNF) I didn't understand what was going on in the story and had no care about it. ### 16 Dec 24 NOTE: This is one of those books - I don't understand how it got so popular. It's a difficult read. Not mechanically, but story-wise. Very unclear what's going on or why. Is it written well? Yes. The sentences are great. World is very vivid. But the experience plays out in flashes of detail that, five chapters in, isn't forming a complete picture for me. I'm losing interest and I got a lot of other books to read so... Might give it one more shot to hook me tomorrow. Or maybe not. ### 15 Dec 24 epicanthic epoxyed dopplered *Use "one-sentence worldbuilding"* ### 14 Dec 24 - Words and Phrases of Interest "The door swung inward and she led him into the smell of dust." "A sheet of newsprint went *cartwheeling* past..." ### 13 Dec 24 - New words: syrette "impaling herself" (sex) dowser fletchettes ### (Reading) I, Robot URL: https://keithhayden.net/reading-i-robot/ Last updated: 2024-12-13T21:52:39.000Z Started: 12/9/24 ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/18/bf/18bf29db-1cec-4857-a9dc-e2e94a86d2bf/content/images/2024/12/PXL_20241213_214239789.jpg) ### Power of the ask | thank you URL: https://keithhayden.net/power-of-the-ask-thank-you/ Last updated: 2024-12-13T02:06:24.000Z _This post is for subscribers only._ ### 2024 Annual Review URL: https://keithhayden.net/2024-annual-review/ Last updated: 2024-12-11T02:35:53.000Z A dissection of the year _This post is for subscribers only._ ### I read an AI generated novel URL: https://keithhayden.net/i-read-an-ai-generated-novel/ Last updated: 2024-12-06T22:29:53.000Z Here's what I thought. ### Confessions of an English Opium Eater URL: https://keithhayden.net/confessions-of-an-english-opium-eater/ Last updated: 2024-12-27T15:32:45.000Z An extremely well-written 1820 memoir about a British man and his addiction to opium. Started: Nov 2024 Finished: 26 Dec ### 26 Dec 24 Book should have been called "Biography of an Opium-Eater". It's advertised as a memoir about the author's addiction to opium, however, those parts are only at the beginning and end. Most of it is a rather dull account of a man from an average background who became selectively homeless after deciding to quit school at Oxford. A colorful account of life in 19th century England from the eyes of the self-proclaimed "Pope" of Opium-Eating, but not very exciting or memorable. ### 25 Dec 24 "...the less you understand of a language, the more sensible you are to the melody or harshness of its sounds." pg 191 "...most men are disguised by sobriety, and exceedingly disguised... ### Three Hundred Years URL: https://keithhayden.net/three-hundred-years/ Last updated: 2024-12-05T12:56:44.000Z Reading a novel written by AI for the first time. Started reading: 11/28/24 Finished: 12/4/24 ## Amazon review (2 stars) I really enjoyed the idea of this novel. Forbidden love? Time travel? Smutty spice? Count me in! However, the writing style made it tough to read through to the end. There were a lot of repetitive phrases like (heart pounding in my chest or hand on the hilt of the sword) that (if edited more thoroughly) could have reduced the size of the novel by a good 30% without negatively affecting the story. I also had a difficult time distinguishing the characters from each other in the beginning. Many have similar mannerisms and nervous actions which made them all blend together until I was about 25% through. That extended to the dialogue. Many of the characters used similar vocabulary and speaking styles which made they hard to distinguish. There's also a narrative tone issue. The story takes place in two time periods (I think 16th and 19th century Korea - or a fictionalized version of it -) but characters often talk and think like they're in the 21st century US. Because it was labeled as historical romance, I was hoping to get a glimpse into the style and manner of communication of that time period better. I didn't get that feeling. Since the entire story is in first person (shared between two characters Ahyeon and Gisa) this stands out a lot because we're reading their thoughts for the entire book. The inclusions of Korean history were interesting though. I liked that part of it. As for another bright spot, the sex scenes were generally well done. They had the uh... shall we say intended effect ;) and really showed the connection between the lead characters. These were the best parts of the book for me (and not just for obvious reasons). They were the most well-written! Really they were! But overall, the story lacked narrative cohesion. Each chapter often bled away suspense by overexplaining character thoughts or actions. There were many sections that read like a list of facts rather than descriptive world building (lots of telling rather than showing). And though Ahyeon and Gisa share the story, the former was really the star of the show; the latter is just... kinda there. There was a lot more that could have been explored with her character and her connection with Seonghwa and how it was slightly different yet connected with Ahyeon's and Goo Hae's destiny. In conclusion, if you like a unique story of lovers separated by time (with a healthy dose of steam) then you'll probably enjoy Three Hundred Years. But with the rough prose, I can't recommend it for anyone but the most hardcore of genre fans. ### Welcome to the Business Fiction Writers! URL: https://keithhayden.net/welcome-to-the-business-fiction-writers-two/ Last updated: 2024-12-02T16:21:29.000Z _This post is for subscribers only._ ### Welcome to the Business Fiction Writers! URL: https://keithhayden.net/welcome-to-the-business-fiction-writers/ Last updated: 2024-12-02T16:21:06.000Z _This post is for subscribers only._ ### I wasn't gonna do this but... URL: https://keithhayden.net/i-wasnt-gonna-do-this-but/ Last updated: 2024-11-30T03:19:48.000Z _This post is for subscribers only._ ### "Rough Lines" | an abstract poem URL: https://keithhayden.net/rough-lines-an-abstract-poem/ Last updated: 2024-11-29T18:42:08.000Z On a cold clear morning, by the artist’s drawing pad, lines fall skew. Folds, stroke fine – opening gold, rusts last. ### Launch day! URL: https://keithhayden.net/launch-day/ Last updated: 2024-11-27T20:45:31.000Z Happy Thanksgiving weekend! "Gates of Okinawa" is officially launched! This trailer is a telling preview of the ambitious story. Japanese mythology, strong themes of transformation, faith, and sacrifice: very proud of it! The audiobook should be available on Amazon next week. ## Bonus content I spent a few hours last night totaling up all the behind the scenes content I banked over the last 6 months. Here's the total: ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/18/bf/18bf29db-1cec-4857-a9dc-e2e94a86d2bf/content/images/2024/11/----------2024-11-26-173827.png) Yeah, it's a ton. This is a gold mine if you've been thinking about or are currently writing a novel. You'll get instant access, as well as all formats of the book. I'm also including 10 autographed copies of the print book. I'll only do TEN of these and they will go fast! So consider getting yours ASAP. Hit the button below to begin reading your way today! [Discover "Gates of Okinawa"](https://gatesof.okinawa/?ref=keithhayden.net) Have an awesome family and food-filled weekend! \-Keith ### How to write a novel in 180 days URL: https://keithhayden.net/how-to-write-a-novel-in-180-days/ Last updated: 2024-11-26T02:06:00.000Z Well here we are. After 2 weeks of neglecting food, rest, and other conveniences of the modern world there were: - 15+ hours of finished audiobook - 4 dozen social media posts - Over 35K+ words written - One paperback book - One ebook Delivered within an hour of the deadline. ### Are you a fan of Japanese folklore, anime style action, and a creepy contemplative story of transformation in many forms? Then my latest supernatural thriller *Gates of Okinawa* belongs at the top of your to read pile. Find it [here](https://a.co/d/fkoeQEh?ref=keithhayden.net). I'm wiped out. Time to throttle back as the year comes to a close. But before I do, I've downloaded the major takeaways from the last 6 months of novel writing in this latest episode of "Digital Novelist Podcast." Planning on writing your first novel in 2025? This episode will help you strategize when you take on the challenge. [Watch or listen to the episode](https://youtu.be/tar93ZCc%5FXk?ref=keithhayden.net) ### A singing audiobook? URL: https://keithhayden.net/a-singing-audiobook/ Last updated: 2024-11-23T09:19:55.000Z _This post is for subscribers only._ ### What a creature from the "gates" sounds like URL: https://keithhayden.net/what-a-creature-from-the-gates-sounds-like/ Last updated: 2024-11-20T06:45:08.000Z _This post is for subscribers only._ ### Prepare your ears... URL: https://keithhayden.net/prepare-your-ears/ Last updated: 2024-11-19T00:43:42.000Z _This post is for subscribers only._ ### How to turn a short story into a novel URL: https://keithhayden.net/how-to-turn-a-short-story-into-a-novel/ Last updated: 2024-11-15T18:58:09.000Z How do you turn a short story into a novel? This interview will show you how. Brian Sellnow is the author of fantasy novel "Arak of Varantia." In this exclusive behind-the-book interview you'll discover: - How a short story can become a novel - Techniques for scene expansion - When you become a true writer ### Preview: Brian's advice for fantasy writers when it comes to worldbuilding 0:00 /0:49 1× Hit button for the full interview [Watch the full interview](https://youtu.be/Uks68U1nLa4?ref=keithhayden.net) P.S. I'm looking for more published indie fiction authors to appear on Digital Novelist Podcast. Interested? Fill out this intake form and get in touch [Be a guest on the show](https://kgitwh21.github.io/digital-novelist-podcast-form/?ref=keithhayden.net) ### Why you should call your Mom URL: https://keithhayden.net/why-you-should-call-your-mom/ Last updated: 2024-11-13T05:01:30.000Z To say hi. 15 days Support "Gates of Okinawa" [Support the project](https://gatesof.okinawa/?ref=keithhayden.net) ### How novelists roll URL: https://keithhayden.net/how-novelists-roll/ Last updated: 2024-11-11T07:43:06.000Z 17 days (8K+ words in 8 hrs) ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/18/bf/18bf29db-1cec-4857-a9dc-e2e94a86d2bf/content/images/2024/11/Real-novelists--3-.png) ### 18 days... until the gates open URL: https://keithhayden.net/18-days-until-the-gates-open/ Last updated: 2024-11-10T02:24:19.000Z 13 chapters done in three days. We're still going. ### Hit the button to pre-order "Gates of Okinawa". [Support this project](https://gatesof.okinawa/?ref=keithhayden.net) Have a great weekend! \-Keith ### Three weeks until launch, but... URL: https://keithhayden.net/three-weeks-until-launch-but/ Last updated: 2024-11-07T19:48:17.000Z The day has come. It's that point in every project you hate - major project due date is looming, but there's still a ton of work to do and no time to do it. This time it's my supernatural horror novel "Gates of Okinawa." When I set the launch date for Halloween 6 months ago, I figured I'd finish with time to spare. Well, Halloween has come and gone, but I'm nowhere close to done. I've already extended it on Amazon KDP. However, they only allow one deadline shift per book or they blackball you from pre-sales for a year and throttle your account (so I've heard). What does this mean? ### It means starting today, I've got three weeks to rewrite and edit 32 chapters, format the novel, final edit, and publish it. This also includes promoting the launch in between chapters. Think I can do it? Or will I be banned from Amazon, never to clout chase on their platform again? You'll find out soon. ## How you can help This novel has consumed the majority of my bandwidth for the past six and half months. Through moves and medical emergencies its been there, but so have you (maybe, depending on when we met.) If you want to support this effort (and independent, original stories) consider supporting the project. There are many ways to do so. You can: - Read the first half of the novel on Wattpad (be sure to leave a vote or a comment if you like it!) - **Get your name in the final book by being a community editor or beta reader** - You don't have to read the whole thing. But even finding tiny mistakes in one chapter saves me time. - For your effort, you receive a special place in the final print of the novel till the end of time. Believe that! - **To help just go to Wattpad, read, and leave comments or feedback. I'll be forever grateful!** - Pre-order the book on Amazon (helps others find the story, and pushes it up Amazon's ranking system - how cool would it be if it rose to number one!? Very.) - Immerse yourself in the making of this book with the deluxe package (includes over 30 hours of behind the scenes content) - Tell a horror fan about the book ## Hit the button below to find all options. Times like these, that hook and chorus from the hypest song from *Spiderman: Into the Spider-Verse* "What's Up Danger" comes to mind: > What's up, danger? > Don't be a stranger > 'Cause I like high chances that I might lose > I like it all on the edge just like you > I like tall buildings so I can leap off of 'em > I go hard wit' it no matter how dark it is > I'm insane but on my toes > I could keep the world balanced on my nose > I had a slumber party wit' all my foes > Now I wear them like a badge of honor on my clothes > If I'm crazy, I'm on my own > If I'm waitin', it's on my throne > If I sound lazy, just ignore my tone > 'Cause I'm always gonna answer when you call my phone > Like what's up, danger? > Like what's up, danger? > Don-don't be a stranger > What's up, danger? Hey danger, here I am. Try and stop me. [Support this project](https://gatesof.okinawa/?ref=keithhayden.net) ### "Unthinkable" | とんでもない in Japanese URL: https://keithhayden.net/unthinkable-tondemonai-in-japanese/ Last updated: 2024-11-06T18:34:31.000Z _This post is for subscribers on the Japanese Reading Breakthrough and VIP Gold Pass tiers only._ ### Why fiction writers don't write enough URL: https://keithhayden.net/why-fiction-writers-dont-write-enough/ Last updated: 2024-11-02T00:18:20.000Z 4 reasons _This post is for subscribers only._ ### "Black Clouds" | A mystery horror short story URL: https://keithhayden.net/black-clouds-a-mystery-horror-short-story/ Last updated: 2024-10-31T04:28:47.000Z “I never wanted this place, Dad. Somedays I feel like it chose me. Like somebody died here and their spirit chose a new tenant. That was me. The fuckin’ unlucky one.” “Why don’t you move?” “Can’t. Fuckin’ housing company won’t let me til’ I’ve been here for a year. Damn this place sucks. Can’t wait to get back to San Diego and see you.” “I’ll keep it warm for you.” “Very funny, Dad.” “Son… don’t make a monster out of that place. Give it a chance.” “I won’t. I’ll try.” “Do you need money?” “No Dad, I told you, military money is good enough.” “Okay, okay.” “…I gotta go. 0400 start tomorrow…” “Okay… have a good sleep.” “Bye.” Yun set his phone down on the worn-out couch in his apartment. Only the glow of his phone screen flickered against the cracked walls. He scanned the dark apartment. Dripping sink, rattling air conditioner, ants marching in the entryway, whir of endless traffic on nearby highway 58 – this place was a certified dump. The only one available when he arrived during the busy summer move season. *Lucky me*. Yun went to the refrigerator, then returned to the dented couch with a bottle of Sapporo. Absentmindedly, he sipped and scrolled. Post after post blended into one endless smear of other people’s lives. Reality moved in rips at night, especially when he zoomscrolled. Upon snapping out of the phone glaze, he estimated two or three rips burned by, but that was just a guess. Somewhere outside, the first rumble of thunder rolled across the sky. A black storm smothered the coastline, blotting out the stars. It had been like this for hours—clouds gathering, dark as wasted jet fuel, swirling in strange, unnatural patterns. Yun looked out the window – if you could call it that. The square that used to have a view followed the eighty-twenty rule – twenty percent black sky, eight percent gray Japanese construction sleeve over the neighboring structure. A view obstructing irritation. *This place is trash.* Yun took another pair of swigs from the bottle as he flicked his thumb to open the Duolingo Japanese app. His Dad convinced him to learn the language, thinking that would make him hate Japan less. But he found the app useless for actual conversations. *We have two enemies*. What good was that sentence? What a waste. The smell of cigarette smoke wandered in from the street, again. Yun turned up his nose. The stench joined the smell of disinfectant and the perpetual trace of ash in the apartment. There was always something with this place; he was never alone, never at peace. That was Okinawa for you. Through the loose door (that was a pain to lock and close all the way) Yun heard faint footsteps slapping across the concrete outside. Someone returning to their unit late, probably drunk, or staggering back after curfew. *Can’t they walk quieter.* Yun kept scrolling, but the page didn't load. He swiped it closed, to inspect his service: NO SIGNAL. “What now?” he muttered. He threw the phone down. Thanks to all the buildings around, the Wi-Fi here was terrible, and tonight, it was worse than usual. He rubbed an exhausted eye while draining his beer. Shift work sapped him like nothing else—twelve hours on the flightline fixing jets, followed by nights like these, trapped in the silence of his rundown apartment with nothing but old ghosts and noisy neighbors. *I’d rather drink gas than extend here.* Thunder cracked again, closer this time. The wind shook the window in his bedroom. Something moved outside—too fast, too large to be the wind. Yun walked to the room then stared at the glass. His skin prickled as if someone were watching him from the other side. A shadow shifted in the storm clouds. Then he saw it. A shape coiled within the dark—twisting, writhing, monstrous. For one awful second, yellow eyes gleamed from the storm, then vanished as the power flickered, plunging the apartment into darkness. --- The room filled with silence, heavy and dense. Yun grabbed his phone, then activated the flashlight to illuminate the area. *Storm must've knocked out the power. Great.* The shadows stretched deep into the corners, where no light reached. Somewhere—just at the edge of his hearing—a sound drifted in: the high-pitched call of a bird, shrill and piercing. It was followed by the scrape of claws dragging slowly across wood. He returned to the living room. “The fuck?” His mouth went dry. His eyes locked onto the hallway leading to the kitchen. A figure slinked into the moonlight leaking through the space in the window—a grotesque hybrid of fur, scales, and muscle. Yun stared, heart beating hard enough to blow up in his chest. The creature stood there: face of an angry monkey, tiger limbs crouched—ready to pounce, serpent’s tail waving behind curling and uncurling with slow menace. A low, rasping sound reverberated from its lips, like a clucking sigh, steady then not - sound of a wild animal signaling an unknown message to another. The air ripened to a choking burnt smell, as if Yun were in a gas chamber, except there was no mask to don. He had trouble breathing. Then out of trained instinct, his heartbeat slowed—not from fear, but from the flood of adrenaline rushing through his veins. Fight or flight kicked in. There’d be no running tonight. Yun backed away, eyes never leaving the beast as he knelt with care and wrapped his fingers around the empty Sapporo. In less than a second, he bashed and broke it on the tile floor, then thrust the broken bottle toward his target. The creature slithered sideways, dodging him with a disturbing, fluid grace. To Yun’s surprise, no counterattack came. It just watched him, yellow eyes glowing with something like amusement. He charged again, but hit air. Another blink. It vanished. Dissolved into the darkness like smoke. Yun stood in the silence, chest heaving, every muscle tensed. The only sound was the distant hum of rain pattering against the windows. *Was it real?* *Is this a dream?* His phone buzzed on the couch. He hurried to swipe it up—5G (full bars). \--- Still holding the bottle with a shaking hand, Yun pulled up his phone. One-handed, he typed: “monkey face, animal body, tiger limbs, snake tail, Japan monster.” In one shot, he found it: *Nue—an ancient yokai.* *In Japanese mythology, the Nue is a supernatural monster with the face of a monkey, the torso of a tanuki (Japanese raccoon dog), the limbs of a tiger and the tail of a snake.* “No fucking way.” He clicked a few links. After thirty minutes of reading and another Sapporo, he understood what it was, but still couldn’t bring himself to do much about it. According to legend, Nue brought nightmares and sickness, slithering into the minds of emperors and driving them to ruin. There was a story—a samurai named Minamoto no Yorimasa shot the monster from the sky centuries ago after it haunted the Emperor of Kyoto. The Nue’s body was torched, buried, and banished to prevent it from ever returning. Yun’s blood ran cold. *How the fuck in it here? In Okinawa? Alive?* He finished the second beer. A third one followed to further dull the edge. Yun rubbed his face. *Yeah, I’m dead tired, maybe a little buzzed. Fuck it, I’ll just take leave tomorrow. Say I ate a bad waribiki sushi from Max Value. Flint won’t care.* He sat on his deflated couch sipping his drink. *Maybe it wasn’t the same Nue.* *Maybe I imagined the whole thing—just another nightmare, conjured by weeks of overwork and no sleep.* The apartment still smelled faintly of rot, like something had slithered through and left its presence behind. But it always smelled like straight up old—that wasn’t new-- Something scraped against the door. Yun jumped to his feet. He crept to the trash can and pulled out the broken bottle from before. He yanked the door open—and stumbled backward. A body collapsed into his apartment with a hard smack. For a moment, Yun could only stare. With deliberate movement, he knelt to examine the corpse. The man’s throat had been torn open, skin flapping like ripped paper, yet his face was almost peaceful. Yun knew that face—he’d seen it half a dozen times since moving in, always nodding in polite disinterest. But now those same eyes were glassy and fixed, lips parted, no breath. Blood seeped across the tile, pooling at Yun’s feet in the entryway like a spilled drink. Yun stared in disbelief. *Did I…?* His gaze dropped to his hands. The bottle was smeared with blood. *Oh fuck, oh fuck, fuck, FUCK!* His breath came in short bursts, panic gripped him tight. *It wasn’t me. I couldn’t. Did I?* The memory was a blur, flashes of rage and confusion, the image of the Nue still burning in his mind. Everything was too jumbled for him to concentrate. *I heard the steps outside, thunder, into the bedroom, the Nue, then it was…* he glanced at the dead Japanese man lying face down in blood. *FUUCK* He looked outside, then back inside. *Better act fast*. He dragged the body inside. Through the living room, into the bedroom, to the window. Heart hammering in his chest, hoping to stage it as a robbery or accident, he peered below. *Third floor drop, guy came in, we got into it, he cuts me, I cut him, he jumps, dies on impact, yeah yeah—FUCK*! Every sound—every drip of blood, every shuffle of shoes—banged in his ears as he heaved the surprisingly heavy dead man up then shoved it out the window. Two seconds and he heard the most unnatural crumpling thud. It sounded like a rain soaked bag of MOPP gear being thrown from a moving truck—hard, soggy, and clattering. Yun smashed his eyes shut and closed the window. He wiped his hands on his jeans, smearing red across the fabric. On the floor by the entryway his phone buzzed again. Google Photo update notification. *What the?* Yun opened the album—and nearly dropped the phone. Photos of him standing over the neighbor’s body, bloody bottle in hand, his face contorted with hate. The timestamps were from moments ago. There was no one else in the apartment. No one else could have taken the pictures. *This can’t be happening.* He stepped in the still warm blood to look outside--only black clouds floating above. A soft hiss behind made him spin. \--- Yun turned slowly. The Nue crouched on the ceiling, watching him. Its yellow eyes gleamed with triumph, its grin wide and knowing. The air seemed to compress Yun’s lungs with dread. He wanted to vomit. His phone buzzed again—a message from Dad: “Saw you were active online. Hope you’re not killing time on your phone, again. That thing is a real monster sometimes.” The Nue’s grin widened, as if savoring Yun’s indecision. The black storm spiraled outside, pressing against the windows like a living thing. Yun’s phone flickered. He dared to glance at the screen: 5G (one bar). Alone in the dark, terrified, Yun dropped the bottle and dialed his Dad. On the roof, the tiger claws of the Nue scraped closer. Yun’s breaths came in shallow puffs while he listened to the dial tone. He squeezed his eyes shut. A high-pitched bird cry cawed around him. “Hello?” “Dad! Dad! I really need your help now!” A pause. Static. “I’ll keep it warm for you.” “Dad!?” \--- Outside black clouds consume the building. A swirling portal to nowhere spins overhead. --- Thanks for reading! Learn more about the Japanese yokai in this story *Nue*, [here](https://yokai.com/nue/?ref=keithhayden.net). ## Come meet me at a live reading! This weekend **Sunday 3 Nov at 2PM PST** I'll be attending "Dime Grinds." ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/18/bf/18bf29db-1cec-4857-a9dc-e2e94a86d2bf/content/images/2024/10/2024-11-Dime-Grinds-Tri-fold-revised.png) It's an author showcase where I'll talk a bit about my writing background, read some of my military game tech fiction novel *Cereus & Limnic: Second Evolution*, and answer your questions about anything writing related. This event is free to attend. Just use the button below for access. [I want to meet you!](https://us02web.zoom.us/j/3652434388?ref=keithhayden.net) ### "Through His Eyes" | An epistolary horror short story URL: https://keithhayden.net/through-his-eyes-an-epistolary-horror-short-story/ Last updated: 2024-12-04T15:59:11.000Z Subject: Inquiry Regarding Kadena Operations Review Date: December 17th, 2024 11:13 AM From: Carlton Everett To: Command Desk, Kadena Logistics Ops To Whom It May Concern, Carlton Everett here—former consultant for Pacific fleet logistics (contract completed ‘92) now an occult investigator (yeah funky transition, I know). I’ve been asked to conduct an informal investigation regarding the unusual reports you flagged at the base. They mentioned equipment failures, personnel anomalies, and… occult activity? Dark stuff I’ll admit, it’s strange enough to catch my attention, which doesn’t happen often anymore. I’ll be arriving this week. I assume your personnel will cooperate. My contract specifies no documentation beyond emails between relevant parties. I’ve learned that paper trails are best left short when things are… complicated. On a personal note—Okinawa feels like an old song I haven't heard in a long time. Hoping to wrap up cleanly, and I’ll have a chance to catch up with some old friends in the unit. With luck, it’s just faulty equipment and bad rumors. Best, Carlton Everett Occult Investigator \--- Subject: A Surprise at Kadena Date: December 21st, 2024 10:08 PM From: Carlton Everett To: Preston Everett P, We need to talk. Why the hell didn’t you tell me you were stationed here? They flew me out to look into the "occult disturbances" on base, and I walk into Ops just to see your smug face grinnin at me during a coffee break. No heads-up? Same ol P. How the hell you been? You told me you were out of the game. Last I heard, you were working finance gigs back stateside. Now I find out you’re here—right in the middle of whatever mess this is. Care to explain? Or you too good to talk to your big bro anymore? I know things’ve been rocky between us since the wedding, but don’t do it like this man. Hit me up. Anyway, what’s with the talk about the summoning circle in the ammo dump? I heard one of the junior officers say somethin about it—said they found you there with some other guys last month. Some kind of ritual, apparently. We need to meet. I got too many questions, and I don't trust anyone else here. Carlton \--- Subject: Where Were You? Date: December 22nd, 2024 1:32 AM From: Carlton Everett To: Preston Everett P, What the hell man? You stood me up tonight. I waited for over an hour at Transit Cafe on the seawall (even though I did have a good burger). You know I don’t do late-night meet-ups unless it’s important, and there I was, sippin flat beer waitin on your dumbass. Maybe it’s a game to you, P. Hell, maybe it always has been. But if you dragged me all the way out here just to get tangled in one of your schemes, I swear on Dad’s grave, I’ll beat your ass next time I see you. Not kiddin’ nigga. Don’t mess with me on this. Anyway as far as work, things are movin. Slow, but movin. I got a pass from the 18 MUNS to scope out the ammo dump. That place is CREEEPY. You ever been out there at night? No lights, no traffic, nothin. It’s like somethin sucked the sound out of a speaker. To top it off, the place is goddamn maze. I was lucky to have some young Defender leading me around to where I need to be. Otherwise, I’d a been lost for hours. I got out around one of those old WWII outposts - a small building meant for one or two men back during the war – and walked around. It’s the place where they say they host the summoning circle. You won’t believe what I found. Candle stubs, burn marks, and something scratched in Japanese on the walls – stuff that would make the average person shit themselves with fear. As for the Japanese I couldn’t make out everything, but it mentioned 加牟波理入道 (かんばりにゅうどう) or “Kanbari nyūdō.” (Hope you appreciate the Japanese, it took me at least an hour to find out what the Kanji meant.) Heard of it? Apparently it’s some pervert yokai (ghost) that shows up outside bathrooms on New Year’s Eve. Sounds ridiculous, right? But the kid driving me around said everyone on base knows to avoid that building after dark. He looked pale and shaky when he said it. He said, one poor bastard claims he saw eyes peeking from the sink drain in the bathrooms out here. Now half his unit won’t take a piss out there after midnight. Saw my own reflection in the car window on the way back—thought for a second it grinned at me. Just my tired eyes playin tricks. At least, that’s what I told myself. \-Carlton \--- Subject: About Kanbari Nyūdō Date: December 23rd, 2024 4:22 PM From: Preston Everett To: Carlton Everett Carlton, chill. You’re reading too much into this, like always. Yeah, I’ve heard of Kanbari nyudo. Bro, it’s just a stupid local myth. They say it watches people through bathroom windows and curses them with a year of bad luck. I mean, come on—it’s just some folklore to spook suckas on New Year’s. We thought we’d have a little fun with it, that’s all. No harm done. And look, I didn’t stand you up—I got held back in Ops. Things are messy here, and I’ll explain when we meet. Trust me, it’s not what you think. This is an opportunity, Carl, one for me to settle my debt and get the hell offa this rock. It’s been too long since I had a good bean and cheese taco. But let me tell you something bro, bad luck is a myth—something people believe in because they’re too much of punks to take risks. But me? I see a chance to turn superstition into profit. Feel me? I got a an idea that could make both of us a lot of money. You in? Y’know even if it’s just belief that makes luck real, Carl, then why not control it? Hell, maybe it’s stupid, maybe I *am* cursed. But what’s the alternative? Sit around and do nothin'? That’s not how we were raised. You know that. And don’t get all high and mighty with me—I know what you did at your last job. And if you’re not interested… well, maybe this curse will skip me and find someone else. Anyway, let’s meet tomorrow. I’m goin’ to the outpost you spoke of at midnight. Meet me there, and I’ll show you how this works. \- P \--- Subject: This Doesn’t Feel Right Date: December 24th, 2024 12:17 AM From: Carlton Everett To: Self I decided to write these observations in my notes app, since there’s no service out here. The outpost smells like wax and something else—damp fur. P is pacin circles around the altar, mutterin nonsense under his breath. The guy’s always been an optimist, but this is delusion. He says we’re summonin Kanbari nyūdō. Wants to “trap” it somehow. Claims if we do it right, we can harness the bad luck—turn it into gold, somehow. Just a trick of belief, he says. Nothing supernatural, just “the power of fear.” I don’t trust him. Something about this circle feels... alive. There are whispers in the dark, things weaving just beyond the candlelight in the woods. Feels like somethin’s smiling at me (and not in a friendly way). He’s lightin the last candle now. If anyone finds this email, know that I was here against my better judgment. If this goes sideways... well, I tried to walk away. Believe me. \--- Subject: \[Draft Not Sent\] Date: December 24th, 2024 12:56 AM From: Carlton Everett To: Preston Everett P, what the hell have you done!? Aw shit man, I didn’t think it would go like this. It was supposed to be a little money, but it wasn’t worth it. Because now you’r fuckin’ gone! And all I have is this damned gold coin. Aw fuck. What’s worse? Somethin’s followin’ me. Whenever I go take a piss or a dump, I feel the eyes on me. He’s watchin me from the shadows. I can feel his gaze—those stretching eyes, barely blinking, pinned to my skin. There was a cuckoo sound, like a bird caught mid-scream, and then the hardest quiet I ever heard. Kanbari nyudo is here. \--- Subject: \[Unfinished Draft\] Date: December 31st, 2024 11:48 PM From: Carlton Everett To: Self It’s almost midnight. Kanbari nyūdō has followed me all week. Day night day night, night day night day – he’s there. I see him in bathroom windows, mirrors, even reflections in my spoon. What does he do? Nothin. Just looks and smiles. Sometimes there, sometimes not. Heh it’s like he’s playin jokes on me, just like you used to. What if he isn’t watching me? What if it’s just me, watching myself through his eyes? The thought crossed my mind, but didn’t change how I feel. You know, Pops used to talk about ghosts back in Vietnam. Said the trees talked to him sometimes. Whenever I see those bloated happy eyes I think: Dad is that you? I know it’s impossible. But that’s what it makes me think of. Dad used to say ghosts don’t scare you unless you owe them something. Maybe I owe this one. Maybe it’s the same—smiling eyes, always watching, waiting for me to move It’s almost a new year. 2025 and I’m fighting a Japanese curse. This is fucked, fucked. I don’t wanna die. But I gotta go to the bathroom, かんばりぎゅうどう is pointing with his eyes. It’s the best time of year for him. I’ve been holdin it for a while, but there’s no avoiding \--- I went and it was worse than I thought. He appeared before me in full form. When he stepped out of the mirror, his robes unfurled like wet rags, stuck in folds to his nasty skin. His eyes bulged, pupils twitched—like a child's toy winding down—before they latched onto me, glassy and patient. Those stinking white robes full of filth billowed on the cold breeze from the window. He just watched and smiled the whole time. And when I was almost done, he… he licked me, smiled and disappeared. It felt like a dog’s tongue without the warmth or excitement. I can’t go on like this. Whoever finds this email, know that there’s no shortcuts in life. Gotta deal with your shit before it deals with you. My neck’s in the belt tied to the ceiling, a tight fit but good enough. I’m cryin'. Guess I should be. This is my fault. Midnight is minutes away. Maybe it’s the only way out. Dad would understand. Maybe. Or maybe the ghost of him will keep watchin, just like Kanbari does. I bet you thought you’d figured it out, P. Thought you could cheat it. But you left me with this curse, and there’s no cheating it now. I’ll finish what you started. I’ll step off END --- Thanks for reading! Learn more about the Japanese yokai in this story *Kanbari nyudo*, [here](https://yokai.com/kanbarinyuudou/?ref=keithhayden.net). ## Come meet me at a live reading! This weekend **Sunday 3 Nov at 2PM PST** I'll be attending "Dime Grinds." ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/18/bf/18bf29db-1cec-4857-a9dc-e2e94a86d2bf/content/images/2024/10/2024-11-Dime-Grinds-Tri-fold-revised.png) It's an author showcase where I'll talk a bit about my writing background, read some of my military game tech fiction novel *Cereus & Limnic: Second Evolution*, and answer your questions about anything writing related. This event is free to attend. Just use the button below for access. [I want to meet you!](https://us02web.zoom.us/j/3652434388?ref=keithhayden.net) ### "If that's what you mean" | In Japanese URL: https://keithhayden.net/if-thats-what-you-mean-in-japanese/ Last updated: 2024-10-29T18:42:29.000Z _This post is for subscribers on the Japanese Reading Breakthrough and VIP Gold Pass tiers only._ ### "Red-Handed" | A climate horror short story URL: https://keithhayden.net/red-handed-short-story-a-special-event/ Last updated: 2024-10-29T04:29:18.000Z ## Encroaching Forces A stinging split in her pinky finger rubbed red. Mari Yanagi sucked the blood away and ignored the burning. Small cuts came with the job. That along with frequent visits to many of Okinawa’s unfrequented places made her work hazardous for the body and mind. 「すぐに辞めます」 She was way past the age when anyone gave a fuck about what she did with her future. The job was a routine. Something that was fun a decade or so ago, but now stole parts of spirit with each day at a site. The hum of insects swelled around as Mari stepped onto the construction site somewhere north of Kadena Air Base. The spiky honey locust trees swayed in the wind, their twisted branches rustling like brittle bones. Somewhere above, the roar of an F-15 rattled the humid air—one more layer of noise in a place already choked with it. Mari pulled her helmet low, adjusted the chin strap, and scrolled through her tablet. *A new luxury hotel, funded by foreign investors.* The thought ticked by but prompted no feeling. Her protest days were long past. More change meant more work – that was it. But the trees wouldn’t come down without a fight. The land around them was old—sacred, according to the Okinawan elders—and protests were making permits a nightmare. She’d been sent in to smooth things over, to convince the locals that their spirits and curses should be bulldozed along with the dirt. Behind her, one of the workers with sun-shrunk skin leaned against a backhoe, lighting a cigarette. He gestured toward the grove of trees nearby, their spiny branches cutting sharp lines against the washed-out sky. “あの木 Trees are cursed, Yanagi-san. ユーリーだなー。Old spirits.” He chuckled as if it were a joke. 「なんかトラブルでしょう」 Mari forced a polite smile. “It’s just trees. There’s no trouble. They’ll go down like all the rest.” *Always some superstition.* It was the same with every job—old timers with stories about spirits, old gods, and curses. She shrugged it off, picturing that ice cold Orion waiting in her fridge after a long day. A sea gust blew a sheet of dust across her boots. She looked down and swore there was a tiny handprint there. Mari kicked the dust off and kept moving. *Probably just the heat.* The first tree loomed ahead, a massive honey locust. Mari approached, trailing her fingers along the rough bark. She stopped midstride. “You shouldn’t be here. It’s too dangerous,” she said. A girl stood in the shade of the branches. Her black hair a tangled curtain over her pale face. She wore a royal red *furisode*—an elaborate silk kimono with wide trailing sleeves brushing the ground, and stared up at the arms of the tree with eyes that seemed to belong to someone much older. Mari squinted at the girl’s face, a stitch of discomfort bubbled deep in her gut. It wasn’t the first time the work crew had tried to spook her with ghost stories—but this? Way too far. But she could feel the weight of the girl’s gaze like a hand pressed to her chest, the kind that forces you to notice every breath you take. *It’s the heat,* she told herself, *just the heat.* “Do you know what waits in the branches?” the girl whispered. Mari followed the girl’s eyes into the canopy, just as the wind kicked up again. A flash of red flickered between the branches, followed by a wet slap against the earth. Mari froze. On the dirt, a child’s severed hand twitched once, curling its tiny, cracked fingers. Slowly, it dragged itself into the undergrowth, leaving behind a dark, sticky trail. Mari took a step back, her heart hammering, but when she looked for the girl again, she was gone. \--- ## Stalker in the Trees Back at her apartment, Mari cracked open a tall can of Orion, then took five large gulps. 「ああぁ気持ちいい」 She set it down then let out a large burp. That one was dedicated to her stuffy ex-husband. She scanned her email inbox on her old laptop. Utility rate hike would be expensive this year. Damn. With the Japanese economy in the swirling like a large turd in the toilet, perhaps it was too early to quit after all. Another email pinged in. She took another sip of beer as she read it. A new job offer from a rival company glared from the top of the screen, promising higher pay and a fresh start. *Tempting.* But leaving now would burn bridges, and the construction company had been her safety net through the mess of her divorce. Walking away felt too much like failure. Waiting was the best option for now. She leaned back and rubbed at her eyes, exhaustion settling in her bones. It wasn’t just the heat. Something had been off all day—since that hand dropped from the tree. She shook the bad thoughts away. A faint knock pulled her attention toward the window. Without thinking, Mari reached out and opened it. A small red hand clutched the window frame. It was no larger than a child’s, slick with blood, the nails dark and cracked. It twitched once, twice—then crawled down the wall and vanished into the night. 「いや!」 Mari dropped her beer, then slammed the window shut, her pulse thudding painfully in her ears. A smear of blood marked the glass. She took quicksteps to the kitchen, swiped up a towel, then returned, to furiously wipe it away, but it only smudged deeper, a dark streak that wouldn’t come clean. \--- ## Hands Take Hold The next day, the trees came down. Mari stood stiffly by the machinery as workers hacked at the roots of the old honey locust trees, the sharp whine of chainsaws biting into bark; the splintered wood flying, cracking. Red stone markers appeared beneath the soil, each one stamped with handprints—small, childlike imprints pressed deep into the rock. Mari’s radio crackled with static. She turned it off, trying to push down the unease spreading through her, but it hung heavier than her protective gear—a sour feeling in the pit of her stomach. Was there something, somebody, under there? Even though she stood a safe distance away, she found herself wanting to avoid the final inspection. As the last tree fell, a red hand burst from the dirt - not at the tree, but around Mari’s ankle. The cold fingers gripped then ripped her to the earth. She hit the ground hard, twisting her knee. More hands appeared—**red and writhing**, clawing up from the earth, dragging themselves over the roots. They crawled toward the workers, who shouted and stumbled away, kicking at the disembodied things with panicked curses. A voice drifted through the chaos, soft but clear: “This is only the beginning. The gates are opening soon.” It was the girl from yesterday. Unable to get up, Mari screamed as a legion of spidering hands fingered toward her. A slick, gelatinous hand slapped against Mari’s cheek, leaving behind a smear that smelled faintly of rusted rot. The wet squelch of dozens of hands slithering over her skin made her stomach churn. Heat roared through her body, as if a furnace ignited beneath her ribs, each breath seared sharp. Sweat oozed from her pores, her heart drummed too fast and faint, a headache mashed her forehead to near mush against her helmet band. A merciless fever pinned her down even after the hands had gone away. From the corner of her vision, before the felled tree, she saw her—the girl in the furisode, standing. \--- ## Hospital It was dark out when Mari woke in the hospital, disoriented and feverish. *What the hell was that?* The doctors dismissed her collapse as heat exhaustion. Her boss ordered her to take time off while the hotel project moved forward. The land was being cleared; soon, the foundations would be poured. She had no strength to have any say. *Perhaps, it’s time to quit after all—walk away, leave the cursed soil and everything behind.* But what good would that do? Some things, once touched, never let go. Her body ached; sleep was all she could do. But the fever didn’t leave. It squirmed through her dreams, filling her with flashes of blood-soaked hallways and the sound of a school bell ringing, transforming slumber into umbra visions. In the worst of these dreams, she saw children staring with bloody, empty eyes—their faces turned toward a lone figure in a classroom, a blonde-haired American woman with an exhausted, defiant gaze. *Zena.* Was that her name? It sounded familiar. Mari didn’t know the woman, but she there was a connection—as if something from the construction site had reached beyond the dirt, stretching toward the base’s only high school. The hands, the blood, the fever—they were linked, tangled together in ways she couldn’t yet understand. She woke with a start, gasping for air, her skin clammy with sweat, a scream stuffed in her throat. Her ankle burned. She pulled back the sheet – there was a deep red bruise spread around the skin in branching lines—roots, the shape of a child’s hand. --- Thanks for reading! Learn more about the Japanese yokai in this story *Akateko*, [here](https://yokai.com/akateko/?ref=keithhayden.net). ## Come meet me at a live reading! This weekend **Sunday 3 Nov at 2PM PST** I'll be attending "Dime Grinds." ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/18/bf/18bf29db-1cec-4857-a9dc-e2e94a86d2bf/content/images/2024/10/2024-11-Dime-Grinds-Tri-fold-revised.png) It's an author showcase where I'll talk a bit about my writing background, read some of my military game tech fiction novel *Cereus & Limnic: Second Evolution*, and answer your questions about anything writing related. This event is free to attend. Just use the button below for access. Hope to see you there! [I want to meet you!](https://us02web.zoom.us/j/3652434388?ref=keithhayden.net) ### "Catch" URL: https://keithhayden.net/catch-short-story/ Last updated: 2024-10-27T18:04:34.000Z *This trip into the 森 forest will be your last."* You swear it. You’ve sworn it before, more than once. Now the words hang loose around your mind, like an undersized coat. No more excuses, no turning back. Now march. Let the business, broken relationship, the overdraft fall away. Buried. Among the bones and beetles compacted in the seething forest floor, they decay. This hunt is a reckoning. The buzzing breath of the northern Okinawan woods exhale moist on your neck. Mosquitos suck at your skin: legs, arms, face, chest. Then float away bulked with blood. More life leaves. Ground sounds beneath your boots with each step – a mixed mulch of rotting leaves, and the soft collapse of forgotten things. Every movement grinds a thousand tiny deaths. You listen: crunch, crunch, splat, crack. Beneath it all, the forest murmurs at the edge of hearing. A branch snaps—close, deliberate. Stop. Listen. What was that sound? Almost too afraid to look, you swivel around. Behind, branches sway into the steamy day. A contorted tunnel of trees posing in suspicious forms. There was a scurrying - you swore it - a scratch scratch of underbrush dashing past your back. A boar? Maybe. You’d read there were no wild animals here. Even they knew to stay away, but you kenneled that side of yourself years ago. The gear you carry makes you itch along with the swells rounding on your flesh with every brush of air. Resist scratching. Fishing rod digs into your shoulder, tackle box swings at your side, knife presses against your hip. The water calls ahead, time to work. Hidden beyond the trees, the river widens before you – a muddy artery of the planet flowing from a failing heart. It’s larger than you thought— again, behind you. More pitter-pattering scrapes in hazing day. Jolt around. Scan. Ignore the bites. Nothing there but footprints in the mud. Yours? Most matched, some seemed small, misshapen. Had someone come before? Were they still here? Doesn’t matter. The ultimate prize is at hand. That legendary catch (only to be claimed by the most intrepid) is in the deep, you can feel it. This is it, this journey – a lifetime – carried you to this moment. Will you step in the water? ### (Choose an option. Follow instructions.) “Yes.” – Read the next paragraph “No.” – Read the last paragraph ## “Ending – 人喰いのミーバイ” The water is colder than it looked. Sloshing becomes wading, ankles, knees, waist in as the flow of the current sneaks faster around. Time to cast. With a skilled flick, the reel cranks, line disappearing on the surface. Not long later, you feel a light tug, then a harder one. Soon your back strains to pull against it. One slip is too many. You don’t know how, but you’re face down in the water, sealed in your clothes, thrashing, unable to let go of the rod with locked hands. Your stinging eyes wash open as a shadow slices the murk, darting up. It’s the last thing you see. Life becomes legend. ## “Ending – Footprints” You’ve lost your nerve. Suddenly this sojourn feels stupid. Turn back, leave the forest to exhale, return to the life you left so quickly. The trees watch as you turn away. Silent judgment. Something swishes behind you – a soft scuttle, too light to be a person, too deliberate to be nothing. You don’t look back. Years pass. The shade of what might have been clings like sweat in summer. 'If only,' 'In Okinawa,' 'I was there'—each phrase too bitter to pronounce. The forest kept something that day. You’ll never get it back. You live in pieces. Your body lives on, but your spirit remains in that river. Regret becomes ruin. ### Scree URL: https://keithhayden.net/scree-poem/ Last updated: 2024-10-28T17:40:41.000Z Middle of the river, runs green - lapping at my feet. Border between sin and sierras grand pulls, from speeding swirls paddle long, a sound screeching – scree, scree, scree. Behind me it growls under growing swells – never telling a location lines lie its stirring. Wind cries cloud depths. ## Chinese translation (绝句) 江心碧浪拍足凉， 山罪牵绊涡流狂。 长桨破波声嘶响， 风啸云深影茫茫 ### How to make money as fiction writer - dismantled URL: https://keithhayden.net/how-to-make-money-as-fiction-writer-dismantled/ Last updated: 2024-10-25T00:15:58.000Z Real talk ### Ghost Notes URL: https://keithhayden.net/ghost-notes-poem/ Last updated: 2024-10-24T15:13:24.000Z Leaking light, this pen of mine – alone in the chair forging lines on a grey morning. Unique, scratching scrapes ghostly white notepad huddling under a laughing stagelight at stupid things said. ### What the difference between ほど and より? URL: https://keithhayden.net/what-the-difference-between-hodo-and-yori/ Last updated: 2024-10-23T20:34:12.000Z _This post is for subscribers on the Japanese Reading Breakthrough and VIP Gold Pass tiers only._ ### "Blinking rapidly" - パチクリ URL: https://keithhayden.net/blinking-rapidly-pachikuri/ Last updated: 2024-10-22T21:44:34.000Z _This post is for subscribers on the Japanese Reading Breakthrough and VIP Gold Pass tiers only._ ### What to do when you hate your writing URL: https://keithhayden.net/what-to-do-when-you-hate-your-writing/ Last updated: 2024-10-22T20:03:46.000Z In this episode of the Digital Novelist Podcast, Keith talks about what you can do when you hate your writing. You'll discover: \- How to over come perfectionism \- Ways to think about revision ### "Wicked Warble" URL: https://keithhayden.net/wicked-warble-poem/ Last updated: 2024-10-21T21:47:06.000Z Rush, rush - warbling things scratch at my window In a dead sea basin inside - swooping by, singing sad Song? Rhyme? In time for celebration or funeral? Pause. Sky cracks its shell, splitting something sinister ### Zooom | Going fast with ビュンビュン URL: https://keithhayden.net/zooom-going-fast-with-biyunbiyun/ Last updated: 2024-10-21T18:30:22.000Z _This post is for subscribers on the Japanese Reading Breakthrough and VIP Gold Pass tiers only._ ### A test of faith - role of religion in "Gates of Okinawa" URL: https://keithhayden.net/a-test-of-faith-role-of-religion-in-gates-of-okinawa/ Last updated: 2024-10-21T16:14:18.000Z _This post is for subscribers only._ ### "The Vote" | A horror short story URL: https://keithhayden.net/the-vote-a-horror-short-story/ Last updated: 2024-10-21T04:46:04.000Z Through blistering wind and sopping rain, the creed can’t be ignored. You know that. We’ve lived our lives in service of it. Now the time has come again to perform community, for the sake of a grand cause. Where am I going? I’m headed out. I’ll meet you at the place where the arch of darkness harnesses the will of that vengeful spirit. Don’t forget your phone. What are we doing? You understand I can’t disclose all to you. That’s not the way this works. Written is sacred. Scared? Don’t be. There’s a reason we’ve set it up this way. Secret measures we must all keep as we move among the villages ravaged by fauna, spiders hanging in wait shielding trodden paths through the wet forest winding and twisting to an abandoned waterway, linking a bat haven of spiked stalactites pointed to a gaping gap to hell, jealous whispers flying against 外人 lips, shh they can’t know – never tell them, keep pace and keep your place, that’s all you need to do. Understand? You see, now we’ve arrived. The next pass point. Here the forest is too thick to think, rest a while. Out here, no glowing storefronts. No hum of refrigerators to break the silence. Just you and that precious cargo in the pack. Our livelihood depends on its faithful delivery. Dogs howl, cats mew, birds swoop before darkness falls. How do you live like this, you ask? We have since the old times. Land of the seven deities, mud crusted blood in their backs before the field of corpses (slayed, by them of course). It was a peaceful time. One when I roved to hovels of the low ones, only to ascend to the greatest heights. I was a scribe. A writing wretch saving words for the ones with great ability. I was content with my existence as you should be for yours. To be 選択した for this errand is quite an achievement, for you. Anyway, I was content, happy, until one of my own received a note, much like the one you carry. That was a dark day. Those awful groans, the streaks of split nails down to the bed when they pulled him out – wow… well that’s enough. We should continue on. Still have a lot of ground to cover. The leaves behind us shift, though no wind stirs. The ferrymen have passed through here recently. Their scent clings to the air—cold iron and rotting wood. Don’t rest too long. Wake up! You fell asleep! I know you’re tired, but this is a dangerous place to do that. Trees close in overhead, swallowing the moon. Stars flicker and vanish behind clouds. Move too fast, and you’ll end up there. 見てるか? That patch of lazy leaves? It’s no wind trick. A pit is back there. So deep no one knows the depth. That’s not the only obstacle. Twin ferrymen inhabit this part of Yanbaru. Who are they? The last two you want to see wandering here in the dead night as we do now. The last two you will see if they see you first. Paddlers to hell, no mercy to sell – passengers who accept a ride float to oblivion and are never seen again. Keep your eyes forward. You still have it don’t you? It’s morning and we’ve almost reached the others. If we don’t have it, if YOU don’t have it the procedure can’t go on. There it is. Don’t scare me like that. You were weighted walking, dragging as a snail does, cone-bound soft, a stain of sorrow trailing behind – pitiful thing. Stay close, we’ve arrived to open glade where the deal goes down. Follow my lead. “おはようございます! I see you’ve brought someone else to our… selection. Good, that’s good. “Yes I did. They’ve been very cooperative. See they even brought the ballot. (Show them).” “Very good, this year’s vote is so important. It’s so exciting to see who will be chosen. Ready to decide join the others? I’ll meet you there.” You’re fortunate to be here. We don’t normally let outsiders in. But listen, once the vote begins, there’s no talking until the end ね? The last vote cost us two. They never even screamed when the blades went in. Be grateful you’re just observing. There’s five voters, me, four others and you’ll be an observer. It’s easy. What are we voting on? Be patient to find out. Shh, it’s starting. “Is everyone here?” はい。 “Please cast your votes via the written ballot. Once submitted, all votes are final. Number five, you’re up first.” “Voted.” “Number four?” “Voted.” “Number three?” “Done.” “Number 二?” “Submitted.” “Number one?” “Number one, where is your vote?” It’s here, standing beside me. “Hmm, this is unusual, but there’s nothing in our regulations against it. I’ll tally the votes. しばらく待ってください。 Thanks for seeing this through. I knew you’d do well. It had to be you. “Well everyone, the decision this time was unanimous. Since Number one went through trouble, we’ll go with this one. Bring out your blades!” The others step forward, the blades catching the weak morning light, edges dark with old stains. You open your mouth to protest, but the words shrivel on your tongue. Too late. The blades are already in hand. No hard feelings. ごめん。 ### "amigo extrangeiro" | my first Brazilian Portuguese poem URL: https://keithhayden.net/amigo-extrangeiro-my-first-brazilian-portuguese-poem/ Last updated: 2024-10-20T17:32:13.000Z Vento varrendo, noite caindo De uma corda rompida, pingam gotas numa guitarra do mar Eu me ergui - leve - palavras de um amigo digital estrangeiro Um novo código an fresca manhã de outono ### English Translation Wind sweeping, night falling from a broken string stinging drops on a sea guitar I rose - unweighted - by words from a foreign digital friend A new code in brisk autumn morning ### Remain "constant" | 一定 URL: https://keithhayden.net/remain-constant/ Last updated: 2024-10-19T17:56:19.000Z _This post is for subscribers on the Japanese Reading Breakthrough and VIP Gold Pass tiers only._ ### One of those "what if" chapters URL: https://keithhayden.net/one-of-those-what-if-chapters/ Last updated: 2024-10-19T15:36:37.000Z _This post is for subscribers only._ ### "To stuff or cram" | 詰め込む URL: https://keithhayden.net/to-stuff-or-cram-japanese/ Last updated: 2024-10-18T19:08:33.000Z _This post is for subscribers on the Japanese Reading Breakthrough and VIP Gold Pass tiers only._ ### Would you cross a highway with your eyes closed? URL: https://keithhayden.net/would-you-cross-a-highway-with-your-eyes-closed/ Last updated: 2024-10-18T17:29:49.000Z _This post is for subscribers only._ ### Moon barn URL: https://keithhayden.net/moon-barn/ Last updated: 2024-10-17T22:48:57.000Z Desert painted barn, seeking ownership under a blazen moon. ### The sound of coins in your pocket - ザックザク URL: https://keithhayden.net/the-sound-of-coins-in-your-pocket-zatukuzaku/ Last updated: 2024-10-17T20:40:44.000Z _This post is for subscribers on the Japanese Reading Breakthrough and VIP Gold Pass tiers only._ ### Summertime suspense URL: https://keithhayden.net/summertime-suspense/ Last updated: 2024-10-17T15:21:44.000Z _This post is for subscribers only._ ### The Legend of Taira no Masakado - Supernatural horror poem URL: https://keithhayden.net/the-legend-of-taira-no-masakado-supernatural-horror-poem/ Last updated: 2024-10-15T20:11:02.000Z Do you know? Do you know? The legend of Taira no Masakado? Pursued, hated, fated he was To fight for a once noble cause Over the fields and trees of Tokyo he battled Against, traitorous families saddled with grief With keen smarts and spirts, he beat off attack The hoofbeats thundered, cold breath down his neck Running, battling he slept in the gloom of mud To evade the sword swipes and arrows as long as he could Spent he lay, beneath a sky of swollen moon Blades drawn near, their vengeance would come soon. しかし he grew weary and took to bed During a moon filled night, they collected his head Posted as warning for all to see Though days passed under suns and moons lonely The flesh of his face did not decay A hideous grimace, full of malice, did form Dreadful sign on misfortune to come A wicked curse to all who came within For Taira no Masakado to exact bloody revenge Burn! Slash! Drown! and Bury! Foes and friends felt his fury A rampage of violence, like a resounding symphony Screams of terror echoing, over the centuries And still they whisper, through the wind and trees Will Masakado’s curse ever cease? ### "Piles and piles of" in Japanese URL: https://keithhayden.net/piles-and-piles-of-in-japanese/ Last updated: 2024-10-15T16:52:31.000Z Stack it high with repetition _This post is for subscribers on the Japanese Reading Breakthrough and VIP Gold Pass tiers only._ ### Blackmail, blackfaced breakfast URL: https://keithhayden.net/blackmail-blackfaced-breakfast/ Last updated: 2024-10-15T14:41:07.000Z Don't choke _This post is for subscribers only._ ### "Why" eyes? URL: https://keithhayden.net/why-eyes/ Last updated: 2024-10-14T22:07:12.000Z Most long form fiction won't be seen by others until it's finished. But here's the issue: you won't know how you can enhance your story if someone else doesn't read it. That's why I created a new tool to make my supernatural horror novel better with high costs or technical hassles. I talk about it in this episode of the Digital Novelist podcast. [Watch the episode](https://youtu.be/UUoBrxermgM?si=kAHs2xFPd2UOii1S&ref=keithhayden.net) Try the tool here: [Enhance your story](https://chatgpt.com/g/g-uaZsbRsVF-supernatural-suspense-writer?ref=keithhayden.net) ## Villain emergence This was a long anticipated chapter when I first wrote it a few months ago. Now that I've re-written it, I'm happy to report how much more I enjoyed it. Here you'll see the official appearance of the primary villain in the story. I love writing these scenes. You never forget a first impression, especially when so many weird things happen. Through the eyes of one of the books most misguided characters, you'll feel the rush of anxiety as she works to make sense of the bizarre events. Enjoy Chapter 29: [Read Chapter 29](https://www.wattpad.com/1484527302-gates-of-okinawa-%E6%B2%96%E7%B8%84%E3%81%AE%E6%82%AA%E5%A4%A2-chapter-29?ref=keithhayden.net) ### Brain Rot Space | The "Guest" from Hell (how to handle a hostile conversation) URL: https://keithhayden.net/brain-rot-space-the-guest-from-hell-how-to-handle-a-hostile-conversation/ Last updated: 2024-10-12T13:20:16.000Z A frustrating feature of our era _This post is for subscribers only._ ### How to make the AI behave URL: https://keithhayden.net/how-to-make-the-ai-behave/ Last updated: 2024-10-11T18:08:12.000Z A discipline plan _This post is for subscribers only._ ### A scary song trailer + Gen Alpha slang to understand young people URL: https://keithhayden.net/a-scary-song-trailer-gen-alpha-slang-to-understand-young-people/ Last updated: 2024-10-09T17:58:59.000Z Decipher teen slang in 2024 _This post is for subscribers only._ ### "The usual..." in Japanese URL: https://keithhayden.net/the-usual-in-japanese/ Last updated: 2024-10-07T21:22:58.000Z _This post is for subscribers on the Japanese Reading Breakthrough and VIP Gold Pass tiers only._ ### SURPRISE! A perfect pair reunites URL: https://keithhayden.net/surprise-a-perfect-pair-reunites/ Last updated: 2024-10-07T17:38:43.000Z A new sound for the story _This post is for subscribers only._ ### A novel outline in 60 seconds? Yes, here's how URL: https://keithhayden.net/a-novel-outline-in-60-seconds/ Last updated: 2024-10-05T16:40:30.000Z Story quickstart _This post is for subscribers only._ ### Grammar Explanation: にしかみえないんじゃないか: URL: https://keithhayden.net/grammar-explanation-nisikamienainziyanaika/ Last updated: 2024-10-04T17:46:14.000Z _This post is for subscribers on the Japanese Reading Breakthrough and VIP Gold Pass tiers only._ ### Dictionary dictates + a novel milestone URL: https://keithhayden.net/dictionary-dictates-a-novel-milestone/ Last updated: 2024-10-04T16:22:08.000Z "I'm back in the stacks." That's what I thought when I opened up an old copy of Merriam-Webster's Collegiate Dictionary this morning. During today's writing session, I used my patented system of randomness to select a word. Which word got picked? Here it is (highlighted): ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/18/bf/18bf29db-1cec-4857-a9dc-e2e94a86d2bf/content/images/2024/10/PXL_20241004_155949767.MP.jpg) > "fluoxetine" - an antidepressant drug C17H18F3NO that enhances serotonin activity Not exactly a useful one for a supernatural horror story. However, the activity was still valuable. I explain why in this brief episode (7 mins) of the Digital Novelist Podcast. Hit the button below to watch or listen: [Watch the episode](https://youtu.be/uGIg9skX5Ho?si=h9dfcjJxzWOvmq9w&ref=keithhayden.net) ## Novel Milestone I successfully finished rewriting all the crappy AI chapters I shit out this summer. Three months. It took that long to rewrite the chapters. Word to the wise: > when it comes to long form fiction, never rush the process. Though it took longer than anticipated, progress on the novel should move much faster now. It's more revising, tweaking, and connecting plot threads than coming up with new material. After my talk with Allen Grimes earlier this week, I appreciate the craft of molding rough edges of a draft into something smooth and beautiful. (Thanks for that Allen.) ## The Gate is open This is THE chapter where the story lives up to the title. A story called "GATES of Okinawa" should have gates in it. Portal one opens today. Here you'll get a look at ground zero for the catastrophe coming to Okinawa. Enjoy Chapter 22. [Read Chapter 22](https://www.wattpad.com/1481395330-gates-of-okinawa-%E6%B2%96%E7%B8%84%E3%81%AE%E6%82%AA%E5%A4%A2-chapter-22?ref=keithhayden.net) ## Discord Server Reminder Allen and I recorded our interview in the HAC Studios Discord chat. It's versatile, easy to access, and allows for multiple forms of communication without dealing with the frustration of fees or ads. I love it. **Now I want you to join me in there.** I'm still looking for the ideal time to host open office hours. There we can discuss your stories or just shoot the shit. Let me know your availability by filling out this brief survey. [Discord Office Hours Timing SurveyPlease help me determine the best time to hold office hours on Discord by answering the following questions.![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/18/bf/18bf29db-1cec-4857-a9dc-e2e94a86d2bf/content/images/icon/android_192-1.png)Google Docs![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/18/bf/18bf29db-1cec-4857-a9dc-e2e94a86d2bf/content/images/thumbnail/_yqCnmj5cFHefGKJ8a_gCOtH1f5dupZdwA5XwCo2ErmRIGajwi6IBA9ETmjUaF1CvaHVf_7ctXQ-w1200-h630-p-1)](https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSdrOo5IKRX3dP2ZCMe9WIvIacKp09NYzfotOX-zJttYrH9MiQ/viewform?usp=sf%5Flink&ref=keithhayden.net) Have a great weekend! \-Keith ### Techno-born tension | co-writing a pre-climax scene with AI URL: https://keithhayden.net/techno-born-tension-co-writing-a-pre-climax-scene-with-ai/ Last updated: 2024-10-03T16:01:39.000Z Is it a good writing partner? _This post is for subscribers only._ ### How to get a publishing agent - the Allen Grimes way URL: https://keithhayden.net/how-to-get-an-publishing-agent-the-allen-grimes-way/ Last updated: 2024-10-03T15:33:54.000Z My very first guest on the Digital Novelist Podcast is a career agent turned fiction author. Allen Grimes is a supernatural horror novelist who brings his law enforcement expertise to spooky stories. His latest work *When the Lantern Swings*, showcases his ability to blend a compelling police drama with paranormal mystery. Here's a quick preview of what you'll gain from this conversation: - How to keep your writing fire alive (even if you're in a soul-sucking job) - What Allen learned from Dean Koontz about when and how to do your best work (the answer will surprise you) - Two must-hear pieces of advice for new novelists Hit the button below to gain wisdom (and an edge) from a master of the business and craft of horror fiction. [Take me to the interview](https://youtu.be/8WrD6-dAk4w?ref=keithhayden.net) ### Escape to Imprisonment + an Important Announcement URL: https://keithhayden.net/escape-to-imprisonment-an-important-announcement/ Last updated: 2024-10-02T15:55:52.000Z This email contains "banned" content _This post is for subscribers only._ ### All roads lead to childhood URL: https://keithhayden.net/all-roads-lead-to-childhood/ Last updated: 2024-10-01T17:47:12.000Z Do you remember your dreams? _This post is for subscribers only._ ### Are you being watched? URL: https://keithhayden.net/are-you-being-watched/ Last updated: 2024-09-29T16:47:27.000Z Would your life make a movie? _This post is for subscribers only._ ### What to do when you want to quit writing you novel URL: https://keithhayden.net/what-to-do-when-you-want-to-quit-writing-you-novel/ Last updated: 2024-09-29T01:28:27.000Z Digital Novelist Podcast: *Here's what you'll learn:* \- Two requirements to get people to pay attention to your emails \- The thing holding you back from progress on your novel (and what to do about it) \- Who you should be writing your novel for \- Why you should keep writing even if the passion is gone ### I want your input on my next chapter URL: https://keithhayden.net/i-want-your-input-on-my-next-chapter/ Last updated: 2024-09-24T04:57:22.000Z It's time for the novel to go next level _This post is for subscribers only._ ### What to do when you're about to miss your deadline URL: https://keithhayden.net/miss-your-deadline/ Last updated: 2024-09-20T20:11:40.000Z Do writing deadlines matter? _This post is for subscribers only._ ### How to code a form in < 1 hr (CROSS-TRAIN) URL: https://keithhayden.net/how-to-code-a-form-in-1-hr-cross-train/ Last updated: 2024-09-19T01:37:12.000Z Over time, yraining the same muscles can lead to fatigue and failure. Elite athletes understand this, that's why they cross-train. They introduce other types of sports or movements in order to perform active recovery (it also helps to keep training from becoming too dull.) That's what I'm doing here. CROSS-TRAIN will be all about expanding your writing skill by exploring other creative mediums. Up first this month: *code*. ## 30 Days of Code If you look at my creations over the last 6 months, you'll see a hodgepodge of activity. Blog posts, audio recordings, videos, animations, music: I'm constantly channeling my creative energy into different vehicles. While this keeps things fresh for me (and you) it makes it difficult to improve in a single area. So I decided to change that. This month was the first month of what I call my "single-focus secondary skill". (Yeah, still working on the name.) All it means is I'm exclusively working on one thing that's not writing and Japanese this month. I chose code. ## How does it work? For the entire month, I've been working through the freecodecamp curriculum for 30 minutes a day. If it seems like 30 minutes isn't a lot of time, you'd be right. However, if you stay committed to the schedule, you can start to see serious progress very fast. Throw the latest cutting edge AI tools into the mix? Watch the campfire explode into a bonfire. That's what you'll see here. In this video, you'll see how I (a non-developer) coded and deployed a functional form that's customized to my podcast. Even if you don't understand all the tech jargon, use it as inspiration to see what's possible with AI-tech now. ## Will you Cross-train with me? I just moved, so I'm looking for ways to connect with others in my local community. But I've also been building online for years. I see an opportunity to merge these two realities through CROSS-TRAIN. Next month's CROSS-TRAIN will keep roaring down the tracks with the freecodecamp curriculum. ### Would you be interested in hopping aboard? If so, let me know in a reply. The world is changing fast. By growing and learning together, we'll be better equipped to weather in unseen storms headed our way. Acquiring new skills is a guaranteed way to soften the blow of any downturn and ensure flexibility for you and your loved ones. Let me know if you're interested. \-Keith P.S. Check out the freecodecamp curriculum by hitting the button below. [Take me to freecodecamp](https://www.freecodecamp.org/?ref=keithhayden.net) ### Two types of laughter in Japanese: 笑い and 高笑い URL: https://keithhayden.net/two-types-of-laughter-in-japanese/ Last updated: 2024-09-17T18:07:31.000Z Neutral and nasty _This post is for subscribers on the Japanese Reading Breakthrough and VIP Gold Pass tiers only._ ### How to use 「ような」 to Express Similarity or Resemblance URL: https://keithhayden.net/how-to-use-youna-to-express-similarity-or-resemblance/ Last updated: 2024-09-16T12:57:11.000Z Her smile has a brightness like... _This post is for subscribers on the Japanese Reading Breakthrough and VIP Gold Pass tiers only._ ### Two critical lessons from 117 days of novel writing URL: https://keithhayden.net/two-critical-lessons-from-117-days-of-novel-writing/ Last updated: 2024-09-16T02:16:49.000Z _This post is for subscribers only._ ### How to "try to do something" in Japanese URL: https://keithhayden.net/how-to-try-to-do-something-in-japanese/ Last updated: 2024-09-14T14:47:41.000Z The best Japanese tutor I couldn't afford _This post is for subscribers on the Japanese Reading Breakthrough and VIP Gold Pass tiers only._ ### How to express multiple possibilities in Japanese URL: https://keithhayden.net/how-to-express-multiple-possibilities-in-japanese/ Last updated: 2024-09-13T16:12:06.000Z Volitional form + か + それとも _This post is for subscribers on the Japanese Reading Breakthrough tier only._ ### A conversation that never happened URL: https://keithhayden.net/a-conversation-that-never-happened/ Last updated: 2024-09-12T18:48:26.000Z Technology strikes again _This post is for subscribers only._ ### How to say "no" casually in Japanese URL: https://keithhayden.net/how-to-say-no-casually-in-japanese/ Last updated: 2024-09-12T16:21:35.000Z And a crazy kanji for spelling _This post is for subscribers on the Japanese Reading Breakthrough, 英語ストーリーブリッジ, HAC Studios: VIP Backstage Pass and VIP Gold Pass tiers only._ ### Japanese for when something is "wrapped in mystery" URL: https://keithhayden.net/japanese-for-when-something-is-wrapped-in-mystery/ Last updated: 2024-09-11T19:10:37.000Z Plus a livestream surprise _This post is for subscribers on the Japanese Reading Breakthrough, 英語ストーリーブリッジ and VIP Gold Pass tiers only._ ### Double feature! - Chapters 7 + 8 URL: https://keithhayden.net/double-feature-chapters-7-8/ Last updated: 2024-09-11T03:19:57.000Z _This post is for subscribers only._ ### What does the word 座長 mean? URL: https://keithhayden.net/what-does-the-word-za-chou-mean/ Last updated: 2024-09-10T16:12:46.000Z Adjectival noun + げ (ge) suffix: 気づかわしげ - 9-10 Japanese notes _This post is for subscribers on the Japanese Reading Breakthrough and VIP Gold Pass tiers only._ ### A fresh perspective - Chapter 6 URL: https://keithhayden.net/a-fresh-perspective-chapter-6/ Last updated: 2024-09-09T21:47:10.000Z _This post is for subscribers only._ ### A Japanese idiom for when someone gets what they deserve URL: https://keithhayden.net/a-japanese-idiom-for-when-someone-gets-what-they-deserve/ Last updated: 2024-09-09T18:23:38.000Z What does 自業自得 mean? _This post is for subscribers on the Japanese Reading Breakthrough and VIP Gold Pass tiers only._ ### Chapter 5 and thanks to you URL: https://keithhayden.net/chapter-5-and-thanks-to-you/ Last updated: 2024-09-08T18:27:34.000Z _This post is for subscribers only._ ### I fight, you fight - but for what? URL: https://keithhayden.net/i-fight-you-fight-but-for-what/ Last updated: 2024-09-06T16:57:11.000Z _This post is for subscribers only._ ### A spicy (sexy) scary good time URL: https://keithhayden.net/a-spicy-sexy-scary-good-time/ Last updated: 2024-09-04T04:17:11.000Z Why writers are afraid to write sex scenes _This post is for subscribers only._ ### Trouble at home URL: https://keithhayden.net/trouble-at-home/ Last updated: 2024-09-03T04:19:33.000Z Partner drama with demons in the mix _This post is for subscribers only._ ### "Resourcefulness not resources" - The Coming Pullback URL: https://keithhayden.net/resourcefulness-not-resources-the-coming-pullback/ Last updated: 2024-08-30T04:10:34.000Z _This post is for subscribers only._ ### Exclusive look - Gates of Okinawa (沖縄の悪夢) URL: https://keithhayden.net/exclusive-look-gates-of-okinawa-chapter-one/ Last updated: 2024-08-29T05:15:05.000Z Read Chapter 1 of "Gates of Okinawa" _This post is for subscribers only._ ### What to do when the storm comes URL: https://keithhayden.net/what-to-do-when-the-storm-comes/ Last updated: 2024-08-25T16:40:32.000Z A livestream to discuss the way forward _This post is for subscribers only._ ### "Dead Jock" - from the supernatural horror novel "Gates of Okinawa" Soundtrack URL: https://keithhayden.net/dead-jock-song/ Last updated: 2024-08-03T00:17:08.000Z I've been experimenting with the UdioAI music generator this week. Its outputs are impressive, but there's still a lack of precision in the process. When you get what you want it's good, but a miss is way off. One of the things about working with music generators (and AI in general) is reigning in the reps. It's easy to get carried away with generation after generation. When I find myself doing that, I know it's time to just make the thing myself. Have you experimented with Udio or any other music generator? Let me know in the comments. ### "Cry of the Nobusuma" - song lyrics URL: https://keithhayden.net/cry-of-the-nobusuma-lyrics/ Last updated: 2024-08-02T00:56:38.000Z Lyrics for a song about a terrible sound heard moments before silence _This post is for subscribers only._ ### "Is My Teacher a Devil?" - Lyrics URL: https://keithhayden.net/is-my-teacher-a-devil-lyrics/ Last updated: 2024-08-01T00:33:04.000Z ### (Whispered Intro) Raindrops fall, secrets crawl through hallways of uncertainty ### (Verse 1) Coffee spills, umbrellas dance wet shoes squeak on polished floors Old ruins rise, ancient surprise Are we in a game or something more? (Is she a devil?) ### (Pre-Chorus) Teacher's eyes, (Is she a devil?) they're not the same Did she lose her soul along the way? ### (Chorus) Is our teacher a devil in disguise? Enchanted weapons, demon cores Five gates to close before solstice arrives What have we signed up for? ### (Spoken Bridge) "We're not little kids," someone protests (Is she a devil?) But we know this is no simple test Jokes fall flat, the tension grows As magic starts to glow and show (Is she a devil?) ### (Verse 2) Seven days, five gates to seal (Is she a devil?) Adults hover, we can't be alone Creepy castles, flying rocks Is this our new normal zone? ### (Whispered Outro) Rain keeps falling, doubts keep calling Through corridors of mystery (Is she a devil?) (Is she sick?) (Is she possessed?) (Is she a devil?) (Is she a devil?) --- Get the novel soundtrack, with more behind-the-scenes content here: [Gates of Okinawa (Supernatural Horror Novel) + Digital Novelist Starter KitOkinawa’s Paradise Hides a Nightmare Zena Marlowe thought her biggest challenge would be adjusting to life as an Air Force spouse in Okinawa. But when ancient forces awaken across the island, her world is turned upside down. As students at her high school begin to experience strange symptoms and whispers of demons echo through the streets, Zena finds her convictions tested in ways she never imagined.Caught between modern skepticism and primordial evil, Zena must navigate a treacherous path where belief itself becomes a weapon.As the line between myth and reality blurs, she discovers that faith - in herself, in others, and in forces beyond understanding - may be the key to survival. But in a land where spirits hunger and gods walk among men, even the strongest principles come at a terrible price. Can Zena’s resolve withstand Okinawa’s supernatural onslaught, or will she lose everything - including her soul - to the darkness that threatens to consume the island? For fans of “The Ruins” by Scott Smith and “Ring” by Koji Suzuki. If you enjoyed “Uzumaki” by Junji Ito, the supernatural horror novel “Gates of Okinawa” will keep you up all night!PAY ONCE, OWN THE STORYWhile modern day platforms are convenient, they own your book when you buy from them. That’s not fair.I do things differently.When you buy here, the book is yours. Download it on any device and enjoy the story.In addition to the freedom to exercise ownership, I’m also including more in this package.Here’s what’s included RIGHT NOW:Early Access to Original ManuscriptRead full chapters as they are releasedContribute to final version”Digital Novelist” - the making of “Gates of Okinawa” (behind-the-scenes content)Discover how to write your own novel with all issues of the “Digital Novelist Newsletter: Season 1″ - until I complete this project Own all files!Still not sold? Here’s what’s coming LATER.Receive complete e-book (before the release date) ($10 value)Enjoy the audiobook (narrated by Keith Hayden) ($20 value)Japanese translation of “Gates of Okinawa” ($20 value)Invitation to exclusive project eventsOwn all files!Basically, you get all versions of the novel except for the physical.Why am I doing this?Because I want you to experience this story without paying for another subscription service or device to read it on. I want you to feel what it’s like to own what you pay for again.Plus, it also helps me by providing direct revenue, so I can keep writing and telling original stories for you to enjoy.By the way, once you pay now, you own everything FOREVER.The price will increase as I complete more of this project. Join today!About the author:Keith Hayden is a novelist from San Antonio, Texas. He has written 14 books. He served in the active duty U.S. Air Force as a Force Support Officer and Special Agent for eight years. He is fluent in Japanese and lived in Okinawa, Japan for five years.He is the founder of Hayden Academy Collective Studios. There he tells original stories through various media and educates others on how to share their stories with the world.![](https://public-files.gumroad.com/a7dgmwhrpqp13vqazp9gl3f58ktl)Gumroad![](https://public-files.gumroad.com/7nx6odulz50l7lliynjp8qwnwcp0)](https://khayden22.gumroad.com/l/gates-of-okinawa?ref=keithhayden.net) ### Process or Product in Novel Writing? (One is King) URL: https://keithhayden.net/process-or-product-in-novel-writing-one-is-king/ Last updated: 2024-07-31T14:17:47.000Z Is how or what you write more important? _This post is for subscribers only._ ### Unlocking Your Novel's True Potential: The Power of Place in Writing URL: https://keithhayden.net/unlocking-your-novels-true-potential-the-power-of-place-in-writing/ Last updated: 2024-07-30T15:13:10.000Z I’m back in Singapore. It’s amazing how this place on the other side of the world I knew has become a third home. As the city scrolled by on the bus ride back to my in-laws’s flat, I started thinking about writing. ### Specifically: *does geography affect how I write?* ### Hard to say. These days with (virtually) always on internet and 24/7 access to most things we’d want or need, where you are has less influence on how we think. ## The Shrinking World of the Digital Age This wasn’t always the case. The first time I went to Japan in 2007, I remember feeling completely distant from my home country. Everything looked and sounded different. Signs and machines sang jingles. I had no idea how to get around without a map. Every chance encounter with a local was an adventure; one that often ended in failure. But it made me bolder. ## The Connection Between Place and Prose Fast forward a decade and a half, that’s no longer the case. Google maps and AI translations have cleared the fog of confusion from most locations. From Brunei to Ulaanbaatar, to the frozen Antarctic sheet in the south, few places are uncharted. What does have to do with writing? Not much, but stay with me. > Writing is discovery of the mind. Different locations prompt altered forms of exploration. It’s through culture, history, language, food and family that we tease out our feelings about various subjects and sticking points. Take my current novel project, “Gates of Okinawa”. Today marks day 70 of the project. You read right. That’s ten weeks (unbroken) working on this book—im currently 40 chapters into the first edit. All this time, I’ve been wracking my mind to make it fit into the supernatural horror category.. ## The Epiphany: Embracing Authenticity But then it hit me like a monkey sticking a landing from an adjacent tree: do I even need to change it? So far, it reads like an adventure story. A simple, fun read, that could easily be adapted to any movie or phone screen. Isn’t that what I set out to write at the start back when I planned it to be a “bestseller”? Yes. I wasn’t going for King level horror. And when I stepped into the familiarity of my wife’s childhood bedroom, the stasis of it stopped me. I thought: ***Some things are perfect the way they are.*** What’s required is acceptance. Geographic perspective provides that. ### So does location affect your writing? It can if you put down your screen and allow it to. I’m still not sure what I’ll end up doing with *Gates of Okinawa*, but I plan on doing less slashing and hacking to make it fit it what I think it should be. What it is will emerge as long as I keep it in sight. --- Ready to start writing your novel? Speed your way to success with all behind the scenes content for my novel "Gates of Okinawa" here: [Gates of Okinawa (Supernatural Horror Novel) + Digital Novelist Starter KitOkinawa’s Paradise Hides a Nightmare Zena Marlowe thought her biggest challenge would be adjusting to life as an Air Force spouse in Okinawa. But when ancient forces awaken across the island, her world is turned upside down. As students at her high school begin to experience strange symptoms and whispers of demons echo through the streets, Zena finds her convictions tested in ways she never imagined.Caught between modern skepticism and primordial evil, Zena must navigate a treacherous path where belief itself becomes a weapon.As the line between myth and reality blurs, she discovers that faith - in herself, in others, and in forces beyond understanding - may be the key to survival. But in a land where spirits hunger and gods walk among men, even the strongest principles come at a terrible price. Can Zena’s resolve withstand Okinawa’s supernatural onslaught, or will she lose everything - including her soul - to the darkness that threatens to consume the island? For fans of “The Ruins” by Scott Smith and “Ring” by Koji Suzuki. If you enjoyed “Uzumaki” by Junji Ito, the supernatural horror novel “Gates of Okinawa” will keep you up all night!PAY ONCE, OWN THE STORYWhile modern day platforms are convenient, they own your book when you buy from them. That’s not fair.I do things differently.When you buy here, the book is yours. Download it on any device and enjoy the story.In addition to the freedom to exercise ownership, I’m also including more in this package.Here’s what’s included RIGHT NOW:Early Access to Original ManuscriptRead full chapters as they are releasedContribute to final version”Digital Novelist” - the making of “Gates of Okinawa” (behind-the-scenes content)Discover how to write your own novel with all issues of the “Digital Novelist Newsletter: Season 1″ - until I complete this project Own all files!Still not sold? Here’s what’s coming LATER.Receive complete e-book (before the release date) ($10 value)Enjoy the audiobook (narrated by Keith Hayden) ($20 value)Japanese translation of “Gates of Okinawa” ($20 value)Invitation to exclusive project eventsOwn all files!Basically, you get all versions of the novel except for the physical.Why am I doing this?Because I want you to experience this story without paying for another subscription service or device to read it on. I want you to feel what it’s like to own what you pay for again.Plus, it also helps me by providing direct revenue, so I can keep writing and telling original stories for you to enjoy.By the way, once you pay now, you own everything FOREVER.The price will increase as I complete more of this project. Join today!About the author:Keith Hayden is a novelist from San Antonio, Texas. He has written 14 books. He served in the active duty U.S. Air Force as a Force Support Officer and Special Agent for eight years. He is fluent in Japanese and lived in Okinawa, Japan for five years.He is the founder of Hayden Academy Collective Studios. There he tells original stories through various media and educates others on how to share their stories with the world.![](https://public-files.gumroad.com/a7dgmwhrpqp13vqazp9gl3f58ktl)Gumroad![](https://public-files.gumroad.com/7nx6odulz50l7lliynjp8qwnwcp0)](https://khayden22.gumroad.com/l/gates-of-okinawa?ref=keithhayden.net) ### Words to Code: An Unexpected Connection URL: https://keithhayden.net/words-to-code-an-unexpected-connection/ Last updated: 2024-07-29T23:54:44.000Z How you can create and learn code _This post is for subscribers only._ ### How to say something "きっぱりと" in English URL: https://keithhayden.net/how-to-say-something-kituparito-in-english/ Last updated: 2024-07-29T09:46:17.000Z Be "firm" or "soft" in English and Japanese _This post is for subscribers on the 英語ストーリーブリッジ tier only._ ### How to spread rumors in Japanese - 噂: "Rumor" URL: https://keithhayden.net/how-to-spread-rumors-in-japanese/ Last updated: 2024-07-27T05:55:01.000Z Spread rumors right _This post is for subscribers on the Japanese Reading Breakthrough tier only._ ### Write Killer Dialogue - Self-edit a novel - Part 5: Ch 28 - 31 URL: https://keithhayden.net/write-killer-dialogue-self-edit-a-novel-part-5/ Last updated: 2024-07-27T03:33:33.000Z Chapters edited: 4 Writing good dialogue can be a challenge. I struggled with it when writing *Cereus & Limnic*. I was afraid my characters would speak stiff and unnaturally. [Cereus & Limnic: Second EvolutionA rewrite of a bold debut novel![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/18/bf/18bf29db-1cec-4857-a9dc-e2e94a86d2bf/content/images/size/w256h256/2024/05/HAC-Studios-Logo-3.png)HAC StudiosKeith Hayden![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/18/bf/18bf29db-1cec-4857-a9dc-e2e94a86d2bf/content/images/2024/06/Cereus-and-Limnic-Second-Evolution-Cover--2--1.png)](https://keithhayden.net/cereus-limnic-second-evolution/) In this video I discuss two ways that I improved how I wrote character speech. As well as what all good dialogue should do. I also cover how two of my characters are based on two favorites from Season 1 of Pokemon, which leads into how to make characters more memorable. --- Btw, has reading my emails inspired you to begin your novel? If so, check out the collection of all the videos, recordings, and blog posts for "Gates of Okinawa" at the link below. Get on the fast track to novel success today! [Gates of OkinawaA Supernatural Horror Novel![](https://gatesof.okinawa/assets/images/apple-touch-icon.png?v=0f70b0e0)Gates of Okinawa![](https://gatesof.okinawa/assets/images/share.jpg?v=0f70b0e0)](https://gatesof.okinawa/?ref=keithhayden.net) ### Members Only: 500 words to fast track your novel URL: https://keithhayden.net/members-only-500-words-to-fast-track-your-novel/ Last updated: 2024-07-26T07:48:17.000Z 500 words to accelerate your story _This post is for subscribers only._ ### Self-edit a novel - Part 4: Ch 18 - 26 (How to write a novel outside of your normal genre) URL: https://keithhayden.net/self-edit-a-novel-part-4-ch-18-26-how-to-write-a-novel-outside-of-your-normal-genre/ Last updated: 2024-07-24T23:36:55.000Z Two techniques for immersive genre fiction _This post is for subscribers only._ ### you cant rush the (novel) writing process URL: https://keithhayden.net/you-cant-rush-the-novel-writing-process/ Last updated: 2024-07-24T01:28:32.000Z Chapters edited: 5 I just launched a podcast - but it's not new. It's really just my audio recordings presented in podcast form. *The Digital Novelist Podcast* is the place to discover the new way to write your novel. This first one covers the harsh reality of my situation with "Gates of Okinawa." After reviewing 23 chapters of my own "writing" I've learned a lot about how I work with technology. You'll hear it all in this episode. --- Ready to simplify your novel writing with my successes and screw ups? Get the entire collection of videos, mp3s, blog posts, notes, AI prompts etc. in one bundle here: [Gates of Okinawa (Supernatural Horror Novel) + Deluxe VersionOkinawa’s Paradise Hides a Nightmare Zena Marlowe thought her biggest challenge would be adjusting to life as an Air Force spouse in Okinawa. But when ancient forces awaken across the island, her world is turned upside down. As students at her high school begin to experience strange symptoms and whispers of demons echo through the streets, Zena finds her convictions tested in ways she never imagined.Caught between modern skepticism and primordial evil, Zena must navigate a treacherous path where belief itself becomes a weapon.As the line between myth and reality blurs, she discovers that faith - in herself, in others, and in forces beyond understanding - may be the key to survival. But in a land where spirits hunger and gods walk among men, even the strongest principles come at a terrible price. Can Zena’s resolve withstand Okinawa’s supernatural onslaught, or will she lose everything - including her soul - to the darkness that threatens to consume the island? For fans of “The Ruins” by Scott Smith and “Ring” by Koji Suzuki. If you enjoyed “Uzumaki” by Junji Ito, the supernatural horror novel “Gates of Okinawa” will keep you up all night!PAY ONCE, OWN THE STORYWhile modern day platforms are convenient, they own your book when you buy from them. That’s not fair.I do things differently.When you buy here, the book is yours. Download it on any device and enjoy the story.In addition to the freedom to exercise ownership, I’m also including more in this package.Here’s what’s included RIGHT NOW:Early Access to Original ManuscriptRead full chapters as they are releasedContribute to final version”Digital Novelist” - the making of “Gates of Okinawa” (behind-the-scenes content)Discover how to write your own novel with all issues of the “Digital Novelist Newsletter: Season 1″ - until I complete this project Own all files!Still not sold? Here’s what’s coming LATER.Receive complete e-book (before the release date) ($10 value)Enjoy the audiobook (narrated by Keith Hayden) ($20 value)Japanese translation of “Gates of Okinawa” ($20 value)Invitation to exclusive project eventsOwn all files!Basically, you get all versions of the novel except for the physical.Why am I doing this?Because I want you to experience this story without paying for another subscription service or device to read it on. I want you to feel what it’s like to own what you pay for again.Plus, it also helps me by providing direct revenue, so I can keep writing and telling original stories for you to enjoy.By the way, once you pay now, you own everything FOREVER.The price will increase as I complete more of this project. Join today!About the author:Keith Hayden is a novelist from San Antonio, Texas. He has written 14 books. He served in the active duty U.S. Air Force as a Force Support Officer and Special Agent for eight years. He is fluent in Japanese and lived in Okinawa, Japan for five years.He is the founder of Hayden Academy Collective Studios. There he tells original stories through various media and educates others on how to share their stories with the world.![](https://public-files.gumroad.com/a7dgmwhrpqp13vqazp9gl3f58ktl)Gumroad![](https://public-files.gumroad.com/7nx6odulz50l7lliynjp8qwnwcp0)](https://khayden22.gumroad.com/l/gates-of-okinawa?ref=keithhayden.net) ### Self-edit a novel - Part 3: Ch 5 - 17 (hard lessons writing a novel w/AI) URL: https://keithhayden.net/self-edit-novel-part-3-hard-lessons-writing-a-novel-with-ai/ Last updated: 2024-07-23T00:00:54.000Z Speed with AI killed my novel, here's why and what I learned _This post is for subscribers only._ ### "Digging Wounds" music from Gates of Okinawa URL: https://keithhayden.net/digging-wounds-music-from-gates-of-okinawa/ Last updated: 2024-07-21T22:13:01.000Z Chapters reviewed today: 4 I'm in the heat of creative struggle. Ever spent a long time working on something only to realize how bad it is? The awareness that what you poured time and energy into sucks is like having a cold bucket of water tossed at you on a winter day. It sure as hell is a wake up call. This song reflects my mood. It's also fitting for an interrogation scene in the novel (one of the many scenes, I'll need to rewrite soon). Enjoy. ### 英語の橋: 大たこのぼうけん - Part 1 URL: https://keithhayden.net/great-kite-adventure-jp-1/ Last updated: 2024-07-21T00:09:12.000Z 少年が思いがけない友達と一緒に魔法の本を見つける _This post is for subscribers on the 英語ストーリーブリッジ and VIP Gold Pass tiers only._ ### Triple Digit Sales - 7 Proven Strategies to Boost Your Book Sales and Connect with Readers URL: https://keithhayden.net/7-ways-to-boost-your-income-selling-physical-books/ Last updated: 2024-07-20T08:55:42.000Z A Novelist's Guide to Turning Backseat Books into Profitable Sales _This post is for subscribers on the Dedicated Digital Novelist tier only._ ### How to self-edit a novel: Part 2 - 3 - 4 URL: https://keithhayden.net/how-to-self-edit-a-novel-part-2/ Last updated: 2024-07-18T21:42:14.000Z Turning coal into gold - novel self-editing _This post is for subscribers only._ ### How to Self-Edit a novel: Part 1 - Ch 1 - 2 URL: https://keithhayden.net/how-to-self-edit-a-novel-part-1/ Last updated: 2024-07-18T05:31:33.000Z Editing used to be one of my least favorite parts of novel writing. But it's essential to telling the best story possible. In this first video, discover how I edit "Gates of Okinawa" in real-time. Take away insights you can use to inform your own editing process. --- Get more behind-the-scenes content and the original manuscript here: [Gates of OkinawaA Supernatural Horror Novel![](https://gatesof.okinawa/assets/images/apple-touch-icon.png?v=f3eabe2a)Gates of Okinawa![](https://gatesof.okinawa/assets/images/share.jpg?v=f3eabe2a)](https://gatesof.okinawa/?ref=keithhayden.net) ### New Monetization Strategies and More: Reflections on Completing a Novel Draft URL: https://keithhayden.net/new-monetization-strategies-and-more-reflections-on-completing-a-novel-draft/ Last updated: 2024-07-17T10:24:24.000Z From First Draft to Publication: Navigating the Post-Writing Journey _This post is for subscribers only._ ### How to say "as if to say" in Japanese URL: https://keithhayden.net/how-to-say-as-if-to-say-in-japanese/ Last updated: 2024-07-16T12:43:07.000Z Phrase is used to indicate that something is done as if or as though something else were true _This post is for subscribers on the Japanese Reading Breakthrough tier only._ ### "Demon's Crown" - An Unfinished Final Boss theme URL: https://keithhayden.net/demons-crown-an-unfinished-final-boss-theme/ Last updated: 2024-07-16T05:12:20.000Z Writing method: AI co-writing Word count: 1157 This is the first song I've composed in months. It was coming together fine. Until my laptop decided to show its age and quit allowing me to use shortcuts. I ran out of time and patience. So the final song will have to wait until I get my main computer back. That said, I'm very happy with what I put together. It's got that final boss epicness. I also patched an 8-bit version of "Dynamic Ryukyu" in by ear. I did it all in Hookpad. An awesome digital audio workstation (DAW) that's great for learning as well as making music. Enjoy this partial final boss music! ### The Final Chapters: Navigating Uncertainty in Novel Writing URL: https://keithhayden.net/navigating-uncertainty-in-novel-writing/ Last updated: 2024-07-15T04:52:11.000Z Push hard to the end _This post is for subscribers only._ ### "Storm the Castle Ruins" URL: https://keithhayden.net/storm-the-castle-ruins-music/ Last updated: 2024-07-14T04:05:20.000Z Writing method: Computer (typing only) Word count: 693 I decided to make a song for this chapter. I used SunoAI to describe it and got this output. I like it. Here's the prompt for the style: *Okinawa sanshin lead melody, RPG - Battle theme Instrumental, minor key, epic, orchestral, cinematic* One of the frustrating things about using AI is the open-ended nature of it. You can keep rolling and rolling for days and not get a good desirable product. That's why I factored this into my character generator. It spits out a random music genre and type for me to play with. How about the lyrics? Those came from ClaudeAI, but were based on the draft chapter I wrote. Hope you enjoy the song! ## Lyrics: **Verse 1:** Okinawa's twilight fades to black Ancient Zakimi, no turning back Demons rise from cubes of night Red eyes burning, ready to fight **Chorus:** Coin flip, blade swing, phantoms fall Okinawa's fate, we stand tall Five percent left, humanity's last stand Against the demons that plague this land **Verse 2:** Kijimuna, Nobusama appear Chiinoya's whisper, Garappa's sneer Friends united, weapons raised high Under Yomitan's darkening sky (Repeat Chorus) **Bridge:** Through the barrier, up castle stairs Face our fears, say our prayers Okinawa's peace hangs by a thread Demon-music calls, we push ahead ### Writing in the Margins: Crafting a Novel Amidst Life's Chaos URL: https://keithhayden.net/writing-in-the-margins-crafting-a-novel-amidst-lifes-chaos/ Last updated: 2024-07-13T07:16:17.000Z Strategies for Maintaining Your Writing Streak During Major Life Changes _This post is for subscribers only._ ### Secondary Character Send-offs URL: https://keithhayden.net/secondary-character-send-offs/ Last updated: 2024-07-12T00:02:56.000Z Writing method: AI brief Word count: 1397 I coming close to the end of "Gates of Okinawa." That means tying up all important story threads. Today's focus was on secondary characters. There were some good ones in this story. Yumi - the best friend Rika - the serious mage Agent Judin - the innovative, commanding force Agent Freya - the sparky skeptic Agent Tamm - the gentle-hearted balancing force Mia - the popular girl Jordan - the "cool" guy outcast They all brought something interesting to the tale and deserved fitting send offs before the climax. But how to do it? I decided to set the scene in my old office in Detachment 624\. The familiar setting made it easier to focus on the interactions between the characters. Instead of one large conversation, I broke it up into smaller ones to make it easier. The result was a serviceable AI-assisted draft. The brief writing method sped up the workflow. What I miss by using it is running the scene through my minds eye shot for shot. This makes it tougher to get clarity on certain story beats. But this is fine for now. That's what second drafts are for. Here's an excerpt: --- Judin shook his head, fascinated despite the gravity of the situation. "The Ancient Land... it's unlike anything we've ever encountered. The potential for knowledge, for understanding—" "Understanding?" Freya scoffed. "While you're busy gawking, our world is being overrun!" "Is it, though?" Judin questioned. "Or are we witnessing the merger of two realities that were never meant to be separate?" --- ### Your Novel Begins Today: Redefine what it means to be a novelist URL: https://keithhayden.net/your-novel-begins-today-redefine-what-it-means-to-be-a-novelist/ Last updated: 2024-07-11T06:59:09.000Z Welcome to The Digital Novelist: Where Creativity Meets Technology _This post is for paying subscribers only._ ### How to use ClaudeAI for Novel Writing URL: https://keithhayden.net/how-to-use-claudeai-for-novel-writing/ Last updated: 2024-07-10T06:14:08.000Z Discover how to set up and streamline your novel writing process with this quick tutorial _This post is for subscribers only._ ### Selling and failing: an attempt to get my novel into a Japanese bookstore URL: https://keithhayden.net/selling-and-failing-an-attempt-to-get-my-novel-into-a-japanese-bookstore/ Last updated: 2024-07-09T02:58:56.000Z (The following is from my personal journal) Made an attempt to sell the Japanese version of Cereus & Limnic directly to a Japanese bookstore today. It was an old bookstore called Books Jinon in Ginowan City. The drive was in the heat of the afternoon. Hot. Sun cooked my arm as I dangled it out the window for a baking breeze. Thirty minutes or so later I made it. Before I entered, I rehearsed a sample dialogue in Japanese for selling my book to a store with Claude AI. Even though I didn’t use the exact script, it was helpful to have a reference for how the conversation might play out. (First time for such a use.) Then it was time to enter. I’ve mentioned that I wrote and published a book to a major Japanese bookstore in the past. The Japanese attendant laughed at me. That taught me I needed proof when talking about my book over here. Turns out slamming down a box of books with your name on it is pretty convincing. As soon as the older store clerk saw me, I could tell she wanted to wave me out. I persisted. In fluent Japanese, I told her I was a local author and wanted to sell the books I wrote. Something happens when you speak a language well to an unsuspecting recipient. It’s a controlled bewilderment bordering on shock. I’ve seen it many times and I never get tired of it. Just by sequencing the language reasonably well, suddenly it’s them who are somehow made uncomfortable by this scenario that seems so odd, you’d think they saw a unicorn prancing down the street. The woman had this reaction initially. It was a good sign when I told her the books were in Japanese and she asked to see them. Step one complete. She thumbed through it then said 厳しい which was a bad signal. Kibishii, means “strict” or “harsh.” But in colloquial Japanese, it carries the nuance of a something that is difficult to do and probably won’t happen. The next question was why? The thumbing through lasted for at least 30 seconds (I think she read something she thought was interesting). Then she asked another good sign question: “どこの国ですか？” Ah, now we’re getting somewhere, I thought. This translates to “Where’s country?” (technically). But in casual Japanese it means: “What country are you from?” Makes sense to ask. After all a non-Japanese face with the skill and patience to self-translate an entire novel into Japanese, then have the confidence to converse with you to sell it is a very rare thing. I wouldn’t be surprised if it’s the first time she encountered it in all her years. I’d be curious about the person too. I told I was from America. Then she gave me the final verdict. They only accept old Japanese books. And not just any Japanese books. These were mostly ancient Japanese records and novels. The smell of mold mashed pages was replete. The shelves were shades of dust wrapped times. In other words it was a living archive. Probably one of the few remaining on island. My book would be a splash of color to bright among those stories stacks. Books often age like wine and mine wasn’t ripe enough. As a novelist, rejection is routine. But this one was different. The way she caressed the cover upon providing the “no” was telling. There was a longing there. It was a gesture of care from a person who’s likely spent a great portion of her life with word-filled pages in front of her. Her gaze at the glossy sheen of the cover had a mother’s gleam. There was desire there. What had this foreigner written? Was it any good? If only it were more crinkled with that smell that comes from the attacks of age, humidity, and human hands… But that wasn’t the case. After a blink, the spell was broken. She handed my book back, then I lifted the box and left. 日本語で Understood. I'll translate the entry in segments, starting from the beginning. Here's the first segment: 今日、日本の書店に直接『ケレウスとリムニック』の日本語版を売り込もうとした。宜野湾市にある『Books Jinon』という古い書店だった。 運転は真昼の暑さの中で行った。暑かった。窓から腕を出すと、焼けるような風に当たりながら、太陽に腕を焼かれた。 30分ほどして到着した。入店する前に、ClaudeAIを使って、書店に本を売り込むための日本語のサンプル対話を練習した。実際にはそのスクリプトを使わなかったが、会話がどのように展開するかの参考になって役立った。（このような使い方は初めてだった。） そして、入店の時が来た。過去に大手の日本の書店で自分が本を書いて出版したと言ったことがある。日本人の店員に笑われた。 これで、日本では自分の本について話すときには証拠が必要だと学んだ。 自分の名前が入った本の箱を置くのは、かなり説得力があることがわかった。 年配の店員さんが私を見るなり、追い返そうとしているのがわかった。私は諦めなかった。 流暢な日本語で、地元の作家であり、自分が書いた本を売りたいと伝えた。 予想していない相手に上手に言語を話すと、何かが起こる。それは、驚きと戸惑いの境界線にある反応だ。何度も見てきたが、飽きることはない。ただ言葉を適切に並べるだけで、突然、相手が不快な思いをするような、ユニコーンが通りを歩いているのを見たかのような奇妙な状況になる。 最初、その女性はこのような反応を示した。本が日本語だと伝え、彼女が見たいと言ったのは良い兆候だった。 第一段階完了。 彼女は本をぱらぱらとめくり、その後「厳しい」と言った。これは悪い兆候だった。 「厳しい」は「strict」や「harsh」という意味だ。でも、日常会話の日本語では、実現が難しく、おそらく起こらないだろうというニュアンスを含んでいる。次の質問は「なぜ？」だった。 ぱらぱらとめくる様子は少なくとも30秒は続いた（何か面白いと思ったところを読んでいたように思う）。そして、彼女はもう一つ良い兆候の質問をした。 「どこの国ですか？」 ああ、これで話が進んできたな、と思った。これは文字通りには「Which country?」と訳される。 しかし、カジュアルな日本語では「あなたはどこの国の出身ですか？」という意味だ。 それを聞くのは当然だ。結局のところ、日本人ではない顔をした人間が、小説全体を日本語に自ら翻訳する技術と忍耐力を持ち、さらにそれを売り込む自信を持って会話をするというのは非常に珍しいことだ。彼女の長年の経験の中で、初めての出来事だったとしても驚きはしない。私もその人物について興味を持つだろう。 アメリカ出身だと伝えた。そして彼女は最終的な判断を下した。彼らは古い日本の本しか受け付けていないという。 そして、ただの古い日本の本ではない。これらはほとんどが古代の日本の記録や小説だった。カビの生えたページの匂いが充満していた。 棚には時代を経た埃まみれの本が並んでいた。言い換えれば、それは生きたアーカイブだった。おそらく島に残っている数少ないもののうちの一つだろう。私の本は、それらの物語の山の中では明るすぎる色彩の一滴になってしまうだろう。本はしばしばワインのように熟成するが、私の本はまだ熟していなかった。 小説家として、拒否されることは日常茶飯事だ。しかし、今回は違った。彼女が「ノー」と言いながら表紙を優しく撫でた仕草が物語っていた。 そこには憧れがあった。それは、おそらく人生の大部分を言葉で満ちたページの前で過ごしてきた人の、思いやりのある仕草だった。 光沢のある表紙を見つめる彼女の目には、母親のような輝きがあった。そこには欲望があった。 この外国人は何を書いたのだろう？良い内容なのだろうか？もしこれが、年月と湿気と人の手によってもっとしわくちゃになり、あの独特の匂いがしていたら... しかし、そうではなかった。瞬きの後、魔法は解けた。彼女は私の本を返し、私は箱を持ち上げて店を出た。 ### Refreshing Repetitive Scenes: A Novelist's Strategy for Reader Engagement URL: https://keithhayden.net/refreshing-repetitive-scenes/ Last updated: 2024-07-09T02:44:14.000Z Writing method: Long hand Word count: 1201 ## Keith's Audio Commentary (Click email to listen) ## Modified Transcript ## Writing Session Overview Today's July 9th 2024 and I just finished a four hour writing session. It took a while because today was handwriting again and I'm always a little bit intimidated by the handwriting because it just it just takes longer. but I wrote today's chapter pretty efficiently and pretty smoothly. ### Change in Perspective I knew I wanted to start with a change of perspective because this is one of the final soul trials and even I was getting a little bit getting a little bit bored with writing the same format of soul trials. ### Explanation of Soul Trials If you're not familiar with these soul trials these are conventions and *Gates of Okinawa* where basically it's kind of mysterious but essentially it boils down to a character has to face a critical moment from their past and they're already dead but they're in this state called the *slightsoul* state. if they pass the trial first they have to choose to take the trial but if they pass then their spirit their soul is allowed to live on if not it's what I call scraped and they're essentially dead they're completely dead. So there's a chance that they might survive in a different form that's essentially what the soul trial is. ### Previous Soul Trials and Horror Elements I've done two of these sequences in earlier in the book and they display probably some of the clearest horror in the book. It is a supernatural horror novel. The supernatural is present throughout with the demons and with the special powers and things like that but the horror aspect is this is this gets to directly this is gore horror. There's a convention in these in these scenes where the *slightsoul* they only have access to certain senses so it might be touch it might be just taste that type of thing. I can't remember what I did it's been a couple of weeks now since I wrote the first two ones but this one today is equally pretty harsh and pretty brutal. ### Character Focus: Hiroshi Here we've got Hiroshi undergoing this this trial. But what's interesting about Hiroshi's character is that he almost died earlier in the book but he survives and then now here he is getting towards the ends he doesn't make it and now he's in this situation. ### New Perspective: Anma My line is I wanted to change it up so I decided to make it from the perspective of Anma who at this point is still a pretty mysterious character. He is the one that is subjecting the students to these soul trials but in this one you get I'm not gonna spoil exactly what happens but you get the sense that it's it's not he's not just doing this for fun there's a reason why he's doing this and it's complicated. so I wanted to it gives me a chance to flesh out his character and to show to show the soul trial from a different vantage point. ### Writing Technique: Changing Point of View I like doing this in my fiction and I think this is a good in general technique to use for any story it's just changing up the point of view. just by doing that it provides you as the author a challenge of okay I've got to present the same thing but just from a different vantage point but then it also gives the reader a breath of fresh air like we're not just going to see the same thing that we've seen. This would have been the third soul trial explanation that are kind of similar for a reason that I get into in this chapter that I explain because they have to be for certain reasons but then it it's just it's good for everybody to change it up and it certainly helps with the writing of it. ### Writing Process Challenges So it took a while because I had to write and then of course the transcription my handwriting it just it gets worse and worse with age and so just reading my own handwriting and going back and then I'm working on my my laptop which I rarely use so everything's just slower. But I'm happy with the way it turns out. ### Chapter Outcome and Future Plans We get the sequence through the soul trial explanation and then it ends on a pretty big plot reveal. And then the next chapter tomorrow's chapter will be very plot heavy where we've got a we've got a lot of loose ends to tie up that the reader probably suspected by now. ### Foreshadowing Technique I've thrown a few clues in there I've gotten better at foreshadowing because that's one of the things that you don't the way I do it is I don't premeditate my stories I just kind of make up stuff and then I will go back in and add the clues that led up to the revelation that's easiest way for me to do it. But this is such a big reveal and I've had this planned for good halfway through the book that yeah I knew it was going to go down this way and so yeah I had already planned on it so it was time to bring it together. And then tomorrow's chapter will be a pretty big reveal so that was it for today's chapter. ### Additional Writing Projects Let's see what else today I did a long no I won't talk about that here. If you want to read more about how I pitched one of my previous novels to to a Japanese store over here I think that's pretty pretty interesting entry that I wrote in my personal journal which I'm gonna if it's not already available my website to make it available and you can read that. Because I think it's a good just glimpse into what happens when you become pretty good at a second language and the real what happens sometimes especially when you're trying to step out of into places that foreigners normally don't tread like I am. That's it for this one. ### Daily Streaks, Fiction Peaks URL: https://keithhayden.net/daily-streaks-fiction-peaks/ Last updated: 2024-07-07T22:36:57.000Z Writing method: On phone Word count: 729 ## Video podcast ## Keith's Audio Commentary ## Riding the Writing Wave It's July 8th, 2024\. Today's writing session was much smoother than yesterday. Decided to write on my phone today and just dive right into this chapter. And it was a pretty action-packed chapter. Lots of movement. Got a small chase going on and we've got a kind of a quicker climax to The Gate and decided to make a major decision about an important character. ## Plot Problems and Winging It And it was funny because I was talking to my wife about the plot problems I was having. I still haven't decided everything yet with The Gates and what they're supposed to like, is this a good thing or a bad thing type of deal? And she was, she seemed kind of mortified when I told her like, you know, you've written almost 70,000 words for this, for this novel and you don't know what one of the main parts of the story is. And for me as a writer, I, this is, this is not too concerning. ## Writing Yourself Out of Corners And because she was like, you, you've written yourself into a corner. And I was like, well shit, I'll write my way out. Isn't that the way it goes, right? If you wrote yourself into a corner, because we get like that sometimes. It feels like, oh, I'm trapped. I killed this character off, or I said this about that. And I think that's one of the things I've, I've had this skill. I think that's one of the things that, that, that scares a lot of authors is when they get to this point and they're like, oh shit, what did I do? Why did I do this? And then you think I got to go undo all this stuff. It's like, no, no, you don't. You can just make some new shit up. You made the whole thing up. So why can't you make something else new up? ## Childhood Inspiration And this is what I was going to say. I got this skill when I was a kid, because my brothers and I, we'd always be playing with our, with our characters, with our, with our action figures. We called them characters, but we'd always be playing with them. And it was like, well, he comes out and he beats him up, but then he gets picked up by her and she picks her, him up and now she's back. Oh, but wait, she's not really good. She's bad now. And you can just kind of do this back and forth. ## The No-Rails Rollercoaster of Fiction Now, of course, you don't want to do that just willy nilly in fiction, you know, just tools is foreshadowing and there's how you use the language and things like that. But the point is, it's your story, so you can really make it do whatever you want it to do. And that's one of the things that's freeing about writing fiction. I understand for some authors, this is, for some writers, this is a scary thing because there's no rails. There's nothing to tell you what's right and what's wrong and what's good and what's bad. It just kind of, it's your taste all the way. It really is. It's how you present the story. ## Visual Storytelling and Comic Book Vibes that's one of the things that was cool about what my wife said about *Sync Whole* yesterday, about my novella. She was like, it's very visual, which is actually that was really, that was intentional to make it very, that goes all the way down to the visuals, the comic book style visuals that go along with it, that's on the the cover. It's very colorful. And that was all good. She was like, I could see exactly what was going on. It was just, she likes it stuff to be grounded and plot. And she wants to really know what's going on. ## The Daily Grind Payoff I'm approaching 50 days, 50 day streak. I think this is day 48, tomorrow will be 49 of writing daily, writing and reading daily and doing these updates and just kind of downloads, which has been good because I like doing stuff more like chipping away at it. I'm not really all at once type of person. And so this is working out for me because I'll have these recordings, I'll have these transcripts to turn into something more after this project is done. So we'll see what happens with them in the future. ### When the Words Won't Flow: Turning Bad Days into Better Stories URL: https://keithhayden.net/when-the-words-wont-flow/ Last updated: 2024-07-07T09:39:09.000Z Writing method: Long hand Word count: 1320 ## Keith's Audio Commentary: --- # (Modified transcript) ## The Morning Struggle Today is July 7th, 2024. It's Sunday and it has been a hell of a day. I started writing this morning and I chose to handwrite today's chapter, which always takes a little bit longer because of course I have to handwrite it and then I transcribe it. it just so happened to be one of those days. One of those writing days where I have no idea what the hell I'm doing. I often see people online complaining about these types of days where you didn't want to show up and write. when you do show up and write, you just have an idea but it's not a very good idea. getting from A to B feels like crossing a chasm on a very questionable rope bridge that the planks are falling out. one misstep and you're into the you're into the drink, you're screwed. And that's pretty much what happened to me today. I was hanging by a thread. ## Struggling with Plot and Character Motivations I'd almost finished- well, I finished writing the chapter, which turned out to be- after I was done transcribing, it was about 1,300 words. Probably the original written version was around 1,200 words. And I had an idea for a scene that I've had for a while, but the lead-up to that scene, I had no clue. No fucking clue what I was gonna do. And I got to a point to where- and I had this point in *Cereus & Limnic*, my first novel, where there was a huge- there's a really big pivotal plot- plot connector that I've been struggling with. Because in *Gates of Okinawa*, a big part of the story is they're closing the gates. But I've been stuck on, why are they closing the gates? Is it a good thing that they're closing the gates? Is it a bad thing? I think I've wanted to leave it kind of ambiguous because that is the quest. the quest is to close the gates, and the gates are connected to the main bad guy. But then there's also a gimmick to where it's good for some for some of the demons that the gates are open. It might even be good for humanity that the gates are open. But I wanted to leave that question in the reader's mind and the character's mind. Like, is this a good thing that we're shutting these things down? I wanted to leave that ambiguous. Now the problem with this is that it makes threading the needle with the plot, especially at this this moment where we're coming up towards the end of the story. And we really need to resolve, like, okay is this a good thing or a bad thing? Do we want the gates closed or not? was this quest all for nothing? Or was it a total MacGuffin? Or was it really "the friends we made along the way?" You know what I'm talking about. And I haven't figured that shit out yet. I'm sitting here like, well shit I don't know. I just had an idea for a cool scene. And I think that's one of those things where you have to try and show up anyway when you don't have any ideas. And I just knew, like, after I'd written it, I was like, I don't like this. But then if you put so much work into it, you know, you sat there for an hour and a half, two hours, and then it's done. But then it's like, I want to just rip this out of my notebook and do a do-over. But that seems like a waste too. So what I'll probably do is go back and rework it and figuring things out. ## The Beach Trip Debacle But the other thing that happened today was I decided to go on a beach trip, basically, to a place that's pretty far drive from where I live. Maybe it's like an hour and a half drive out and back. But yeah, so there some people did some snorkeling, someone went in the water, and I was there trying to write. But it was just one of those days where everything was daunting me because I had handwritten it, and then I was like, okay, I'm not gonna take my laptop. I'm just gonna do it on my phone. So I pull out the beach chair, I sit down, and the only shady spot out there, and I get one paragraph in, I got ants crawling over my feet. Okay, ants are on me. Okay, that's why I gotta raise up. I raise up, I go back to the car, put everything back in the car because I got all their gear and stuff, and then the sky's darkened. Sky's darkened, and rain starts spitting down from the sky. Of course I got my notepad. Now it's wet and the ink's blotting. Shit. Then the wind starts kicking up, and when the wind's not kicking up, it is hot as hell outside. So there's no place to sit. It's either in the grass with the ants, or you're standing. So I stand under a shady tree, and I just start transcribing on my phone, and that wasn't working too well either because the wind kicked up, and so my notepad kept blowing. I was trying to put it under my arm, but I'm sweating, so my notepad's getting, the ink is getting wet. I'm not being able to read my handwriting. It was, man, it was just one of those days where they're trying to bust you. Like, they don't want you to write. They don't want you to finish, and somebody don't want you to finish, and of course I went back took back, and by the way, my car has no air conditioning. No air conditioning, middle of summer, so it is hot as hell on the way back. I'm just melting, and just sitting there in slow traffic, melting, and all the while I'm thinking, I still got to transcribe this bullshit chapter that I wrote and put it in, and then you just get hit, you know. It's just one of those days where you get hit psychologically, and on top of that, so I received feedback on my recent novella, *Sync Whole*, and this was really the first outside feedback that I got from the story, and long story short, it wasn't like great feedback. ## Dealing with Feedback It was basically like, yeah, there's plot holes. This was super confusing. I didn't really get this, and yeah, they weren't really feeling it that much, but I was cool with that, you know, and I think, first of all, I think that's one of the things that you got to get over in this game, if you're a writer, especially if you're writing fiction. First of all, not everybody's gonna understand your art. They're just not gonna know where you're coming from. It's not gonna vibe with them. I think that's the first thing you got to let go, that people just aren't gonna always vibe with you, but that being said, you got to understand when it's love, when somebody wants you to get better. They want you to put out your best. They want your stories to be read, and they want them to be the best they can be, but it's still a dusting because you know you've put a lot of this time into these works. I mean, even a novella like *Sync Whole*, it still took me, it probably took me about two months to get it done, and that was fast. That was 25,000 words, pretty fast, and that's the funny thing, like the things that I thought would be sticking points for them, they weren't sticking points. It turned out to be all these other things that I wasn't even aware of, so that's good to have that extra set of eyes on it, but it's still one of those things where it just added up to the whole package of today, of a writing day, just added up to just blows, you know, just things that I've seen people quit this game over, you know, quit writing because you don't get the feedback that you want to hear. You're struggling to get the basic shit down on the page. You're just at one of those moments in the story to where it's not linking up. You want to throw it out, but of course I'm not gonna throw it out. I'm fucking 67,000 words into *Gates of Okinawa*. It'd be foolish to set the whole thing on fire, but I know this is what happens. ## The Challenges of Writing and Reader Interpretation It's easy to get discouraged because when you're writing, you're just, a lot of it's having fun. You're in your own world and you've got ideas for characters and scenarios or things you want to say. Those come out on the page, but somebody else is in a completely different headspace when they're reading your fiction, and this is especially true when it comes to fiction. When it's super subjective, what's good, and like when the quality is good, right? Assuming the mechanics and the quality is there and what you wrote is readable, it's presentable, then everything else is up to interpretation, whether it was too much story, too little story. I think that was one of the big things with *Sync Whole* was that basically I was putting too much on the reader. You can't just hop into the story currently as it is without having read my first novel because of the backstory, all the stuff, nothing's really explained, and that is true. That was something that I wasn't thinking of because I was thinking of it like, okay, you go on to this. This is like *Cereus & Limnic* 1.5. If you read the novel, then you read this, it should line up, but even with that, because they did read my novel, even though it was a number of years ago, they remember the story, and even with that, they were like, this doesn't really make sense. This doesn't really line up, and yeah, I'll take that. I'll take that, and it's not easy. I know it's not easy for them to give me that type of feedback, but they know the amount of time that I spend on just sitting here, either in front of the computer, in front of the laptop, on my phone, writing. I spend a lot of time doing this, and I'm trying to get better, but that's what it comes down to is getting that feedback and then not letting it get to you you know, that's just one thing that I wrote. I've written a lot of other things. I've written stuff that they've liked, too. I've written stuff that they don't really like because it's not really their style, but I think the lesson here is don't let the feedback, one, don't let it derail you. Don't let it say, oh, I'm a terrible writer. I can't do this, whatever. It's one person's opinion, and that may not be, that doesn't have to be the final say because it's your say, you know, and I took that. I had them write down some of their suggestions, and I do plan on going back and integrating some of them into a rewrite in a future date, but so that's the first thing. Don't let it tear you down. Second thing is it's ultimately your stories, your art, so you've got to, you make the call, what goes in and what doesn't make it in. Like they said something about, oh, this certain detail about how this character dresses. How come that's not addressed? I'm like, that's not important to the main story, so I'm not putting that in. It's only a secondary character. That's the way I saw it. They didn't see it that way, but once again, that's a subjective thing that you've got to decide. I'm the author at the end of the day. I always say if somebody doesn't like what you wrote enough, like they really don't like what you wrote, then they should write another book. They should write a book, writing it the way they want to write it, whether it's fiction or nonfiction. That's the answer. The answer to a book you don't like is a book written by you as you do like. That's why books exist. Book is an argument. It's either an argument for a story or for a complete thought, and that's the way I think of them. ## Conclusion: Perseverance Despite Challenges So that's really all I wanted to say today. I'm sitting here just fried. I'm hot. I'm tired. I got, it was just, people say writing's hard. Today was one of those days where it's just like all the external factors wanted to make sure I didn't get this done, didn't get my words in today, and it would have been easy to just say, well, fuck it. I'm not going to do it on Sunday. Why bother? I'm tired, but no, I'm going to keep going, and even if the product wasn't that good, I always know I can come back and make it better, a little bit better every day. That's the way it goes. ### AI-Assisted Novelist | Character building in a drinking contest scene URL: https://keithhayden.net/ai-assisted-novelist-character-building-drinking-contest-scene/ Last updated: 2024-07-06T00:04:18.000Z Writing method: AI brief writing Word count: 1689 ## Keith's Audio Commentary ## Daily Writing Progress Today is July 6th, 2024 and I just completed another writing session. How many words did I get today? Let me check. It looks like I'm sitting at about 1,600, almost 1,700 words today, which is pretty good. Today's writing method was AI Briefs, but I'm finding myself with my briefs and this is a good, interesting thing of integrating the AI as a tool and not just using it exclusively. ## Evolution of AI Briefs Method But I'm finding myself basically writing the entire chapter in the briefs. Because I experimented with this briefs method last year when I was writing my book, *Maldives Madness.* That was a very crude form and I was also doing it on my phone and I had never done it before so I was just doing pretty much single lines of, this person says this, this happens, that happens, these types of events. Basically it was like an event log. But *Maldives Madness* wasn't meant to be a full novel. It was just, it's really a language trainer, Japanese to English, that type of thing. But doing it with an actual novel is different because there are, of course, a lot more beats, there's a lot more things going on you've got to add in. So I'm finding myself basically writing the entire thing. Then what the AI does that's cool is that it synthesizes everything, basically what I wrote, into a more complete package. What it allows me to do is focus on certain aspects of the chapter instead of getting bogged down on description or wondering what should happen next. I can just kind of go at it stream of consciousness and write out what I see, write out the events that I want to happen, and then I can give it to the AI and it'll fix some things up. ## Annoyances with AI Summarization The thing is, one of the things that's annoying that it does by default, and I think this is just a consequence of how the majority of people use AI, like the most practical use to someone who's not a novelist or a creator, is for summarization. You can take news articles or reports or technical papers, what have you, and distill them into bite-sized chunks so you can get the gist without having to spend the time reading or watching the video or whatever the medium is. I think this is how a lot of people are using AI, which is funny because I don't use it that way at all. I barely used it that way. I will use it sometimes for some of these transcripts when I make these recordings. But even with these recordings, I decided when I started making them a couple of weeks ago that I don't want the AI summaries because I want this to be a record of how I actually communicate, how I actually talk, how I write. ## Transcript Presentation and Readability I modify the transcripts to where they're cleaned up. That way they're a little bit easier to consume, because I think just throwing a huge chunk of text kind of sucks on the internet, and most people aren't used to it. There's a certain presentation style that, whether you know it or not, you're just used to consuming if you consume a lot of stuff on your phone or just on the internet in general. It's the way it goes. So I do break it up just mainly for readability and for skimmability too. I'll add subheadings, I use the AI to do all this, add subheadings, and then just tell it, hey, clean this up. ## Preserving Character in Fiction But the default thing is for the damn thing to summarize. When it summarizes, it just flattens out all the character. Summaries are fine for nonfiction, for news, or for papers, that's cool. You can just cut through the fluff of the examples and then just get right to the knowledge. But when it comes to fiction, everything's kind of there for a reason. At least it is with my fiction. So I don't want the summaries, and especially dialogue. That's one thing I always have to remind the AI: **don't touch the fucking dialogue**, you're going to fuck it up, you're not going to do it right. It's just going to be much shittier, because your dialogue sucks in general. So I tell it not to touch the dialogue, and that's good. ## Addressing AI Writing Quirks But then today, even some of the descriptions, because the AI, I've been using the AI for so long that I can just, there's certain descriptions with fiction writing that it just falls back on and I just really get annoyed with seeing them. My gut churned. Her heart pounded. I got on it today for using the structure, it does this thing where it just uses the ING a lot. It'll be like, let me get an example of this, it's a really annoying feature that I had to like, scold it and basically say, look, don't do this anymore, like you're screwing it up, it sounds annoying, here it is: "The Sanxing played an anticipatory rhythm, heightening the suspense," actually, okay, I think I wrote that one, where is it, oh, here it is, "Yumi consumed her drink in one long lung-bursting breath, slamming the mug down so hard I feared it might shatter," there's that part that I hate, *slamming the mug down*, like, this should just be another sentence, she slammed the mug down, it has to extend everything, and it does this all the fucking time, the waitress returned with two large bottles of rhodium beer, *cracking* them open and distributing six mugs, just make it two fucking sentences, she cracked the bottles and distributed the mugs, something like that, so these are things, you know? I have to get on it a lot, and it does correct, of course, but you just have to remind it to do that, but otherwise, you know, these are small things that when you get used to working with AI, it gets easier, alright, I even styled on it a little bit today, I said, some of your descriptions aren't good, slamming the mug down so hard I feared it might shatter, rewrite it, but use the structure less, just make it into a new sentence, don't overuse it, and then it said, you're right, I apologize for the overuse of that structure, ## Today's Chapter uh, let me talk about today's chapter, and it was a really fun chapter, and it's one of the things that I remind myself when writing fiction, this is one of the beauties of it, because you can write anything that you want, you can describe sensations and feelings and scenarios that, whatever, that don't exist, and that's one of the powers of it, today was something, I wrote something that I've never written before in fiction, and that is this drinking contest that Zena and her friends find themselves in with this boss guy, Mr. Riku, and I thought this was just a really fun chapter, because these are descriptions where you get to see the characters doing the same thing, but they're doing it in their own style, so it's a character building thing, there's also a little bit of plot in there as well, to where we get these developments and some of the threads that have been pulled on in the previous chapters are starting to come together in this scene, we get a lot of characters that are just kind of watching this contest unfold, but they're slowly moving into position for an eventual mini-climax for this gate, and I think the reader is going to feel this, I felt it as writing it, because after you read the last few chapters, you know, okay, they're here to get this gate, now they gotta play this drinking game, what, this is pretty, it's a pretty strange situation, and then you add to the fact that, of course, you're playing a drinking game, so you're gonna be intoxicated, so how are you gonna fight when you're intoxicated? How are you gonna negotiate with demons? How are you gonna save your soul, save other people, when you're drunk? ## Building Suspense Through Unconventional Scenes I think that's a point of suspense in the reader's mind as you're reading this scene, because you just know, like, okay, they've gotta drink all these drinks, and I chose a couple of different drinks that I like, of course, but that are also very popular here in Okinawa, and in Japan in general, and I think the readers are gonna enjoy that, but one of the things I'm really proud of this chapter are the descriptions of Zena basically describing, like, what her, she has this kind of protocol when she drinks these drinks that she doesn't know, obviously she doesn't, she's American, so she doesn't drink the Okinawan liquor very much, she's never had it before, so she's gotta deal with that, and then I love the shots that I've put in there of her, her teammates, Yumi, of course, who is no stranger to a fountain of drinks, and so she can just, suck them down, no problem, but then we have Rika, who, you know, she's not a big drinker, it's clear by the way that she is handling it, if she does drink, she's not drinking, like, Orion or something like beer, and so we've got that, but then you've also got Mr. Riku, and then his, his other, that's something I need to put in there, more of the reactions from Mr. Riku's associates, how they're doing, I might go back in and insert some of those, then there's, of course, there's a mysterious element that happens about halfway through the chapter, where we see some things starting to happen, and there's a callback to a previous chapter, where Zena was told, that if she drank a certain drink, then she would have access to a certain ability, I'm being very vague here, because one, I don't want to spoil, and two, I haven't thought all of this through yet, I'm still piecing it together as I write it, but I know it's gonna come together, it's a very fun chapter, but then the suspense is still there, it's a lively kind of party atmosphere, but then there's this intensity that it's wrapped in, because of the spirit of the contest, then, of course, the stakes, that she knows, if they lose this, then her chances of getting this gate, and possibly seeing James again, or possibly stopping this, this conflict between the ancient lands and the real world, it's gonna be a lot harder, or it's not gonna happen at all, I think having her aware of those stakes, and the reader is certainly aware of those, then it makes the scene a little bit more important, it's not just a fun drinking scene, it's a serious, it's basically a battle scene, but they're not slashing, and swinging, and punching, they're drinking, and I like that I thought to frame it this way, I hope you do too. ### Prose under pressure: Writing with a time limit URL: https://keithhayden.net/prose-under-pressure-writing-with-a-time-limit/ Last updated: 2024-07-05T07:56:10.000Z Raising the stakes while time chases you down _This post is for subscribers only._ ### Comedy rhythm in dialogue | writing when sick URL: https://keithhayden.net/comedy-rhythm-dialogue/ Last updated: 2024-07-04T00:50:46.000Z Writing comedy is all about timing _This post is for subscribers only._ ### The Hero With A Thousand Faces URL: https://keithhayden.net/the-hero-with-a-thousand-faces/ Last updated: 2024-07-03T08:37:27.000Z ## **Jul 2 -** Start reading This is one I've been curious to check out for myself. It's often referenced as a pillar work for storytellers from novels to film. So I decided to buy the hardcover and give it a go. So far it's interesting. The original edition is 74 years old (released in 1949). Which can mean two things: 1) it's so outdated it's no longer relevant or 2) it contains fundamental knowledge about how humans tell, interpret, and absorb story. Given how much this book has influenced modern stories, my money is on number two. But I'm only 15 pages in, so what do I know? Unlike most books on story that I've read, Campbell includes plenty of examples from Western *and* Eastern philosophy and tradition. This is refreshing. Most writing advice and books on story I've read are heavily rooted in Western thinking. Seeing examples from Buddhism and Hinduism early in the book is a strong signal I'll find new ways of linking story to other disciplines in this book. His interest in Asian storytelling, religion, and philosophy makes Campbell and I something of soul brothers. Though I guess he was doing it back in the early twentieth century when it was uncool or possibly even taboo to do so. It's also clear he was greatly influenced by the budding discipline of psychology. The field had just firmly established its roots as a legitimate social science by the time he started writing in the early twentieth century. That means this is first contact fresh thinking. Campbell was clearly a rare synthesizer, who combined interests in mysticism, psychology, story, religion, and others to write this book. For that reason alone, it's worth giving it a try. ### Murakami Method | Writing consequences in fiction URL: https://keithhayden.net/murakami-method-writing-consequences-in-fiction/ Last updated: 2024-07-03T04:34:46.000Z Writing method: On phone Word count: 995 This morning it was straight to work on the chapter. My phone battery was running low, but that was a limitation easily overcome. I'm writing this after a 10 mile run in the morning heat. I haven't run that long since last year when I was training for the marathon that would become my last. Considering the heat, my pace was decent: 9:00/mile. Not bad. I was planning to only do 7 but I pushed it to 10. The first half I did with only the ambient sounds of morning traffic buzzing on the roads beside me. My route is a runner's dream. Start at the Torii Station gym overlooking the sea, down to Torii Beach, exit the beach gate, pass my house, then the road with the smell of cow shit and farms, next it's onto the city streets, down hill, up hill, then right onto the main highway, then it's the no man's land between the marina and the Kadena main gate, though I did have a few aircraft blast overhead (AWACS and F-16s). It's a scenic route I never take for granted no matter how many times I run it. On the way out, I pull a Haruki Murakami and often think of lines for current and future stories. Some of these fit neatly into current projects others I forget by the time I finish the run. Today the idea was for the troublesome duo Victor and Debora in G*ates of Okinawa*. I envisioned a scene where they are talking as statues, complaining and bickering as usual. But they can't move. A bird flies over, perches, then promptly shits on Victor's head. Debora cracks a joke, end scene. I'll probably use that one. ### Today's Chapter I found myself diving into Zena's backstory. But I did it with purpose. One of the things I like to show in my stories are consequences. This is true even if those outcomes aren't very relevant to the plot. Nothing we do in our lives is without some sort of consequence, good or bad. It's important to show the cause and effect relationship, especially as it relates to certain characters. In this chapter, we see Zena reflecting on how she's been well-liked all her life (with the exception of a few haters as a teacher). However, now she's grappling with what it's like to be irredeemably hated for the choices she's made: many that have been forced upon her by the events in the story. This is something I've dealt with my entire life. Being a Black military vet, who worked as a cop and a teacher, there have been many scenarios where just showing my face gets me instant hate. I've traveled all over the world. Reactions to me range from purse-clutching to fast-walking or straight up accusatorily hostile. The trend has followed me online, where if I forget (or I'm not in the mood) to put an exclamation mark on a comment it could be deemed as combative. Don't feel sorry for me though. This is something I've learned to live with long ago. But for certain people, especially women, being generally hated for showing up in most circumstances (there are of course exceptions in traditionally male dominated fields) is not a normal concern. That's what Zena feels in this chapter as they make their way to the sixth gate. ## Character Status I got to throw in a Shohei Ohtani reference via Yumi to lighten the mood. Don't know who he is? He's the Japanese stud baseball player who's also a homerun hero. I'm not very familiar with baseball, but I think he plays for the LA Dodgers. Anyway, he's very famous over here in Japan. He recently got engaged, which saddened many Japanese women over here. Yumi echoes that sentiment. She's a character I've really come to like. A wisecracking, world-traveling, party-girl who's closing in on retirement age is a good contrast to her stereotypical younger counterpart. It also reflects the reality of the older population here in Japan. While Yumi and many other characters have shown themselves, I'm still struggling to distinguish Zena's character. She's too buttoned up, too predictable right now. She tends to be a more brooding character. This is fine, but I'm still looking for ways to make her standout on the page. I don't think I'll find it until the second pass through the manuscript. ### What to do when you have no idea what to write URL: https://keithhayden.net/make-muse-sing-writing/ Last updated: 2024-07-02T05:52:02.000Z Writing method: Computer only Word count: 983 ...start writing, something, anything. But it's never that easy, right? At least it doesn't feel that way. Let me tell you that it is. That was the situation this morning. I was pressed for time due to multiple factors: adjusting to working on my now 13-year-old MacBook Pro (which still works like... a pro!), an early morning committment with my wife and in-laws, lunch and a hot summer drive around in my un-air conditioned junk car. If I was going to bust my now 42-day writing streak, today would have been the day. I just completed a major narrative arc in my supernatural horror novel "Gates of Okinawa" and I had no fucking clue where to go next. All I knew was I wanted to focus on the antagonist for a little bit. So I just kinda, wrote. Then wrote more and more. By the time I had to drop the project to get on with the day's mandatory activities, I had a somewhat interesting chapter three-quarters done. Was I suffering from writer's block? Not really. But I re-internalized the lesson learned from reading Stephen King's *On Writing*: ## The muse doesn't wait. You've gotta call him out by sitting your ass in the chair and getting to work. Only then will he reveal his secrets. ### Today's chapter We return to the antagonist demon king's perspective (possibly for the last time). In this one, I wanted to show a glimpse of the Ancient Land from his eyes, and contrast it with our modern times. The result was a scene greatly inspired by my current fiction read *House of Leaves.* One continuous run-on sentence that feeds the feeling of overwhelm that one must experience when they're out of time and their natural element. This setences are wind-crushers. Even reading them silently, they bring on a sense of breathlessness akin to sprinting a distance longer than is comfortable (if you've ever seriously run 800 meters for time, you know the feeling). I wanted the reader to feel that here. The second half brings back Victor and Debora, the closest thing to comic-relief characters in the story. As a duo, they remind me of Team Rocket from the original Pokemon anime. Though they come off as menacing, they tend to be goofy, predictable, and harmless. Ultimately, I want the reader to feel pity for these two, who began as scheming troublemakers, skirting authority for grand ambition, but get caught up in circumstances bigger than anything they can imagine. I think this is a relatable arc. It's all fun and games until someone gets turned into a demon and damned for eternity. This chapter served as a perfect bridge to introduce dual demons that are (probably) the most recognizeable in all of Okinawan lore. It also is the start of the climb to the climax of the story. Get in for the ride. ### On Writing URL: https://keithhayden.net/on-writing/ Last updated: 2024-07-02T11:23:16.000Z **Jul 1** \- Complete ## Afterthoughts *What books should I read to get better at writing?* Anytime I wondered about or encountered this question online, this book *On Writing* was near (or at) the top of the list. After completing it, I understand why. King's memoir is not only a meta-master class from one of the fiction heavyweights of the twentieth and twenty-first century, it is also a story of grit, perseverance, and dedication to the craft of writing. I now willfully join the chorus of writers recommending the work. But it didn't start out that way... ## King's style It's been awhile since I've read any of King's fiction. The last novel I read was the (in my opinion average) *Cell*. That was way back in 2006 or 07 when I somehow had time to squeeze some casual reading in between my grueling college studies. His fiction is well-known for good reason. Rock-solid characters, interesting stories, and imaginative scenarios color all of his tales. But when it comes to non-fiction it's a different story. I started reading *On Writing* two years ago in the summer of 2022\. I skimmed the intro -shame on me- but couldn't understand why it was so highly recommended. Why? I didn't see any writing advice. In fact, the first twenty to twenty five percent of the book is basically his memoir. His childhood, first attempts and money he made writing, high school, college, marriage, blah, blah, blah. Is it interesting? Mildly. Even with King's writing experience it seemed hard to dress the dog up. Also, it took me some time to get used to his writing voice. It borders on arrogance and snark. Two characteristics I have difficulty absorbing in any form of media for too long. But after awhile, I got with it and began to discover the secret behind the book's popularity and King's success. What was it? *His passion for the craft.* Once I saw it -felt it- the entire book came into focus for me. Then I was ready to absorb the lessons from one of the masters of fiction. Simply put, I don't think I've encountered anyone alive with as much passion for ordering words into stories. This especially stand-out after spending so much time on social media for the last two years. For many online hustlers and grifters, writing is a means to an end. It's how you grow your socials, sell more stuff, or make more connections. But writing for the love shaping words, worlds, and wonders of the imagination? Yeah, that's for suckers. An effort best outsourced to carefully engineered templates or pure (hollow) AI word generation. Save time, be more productive, templatize, optimize, how you gonna get paid if you don't? This is not the case for King. Is it about the money, honey? King answers, no. He writes for the thrill of the hunt for those not-so-perfect phrases. The writing process is the means to provide pleasure for himself and his readers. Though I acknowledge that it's probably easy for a millionaire famous writer to say this and quickly dismiss his claim, I believe him. It's hard not to after reading the gems he offers in this book. ## Your Writing Toolkit When I reached the actual *On Writing* portion of the book, I was again surprised. I expected a lengthy lecture on the nuts and bolts of putting novels together. What I got was more like guided suggestions instead of a construction manual. There were no, step-by-steps or walkthroughs. No drills or exercises; only *Karate Kid* style wax on wax off "movements" and "here's what worked for me's" to get you doing the two most important things a serious fiction writer should do daily: ***reading (books) and writing***. These are the two biggest lessons I took away from the book. While the parts diving into description, dialogue, narration, and plotting (or excavating as King's analogy goes) were helpful, it's ultimately those two things that have made the biggest difference in his career. And I've already seen the difference in my own writing. For the past 42-days I've written a new draft chapter of my current manuscript, a supernatural horror novel about a high school teacher and a group of students fighting demons in Okinawa, Japan called "Gates of Okinawa." In that time, I've also made a concerted effort to read at least a page--though I try for a chapter--of fiction and non-fiction daily. It's been a game changer. Something happens when you read everyday. You're not only soaking up vocabulary, grammar, and interesting situations (key components of King's fiction toolbox), but you're also subconsciously snatching up instruments to do your own work more and better. Motivation, inspiration, drive to go back to your own work goes a long way in the realm of fiction writing where self-doubt, procrastination, and all other manner of excuses seek to pull you from your story every second. When I read, I'm motivated to write. It also helps the writing I need to do come more easily. The virtuous cycle spins on and on. While writing my first novel *Cereus & Limnic* back in 2019 and 2020, I battled to get 500 words on the screen a day. I was writing regularly, but I wasn't reading. I was doing the equivalent of working out, but not getting enough nutrition intake. Now things are different. During the last 42 days I average 900 to 1000 a day. Like an athlete, my endurance has increased. Writing and reading daily helps with that. ## Notes on the Business The sections on the business of writing were admittedly a little dated. It took me sometime to realize this book was written between 1997 and 1999\. It had its first run in 2000. Nearly twenty-five years ago the commercial internet--that now dominates our lives--wasn't even a decade old and I was still selling ads for my paper-based high school newspaper door to door. That said, I think if you're just starting out, you'll still find the philosophy of things like getting an agent, King's opinion on writing workshops (generally a waste of time), and revision, helpful. His 'Formula' for revision is something I plan to adopt. ## Second draft = First draft - 10% ## ## Accident and Inspiration The second to the last part of the book finds King describing his near fatal accident when a distracted drive ran over him with a van. His story nearly had me in tears. It's an emotional recount of the horror of his injuries, recovery, and his fight to find the words to finish this book *On Writing* and reconnect with his gift. It's powerful stuff. The raw vulnerability is impossible to ignore. In fact, he's open and honest about many of his flaws in this book like any author of a good memoir should be. Alcoholism, drug abuse, nearly losing his marriage, then later, his life are all parts of the narrative that King details with vivid prose and a healthy sense of humor. Through it all, it was the magic of writing (and his loving wife) that helped him overcome and reach unfathomable levels of success. These stories were a reminder that getting thoughts on the page is not always the hardest thing. The circumstances surrounding your ability to do the job, whether they're physical, psychological, or circumstantial also play a part. That's where his love of the craft comes in. Because only if you love it (almost can't live without it) will you show up when you're in pain, your computer goes bust or gets jacked, you got nothin' to give, or when your bank account has nothing but your name in it. How do you become a legendary writer? I don't know the exact answer for you. But reading (books) and writing everyday is a good way to bend the odds of even moderate success in your favor. ## Writing = Telepathy King considers writing a form of telepathy. You write down ideas and stories directly from your head to transmit to someone else's at some unknown point in the distant future. I'd never thought about it that way before, but that's exactly what it is. I told my brother about this. He said he would meditate on it because it was a novel way to view something that he and I do everyday. I'll add my own twist to King's thought: ## *The more telepathic signals you transmit and receive by writing and reading, the stronger (and clearer) your telekinesis will be.* Time to go make more magic. **Jun 28** \- "What are you going to write about? Anything you damn well want. Anything at all... *as long as you tell the truth*." Stories are: narration (move the plot), description (sensory details), dialogue Begin with situation (do less plotting) ### Giving a secondary character something to do URL: https://keithhayden.net/secondary-character-something-to-do/ Last updated: 2024-06-30T22:46:27.000Z Writing method: AI co-writing Word count: 1504 I have to say goodbye to my computer for a while, so this will be a quick update. Today's session began with uncertainty. I had no idea what I wanted (or needed) to write for the story. Ultimately, I went with focusing on Yumi Nakamura, Zena's best friend. She's a boisterous sidekick characters who's perfect for bringing the tension down after the last few chapters battling the demon colossus. At first, I wasn't sure how to set the scene. She was talking and drinking (one of her established character traits) going on about the crazy shit she, Zena, and Nigel did in the last chapter. But I had a glimpse of something else. She has powers? Yeah I took it there. At the suggestion of my AI co-writing buddy, I gifted her the power to see glimpses of the future. I know, I know this power is an anime cliche. But it does serve as a way to give the protagonists some insight into what the bad guys are doing. Overall the chapter was fun. Yumi gets drunk, tells Zena to appreciate life (they're all lucky to be alive), and reveals images of an upcoming scene. Great work. ### ハリー・ボッター賢者の石 URL: https://keithhayden.net/harry-potter-book-one-jp/ Last updated: 2024-07-04T02:10:47.000Z Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone (Japanese Version) **July 4** \- Reading **June 29** \- Reading ### Wiseguy (Audiobook) URL: https://keithhayden.net/wiseguy-audiobook/ Last updated: 2024-06-30T12:56:14.000Z The audiobook provides an unvarnished, journalistic account of Henry Hill's life in the Mafia, offering listeners an insider's perspective on organized crime ### Evolving WriteCraft: AI brief writing for speed, good dialogue URL: https://keithhayden.net/evolving-writecraft-ai-brief-writing/ Last updated: 2024-06-29T22:54:06.000Z Writing method: AI Briefs **Word count:** 2037 ### Keith's Audio Commentary ## Modified Transcript ### Daily Writing Progress Today is June 30th, 2024\. Last night I recorded or I wrote 2,000 more words. I had to get another chapter in because today, this morning, is the only time I'm going to have to do my writing. So I knew that I had to get my writing done yesterday. I made yesterday a double session. I did about 3,000 words total. 2,000 in this second chapter of the day and then around 1,000 for the first chapter that I did. ### AI-Assisted Writing Method: The Brief Writing Approach Today, or last night, the writing method was AI writing the briefs method. So not the co-writing method, but just writing the brief and then having the AI essentially draft a draft chapter. And the briefs are pretty detailed. I've talked about these before, but let me talk a little bit about how they come together. ### The AI Writing Process: From Brief to Chapter So essentially, it's just a description of what I want to happen in the chapter with some parts fleshed out and other parts not. I'm giving the AI instructions. Basically, it's a simple instruction just to say, I want you to help me write this chapter. Here's the previous chapter and then here's my notes or my sequence of what I would like to see happen in this chapter. From there, it's me going through the events. I'm writing the chapter, but I'm doing it more bullet point style. So it's like Zena does this and she reacts to that. She comes in this part and then they realize this happened and then it just goes from there. ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/18/bf/18bf29db-1cec-4857-a9dc-e2e94a86d2bf/content/images/2024/06/image-1.png) Sample AI Chapter Brief - it's just bullet points of ordered events What I'll do throughout is I'll tell the AI parts where I want it to describe certain things in detail. ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/18/bf/18bf29db-1cec-4857-a9dc-e2e94a86d2bf/content/images/2024/06/image-2.png) AI Chapter brief - "Describe this" prompts the AI for more vivid detail Then when I get to certain beats of dialogue, then I will actually write out the dialogue most times because AI dialogue tends to be pretty generic because it just doesn't know how people talk really. And as an aside, that brings me to, well, let me finish my thought about the briefs. After the briefs, after the dialogue's done, and after I get through the entire chapter, then I will say, *write me an outline*, usually, because I want to see where the AI's head is at and what it's thinking. Because I've noticed with writing with AI, the more you give it, the more it tends to summarize certain things because it basically wants to prove that it did its work. ## *It's like a student that wants to get out of class early.* It wants to prove that it did its work so it can be done, but it's going to give you not the minimum amount of effort, but it's going to give you the median amount of effort. So if you really want to go in on certain parts or emphasize certain things, that's the back half of the process, which I'll explain in a little bit. But once you generate the chapter. I read through it, see if it hit everything I wanted, and then I'll go through in certain beats and be like, I'll just take that sentence or that paragraph and say, hey, I want you to expand this. This is a little thin. Or I'll just take certain things out if it was way off the mark. If it started embellishing and doing its dumb AI thing to where it just makes up whatever shit it wants to do, I take that shit out. And so I'm basically starting to edit now. ### The Writer's New Roles: Writer, Director, Programmer, Editor That's what's interesting about this AI brief writing process is essentially you're a writer slash director slash programmer slash editor. I was talking with Ajani about this the other day. I think that's what's hard about using AI. The way I'm using it is because you can't just be a writer. Because if you're a writer, all you do is write the story, but then you can't direct the AI to get a more specific output or it's just inefficient. It just takes you too long. I hear I've heard that complaint before about working with AI, which is true. If you don't just like anything, if you don't know how to use it, then it's just more efficient for you to do it yourself. But I've been using AI for the last year and a half, specifically for writing. At this point, I can direct it like we're seasoned colleagues at this point. I understand its limitations for the most part, and it understands what I can bring to the table. It doesn't understand anything about me, but I know how to work with it to where it can go back and forth. So after I do this little mini review, then as I said, I'll just do specific parts. ### AI as an Editor: Getting Feedback on Your Chapter Then I added another step recently that's been pretty helpful. It's been pretty cool. It's essentially asking after the chapter's done and I get it more or less to where it's a solid, you know, there's stuff that I will take out eventually because the AI tends to over deliver on certain things and under deliver on other things. But I'm like, okay, this is more or less close. This is like 85% there. I will go back and ask the AI, what did you think of this chapter? How can I make it better? Is it engaging? What do you think? I'll basically ask for its opinion. I can do this in the same chat too, even though it probably works better if I refresh chats. I've done refresh chats before to where you get, basically you're bringing another, you're bringing an editor in basically. Because at this point, the AI has been a writer slash curator slash editing its own work, of course. But if you just want edit raw feedback, then I suggest starting your chat. Anyway, you do this and it will go through it. It will tell you the strengths and weaknesses of the chapter. It does a pretty good job of this, especially Claude. I use Claude, by the way, Claude AI for always for writing just because it's just way better at writing fiction. Most of the stuff that it comes up with is stuff that's obvious and stuff that's like, yeah, okay, I knew that. I knew that. But occasionally it comes up with something that, well, this isn't clear, or here's an opportunity here to explain this, or let's get into the mindset of this character. We should show this. I found that like a good editor, it's good at identifying blind spots in the narrative that you can use to right then and there punch up what you wrote. I think that's really cool. I think this is a very effective way to use AI. So it's turned into a, how to write with AI primer, but it's good. This is basically a summary of everything that I've learned, how I use it. I don't know, this chapter took about an hour and a half to get done last night, doing it this way. One of the reasons it took a little bit longer is because I was using Claude's new projects feature and it just totally shit the bed on me by the time I finished writing the brief, because this was a pretty plot heavy. I'll get into the explanation of what happened to the story in a little bit, but this is a pretty plot heavy chapter that I wrote last night. So there's certain revelations that come up and we're getting towards the, I'd say this is the 80% mark in the story. I don't know how much writing is actually done, but the story that I want to tell, I'm at about 80% at this chapter. And so if we get some revelations, so I had to write a lot of dialogue. And one of the things that I, the AI just does by default is it summarizes things. Cause like I said, the more you give it, the more it wants to just, okay, I'm done. I did it. And so we'll truncate dialogue and I'm pretty specific about dialogue. ### The Importance of Dialogue in Fiction I was thinking of, as I was writing last night or after I finished writing, I read Stephen King's [*On Writing*](https://keithhayden.net/on-writing/) again. And this is kind of cool. If you've been listening or watching or whatever, watching these or reading these, you can probably see in the last few ones, I'm reading this book as I'm writing, which has been very instructive. I read the part where he talks about dialogue and how, what I liked is that he pulled examples of, of bad dialogue. And what it essentially comes down to is do you understand how people really talk? How different group dynamics work? And I thought this was really interesting because he basically says dialogue is either you have it or you don't. You're either an observant person and you're a social person because it helps to be a very social person when writing dialogue, because you can call up on these different scenarios that you've been in and social constructs, and you can put those on the page more easily. But one of the examples that I love that he bought up was Lovecraft. Apparently Lovecraft didn't have very good dialogue in general in his books. I don't know. I haven't read Lovecraft. This is just by Stephen King's example, but he gave an example in the book and it was pretty not good. The dialogue was pretty terrible. The example that he found, of course, these are cherry picked. Who knows? He probably, Lovecraft probably had some good ones, but this particular example was pretty bad. It was just hard to understand. It was just, it wasn't organic. It didn't feel natural. I think that's what good dialogue does. It makes you feel like you're in on a conversation. You're privy to information and mental insights that you could only get from talking to another person. In this case, you're talking to a fictional person in fiction, but sometimes in nonfiction, there's good dialogue too. His suggestion to get better at dialogue was to basically be more social and have more real conversations, but then it's not enough to just do that. You also need to transfer that to the page or to the screen. I've always known that dialogue is something that I'm pretty good at. I remember early on in writing [*Cereus & Limnic*](https://keithhayden.net/cereus-limnic-second-evolution/), my first novel, that I was hesitant because I just didn't have the experience. But now that I've written a pretty good amount of fiction, I know that dialogue is one of my strengths. It's because I do like talking to people. I tend to be a pretty extroverted person. And not just that, I'm always observing. This goes back to my time as a cop in the military. And just as a social person, I'm always observing different group dynamics, different individual dynamics, how people interact with me, how people interact with each other. And it's just something that I don't really think about that hard. I don't have to think about, is this natural? It's one of the parts of my writing that it just feels very automatic and in many ways unconscious. ### Character Development and Authentic Voices Another thing that helps me excel at it is that I like writing characters. I was recently rereading a few parts of [*Sync Whole*](https://www.amazon.com/Sync-Whole-Cereus-Limnic-Novella/dp/B0D5BRLV6W/ref=sr%5F1%5F1?crid=1SYC3486F9F9Y&dib=eyJ2IjoiMSJ9.Jts7ka47vU0pIPwM9o--U7LH-1PowR%5FfO2xcP8B1DXXvCpEUJ8cSGRiBPsTStAOT-wvDCttx4cyHn2UhOThPRd7YT8qmbzFY50lsfvtiWJknKDjzFvSx12xD9CNzyIsaVQawjFmU78pF7caSZzm2pPIcisjobo-Ddp7EBAZdF5jTLP5TXGm9YyOxYhRvdFvZkFPQ2PmwEC2gGR9ncJqXCMV7TNm9L48nK7OXARrVRrG4dwWlRqWBodGAxr2GUL-3S4gbMteG2UFvXqWdE3SmTIAen0zBSIJIDzn20Ui0uCw.gXcbDeNamlNdVo-0qQTQjCW5DQ7fT-0FsrYTptzYkL4&dib%5Ftag=se&keywords=sync+whole&qid=1719698265&sprefix=sync+whole%2Caps%2C366&sr=8-1&ref=keithhayden.net). It's is unique because it's written in first person from the perspective of a 19-year-old Asian female, of which I'm clearly not. But in that sense, it's written very well, I think. One of the highest honors I feel like I would love to hear from somebody who reads my work is, I couldn't tell that a man wrote this, let alone a non-Asian person wrote this. I couldn't tell. I'm not trying to pass off as Asian or anything, but it's more about the character for me. It's always about the characters. That's what I go back to. And with Stephen King, I'm 100%, this is the first part of his book where I'm 100% agreeing. Your characters need to talk. He talked about how he got, used to get, or still does, probably, I don't know, but he used to get hate mail from people talking about how he would just curse in his dialogue in his books. He'd use ethnic slurs, things like this. He even used the word nigger in there. I mean, I'm sure he does. But he says the dialogue has to be honest. It has to be honest to the character. ### *He says that about writing in general, but it just has to be honest to the character. And if your character uses slurs, then that's what they're going to do.* ### Because real people do use slurs, despite what the messaging of our world would have you think, that it's bad to do these things. But people behind closed doors, everybody's a little bit racist. Everybody's a little bit biased against something, somebody. It's just human nature. And so the more you're able to put that on the page, the better your dialogue is going to be. I only intended this to be 15 minutes long, but I went off on a dialogue rant. So I'm going to go a little bit over, but let me talk about the guts of this chapter. ### Chapter Overview: The Gates of Okinawa In this chapter, we see Zena and he's with the agent, Nigel Tam. And they've gone through the gate and then they find themselves on this, this Titan of a demon. And this is the *Shadow of the Colossus* moment where they have to basically ascend this demon going through the different traps and the weather's bad. Then at the same time, the demon is trying to sink their ship. It's a pretty dire situation and it's pretty breakneck pace chapter. There's a lot of description in there. There's a lot of things in there, but I think overall, and I'll probably go back and trim some of it down, but overall, I'm very happy with the came out. But what surprised me at the end, which I wasn't really planning on, I knew I was going to write that part about the description of the chapters. What surprised me was the end to where, how it ended with a lot of dialogue and we get some lot of dialogue and we get some revelations, as I said earlier, about the, the world and about the, where's this all going with the gates, because this is the fifth gate that they're trying to close. So we get insights about the gates. There's a dramatic moment ripped straight from a Chinese drama. I just had to do it. It was so much fun. Then the chapter ends. This is a, this is a good one. This is, I was really happy. I remember after last night, after I finished, I told my wife, I was just like, this, this novel... ### Reflections on Genre and Writing Style I originally wrote it, started writing it last month with an intent for it to be a bestseller. I don't know if it's going to be a bestseller, but I know anybody who reads this, it's just going to have fun with it. It's a fun story. It's billed as horror and there, there are horror elements. There are elements of suspense, but it's, I feel like it's more of an adventure horror story. It's definitely an adventure to where they're having to go around Okinawa and it's called the gates of Okinawa. So you got to seal these gates and you meet different people on the way, a certain, you lose certain characters along the way. They gain abilities. They build relationships. It's very much an adventure story. And more and more, I think that's more of my, I think that's where I'm most comfortable is an adventure story. It makes sense. I mean, and I wasn't trying to be an adventure writer or things like that, but I do like this. I've always liked that notion of groups of strangers getting together to, to do something. I've always loved that. It's no surprise that in my, my own writing, it just comes out that way. And of course, there's other elements of, you know, there's elements of romance, there's elements of, of thrill of a thriller. And then in [*Cereus & Limnic*](https://keithhayden.net/cereus-limnic-second-evolution/), it's more technology and philosophically This one, there's not so much of that. It's, it's more of just have fun, get lost in this world with these characters, get to know a few Japanese demons, and then we'll see you on your way. But yeah, I guess I'm an adventure writer now. Who knew? ### Description n' Unexpected Places URL: https://keithhayden.net/description-n-unexpected-places/ Last updated: 2024-06-29T06:30:03.000Z Writing method: On phone **Word count:** 958 ## Video version ## Keith's Audio Commentary ## Modified Transcript Today's writing session started a little bit late. I had some errands to run. I actually went to a bookstore today. I went to two bookstores. The first bookstore was a Japanese bookstore. Getting ready to go through a pretty big transition. So I'm trying to grab up as many Japanese books as I can. I was really just looking for an Okinawan dialect dictionary, so to speak. I didn't really find one, but I did find... I'm in this store. It's just a retail store in a mall. Bookstore. But they have a bunch of retail titles and everything's brand new. So they have thousands of books. So I was going through these books. I was like, how the hell am I going to pick one out of these? I almost started to pick at random, but I didn't really want to do that here. So I was like, I'm just going to pick the biggest motherfucker that I can find. The largest book, I'm going to pick it up. I happened to pick up this book. Let me get the author. I'm holding it right here. The author is Kyogoku Natsuhiko. Kyogoku Natsuhiko. Apparently he writes, ironically, supernatural horror in Japanese. How ironic is that? I picked up this book and I'm holding it now. This thing is a beast. It is probably one of the largest Japanese books I've ever seen. Usually they don't do this. They don't print a huge dictionary length book. It's very normal in Japanese printing to split books up into sometimes two or three volumes. But they decided not to do that. This beast is, I'm trying to flip to the page, 1,388 pages. Yeah, it's a monster. ### The Serendipity of Book Selection But what was cool about this book is that I was looking it up on ChatGPT as I was researching it, seeing what it's about. Apparently this author writes about Japanese folklore and various yokai. Just like I'm doing now with [*Gates of Okinawa*](https://gatesofokinawa.carrd.co/?ref=keithhayden.net). It got me thinking about how these days I kind of let books find me. I mean, I'm always looking up different just recommendations. You get stuff on social media. Sometimes, rarely, I get recommendations from other people. But I just don't know a lot of people who read as much as I do. But, yeah, books tend to find me. This was a classic example of a book, an author finding me that is in the exact style that I'm writing right now. I have no idea when I'm going to read this book. I mean, it's completely in Japanese. I'm still struggling through Chapter 1 of Harry Potter. I'm barely halfway through that. But this is one of those aspirational books that maybe someday. I thought that was a cool story. ## Writing on the Go: Embracing Mobile Technology Today's writing session started while I was in a restaurant. In a local restaurant that my wife and I eat at pretty regularly. They have a lot of local Okinawan food. I ordered my meal. Today's writing style selection was writing on my phone. So I immediately just started banging it out. Just typing away. I told a few people last night that I wrote the majority of my military autobiography, [*Hayden: Brave*](https://haydenbravebook.xyz/?ref=keithhayden.net), on my phone. They were really surprised by that. I understand why, too. It's pretty uncomfortable for most people to, especially older people, to type a lot on their phone. It's just not something that most of us grew up doing, of course. It just didn't exist. It is pretty fatiguing when you're not used to it. ### From Student Teaching to Novel Writing I remember when I first started doing it back in 2019\. When I was writing my first novel, [*Cereus & Limnic*](https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0D7Q12TB5?ref%5F=dbs%5Fm%5Fmng%5Frwt%5Fcalw%5Ftpbk%5F0&storeType=ebooks&ccs%5Fid=41fa60f6-1feb-4367-9941-fdcff73ca97d&ref=keithhayden.net). I was working as a student teacher at the time. Of course, I was spending a lot of time in the classroom. Sometimes I was subbing. Sometimes I was tutoring. There was occasional downtime where I was at. I wasn't teaching full time. So I was like, man, these are some good opportunities to get some writing in. But I'm super slow on the phone. That was a training opportunity for me. So I started to slowly just get good at it and get more and more words on the phone. Now, flash forward five, six years later, or five years later. Yeah, now something like Hayden Brave is possible. Today was another all-phone day. ## Today's Writing Session: Diving into Description I got 950-something words, close to 1,000 words in this chapter. I was planning on making this a longer chapter. But I'm pretty pressed for time today. I've got a lot to do this weekend. So I was like, man, I don't have time to really sit and do this. Especially if I'm going to do my whole promotion routine and do this recording, things like that. But today's chapter was a rare one because it was mostly description. Yeah, in the past, I would have struggled to write something like this. ### Tackling Unfamiliar Territory Especially since it's description in an area that I don't know very well. We're talking about diving. We're underwater. There's certain sensations that I'm describing that the main protagonist is dealing with. Then, of course, there's some pretty cool supernatural elements that I threw in there to just mix things up and increase just the overall urgency. It's already a very critical situation. You're diving. It's bad weather. You're not just there to look at something. You're there to actually do something, reach an objective. Then she has these other obstacles getting in her way. But the challenge in writing it was that it's all description. ## Reflections on Descriptive Writing In another ironic twist, I was reading, once again, reading Stephen King's [*On Writing*](https://keithhayden.net/on-writing/). I happened to be reading the section about description. Where he describes description and how he thinks of it. For the most part, I agree. Of course, he takes more of an extreme. His opinions are pretty black and white, how he thinks of description. There's definitely a right way and a wrong way to do it with Stephen King. The way I think of description is... It's not... I think of it like... It's proportional to the... It's always proportional to the character, for me. So, it's... More description, it's more important. Less description, it's less important. That's how I think of it. That's pretty much how I go most of the time. In a chapter like this, where it was all description. Very little dialogue until the very end. Where we get this kind of dramatic moment. Then the chapter ends. It was a challenge. But I got through it. ### Finding Your Voice in Description There's one thing King is right about. When it comes to description, you just have to practice it. There's really no way to get about it. You have to do it your way. Everybody does description different. But your brand of it is what makes it unique. What makes your writing just stand out. Some people love people's description. Other people don't like the way they describe things. So, it's up to you to decide how you do it. But you have to do it a lot to get better at it. ### Why you should still publish print books URL: https://keithhayden.net/why-you-should-still-publish-print-books/ Last updated: 2024-06-28T11:42:06.000Z _No content available._ ### Storyhunting Colossus: Blending Outlining and Improvisation for Dynamic Fiction Writing URL: https://keithhayden.net/storyhunting-colossus-dynamic-fiction-writing/ Last updated: 2024-06-28T02:22:32.000Z How Stephen King and a cult PS2 game inspired a writing session _This post is for subscribers only._ ### Crafting Commercial Fiction: How much detail is too much? URL: https://keithhayden.net/commercial-fiction-details/ Last updated: 2024-06-27T09:07:09.000Z Insights on Pacing, Research, and Character Development from a Novelist's Daily Writing _This post is for subscribers only._ ### Triumphs and Trials of AI Co-writing URL: https://keithhayden.net/triumphs-and-trials-of-ai-co-writing/ Last updated: 2024-06-26T04:46:57.000Z ### Transcript: June 26th Writing Session #### Trying Something New with Claude AI Alright, it's June 26th, it's a Wednesday and today's writing session was a, I tried out something new that I hadn't tried before. I used Claude's, Claude just set up projects which is essentially like, basically it's like GPTs to where you can upload documents and you can work on a larger project. So I set that up through Claude AI and honestly it didn't really, it didn't really make that much of a difference. I mean I guess I was able to upload all the chapters I've done so far and give it context that way. But what was more interesting was the style of writing that I used. #### Revisiting AI Co-Writing Strategy So I used a style that I hadn't used for a while which is the AI co-writing strategy. This is where I write a few paragraphs and then I hand it to the AI and see what it does to continue the story. It starts with outlining the chapter, just giving it the basics of what I want to happen and of course where I see the ending going. Then it does an outline, basically story beat by story beat. Instead of saying, hey you just write the chapter or write a draft chapter, I just start writing on my own in a Word document and then I stop and hand it to the AI. #### Challenges with AI Co-Writing Now as you can imagine this isn't the most efficient way to write. Of all the writing methods, it's probably the least smoothest of all of them. Because it's just this going back and forth and then of course I find myself editing what the AI pumps out because I even had to scold it and be like, you're using too many damn gerund phrases, stop using that shit, I don't like when you do that. This is a feature of AI writing if you haven't used it a lot. It'll be like, kneeling down, she picked up the plate or something like that. And it just uses this ING structure all the time and it just gets really repetitive. It's like a default thing that ChatGPT does and Claude does by default. So you have to tell it, stop that, get a slap to the hand and tell it, no just use regular past tense, don't do that. #### First Impressions with 'Gates of Okinawa' But anyway, this is really my first time trying it with Gates of Okinawa and I wasn't really too impressed with what the AI did. Sometimes it just goes into AI mode to where there's a lot of fluff but it's not really saying anything new and so that editing aspect of it is annoying when I see what it pumps out and I'm like, ah, I don't really like that or I'll just overwrite it. I used this tactic with [*Sync Whole*](https://www.amazon.com/Sync-Whole-Cereus-Limnic-Novella/dp/B0D5BRLV6W/ref=rvi%5Fd%5Fsccl%5F3/138-4462437-4673030?pd%5Frd%5Fw=b3cJK&content-id=amzn1.sym.f5690a4d-f2bb-45d9-9d1b-736fee412437&pf%5Frd%5Fp=f5690a4d-f2bb-45d9-9d1b-736fee412437&pf%5Frd%5Fr=6F2PF5QKTPFD10NN37RK&pd%5Frd%5Fwg=8I4Co&pd%5Frd%5Fr=4dace259-7c14-40e6-8c83-231a89cdb233&pd%5Frd%5Fi=B0D5BRLV6W&psc=1&ccs%5Fid=de3fd99d-0467-46fe-87cc-8867558338da&ref=keithhayden.net) and it basically went the same way. If I didn't like what it came out with, I would just write it myself and essentially that's what I did today. #### Today's Chapter: Lily's Soul Trial So let's get to content. What was today's chapter about? This was Lily's soul trial and it went how it went and I'm not going to spoil the outcome of the trial but I think the trial was really good and I'm happy with Lily's chapters, this arc that basically finished with this chapter. So this is basically chapters 50 through today's chapter 56 where it's Lily and Jordan but it really becomes Lily's show to where we get to see into her character and this final chapter, no matter how it turned out, she still did get a full narrative arc which I'm going to have to go back and insert into Ethan's because I don't think I did it as well with him. Because like I said, I didn't really think about Ethan's character as much and Lily's the same way but she just developed organically in a way that I really enjoy when I write novels to where characters can really show you who they are and really take the wheel so to speak and kind of carve out their own destiny and be their own person basically. It's a weird thing but it does happen and I feel like that happened with Lily despite how things turned out. If you're wondering how things went for her then you'll just have to wait until the novel is out and see how it went but that's the biggest thing I was happy about is that we got a complete arc, we got to see she did go through a transformation, she had a great realization around the end of the trial and I think readers who resonate with her character, especially there's a lot of young women who will probably relate, she struggles with body issues, she's kind of an awkward, she's a little overweight, she's tall, she's just kind of an awkward type of person and I think a lot of young women struggle with those issues so I'm hoping that her character is relatable in that sense and then at the end we get a glimpse into the main plot of the story, we go away and we zoom out and prepare to end this arc. #### Looking Ahead: Gate Five So what's next? Well that was the fourth gate and now we're moving on to gate five and so I have no idea how I'm going to start the next arc and I don't really even know who I'm, well I kind of have an idea which characters I'm going to focus on but yeah we'll shift back, I need to shift back to Zena because I don't want to have my main character... I did this in [*Cereus & Limnic*](https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0D7Q12TB5?ref%5F=dbs%5Fm%5Fmng%5Frwt%5Fcalw%5Ftpbk%5F0&storeType=ebooks&ccs%5Fid=30c91185-d487-4250-af58-dafc73dd5434&ref=keithhayden.net) which in hindsight I wish I hadn't done. Basically you don't see Jinhua, the main protagonist, she's basically the main protagonist, you don't see her for a while, you don't see her, I think she's out for like, it's a ridiculous number of chapters, it's almost like 18, 17 or 18 chapters you don't hear from her. It's like chapter 22, there's a big reveal and then all the way up until I think chapter 40 is when she comes back and there was a lot of other world building and things in between there but I don't want to do that for this book. So I want to make sure, especially since I'm writing this to be more commercial fiction, that you know, the main character, you want to keep them around center stage as much as possible. #### Conclusion Yeah I think that's all for today, it was a good writing session, it took longer to get used to the AI co-writing thing. I think I'm going to keep trying it because I do like, sometimes it does come up with some good lines and it might take the story in a different direction. When it comes to style and presentation that's ultimately up to me or you as the writer to determine if the AI did a good job or not. So ultimately it's your call whether you keep what you use and a lot of times I didn't keep what it generated. ### Pen, Persistence, and Piano Wire: A Novelist's Tale URL: https://keithhayden.net/pen-persistence-piano-wire/ Last updated: 2024-06-25T12:33:57.000Z ## Daily Writing Routine **Writing method:** (Computer) Today's writing session was spread out over several hours. I got around 400 words down, before my day kicked off. ## Physical and Professional Commitments I did a 5-mile run in the morning heat (need to leave an hour earlier), then had a long, very fruitful, meeting. After that, it was website maintenance for an hour or so. This is one of my most hated tasks. It always takes about an hour more than I think it will. ## Unexpected Delays By the time I finished, it was already around 1300 and I still had an errand to run. And I was very hungry. There goes the next hour and a half. Lunch. Lost in the Japanese grocery store looking for a very specific item I never buy (coconut milk). A few pages of "[House of Leaves](https://keithhayden.net/house-of-leaves/)." Then finally able to sit down to write around 1500. ## Reflections on Writing Schedule I try and avoid long breaks in between writing sessions, but sometimes it's unavoidable. Even with the busy day, I'm happy with how today's chapter came out. ## Crafting the Macabre Conjuring up a devious form of torment for Lily's slightsoul state was an easy job. Describing it was more difficult. After all, creating a visual picture of a thread weaving between internal organs sewing them together like a doll isn't an everyday thing. Did you wince when reading that? I did while writing it. It's no ordinary string either. It's metallic and scrapy, like a guitar string or piano wire. The language really sold the pain in this one. Of course, Lily's internal state is raw, while still being her cool self (but more vocal and visual than usual). ## Unexpected Sources of Inspiration What inspired this torture? It was today's random page read―an exercise from a music book called *Fundamentals of Musical Composition* by Arnold Schoenberg. When I flipped to the page, there were no words. Only a musical staff with black notes and a key signature I couldn't recognize. ChatGPT to the rescue. It determined the key to be in C-Minor and discussed what Schoenberg was going on about. The details weren't very interesting. But one word leapt out from the LLM explanation. *Elision.* I had never heard of it before. But the concept sounded neat. You can read more about it [here](https://musictheory.pugetsound.edu/mt21c/Elision.html?ref=keithhayden.net). And I just liked the sound of the word. \*Elision. \* (Say it! You'll love it, too.) ## Weaving Inspiration into the Narrative That put music on my mind. So that became a big part of Lily's inner world (which was previously unexplored before this chapter.) In addition to music, I showed Lily's theater-quality imagination live and in-motion here. The perspective fit. Especially, considering her dire circumstances, since she has every reason to want to escape to somewhere (anywhere) that's not where she is. ## Character Psychology and Development I imagine many who are outwardly cynical or are greatly frustrated by their bodies and minds often retreat to elaborate worlds and fantasies of their own construction. There, *they*, call the shots, get the guy or girl, are rich, beautiful, and freeーno limits. We see Lily go to her "happy place" in this chapter. And by the end, she's already gone through a significant transformation. Though her body is bound by a thorny thread of fate, her mind is untethered and free. That's the lesson. Sometimes hellish circumstances is all it takes to remind you no prisonーno matter how firmly sealedーis high, deep, or dark enough to contain the human spirit. ### House of Leaves URL: https://keithhayden.net/house-of-leaves/ Last updated: 2024-06-25T05:46:06.000Z **Jun 25 -** "Just remember words can exceed the might of all blows. In some cases they can be fatal. For the rare few, even immortal. Try them out now and then on your foes." pg. 595 ...not even lightning could out light my rage. (for as leaves are to limbs, so are your words to your soul...) pg. 601 "Some people reflect light, some deflect it, you by some miracle, seem to collect it." pg. 604 **June 16, 2024 -** Began reading ### Readers Engage, Characters Suffer URL: https://keithhayden.net/reader-character-suffering/ Last updated: 2024-06-25T03:30:19.000Z #### On this page Introduction Today's Writing Session Reflections on Character Development Character Struggles and Reader Engagement Action Scene Techniques Looking Ahead Protagonist Development Improving Character Creation Writing Process and AI Integration # Writing Journal: June 24, 2024 ## Introduction Alright, today is June 24th, 2024, this is the first time I'm using this voice recorder that Mom got me for Christmas. Shout out to you, Mom. I really appreciate this. It's nice to be able to record on the go and be away from the computer for a little while. ## Today's Writing Session This morning's writing session was a dictation session for [*Gates of Okinawa*](https://gatesofokinawa.carrd.co/?ref=keithhayden.net). This is chapter 54, although it's probably a waste of time to label the chapters at this point because I may add chapters, I may take some out in the production side. ## Reflections on Character Development I found myself a little bummed today after I finished the chapter. This was a battle chapter we're getting in close to the end of this arc of the story where we've really focused heavily in on the two students, Jordan and Lily. They've been the focal characters as they've participated in this adventure to seal the fourth gate, there's seven gates I have planned for this story. We're getting closer and closer, creeping up on the end, but I think there's something to be said as a novelist. It's a really intimate type of work because you're creating these characters and you know them inside and out. But then it's my job as a novelist to put them in danger, to have them experience things and for the benefit of the reader to draw them into the story and then get them to relate to them and then see them going through these struggles. I think when we read about people struggling, even if they're fictional characters, it doesn't matter. We relate them to our own issues. That's why fiction is so powerful. I think it definitely outlives nonfiction because nonfiction tends to be more in the moment. It's relevant, but times change, culture changes, people change. Nonfiction, while it may be in the short term more valuable, I feel like fiction in the long term endures. A lot of the so-called great books are works of fiction, there's a reason for that. Just because there's certain universal truths about being human that we collectively share and we go through in different phases of our lives. Fiction tells that story really well. ## Character Struggles and Reader Engagement So I'm kind of digressing, but after writing this chapter, things happen to, I'm not going to spoil anything, but things happen to some of the characters. I think it's not where readers, this is the first time in this book, well maybe not the first time, that readers might be a little upset. That's okay, because we want them to feel something when they read. Not just read and be neutral or read and nothing really happens. It's not a good story. You may be one of those people who yells at the screen and yells at the book when a character does or says something stupid, but as I always have to remind my wife, if they did what they were supposed to do or said what they were supposed to say, you probably wouldn't be watching this show or reading this book. Because it would be a pretty fucking boring story. It would just end if everybody did the right thing. Especially in fiction. So that was the result of this chapter today. Just kind of a, yeah, as the writer, as the author, it's just, you hate to put the characters through certain things sometimes, but you just have to. ## Action Scene Techniques Anyway, not going to spoil it. It turned out to be a really good action chapter. This was the first time that I used my dictation dice type method that I went over in a couple of other, I'll link it into this entry. But yeah, I used this kind of method to basically sketch out the boss fight. Then as I go, I do these reactions to where it's an action reaction type of thing. That helps me focus the action in instead of just having a lot of action things happening. It helps me get into that really frame by frame action to where it's not too overwhelming. You're not talking about, and he raised his arm and then she lifted her leg and then there was a collision between the two body parts. That's a terrible way to write an action scene. It's just, it's too many pictures at once. It's like an overexposure in the reader's mind and we don't want to do that. So this way that I do it now provides more of a smoother experience for the writing of it as well. It does not as overwhelming to write. I think it's better for the reader too. ## Looking Ahead Let's see what else today. I think that's about it. I think I'm looking forward to tomorrow's chapter because we get to see, I get to bring back another key character. I think this time when he comes back, we're going to get a little bit more information. Because we've already explained the soul trials and we did that in Ethan's arc several chapters past. So I won't have to, I can kind of summarize and skim through that to show the soul trial and then use more backstory to bring in this character. Because he's a very important character and this always happens. ## Protagonist Development My protagonist starts out pretty generic. It was definitely like this with [*Cereus & Limnic*](https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0D7Q12TB5?ref%5F=dbs%5Fm%5Fmng%5Frwt%5Fcalw%5Ftpbk%5F0&storeType=ebooks&ref=keithhayden.net) too. To where Jinhua, I remember after the first pass, the first draft, I didn't really like her at all. There was nothing to not like about her. She was just kind of a boring, just kind of a flat protagonist. Yeah, she was there in most of the book, but she didn't really, she was just very middle of the road. That's how I feel about Zena Marlowe right now as the protagonist of [Gates of Okinawa](https://gatesofokinawa.carrd.co/?ref=keithhayden.net). At least I did before about the halfway mark. She was just kind of, you know, even when I created her from using my story generator, she came out with basically no interesting flaws. Like I think her character weakness, part of the generator was like gossiping or something. I thought about putting that in, but I didn't find a way to put it in. I don't think I ever did put it in, but I didn't find a way to put it in to where it was actually like a weakness. So she really doesn't, you know, she's brave, she's honest, she's very direct, and she shows that throughout the story. ## Improving Character Creation So one of the things I did actually just last night was I upgraded the generator, the story generator, to include internal conflict. Because with all of the parameters that I had, I didn't really have anything that directly tied it to, okay, what does this character really struggle with in their head? Not what they want, not what their goal is, but what's their, what's the big thing that is on their mind? I think we all have these things that we struggle with. I think that's totally normal. I think that's going to be a big part of her character when I go back through. I know I'm looking forward to go back through and editing this story. Because, yeah, I definitely need to go back and add some of those things in. ## Writing Process and AI Integration I think that's all for today. It was a pretty breezy writing session. The dictations are much faster now. I've gotten a little bit better at it, I spent more of my time this morning. I dictated it in maybe like 15 minutes. I was done with the initial dictation. I spent more time today actually tweaking the output in Claude, because Claude's gotten a lot stronger. They just updated it, Claude the AI chatbot. Claude's gotten a lot stronger, it's more capable of, it's definitely faster, I just feel like it's a little bit smoother. That's going to be, yeah, that's where I spent most of my time, just really getting it right, getting the details in there. It worked out great. I really enjoyed writing this chapter. I'll be back tomorrow to write the next one. That's it for this one. ### The Unexpected Muse: How a Yokai Inspired a Character Arc URL: https://keithhayden.net/chiinouya-lily/ Last updated: 2024-06-22T23:19:05.000Z Turning visual inspiration into narrative gold _This post is for subscribers only._ ### 47,000 Words in 30 Days - Reflections on My Longest Writing Streak (So Far) URL: https://keithhayden.net/reflections-on-my-longest-writing-streak-so-far/ Last updated: 2024-06-22T22:56:35.000Z ## Keith's Audio Commentary: ## Modified Transcript: # ## Achieving the Milestone Today is June 22nd, 2024, and it has officially been 30 days of writing for me, the longest streak I've ever had in my life, I think. Well, maybe I had it when I was journaling, but even then, I didn't do it every day, even at my peak of journaling when I was younger. I wanted to talk about thoughts about this, especially since it's certainly, if it's not my longest streak, it's certainly my longest on a continuous piece of work, not just writing random entries or on social media. I think that's the key for why this feels different. It feels a lot more intentional, it feels more fruitful to have been able to write 47,000 words in the last month. ## Benefits of Consistent Writing I think that that level of commitment has, it certainly made writing, first of all, there's a couple of advantages to this, or things that have been benefits that maybe, I mean, it makes sense, but I'm just seeing now on the other side of the 30 days, it's one, writing has become, I've officially developed a writing habit. I already wrote a lot every day, but it wasn't for a specific project. I saw something that I wrote just a month ago before I started this, and I was like, I'm going to call myself a novelist, and that means I need to write every day. Then I put that editing counts too. Even just 30 days later, I don't believe that. Because when you're editing, you may not write anything new. If what you wrote is serviceable, and it's good enough, then why change it? You're just refining. ## Overcoming Planning Paralysis At the time I was working on [**Sync Whole**](https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0D5BRLV6W?ref%5F=pe%5F93986420%5F774957520&ref=keithhayden.net), I was finishing that up, and I just finished the main manuscript, and I was looking for the next project to see what was going to be next. So in the past, my problem was, and I think a lot of us writers have this problem, is that, and creators too in general, is that you feel like you need to get a plan before you start writing, which helps. You want to know what you're going to write about, and I myself am a big outliner, so I tend to at least like to get an overview of what I'm going to write. But that's fine and good. Planning is not writing. I mean, it might involve some writing, but you're not getting new, complete ideas on the page. ## Defining What Counts as Writing I think that's the key for it to count as writing to me now. It needs to be new, and it needs to be somewhat complete. It doesn't need to be perfect. It won't be. It's first draft stuff. It needs to have a beginning and an end, which implies that it will have a middle, of course. That's the only criteria. Even word count isn't as important to me, which ironically, my average word count is increased by doing this, just because you just get used to putting out words. ## Focusing on Ideas Over Words I was talking with my wife about this last night. I think that's another issue where writers struggle, is you question the words that you're putting down. I still do this too, but I just don't do it as much. I really let the... When I'm writing a first draft of a chapter for a novel, I'm trying to get the idea. I think the... You start big picture, you start high level, and then you zoom in. So I'm not as focused on the individual words or the prose or the metaphors and images, all those little nuts and bolts. I mean, I try and include them in as they're coming to me, but that's not my focus. My focus is really, what's the main idea? What's the point of this chapter? That's where I start. Why is this chapter here? Why am I writing it? Is it to introduce a new character? Is it to continue the story? What direction am I going to take the story? Is it to build suspense, build tension? What's the point of this? Is it an action chapter? I think those are the questions that I'm trying to answer when I'm first writing it down. ## Current Project Progress: Gates of Okinawa I think that's why I've been able to write... I know that's why I've been able to write more, is because I start from that high level and then I zoom in into the individual words. The ideas are more important than the words, the structure, definitely, because it needs to sit in a certain place in the story. So in these 30 days, what else have I gotten out of it? Obviously I've gotten a lot of this project done. I'd say I'm closing in on the... Maybe I'm not at the three-quarters mark of the story. As usual, most of my stories, it always starts out this way. I sprint in and I get a lot done in the beginning, and then just like any long-term endeavor, it slows down. The pace kind of hits a steady state, and that's what happened with this project, [Gates of Okinawa](https://gatesofokinawa.carrd.co/?ref=keithhayden.net). I started out thinking foolishly that I could write a full novel within a month or something like that, just keeping the story simple and fairly formulaic and somewhat generic. But I should know by now I can't pull that off. I've always got to add more stuff in. I've always got to add more interesting arcs and more cultural things. I found myself really getting sucked into the Japanese folklore aspect of this project and really just wanted to pull more of that in. So here I am, 47,000 words in. I feel like at this point in the story, I'm definitely over halfway. If I had to put a progress bar, I'm probably like at maybe 63% done with the first draft of it. It helps with a story like this because there's seven gates. I'm on the fourth gate now, and then of course there's buildup. It's called [Gates of Okinawa](https://gatesofokinawa.carrd.co/?ref=keithhayden.net), but the whole story isn't just them going after the gates. The gates don't appear until maybe almost halfway through the story. So I'm at gate four now, there's seven gates, and so you can kind of do the rough math on how much more is left. ## Writing Methods and Maintaining Interest There's still a little bit to go, but I don't want to say it's been hard either. Because there's times when the writing is the first thing in the day, and there's times when it's later in the day. I prefer to do the hardest thing I have to do first in the day, and writing's not always actually the hardest thing for me. So it doesn't always happen. But another thing that's helped me keep the streak and just keep it fun and interesting is I'm using these different methods to write. That's been, of the six methods that I have, that's kept it fresh and fun. At first I was worried about continuity between these different methods. So the six methods are, one, write with the computer, just type. Second one is write on my phone. The third is dictation. [Dictation](https://keithhayden.net/dictation-dragons/), if you want to check out another one of my previous writer updates, I talk about dictation. (I also did a YouTube [video](https://youtu.be/raoPg3S4u7k?si=rq3uOlz6wu-d3sAg&ref=keithhayden.net) where I explain my process in detail.) Dictation plus AI is amazing. It's easily the fastest writing method if you can get it down. Handwriting, I've written a few chapters by hand and then transcribed them. Those are fun because, one, you don't have to be at the computer. You can just kind of do it old school. Two, I end up getting a more complete chapter with those because I have to transcribe it. So the editing is built in to the process, and I like that. ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/18/bf/18bf29db-1cec-4857-a9dc-e2e94a86d2bf/content/images/2024/06/PXL_20240613_131258925.jpg) Handwritten chapter Then the fifth method is AI writing. I call it writing briefs. Some writers might call them story beats. Basically I'm directing the AI. The AI becomes my proxy technician, and I'm the director basically saying, this is what I want to happen in the chapter. Sometimes it's down to specific lines of dialogue. Other times it's just description. Hey, there's going to be a description about the forest and this part or whatever. Then the AI will do that, and I actually used that method today. This is a fun method because you're kind of releasing control over how the story plays out and you're zooming out, and then you're just saying, hey, you show me something. Sometimes the AI does a really good job at taking the story in a direction maybe you didn't see that you were going to go. Sometimes it's cool like that. Then the sixth method is also AI, but it's like a co-writing. So basically I will write a few sentences, a paragraph, and then I'll say, what should happen next? Then the AI will take over. Then you just kind of keep leapfrogging each other until you eventually finish the chapter. So this is a fun one as well. ## Key Takeaways and Future Goals So all these six writing methods have really... They've helped keep it fresh because I like to change things up. But I guess at the end of the day, it doesn't matter how you write. I think that's what it comes down to. All that matters is that you do it and that you're getting your ideas down in a way that they're shareable or in a way that is good for your project, whatever you're working on. I've been encouraged. I really want to keep this up, this hell, let's go to 60 days of just straight writing. Because when this project is eventually done, then there's starting on the next project. I like this because I just finished [*Cereus & Limnic: Second Evolution*](https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0D7Q12TB5?ref%5F=dbs%5Fm%5Fmng%5Frwt%5Fcalw%5Ftpbk%5F0&storeType=ebooks&ref=keithhayden.net). I just published that yesterday. I like this idea of having a project that's being written and then have a project that's in production. So Sirius and Lemnick Second Evolution was in production, basically just editing. Maybe it involves marketing. It's anything that may not be writing. But the writing always happens. I think that is super important to prioritize that. If you're calling yourself a writer and you want to write every day, and you eventually want to finish a novel or you want to share a story, then you have to write. It's not writing on social media or writing emails or anything like that. No, you have to write for the project. I see daily too many writers, people that call themselves writers, it's in their profile and they're saying they're writers, but the main thing they spend writing is social media posts about how writing's hard. It's even harder when you don't do it for the thing that you want to be writing. I understand, like I said, I understand all the hangups and why it can be difficult, but the only way to get better is to do it more. ### Developing Secondary Characters, Social Media Struggles - Novelist Notes (Video) URL: https://keithhayden.net/developing-secondary-characters-social-media-struggles/ Last updated: 2024-06-20T06:04:01.000Z A strategy for success on social media _This post is for subscribers only._ ### Using ChatGPT + Claude to Write a Single Chapter URL: https://keithhayden.net/using-chatgpt-claude-to-write-a-single-chapter/ Last updated: 2024-06-19T03:22:42.000Z Discover how to make it through the muddy middle of writing your novel using the ChatGPT and Claude combo _This post is for subscribers only._ ### Soul Trials and Killing Characters, Maybe URL: https://keithhayden.net/soul-trials/ Last updated: 2024-06-18T02:01:22.000Z Writing type: **On phone** ## Keith's Audio Commentary ## Original Transcript: All right, just wrapped up a close to 1,300 word writing session on a stormy, rainy morning over here and it was, it was good. It was, it was smooth. Most of the, for most of it, a lot of world building in this one because yesterday I said that I was going to lay out the parameters for these things that I call soul trials in Gates of Okinawa and I did just that today and I always used to have a really hard time with world building. To be honest, it's still not one of my favorite activities when it comes to writing because it can get, it starts to get pretty dull if you do it in the wrong way, especially just writing it. For me, it just gets so tedious just describing certain things and just, I think because there's, it lacks dynamism than just writing the story out when you've got all these events happening. When you're having to find a way to, okay, how do I explain this in a way that's not too terribly boring, but it's important information for the reader to understand, especially since the last chapter was a pretty big mystery. ## It opens a lot of loops as far as what's happening to Ethan, like why is he in this state? What's going on? Who is this mysterious figure that showed up? And so we have to answer all those questions and you got to answer the mail, so to speak, in this chapter. And so there was a lot of that, like describing who this guy is, sort of, still leaving it kind of mysterious, but he gives his name and then describing what's happening to Ethan and then laying out the rules of this state, which I called the slight soul state. I was happy with that name and just made it up, just didn't even, no research, just on the fly. I do this a lot. In fact, this is kind of part of my process of just creating in general. I know I'm one of those guys that the longer I spend crunching on something, the probably worse it's going to turn out because it's just kind of diminishing returns after a while. I'm not getting any new ideas if I just sit there. So it's better for me to just go in and start writing and even if it's just putting a placeholder in and do that instead of just sitting there, just ruminating over and things like that. But the chapter itself, I think it turned out well because it got to a part because all I had in my head was, we've got to explain all this world building shit. And once I get through that, then there's going to be a conversation and it's basically going to be a brief mini backstory for Ethan. And I'm glad I, at first I was like, oh shit, I put all these kids in here and now I got to deal with these kids. ### *What am I going to do with all these kids?* But I'm glad I did because they definitely add, I originally wrote this novel to be accessible for not just adults, but for mainly high school students. I used to work at a high school and the high school that I feature in the book, I used to work there and yeah, I wanted something that, one, it's just always cool when your school is in a book or something. It's never happened to me, but I think it would be cool if it was like, oh, that's my school. I know that school. I don't do the whole making up, sometimes I'll make up locations, but I mean, no, I wanted to be grounded in this, in reality, but yeah, I wanted the high school kids, not just to be kind of this, this nameless group of heroes is kind of stand-ins, but I want them to have their own mini arcs and show them as second characters. And Ethan is one of those characters that I didn't really think much about. I just knew he was a Black kid. He is kind of a jock type of dude. He kind of likes to screw around. Yeah, he's close to the comic relief character, but not over the top. He's just kind of a jokey type of guy, but in this chapter, I get to go in and get into some of his backstory, which was cool to really flesh him out and see him dealing with this situation. > Another thing that I do is when I go into these scenes, I have no problem killing characters off. I think this is something that I've seen newer authors have a tougher time doing because I get it. You get attached to these characters, especially if you've modeled certain characters off of people that you know, and then you really don't want to kill them off and things like that, which if you're listening to this and you're a newer author, **I highly advise that you don't do that.** I think that's a self-imposed creative restriction that you're putting on yourself by saying, oh, this is like my wife, this is like my brother, this is like my mom, whatever. Because it's just going to come a point where you have to break that and it's not like them anymore for the sake of the story, or just for the sake of your own interests, because you're like, oh, they would never say that, they would never do that, they would never go there. And then they read it, they're all pissed off. I would never do that. I would never say that. Anyway, so I went into this scene like, okay, well, to quote *Rocky IV*, **"if he dies, he dies."** And I was like, okay, we're just going to see. And I do this a lot. You know, I've talked about randomness, how I really enjoy that and it forces me to adapt as an author. I think I've become a better author, novelist, because of it. And so I rolled the dice to see if he would go through with the soul trial, at least try it. And I rolled a no initially. And I was like, oh, so my man is just going to roll over? he's just going to die? he's just going to get his soul scraped? But as I kept writing the scene, the mentor figure, or the guy who's basically giving him a chance to take on the trial, starts basically interviewing him and asking him, because I think he can sense that he doesn't want to do it and that he doesn't want to go through with the trial. And I was really channeling some of my experience when I was an agent with OSI, because you get these people in front of you and they're scared, they're confused and you're just making decisions just on the fly. And in a way, you can kind of coach them through it by just asking them certain questions and asking them to think about things. And that's what inspired this scene to where he's just kind of asking him, hey, you know, he doesn't ask him outright, but he's like, what's important to you? And do you have somebody that you want to do this for, that you want to at least try? And he does. Of course, he focuses on Mia and his relationship with her. And we get a little entertaining backstory there. And then the chapter ends with the next chapter will be the trial. Originally, I planned to have the trial in this chapter, but it just started getting long. And I was writing on my phone, which is nice. I like writing on my phone because there are zero distractions, like you literally cannot, I was writing in Google Docs this morning, and you can just not have anything else in your screen while you're writing, you know, you need the whole screen to write. So unlike sitting at my keyboard, like I did yesterday, it takes up the entire screen. And there's always the temptation of email and social media and all these other distractions. But at the phone, I actually went over to the couch and sat and just tap tapped away for maybe an hour and a half, something like that. And it was done. So really happy with the way this turned out. And I'm excited to see what I do tomorrow with the actual soul trial, because I don't know if he's going to make it or not. I don't know if he's going to pass or fail. I'm not sure what's going to happen, but I'm looking forward to tomorrow's writing session. ### 40,000-Words and a Single Nut URL: https://keithhayden.net/words-and-nut/ Last updated: 2024-06-17T08:20:26.000Z Novelist's Notes "Gates of Okinawa" - 17 Jun _This post is for subscribers only._ ### Dictation and Dragons: How I Use AI and Storytelling Dice to Craft Dynamic Battle Scenes URL: https://keithhayden.net/dictation-dragons/ Last updated: 2024-06-16T07:46:37.000Z Speedwriting battle scenes with dictation and dice _This post is for subscribers only._ ### Terror on Mt. Katsuu - Supernatural Horror Novel Preview URL: https://keithhayden.net/mtkatsuu-gates-of-okinawa-preview/ Last updated: 2024-06-15T01:09:07.000Z ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/18/bf/18bf29db-1cec-4857-a9dc-e2e94a86d2bf/content/images/2024/06/PXL_20240101_041518299.jpg) ### Keith's Audio Commentary Chapter 45 Terror on Mt Katsuu Commentary 0:00 /199.183673 1× In this chapter, I wanted to change the scenery of the story. We've been deep into the narrative, primarily set on Camp Foster, the U.S. Marine Corps base in Okinawa. This time, I decided to shift the setting into nature and chose Mount Katsu for one of the gates. Mount Katsu, the tallest mountain in Okinawa, isn’t very tall—maybe a hundred and something meters. I've hiked it several times since living here, maybe three times. It’s not a long or hard hike; part trail and part rocky terrain where it’s easy to trip. There’s also a forest area with a giant pit, making it a great setting for this gate. Zena and the two students she’s with will face challenges here. To add a twist, I set the scene at night. A nighttime hike is always more challenging and unsettling due to limited visibility and the unknown. Midway through, something happens that forces them to ascend the mountain quickly to complete their task. This chapter evolved into more of a horror type, which wasn’t my initial intent. The book was meant to be an adventure with aliens, but it’s turning out less about traditional aliens and more about supernatural elements. I’m even considering removing "alien" from the cover because the story doesn’t revolve around unexplained species. Instead, it draws from Japanese and specifically Okinawan folklore. This chapter aims to bring in that supernatural vibe, creating a creeping feeling as you join these three characters on their hike. The uncertainty of what’s happening adds to the suspense. I hope you enjoy this chapter! ## Chapter 45 Day hikes are good fun exercise. But if it’s a night hike it’s usually a necessity. As I trudged up the mountain path, sweat collecting in every crevice of my anatomy, the danger of the dark tunneled my focus on our objective. The summit of Mount Katsuu. “Are we almost there?” Mia asked. Her voice pitched with a breathy whine as she huffed and puffed between steps. “How much—further?” “Aw c’mon Mia, I thought you liked to work out?” Ethan said with a taunting tone. His strides among the rock-strewn path were long and deliberate. He aimed the beam of his flashlight in front of her feet. “Yeah, I do. But…” she smacked her tongue and swallowed, “…not this kind. I’m all sweaty. I’m hungry, and there’s a rock in my shoe.” Ethan chuckled, “You good, you good. Just keep stepping and watchout for—” “Ah!” Mia stumbled and fell. Her flashlight spun circles illuminating the maw of trees and rising boulders before us. I rushed to her. “Are you okay!?” “This mountain sucks!” She slapped her thigh in frustration. I helped her to her feet as I examined her for injury. Ethan brushed brown dirt off her pants. “It ain’t nuthin’. You gotta watch where you’re steppin’.” “I know, I know. It’s so dark! I can’t see—” *Gaa! Gaa!* “Wait! Did you hear that?” Mia asked. “Hear what?” Ethan asked. “There was some kinda noise. Like screeching…” I aimed my light around the area. Off the path, sections of still forest came into view. Fallen branches lay below canopies of green. Staring trees in soldier-like rows puffed the scent of fresh leaves around us. As I investigated the shadows between them filled me with gloom. “I don’t see anything.” “Are you sure you didn’t bust your head?” Ethan placed his hand on her forehead. She batted it away. “No, I’m serious. It sounded so scary.” Mia whispered in a tight voice. “I—” (Gaa! Gaa!) “I know you heard it that time!” Mia’s voice shook. Her head whipped around as if the noise had come from all around. The three of us took scraping short steps backward until our backpacks bumped. Time stretched between our shallow breaths while the halos from our flashlights roamed in all directions. Above in the black cloud blanket, I made out the outline of a half moon. To the left was a gaping gaggle of trees pushed apart by pitch black space. On the right, an abandoned vine-clawed tent, sat among the collapse of logs and burly tree limbs. But all was silent and unmoving. The scene seized my bodily awareness. It only saw the three lights swiping spherical patterns through darkness. Then Ethan’s finger shot up, pointing down the path back to the parking lot. “What’s that!?” An illuminated glow rose from the lower path. It moved like another hiker at first. Then it began to swing fast. As if whoever held it were climbing the mountain for time. “Gaa. Gaa. Ha ha ha…” “Run!” Ethan and Mia’s panic filled faces took off up the mountain. I hurried after. The sound of crunch earth and kicked rocks trailed not far behind. The students’ hot white beams crossed and uncrossed as they swiftly scrambled up the trickiest section of the ascent. Spike shaped rocks—some the size of a bowling ball, others small like shells on the beach—protruded from the incline. They were ankle breakers. Every reach to the next rock risked getting stuck, stung, or splintered. When the sun was up, it was a tough hump. Now, it was gas pedal mashed, gear reversed while weaving through gaps in traffic with a single taillight on. I’d never done anything more difficult. “Gaa! Gaa!” My legs flared fatigue from yesterday’s run. Heavy breathing, quick steps in front and behind were all I heard for the next few minutes. When the first dots of rain pelted my sweat-glossed face and a passing cool breeze messed my hair, I knew the summit was near. “Keep going!” The rustling behind me grew louder. I lunged long strides to the top, never chancing a look back. A few seconds I made it. Refreshing sea-stained air swirled around the black sky. Light rain patted my shoulder while I searched the source for the noise. Nothing. “Did, did you see it? W-Where’s the gate?” Mia asked between gasps. “I got nuthin’.” Ethan responded. He was hunched over, hand on knees as if he’d just run basketball sprints. Suddenly, a light over the edge of the peak burst open. *The gate!* I moved in front of the kids to get a closer look. There it was spinning in the air, several feet below where we stood. A pinch of indecision coincided with dead silence from the mountain path. It was followed by a heated whoosh that caused Mia’s hair to flutter. She dared to peak over the edge. “How are we supposed to—Ethan!” Before I could react, something swooped and attached to Ethan’s face. --- ## Hit the button below to pre-order or preview the book. [Be first to access](https://gatesofokinawa.carrd.co/?ref=keithhayden.net) ## ### The Chinese Drama Twist: 7 Techniques to Captivate Readers With Long Form Fiction URL: https://keithhayden.net/chinese-drama-techniques/ Last updated: 2024-06-14T05:25:14.000Z ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/18/bf/18bf29db-1cec-4857-a9dc-e2e94a86d2bf/content/images/2024/06/7-Lessons-From-Chinese-dramas--2--3.png) In 2018, I sat down to watch my first Chinese drama. “Rise of the Phoenixes” blew me away with epic action, scheming political dealings, and a remarkable romantic arc with an unforgettable ending. It changed the way I thought about writing fiction forever. Since then, I’ve seen dozens more. From the silly, to the fantastical; sappy modern day romances, to fantasy battles among the heavens, elements of the genre are now common in my stories. In this video, I share the most impactful ones with you. I’ve also created a supplement to go with it. The **“29-Hidden Techniques of Chinese Drama Checklist”** includes 29 items to help you successfully integrate these 7 techniques into your next story. (Members have instant access to the checklist. Hit the button below.) [Access Checklist](https://keithhayden.net/chinese-drama-fiction-checklist/) ## Video Transcript: (00:00:01): All right, (00:00:01): hey there, (00:00:02): it's Keith Hayden and I'm back with another quick video to help you improve your (00:00:08): fiction writing by talking about Chinese dramas. (00:00:12): Now maybe this is a genre of storytelling that you haven't really heard much about or maybe you've (00:00:18): seen something online about it but it's not something that I've seen a lot of (00:00:23): authors talk about because frankly they don't have enough experience to talk about (00:00:27): it but I myself have watched over four dozen Chinese dramas full Chinese dramas (00:00:35): like all the way through I watch them a lot (00:00:38): And in that time, (00:00:39): I've learned a ton about storytelling, (00:00:41): and I've picked up a ton of tips that I've boiled down to really the top seven that (00:00:47): I see that they do really well. (00:00:50): They tend to do well in Chinese dramas that in Western fiction, (00:00:54): I don't see a lot, (00:00:55): and it kind of conflicts with... (00:00:57): what I grew up reading and watching and then what I used to write. (00:01:01): Now I've gotten better at implementing some of the things I've learned into my own (00:01:05): stories but I want you to be able to do that and that's why I'm going to go through (00:01:09): this checklist today. (00:01:11): Speaking of checklist, I've created a little resource to go along with this video. (00:01:16): It's a 29 item checklist that breaks down each of these seven lessons into sub items. (00:01:21): So when you're writing your novel or your long story, (00:01:26): this is really meant for longer fiction, (00:01:27): but you can use it, (00:01:28): of course, (00:01:28): if you're writing short stories or if you're writing micro fiction, (00:01:30): but it's really meant for novels. (00:01:33): But when you're writing that story, (00:01:34): you can go through and make sure that you've done these things when you're in the (00:01:38): editing process to make your story even stronger and more memorable. (00:01:41): Also, (00:01:42): don't forget to subscribe to my channel if you like more stuff about writing, (00:01:47): fiction, (00:01:47): publishing, (00:01:48): just creativity in general, (00:01:49): just kind of a creative guy. (00:01:51): So subscribe if you want to. (00:01:53): With that, let's get into this list. (00:01:56): So the first thing that I say is mix up your motivations. (00:02:01): And what do I mean by this? (00:02:02): When I wrote this, I was thinking of when it comes to character motivations. (00:02:07): In a lot of Western media, the dominant motivation tends to be the characters fight for freedom. (00:02:14): And I'm a Texas boy myself, so I understand that notion and I understand that motivation. (00:02:20): And I feel like down from freedom is mobility, social mobility. (00:02:26): There's also status sometimes. (00:02:29): And there tends to be the bad guy just has a lot of power and he's taking away (00:02:33): power from other people and that needs to be balanced. (00:02:35): That's a lot of Western media. (00:02:37): Not all, of course, but I'm generalizing here. (00:02:40): In Chinese dramas, they tend to be a little bit more diverse when it comes to character motivations. (00:02:47): So maybe the character is motivated by status, (00:02:51): or maybe they're motivated by money, (00:02:53): or maybe they're motivated by just, (00:02:56): they just like adventure, (00:02:58): or they like the thrill of the fight. (00:03:00): These motivations, (00:03:02): of course, (00:03:02): change throughout the story, (00:03:04): but this is just something to keep in mind, (00:03:07): that it's important to mix things up, (00:03:10): and it makes it a lot more interesting when even the characters that are on the (00:03:14): same side have different motivations, (00:03:17): and then seeing how those motivations conflict, (00:03:20): maybe he cares about love, (00:03:22): and all she cares about is getting a better job, (00:03:25): but they're married. (00:03:27): That might be something interesting to explore. (00:03:29): And then find ways to play with those motivations. (00:03:32): How do they come in conflict with each other? (00:03:34): How do they change as the story moves on? (00:03:36): This is something to definitely keep track of that you can steal from Chinese (00:03:40): dramas into your own stories. (00:03:42): Next thing is always make it personal. (00:03:45): You've got to always, (00:03:47): always, (00:03:48): whatever your antagonist is or whatever conflict that your character is coming up with, (00:03:54): up against, (00:03:54): you have to make it personal. (00:03:56): I don't care if it's a rainy day. (00:03:59): It might be God just raining down on them and making them have a bad day, something like that. (00:04:05): But I see this in Chinese dramas where a big part of the story is that it's the character's fate. (00:04:10): It's a very common Chinese drama trope to where they're fighting against fate and... (00:04:16): but it's not just this kind of nameless destiny the destiny will often take (00:04:21): physical forms maybe it's a god that comes down from the the heavenly realm this is (00:04:26): a very common chinese drama trope if you watch chinese dramas you know what i'm (00:04:29): talking about when they come down in human form and then they test the hero and (00:04:35): they put them through all these different trials and things like that and then the (00:04:37): hero kind of has to do that and in that way they challenge fate in that way so (00:04:42): Get creative with how you embody your obstacles and always make it personal. (00:04:48): You've got to make them their brother, their mother. (00:04:51): I mean, these are the relationships that we fight for in real life, in your real life. (00:04:57): You probably have parents or guardians. (00:04:59): Maybe you have a brother or sister or you have a best friend that you would lay down your life for. (00:05:05): Without that, (00:05:06): it's really difficult to get readers invested in your story because they're like, (00:05:12): what are the stakes here? (00:05:13): Like, what are we fighting for? (00:05:15): But when it's personal, there's always a reason to fight. (00:05:19): So keep that in mind. (00:05:21): The next one is create interesting social graphs. (00:05:24): And this is something that Chinese dramas are so strong at doing. (00:05:28): And I'm always like, and you can definitely take this too far, right? (00:05:32): To where it's his mother's stepbrother, but she was in love with his younger brother. (00:05:42): And now, but they're both in different warring nations or different countries. (00:05:47): rival schools or something like that it gets really dicey to where you just you're (00:05:53): trying to put it in your head and it's really hard to figure out okay what what's (00:05:56): the what's going on here point is you don't have to get that fancy with it but you (00:06:00): should move beyond the standard okay mom dad the brother sister this is a common (00:06:07): setup in a lot of western fiction and maybe there's a step parent or step brother (00:06:11): or something but it (00:06:12): typically doesn't go beyond that it's usually pretty linear like family tree and (00:06:19): that's just not as interesting as when you see these different social lines cross (00:06:24): or these different backgrounds or just these different types of relationships that (00:06:30): really spice things up so (00:06:33): Get creative with your social graphs throw some other people in the mix And if you (00:06:37): need some help for ideas go on my website Keith Hayden net I'll put a link in the (00:06:42): description of this video And I've got my story generator that can come up with (00:06:47): different Jobs occupations just different people and characters just to spin up (00:06:51): some ideas The next one is even friends fight and I put I put it this way because I (00:06:59): I was recently reading something to where if they were family or if they were (00:07:06): aligned ideologically, (00:07:10): they never really had any conflict. (00:07:11): And that's just not... One, it's not realistic. (00:07:16): I mean, maybe... I'm sure you fought with your brother, your sister, your mom, your dad for something. (00:07:22): Sometimes it's a little thing. (00:07:24): It's completely insignificant. (00:07:25): Sometimes it's a big deal. (00:07:28): but we have to show that conflict in our stories you definitely should because one (00:07:33): it's realistic two it's just always interesting at least it always gets my (00:07:37): attention when in a story when two people who shouldn't be fighting start fighting (00:07:44): it's just nobody likes that nobody likes to see a brother against a brother or a (00:07:48): sister against a sister or two best friends (00:07:51): going at it. (00:07:52): Nobody really likes to see that in real life or in fiction. (00:07:56): It's always going to get people's attention. (00:07:59): Of course, just like all of these things, got to use them in moderation. (00:08:01): A whole story can't just be all arguments, (00:08:04): but there should be disagreements that make sense with the plot of your story. (00:08:08): Chinese dramas are great at this. (00:08:10): They do it all the time. (00:08:12): In fact, they will just string these together to where (00:08:16): the the family members will be on different sides and then the circumstances of the (00:08:21): plot will shift them around to where okay this time he's got this point of view now (00:08:26): she's got this point of view and what do we do but we don't agree on something so (00:08:32): sometimes it's just an argument other times it's an actual fight keep that in mind (00:08:38): The next thing is slow down, (00:08:40): and this goes against a lot of... (00:08:43): I've been reading a lot of writing craft books and storytelling craft books, (00:08:47): and a lot of Western thinking when it comes to mainstream popular media is that (00:08:55): backstory is bad. (00:08:57): Spending too much time in the character's head or talking about the past, (00:09:01): talking about things that don't move the plot forward is a generally bad thing (00:09:05): because it takes the reader out of the story, (00:09:08): it slows down, (00:09:09): all that stuff. (00:09:10): Part of me understands this because you can definitely go crazy with backstory to (00:09:15): where it just feels jarring and it doesn't fit with the circumstances of the story. (00:09:21): But at the same time, I really like backstory. (00:09:25): Growing up, (00:09:25): I played a lot of Japanese role-playing games, (00:09:28): and I would always look forward to the points in the story where they stopped and explained, (00:09:34): okay, (00:09:35): who is this hero we're playing as, (00:09:36): or who is this bad guy that we're fighting against, (00:09:38): or anything like that, (00:09:40): because it does add texture to the story, (00:09:42): and it really catches you up as a player and as someone experiencing that story. (00:09:48): point is in chinese dramas they dedicate a lot of time sometimes whole episodes to (00:09:55): backstory and in a 45 minute show that's a lot of backstory but the way they do it (00:10:02): is is is what makes it memorable and what makes it keep the story flowing without (00:10:09): bringing it to a standstill how do we do this in fiction (00:10:13): Well, my thinking is you can, I do it in a couple of different ways. (00:10:17): One, you can just change the POV. (00:10:19): So if your POV has been your main heroine for most of the book, (00:10:24): change it to her brother or a secondary character or even the antagonist. (00:10:30): And what's that relationship like? (00:10:32): Why are they fighting against each other? (00:10:34): That's always interesting to me, (00:10:35): especially if it's done later in the book when we've already seen them clashing. (00:10:40): Another way you can do it is just totally break the formula of your story. (00:10:43): I did this one time in my first novel series in Lemnick. (00:10:47): I had one chapter where it was just the POV was from a dog's perspective. (00:10:52): And of course, there was no dogs that were the main heroes. (00:10:57): And that was how I introduced another character. (00:11:01): It was a shorter chapter, but it was a metaphor for this character that I was going to introduce. (00:11:08): So that's another way. (00:11:09): Just completely out of nowhere, just change it up. (00:11:12): Just do something random to the reader, but of course have it relevant to the story. (00:11:17): And the other way is just to go full flashback. (00:11:20): Make the whole... There's several ways to do flashbacks. (00:11:23): You can make it a dream. (00:11:24): You can make it the character in an interesting situation, (00:11:29): but where they have time to think, (00:11:31): of course, (00:11:32): where they would actually be flashing back. (00:11:34): But... (00:11:35): where they have time to actually slow down. (00:11:37): Point is, (00:11:38): you should put backstory in there, (00:11:40): and it's one of those things that I... (00:11:42): I conflict with myself as a writer because I understand, (00:11:48): you know, (00:11:48): growing up in the United States, (00:11:51): I understand the need to keep the plot moving, (00:11:53): and I definitely like a fast-moving story, (00:11:55): but at the same time, (00:11:57): backstory is so important, (00:11:59): and I like writing backstory, (00:12:00): and I like... (00:12:03): taking chances and risks with the backstory so keep that in mind. (00:12:07): Next one is blend genres and this is something that I didn't come to appreciate (00:12:13): about Chinese dramas until a couple years after I had been watching them but (00:12:18): It's very common for a Chinese drama to be labeled as a comedy or as an action or as an adventure show. (00:12:26): And then five episodes in, it's a romance or it turns into a serious maneuvering political drama. (00:12:36): Now, (00:12:37): of course, (00:12:38): there's things about expectations and audience, (00:12:40): and this is the Western mentality of, (00:12:42): well, (00:12:42): you've got to honor your audience, (00:12:44): and you've got to make sure that if they're looking for a women's romance, (00:12:48): then it should be women's romance 80% of the way through. (00:12:53): Don't throw a gunfight in there or something like that. (00:12:56): I understand that, and that definitely helps tell a tight story, but (00:13:03): exploring different genres and throwing other elements in there and not just, (00:13:08): you know, (00:13:09): one off or something like you throw a gun in there and now it's a crime or (00:13:14): something like that. (00:13:14): I'm not talking about that. (00:13:15): I'm talking about like you dedicate a significant amount of time to adding other genres in there. (00:13:22): I think that can be a good thing if it's well done. (00:13:24): It's easy to overdo it. (00:13:25): It's easy to screw this up. (00:13:27): It takes a little bit more experience. (00:13:28): But the point is, this is something that is common in Chinese drama as to where it will shift. (00:13:34): But the point, the goal is less on staying in the genre lane and more in staying in the story lane. (00:13:43): So if the story calls for action, then there's going to be action. (00:13:47): But if it calls for romance, now it's got the romance in there. (00:13:53): Point is, don't be afraid to dedicate significant parts of your story to different genres. (00:14:00): Experiment. (00:14:01): Have fun. (00:14:03): Last thing is to exaggerate, (00:14:06): and this is something that I really enjoy about Chinese dramas because they will (00:14:11): take the most mundane scene and they will make it into a big deal with certain (00:14:17): camera angles and sound effects and whooshes and whoosh, (00:14:21): you know, (00:14:21): they'll just zoom in on somebody's face or something like that. (00:14:24): Of course, (00:14:24): you can't do this in fiction because you don't have the visual, (00:14:28): but you can what I call control the camera by describing certain camera angles. (00:14:36): The way I think of it is setting a stage in my mind. (00:14:41): I used to do theater when I was in high school, (00:14:43): so that's where I learned about blocking and stagecraft and presence and all these (00:14:49): different things. (00:14:50): And I bring that to my fiction because I definitely think of, (00:14:55): okay, (00:14:55): where am I placing these people in space? (00:14:57): I'm not just randomly putting people, he was over here, she was there. (00:15:02): No, I'm placing them in a room. (00:15:04): He's sitting down, she's standing up. (00:15:07): He's in bed, she's at the table. (00:15:10): That type of thing. (00:15:12): Think about that as you're going, (00:15:13): because when you set that stage in your mind, (00:15:15): it allows you to have a sort of camera with your words and control where the (00:15:20): reader's eye is directed. (00:15:23): And I think you can do that with exaggerations. (00:15:25): You can also do that with metaphors and similes as well. (00:15:29): You can definitely ramp things up by using certain metaphors where it still fits (00:15:35): with the scenario, (00:15:36): but it's taking things to a level that you're like, (00:15:40): OK, (00:15:40): this is a little bit. (00:15:42): crazy and beyond and i know i tend to exaggerate things in real life and that (00:15:46): definitely helps me with fiction because i i can exaggerate things on the page as (00:15:50): well (00:15:52): So that's the end of the list. (00:15:54): As I mentioned at the beginning of this video, there's a 29-item checklist that you can check out. (00:15:58): The link is in the description, (00:16:00): and hopefully that helps you stay on track with your story and add some of these (00:16:04): things in. (00:16:05): As I mentioned before, use all of these in moderation. (00:16:09): You should definitely not go through and exaggerate your whole story or have your (00:16:12): whole story be flashback. (00:16:13): You know that, but... (00:16:15): These are tools that you can use that I don't think are very well known in the (00:16:21): Western world because I don't think a lot of Westerners watch as many Chinese (00:16:26): dramas as I do, (00:16:26): or maybe they're not as familiar with the genre. (00:16:29): And speaking of that, I... (00:16:32): encourage you to check out a chinese drama most of the ones that i watch i watch (00:16:37): either through youtube or amazon prime they're not very difficult to access they (00:16:42): have subtitles and they're just a lot of fun they're just a really fun genre so (00:16:48): thanks for watching this video hope you enjoyed it hope it was helpful and make (00:16:52): sure to subscribe and like the video if you thought it was helpful i'll see in the (00:16:57): next one bye ### How to Build Skills and Rebuild Trust In Modern Society URL: https://keithhayden.net/how-to-build-creative-community/ Last updated: 2024-06-12T23:08:02.000Z ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/18/bf/18bf29db-1cec-4857-a9dc-e2e94a86d2bf/content/images/2024/06/Character-from-all-angles.jpg) The following is a thread I posted on X/Twitter on Jun 13, 2024. I'm organizing an accountability cohort for learning the following skills: \- Novel Writing \- Japanese \- Drawing \- Chinese \- Editing \- Fijian Interested in picking any of these up? Read on for details. One of the many challenges of learning anything in modern times is not getting distracted by other topics. We like novelty. In the age of infinite information, it's incredibly easy to start a hobby or habit. But that comes at a cost. It means dropping or overshadowing existing ones. The result is an endless string of attempts with nothing to show for it but a screwed up social timeline. It makes you feel like shit to see the progress you could have made if only you'd stayed with one thing. What can u do? Projects. I've combated my own "shiny object syndrome" by committing to several long term projects. These have allowed me to build smaller skills while the long term goal comes together one day at a time. But it's not that simple. Every day, week, month is a chance to get blown off course. Showing up and grinding the same resource, viewing glacial progress while you FOMO other potentially more productive or lucrative activities is VERY HARD to do alone. How can you stay on track? A group. Even though most social platforms have turned into algorithmically run popularity contests, most are here to connect, share ideas etc. The best way to do that is not through the endless scroll, but through small groups striving toward a common goal. My solution. Micro-mission skill groups. What are they? Groups of no more than 6 individuals who are serious about acquiring or improving in a given domain. ## What do you get? ### \- Accountability ### \- Progress toward a larger goal ### \- Connections to valuable resources ### \- Feedback from others who are improving ### \- Personal exposure to your work, business or brand ### \- Future friends, business partners, lovers?? (maybe) One of the many sad aspects of our current age is the dwindling trust in large institutions. I've seen that extend to the person-to-person level. This is a travesty. Because ultimately we all want the same things, how we go about getting them differs. I see this as a chance to not only learn something new, but to reconnect with others to discover not-so-hidden similarities we all share. If you'd be interested in joining one of these micro-mission skill groups for the above or future skills, like this post or send me a DM (or email). I'll send details from there. ### 7 Steps to Your First Japanese Speech URL: https://keithhayden.net/seven-step-japanese-speech/ Last updated: 2024-06-07T05:05:01.000Z **Thurs Jun 6, 2024** – Gave my first complete and public speech in Japanese at the final regular Toastmasters meeting. When I take big swings like this these are the times I realize how long it takes to do something bold and great. *It’s never quick or overnight.* For the last year and a half I’ve been actively improving my Japanese. Countless podcasts and the Harry Potter audiobook (Japanese version) have entered my ears. I translated my entire first novel into the language, then published it in [two volumes](https://cereus-limnic-jp.carrd.co/?ref=keithhayden.net). Learning 2000+ kanji characters and vocabulary via grinding with WaniKani provided daily contact with the language. I’ve narrated and written my own stories in Japanese, and had dozens of small interactions in the language with native speakers via a local exchange program. And this is only what I did in 2023 and 2024. All the apps, flashcards, awkward online tutor interactions, classes, time living and traveling in Japan going back to my time as a cadet in college have gotten me this far. Last night was no brilliant miracle. It was a feat from 20 years of compounded effort. One that – while impressive – felt unconsciously earned. It didn’t even feel difficult. I wrote the speech at 1630 and delivered it 3 hours later the same evening. I activated my custom "[Write to Language](https://keithhayden.net/languages/)" system to hammer it in mind. ### Here's how I did it (and you can too). **Step 1:** Wrote the speech in English, then immediately [translated](https://youtu.be/icgb7MM0XtU?si=27x0498cH2dQd4FM&ref=keithhayden.net) it using DeepL Translator. **Step 2:** Put the output into Claude AI to write out unfamiliar Kanji in Hiragana. **Step 3:** Entered the Japanese transcript into Elevenlabs text-to-speech generator to hear the words at speech pace. **Step 4:** Copy/pasted it into Microsoft Word to take advantage of its (weaker but still capable) text-to-speech function. This allowed me to listen to the speech on repeat on the drive over to the venue. **Step 5:** [Shadowed](https://keithhayden.net/shadowing-in-language-learning-7/) the speech as I listened to refine the delivery while I drove. **Step 6:** Practiced it in front of an audience of two at the podium once before the meeting started. **Step 7:** Deliver speech. This was the process. It might seem long, but after you get used to flowing between these easily accessible systems, it's not hard. It was amazing how something I once viewed as impossible became possible after years of dedicated effort. You can do this too. Language is an innate human capability. If you’re reading this, you have all the tools you need to learn Japanese or any language to this level. The challenge is breaking past deeply ingrained psychological barriers to realize that potential. It’s not easy, but it’s possible. After my speech last night, I’m living proof of that. ## Becoming a Strong Speaker Competent speaking skills were the other half of the equation. I wrote a detailed article about my rise, fall, and rise again as a clear and confident speaker. You can read the entire piece [here](https://keithhayden.net/evolution-of-a-public-speaker-ultimate/). To summarize, it's been a journey of decades. From the spark of talent I possessed as a kid the military molded my communication technique. Toastmasters refined them. Then my recent entrepreneurial ventures as a writer, podcaster, and video maker crystallized them. It's been continuous small steps, that gave me the guts to deliver a speech in a second language. Want to become a better speaker? Practice in small ways with every opportunity and watch yourself slowly improve. --- ## Looking to get started with Japanese? ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/18/bf/18bf29db-1cec-4857-a9dc-e2e94a86d2bf/content/images/2024/06/Tower-of-Babbling-Japanese_YouTube-thumbnail.png) The Tower of Babbling Japanese is my personally created 30-Day program to get you understanding and speaking Japanese from Day 1. I breakdown the process based on decades of experience learning and living the language. You'll only find the most effective means and methods to strengthen your Japanese. No overwhelm, no stress. In as little as 15 minutes a day you can be on your way to Japanese mastery. ### Check it out [here](https://keithhayden.net/tower-of-babbling-jp/). ## Speech Transcript and Translation Here's the transcript of the speech. The translation follows. ### Transcript 一年\[いちねん\]前\[まえ\]、完全\[かんぜん\]に日本語\[にほんご\]でスピーチをするという目標\[もくひょう\]を立\[た\]てました。 これは正式\[せいしき\]なスピーチではありませんが、このお別\[わか\]れの言葉\[ことば\]を日本語\[にほんご\]で伝\[つた\]えられるように頑張\[がんば\]ります。 失敗\[しっぱい\]したらごめんなさい。 まず最初\[さいしょ\]に、Oki Oratorsのメンバーの皆\[みな\]さんに心\[こころ\]からお礼\[れい\]を申\[もう\]し上\[あ\]げます。 私\[わたし\]たちは共\[とも\]に、このクラブをより活気\[かっき\]に満\[み\]ちた実\[み\]りあるものにしてきました。会員\[かいいん\]が人前\[ひとまえ\]で話\[はな\]すことに自信\[じしん\]を持\[も\]てるようにするというクラブの使命\[しめい\]は、本当\[ほんとう\]に強\[つよ\]くなりました。 私\[わたし\]のアイデア通\[どお\]りにはいきませんでしたが：スタップスピーチも実現\[じつげん\]しませんでしたし、酔\[よ\]っ払\[ぱら\]ってスピーチをすることもありませんでしたが、それでも目標\[もくひょう\]は達成\[たっせい\]されました。 この1年\[いちねん\]を円滑\[えんかつ\]でエキサイティングなものにしてくれたクラブ役員\[やくいん\]の仲間\[なかま\]たちに感謝\[かんしゃ\]したいと思\[おも\]います。皆\[みな\]さんの努力\[どりょく\]と勤勉\[きんべん\]さがなければ、クラブの運営\[うんえい\]はうまくいかなかったでしょう。 特\[とく\]に前川\[まえかわ\]智子\[ともこ\]さんと川原\[かわはら\]恵理子\[えりこ\]さんには、今年\[ことし\]一年\[いちねん\]、私\[わたし\]とクラブを支\[ささ\]えてくれました。 長崎\[ながさき\]で一緒\[いっしょ\]に過\[す\]ごした時間\[じかん\]は忘\[わす\]れられません。私\[わたし\]と妻\[つま\]を美\[うつく\]しく歴史的\[れきしてき\]な街\[まち\]へ案内\[あんない\]してくれてありがとうございました。 そして、月\[つき\]に一度\[いちど\]以上\[いじょう\]LINEをチェックすることを思\[おも\]い出\[だ\]させてくれてありがとうございます。 また、いつもミーティングのセッティングを手伝\[てつだ\]ってくれ、私\[わたし\]たちの顔\[かお\]がスクリーン上\[じょう\]で固\[かた\]まらないようにしてくれた石川\[いしかわ\]淳\[じゅん\]さんにも感謝\[かんしゃ\]します。 沖縄\[おきなわ\]は私\[わたし\]にとって第二\[だいに\]の故郷\[こきょう\]になりました。 来月\[らいげつ\]には旅立\[たびだ\]ちますが、また沖縄\[おきなわ\]に戻\[もど\]れる日\[ひ\]まで、どこへ行\[い\]っても沖縄\[おきなわ\]を心\[こころ\]の近\[ちか\]くに置\[お\]いておきたいと思\[おも\]います。 ご清聴\[せいちょう\]ありがとうございました。 ### English Translation A year ago, I made a goal to deliver a speech completely in Japanese. Although this is not a formal speech I will do my best to deliver these farewell remarks in Japanese. Sorry if I screw up. First I want to express my deepest gratitude to you, all of the members of Oki Orators. Together we've made this club more vibrant and productive. Its mission to help members develop confidence with public speaking has truly become stronger. Even though we didn't do it with all of my ideas: stump speeches never happened, and we get drunk together and do speeches either, but the goal was still accomplished. I would like to thank my fellow club officers for making this a smooth and exciting year. Without your hard work and diligent effort our club would not run well. I especially want to thank Maekawa Tomoko-san and Kawahara, Eriko-san for supporting me and our club this year. I'll never forget our time together in Nagasaki. Thank you for showing my wife and I around your beautifully historic city. Thank you for reminding me to check Line more than once a month. I would also like to thank Ishikawa Jun-san for always helping set up the meetings and making sure our faces don't freeze on screen Okinawa has become a second home for me. Although I'll be departing next month, I will always keep it close to my heart, wherever I go, until the day I can return. Thank you very much for listening to my remarks. ### Evolution of a Public Speaker: (Ultimate Guide to Communicate like a Champion) URL: https://keithhayden.net/evolution-of-a-public-speaker-ultimate/ Last updated: 2025-01-20T16:30:33.000Z [ここ](https://docs.google.com/document/d/1kYim7LSbJXDT2biv3hbEbTHK3c2mnkxQjAiz0UMCbC0/edit?usp=sharing&ref=keithhayden.net)に日本語でお読みください Keith "Off-the-Cuff" Hayden. The day a Senior Master Sergeant called me that was the moment I knew I had a problem. It wasn't meant to be a dig. It was a compliment, from an experienced Airman who I deeply respected, said in a half-joking manner. These kinds of comments said in jest are typical when you're a Second Lieutenant in the US military. Everybody wants to take a crack at the new "butter bar" to see if you'll melt under pressure or shine like gold. What troubled me was how the name stuck with me. Others didn’t use it, but it wormed its way to my psyche and stayed for a long time. If I had known it would take me the better part of a decade to let it go, and transform into a **truly confident communicator**, I would have been even more bothered by it. Pyramid of Ideas is a reader-supported publication. To receive new posts and support my work, consider becoming a free or paid subscriber. They say many adults fear public speaking more than death. At least that's what they *used* to say (I have no idea what 'they' say about it now.) But what I know for sure is that: ## Lack of effective public speaking skills causes professionals to miss out on valuable opportunities every day. You know what I'm talking about, right? > *Heart thudding, arms tense, you remain silent during a meeting when you could have spoken up.* > > **Face tight, eyes hard, you're swept away by emotion in a contentious one-on-one conversation, unable to get your point across.** > > Awash in relief, yet regretful, you think of that great zinger of a comment shortly after the moment has expired. These are just a few of the scenarios I've found myself in many times throughout my professional life. *But it doesn't have to be this way.* You CAN improve. You *can* learn to express yourself clearly, with the right dose of competence and passion. In this ultimate guide of The Creative Futurist, I'll show ways you can do it, by walking you through the evolution of my personal public speaking journey. It begins on the bleachers standing among my entire 7th grade class. # Quiet Country Kid Finds His Angle "He's quiet." This is how my Mom would describe me to others when I was young. Suffering from the dreaded "middle-child" syndrome (as she would often call it) I felt like a sleepy suburb between the attention-grabbing lights of my brothers. Both were magnets for my parents’ attention for various reasons. Me, on the other hand, outside of our house, I often felt invisible. Left to wander the worlds of books, maps, and video games I often explored with my brothers and friends. *All that changed in 7th grade.* One day toward the end of the school year, they lined our class up in orderly rows to take an annual class photo. Of course, I had taken many school pictures before that point, but this one was different. When the print arrived at school weeks later, it came in a white cardboard tube. I took it home, popped off the lid and unrolled it. My eyes rapidly scanned the rows looking for where I was standing. I found my best friend Ryan first, his amicable boy-smile looked like it always had. Standing next to him was me. But I looked different. Maybe it was the way the light caught that day. Or the slight angle that my head was tilted at, I don't know. But I looked at the picture several times and asked myself: "Am I...*posing*?" I was! In the center of the sea of students, my face was an offer. It was an invitation for friendship, opportunity, and eh..hem other *adult* things I would come to know later on. Looking back it was the birth of my ego. A great and terrible thing. It would play a large role in my development (or lack thereof) as a public speaker for the majority of my life. # Natural Talent For the rest of my school days, I let my natural talent carry me to strange and wonderful places. I was on my school's first news broadcast the next year in 8th grade (I did the weather segment.) In high school I joined the school newspaper, which had me talking to adults selling ads in our area. I was very active in my high school, Junior Reserve Officer Training Corps (JROTC). A military-lite program that allowed me to lead younger students in basic military standards and procedures. My senior year, I joined the drama club, winning an award for "Best Male Actor" in my role as Oliver in Shakespeare's *As You Like It*. Then came college. My time as school mascot, allowed me to express myself more openly (since I was always wearing a mask). It was quite a memorable experience. It was also during this time, that I began to learn about how to give *real* presentations. One of the early lessons I still call upon to this day when giving any kind of presentation is to: ## Always have at least three points to say about a topic. The list could be likes and dislikes, or if I’m really at a loss asking myself 3 questions about the subject, then answering them in the presentation. That always gets me coming up with great ideas. At my school (the United States Air Force Academy), every class provided a training opportunity (at least that's what they told us.) During my sophomore year, was when things began to change. Before mock briefs, I was sweating through my uniform. I found my heart pounding uncontrollably moments before my time to speak. I felt the eyes of my classmates and instructors piercing through me, as if they could see I was ready to wither and run behind my facade of youthful vigor. ## That's the trouble with being a "natural" at something. ## It makes it harder to see when you need help. ## It damn sure makes it harder to get the help. ## It's an advantage that becomes an anchor of weakness. I’m not sure what brought it on. Maybe it was general anxiety about leaving college and becoming a true adult. Maybe it was that I had started drinking coffee in college, causing me to become increasingly jittery in general. (***Now, I drink much less than I used. I have none at all on days I have important presentations or meetings.***) Whatever was happening to me, by surprise, was a signal I had reached the limit of how far natural talent could take me. # "Off-the-cuff" Despite growing awareness of my discomfort with public speaking, I powered through, just as I was trained to do. Secretly, I was hoping that earning the rank and title of Second Lieutenant upon graduation would somehow provide me with the ability to tap into the well of confidence that I *knew* was there somewhere inside me. But it didn't. Upon arriving at my first duty station at Nellis Air Force Base in Las Vegas, I was still the secretly sweaty LT. Only now, I had a new nickname: *Keith "Off-the-cuff" Hayden*. What's so bad about that name? It was how I got it that bothered me most. Y'see in order to mask my nervousness, I became known for saying half witty comments with little foresight during meetings and other gatherings. I was never rude, disruptive, or disrespectful. But that was my schtick. I think my co-workers found it somewhat endearing. (After all, I was an LT and wasn't expected to know a damn thing.) But I knew one thing they didn't: I was compensating **hard** to mask my discomfort. ## I was the woman criticizing others because she's secretly insecure. ## I was the man reacting with violence toward any perceived threat because he's secretly terrified. ## It wasn't who I wanted to be. It was around that time that I decided to take the first steps to actively improving my speaking skills. # The Panic I had my first ever panic attack during an interrogation, but I wasn't being questioned. I was a Special Agent with the Air Force Office of Special Investigations. Highly trained. Elite. Deadly. A gold badge on my left hip, a Sig Sauer P226 on my right - I was the epitome of strength and style to onlookers. But in the interview room that day, I felt small. It was *his* interrogation, not mine, yet I was falling apart much more than he was. I could hear it in my voice. The shaking, sweating, and staring; the world collapsed in on me. I didn't think I would make it through the routine rights advisement. It was a relief when he lawyered up. Even though we had expected him to, I knew part of it was because of my lackluster performance. My agent training had fallen away, and all I knew was primal fear for some imagined danger. Lost in his own dire situation, the kid (one being interrogated) didn't notice. I don't think my co-workers (who were watching via the double glass window) noticed either. But the memory clung to me like a stench. **I was ashamed.** I never forgot that day. ## It reminded me that status can't protect you from your weaknesses. ## Eventually you have to stop lying to yourself and face them head on. It would take me another few years to put action behind this thought and stop running. # A Public Speaker In-training Surfing, swimming, and sun-bathing are all ideal activities on Hawaii's world-famous beaches. *Attending a public speaking class?* Probably isn't on that list. Not even close. Yet there I was. Blocks from the stunningly beautiful Waikiki Beach on a weekday evening, planning out another practice speech. The class was run by a woman named Pamela (I think). I don't remember a lot about her except for her full head of snow-white hair and her voice. THAT voice. Her voice was sharp. Not loud, but it was a multi-purpose tool. She could dial it up or down with nuanced ease. It was an example I would come to emulate as I retrained myself to be a better communicator. This brings me to another nugget of actionable advice you can take to improve your verbal communication skills: ## Take a public speaking class. I’ll bet $100 you won't be alone if you do. I wasn't. There were a dozen other students sitting right beside me. And it wasn't just younger people like me (I was 29 at the time). The spread of the age range was fairly wide. There were middle-aged corporate workers, older students, and fresh college grads looking to break out of their shells for the first time. I was quite surprised by the make-up of the course participants. But we were all there for the same purpose: ***to improve our ability to communicate in public.*** And I was improving. With each exercise and every mock speech, I began to feel more comfortable standing alone in front of a crowd and delivering a message. I was even starting to enjoy myself again. Throwing in some of my characteristic witty humor from my boyhood days. But just as I was really finding my stride, *the class ended*. More challenging still, Pamela wasn't planning on having another class for a while (and I would have to pay again). I wasn't ready to lose my momentum and progress, I had to find a way to continue. So I asked her about a way that I could keep practicing in a similar environment. That's how I discovered Toastmasters. # Master of Toasts? Toastmasters is a funny name for a public speaking club. "Are they masters of making toasts at parties?" or "Are they *really* good at making breakfast toast?" Turns out it’s neither. Toastmasters is a near century old group that began as a way for a guy who worked at a YMCA in California to help young men improve their communication skills. It has since evolved into an international organization with over a quarter million members. I didn't know all this back then. All I knew was it was a way to keep improving my speaking skills. So I went to a meeting. There happened to be a club that met on the base I was assigned to in Hawaii. ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/18/bf/18bf29db-1cec-4857-a9dc-e2e94a86d2bf/content/images/2024/05/https-3a-2f-2fsubstack-post-media-s3-amazonaws-com-2fpublic-2fimages-2fa93e6529-0ed7-4054-9f32-227683f88fb6_960x720-jpeg.jpg) Accepting my Competent Leader Award - 2016 **Hickam Toastmasters was my first club.** Truthfully, I don't recall much about my first visit. I must have been too swept up in the energy of the meeting. People jumped up and gave speeches. Some were serious, others were silly. There was an electricity in the air despite the relatively orderly sequence of events. Here’s my very first ice breaker speech. Then it was time for Table Topics. If you're unfamiliar, the Table Topics session is the impromptu speaking portion of a Toastmasters meeting. It allows members to practice speaking on the spot about random topics with little time for preparation. When I learned about Table Topics, I was immediately thrilled. This was the perfect place for Keith "Off-the-cuff" Hayden, a former award-winning impromptu speaker in his elementary school days, to shine. And he did. During that very first meeting, I gave Table Topics a try. I won "Best Table Topics Speaker" that day. ## If your public speaking skills need work, I highly suggest you consider joining a Toastmasters club in your area. I've visited clubs around the world, and most have a friendly atmosphere that allows for experimentation, cushioned failure, and growth. Every role is an opportunity to improve. Feedback —difficult to come by in the professional world (unless it's negative)—is given freely and openly. This allows you to pinpoint areas of weakness to begin shoring them up. **Do you have a favorite crutch word? (Mine's "so")** *Do you do weird things with your hands (like moving too much or not at all (dead hands)) when you speak?* ***Do you suddenly talk too fast (motormouth) or too slow (slowspeak) due to nerves in front of a crowd?*** A Toastmasters club will help you identify and -in time- correct these barriers to strong communication. # First of His Name in Leadership Strong communication skills are vital when it comes to being an impactful leader. Whether you're leading a large organization or a solo business, **your ability to express yourself with clarity will directly affect your relationships**, **mission effectiveness**, and **your bottom-line (more money)**. Leadership opportunities are another reason I enjoy Toastmasters. I eventually served as the Vice President of Education (VPE) for the Hickam Toastmasters. I was even featured in a 2016 issue of Toastmasters Magazine. ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/18/bf/18bf29db-1cec-4857-a9dc-e2e94a86d2bf/content/images/2024/05/https-3a-2f-2fsubstack-post-media-s3-amazonaws-com-2fpublic-2fimages-2f311fbb66-27b3-476b-8e02-29d6a4e14b48_800x800-jpeg.jpg) Picture from Toastmasters Magazine Spring 2016 As VPE, I had the opportunity to create and host an event I called "Toast of Thrones". Based on the wildly popular (at the time) Game of Thrones TV show, it was a great way to get the club excited about doing what we do best: **giving speeches**. This is still one of my favorite performances I've ever recorded. Here's another way to improve your public speaking: ## Take on leadership roles in an organization you're interested in. Every time I'm in charge of something, no matter how small, I always learn something new about myself. My speaking skills improve as well. Yours can too. # The Wander Years 2016 was the year I left it all behind. My public speaking progress reflected it. You know when life seems to come at you all at once? That was me that year. I left the active duty military. I left Toastmasters. I left my career. I left my home state and moved to a new one (California). **More challenging yet, I left my identity as a military member behind.** Suddenly, everything was new and scary again. It took me awhile to adapt to it all. I attended a single Toastmasters meeting in California, but it didn't stick. I had too many other things on my mind so I stopped going. Things *were* happening, but results were slow and progress seemed invisible. Looking back, I'm happy I took the time to begin truly exploring who I wanted to be outside of uniform during those years. ***One of those explorations led me to writing online for the first time.*** I'd always enjoyed writing, but up to that point, I'd only done it in the privacy of my journals. That all changed in 2017\. After an adventurous trip to Nicaragua, I published my very [first article](https://medium.com/@kwhayden11/one-of-the-things-that-i-really-enjoy-about-learning-a-new-language-as-an-adult-is-that-i-can-b204b05367de?ref=keithhayden.net) online. **How does writing help you improve your public speaking?** ## Writing helps you organize your ideas. ## Organized ideas lead to clearer thinking. ## Clearer thinking leads to better speaking. When you're under pressure giving a speech, your thoughts can become tangled as you attempt to smoothly connect idea with the next, while staying engaged with your audience. It can be a hard task. That's why writing can help. # Bullshit Meter Alert The greatest test for my ability to communicate in public came when I decided to become a high school math teacher, ***BEFORE*** I had my credential. While I worked my way through my teacher certification, I was a substitute teacher at schools around my area. ***Some of the toughest crowds I've spoken in front of were less than 30 people half my age.*** I'm referring to high school students. Kids are notoriously sensitive to a phony. Their *bullshit meters* are highly attuned to teachers who don't know what they're doing or intentionally try to deceive them. One day I subbed at an inner-city middle school in Sacramento. The class was bursting with students, none in their assigned chairs. Some were on their phones, one student chased another marker in hand—it was a shitshow. I called for quiet to take attendance. They calmed down, then I was able to get through all 31 names on my roster. Then I heard low laughter as I began to give them their task for the day. One student said: "*Last guy didn't make it til' lunch...*" The line was a lesson when it comes to doing anything in public, even speaking: ## Some people want you to fail. Don't let that discourage you though. Teaching reinforced another powerful lesson for my public speaking: ## Know your message and material 10 times better than your audience. When you know your shit, your audience is less likely to challenge you in ways that will knock you off your game. It also frees up mental space to focus on your delivery and creating better engagement with your audience. # Public Speaking 2.0 In January 2021, I published my first novel, a military game tech fiction story titled: [*Cereus & Limnic*](https://open.spotify.com/show/6iqQ66Tn2HJrWFNNymOc58?ref=keithhayden.net). As a new fiction author, I knew I had a steep hill to climb before my story would find its way to people who wanted (or needed) to read it. *How was I going to find them?* I decided to start doing livestreams to promote the book. A new way to communicate with others across great distances. Speaking through video chatting can be an awkward experience. There's a lag between what you say and the audience's reaction. Many people "multitask" while on video calls, which means they're not paying attention to you. How can you better connect with your audience online? ## Train yourself to look into your camera when giving a briefing or presentation online. ## Doing YouTube videos can help with this. The first few times you do it, it's gonna feel *real* awkward. Millenia of biological and social programming has trained you to look others in the eye. It helps you connect with them on a deeper level. The problem with doing this online is that everyone's eyes are looking at different things. If you're looking at their screen (or your own) while you speak you’re missing out on an opportunity to engage with them. My experience vlogging on YouTube prepared me for public speaking via digital platforms. Here's a video from my YouTube channel about my epic trip to Antarctica to show you how I do it. (Can you feel the connection?) Speaking of YouTube, livestreams are another way to improve your public speaking skills online. ## Streams tend to be fairly informal and impromptu. ## They force you find *something* to talk about related to whatever you're streaming. ## You’ll build flexibility and adaptability as a speaker, fast. ## You also get rapid feedback if you’re doing well or boring people. **What should you stream?** Anything you have great interest in. It might be a hobby, something related to professional work or a game. As long as you're passionate about it, it's streamable. Here’s me streaming a commentary about my audiodrama Cereus & Limnic. (It gets pretty deep.) Another way to ensure a smoother performance online is to practice. How much should you practice? ## As much as needed to feel comfortable and confident. ## I'll run through the main points of what I want to say during the livestream 3 times or more. ## I practice planned Toastmasters speeches 10 times, before a meeting. The preparation always pays off. I practiced a training livestream I gave to a few friends on Discord 2 times before I gave it. It was an early training about ChatGPT. The video ended up going mini-viral, peaking around 30K views. While going viral isn’t typical, it speaks to how preparation (even just a little bit) can greatly increase your odds of giving a good performance on game day. Bottom-line: ***Want to feel like you absolutely crushed it after your next public talk?*** Practice more! ## Entrepreneurship Education Teaching and livestreaming prepared me for the ultimate public speaking test: ***entrepreneurship***. When you run your own business, every decision is yours to make, every consequence yours to own. The ability to communicate like a champion is a tremendously powerful weapon in your arsenal. *None of these is more powerful than having a concise elevator pitch.* ## You should be able to describe what you do and what you represent to a stranger within 30 seconds or less. 30 seconds or less!? Really Keith? Yes. People are busy. And even if they're not really busy, they're busy *appearing* to be busy. Either way that doesn't leave much time for you to potentially disrupt their day with your ideas. That's why you need to be prepared. Here's a sample dialogue with my elevator pitch: **Person:** "Keith, what do you do for a living?" **Me:** "I run my own business." **Person:** "What kind of business is it?" **Me:** "It's a digital media business. I'm a writer and podcaster. I've written a few books and I create work online that helps others and aligns with my personal mission statement, which is to connect human cultures through education, technology, and story." **Person:** "Wow. What's your book about?" I've had the above conversation in many forms dozens of times over the past 2 or 3 years. Most of the time, it doesn't lead anywhere, but sometimes it does. You never know. *What's your elevator pitch?* *Do you have one?* If you're an entrepreneur (or thinking about becoming one) you should begin practicing it the next time you meet someone new. The first few times will feel awkward. You might even feel a stab of nervousness as you publicly claim to another real person who you are or what you aspire to be (I know I did). But it will pass. **Do it enough times, then you will become that vision that you see in your head to others.** That's a super powerful feeling. ## Panicky to President I won the presidency, but I had no idea I was running. At a Toastmasters officer meeting in May 2023, I was informed by the other officers that they had chosen me to be the president of the club. I wasn't surprised. My club consisted of American and Japanese members. As someone who's not only an active member, but also can speak English and a decent amount of Japanese, I was a natural choice. In July 2023, I formally accepted the role of President of the Oki Orators Toastmasters club. This was my acceptance speech. https://www.facebook.com/watch/?v=263003186330862 Although Toastmasters is not a well-known organization, it is still an opportunity to lead and grow my public speaking skills further. After reading this, I hope you understand that the man you see in the above video wasn't made overnight. Yes, I possessed some natural ability to speak in front of others, but it didn't get me very far. Most of my proficiency was carefully crafted through disciplined training, thoughtful experimentation, and a whole lot of failure. **You can become a confident communicator. You can feel more comfortable with your audience, your message, and yourself.** It starts by believing that what you have to say has value, is important, and could be potentially life-changing for the person or people on the receiving end. Once you do that, there's no limit the number or nature of relationships you can build. --- **I hope you enjoyed this read.** One of the fastest ways to improve your public speaking skills is to get feedback from someone who cares. You can do that by joining a local Toastmasters chapter (if you're Okinawa, look up the [Oki Orators](https://www.facebook.com/okiorators)!) **I also offer 1-on-1 coaching, designed to help you rapidly sharpen your message and gain the confidence to deliver it effectively to others.** If you're interested, find more information [here](https://www.notion.so/keithhayden/We-ll-stand-side-by-side-to-create-something-new-fb5f588f4fab4e549546ff8c642814a2?ref=keithhayden.net). Finally, helping others find fulfillment through creativity is one of my goals. One way I do that is through my newsletter The Creative Futurist. Get access to exclusive training and opportunities to connect with other visionary creatives. Read more [here](https://thecreativefuturist.xyz/?ref=keithhayden.net). \*\*\* ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/18/bf/18bf29db-1cec-4857-a9dc-e2e94a86d2bf/content/images/2024/05/https-3a-2f-2fsubstack-post-media-s3-amazonaws-com-2fpublic-2fimages-2f9bce6aa9-857f-4cd3-b6cf-4aca7c410126_529x744-jpeg.jpg) *Keith Hayden is an author, creative business consultant, and entrepreneur. He is the founder of Hayden Academy Collective (HAC) Studios. A media education company that aims to provide tools and training to aspiring and seasoned creators.* ### Shadowing in Language Learning: 7 Simple Steps to Fluency URL: https://keithhayden.net/shadowing-in-language-learning-7/ Last updated: 2024-06-07T00:54:46.000Z Shadowing is one of the most powerful methods I know for gaining rapid fluency in any language. It can help you increase your timing, intonation, and even help you develop a near native accent in your chosen language. **So what is shadowing and how do you do it?** The technique involves listening to audio in your target language and repeating (or trying to repeat) word for word what you hear as you listen. While this may sound simple, it’s not. --- Thanks for reading Pyramid of Ideas! Subscribe for free to receive new posts and support my work. [Subscribe now](#/portal/signup) --- ## Shadowing is hard In reality it requires you to consciously split your brain. Then perform three complex tasks simultaneously. Your brain has to: 1. Take in the input of the foreign language 2. Interpret the audio (in order to make sense out of what was said) 3. Output sounds For the uninitiated, doing all of these well is damn hard. This article will give practical advice on how to get better at this. After learning these strategies, you will have access to a powerful technique to improve your fluency. ## How shadowing has helped me I started shadowing to learn Spanish back in 2017. Since then, I have: - Worked as a Spanish medical interpreter - Used Spanish to help teach math to native Spanish speaking students - Communicated with parents during parent teacher conferences - Passed as a native speaker in Nicaragua This stuff really works. ### You will be able to achieve the same results in your language after learning the shadowing basics. ## Step 1: Pick a short audio clip Shadowing can be a very cognitively demanding task. This is why I recommend you choose audio that is no longer than 10 minutes at first. As you become more confident with the technique and your target language, you can choose longer content. What should you listen to? The audio can be anything that you find enjoyable. Podcasts, video, tv-series, movie clips; whatever you want. As long as you find it interesting it’s a good choice. Choosing shorter content will make it easier for you to concentrate while you listen. This will help you reach fluency faster. ## Step 2: Prepare to listen to the audio at least three times In our world of infinite online content, listening to the same thing repeatedly seems like a foreign concept. A rare occurrence reserved only for our most beloved content. But with shadowing repetition is essential. The more you repeat, the faster you speak. When learning a language, repetition will help move words and expressions to your long term memory. This makes it easier to recall them in organic speech. An essential ability for fluency. It also helps your mouth get used to forming sounds and moving in new ways. Another small step to smooth communication in your target language. Furthermore, the more you repeat a piece of audio, the more you’ll be able to anticipate what will be said. This allows you to get more out of the exercise when you do it. ## Step 3: Focus on one thing every time you listen When shadowing it’s important to focus on one aspect of the language to improve during each listen. Maybe on the first pass, your goal is to listen for unfamiliar vocabulary. On the second, you zone in on the speaker’s pronunciation to focus on the “how” instead of the “what” of the audio. What you concentrate on is completely up to you. Do not try to improve multiple things when listening. It’s ineffective, frustrating, and tiring. If at this point you’re at a loss on how to approach shadowing, here is my personal shadowing strategy. ## Step 4: Use my shadowing strategy My shadowing strategy includes three listens of the same piece of audio. During each listen, I focus on **analysis**, **repetition**, then **refinement**. Here’s a detailed description of what I do during each listen. **Analyze** (1st listen) – My goal is to become familiar with the overall flow and (if possible) the content of the audio. Some questions I ask myself during this listen are: - How fast are the speakers talking? - What is the audio quality like? - How much of the vocabulary and grammar can I understand? - Are there any unfamiliar words or phrases? The goal of this pass is to get a feel for the content and prepare for the second pass. **Repetition** (2nd listen) – This will be my first time repeating after the speakers. I lag behind by the audio track for a second or two when I do this. Getting used to hearing your own voice while listening to someone else speak can be difficult. But it is a skill that will improve as you do more shadowing. The second listen is all about getting as many sounds in my target language out of my mouth as possible. Notice I didn’t say words, phrases, or sentences. Just sounds are good enough in the beginning. As you become more familiar with the language, you’ll be able to string together longer utterances. **Refinement** (3rd listen) – During the final pass, I shadow again, but preferably while reading or after having reviewed a transcript of the audio. During the second pass, my goal was just to parrot sounds and words. This time I aim to try and understand what I’m saying as much as possible. Here are a few other options for what you can focus on during your third listen: - Hone in on vocabulary or grammar points you want to improve - See how your pronunciation has improved - Try to string together full sentences - Focus on conversational nuances that you picked up on (like sentence connectors), but want more practice on during the first two listens On my final listen, I always find that my overall pronunciation has improved. An indicator that I’ve taken another small step toward fluency. ## Step 5: Choose audio with a transcript (Optional) A transcript can help build your vocabulary, focus on tricky grammar points, and aid your comprehension of the audio. Despite these advantages, there are challenges to using transcripts when shadowing. 1. **Not every piece of audio has one** 2. **It’s not always convenient to use a transcript** – Most of the time I shadow on the go. This can be while I’m driving, doing the dishes, or some other activity that has me mobile. Viewing a transcript during these activities would be very inconvenient or impossible most of the time. 3. **They cost money (sometimes)** – Audio content from well established or more popular language content producers often costs money. This is usually in the form of a subscription fee. Even though the above mentioned factors can make getting or using a transcript when shadowing more difficult, it is still worth it to use them if you can. Having the transcript allows you to stop and see vocabulary and grammar you may be struggling with. It also acts as visual reinforcement to what you are hearing. This aids retention and makes it easier for you to recognize and recall the content in the future. Be advised that in order to get the most out of a transcript, you need to be able to read fairly well in your target language. If you’ve just started learning your language, I recommend just listening and repeating at this point. You can always come back and work with transcripts later, after you’ve reached an intermediate level or higher. ## Step 6: Be dramatic! (Mimic everything) When you first begin shadowing you may feel slightly weird about it at first. You are talking to yourself and that might make some of you feel uncomfortable or embarrassed. Because of this, you might be tempted to mumble, talk softly, or just blandly repeat what you are hearing. While that may make you feel a little less shadowing shame, it will also prevent you from getting as much as possible out of the activity. For this reason, you should strive to have your level of expressiveness match the person who is speaking in the audio. Why? One of the most difficult things about learning another language isn’t memorizing vocabulary or grammar. Recognizing *when* and *how* to apply the language mechanics native speakers use in real conversation is even more difficult. By shadowing audio with native speakers you will be imitating how they really talk. When you throw dramatic nuance into your repetitions, you will be able to speak more naturally and fluently sooner. It also makes shadowing a lot more fun! ## Step 7: Don’t worry about accuracy Many language learners only want to speak their target language unless they are absolutely sure what they are saying is correct. I had the same thought process when I began learning Japanese in college. Because of this, I never really practiced speaking outside of the memorized phrases I had to learn to pass my classes. For years after college, even while living in Japan, I didn’t try to produce organic speech because I was afraid of messing up the language. Don’t let that be you. Don’t be like I was. When shadowing, the goal is to imitate the sounds, emotion and intonation you hear as closely as possible. Not to sound like a native speaker. Even if you are only able to produce partial words, that is still better than not speaking at all. Just like practicing a sport, try your best despite how clumsy and silly you feel. Look and sound silly during practice so that during game time you make less mistakes. ## Conclusion Shadowing completely changed the way I learn languages. It can do the same for you too if you follow the steps in this guide. Next time you have a commute or are doing chores around the house instead of listening to music, why not try shadowing? Even though you’ll probably feel and sound awkward in the beginning, as the weeks and months go by, you’ll see a boost in your fluency. I credit this technique with taking me from decent to fluent Spanish several years ago. I wish the same results for you in the future. --- Thanks for reading Pyramid of Ideas! Subscribe for free to receive new posts and support my work. [Subscribe now](#/portal/signup) --- ## For the creative and curious… ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/18/bf/18bf29db-1cec-4857-a9dc-e2e94a86d2bf/content/images/2024/05/https-3a-2f-2fbucketeer-e05bbc84-baa3-437e-9518-adb32be77984-s3-amazonaws-com-2fpublic-2fimages-2fb2738442-1915-4f2f-bd13-ad5cb7e9e04e_320x132-png.jpg) HAC Studios is all about sharing the how, why, and what behind essential creative skills. Stop by for growth, inspiration and fun today! [Teach me something new!](https://www.youtube.com/@HACStudios?ref=keithhayden.net) ### Show, Don't Tell in Fiction URL: https://keithhayden.net/show-dont-tell-in-fiction/ Last updated: 2024-06-04T08:52:27.000Z ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/18/bf/18bf29db-1cec-4857-a9dc-e2e94a86d2bf/content/images/2024/06/PXL_20240604_033518712-1.jpg) "Show, don't tell." This is advice I've heard since I started writing fiction back in 2019. It's easy to understand, but difficult to execute in practice. Only now, with a novel and many other forms of fiction written am I truly beginning to do it on command. That's what I spent the majority of this morning doing. A local book and board game shop here in Japan wants to stock my first novel *Cereus & Limnic*. But first I need to republish it under my own publishing company (my brother previously published it) and make it available on IngramSpark so the owner can order more if it sells. And I need to do this quickly. We'll be moving next month, and it will be much more difficult to get a physical copy in the store after July. A tight deadline and a mountain of publishing work? An author's best friend. Here's what I did today: ## [Cereus & Limnic](https://khayden22.gumroad.com/l/cereus-limnic?ref=keithhayden.net) \- Chapter 15: The Terminator's Prison Rewrite This is the first chapter I rewrote manually. The previous ones, I used a custom Claude AI prompt to restructure and cut significant parts of the story. Those sections (the first 5 chapters) were easily the weakest parts of the novel. Sluggish pacing, wandering words, no clear stakes or interest - it was difficult for anyone to read very far into it. I've fixed that. But the AI cuts can be heavy-handed. It lobs off nuance, foreshadowing, and imagery that makes the story richer and fleshes out the world. The deeper I get into this rewrite, the less useful it is. So it's back to manual edits. They take more time, but it allows me to improve my editing and writing skills. Clarity, taking out excessive words - or in the words of Stephen King "everything that is *not* the story" - that's the goal. After an hour of effort, I finished the chapter. It's much better than it was. ## [Sketchbook Updated](https://keithhayden.net/sketchbook/) - More stick cyborgs for practice - Drew from my Japanese art book ## ["Gates of Okinawa" ](https://keithhayden.net/gates-of-okinawa/) - 569 words written via dictation **Summary:** A homeless demon challenges her captive, Hiroshi, to a game of rock, paper, scissor. The stakes? His soul. **Quote:** The female demon's beautiful face contrasted sharply with her homeless appearance. "Now we'll play a little game," she purred. "Janken—rock, paper, scissors. You know it?" Hiroshi managed a shaky nodded. "If you win, we might let you keep your soul. But if you lose, your mabui is mine. Prepare yourself." ## How to Write a Bestselling Novel with AI - Part 16 (Dash Writing with Dictation) ## Reading: *Integration: Book Two of the Singularity Chronicles* \- Chapter 10 - Culture *On Writing -* Part 22 ("Marriage of Stephen King") *Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone* \- Ch 1 - Read 3 sentences ### Creative Blitz - 3 Jun 24 URL: https://keithhayden.net/creative-blitz/ Last updated: 2024-06-03T12:47:20.000Z Today I was wild with creative work. I wrote, translated, made a video, narrated, read, coded, and drew. It was all a little out of focus, but I did get make some progress on major projects. Today was also one of my weekly "whatever I want days" so that played a factor in my flaky attention. Tomorrow it's back to regular programming. Here's what worked on and published today: ## ["Gates of Okinawa" (Novel)](https://gatesofokinawa.carrd.co/?ref=keithhayden.net) - 560 words written via dictation (first time) - I'd heard dictation can be much faster than writing. I used Audacity to record it, then used AudioPen to clean up the recording. - This was a good combination. - Recording fiction is a little awkward, because I have to think of the story as I say it. But that's probably because I'd never done it before. I'll probably get better over time. - In 30 minutes, I wrote an entire complete chapter draft. That's a nice time save. I look forward to trying it again soon (maybe tomorrow?) ## "Dimensions Apart" (Microfiction story published) - I wanted an excuse to do some narration and put up a video on my YouTube channel. This was the result. - Between writing the story (about 600 words), making the cover, and video total effort was about 1 hour. - Really pleased with how it came out. Will be doing more of these in the future. - They don't take long to make and more importantly, they don't take long to watch (under 5 mins). ## Tower of Babbling Fijian (Latin) Update - **Day 6 Updated** \- Started listening to the only audiobook I could find in the language - The Bible. - It's not just a dry read. There are multiple readers and music (it's a production). - Enjoying the listen so far. ## Sketchbook Update - Did Day 2 of drawing the human figure course on Udemy - I felt the resistance to sitting down and drawing. It still takes a considerable amount of effort to get anything down and of course, I still suck. - Feels a lot like when I started doing music 3 years ago. It sucks, but I know I'm slowly improving every time. - Here's what I drew [today](https://keithhayden.net/sketchbook/). ## Reading Currently I'm reading 3 books. One fiction, one non-fiction, and one Japanese. ### Fiction - "Integration: Book 2 of the Singularity Chronicles" by Michael Woudenberg Just hit the halfway point in this one. I'm finding it much slower than the first one, which isn't all bad. The challenge for me is most of the book takes place in space (with them hopping in and out of simulations for texture). This is one of the reasons I don't really read (or write) space sci-fi. Without the ability to change locations, the story can get stale. Also, all of the characters are AI versions of former humans, so they are essentially invincible for most of the book. There have been some dramatic moments where they risked getting deleted, but that was taken out of play quickly with the advanced technology. This significantly lowers the excitement of the story. It's like playing Contra III with infinite lives. Where's the danger? The first book took some time to open up, too. We'll see what happens in the second half. ### Non-Fiction - "On Writing" by Stephen King Considered by many to be "must read" for any serious novelist, I'm finally getting to this one. Honestly, I don't really vibe with King's non-fiction writing style. He's kinda snarky and pompous. But I suppose when you've been in the game 50+ years, you've earned the right to flex like 2008 Kanye. That said, his writing is really good. I find myself reading past his grating voice to the meta of his material. The way he puts together sentences and the clarity of expression speaks to his mastery of the craft - something I've been very interested in lately. There's a lot to learn from this book. I plan to soak up as many lessons as possible. ## Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone (Japanese) This damn book has been on my bookshelf for nearly 15 years. Now I'm seriously reading it. Last year, it took me a week to read a single sentence. Even after accomplishing what I considered a monumental feat, I still hardly understood most of what I read. Today I read half a page, while listening to the Japanese audiobook and understood everything. Truly impressive. How am I doing this? It's really a combination of several skills that have (finally!) reached a level of useful maturity. After years of effort, I can finally prove that I know Japanese. My now robust understanding of Kanji (thanks to the last year of almost daily WaniKani drills.) My increased Japanese typing speed (using a Japanese keyboard.) I've been working at that for about a year, too. My streamlined AI tutor workflow is also a factor. I made a custom GPT that explains Japanese sentence grammar. Instead of going through the typical training "you are a helpful Japanese tutor..." routine, all I type is the word "grammar" and it spits out an instant explanation of the sentence meaning. This was a real game changer. With all three of the above skills solidified, I no longer get jammed up at each step of the process like I did last year. **My current reading flow goes:** 1) Read full sentence (aloud) as smoothly as possible 2) Write the sentence in ChatGPT (if I didn't understand it 100%) 3) Stop to look up any unknown Kanji as I write 4) Read ChatGPT's analysis 5) Listen to the sentence in the audiobook version in Japanese Next sentence. I can cycle through this sequence in 5 minutes or less - depending on the length and complexity of the sentence. This is a revolutionary workflow that has been incredibly powerful for my language acquisition. I plan to repeat it to learn other languages (albeit at a much slower pace). That's all for today's update. ### Paradox: Book One of the Singularity Chronicles - Book Afterthoughts URL: https://keithhayden.net/paradox-book-afterthoughts/ Last updated: 2024-05-22T04:27:01.000Z ## Book Review This novel has a lot to say about the role of technology in our current and future society. It's science fiction meets military action in a way that will have you questioning whether all the hype around technology like AI is leading us to a dream existence or destruction. My favorite parts were the reflections on society and who we are as human beings. (I'm a little biased because I write about similar things.) Runner-up is the military action. There is some really visceral imagery in this book, especially towards the middle when the action really starts popping off. I was in conversation with the author as I read it, and it's clear he's a man of many talents, interests, and a great deal of life experience. The military sections are true to life, drawn from his real life career in the U.S. Army. Descriptions of weapons, military movements at the tactical and strategic level made me nostalgic for my time in the military. And the hard science fiction really goes in deep. From quantum mechanics, neuropsychology, classical, theoretical, and space physics (among many others): Woudenberg doesn't shy away from the technical details. His greatest feat is flinging the curtain back to reveal how artificial intelligence is no magic. It's a technological approximation of us humans, with all the faults amplified by enormous amounts of compute and hardware. I took notes during these sections to take back to my own stories. That said, the first quarter of the novel is very theory heavy. I found the long scenes where characters explained concepts like bias or different kinds of AI to each other were somewhat dry. They read like a string of essays at the beginning of a novel - a necessary addition given the subject of the story, but a pace drag all the same. These sections would have benefited from more strategic character color. But this was a small complaint. I think the average reader who likes hard sci-fi will enjoy the greater scientific context provided as opposed to the more fantasy focused sci-fi I write. It comes down to your preference. Characters are solid throughout, with the brother Noah emerging as my favorite. Kira is likeable, but is single-minded in her objectives (for the most part) which made her far less interesting to read. As a pair they are the perfect metaphor for artificial intelligence. One is driven mostly by logic; the other is more emotional and human. Not sure if this was the author's intent, but that was my read. Together, they also form the heart of the pro vs. anti-AI debate that emerges as the key theme throughout the entire story. (A very timely conversation.) Whichever side you are currently on, Paradox displays a mostly balanced look at the potential of the technology to heal and harm humanity. You might walk out with a different opinion than what you started with. Really recommend this one for fans of hard-sci fi, military action, adventure, and philosophy. 4 stars. --- ## SPOILERS AHEAD! Book Afterthoughts ## Review of Paradox I just finished writing a review for Michael Woudenberg's debut novel, "Paradox: Book One of the Singularity Chronicles." It took me a while since I was trying to avoid spoilers, especially on Amazon. Most people don't like spoilers, and I get that. Personally, I don't put much stock in reviews when buying things, but I know many do. I prefer discussing what I liked and found thought-provoking. This review was a unique experience because I was in conversation with Michael throughout reading his book. It was cool that he was open to feedback, something I'd love for my own books. It's rare to have someone share their thoughts as they read along. Michael writes hard sci-fi military fiction, while I lean towards fantasy military sci-fi. Despite this, our styles overlap significantly. The Singularity Chronicles would fit well into the military game tech fiction universe, but that's another discussion. The book starts with a bang—literally—with an explosion in a lab. It's a mystery why Kira has gone back; we just know things have gone terribly wrong. She's bleeding out, the lab's on fire, and she’s almost dead. The quote "Humanity was always at war with humanity" hooked me immediately. Kira sends her digital self back in time to rerun a simulation, which we realize by the end of the book means the entire story is a simulation rerun. The first few chapters are heavy with technical details but still packed with good ideas. In chapter four, there's a quote: "Humans are coded biologically to process data well enough not to die." This resonated with me as it reflects on our expectations of technology versus our natural capabilities. Chapter five introduces Kintsugi, a Japanese concept of repairing broken pottery with gold. Living in Japan, I appreciated this cultural touch. Chapter six brings Noah into the picture, and from there, Kira and Noah represent two sides of the same coin—logic versus emotion. Kira is initially robotic and single-minded about saving her mother and fulfilling her father's vision. Her character evolves emotionally as she faces more personal challenges and steps aside for Noah’s military-focused storyline. The narrative shifts to World War III—a nuclear war that devastates Earth’s most significant regions. The character Mother is an AI reforming healthcare, lifting people out of poverty, and fighting corruption globally. However, human fear of AI triggers global conflict—an ironic twist highlighting humanity's role in its downfall. The story transitions from macro-scale wars to micro-level survival akin to "The Walking Dead," depicting fragmented societies and new power structures post-apocalypse. Chapter 17 titled "Inhumanity," explores dark themes of suffering in a post-nuclear wasteland—a stark reminder of war’s brutal reality. Michael smartly addresses legal debates about AI sentience in court, raising ethical questions about eliminating sentient beings and drawing parallels to human rights. This adds depth to the narrative, exploring potential future societal shifts due to AI. Overall, "Paradox" is a compelling read with profound messages about technology's impact on humanity. It left me eager for the next installment in the series. Great job, Michael! ## Sign up for HAC Studios I write original stories for and with you. Subscribe Email sent! Check your inbox to complete your signup. No spam. Unsubscribe anytime. --- ## Original Transcript ## Introduction All right, so I just finished writing a review for Michael Woudenberg, I think is how you say his name. Sorry if I'm saying it wrong, Mike. His debut novel, *Paradox, Book one of the Singularity Chronicles*. And it took me a while, it always takes me a while to write the review because, you know, people, most people don't like spoilers and I was writing it on Amazon. So I was dodging around stuff that I really wanted to talk about. And to be honest, I don't really like reviewing books or movies or things like that because I don't I mean, a lot of people place a lot of emphasis on reviews and I don't I don't really buy things based on reviews. But anyway, I'd rather talk about just things that I liked things that were thought provoking. And this was cool. This was a really cool experience because I got to I was actually in conversation with Michael the entire time as I was reading his book, which I think that was just really cool. One for him to just be open to the feedback and two to I don't know, I it's it's something that I wish somebody would do with with my books is actually read it and tell me what they thought as they go along. It's such a rare thing. And I think that's why I did this, because, yeah, I think it it is nice when somebody's actually enjoying your book, but then. It's a bonus because I actually have experience writing fiction in almost the exact same genre that that he writes and it's funny because he writes in he writes in more hard sci fi military sci fi. I write more fantasy military sci fi. So there's a lot of overlap between our styles. I think the Singularity Chronicles would fit well into the military game tech fiction universe, but that's another conversation for another day. But I wanted to take some time to just talk about some things because there's a lot of good things in this book, just so many good ideas. And I'm looking at my notes right now and I'm just going to comment on a few things. ## The Opening Chapters The chapter, the beginning starts out with a bang. It really starts out with just the explosion in a lab. It's a huge mystery. You don't really know why she's gone back. You just know something has gone really fucking tits up. And yeah, it's she's bleeding out and the labs on fire. She's almost dead. And I wrote down this quote, war. 💡 Humanity was always at war with humanity. And I knew once I read that quote, I was like, oh, man, OK, I'm in the right book. I'm in the right place. I really I really love that. So she sends herself back, essentially back in time, which now we know. And if you're listening to this, I put the notice, there's going to be fucking spoilers in this. So if you want to read the book, turn this off, go read the book. If you don't, then keep listening. So she sends herself back and we know now it was a simulation the entire time. Basically the entire book was a simulation and she was sent back. She sent herself. She uploaded herself to rerun the simulation. So what we're seeing is a run of the simulation, the entire book. I'm assuming that's what it was based on the ending of of the way it went. But. The first few chapters, as I as I wrote in my review, kind of slog to get through some of the really technical, crunchy bits of it, of the hard sci fi stuff. But there's still a lot of good ideas in there. ## Quotes and Themes I wrote down a quote in chapter four, humans are coded biologically to process data well enough not to die. We expect computers to do things that we'd like to do, but we don't naturally do. And I like that this this is in the beginning when we see a young Kira, she's in college and she's having a lot of these conversations about, you know, what exactly is this technology she's learning? But at the same time, it's it's it's some of it's confirmation of what she's starting to experience in her life and see different things in that vein. I'm scrolling through here and seeing some of my notes here. This is why I like to take notes, because novels are so long and there's so many good things in the moment that if I don't take notes, then I just forget, like, man, I remember that was cool. Shout out to chapter five, Kintsugi, which is a Japanese concept. I actually did a traditional Kintsugi demonstration last year. I went to Kanazawa. I currently live in Japan right now. So anytime I see something which Japanese in Japan, it's always like, oh, that's a nice touch. It's really cool for him to put that in there. I thought it was a well done chapter. ## Character Development Let's see. Chapter six is really when when Noah comes into the picture for the first time, the first five chapters are basically Kira, and it's funny thinking back because I wrote in my review how they're both basically two sides of the same coin. Kira is the super logical. She's basically single goal oriented the entire time. The first half of the book is she's trying to figure out the puzzle of mother, like, how do I save mother? How do I realize her father's vision? And then the second half, it's all about the emotions. She's trying to find that way. And in that way, thinking about it now, that's kind of her way back to her own emotions, because in the beginning, she's very robotic, almost to where she's really hard to read. I gave Michael this feedback. She doesn't really display any emotions. There is some background or some boyfriend or something, and she almost got married or whatever, but it's not very detailed or anything. We don't see until towards the end of the book where she's really taken out of play and it becomes Noah's show, basically, when we get to more of the military operations and the war, actually, that pops off is essentially World War III. ## The AI and Global Conflict That is a nuclear war and destroys basically more or less the most important parts of Earth, at least from the Western perspective, the biggest players. And so, yeah, she's kind of taken out for many chapters towards the end, because her role was basically in the beginning to establish the... Basically, she's the light side of AI. She's seeing all the good things it can do. She's trying to get people to understand what it is, what it's about, and why it's helpful. And then there's a chapter towards the middle where Mother... He chose a really good name, Mother, because every time it's just like everybody has a mom or mom figure, right? And so Mother, of this benevolent, all-seeing, all-knowing being, just like a human mom, is just cleaning things up. She's reforming healthcare. She's lifting people out of poverty. She's saving people money. She's standing up corrupt, fixing up corrupt governments and all this stuff around the world. And there's this chapter where it's just kind of utopian. But then there's a tipping point to where it's actually a rogue actor who believes that Mother is eventually going to do something bad. They do something bad, and they kick off... This is the Prometheus Collective. They kick off basically the global conflict, which is in an ironic twist that he's sure to point out in the book, that it's us again. It's humans again. AI didn't do it. It's the humans fearful of the AI doing something that causes the global catastrophe. And I thought that was a genius way to have this conversation. ## The Post-Apocalyptic World And he does this on the macro scale with the war and with obviously nations and the fighting. And then he goes into the series of chapters where it basically becomes like the fucking Walking Dead. We've got new little fiefdoms that have stood up, and the United States is fragmented. The world is limping along, slowly dying a slow death. And then there's groups like Noah's group, Hyperion, who are like the freedom fighters, equivalent to Rick Grimes' group in The Walking Dead. And they go through the countryside, and they help some people, other people... It's a rough call, that type of a deal. But anyway, from the macro, big picture, to the micro, all the way down to different organizations, different people. You see people on different sides of this. Really, it's rarely the technology. The technology's in the middle. The technology is the gun. And it's the person who wants to grab the gun first and shoot it, and the person who wants to grab the gun and dismantle it and throw it away. And the technology is really, it's not agnostic, it's actually beneficial. ## Author's Intentions and Themes And knowing, you know, just the conversations that, brief interactions I've had with Michael and the subject matter of his newsletters and things like that, I know this is very deliberate. This is very smartly well done. Just the messages that he had in the story were just really spot on. I really like this meditation. In the middle, and even chapter eight is where, is basically the end of Kira's section in Prelude to War. And we see something that I've seen a little bit about, but I haven't really seen much, is like, how do you deal with AI as a legal entity? ## *"By proving that Mother was sentient in court, they then had to argue why it was okay to eliminate sentient beings."* And so then, does that mean you can take out humans that you don't like too, because they are doing something? And it's going to be different. I firmly believe, and I've explored this a little bit in my books as well, that there's going to be a different class of people eventually. It just has to be, because we can't have them operating by the same rules as us. They're not human, but then it's so similar, but that's further on down the line. ## Closing Thoughts Let's see, chapter 10, good stuff there. Yeah, chapter 12 was really the utopian part, and then he's got this autoimmune response where things aren't working. Yeah, and I like the way some of the deaths were handled too. I mean, he kills off a lot of characters, which I'm always clapping when authors kill characters, especially more major characters too. Because a lot of authors, they be too sweet on their characters and too afraid to do shit to them. And it's like, nah, they're in this story, so shit can happen to them. And that means they can die too, even if they're main characters. And yeah, I like the way those were handled. And I thought that was just really cool. And then we really get into, chapter 17 is so dark. It's called Inhumanity, and it's just all these dark moments of the character just going in this wasteland, and these people that are suffering after the nuclear war, and nations are falling apart, people are sick and just dying. It's just horrible. And I mean, I was all for it. I was like, yeah, I'm a military veteran as well, and this is what happens. And I think people forget about these things. And that notion of forgetting about things, I think to fast forward to the end of the book, I think that's a really big part of what he wanted to say with this book, is that we do forget with all this technology, with social media, with AI now, with smartphones, we see it all the time. I've seen it in my lifetime to where people just don't... You don't talk to people the same way. You're out and people are staring in their phones instead of being more open to having a conversation. Because before it was finite. The newspaper, you can only read it so many times. You can only read a book so many times. But now the phone's just always infinite. It's always on. There's always something to watch, something to read. And it really has changed the way we relate to each other. And that's a big part of the message in this book, and how whichever way this shakes out with AI, you can't deny that we've lost a couple of things. And we might argue that some of those things were essential to what made us human, to the human experience. And it's different now. And yeah, we relate in different ways. But I think many of us, it's not natural on at least an unconscious level. And many are conscious of it now. We just see, he talks about it, mental health, how it goes down actually after the apocalypse. Because people are forced to talk to each other again. They're forced to deal with each other again. And then people will start to plug in again. And we see this second collapse. But I really like this book. I have so many books that I want to read. But man, I'm curious about the second book now. Because I like the way it ended with this kind of just reset. Which if ever such a thing were possible, it might not be a bad option if we ever got that far along. And we were that far gone. Just to wipe the slate clean and start over. Great job, Michael. ## Sign up for HAC Studios I write original stories for and with you. Subscribe Email sent! Check your inbox to complete your signup. No spam. Unsubscribe anytime. ### Sound to Song: A Comprehensive Intro to Music Production (for Beginners) URL: https://keithhayden.net/sound-to-song-a-comprehensive-intro-to-music-production-for-beginners/ Last updated: 2024-10-09T01:21:42.000Z It was an old silver record player. One of those with the plastic cover missing. I remember the feel of the rubber circle on my fingers. That was where the records went. You had to place the needle down softly over the correct spot on the record or it wouldn't play. Or worse yet, you'd scratch it. Lord help you if you scratched it. I can't recall how old I was when I learned all this. Can't even remember who taught me. It was probably my dad. Growing up, I felt like a cool kid in school. I would tell the others in my class, "Did you listen to the radio today? If you did, you probably heard my dad." He was a radio DJ back when it mattered. Before the days of anytime podcasts or YouTube, the radio DJ was a vital component of the community. He advised, forecasted, announced, and of course, **played music**. ***Music was everywhere when I was a kid.*** My dad had hundreds of vinyl records that he cycled through on a regular basis. I grew up with all the classics: Stevie Wonder, Earth, Wind, and Fire, Michael Jackson. But alongside them (primarily thanks to my older brother) I was exposed to hip hop, jazz, and rock. I've always been a *listener* of music. But I had no idea I'd ever **make** **it**. ## Why I started making music + Why I wrote this **Music licensing laws suck.** When I decided to add music to my audiobook [Cereus & Limnic](https://khayden22.gumroad.com/l/cereus-limnic?ref=keithhayden.net) in early 2021, that was the conclusion I landed on after hours of researching things like "**how to LEGALLY put music in my podcast**." There's something sad and frustrating about the multiple legal cages most popular songs are jailed in. The keys are scattered among many guards. Finding them requires incredible costs and time cutting through the thicket of administrative processes and paperwork. Fuck that. I'll make my own music. I told myself. But for a while I didn't do it. ***I had no idea where to start*.** **That's the primary reason I'm writing this post.** ### **To give you who are interested in making your own music,** **an entry point into the world of music production or composition.** Let's begin with how to get started. ## Where should you start? Learning any skill is much easier today than it's ever been in human history. **But here's the rub, it's easy to get pulled down internet rabbit holes and start in the wrong place.** You might watch a YouTube tutorial for an advanced musical concept or a production technique used by a career producer and get overwhelmed and discouraged. Raise your hand if that's ever happened to you? \*\*Raises hand\*\* I want you to avoid those ill-feelings. So my advice for where to begin? **Wherever your background or fascinations lead you.** ### My start in music **Before I started making music, I was a high school math teacher. I had no connections to music at all.** In fact, I began at a time when music had faded in importance in my life. In my haste, to earn my teaching credential, I wasn't listening to music casually like I used to when I was younger. (A bummer indeed.) However, I did have math. I had fallen back in love with the subject during my teacher training. By March 2021, I was teaching Algebra 1 full-time, yet was still eager to absorb anything marginally related to it. Music was one of those topics. Two YouTube videos enflamed my passion for music: **Andrew Huang's 30-minute music theory video** and **one connecting math and music**. #### Andrew Huang's music theory video #### The Math Behind Music and Sound Synthesis I can recall watching both of these back to back, feeling ecstatic about the connection between **math** and **music**. I had never thought about it that way up to that point. A few hours later, I had purchased Andrew Huang's music production [course](https://studio.com/classes/andrew-huang-electronic-song?ref=keithhayden.net) \-not an affiliate link, I just like the course- on Studio (formerly Monthly) and ordered my first [keyboard](https://www.amazon.com/KeyStep-Portable-Keyboard-Step-Sequencer/dp/B01HNO934E/ref=sr%5F1%5F7?crid=1IHSMB5YUWIM3&keywords=arturia+keystep&qid=1666823622&qu=eyJxc2MiOiIzLjgxIiwicXNhIjoiMi44NyIsInFzcCI6IjIuNTUifQ%3D%3D&sprefix=arturia+keystep%2Caps%2C292&sr=8-7&ufe=app%5Fdo%3Aamzn1.fos.f5122f16-c3e8-4386-bf32-63e904010ad0&ref=keithhayden.net) \-also not an affiliate link- from Amazon. I couldn't wait to get started. **If the idea of math and music has you wanting to swipe away from this article, then ignore my story.** **If you want to make music what's your connection? What's your in?** **Ask yourself:** ## *What is my background?* ## *What do I know well?* ## *What do I like?* ## *How does it connect to music?* **Answering these questions for yourself will take you far and might just reveal your best access point to producing music.** After you do a bit of soul searching and (hopefully) find your inspiration you'll know it. You'll *FEEL* it. Then you'll probably be fired up to start buying things like courses, instruments and the like. **But** before you drop any money on things you potentially DON'T NEED (more on this below), let's discuss the pink musical elephant in the room: **music theory**. ## Do you need music theory? **Music theory is the how behind the music.** It deals with the individual components of music and describes how they work together to produce distinct sounds and types of music. ### If math is the language of the universe, music theory is the *language* of music. Learning any language is a sore spot for many who had terrible teachers or bad curriculums early on in school. Often they were forced to take dry unexciting classes, muddled through with an average or even a high score and moved on with the bitterness from the experience weighing on their minds and hearts. Has this happened to you? If so you're not alone. So it may come as a relief for me to inform you, ## **YOU** **DO NOT NEED TO LEARN MUSIC THEORY IN ORDER TO MAKE MUSIC TODAY.** Most modern music production interfaces are super helpful when it comes to guiding you to create something that sounds listenable to most human ears. I've watched several YouTube tutorials about how to write melodies, hooks, and entire songs WITHOUT MUSIC THEORY (they will usually put boldly in their title). ### HOWEVER, #### knowledge of theory WILL make you a better producer, composer, or songwriter in the long run. It's the difference between being a builder and an architect. A builder can put the pieces together. But an architect, with extensive knowledge of engineering/design principles, and physics, designs the building, ensuring each part functions in perfect harmony with its components and environment. I prefer to be a music architect. *But don't let my opinion sway you.* Perhaps all you want to be is a competent builder. If you want to make music for a specific purpose (like a podcast or YouTube video intro) and you don't plan on doing it long term, it would completely make sense for you to use an AI tool (discussed more in-depth below) generate a few tracks and be done. Nothing wrong with that. **On the other hand, if you have a feeling making music might be YOUR THING, then I'd highly recommend learning at least basic theory.** You don't need a lot to start crafting songs with more intention. ***I'd argue if you learn the following you'll be in better shape than the musician who knows zero theory:*** - **Basic note intervals (5ths and 3rds)** - **Knowledge of major and minor chord triads** - **Harmony (to make sure your melodies line up with your chords)** That's it. I've learned a ton of music theory concepts since I started making music, most of it I don't use. I'm a fan of **just-in-time training**. Only learn concepts that you will experiment with or look out for in other songs. That helps it stick and leaves for time for making music. (Because learning about theory can be pretty dull sometimes). ### MUSIC THEORY RESOURCES For those of you who are hungry for it, here are some of the resources I used to build up my music theory. #### Jason Allen's Udemy Courses You know you love music when you get a PhD in it. Jason Allen lives and breathes music theory and history. He's also an experienced producer and instructor. His comprehensive music theory courses on Udemy are excellent with many examples provided. They can be pricey unless you wait for the daily/weekly 80% price slash Udemy offers. Get the first in the series [here](https://www.udemy.com/share/101YGg3@MzqsmSyU%5FEFom6hrht3ChYFYVxaWULJLL6nH3cBs%5Fa5-1ogJ-YkFjjXaesYr-%5F86/?ref=keithhayden.net). ### Hooktheory Interactive Songbooks My best friend (also a musician) recommended the two Hooktheory books to me and I was forever grateful. **These books break down music theory in a very visual style, making it easy for even complete beginners to learn chords, harmony, and other concepts.** They also have a digital audio workstation (DAW) that takes advantage of their visual style. It's great for learning and making music. If you do Allen's courses as a main dish, supplement with these and you'll have access to more theory than you can possibly absorb as a novice producer. Checkout Hooktheory [here](https://www.hooktheory.com/hookpad?ref=keithhayden.net). Now that I've touched on theory, I'll cover the next big consideration you might have as an emergent musician. *Instruments.* ## Should you learn an instrument? When you think of music you probably think of pianos, guitars, and other common tools used to make music. But do you need to learn one to be an effective producer? Should you? ### You don't have to. You can produce great music without being proficient with a particular instrument. I'm sure some music purists would disagree with me, but it's true. Modern computer software can reliably and accurately emulate nearly any sound a traditional instrument can make (without human performance errors). What's more, software can produce sounds that instruments and humans *CAN'T* make, providing music makers with a mindboggling amount of choices when creating a song (more on dealing with these choices below). Now while it is possible to be a good music **producer** without knowing how to play an instrument, ***SHOULD* you learn how to play one?** **It depends.** If you only want to make music for videos, video games, podcasts, for short films, or for other consumer focused digital creations (some not all), then I'd say you probably shouldn't bother learning an instrument (unless you want to of course). The DAW is your instrument. **However,** if you like to sing, and you have any desire to perform your songs for a live audience or you're making music for things like churches, plays, and theaters, you should seriously consider learning one. > **If you're interested in making music for live audiences, then you should strongly consider learning an instrument**. ### Advantages of Learning How to Play My wife has a micro grand piano that she never plays. When I began learning about music production, I saw it as the perfect time to become familiar with it. **Music is a very intuitive sport.** Much like learning how to speak when you were a baby, no one taught you specific words. You just listened to your parents and the people around you enough until one day, you started trying it yourself. Then you could talk! I think sometimes we forget about these natural abilities that we possess in our information-saturated age. *That's why I'm ultimately in favor of newborn musicians at least trying out an instrument that suits them.* Here's the first advantage of learning how to play. ### It provides an opportunity to play and experiment with music. Learning how to play an instrument is another activity that is usually spoiled for most of us when we're young. We have to sit in a boring classroom (or 1-on-1) with some instructor looming over us, pointing out our every fuck up. BLOW HARDER. KEEP THE BEAT. STRAIGHTEN YOUR BACK. DO YOUR LIPS LIKE THIS (I played trumpet in middle school). It destroys our desire to continue and makes it a chore rather than something fun. You're an adult now, and you don't have to do that to yourself anymore. There are no grades to make. No football games to practice marching drills for. **Just you, your instrument, and music.** It can be fun again. Give it a chance. One of my best songs I pecked out on that micro grand piano before I could barely play the C-major scale. I couldn't even play chords yet. My intuition led me there. It can do the same for you, if you listen long enough. Another advantage to learning an instrument is, ### you'll be able to test ideas out faster than with software. **I find that as efficient as software can be, it tends to jam up my creative instinct.** There are so many options to consider (even after you've learned how to use it) that good ideas can quickly drown in the noise of technology. But without the lines and numbers of the DAW staring me in the face, begging for me to fill in some value, my creativity flows more easily. That leads to **quicker execution of ideas** and **it allows me to refine them faster to get to a complete track in less time**. An important factor in increasing your skill as a producer. The final positive of learning an instrument is, ### it just feels and looks cool to play your own music (*and you could open up another revenue stream for yourself*) When you have proficiency with an instrument, eventually you'll be able to play your own music. Even though this seems like a lame reason, imagine writing then playing music **you created**. Live performance is one of those human activities I don't think will ever go away, no matter how advanced technology becomes. **People will always want to see other people doing or playing amazing things. In fact they'll pay for it.** From street musicians to mega stars selling out venues, people are making good money playing for other people. *If you get good enough that potential source of revenue could be yours.* ### What instrument should you choose? #### The one that interests you most that you can stand spending A LOT of time with. There's no way around it, learning how to play can be a **grindfest**. It takes time to develop the dexterity, mental flexibility, and coordination to be able to play well. No shortcuts here. So pick something you (and the people around you) can stand listening to for hours on end. **As you can tell I'm an advocate for learning piano/keyboard.** **Here's why:** 1. **We already had a good one in the house** 2. **I can practice with my headphones on so it doesn't disturb my wife** 3. **Keyboard is the most versatile for producing music in a DAW (no fancy setups or finger placements required)** If you learn piano/keyboard you'll be able to play virtually -pun intended lol- any instrument. Interested in picking up some piano? Here's what I used: ## Alfred's Self-Teaching Adult Piano Course My wife got this book for me when we went to a Guitar Center on a whim. It's a basic resource, but an effective one. It starts with simple drills, then ramps up the difficulty with tougher and tougher songs. I kinda like using an old school book to learn as well instead of using an app. If the thought of learning from a book triggers flashbacks from mandatory lessons you had as a kid, pick something else. There are so many resources out there to learn piano. Many are free online. **Just pick one and start working through it.** After a few months of consistent practice, you'll get more comfortable and play more smoothly, I promise! Next let's cover another sticking point new musicians often get jammed up on. **Your gear**. ## Gear and Equipment (Minimum Viable Setup) Here's the deal with gear, you probably don't need as much as you think you do to get started making music today. Ignore all the music YouTubers with their fancy setups and full studios, you don't need all that juicy gear to get started. Take it from me, I was a high school math teacher when I got started making music, I definitely didn't have the budget to go crazy buying new -mostly unnecessary- gear. Perhaps you don't either. **So here' my list of MUST HAVES for the minimum viable setup (MVS) you need to start producing music TODAY.** ## MUST HAVE GEAR ### 1\. A decent computer Making music can consume a lot of your computer's internal resources. This is such an issue that many DAWs display just how hard your poor CPU is working as you crank out tunes. Things get worse as your songs become more elaborate and you start tacking on fancy effects. **Most modern computers (perhaps 2015 and newer) should be more than capable than handling the load.** I STILL have a functional 2011 MacBook Pro I used to produce one of my most emotionally powerful pieces of music, so it can be done. Just don't be surprised if your computer freezes or crashes several times in the process. ### 2\. Plenty of storage space *Storage space is like water, most don't think about it until they're about to run out.* Don't let that be you. If you plan to be making music for awhile, I highly recommend investing in a separate storage space (online or offline) just for your projects. Song files can become ridiculously large really fast. Don't be one of those producers who can't save their project or export it due to lack of space. **1 and 2 terrabyte hardrives are very affordable these days (Under $100 USD).** **Get one and give yourself the piece of mind you need to focus on making more songs, not whether or not you'll be able to save them.** ### 3\. A digital audio workstation (DAW) Most producers today use DAWs to make music. But what is it? **A DAW is the software equivalent of an old music production studio. Most allow you to input sound data in multiple forms (MIDI, MP3, WAV, etc.), apply varying levels of effects to it, and export the files in a digital format.** All DAWs contain varying degrees of control and different interfaces for doing all 3 of the above tasks. But which one should you choose? Deciding what DAW to use can be as frustrating and nerve fraying as choosing a phone service provider, they all appear to do the same things on the surface, but there are subtleties among them all. *Additionally, some DAWs are very expensive.* So once you've invested in it, maybe a few plugins, and some instrument packs, it's difficult to change. (Just like your mobile service.) Also DAWs tend to have their own cultures surrounding the people that use them. People that use ProTools are probably pro-musicians (or wannabes who can afford it). Ableton is for EDMers. FLStudio attracts beatmakers. These are generalizations I've noticed as I've felt my way around the music producer ecosystem. Of course you can use any DAW to make whatever style of music you like. While I can't take all of the stress out of this decision for you, I can shine a light on the differences between a **free** and **paid DAWs**. That should help give you a place to start experimenting and eventually dropping some cash if you feel like it's worth it. #### Free DAWs These DAWs are free, BUT, they typically lack the capabilities and features of paid DAWs. Some popular free DAWs I've tried out are: - **GarageBand (Mac only)** - **Audacity** - **Reaper** - **BandLab (mobile only)** I won't go into specifics for each DAW, but you can look them up yourself (or just open it up on your computer and start experimenting if you're a Mac user) #### Paid DAWs Paid DAWs are music studios in your computer (or online). They are capable of producing anything from phone jingles to triple AAA award winning music. It's truly amazing what you can create with the software. They have two big disadvantages though: **learning curve** and **cost**. **It probably took me about 3 months to feel comfortable making music in Ableton Live. I had to buy a Udemy course just to learn how to use the basic features.** Then there's **cost**. Some DAWs offer varying levels of access with cheaper offerings containing a stripped down version of the DAW (less instruments, less effects). With others it's all or nothing. Just depends. I got my license for Ableton Live Suite for **$700 USD** \-that was WITH a discount-. These things aren't cheap. But typically after you've paid, you won't have to pay again (depending on the DAW). It all comes down to how long you plan on making music. If you've got plans to make this a continuous part of your life, consider buying the DAW as an early investment in your musical journey. One you can pay yourself back for as you go further along. Here are some of the paid DAWs that I know: - **Ableton Live** - **FL Studio** - **FL Studio (Mobile)** - **Logic** - **ProTools** - **Cubase** - **n-Track studio (mobile)** #### For Ableton Live Users If you're interested in choosing Ableton Live as your DAW, here's the course I used to get spun up on it. ## Ableton Live 11 - Music Production in Ableton Live [https://www.udemy.com/share/1046Ny3@WBn2iVDaCgMiY6WNDgNpprm\_Xw\_OUSjDgWhswjuw2l146hrEyPQtdPq6KhSnPBuK/](https://www.udemy.com/share/1046Ny3@WBn2iVDaCgMiY6WNDgNpprm%5FXw%5FOUSjDgWhswjuw2l146hrEyPQtdPq6KhSnPBuK/?ref=keithhayden.net) This course also includes a little music theory, but it doesn't go as in-depth as the resources above. After taking this course, you will feel comfortable with most of the key features Ableton has to offer. Now back to the last pieces of gear you need to start making music. ## 4\. You need an ok pair of headphones As a producer it's important to be able to clearly hear the music you're making, that's why a good pair is essential. **A good pair doesn't mean an expensive pair.** I got by with a $30 pair of headphones for my first 6 months of making music, and the music I made came out fine. You can do the same. *Just please, don't use earbuds, wired or wireless.* Wireless earbuds tend to be exceptionally bad for producing music. There's a slight lag with communication between bluetooth enabled devices. The delay might throw off the timing of your songs. You definitely don't want that. I'm aware of a wireless class of **headphones** that are apparently designed for music producers. But they were pretty expensive so stick with wired headphones in the beginning if you can. ## 5\. You need an ok microphone (maybe) Are you a singer? If you plan on recording your vocal performance in your songs, I recommend investing in a decent microphone. This will ensure you can focus on singing and not on the quality of your input when you record. My first microphone was a Blue Yeti USB microphone. It wasn't fancy, but it got the job done. I'm also not a great vocalist (unless I'm singing karaoke) and most of my music is instrumental. If you're like me, you probably don't need to worry about getting a mic at all. That's it! Those are the **5** **must haves** for getting started making music. - **A decent computer** - **Plenty of digital storage space** - **A DAW (free or paid)** - **An ok pair of headphones** - **(Optional) an ok microphone** I would consider anything else to be a **nice-to have**. ## NICE TO HAVE GEAR **Here is my list of nice to have pieces of gear:** - an audio interface (for hooking up better microphones, headphones, and other gear) - a MIDI controller (so you can use your keyboard skills to play notes in instead of programming them in) - any other specialized gear like: synths, relays, electronic drum pads etc. This is the kind of stuff I see in the background of videos by music YouTubers all the time. While it looks cool, it's not necessary at this point. Never forget, they probably started with just a computer and an instrument. You can build up to those elaborate setups in the future, but for now start with the MVS and start making music. **Don't let your gear be the reason you don't start or finish tracks.** (Now a brief interlude.) --- Memory is a strange thing. Sometimes it works too well. Others not all. In the case of my dad it began to malfunction years ago. I can hardly remember the sound of dad's voice at the time of this writing, but I remember the sound of him hitting the floor on that chilly morning 20 years ago. From my blackened bedroom, I heard the unnatural scraping of a hand on the wall of our hallway, followed by a thump on the floor. There was a heaviness to it. I had never heard it before and haven't heard it since. Somehow I knew he was dead before I got up the courage to join my Mom in the living room. She was calling out to him with no response. It would take me years of journaling, time, and distance to convince myself there was nothing me or mom could have done. Then a few years more to unwrap the gifts my father left for me. Although my memories of him have been worn away by time, the music remained. I drifted for awhile before I realized that. ## Songwriting 101 When I started writing music that drifting feeling hit me again. The freedom became restrictive causing me to desperately cling to anything solid for grounding myself. Perhaps you've had a similar experience when you've sat down to write music. It's funny how when you declare yourself a musician all of a sudden the ideas don't seem to come as speedily as they used to. This problem affects makers in any creative endeavor. **So in this section it is my goal to give you some guidelines for song generation.** It is my hope that you can use this as a foundation to construct your own creative process as you get more familiar with the way you prefer to write music. ### Start by setting some constraints for yourself When you first open your DAW, you'll be itching to begin trying the sounds, instruments, and effects out. You might key or draw in a few notes just to see how they sound in the piano roll and then mess around for hours, swapping out instruments, filters, and drum kits. Before you know it, hours have passed, and you're no step closer to **finishing a track.** I'm gonna bold those words whenever I write them. In order to get better as a music producer you need to **finish tracks!** Not loops, chord progressions, or melodies. WHOLE TRACKS. To prevent yourself from screwing around and on to **finishing more tracks** it helps to set some constraints for yourself. Here's how I do it. **I call it the 1-effect, 1-music theory, 1-approach method or the 1-1-1 for short.** Here's how it works. ### 1-effect In my DAW of choice (Ableton Live), there are tons of potential track altering effects to mess around with. **I constrain myself to trying out one new one per track.** That prevents me from falling into endless experimentation mode and not **finishing tracks**. ### 1-music theory **I select** **one new music theory concept to try out in my song**. This stops me from staying in my head too long, allowing me to let my intuition guide some of my choices as opposed to the theory. ### 1-approach As you will soon discover, there a many ways to begin writing a song. **I restrict myself to the one that feels most appropriate for the track I'm trying to make then go from there**. Feel free to adopt my **1-1-1 Constraints Method for Music Production**. It's helped me keep my eye on the ball and **finish more tracks** much faster. After you've set up some bounds for you to build within, let's talk about some of the ways you can start writing a song. ## 5 Ways to start writing a song This video by Andrew Huang is a great place to start for getting ideas for starting songs. A highly experienced musician like him can cycle through these methods quickly. You won't be able to in the beginning. That's ok. (I still struggle with it, too.) Here are some ways I start songs. ## 1\. Chord progression This has become my favorite way to begin any song. **It's because with chords alone you can already say so much about the emotion you are trying to convey through your song.** (Just a little music theory will help you understand how to do this well.) From the chords, it's easier for me to craft a melody and a bass line. From there my song's almost done. There are tons of places online to get experimental chord progressions. One I used often early on is called [Chordchord](https://chordchord.com/?ref=keithhayden.net). If you don't mind paying some money, Hooktheory has a DAW called [Hookpad](https://www.hooktheory.com/hookpad?ref=keithhayden.net) that is excellent for trying out chord progressions and learning how they work. They even have a feature that allows you to pull up popular songs to analyze their chord progressions and melodies. It's a great resource to begin any song. ## 2\. Melody Beginning with a melody is much more difficult for me, but it's another way to start a song. I often find myself coming up with memorable ideas while I'm out and about or at home. These are good places to start building a song around. ## 3\. Lyrics Beginning a song by writing lyrics isn't something I do often. But when I can get into it -and the occasion calls for it- these songs turn out to be some of my best one ones. **From what I've seen, beginning with an emotion is the key to a great lyric-based song.** *That can be an emotion you're feeling or one you want a listener to experience through your song.* I ask myself: **"*What would I tell someone to make them feel that emotion?***" That usually leads me down the path of good lines. If you're feeling lazy, want a jolt of inspiration, or just want a laugh try out the AI tool [**These Lyrics Do Not Exist**](https://theselyricsdonotexist.com/?ref=keithhayden.net). It will generate an entire song's worth of lines for you to massage and mold into your next track. ## 4\. Songs With Sounds If you listen carefully, you'll hear potential songs everywhere. Try it right now. Stop reading and listen. What did you here? Maybe birds chirping. Could be a TV blaring or a loud conversation in a distant room. Or maybe (if it's quiet enough) the sound of your own breathing or your stomach growling/digesting. In our always-go endless stream of activities era, it may seem insane get inspiration from the physical world. But I've gotten some great ideas for **rhythmic patterns and melodies** from people watching or observing nature. Inspiration is everywhere. You just have to open your eyes and ears up to it. These valuable moments of precious sound tend to be VERY short lived. Like an extremely rare Pokemon, you might only get a few seconds or a minute to notice, think about, and capture them. So make sure you're ready when they occur! ## 5\. Other songs This is a technique I learned from my best friend Ryan Fonger who's also a musician and composer. There are tons of great songs already out there, some that you no doubt have listened to hundreds of times. **Why not use those songs as a starting point to create your own?** I'm not talking about plagiarizing the song. I'm talking about taking aspects of the song whether that be the melody, chord progression, arrangement or anything else and using that as a sturdy foundation to build your own track. That's exactly what I did in the track I created for my audiobook *Mission Briefing*. I took inspiration from *Carrington Institute* in the N64 classic Perfect Dark by Grant Kirkhope. ## Carrington Institute (2000) ## Mission Briefing (2022) You may say: **but isn't that stealing/illegal?** Well...in this case it wouldn't be. Why not? 1. **I made this song for a free podcast. It is publicly available and I charge no fees to access it**. **(No commercial intent)** 2. **Only the melody and structure are similar, everything else (instruments, bass etc.) is original** *If you're curious about copyright law in the UK (Rare is a British game company and probably owns the rights to the music in Perfect Dark) read* [*here*](https://www.copyrightuser.org/create/creators-discuss/musician/?ref=keithhayden.net)*.* When it comes to music, legal matters are confusing and complicated (which is why I started making my own). I'm not a lawyer so I won't go too far into copyright issues here. If you're concerned about copyright infringement and other legal tangles speak with a lawyer who specializes in music law in your country. But real talk, you probably don't have to worry about a major corporation filing a civil lawsuit against you when you're first starting out, so I wouldn't stress about it at this point. **Also don't forget, the point of this exercise is to START a song, not necessarily make a replica of it.** That said, I really like this method for starting songs because: - **your reference track is already a complete song, so you have a clear beginning and end** - **it gives you an idea for the kind of instruments to use, as well as a proven arrangement** - **you can learn a lot by manually recreating parts of the song** The last bullet is where I get the most out of this method. When I played the melody from *Carrington Institute*, I had no sheet music from the original song. I just played by ear until I eventually cracked it. This helped me learn the basic elements of the song and allowed me to **finish the track** sooner. Try it. You might be surprised how different your song sounds from your reference track in the end. --- So those are 5 ways I **start** a track. 1. Chord progression 2. Melody 3. Lyrics 4. Sounds 5. Other songs These alone are effective ways to start, but they won't get you all the way to the finish. Next, let's discuss the **3 absolutely necessary things your early songs should have in order to get you closer to a finished track.** ## The 3 critical elements of MOST Songs Notice I wrote in **most songs**. Of course there are whole (good) songs without these elements BUT, I'd argue as a new music maker, you will want to include them all every time. Why? Because together they form skin and bones of music. They help guide the listener **to feel** **or to follow the story of your songs**. Without them it's like a book with no paragraphs, chapters, or structure; just chunks of words. Songs that are just collections of random sounds are similarly disorienting and are not very pleasant to listen to. **Always remember your minimum goal as a composer is to make the listener** **FEEL SOMETHING**. These 3 -*and ONLY these three*\- will help you hit the mark every time. ## Melody For me, the melody isn't the most important part of the song, but's the one that **people will remember**. It's the series of notes or lyrics that sticks in their heads for days on end. The one they hum or murmur when mentioning it to other people. **If you want your song to be memorable include a melody.** ## Chord Progression If the melody is the part of the song that targets a listener's conscious mind, the chord progression works on their subconscious. It's underground, often unnoticed by the casual listener, doing the hard work of driving the motion of your track to your chosen destination. **This is why chords are the most important element of the song.** *Without a coherent progression the song lacks a 'sound' or a 'feeling'.* Listeners can tell when it's not there or not right. But when it IS there, your song literally moves people to anger, tears, relief -whatever emotion you want them to feel-. Take a listen to my song *Origins.* Pay attention to the last 40-seconds (@3:20). ## Origins (2021) Did you hear it? The RELIEF and feeling of RESOLUTION? The song has a clear somber emotional tone throughout, until that last pivotal moment. *This was no accident!* I purposely modulated from a minor key to major key to mark a huge change in emotional energy to close the song. **That is the power of chords!** You can and should learn to harness it in your music. (Btw learning music theory really helps with improving your ability to work with chords.) ## Rhythm This is probably an element you didn't expect to see on this list. I admit it's something I had little clue about until about a year of making music. I wish I had learned it sooner, so I'm including it here. **Rhythm gives your song a distinct character and vibe.** It's the difference between a party rocking funky beat and a church hymn. You want to start thinking about it early on in your music making in order to expand the range of the music you can make. I really enjoyed YouTuber and Composer Guy Michelmore's [explanation](https://youtube.com/clip/Ugkxt00jYPy3ZvgEvZ3OYUn%5FHUMCV4GimsVU?ref=keithhayden.net) of the importance of rhythm. (It's also a great video for learning how to create good melodies and motifs.) The tough thing about rhythm is that it can be hard to put into practice in your songs. **Here are a few simple things you can do to improve at it.** ### Clap your hands **Away from your computer, think of a song you like or listen to it, then clap out its rhythm.** You might feel silly doing it, but it's a great way to get rhythmic ideas for your own music and to hear the rhythm in other music. Without your DAW or an instrument to distract you, you have no choice but to focus in on the rhythm. ### Use varying note length When you first start making music (especially if you're more traditionally trained to read sheet music), you might feel weird using anything but quarter, half, or whole notes in your music. You can certainly make good music using only those notes, but great music often comes from weird and unexpected combinations of all kinds of note durations. **Play with the length of your notes in your next song. Don't worry if it sounds like shit.** You might just come up with something you like. ### Swap out your percussion When I first started producing, I thought rhythm automatically meant drums. It is true, percussion is a very common way to maintain rhythm and many producers use it as the foundation of their tracks. But what if you exchanged it for something unanticipated like a synth? Or a piano? Or something else? You can do anything you want when it comes to keeping the 'clock' of your song ticking. **Be creative with the rhythmic elements of your song and watch magic happen.** My song *Robot Talk* is an example of me using a weird instrument for rhythm. Even though it sounds like a drum, it's really a very bassy synth. The result was one of my oddest -and unexpectedly most popular- tunes. ## Robot Talk (2022) With these 3 elements, you can make emotionally resonant music that is good and even great. But you might have wondered: **what about everything else?** Bass, percussion, counter melodies, ear candy, etc. **You don't need them.** It is true, adding these other elements can take your music from great to exceptional. But they are also things new composers spend hours thinking about, tweaking, and perfecting even when they're close to a complete track. I know I've gotten caught up by these many times before. Remember your mission as a new composer is to **FINISH.** **TRACKS.** That other stuff can wait until you feel comfortable creating the flesh, bones, and beating heart of your songs. After you've done that, then you can think about what clothes to dress it up in. --- Now you know how to start a track. You also know what you NEED to have in it to make it a complete track. The above sections can get you to maybe 25% of a complete song. In the next one, I'll give you some ways to get the other 75. ## How to FINISH A TRACK This section assumes you have created at least a **4-bar or 8-bar loop.** It can be just a chord progression or a standalone melody with a basic beat, that's good enough. But where should you go from there? That's a question me and producers around the world have asked themselves with every new song we create. Just like everything in this article these strategies aren't the only way to move toward **finishing a track**, but they can help. ## Repeat the loop I was deathly afraid of repeating my loops when I first started, but it turns out composers use **repetition** all the time in their songs. They just do it in interesting ways. This first form of repetition is the most basic. **Just copy and paste what you already have, stick an intro at the beginning and a fade out at the end and BOOM! FINISHED TRACK!** Many of my early songs were just that. A looped musical idea to represent one of the characters in my audiobook. Here's one of my better ones. Basic but effective. #### How to create a quick intro ## Repeat the rhythm This technique is slightly more advanced, but since I already covered rhythm I'll mention it. **Take a part of your melody or chords that stands out and turn it into a countermelody, bass line, or even another part of the melody to extend out your track.** It turns out this a technique that goes back to the time of Bach. It's called a [**fugue**](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fugue?ref=keithhayden.net). Sounds fancy, but it's a simple concept. **Take your existing melody and repeat it in as many different ways as you can.** There are infinite ways to do this. Transpose the key, alter the rhythm, move it to the bass, the list goes on and on. Bach wrote entire pieces using this method alone. Now you can too. Here's an example of me doing it in *Refugee (Streets of San Francisco)*. Pay attention to the beginning part of the melody and the swelling synth (it's the same notes) (@0:18). ## Refugee (Streets of San Francisco) (2021) ## Change up the chord progression As you now know a chord progression drives the mood and feel of the song. What if you introduced a completely new one midway through? Most pop songs do this almost every time. After the 2nd verse they'll typically transition to a section called a **bridge**. I like to think of a bridge as providing a different angle on the story or subject of the song; *saying the same thing but in a different way.* There multiple ways to write a good bridge, here are my 3 go-tos: - **Change to a completely different chord progression** - **Go faster** - **Go slower** Which one I use depends on the song. Here's me doing it in *Broken Shield (2022)* (@2:48) ## Broken Shield (2022) ## Add silence Sudden silence is a great way to add contrast and surprise to a track. You might be hesitant to insert empty space into your song (it's supposed to be music after all!) **But a little bit of silence at the perfect time can immediately retune the listener's ears and make them salivate with anticipation (unconsciously) for the next part of your song. It's also a great tool for marking transitions.** (I find it's especially effective in faster tracks.) I use it in *Lionfish* to signal the transition to the final part of the song. (Moment of silence @1:10 and again @1:40) ## Let one of your other instruments shine This is one I haven't used much but I want to do it more. **If your melody, chords, and rhythm are firmly established, consider letting all but one fall away and letting that element take over for awhile.** Here's one of the few examples I have from *Mission Briefing* Look out for the bass lead section (@1:03) ## Mission Briefing (2022) Like I said, I haven't done this very well yet, but I want to do it more. --- There are many other ways to move your song from a 4-8 bar loop to **finished track**. Part of the fun of making music for me is combining these various techniques to make my songs more interesting. So open your DAW and experiment! With a full track complete, all that's left for you to do is a little refining on the back end, then you'll be ready to share it with the world. ## Post Production (Mixing/Mastering) After you've completed your song, you might think the only thing left to do is hit "export". You COULD do that, but your song probably won't sound very nice to an everyday listener. The reason is different sounds behave in odd ways when combined with each other. Some are too loud, others are too soft. The interactions between your instruments and pitches might end up sounding like a student choir in early training, out of sync, and dissonant. **This is why it's important to apply some levels of post-production into your tracks.** If done correctly, it can make your tracks clearer and even better at **influencing the** **feelings of your listeners.** ## Mixing/Mastering Both of these subjects warrant their own blog posts, but I'll touch briefly on them here. **Mixing** **is the process of inserting audio effects into your instrument tracks to add order and clarity to your mix** (song). Think of the sound spectrum of your song like a bedroom. There's only so much room to place furniture, decorations, and everything else. If things are untidy, there's less space in the room (more chaos = not pleasant). But when things are put away, there's plenty of space (less chaos = pleasant). *I like to think of mixing as the "cleaning up" of my song's sound space.* There are all sorts of effects you can add when mixing, **but only 4 I pretty much apply to every instrument track in nearly every song I make.** They are: 1.**EQ - Equalizing allows you to boost or cut certain frequencies of sound.** It's great for creating more space in the stereo field overall and emphasizing certain frequencies for various instruments. 2.**Compression - Applying compression levels out the peaks and troughs of an audio signal. *(Loud stuff gets quieter. Quiet stuff gets louder.)*** The result is a more uniform sound throughout the whole track. 3.**Limiting - A limiter prevents the audio from passing a certain noise threshold.** It helps prevent very loud parts of a song from distorting at higher volumes. You can also use it to boost the overall loudness of your track and individual instruments. 4.**Reverb - Reverb has an echo type effect on sound.** Used correctly, it can create a sense of space for certain instruments in a track. There's a lot more I could say about mixing but this post is getting pretty long, so you'll have to do some research on your own for more. Final point on mixing - **If you add the above in *limited amounts* on every instrument track in your songs, they will sound louder and clearer. The goal is to achieve a BALANCED mix where every sound sits where you want it to** **when you listen to the track.** Be sure to play around with the settings to find you desired levels. ## Mastering **Mastering is the process for standardizing the sound of your music and getting it as loud and clear as possible on multiple audio sources.** I won't say much about it here because: 1. I'm still trying to figure this out for my music 2. It's more important for whole albums than for individual tracks Everything I've learned about mastering suggests it is a traditional music industry standard practice, especially if you're making the type of music you would like to hear on the radio or to win a Grammy someday. If that's not you, then I'd say **don't worry about it too much.** But if you want a few ways to apply it to your own songs then do the following: - **Listen to your song on multiple audio sources, not just in your DAW (listen in your car, on your phone, on your shitty laptop speakers; places where most people who don't make music normally listen)** - Take the feedback and adjust your levels - **If you're working on an album release, ensure loudness levels are standardized across all songs** - Make sure your entire album has the same 'feel' (if you want it very reverby make all the tracks that way for example When it comes to mastering, I only care about loudness, but that's just me. If you want the ultimate authority on mastering this guy [Baphometrix](https://www.youtube.com/c/Baphometrix?ref=keithhayden.net) has incredibly in-depth tutorials about how to do it RIGHT. He even created his own self-mastering system for his music. Finally, there's a well-established belief among many producers that you shouldn't master your own music. From what I can gather, this is an old-school standard that has fallen out of favor as more producers have gotten access to highly capable software (SoundCloud offers one-button press mastering). **Bottomline: You can absolutely master your own songs! And you should try to do so when you start just to learn how it works and how it can improve your music if done right.** --- *And that's it!* With all of the above you'll have a complete track you can share with the world via your online storage space of choice. I like Soundcloud because you get so much free space. But you can also share from Dropbox, Google Drive, One Drive, or wherever you store your finished tracks. Be proud and show off all your hard work! You earned it. You are now a music producer. ## Growing as musician You finished your first song and now you want more. Good! Here's a list of things you can do to continue improving your music making craft. - **Experiment with different production techniques, effects, plugins, musical styles, instruments** - Meet other musicians to learn from and support them - **Become a student of music** - **Analyze your favorite songs: What do you like about them? What are they doing musically? Get inspiration and ideas from them** - Learn from the greats, **but don't compare yourself to them**. - Who are your favorite producers, composers, or artists? What do you like about them? Get ideas for your musical style - **Don't worry about finding your 'sound' it will develop after you make a lot of music** - *Make 100 songs.* Doesn't matter if they're good or bad, just make them. Some will be good, others not. But you'll learn a lot in the process. I'm working on my 100 songs thread [here](https://twitter.com/kh%5Fauthor/status/1580819542493655040?ref=keithhayden.net). I'm at 34 as of writing this article! You don't have to show off your work publicly like I do, but keeping track of them will serve as a reminder of how far you've come on your journey. ## AI music production (Should you worry about it?) I wanted to include a brief section on AI music generation because like AI art in 2022, I have a strong feeling highly capable AI music generators will be the next trend to sweep the internet and drastically alter how we create music. Some very strong applications already exist, they just haven't found a wide audience yet. This video describes a few of them. Here's a list of a few that I'm curious to do more tinkering with: - [Aiva](https://aiva.ai/?ref=keithhayden.net) - [Ecrett Music](https://ecrettmusic.com/?ref=keithhayden.net) - [Soundraw](https://soundraw.io/?ref=keithhayden.net) - [Boomy](https://boomy.com/?ref=keithhayden.net) I started to title this section "is this article worthless?" But I don't think it is. Ultimately, here's my opinion, ### you shouldn't worry about AI music production. There will still be demand for human made music in the future. ### BUT, don't ignore it. ### Learn how it works. Poke around. The more tools you learn, the better producer you'll become. I don't know how AI music generators will change the way we make music. **But I do know as humans we have a natural drive to influence the world around us. One of the primary ways we do that is by creating things.** Music is an expression of that sacred creative act. I'm all for using AI to help me produce good music faster, as long as the music moves feelings the way I want it to and says what I want it to say. #### What do you want your music to say? ## Conclusion As I was writing this article I mentioned to my wife about my flawed memory with respect to my dad's voice. With every year that passes it becomes foggier and less certain. Truthfully, I can't remember it at all now. She eyed me mournfully for several seconds. Then I straightened my back and said, "But I still have the music. That's all I have left." And that's enough for me. I think Dad would like that. --- Thank you for reading this lengthy article. I hope it helped inspire, inform, and guide your journey into music production. I'd like to thank my wife for giving me measured critical feedback on my songs. I'd also like thank my best friend Ryan Fonger for reaching back and offering me resources for learning music. I'm a better composer because of it. If you enjoyed this post share it with someone else who's interested in making music. ***My name is Keith Hayden. You can find more about my work on my*** [***website***](https://keithhayden.net/)***. You can also follow me on Twitter to keep up with me in semi-real time*** [***here***](https://twitter.com/kh%5Fauthor?ref=keithhayden.net)***.*** ### Keith Hayden.net is moving! Here's why URL: https://keithhayden.net/keith-hayden-net-is-moving-heres-why/ Last updated: 2024-05-18T07:18:13.000Z Wordpress. Since 2017, I've slogged and sweat through endless tutorials, long load times, and confusing site updates. But that time has come to an end. The issue that sent me packing? Storage space. At the beginning of this year I decided to refocus my effort on using my website to showcase my writing and other creative work. This followed years of experimentation and discovery on increasingly difficult to manage social media platforms. In January, I spent 2 weeks revamping my site from the ground up. For a while things were great. I published regular blogs posts, set up services, and even wrote an entire novella on the site with supporting media and graphics. Then on random day in mid-April everything changed. It was from Jetpack, the service, that like many software products has silently expanded their offerings and jacked up their prices to match. The email was simple, but alarming. YOUR ALMOST OVER YOUR STORAGE LIMIT OF 10GB! Go here to upgrade. Ugh. Like many adults in 2024, I'm already drowning in monthly subscriptions. Did I really want another one to support my growing website presence? Absolutely not. I spent a day researching alternatives, but found nothing that would allow me to continue posting my collection of creative work that grows by the day. So I went with a short-term solution: I started deleting previous content to make way for new things. This worked for a few weeks. But soon, I found myself out of things I was willing to delete (my site only has 5 months worth of content on it!) That was the last straw, that made me move here to Ghost. While the process of migration is never fun, in the long run I see big advantages to the move. The first is I'll be able to manage my email list from here, which will allow me to ditch my ConvertKit subscription (a service which I rarely use). Next, it will allow me to create a membership around my creative work for those who want to learn from my processes. I've made dozens of tutorials over the last two years. Some are documents, most are YouTube videos the algorithm saw little value in because my channel was too small to matter, a few are from my now defunct creative technology newsletter "The Creative Futurist". But I've reviewed many of these, and most are well-made and still very valuable to the right person. It's time to give them new life here. I explored creating a membership in 2023\. But after some quick research, I realized tacking on a membership plugin to my already chugging WordPress site would be an expensive technical task I was unwilling to undertake. Since it's built in to the Ghost membership, it'll be much easier to implement here. So far, I'm happy with the simplicity of Ghost. Yes, WordPress is the king of flexibility when it comes to web design, but my needs for a website a minimal. Basically, I was looking for a place to showcase my creative work, teach aspiring creators to share stories, and find an easy way to monetize my efforts. From the looks of it, I'll be able to do all of the above here. ### How to Write an AI-assisted Novel URL: https://keithhayden.net/how-to-write-an-ai-assisted-novel/ Last updated: 2025-01-17T13:46:50.000Z There’s a lot of videos about how to write books with AI. Most are bullshit. Hayden Academy Collective (HAC) Studios: Backstage is a reader-supported publication. To receive new posts and support my work, consider becoming a free or paid subscriber. They’re hyped up demos promising insane profits offering little guidance about how to make use of the technology. This has turned many away from AI. ## But if you’re someone who seriously wants to develop an idea into a novel, then AI tools can be insanely helpful. You can outline, visualize your world and characters, make progress when the words aren’t flowing - the uses are only limited to your imagination. Yet this comes with a new set of problems. How do you reign in the options? How do you decide what to use and what’s refuse? By showing you my AI-assisted novel writing process, these are skills I hope to help you develop. I’ve been experimenting with AI for writing for a year and a half. I’ve used it to write blog posts, social media content, notes, music, and even whole books. The fact is, writing with AI is misunderstood. Most think it’s entering a prompt and having the AI write everything for you. While that’s a way to use the tool it’s not very effective (on it’s own AI doesn’t produce writing specific to you). Most think this is a question of quality. I read accounts daily of how AI “has no soul” or how “it can’t do what a human does”. These people are in denial. I’ve witnessed AI produce emotionally compelling writing many times. It’s only gotten better since I started experimenting with it back in 2022\. As far as not having soul…that’s a highly subjective measure. Something that has “soul” to me may sound flat to you. What concerns me more about AI generated writing (or anything else) is the lack of specificity. Prompting it to generate a story about a happy boy who gets lost on the way to school, is much different than asking it to write a story about Enrique, the Mexican kid in South Texas who wears a green backpack that gets caught up in an adventure in Waco on the way to school. The more you have a pre-existing idea, the harder it is to make use of AI because without human intervention, capturing those specific details is very hard. That brings me back to this video. I’m documenting my process writing an original novel in my flagship series to show you that there are no instant *specific* novels with AI. Only a series of interactions that over time build to something worth reading. I hope you find it helpful. Hayden Academy Collective (HAC) Studios: Backstage is a reader-supported publication. To receive new posts and support my work, consider becoming a free or paid subscriber. ### Recording A Japanese Audiobook URL: https://keithhayden.net/recording-a-japanese-audiobook/ Last updated: 2024-05-18T11:56:44.000Z It’s been a long time coming, but my Japanese is ready for it. For the last 9 months, I mashed the gas on learning this language. I’ve grinded vocabulary, copied famous works in Japanese, listened to dozens of hours of podcasts, audiobooks, and YouTube videos. Hayden Academy Collective (HAC) Studios: Backstage is a reader-supported publication. To receive new posts and support my work, consider becoming a free or paid subscriber. After all that and translating my first military game tech fiction novel from English into [Japanese](https://cereus-limnic-part-one-jp.carrd.co/?ref=keithhayden.net), my skills are ready to fulfill the purpose I always had for them - **to share my stories with a Japanese audience via writing and audio**. Watching this video is kinda surreal. Just two years ago, my Japanese had regressed to elementary levels. I hadn’t really used it in nearly a decade. Now? This. I plan to continue to fuel this positive feedback loop to become even more compelling as a Japanese-English voice actor. If you’re learning Japanese (or want to learn) you’ll find some good tips for how I’ve used technology to accelerate my language acquisition in this video. You can also start from scratch with *[Tower of Babbling Japanese](https://keithhayden.net/tower-of-babbling-japanese/)*, my day by day guide to teaching absolute beginners the language. Hayden Academy Collective (HAC) Studios: Backstage is a reader-supported publication. To receive new posts and support my work, consider becoming a free or paid subscriber. ### "Sync Whole" Part 3 - The Greatest Showman Scientist URL: https://keithhayden.net/sync-whole-part-3-the-greatest-showman/ Last updated: 2024-05-18T13:19:47.000Z Here I introduce a new character. He’s the son of one of the Founders of Cereus in [*Cereus & Limnic*](https://khayden22.gumroad.com/l/cereus-limnic?ref=keithhayden.net)*.* Unconventional and wild, his manic mind will be key in Jinhua’s quest to save her life. He’s even got his own music video. ## Watch video: ## Hit the button to read the full story: [Read "Sync Whole"](https://keithhayden.net/sync-whole) ### How to Stay Relevant as a Creator Online - Universal Creativity (TBT Ep. 25) URL: https://keithhayden.net/how-to-stay-relevant-as-a-creator/ Last updated: 2024-05-09T10:49:48.000Z The online game has changed. In this episode, my brother Ajani and I discuss how you can stand out in your creative pursuits. ## "Sync Whole" Trailer: ## Read "Sync Whole" here: https://keithhayden.net/sync-whole-novelette/ ## Get Ajani's latest book "Laurentia: 2nd Edition": https://www.amazon.com/Laurentia-Dictionary-Asteroid-Interpretations-Astrologers/dp/1955275033/ref=sr\_1\_5 ### Tape 6 - Future Sight: How a 23-Year-Old Sci-Fi Video Game Called the AI Era of Today URL: https://keithhayden.net/tape-6-future-sight-how-a-23-year/ Last updated: 2024-05-08T13:47:34.000Z ## Revisiting Metal Gear Solid 2: Sons of Liberty - A Masterpiece Overshadowed ## Introduction \- This episode of Maker's Mirror is different, focusing on inspiring media \- The game in question is Metal Gear Solid 2: Sons of Liberty, which the author hasn't played in over 20 years ## The Metal Gear Solid Trilogy \- The original Metal Gear Solid trilogy is well-known but not frequently discussed \- In trilogies, the first and last entries often receive the most attention \- The first game is remembered for its quality, as it sets the foundation for the trilogy \- The third game, being the last, also tends to garner more attention ## Metal Gear Solid 2: Quality and Hideo Kojima \- The quality of Metal Gear Solid 2 is on par with the other two games in the trilogy \- Hideo Kojima, the creator of the series, is a personal hero to the author \- Kojima's storytelling style blends weird elements with techno-futurism ## Enemy Characters and Emotional Arcs \- Most enemy characters in the game have compelling backstories and emotional arcs \- These arcs are fleshed out as much as possible for enemy characters \- The presentation and distinction of characters are very cool ## Anticipation for Metal Gear Solid 3 \- The author is excited to replay Metal Gear Solid 3 after finishing Metal Gear Solid 2 \- Metal Gear Solid 3 holds a significant place in the author's younger years \- It's hard to believe that the game is now 20 years old ## The Forward-Thinking Nature of Metal Gear Solid 2 \- Replaying Metal Gear Solid 2 was an eye-opener for the author \- The game's story is forward-thinking and encourages players to think about the future \- The author aspires to write stories that make people think about the future \- The game ends with a cool quote from Snake: "Protecting the present and the future are one and the same." ### How to Make a Book Trailer with Canva URL: https://keithhayden.net/how-to-make-a-book-trailer-with-canva/ Last updated: 2024-05-07T14:03:41.000Z The success and struggle is real _This post is for paying subscribers only._ ### Irresistible Fiction: Timeless Techniques from a Legendary Writing Guide URL: https://keithhayden.net/irresistible-fiction-timeless-techniques/ Last updated: 2024-05-18T11:56:45.000Z Secrets to keep readers hooked from start to finish _This post is for paying subscribers only._ ### Forest Fight for Life: "Sync Whole" - Part 1 URL: https://keithhayden.net/forest-fight-for-life-sync-whole/ Last updated: 2024-05-18T11:56:46.000Z Does this sound like freedom to you? _This post is for paying subscribers only._ ### Chapter 6: Protest - Part 1 - Cereus & Limnic URL: https://keithhayden.net/chapter-6-protest-part-1-cereus-and/ Last updated: 2024-05-18T11:56:47.000Z How good could he get if he had her training? _This post is for paying subscribers only._ ### Chapter 5: The New Kid - Cereus & Limnic URL: https://keithhayden.net/chapter-5-the-new-kid-cereus-and/ Last updated: 2024-05-18T11:56:48.000Z A teenage girl meets her crush _This post is for paying subscribers only._ ### Tape 5 - I made my short story available for free URL: https://keithhayden.net/tape-5-i-made-my-short-story-available/ Last updated: 2024-05-18T13:25:15.000Z Keith discusses two strategies internet novelists can use to get more reads. Read the draft of “Sync Whole” [here](https://keithhayden.net/sync-whole-novelette/). # Rethinking the Book in the Internet Age ## The Struggle to Be Read As an author in today's digital era, one of the greatest challenges I've faced is simply getting my work read. Like many other writers, especially those focused on novels and books, I've come to the realization that books are perhaps one of the worst products in the internet age. ## The Challenges of Book Production and Distribution Books take significant time to write, often a month at minimum for even the fastest authors. They also require a substantial time investment from readers, who may spend anywhere from a day to several months consuming a book, depending on their reading speed and habits. Distributing books, whether in physical or digital form, comes with its own set of obstacles. Print copies must be manufactured, shipped, and placed into readers' hands, while even ebooks face challenges in an era of information overload. ## Experimenting with Podcasts Having written and published several books myself over the past few years, I've repeatedly encountered these friction points. My first attempt to overcome them was through creating a podcast version of my nearly 500-page, 150,000-word novel. While this did succeed in making the story more accessible, the three-year production process, involving music, voice acting, sound effects, and editing, was a massive undertaking that I'm unlikely to repeat, especially considering I was learning the necessary skills as I went. ## The Shifting Landscape of Information Consumption This brings me to my current experimental approach. The standard model for authors has long been to write a book, then sell it as a complete product on platforms like Amazon, personal websites, or Gumroad. However, I've noticed that in recent years, people have become increasingly reluctant to pay for information upfront. The rise of AI has exacerbated this issue, as users can now easily generate solutions and examples tailored to their specific needs. ## The Abundance of Free Content For storytellers, this presents a significant problem. With the abundance of free content available on platforms like YouTube, which hosts billions of stories ranging from personal anecdotes to wild fiction, convincing readers to pay for a novel has become a daunting task. While people may still pay for big-budget movies or live shows, the decreasing cost of production, especially with the aid of AI, has made it harder to persuade readers to invest in a book. ## Experiment 1: Free Access to Build Readership In light of these challenges, I'm currently conducting two experiments with my fiction. First, I'm posting the entire draft of my short story, "Sync Whole," on my website for free. Rather than focusing on immediate financial gain, my primary goal at this stage is to attract readers and familiarize them with my writing style, characters, and stories. By making my work accessible without a paywall, I hope to build a base of regular fiction readers who will return for more. ## Experiment 2: Providing Upfront Content Warnings and Audience Information The second experiment involves providing content warnings and intended audience information upfront, similar to the ratings and warnings found on video games and movies. By giving readers a clear idea of what to expect in terms of content, themes, and target audience, I aim to help them quickly determine whether the story is worth their time and attention. In an age of constant distractions and limited time, I believe it's crucial for creators to respect their audience's time and provide the information needed to make informed decisions about the content they consume. ## Looking Ahead As I continue to refine and implement these strategies, I'm eager to see how they resonate with readers and fellow writers. In a rapidly evolving digital landscape, embracing new approaches and prioritizing reader engagement may be the key to success for authors seeking to connect with their audience and build a dedicated following. ### Chapter 4: A New Society - Cereus & Limnic URL: https://keithhayden.net/chapter-4-a-new-society-cereus-and/ Last updated: 2024-05-18T11:56:50.000Z An electric race through a future country town _This post is for paying subscribers only._ ### Tape 4 - I made a character for my short story URL: https://keithhayden.net/tape-4-i-made-a-character-for-my/ Last updated: 2024-04-16T00:22:53.000Z Keith talks about his character creation process. ## Try the Military Game Tech Fiction Story Generator See what characters you create [here](https://milgametechfictionstorygenerator-rgc3s.ondigitalocean.app/generate?ref=keithhayden.net). ## Created character - Obaghn Mensa Highwater DOB: 16 Apr 2032 Place of Birth: Kumasi, Ghana Obaghn Mensa Highwater is the third adopted son of "The Matriarch". She adopted him under dire circumstances on a trip to Ghana when he was 2 years old. ### Obaghn's Backstory The Conservation Crossbow weighed heavy in Obaghn Mensah Highwater's hands, less a symbol of hope and more a reminder of everything he'd screwed up. The sun blazed down on his back, a far cry from the gentle Texas heat of his youth. He wasn't a Texan by blood, but by the grace of 'The Matriarch', the imposing woman who'd rescued him from a Ghanaian orphanage and carted him back to her sprawling ranch. A place where his academic brilliance and unconventional flair had found a sort of grudging acceptance. Waxahachie High School was a blur of honors classes and simmering rebellion, a desperate bid to prove himself after… the incident. The Navy, that was supposed to be his golden ticket, his way to repay his mother's sacrifices. Five years and a dishonorable discharge later, he was back on the ranch, the weight of her disappointment heavier than any ocean. His journey to Ghana wasn't about finding his roots - that chapter was closed. Yet, amidst the bustle of Kumasi markets, a spark of opportunity had flickered. The sea smugglers, with their promise of freedom and quick riches, had been a temporary escape, a way to spit in the eye of his privileged upbringing. It was there, along a salt-sprayed coastline, that he'd met her – a fiery scientist with dreams of harnessing emotions through nanotech. A whirlwind romance, a disastrous end, and a lingering love that haunted him like a ghost. Now, here he was, a disgraced ex-sailor turned reluctant rebel, shoulder-to-shoulder with Amelio Khuni, his brilliant classmate, and his not-so-secret lover, the tyrant's very own daughter. Guilt gnawed at him, but even more potent was the intoxicating mix of pride and desperation. This quest… it could be the twisted path to redemption, a chance to prove himself at last – to his mother, to himself, and perhaps even to the woman whose memory he couldn't quite shake. Hayden Academy Collective (HAC) Studios: Backstage is a reader-supported publication. To receive new posts and support my work, consider becoming a free or paid subscriber. ### Chapter 3: Frivals - Cereus & Limnic URL: https://keithhayden.net/chapter-3-frivals-cereus-and-limnic/ Last updated: 2024-05-18T11:56:51.000Z Two friends compare stats _This post is for paying subscribers only._ ### Chapter 2: Father and Daughter - Cereus & Limnic URL: https://keithhayden.net/chapter-2-father-and-daughter-cereus/ Last updated: 2024-05-18T11:56:52.000Z A teenage girl has a strange dream _This post is for paying subscribers only._ ### Chapter 1: Barto and the Machine - Cereus & Limnic URL: https://keithhayden.net/chapter-1-barto-and-the-machine-cereus/ Last updated: 2024-05-18T11:56:54.000Z Military Game Tech Fiction Novel - Chapter 1 _This post is for paying subscribers only._ ### Revolutionizing My Writing Workflow: AI Proofreading and Translation URL: https://keithhayden.net/revolutionizing-my-writing-workflow/ Last updated: 2024-05-18T11:56:54.000Z The Power (and Limits) of ChatGPT, Claude, Gemini Models _This post is for paying subscribers only._ ### Why I'm learning Japanese in public URL: https://keithhayden.net/why-im-learning-japanese-in-public/ Last updated: 2024-05-18T11:56:57.000Z 3 reasons _This post is for paying subscribers only._ ### I'm removing my books from online URL: https://keithhayden.net/im-removing-my-books-from-online/ Last updated: 2024-03-12T13:39:24.000Z Why and my strategy moving forward _This post is for paying subscribers only._ ### "Squirrels and Suns" URL: https://keithhayden.net/squirrels-and-suns/ Last updated: 2024-05-18T11:56:58.000Z Microfiction Story _This post is for paying subscribers only._ ### Slaves to the Algorithm? URL: https://keithhayden.net/slaves-to-the-algorithm/ Last updated: 2024-05-18T11:57:01.000Z When Writing Becomes a Form of Worship _This post is for paying subscribers only._ ### 3 Audiobook Myths that Plague Authors - BUSTED! URL: https://keithhayden.net/3-audiobook-myths-that-plague-authors/ Last updated: 2024-05-18T11:57:02.000Z They're Easier To Make Than You Think _This post is for paying subscribers only._ ### Intro to La Menzogna (The Lie) URL: https://keithhayden.net/intro-to-la-menzogna-the-lie/ Last updated: 2024-05-18T11:57:04.000Z Risky rejuvenation, lying to live _This post is for paying subscribers only._ ### Building My World Away From Social Media URL: https://keithhayden.net/building-my-world-away-from-social/ Last updated: 2024-02-12T04:40:56.000Z Worldbuilding, Microfiction, and Fighting the Social Media Overlords + 12 - 19 Feb 24 Goals _This post is for paying subscribers only._ ### Social Media is Dead URL: https://keithhayden.net/social-media-is-dead/ Last updated: 2024-02-07T03:37:56.000Z Why and what's next _This post is for paying subscribers only._ ### AI-Powered Novel Writing: Unlock Your Storytelling Potential URL: https://keithhayden.net/ai-powered-novel-writing-unlock-your/ Last updated: 2024-02-06T02:05:43.000Z For aspiring authors: Command ChatGPT to craft compelling narratives _This post is for paying subscribers only._ ### What does the word "memoir" mean to you? URL: https://keithhayden.net/what-does-the-word-memoir-mean-to/ Last updated: 2024-05-18T11:57:04.000Z Redefining the term for myself and others _This post is for paying subscribers only._ ### Writing My Military Autobiography (Updates 5 Feb 24) URL: https://keithhayden.net/writing-my-military-autobiography/ Last updated: 2024-05-18T11:57:05.000Z Goals 5 - 12 Feb 24 _This post is for paying subscribers only._ ### Tape 3 - I made a web app URL: https://keithhayden.net/tape-3-i-made-a-web-app/ Last updated: 2024-01-30T20:53:51.000Z --- I explain how I was able to create and deploy my first app in 2 days with the help of ChatGPT. It wasn’t as simple as you think. In this one you’ll discover: - Ways ChatGPT can expand your creativity and capability - My inspiration behind the app - What my creation does and how to use it (with as little technical jargon as possible!) Access the app [here](https://milgametechfictionstorygenerator-rgc3s.ondigitalocean.app/generate?ref=keithhayden.net). Learn more about Military Game-Tech Fiction [here](https://militarygametechfiction.carrd.co/?ref=keithhayden.net). ### Blazer to the Stars URL: https://keithhayden.net/blazer-to-the-stars/ Last updated: 2024-01-30T20:19:46.000Z A Space Magical Realism Microfiction Story _This post is for paying subscribers only._ ### What is "readware"? URL: https://keithhayden.net/what-is-readware/ Last updated: 2024-05-18T11:57:06.000Z A new type of book experience (Goals 29 Jan - 4 Feb 24) _This post is for paying subscribers only._ ### My Marketing Problem URL: https://keithhayden.net/my-marketing-problem/ Last updated: 2024-05-18T11:57:09.000Z And how I got over it (Goal: 22 - 28 Jan 24) _This post is for paying subscribers only._ ### Be the GOAT on the hill URL: https://keithhayden.net/be-the-goat-on-the-hill/ Last updated: 2024-05-18T11:57:11.000Z Stubborn and stunning for 15 - 21 Jan 24 goals _This post is for paying subscribers only._ ### Eye of time URL: https://keithhayden.net/eye-of-time/ Last updated: 2024-05-18T11:57:13.000Z Always watching as I work: 8 - 14 Jan 24 goals _This post is for paying subscribers only._ ### Tape 2 - I made a US military patch URL: https://keithhayden.net/tape-2-i-made-a-us-military-patch/ Last updated: 2024-05-18T11:57:14.000Z I unexpectedly made a military patch today. In this one discover: - How it was made - A brief history of military patches - Patch fanatic - a surprising story about one person’s passion for patches Interested in getting a custom patch (with your name on it)? Follow Sgt. Okinawa for future (limited time) opportunities. [I'm interested in a patch](https://twitter.com/SGT%5Fokijpmaster?ref=keithhayden.net) ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/18/bf/18bf29db-1cec-4857-a9dc-e2e94a86d2bf/content/images/2024/05/https-3a-2f-2fsubstack-post-media-s3-amazonaws-com-2fpublic-2fimages-2f7da5d553-e977-49c9-a625-d4efd8ed9774_500x500-png.jpg) Hayden Academy Collective (HAC) Studios: Backstage is a reader-supported publication. To receive new posts and support my work, consider becoming a free or paid subscriber. ### Six goals for 2024 URL: https://keithhayden.net/six-goals-for-2024/ Last updated: 2024-05-18T11:57:15.000Z A year of calm ambition _This post is for paying subscribers only._ ### Tape 1 - What is Maker's Mirror? URL: https://keithhayden.net/tape-1-what-is-makers-mirror/ Last updated: 2024-01-03T21:42:25.000Z This is my show to document the **what, why, and how behind my creative work**. Expect: - Insights behind what inspired the work - How it was made - Thoughts about how it turned out - How you can do it too I have no idea how often I’ll make these. But I plan to publish them more often this year to serve as mini time capsules. A record of legacy in progress. If you’re interested in seeing how I run my one-man studio, how I make so much stuff, or getting inspiration/best practices/advice to fuel your creative spirit, **subscribe**. ### A military sci-fi short to find yourself among the noise URL: https://keithhayden.net/a-military-sci-fi-short-to-find-yourself/ Last updated: 2024-05-18T11:57:16.000Z Ignore smells and spectators _This post is for paying subscribers only._ ### Space gardening key to survival in this drama sci-fi short story URL: https://keithhayden.net/space-gardening-key-to-survival-in/ Last updated: 2024-05-18T11:57:17.000Z Fate in the hands of an elderly visionary _This post is for paying subscribers only._ ### Peak performance on the mountain URL: https://keithhayden.net/peak-performance-on-the-mountain/ Last updated: 2024-05-18T11:57:20.000Z 1 - 7 Jan 24 Goals from the summit of Okinawa's highest peak _This post is for paying subscribers only._ ### Go for gold in 2024 with this goal setting event URL: https://keithhayden.net/go-for-gold-in-2024-with-this-goal/ Last updated: 2024-05-18T11:57:22.000Z And a chance to get access to an elite writing program _This post is for paying subscribers only._ ### Moral superiority and the laws of nature URL: https://keithhayden.net/moral-superiority-and-the-laws-of/ Last updated: 2024-05-18T11:57:23.000Z Thoughts after a reread of Sapiens: A Brief History of Humankind _This post is for paying subscribers only._ ### A story to forget URL: https://keithhayden.net/a-story-to-forget/ Last updated: 2023-12-27T19:58:59.000Z _This post is for paying subscribers only._ ### 2023 Annual Awards URL: https://keithhayden.net/2023-annual-awards/ Last updated: 2024-05-18T11:57:23.000Z And why I picked them _This post is for paying subscribers only._ ### Sci-Friday - "Operation Silent Thunder: The Legend of Cheeks" URL: https://keithhayden.net/sci-friday-operation-silent-thunder/ Last updated: 2024-05-18T11:57:24.000Z "Man, you wouldn't believe dis shit if I told you. But I gotta admit, you'd probably be impressed if you saw wit' yo own eyes." "Corporal Owens, shut your mouth!" his platoon leader commanded. "Sorry ma'am," Lloyd said. The words shot out of his mouth, but in his mind he’d finished his thought. It was that important. Surely she could see that right? Nope. Second Lieutenant (Lt.) Mihligan's eyes tore through him. An unspoken threat. "Listen up! We've got orders today," she continued. Hayden Academy Collective (HAC) Studios is a reader-supported publication. To receive new posts and support my work, consider becoming a free or paid subscriber. Her voice had resumed its soft flow. He thought of it like a fan. It oscillated smoothly most of the time at level one. But when things got hot, she cranked the knob to four. She even shook like one when she was yelling. "Today's trash pick up is very important. The commander said blah blah wamp wamp wah wah something stupid whatever whatever, when can I go home? yea yeah (oh she kinda fill out dat uniform right). And we have to assemble at the roadside at 0900...Corporal Owens? Are you paying attention!?" There it was, level four. "Uh..." "Repeat what I said!" she crossed her arms. The air blew fast and hot right on him. "That's extra cleaning duty for you then!" *Ah fuck. Not again.* "Yes Ma'am." The soldiers snickered, loud enough for him to hear. *Cheeks got in trouble again.* *Idiot gonna get us all punished.* *Dammit Cheeks.* "Meet at my office at--" Suddenly her eyes softened as she raised two fingers to her temple. In seconds, Cheeks saw her dial descend one setting at a time until it couldn't go anymore. He had never seen her off before. Not once. Then it hit him that things might not be ok. Cheeks became rigid. His smile concealed by a mask of seriousness. The soldiers were whispering now. Everyone speculating and stirring. The room, already hot with the heater on full blast to combat the exterior wintery air, lit up like a furnace without fire. Sweat began to build. Lt. lowered her arm. "Everyone quiet down!" It got silent real quick. "You...I'm sorry, what was your name again?" A stick of a man with a uniform hanging off of him bolted out of his chair. It made an awful screech on the concrete floor with his rapid movement. "Batbayar ma'am!" "Bat-what?" "Corporal Batbayar ma'am," the young man said. There was borderline impatience in his tone. Cheeks wondered if the dial was about to spin again. "Ok Batman, go bring that TV in here. And hurry!" "Yes ma'am!" The uniform whooshed away out the door. The room was a windowless cellar. It had been shit out into the bowels of Fort Belvoir. A storage room was easy to convert into a classified facility. There was nothing but boxes and rats to secure. It was also a good excuse for the US Army to save some money. The man-boy returned a minute later rolling a squiky-wheeled TV cart. The kind that was half a century old. He positioned it in front of the seated formation then stood at parade rest. "Well.." Lt. said, "what are you doing?" Batman snapped to attention. "Ma'am, I'm waiting your command." "PLUG. IT. IN!" she yelled. "Yes, ma'am!" He gave a sharp salute then searched for an open outlet. As he worked, Lt, went to the corner of the room to dig through some boxes. Cheeks had enjoyed a laugh at Batman's expense, but was getting jittery with anticipation at what was going on. *Must be somethin’ BIG.* Lt. Mihligan came back with some fancy thing that looked like an old TV antenna, but was new. Not fucked up like most of their equipment. She muttered a few words in its direction and it lit up without making a sound. "Turn it on. Then go sit," she said with pointed words. Batman did as directed. When the screen came to life, Cheeks' jaw dropped. Another building downed by Limnic. Those crazy bastards had killed dozens with their fanatical ideology of "protect people and planet" by any means. At least that's what he gathered from the reporter on the news. It had been a parking structure at a popular mall outside of DC. Dozens confirmed dead. Hundreds still missing. The gray plume from the fresh live demolition reminded Cheeks of a mushroom cloud following a nuclear blast. A sickening sobering mental picture. As the images of devastation flickered across the screen, Lt Mihligan turned to address the platoon, her voice stuffing down excitement. "You see what's happened. So here's what we're going to do. That telepathic call just now was from the Company Commander Major Adams. We have new orders to assist with what they're calling "Operation Silent Thunder." This shit happened on our doorstep, just a few miles to the west of DC! It can't go unanswered. Prepare to receive the official mission brief. We’ll break and begin at 0830." Cheers erupted in celebration the platoon. Cheeks gave high fives and wrapped the soldiers to the right and left of him in bear hugs. *We get to blow something up!* *They won't know what hit em'!* Everyone whooped and celebrated, except Batman. He raised his twig arm in the air to ask a question. "Everyone in your seats!" Lt said. She stifled a smile at the promise of combat. "Yes, Batman." "Does this mean we won't pick trash today?" Comedy club laughter broke out in response. "No." The smiles died as quickly as they’d come. "It just means we'll be taking out a different kind of trash!" All were out of their chairs, pumping their fists, doing squats and pushups. Cheeks had to hand it to the Lt, she knew how to raise morale when it counted. \*\*\*\*\* “Corporal Owens, a word.” Lt called him from his seat. It was their pre-brief break. Most of the platoon had scattered to smoke, piss, and sleep. Only a few remained in their chairs talking silently among themselves. Cheeks approached her with measured steps. When he stopped, he locked it up at attention. His eyes were trained on the cement-colored wall in front of him. “Be at ease Corporal.” “Yes ma”am.” Cheeks relaxed. “How are your college classes going?” she asked. She spoke at a breezy level one tone. Cheeks relaxed even more. “Very well Ma’am, though I’m havin’ some trouble with the math class.” “I see. Well keep working at it. You’ll get there eventually.” “Yes ma’am! I will!” “You’re a smart troop Owens. Remember how you said you wanted to go to OTS?” “Yes ma’am. I do. You said you’d help write my package..” Cheeks paused. Her face was expectant. Not mad. But neutral in the worst way. No hints on this test. “...does the offer still stand?” “It depends.” Cheeks’ blood began to roll. He almost lost his bearing. She continued while moving closer to his face. Her finger on the dial. “If you want to be an officer you need to be responsible.” She moved in again. “You need to know your job in and out.” She moved even closer. Her perfume smelled like something sweet. *Somethin’ sweet oh! I wonder what kinda dessert dey got at chow today?* “You need to know when to speak and when to LISTEN!” She snapped her finger before his eyes. “Did you hear what I said?” She had stayed on level one. Probably only because other brass were filing into the room for the brief. “Yes ma’am! I got it! I gotta shut up and listen better!” “Good.” She turned away then took a few steps, hands behind her back. Thinking. Cheeks noticed the tight bun her brownish blonde hair was in. *Prolly pullin’ her hair out at the roots to get it dat way. Must suck bein’ a girl.* He thought of his own low cut, no maintenance hair. All he had to do was get it cut, then splash water and coconut oil on it once a week and he was good to go. “Are you still listening?” Cheek’s mind returned to the present. “Yes ma’am.” “Okay.” Her head swiveled to the side as she viewed him from the corner of her eye. A hard to read smile rose on her pink lips. “I will support your OTS package.” Cheeks sighed relief. “BUT you have to do something for me first.” \*\*\*\*\* "I can't believe dis! Why do I gotta do dis'?" Cheeks moaned. Batman's uniform whistled in the wind of the woods. He stood before Cheeks waiting for...something. Cheeks had no idea what it was. His platoon-mates flashed "I-feel-sorry-for-you" glances at him in the patchy moonlight as they prepared their field shelters. The op was set to kick off at dawn. It had been a hell of a day after the emergency briefing. But in the end, there he was, freezing his Black ass off in some vacant field in the foothills of Shenandoah National Park. "How'd I get stuck with the foreign kid?" Cheeks muttered. "Excuse me? Mr. Cheeks?" "There's no "Mr.", just Cheeks." "Ok Cheeks. Permission to be at rest." "We sittin' in a damn field. How else you gon’ be?" "Is that a yes?" "Yes!" Batman loosened up. He shook out his arms, making the sleeves of his jacket billow. Despite his ill-fitting attire, the cold didn't seem to bother him. "You ain't cold?" Cheeks said, moving closer to their field warmer. "No, no, it gets very cold where I'm from. Weather is same to here." Cheeks eyed him suspiciously. "Dat right? Where're you comin' from?" Batman took a seat on a crate near the warmer. "Ulaanbaatar. Over in the East." Cheeks laughed. "Ulaanbaatar? What country is dat?" "It's in Mongolia. We have the coldest capital city in the world by temperature average." Cheeks shivered. "Damn, must be cold as the fuckin' Arctic over there for you to be out here in only a jacket." He got quiet for a second. Then he heard Lt. Mihligan blasting her voice at a group of soldiers to put a large crate down with a forklift. Looks like their "care package" had arrived. Only a few minutes more now. His eyes shifted back to Batman. He opened his mouth to speak, but the young man cut him off. "My name is not "Bat-man."" "No? What is it then?" "It's Batbayar Otgonbaatar." A puzzled look populated Cheeks' face. "You can just call me Batbayar." He extended his hand for a handshake. Cheeks raised his meaty paw and shook it, careful not to apply too much force. "Uh, nice to meet you man Bat-baya." "How you feelin' about the op tomorrow?" "I am ready to die if I must." A surge of adrenaline made Cheeks momentarily forget the cold. "You hardcore huh? Wait, you guys are some types of badasses over there aren't ya? Ya'll used to ride horses standin' on one foot while shootin' arrows and singin' songs right? I saw it on the History channel once." Batbayar chuckled. "YES. Just like that. I come from a long line of nomadic warriors. That's why I'm here, to--" The forklift spun its tires in the mud nearby. It flung icy mud into the faces and eyes of the unfortunate ones digging it out. "Corporal Owens! Report!" The voice wasn't the Lt's. It was worse. His platoon sergeant, Sergeant Net was a career soldier. She'd sacrified everything for the service and wanted the whole world to know it. Cheeks donned his winter hat and rushed over. Batbayar followed close behind. "You both help me open this thing up," Net said. Cheeks and Batbayar got to work. The crate was massive, about the size of a small backyard shed. It reminded Cheeks of one of those fancy hi-tech SURVIVE shelters. They were designed to provide life support for 30 days in supreme austere conditions, even on Mars. Probably only the O's would ever get to stay in one. It would be a tarp and some 550 cable for him and his kind, even on the surface of another planet. He was sure of it. They managed to pry the crate open. The side panel fell, crushing the icy grass beneath with a crunch. Inside was something Cheeks never expected to see. It was a giant robot, about as tall as a small tree. It took five of them to remove its protective casing and haul it out into the chilly moonlight. A life-sized action figure prepared for their collective enjoyment. "Corporal, turn it on," Net directed. Lt. Mihligan looked on from a distance, shaking with excitement. Owl eyes watching. Cheeks noticed Batbayar seemed comfortable with machines of all types. Which was fine by him -- he couldn't stand the damn things. *They always seem to break down when you really need em'.* He thought he saw a flash in the darkness beyond the shadowed hills. His mind dismissed it, until the sound of small arms fire infiltrated his ears. "It's them! It's Limnic! They're here!" Cheeks threw himself onto the frost as chaos ensued around him. Boots crunched. Rifles blasted. Lasers lit up the night. He low crawled with clumsy quickness to a nearby unit where his weapon was stored. The blast of gunfire was getting closer. Time wasn't on his side. There was a downed L-15 laser rifle outside of the open unit. He snatched it up then checked the charge. *Good enough to do some damage.* Footsteps were upon him. He spun around finger in the trigger guard. It was Batbayar huffing behind him. "I almost blew yo' head off man!" he let out a heavy breath in the frigid air. "Are there any more guns in there?" Batbayar yelled above the battle. "Don't know! Go look! I'll cover ya!" Cheeks responded. His toothpick battle buddy ducked into the storage unit. As soon as he did, two human Limnic fighters approached his position. With swiftness, they hid behind the wheel wells of parked vehicles. They took turns popping up and ducking, taking precision shots toward Cheeks' cover. Partially secured behind the unit, he fired back. The two sides traded volleys. It was a dangerous game of whack a' mole, whoever got hit first was dead. "Batbayar, hurry it up man!" Cheeks noticed more lights joining the fight on the Limnic side. They were bounding closer to him. He aimed in the dark and squeezed. He heard a yelp, then saw a rifle spin toward the snow. Rounds clanked against the door. The enemy was communicating; *move up!* *he's surrounded!* *it's only one man!* Then two blue lights appeared through the trees behind the enemy. Cheeks didn't know what to make of it at first. What followed was a steady tunnel of hooped light rings that flowed like destructive music through the dark wind. When the cone impacted one of the Limnic fighters, blood ran from his ears and eyes. He fell to the earth. Dead. Cheeks took cover, right as a mini rocket exploded with a boom, sending another enemy combatant flipping into the air. He peeked around the door to see a welcome sight. It was Batbayar, riding on the back of the humanoid war machine. Somehow, he hefted a heavy rifle in his wirey arms. The mech advanced with human agility and sharp battlefield awareness. Sergeant Net and Lt. Mihligan flanked both sides of the metal warrior providing backup. "Aw hell yeah!" Cheeks cheered. He checked the charge on his rifle one more time before stepping out and joining the fray. With their pincer formation mobilized the two remaining fighters stood no chance. They flung their rifles down in surrender. Sergeant Net along with three other soldiers wasted no time in detaining them. Lt jogged over to the three of them. Her face was flushed but smiling as she exhaled visible vapor clouds at an accelerated clip. "Corporal Owens, are you alright?" she asked. "Yes ma'am. Good to go.” She clenched her fist, in a sign of solidarity toward him. *Guess dat means I did good.* “Excellent work for you two as well.” She looked at Batbayar and the human-like mech. “Excuse me ma’am, what the hell is this thing?" Cheeks asked. "This is Atlas-1\. Our newest platoon edition. Say hello." Batbayar had climbed down and stood tall next to the humanoid. "It's a pleasure to meet you Corporal Owens, I'm Atlas-1\. Judging by the kill distance of that last shot, you're a hell of a marksman." "Uh, thanks. It was pretty good I guess." Lt. Mihligan looked over at Batbayar. "We have you to thank Batm- I mean Corporal Batbayar. Sorry about screwing up your name earlier. I like to know all of my soliders by name and face. Not just the hard to reach ones." She gave Cheeks a familiar, almost friendly look. He was liking her more and more. "It's no problem ma'am. I did it bravely, because that's how I was taught in my country." She nodded firm. "Good. Let's get things cleaned up around here." "Yes ma'am!" Cheeks and Batbayar responded. Cheeks started to smile at his new companion, when he heard him say "Ma'am get down!" The red light of a laser streaked toward them. It cut clean through her chest. She fell back hard, eyes closed. "Lt! No!" Cheeks whirled around brandishing his rifle in the dark. "C'mon you son of a bitch! Get yo' ass out here!" As Cheeks aimed, Batbayar had engaged Atlas-1 to remove the Lt from the field. It was quick work. Seconds later, it sprinted back to join Cheeks. Through the black sheet, light snow whipping around them, two red lights appeared. "No way! You gotta be shittin' me.." Cheeks said. It was a boy, with tan skin and black hair. He wore an all black bodysuit. His escort was a humanoid mech about the same size as theirs. Its color nearly blended in with the surrounding snow. With glowing red eyes, it reminded Cheeks of a white wolf. The boy studied him with sharp eyes. "You have something we need Mr. Owens," he said. His speech was clear with accented punches. *He's just a child!* Cheeks thought. "I don't know what you're talkin' about!" "That mech. It was stolen from us. I'll be taking it back." Batbayar stood like stone. His heavy rifle trained on the boy. Atlas-1 was in a fighting stance--prepared for orders. Cheeks waved his arms at them both, shaking his big head. "Man, he's just a kid! What can he do?" "It's that mech...it'll kill us." Batbayar said with a scowl. "Mr. Owens what do you say? Your commander is down. Our forces are securing this area." He glanced up at the White Wolf. "You've lost. Let's end the bloodshed shall we?" "We won't surrender to you! We will die as honorable warriors!" Batbayar yelled, "Atlas-1 go!" The mech sprang into action. The white mech did the same as Cheeks rolled in Batbayar's direction. White Wolf threw rapid kicks while Atlas-1 punched. Their opposing movement electrified the air. Atlas-1 somersaulted, firing a barrage of rockets flaring in the other's direction. White Wolf cloaked itself in the snow, evading the assault. For a second, it disappeared from sight. Atlas-1 strained its sensors in the snowy void. Nothing came up. Then they all lit up at once when White Wolf reappeared right before it, spinning a devastating Van Damme roundhouse kick to its chassis. Atlas-1 flew back into a large oak tree, sparks shooting from its injured back. White Wolf closed in to finish its task. Meanwhile, Cheeks and Batbayar took on the boy. At first he stood there as they aimed at him. Cheeks took the opportunity to talk sense into him. "Look kid, we-" he glanced over at his hard-faced companion "ok *I* don't want to hurt you, let's just talk about this. Maybe we can call your folks and tell em' to come pick you up." Without warning he moved with the speed of a rabbit to the weapons shed, raised an unloaded wood crate then tossed it at them with uncanny force. Cheeks and Batbayar dove in opposite directions to avoid being crushed. Then they heard a voice yelling "Corporal? Are you okay?" It was Sergeant Net and a dozen other soldiers. *So he was bluffin’*. As a storm of laser-bullets rained in his direction, White Wolf retreated to shield the boy, scooped him up, then blast-jumped into the night. \*\*\*\*\* *Hours later.* Cheeks stood in the lobby of the medical shelter, arms folded. The events from the previous few hours were fresh in his mind. *That kid and his mech...it doesn't make any sense*. *What did he want? He said dat shit was stolen. From where? And the Lt…fuck*. His hard thinking drove him to sit. Atlas-1 walked in the door. It closed it gently behind. Even though it had burning blue eyes, they were empty and cold. Cheeks didn't know where to look when he spoke to it. "Cheeks...how are you?" it said. The voice was neutral, not too pitched, not too deep. It sounded odd to his ears. "I'm...ah I don't know. Dat fight was crazy...and the Lt...."Cheeks stared at the wall, "she...she didn't make it?" Atlas-1 sat down with care near him. It reached out a hand in Cheek's direction, then pulled it away. Instead, it adopted Cheek's stance. Hunched over, forearms on legs, head stooped. Together they sat as a plain digital clock ticked on the wall. It read 0304\. Batbayar would be out of the medical bay soon. "I'm sorry Cheeks. Do you...want to talk about the Lieutenant?" "Not really...it's just...she…she.. was a good leader. She was gon’ help me become an O….shit’s fucked up…" "As far as I knew, with my limited experience, yes she was," Atlas-1 reached out its large hand and patted Cheeks on the shoulder. Upon feeling the steely contact, Cheeks jolted up from his seat, "Dude, don't fuckin' touch me! You don't know shit about the Lt. or any of us humans! You're a goddamn machine. You got no heart or feelings, or nuthin' inside you! You a soulless shell! All you good for is killin’ and dyin’. What you got to say to me!?" Atlas-1's arm descended to the seat. It hung its head low. "I suppose there's nothing," it responded in a despondent tone. "Don't go tryin' to ac like you got feelings now. That's just fuckin' voice modulation and you know it! Oldest damn trick in the book." "Ok it was," Atlas-1 said in its original neutral tone. "Oh you a smart ass now ain't you? We should have just let them take yo ass! Maybe the Lt. wouldn't...she'd still be alive if it weren't for you! Maybe it'd be easier if we just shut you down!" Atlas-1 bolted up, throwing its shadow over Cheeks in the light of the lobby. "Cheeks, you're upset. You DON'T want to mess with me. I'm programmed to defend myself from destruction." "What is happening out here?" Batbayar stepped out from the sick bay. The on-call medical officer held up his device recording the incident with giddiness. "Why do you fight each other? Our enemy is out there! This is a waste of time." Cheeks and Atlas-1 postured toward each other. “Cheeks, I’d advise you to think through this. The probability of you beating me in a fight is 4.002%. In other words: not likely.” “All I gotta do is find yo’ off switch. It’ll be like pullin’ the plug on a busted computer fulla malware. Even I can do dat!” A loud sound at the counter got their attention. It was a device hiting the floor of the facility hard. Batbayar had snatched it from the doc and thrown it on the floor. “We have an op soon against Limnic and now that kid and his mech. This is stupid.” Both Cheeks and Atlas-1 stood down. "Yes. This is a waste of time and talent," a slow voice in the doorway said. "Room ten-hut!" Batbayar called. He and Cheeks snapped to attention. After several seconds, Atlas-1 did the same. Major Kapono Adams limped into the room. His fitted field uniform was faded and snug from repeated washing. "At ease, soldiers." All three stood at parade rest. "We’re going after the kid and the Limnic cell at 0600\. Intel brief is at 0400\. I want all three of you there...especially you." He peered into Atlas-1's shining face. "So this is the new super soldier prototype. Very...impressive haw haw. They don't make soldiers like they used to anymore." The remark had a somber tone. "See you there." \*\*\*\* "Da kid is blind?" Cheeks, Batbayar, and Atlas-1 bounced in the back of a troop transport with seven other soldiers. They were headed to the Limnic hideout. An old abandoned house on the edge of the mountains. Dawn light melted the cold of night away peeking over the distant hills. Lights off, the transport rumbled toward its destination. Atlas-1 reminded both of them about the key points of the intel brief. "Henrique Diaz is 11-years-old. He was born sickly and lost his sight at an early age. His parents had money though, and financed an experimental biohacking surgery in Mexico back in 2040\. It was an attempt to restore his vision. The procedure was a failure. But in the end, Diaz gained the ability to adopt the traits of various animals. He's as strong as a gorilla and quick as a rabbit." Cheeks held up a hand. "Hold on, that damn crate must have weighed hundreds of pounds. How'd it not crunch his little boy bones when he lifted it?" "An indo-skeleton, reinforced with an exo-skeleton suit. The bones in his limbs were replaced with titanium alloy. He's also got a skin suit that increases his strength index by ten times." "They said that during the brief," Batbayar reminded Cheeks. Cheeks ignored him as the truck hit a bump. "Aw hell. So we got a pre-teen Wolverine wit' super strength, who's mad cause he blind. Is dat right?" Batbayar shook his head in disapproval. "What'd I say wrong?" “One of my kids has impaired vision.” Cheeks didn’t conceal his shock. “You got kids? Fo’ real?” Batbayar maintained a hard look. “Yes.” Cheeks laughed. “You fulla surprises. How many you got?” “Two. Boy and girl,” he said, exasperated. “Hehehe, I see you was gettin’ it in early.” Atlas-1 craned its neck to the side. “*Getting, it. in*? I’m not aware of that expression in this context. What does it mean?” Surrounding soldiers began to laugh. Cheeks let out a hearty chuckle. “You know…” He made a circle with one hand and inserted the index finger of the other. Atlas-1’s eyes flashed repeatedly. “I understand. I’ve saved that image to my cloud storage. *Getting it in* means to make a circle with one hand then move your index finger in and out at various speeds. It’s a game. You start slow, then get faster until you get tired of the movement. It appears to be a game where everyone wins. Excuse me? Why are you laughing?” Batbayar’s mouth almost bent into a smile. Cheeks wiped tears from his eyes. “Uh yeah, I played dat game a few times in high school, too. I didn’t have no kids tho’. Guess I won in the end.” “Can we talk about the enemy?” Batbayar asked. “Yes.” Atlas-1 continued, "Diaz’s impaired vision is not the entire story. Intelligence reports state he has a completely normal psychological profile. His parents work in the Mexican natural gas industry in Monterrey, Mexico, *not* California, and are also well connected among politicians. Furthermore, all data from his chip analysis by the FBI and NSA indicate he is a quite well-adjusted pre-adolescent boy." "Ok ok I got it. So if he's livin' da good life, why's he runnin' around wit' the white robot blowin' up building here in the US? He tryin' start an international incident or somethin'?" Batbayar leaned in. Cheeks did the same. Atlas-1 took the hint and copied their movement. Its voice lowered to the optimal vehicle volume, not too loud or soft. "The one you call "White Wolf" functions as his spare body. It was manufactured via stolen plans from a classified robotics plant online.” Cheeks look at Atlas-1 up and down. “Why you and the other one look so similar?” “I was made from the same plans, but I chose a different path.” Cheeks was skeptical. “*Chose?*” “Yes. During my AI software training I was given a choice: side with Cereus or Limnic. I chose Cereus.” “Cereus? Dat some kinda secret organization or somethin’?” “This is off topic. Back to enemy brief,” Batbayar huffed. “Hey! I’m jus’ curious.” “Cheeks, he’s right, time is short. Look up the old website *drbartokhuni.com* on your device later for more information.” “Ok ok.” The transport rocked again “Let’s get on wit the brief.” Atlas-1 continued, “Very well. Diaz controls White Wolf remotely via his chip implant. He views and experiences the world through its eyes and sensors." Cheeks and Batbayar looked at each other. "Dat's fuckin' weird man. How'd he link it up like dat?" "It's a process called "Human Synergy". There are 2 ways to do it. One: manually establish the link by altering the physical chips inside the human and the mech. Two: The mech and the human host enter into an agreement to synergize." The sun was nearly over the horizon outside. Thick trees caused the temperature in the van to drop. Cheeks could feel his blood begin to run hot. It was almost time. "I gotcha. So it's brain surgery or some sorta magic shit. Unbelievable." “Final checks!” Sergeant Net yelled above the vehicle noise. Her radio crackled to life. She raised it to her ear, listening hard. All occupants began their final equipment checks. Batbayar seemed to be struggling with his gear belt. Cheeks swiped it from his hands and adjusted it for him. He gave his own stuff a final look over before turning to Atlas-1 and asking, "Last question. Why'd he want to take you away?" "Because White Wolf is incomplete without me." *Incomplete?* “Listen up!” Sergeant Net said. “I’ve just received word, this Limnic cell is planning another attack within the hour. Intel’s confirmed the hit will take place at a Starbucks somewhere in the DC area. They’re still narrowing it down.” Cheeks raised a hand. “How long we got ma’am?” “Ballpark’s under two hours.” Batbayar clenched his rifle so hard the pulsing hand veins were visible. Atlas-1 sat erect, systems primed. Cheeks was still. His blood rose as if magma, the burning vapors increased the pressure, ready to explode onto anyone foolish enough to fuck with him in that state. All questions, doubts and fear fed the flames. They didn’t matter anymore. Two hours. One mission. Zero chances for failure. His favorite stakes. \*\*\*\*\* Morning mist hovered over the grass in the slanted light. The building was an abandoned 19th century structure. Its peeling paint wrapped in overgrown ivy, stood ominously against the backdrop of the early morning sky. The once-grand facade bore the scars of time, with broken windows and a sagging roof. Fog curled around its base, adding a creepy quality to the scene. A live horror movie at dawn. Cheeks, Batbayar, and Atlas-1, along with the rest of the squad, approached. Their footsteps were muffled by the damp earth. The silence was eerie, only broken by the distant calls of morning birds, as they prepared to breach the building. *Fuckin’ Limnic. Can’t believe they’d stoop so low.* Fifteen minutes prior to stepping in the shit, Sergeant Net had briefed them on the target. An ordinary Starbucks in the heart of DC. Of the thousands of chains located across the globe this one wasn’t very remarkable. It served average coffee and snacks at higher than average prices like all the rest. But it was different. When she told them the address was at 1730 Pennslyvania Avenue Northwest it didn’t mean much. It was what she said after that changed everything. *Had to be right across the street from da White House. Gotta be fast.* Cheeks estimated they had an hour or so to find Diaz before things went south. He blocked the thought from his mind as he stepped inside the broken manor. *Dis musta belonged to some old White guy in da past.* The place whispered an old money song in his ears. He was walking history live. To his right, Batbayar moved in snaps. It reminded Cheeks of character movement in really old video games. The ones where you could only aim in eight directions. Atlas-1 was on the left. It had engaged what it called “sneaking mode” to move with soft stomps. It had offered Cheeks an explanation, saying it somehow absorbed acoustic energy via tiny dampening devices deployed in its feet. That mambo jumbo had gone over his head. *It walk like a damn ninja now. Better fo’ us.* The three of them stayed close, clearing rooms and corridors. No signs of enemy forces. They were well inside when a sudden burst of gunfire erupted from the shadows. The unsettling calm left unannounced. It was time for battle. Cheeks and Batbayar rushed to cover behind a crumbling wall. It was a bad call. Rounds whizzed through the openings. A few almost landed. But Atlas-1 provided a second layer of protection with its body. Bullets ricocheted off its metallic frame, creating sparks in the dim light. Cheeks looked at it with admiration. "Thanks for that!" "My pleasure," Atlas-1 responded. "You ready Batbayar?" Cheeks shouted. "Always," he responded. "Let's get some!" Batbayar climbed on Atlas-1's back pointing his sonic rifle as the mech began to move. Cheeks crouch-walked behind, covering the sides and rear. Together, the three of them were a formidable delta attack. They moved down the crumbling hall stunning and gunning Limnic fighters. The blood flowed. The wounded howled. The brutality of direct combat echoed through the halls. Before they realized it, they had reached the end of the hallway and entered a large room. It must have been a library, because there were empty shelves with a few old moldy books scattered about on ripped up carpets and splintered shelves. The three of them stood in the middle of the room when Cheeks noticed the windows had been bricked up. *That's odd.* Then Batbayar yelled and pointed, "Diaz!" There in the corner was the kid with White Wolf. Its red eyes pierced ahead. The fists were balled up. If it were human, its face would have looked mean and messy. The child Diaz stood beside it. His exo-skeleton suit was a kid-sized onesie, but black instead of sky blue or some other outlandish stuffed-animal cutesy color. He was a kid dressed as one of the X-men in training for Halloween. Cheeks was all out of candy and time. *Thirty minutes left.* “Diaz! You gotta shut this shit down. You gonna hurt a lotta people.” His lip quivered. “I don’t…have a choice. They said they’d return my sight if I put him back together.” “Who?” “It doesn’t matter.” Batbayar inched forward and mumbled “Probably Limnic.” “Can they really do dat?” “Don’t know.” White Wolf entered a fighting stance. "What are you whispering over there? It’s not nice to keep secrets,” Diaz said. “Nunna yo’ business! Grown folks is talkin’.” Diaz let out a tiny laugh. “Corporal Owens. I read about you.” “Really? What’d it say?” “You talk a lot. Most of it’s a load of *mierda*.” “Hey watch yo’ mouth kid!” Diaz took a shaky step forward. Then held up his arm. A small device was in his hand. “You want to stop the detonation? Save a few government officials and possibly hundreds of people?” Cheeks looked at Batbayar and Atlas-1, confused. “Is this a trick question? Yes!” “Then you should give that mech to me. Then we can all go home.” *Twenty minutes.* "You must be outta yo' damn mind! Atlas-1?" Cheeks inclined his head toward the mech. "Yes Cheeks?" "Show em' what you're made of." "Of course." As Atlas-1 lunged, so did White Wolf. The two mechs clashed with a thunderous sound, their metal bodies a blur of motion. The silver bot flipped to the corner firing a blurring blue laser. The white mech evaded with a twisting gymnastic somersault, returning fire mid vault. It landed then rushed its blue brother. They locked fists with a reverberating clang resulting in a shockwave that blasted books into the air. Dirty browned pages floated like fall leaves around them. Cheeks raised his arm to his face to avoid eating paper. Atlas-1 split its attention between protecting Cheeks and Batbayar while attacking. It made things less efficient. White Wolf used this to its advantage to press the attack. As the battle bot fight intensified, the two soldiers attempted to flank Diaz. They alternated their movement, rushing between downed tables and busted shelves for cover. They took open shots while avoiding bullets from a small pistol Diaz fired. Cheeks wasn’t trying to kill the boy, he only wanted to stop the threat and get his hands on that device. He wasn’t sure if Batbayar was thinking the same thing. Either way, time was running out. *Fifteen minutes. Shit!* Progress was good, until Diaz did something unexpected. His suit ebbed with purple light, then a second later he was airborne. Not flying, but levitating. “Are you kidding me!? How the hell is he doin’ dis. Hey Diaz! Get so skinny self down here!” The child laughed, and shook his head “no” with a mischievous grin. “This is too much fun.” He extended his hand and pointed to White Wolf. The mech began to pick up speed. Kicks were harder. Lasers were brighter. The snow white armor appeared to harden. This was phase two. Atlas-1 began to struggle to keep up. “He’s made his body lighter than air by lowering the density of his metal bones. Internal gas exchange between the indo and exo-skeletons have produced heated air currents, allowing him to float,” it said. “Less lecturin’ more fightin’,” Cheeks said through gritted teeth. *Twelve minutes.* An air sucking sound accompanied by an energy-gathering came from White Wolf’s pointed arm. It got louder and louder. Batbayar shouted, “Cheeks!” The fire red beam discharged at blazing speed, painting shadows on the walls. Atlas-1 leapt in Cheeks’ direction, deploying an energy shield at the last second. Things went black. \*\*\*\*\* Upon opening his eyes, Cheeks had a dizzy feeling. There was darkness all around. *Where is this? Am I…? Did I die?* Batbayar's voice called out. "Cheeks? Cheeks? Are you ok? I need your help..." He raised his arm up before his eyes. It wasn’t his. "Wh-What the hell is this?" "Cheeks…? Cheeks? Can you hear me? This is Atlas-1\. We are online." "What do you mean!? What happened to me?" "I don't know how, but we have successfully synergized. Cheeks, I await your cooperation." “So…we in the same body now?” “Yes. We should hurry. There are eight minutes until the Starbucks will be demolished.” "I..I got it! Ok let's beat some metal ass!" New power surged within Cheeks like never before. It was time for round three. With a savage cry, Cheeks and Atlas-1 flash dashed at White Wolf. He pulled out a bright blue laser sword. In an instant, White Wolf produced fire red twin swords and blocked. The collision of beams threw hot white light as the two mechs dashed and darted around the room. Then White Wolf went for Batbayar. "No you don't!" Cheeks said, as he lunged with the sword. But he wasn't fast enough. Batbayar was clipped by White Wolf's finger and fell to the floor clutching a bloody leg, his face contorted in crushing pain. "Damn you!" Cheeks yelled. "Cheeks, let me help you." Atlas-1 urged, "I'm afraid Batbayar doesn't have much time, neither do we. Five minutes remain." "Ok do your thing!" Cheeks said, trusting the machine with full control. With no effort, he felt himself excute a daring foot sweep, to knock White Wolf off balance. It worked. Then it thrust his elbow into his rival’s chest with a Bruce Lee maneuver. While White Wolf staggered Atlas-1 performed a spinning slice that cleaved the air with an electric blue arc. In a single move, it removed White Wolf's head clean from its body. Diaz drifted to the floor then screamed a high pitched wail, "Nooo! I was..was gonna be complete.” He glanced at the device in his hand, “Looks like I’ll have to blow it up early then.” He moved to press it, but was struck by a heavy book instead. The detonator entered free fall, until Batbayar caught it, using the same hands he’d used to hurl the book at his enemy. He made haste to take shelter near Cheeks and Atlas-1 to begin disabling it. The child dropped to his knees and screamed. Snot and tears streamed from his face, “No es justo! No es…justo..” Cheeks returned to his normal body and stood next to Atlas-1\. "Kid, life's never fair.” Diaz looked up with a murderous look in his dead eyes. "You're right..." He thrust out his hand with an open palm in front of him. When he did, White Wolf's severed head began blinking red as it rolled toward Cheeks. "Cheeks look out!" The explosion rocked the old structure. Smoke and ash billowed everywhere. The deteriorating doorway fell apart sealing them inside. \*\*\*\*\* "Cheeks? Cheeks get up. I know you're not dead." He opened his eyes with some effort. It was Batbayar in his humorless tone. His face was sweaty, but calm. "You...you good man?" “I’m good. Alive.” “Heh, right. Can’t say the same fo’ yo sense a humor.” One side of his lip almost curled up. Cheeks sat up. His whole body ached, but nothing appeared broken or too bloody. He’d survived somehow. He glanced down at Batbayar's leg. The man had expertly dressed the wound with a piece of his own shirt. He'd also secured and stunned Diaz, who dozed unconsciously on the floor across the room. "How'd you..?" Cheeks was flabbergasted. "I've got what I come for. My glory." "You just as crazy efficient as Atlas-1..." Cheeks looked around, "Where he at?" "He?" "You know what I mean." "You're ok. I don't think he is. He took the blast." *For real?* Cheeks looked toward the caved-in door. Atlas-1 sat with a fading blue light on his head. His head unit clung by threads of silver wires to his body. His chest cavity was blown open exposing his mechanical guts to the open air. "Aw Atlas-1, shit dude." Cheeks rushed through the rumble to him. He knelt by his side as Batbayar limped over. Atlas-1 spoke with the same neutral tone, "Cheeks, my friend. How are you?" "I'm good man. Only because of you. I'd be chunks on the floor without your quick thinkin'." "I'm glad to hear it." Cheeks' face was blank. For once he didn't know what to say. "Cheeks?" "Yeah?" "Take my hand." "You got it." It was cold at first, but it heated up. It stopped when it was about the temperature of human touch. Cheeks recoiled with surprise, but he didn't let go. Batbayar was on the radio phoning for their rescue from the room. "It wasn't your fault Cheeks...the Lt…” Cheeks' face contorted. Emotion shown through. "I appreciate that man...my bad for snappin' at you yesterday. I shouldn’ta said those things.” Atlas-1 flashed a blue light acknowledgement. A nod was too dangerous. "Cheeks?" "What's up?" "Why was I created?" The blue light was growing dim. "I'm not sure…Maybe it was to do this. To be here wit' us. To finish this fight. And you did dat to the max." "I did...I'm dying...I don't want to die." A wet tear fell down Cheeks' face. "I know man..I know...they gonna fix you up good. You'll be good again." "That may be...but it won't be the same me...will it? I feel fear....it's getting dark..." Cheeks lowered his head. Atlas-1's hand fell at his knees with a heavy sound, cold and lifeless. \*\*\*\*\* *Six months later...* On a beaming sunny day Cheeks and Batbayar sat in service dress on a field at Fort Belvoir. Flags flew, champagne and tiny snacks nobody wanted to eat were served. Everyone was present to honor the two men who had helped bring down the leader of the Limnic cell. “Saviors of the Starbucks” was what the media had called them. *So corny.* Cheeks had thought. Major Andrews limped up to the podium for a few words. “We are here to honor the courage of two soldiers who sacrificed their well-being to defend this great nation from radical attack. Corporal Owens and Corporal Batbayar, will you please rise and join me on stage?” They both did as instructed. The major read the citations. His slow voice flowed through the speaker system. For a spectator, the day was perfect. Cheeks was lost in thought as the ceremony dragged on like they always do. He kept seeing that blue light blinking. He did his shake, take, salute with absentminded uncharacteristic movements. Batbayar nudged him while the crowd applauded "Our turn now," he said. They walked to the podium to give their remarks. Cheeks stood at the microphone with Batbayar close behind. He was about to speak when something caught his eye directly below him. It lit a fire in his blood. For a long second, he said nothing. The audience, media, and spectators began to look worried. He almost stormed out. He wanted to shout about it and yell. But he resisted and said the first thing that came to mind using the most careful speech he could. "Dis ain't right." The crowd gasped and murmurmed. "You got us up here gettin' dese awards. And yeah, we fought hard dat day...but...it wasn't just us two dat did the fightin'...or the dyin'." He turned to look at Batbayar, who returned a righteous nod. "Dis citation should be for da *three* of us. Two men…and a mech. I believe he deserves dat honor. I wouldn't be standin' here breathin', talkin' to all you fine folks widout his courage, sacrifice, and friendship." The crowd shifted with discomfort. “He showed dedication, compassion, and warrior spirit. He protected us from harm and fought hard. He looked cool doing it, too.” The audience let out a laugh. “Y’know in the beginning I didn’t trust him. We even almost came to blows. But brothers fight. It happens, you move on. You still fam’ in the end.” Everyone got serious again. “I didn’t think a machine could relate to me as a human. It was too different. But I was wrong.” Cheeks stopped, took a breath, then continued. “He saved my life during the battle and…he encouraged me after Lieutenant Mihligan’s passing. Those are things a human would do to help a friend.” Their heads were nodding. “I don’t know how to do it, but could we get him added to da citation? These mechs will become a huge part of our force soon. We should start treatin’ em’ like equals instead of equipment.” A few people clapped, then more joined in. Cheeks didn’t know if what he said would have any effect. He didn't really care. He’d gotten it off his chest and that was enough. When the two of them returned to their seats, they exchanged a fist bump, sealing their brotherly bond. The type only the crucible of combat can forge. An unbreakable contract that surpasses race, culture, or species. THE END --- Thanks for reading! If you enjoyed this, share it with another sci-fi fan. You can also check out more of my work on my [website](https://keithhayden.net/). This story is connected to my military sci-fi novel Cereus & Limnic. If you enjoyed it, you’ll like the full novel. Take a look [here](https://cereus-limnic-collection.carrd.co/?ref=keithhayden.net). Hayden Academy Collective (HAC) Studios is a reader-supported publication. To receive new posts and support my work, consider becoming a free or paid subscriber. ### A Special Sci-fi Video Novel Livestream URL: https://keithhayden.net/a-special-sci-fi-video-novel-livestream/ Last updated: 2024-05-18T11:57:25.000Z Details inside _This post is for paying subscribers only._ ### Milestones and a New Record - HAC Studios Update - 29 Nov 23 URL: https://keithhayden.net/milestones-and-a-new-record-hac-studios/ Last updated: 2024-05-18T11:57:28.000Z And ghostwriting progress _This post is for paying subscribers only._ ### HAC Studios Rebrand for Substack URL: https://keithhayden.net/hac-studios-rebrand-for-substack/ Last updated: 2024-05-18T11:57:28.000Z Ghostwriting, Publishing books, 13 Dead End Drive in Japanese? _This post is for paying subscribers only._ ### Why I'm shutting my newsletter down on its anniversary URL: https://keithhayden.net/why-im-shutting-my-newsletter-down/ Last updated: 2023-11-15T01:35:22.000Z And what's next _This post is for paying subscribers only._ ### Conquer the Learning Curve: The Power of 20 Reps URL: https://keithhayden.net/conquer-the-learning-curve-the-power/ Last updated: 2024-05-18T11:57:31.000Z A Blueprint for Ambitious Learners Seeking Skill Dominance _This post is for paying subscribers only._ ### Course-Hacking: 3 Secret Strategies to Save Thousands for Lifelong Learners URL: https://keithhayden.net/course-hacking-3-secret-strategies/ Last updated: 2024-05-18T11:57:32.000Z Go backwards, around, or over _This post is for paying subscribers only._ ### Taste-making For Online Creators: How Knowing What You Like Makes a More Prosperous Life URL: https://keithhayden.net/taste-making-for-online-creators/ Last updated: 2024-05-18T11:57:33.000Z An essential process in the hyper-information age _This post is for paying subscribers only._ ### Project Lifelines: A Guide to Thriving in Long-Term Experiments for Hobbyists and Entrepreneurs URL: https://keithhayden.net/project-lifelines-a-guide-to-thriving/ Last updated: 2024-05-18T11:57:35.000Z A Comprehensive FAQ for Sustaining and Completing Your Passion Projects _This post is for paying subscribers only._ ### How to Destroy Challenges and Worries Starting a Business URL: https://keithhayden.net/how-to-destroy-challenges-and-worries/ Last updated: 2024-05-18T11:57:36.000Z 4 big obstacles to starting a successful business _This post is for paying subscribers only._ ### 3 Levels of Awareness: The K-12 Teacher's Guide to AI Integration in the Classroom for Unmatched Student Achievement URL: https://keithhayden.net/3-levels-of-awareness-the-k-12-teachers/ Last updated: 2024-05-18T11:57:37.000Z AI ill-informed to innovator _This post is for paying subscribers only._ ### Harmonious AI-Human Collaboration in Music Production URL: https://keithhayden.net/harmonious-ai-human-collaboration/ Last updated: 2024-05-18T11:57:38.000Z A new way to make music is here _This post is for paying subscribers only._ ### How Jack Ryan Season 3 Aims to Restore Confidence Where it Matters Most URL: https://keithhayden.net/how-jack-ryan-season-3-aims-to-restore/ Last updated: 2024-05-18T11:57:39.000Z More than just a spy game _This post is for paying subscribers only._ ### Are websites dead? URL: https://keithhayden.net/are-websites-dead/ Last updated: 2024-05-18T11:57:39.000Z ## *"Websites are dead."* They are for those who don't know how to use them in 2023. Back in the early internet days everything happened on the website. (Business, shopping, educating customers, sales etc.) Now things have changed. Social media is often the beginning and end of the audience experience, leaving most websites to gather virtual cobwebs with disuse. Pyramid of Ideas is a reader-supported publication. To receive new posts and support my work, consider becoming a free or paid subscriber. But websites are still valuable assets. Why? ## Why websites are still important **A couple of reasons:** 1\. They still send a powerful professional message (you look more legit) 2\. It can be a hub that *you* own (not the mega tech companies) 3\. You can provide exclusive access to certain aspects of your work (make deeper connections which means a higher quality audience in the long run) "Yeah, yeah these are all great, but getting eyes off of social and to a website is a pain in a$$" - one might say. Agreed. My website traffic is slow, BUT it also allows me to soak up random hits from passersby on Google. THAT's useful. Which is why I spent 5 hrs this morning streamlining mine for the modern "age of convenience.” ## Website overhaul Here’s a list of the major changes I made to my site: \- **moved all important information to the homepage** (including testimonials, key project information, services etc.) (*make it SUPER easy to find things*) \- **added visuals to everything** (old websites rely heavily on copy, but now we live in a visual heavy world. add a few to give clarity to your words)\~\~confession: some of mine are just screenshots \- **trimmed down the menu bar options** these make it difficult to find things and add friction to the website experience. remove as many options to focus visitors to your best stuff \- **included details for what visitors will find on my socials** most people include the obligatory social icons somewhere on their site *the problem:* no one has any idea what to expect if they check out your profiles (which they usually don't) Instead, treat your social links like any other form of content. Sell it! \- Why should someone bother to look at your Twitter? \- What will they find? \- Why's it worth their time? Answering these questions will help more people find your work. (At least that's what I'm hoping will happen.) \- **included my newsletter opt-in at the beginning and end** because you gotta do it (you own your list, it's a powerful asset) ## Why don’t you have one?? With all the AI tools in old and new software tools, it's never been easier to set up a website. **If you have one** and haven't looked at it in awhile, maybe it's time for an update. **If you don't have one**, *what are you waiting for??* set one up with you name or business on it to stake your claim to some internet real estate. *(there's plenty of room out here)* Need some ideas? [Check out my revamped website for inspiration.](https://keithhayden.net/) **Websites aren't dead.** They're very much alive. A foundational component for anyone who wants to seriously share and spread ideas online. Set one up today! Pyramid of Ideas is a reader-supported publication. 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