AI doesn’t have to be a shortcut or a threat. In this episode, Terry models how students and writers can responsibly use tools like ChatGPT to jump-start their thinking without outsourcing their creativity. By walking through an actual story brainstorm, he demonstrates how LLMs can prompt deeper analysis, spark unexpected associations, and help you figure out what you truly want to say.

So you want to write a multi-part fantasy series? How do you get started? We hear stories about ideas coming to authors while they're on a train or walking their dog, and we imagine it's fully formed. As authors, we know that's not how it works.

In this episode, host Terry Bartley talks to Ryan Gebhart. Ryan wrote the Jewel of Life series that just released the seventh and final novel in the series, Shattered Light. So he's the perfect person to talk to about how to develop and wrap up a series.

They talk about planning vs. pantsing, creating characters, and what it is like to follow a protagonist through so many books.

⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Tyranny of the Fey⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ is now available in ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠hardcover and paperback⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠, ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠eBook⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠, and ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠audiobook⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠. Read my stories now on ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠terrybartley.com⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠. Send requests to be a guest or comments about the episode to press@starlightkingpress.com Theme Song: Young Squire - TrackTribe, Piano track by sing2piano

In this episode, Terry shares a moment from a recent grad school meeting that hit a little deeper than expected. When his professor casually said, “Obviously, you’re a good writer,” it sparked an uncomfortable what-if:

If AI had written that assignment, who was the compliment actually for?

This episode dives into the quiet insecurities indie creatives carry: imposter syndrome, comparison traps, and the constant feeling that we need outside validation to prove we’re “good enough.” Terry talks honestly about why using AI to shortcut creative work can steal the very moments that reassure us of our own talent.

What He Talks About

• The grad school moment that triggered a creative identity check
• How AI-generated work can disrupt your relationship with your own artistry
• Why compliments matter—and why you deserve to believe them
• The unique pressures of being an indie creator
• How to use AI as a tool without letting it take ownership of your voice

Takeaway

Indie creatives already face so many reasons to doubt themselves. Don’t hand AI one more. Your work deserves to sound like you, and the praise you get along the way should belong to you, too.

Links & Extras

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Want to submit a question or topic idea? Email: press@starlightkingpress.com

As a speculative fiction author, it's really easy to fall into the trap that research doesn't apply to me. Obviously, fiction set in our world may require some level of research, but I get to decide what happens in the fantasy world I'm building? Right? Right?

When I interviewed this episode's guest, Lee Clark, she reminded me that research is an integral part of any good fiction, even in sci-fi or fantasy.

Lee Clark is the author of the seven-book Matthew Paine Mystery series, with the final installment, Killer Convergence, just launching. Her work relies on deep, meticulous research, everything from strange medical conditions to Russian spies posing as pastors in the U.S., from Miami gang slang to monasteries on Mt. Athos.

Lee reminded me that there is must more to building a believable world than having a good imagination. It needs to be grounded in something real, and that is what research can do. Listen to today's episode to get some killer (pun only partially intenteded) tips on research.

In this episode of⁠ Most Writers Are Fans⁠, host ⁠Terry Bartley⁠ interviewed queer YA sci-fi author, ⁠Michael Solís (⁠This is Why They Hate Us⁠). They talked about Michael's journey as an author, the opportunities presented by the expansion of self-publishing, and how to decide what path to take. They also talked about what defines dystopian literature and what makes a good dystopian story.

I especially enjoyed this conversation because Michael kept drawing parallels between dystopian fiction and the world we live in today. Authoritarian leaders, violence against innocent people, and the villainization of marginalized communities all feel ripped from the pages of a novel.

The thing about dystopian stories that makes moments like these feel slightly more hopeful is the emergence of a leader. The districts were able to place all of their hopes on Katniss because of how she regularly defied the capital. What makes it so hard to live in this environment, is how unclear it is if that hero will ever appear.

The truth is, the real world is a lot more complicated than a YA novel, and it takes all of us collectively working together to create real change. But that's so much harder than one person showing up and saving us. And the reality is that many small heroic moments is whats to ultimate triumph over the forces trying to oppress us, and those aren't always easy to recognize.

Watching Ayo Edebiri redirect a racist interviewer might not feel like Katniss raising her berries to defy Snow, but moments like that still matter.I don't expect Ayo Edebiri, or AOC, or Hasan Piker to single-handedly lift us out of the current moment we're in, but I do think that thousands of people like them never accepting the way things are as normal can create a better world.

⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Tyranny of the Fey⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ is now available in ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠hardcover and paperback⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠, ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠eBook⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠, and ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠audiobook⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠. Read my stories now on ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠terrybartley.com⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠. Send requests to be a guest or comments about the episode to press@starlightkingpress.com Theme Song: Young Squire - TrackTribe, Piano track by sing2piano

A Most Writers Are Fans Series

In this kickoff episode, Terry Bartley introduces Ink Over AI, a new series about how writers can use AI tools without giving up the craft of writing itself.

Terry lays out what this show is (and what it isn’t): not a shortcut for copy-pasting essays or cranking out soulless prose, but a space for exploring how AI can act as a brainstorming partner, an error-spotter, and a thought organizer, while always keeping the human voice at the center.

If you’re a student hoping to “humanize” your AI essays, a writer worried about losing your credibility, or just curious about what AI can and can’t do for creativity, this episode is your guide to what’s coming next.

What you’ll hear in this episode:

• Why Ink Over AI puts the writer first.

• How Terry uses AI as a tool without letting it write for him.

• The goals (and limits) of the series.

• A preview of what’s to come in future episodes.

  Ink Over AI is about proving one thing: humans write here.

In this episode of Most Writers Are Fans, host Terry Bartley interviewed queer YA author, Aaron Aceves (This is Why They Hate Us). They talked about Aaron's journey as an author, finding the right agent, and getting traditionally published. They also talked about bisexual representation, since they are both bi men writing bisexual characters.

Representation is something that feels easy. Make sure you include characters from all kinds of backgrounds. If you write a bisexual character, you've gotta make sure that there are plotlines that establish attraction to more than one gender, because how can they be bi otherwise?

However, Aaron's book is an example of how you don't have to do this. In the same way that a bisexual person doesn't become magically not bisexual the moment they enter a relationship, the same can be said for characters. You can have a bisexual guy in your book who spends the whole book being obsessed with a guy and maybe only makes a passing remark or two about acknowledging that anyone other than a guy is hot. It's o.k. because that's how a lot of bisexual people live! There are plenty of bisexual people who are only in relationships with one gender for their entire lives, and guess what, that doesn't change their sexuality.

Sexuality is a personal thing, and it isn't always reflected in someone's external life. But bi people who live this way still want their experience reflected in the media!

Think about that next time you write a book with a certain kind of representation. Does it reflect the life of at least one person whose identity is your writing? Then you wrote the exact book for that person, and that's great.

⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Tyranny of the Fey⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ is now available in ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠hardcover and paperback⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠, ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠eBook⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠, and ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠audiobook⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠. Read my stories now on ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠terrybartley.com⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠. Send requests to be a guest or comments about the episode to press@starlightkingpress.com Theme Song: Young Squire - TrackTribe, Piano track by sing2piano

Most Writers Are Fans is back! And we are entering a new era. After a conversation with a podcast consultant, we have decided to move towards a new problem-focused format. Intros will be shorter, and conversations with our guests will start sooner. Then we're going to try this new thing where we stay on topic the entire interview (as best my ADHD brain can). I'm so excited to take you all with us into this new era. There will be two remaining legacy episodes with Aaron Aceves and Michael Solís, then we'll be moving into this new format. Thank you to everyone who has been with me. This podcast is only getting better!

⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Tyranny of the Fey⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ is now available in ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠hardcover and paperback⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠, ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠eBook⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠, and ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠audiobook⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠. Read my stories now on ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠terrybartley.com⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠. Send requests to be a guest or comments about the episode to press@starlightkingpress.com Theme Song: Young Squire - TrackTribe, Piano track by sing2piano