Writing offline, but not alone.

(Previously shared on LinkedIn and expanded here.

The Pacific Northwest greys have settled in—rain on the window, coffee in hand, and words spilling out faster than I can type. I am grateful.

This November I’m drafting 50,000 words—my first true attempt at fiction. When timing and spark finally aligned, the story asked me to tell it. NaNoWriMo hits hard.

To get ready, I asked AI in the form of ChatGPT to evaluate my raw writing. Not as an editor or ghostwriter, but as a curious literary companion—asking me questions, spotting patterns, and pushing me toward stronger craft. It’s part of how I train for the page, not how I shortcut it. Take note, kids.

My single best prompt: “Can you tell me the emotional motivation behind my passive voice writing?” Not only did it help me correct the voice on the page, it helped me shift the voice in my head. What a powerful exercise in self-awareness.

Now that I’m in the thick of it, I’m so glad I did this.

The stack beside me holds the books that continue to shape how I write and think—This Bridge Called My Back, Bird by Bird, Writing Down the Bones… and most were gifts from my sister, Naomi Bloom, a gifted writer in her own right.

Her influence sits quietly beside me on every dog-eared page, every recommendation, every reminder to keep my standards high.

Here’s to the writers who challenge us, the siblings who shape us, and the evolving practices that keep bringing us back to ourselves. ❤️

Gather around “The Hearth”

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