Observations on the world and its inhabitants
This article consolidates the full investigation into the metallic / echo‑like artefact encountered during long‑form text‑to‑speech narration in Google AI Studio, the diagnostic reasoning applied, the failed and successful mitigation attempts, and the final stable solution. This took too many hours of work. But it is now resolved after much work with three AIs. Hold ...
For the independent author, the “final pass” of proofreading is often the most daunting phase of production. Traditional advice suggests separating the creative act of writing from the analytical act of editing. However, with the advent of sophisticated AI and custom automation, a new “proactive” strategy has emerged: the Integrated Workflow. By managing proofreading iteratively ...
In the early stages of a writing career, the focus is often on the “mechanics”—the foundational rules of grammar, syntax, and punctuation. While these are essential, the transition from a competent writer to a compelling author occurs during the final checks of a manuscript. This is where prose is transformed into an immersive experience. For ...
Despite explicit instructions, generative AI systems routinely drift into US English spelling and conventions across longer writing projects. For British-English authors who use AI assistance, this creates a persistent and time-consuming editorial burden. The key insight that resolved this was accepting that generation and linguistic compliance should be treated as separate stages. Rather than attempting ...
As some may not be aware, I’ve been developing my own software to convert text into high quality electronic speech. That development continued for several hours today. As I will remind myself – as if I need to – £490 for 1.6 hours for human narration vs AI-driven production estimated at ~£1.51 for 100 minutes ...
Visual Studio Code (VS Code) is widely recognised as the industry standard for software development. However, its core strength—managing complex text files with precision—makes it an exceptionally powerful tool for authors of fiction and non-fiction alike. Luddites and lazy folk should stop right now – leave this blog and get back to Netflix, Instagram and ...
1. The Problem: “All or Nothing” Microsoft Word’s built-in word count feature is binary: it counts everything or nothing. For an author, this is often insufficient. A 50,000-word manuscript might be heavily dialogue-driven or dense with internal monologue, but Word treats “Hello” (dialogue) exactly the same as Hello (thought). There will be times when an ...
The Challenge of the Sequel Writing a duology is a delicate balancing act of memory and tone. This is particularly true for my current project, KNS. Before diving into the methodology, it is important to acknowledge that there is nothing fundamentally wrong in using AI as a tool to assist with drafting. Like any sophisticated ...
Most people do not keep their files organised, properly named and easily retrievable from a computer and cloud services. That’s fine because ‘everybody’ has individual choice and can demonstrate their independence, so as to show that they do not suffer with OCD. I however, couldn’t care less what anyone else thinks of me. So, I ...
A View from the Trenches Over the past year, the journey of writing and publishing the first novella The Kael’Nyrin Scrolls: Our Children of Starlight on Amazon has been an education in reality. It was a process defined not by the romanticised notion of “being discovered“, but by the difficult, granular lessons of production, formatting, ...
