Using generative AI to quote-unquote “write” a book is harmful not only to the artists those people are plagiarizing from, but it’s also harmful to the plagiarizer and to CREATIVITY, itself.

Let’s talk about that! In this episode, your Author Diary Entries podcast host — romcom novelist and Personal Fulfillment Coach Sagan Morrow — takes the conversation about *AI as art theft* a step further by exploring the self-exploitation that occurs throughout this process, and the way in which we are now living a creative dystopian nightmare/horror story when so many people willingly give up their own voice, their own creativity, their own artistic experience, by outsourcing it to AI.

Resources you might like and links mentioned in this episode:

• (Free!) Intuition Activated masterclass to reconnect with yourself and your creative voice: SaganMorrow.com/masterclass
• Get personal fulfillment life coaching with Sagan: https://saganmorrow.com/coaching/
• Connect with Sagan on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/saganlives
• Connect with Sagan on Threads: https://www.threads.net/@saganlives
• “The art of creative weirdness” — Author Diary Entries podcast, episode 186
• Unlearn toxic productivity with Sagan’s weekly Solopreneur Diary Entries newsletter: https://saganmorrow.com/newsletter
• Small Town Stilettos and the Polyamorous Passions series: SaganMorrow.com/books

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What is the art of creative weirdness? What are some great examples of creative weirdness, and how can YOU tap into your own creative weirdness when you are creating art (of any kind)? What is the ONE situation in which creative weirdness is NOT effective? Does art NEED to be “weird” in order to be powerful and incredible? What social commentary and feminist lenses can we view mainstream blockbuster action movies like Die Hard and Top Gun?

We answer all of these questions and more in this episode of the Author Diary Entries podcast!

We collectively, as a society, do NOT share our weirdness enough! So let’s talk about that today, through the lens of creative weirdness in TV (this is essentially a rave review of Z Nation), creative weirdness in performance art (burlesque dancing and what makes the burlesque community so special in general), and creative weirdness in novels (My Lady Jane).

Resources mentioned in this episode:

• Small Town Stilettos and the Polyamorous Passions series: SaganMorrow.com/books
• Sagan’s burlesque persona (Babe Maverick) on Instagram: Instagram.com/babemaverick
• Solopreneur Diary Entries weekly newsletter: SaganMorrow.com/newsletter
• How to Active Your Intuition (to reconnect with yourself and create space for your creative weirdness to flourish) masterclass: SaganMorrow.com/masterclass
• Connect with Sagan on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/saganlives
• Connect with Sagan on Threads: https://www.threads.net/@saganlives

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In this episode, your host and indie author Sagan Morrow shares her experience with reviewing her current work-in-progress (Book 8 in the Polyamorous Passions series) using a "reader mindset" prior to doing rewrites!

She shares her process and results for reviewing her current WIP as a reader:

Find out a breakdown of the process she’s using, the game-changing book writing method that’s shifted her out of Author mindset and into Reader mindset (plus why this matters), and 5 fascinating things that came up for her throughout this process...

Resources mentioned in this episode:

• Small Town Stilettos and the Polyamorous Passions series: SaganMorrow.com/books
• Connect with Sagan on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/saganlives
• Connect with Sagan on Threads: https://www.threads.net/@saganlives

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What is creative cross training, and how can it help you navigate (and overcome) creative blocks? In this episode, Sagan shares examples of creative cross training and the importance of creative cross training (and how it’s prevented her from having any major creative blocks as a business owner, indie author, and multi-passionate creative)...

...Plus why focusing on one thing can get boring and lead to creative stagnation, and 5 important tips for effective creative cross training.

Resources mentioned in this episode:

• Sagan’s burlesque persona (Babe Maverick) on Instagram: Instagram.com/babemaverick
• Small Town Stilettos and the Polyamorous Passions series: SaganMorrow.com/books
• Solopreneur Diary Entries weekly newsletter to get behind-the-scenes insights of life as a solo business owner: https://saganmorrow.com/newsletter
• Solopreneur Diary Entries: Premium Edition monthly online trainings on topics of solopreneurship, anti-hustle productivity, and personal fulfillment: https://saganmorrow.com/monthly/
• Personal Fulfillment Coaching with Sagan: https://saganmorrow.com/coaching/
• Solopreneur & Productivity Coaching with Sagan: https://saganmorrow.com/solopreneur-coaching/
• Connect with Sagan on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/saganlives
• Connect with Sagan on Threads: https://www.threads.net/@saganlives

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In this episode, we explore the difference between polyamorous IDENTITY vs the PRACTICE of that identity, and answer these questions: Can you write about polyamory if you aren’t ACTIVELY polyamorous? Do you ever think being polyamorous is a phase, and that you and your spouse might go back to being monogamous?

Resources mentioned in this episode:

• Small Town Stilettos and the Polyamorous Passions series: SaganMorrow.com/books
• Connect with Sagan on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/saganlives
• Connect with Sagan on Threads: https://www.threads.net/@saganlives

Support the show

Find out why Sagan got outraged at a random person’s Instagram comment when they were dismissive of a 30-something Twilight Instagrammer reading Young Adult novels, the POWER of the YA genre, why you should read what makes you happy, her opinions about referring to romance novels as “fluffy,” and more!

Resources mentioned in this episode:

• Small Town Stilettos and the Polyamorous Passions series: SaganMorrow.com/books
• Author Diary Entries podcast, ep 180: Labels and gatekeeping in romance novels
• Twilight Instagrammer Corinne: https://www.instagram.com/corinnieeeee/
• Twilight Instagrammer Sarah: https://www.instagram.com/sarahelizabeth_talks/
• Book: Why We Love and Hate Twilight
• Book: The Girl Who Was On Fire: Your Favorite Authors on Suzanne Collins’ Hunger Games Trilogy
• Connect with Sagan on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/saganlives
• Connect with Sagan on Threads: https://www.threads.net/@saganlives

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“Do you write queer characters?” → Well… Yes and no! In this episode, I explain why this question is a tricky one, what makes a novel “queer enough” (an even more loaded question!), the nuance behind all of this, and the importance of using the words and labels that feel right for you.

Resources mentioned in this episode:

• Small Town Stilettos and the Polyamorous Passions series: SaganMorrow.com/books
• Episode 180 on the Author Diary Entries Podcast: Labels and gatekeeping in romance novels
• Connect with Sagan on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/saganlives
• Connect with Sagan on Threads: https://www.threads.net/@saganlives

Support the show

Is it rude to refer to a romance novel “smut”? Not to me ;) You can call my books whatever you want! …BUT, there’s a lot of nuance to this (and context matters) — so in this episode, we’re exploring important questions we need to ask around the labels we use, our intentions behind our word choices, and the problems with gatekeeping in the romance novel community.

Examples we discuss in this episode include: Smut, enemies to lovers trope, spice levels, smutty vs spicy vs sexy, and “fairy porn” in romantasy.

Resources mentioned in this episode:

• Small Town Stilettos and the Polyamorous Passions series: SaganMorrow.com/books
• Sagan’s burlesque persona (Babe Maverick) on Instagram: Instagram.com/babemaverick
• Connect with Sagan on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/saganlives
• Connect with Sagan on Threads: https://www.threads.net/@saganlives

Support the show