Please post the major things you would like to get out of this community, including what you would like to see the most of in the meetings.

Having edited two children's books for my protégé, I once asked her this question or something like it: Do you think it is important for a children's book to have a moral? I originally thought for a long time that children's books should have a moral to teach children some kind of life lesson. But, as my protégé pointed out, Children sometimes just need to be entertained. This is so true and of course that came from a mother's perspective, which I unfortunately have not experienced. Even so, without a moral a children's book has a value beyond entertainment and that is the value of simple learning. When they read, young minds being the sponge that they are, are training in many skills, the least of which is morality. They are learning to understand communication, social interaction, and much more. Of the many benefits of children's books, what is the greatest benefit of children's books to the child and should they be realistic or imaginative? Is it detrimental for the child to read fantasy---a frog talking, for instance---due to the fact that it is not a real thing in life. Many children's books and cartoons these days have fantastic themes and I just can't help but feel it is setting them up for failure in life. Is it possible that the fantasy children are exposed to is driving them to have unrealistic expectations in life? Could these fantasies read about in childhood be causing many young adult minds entering an unstructured world, like after they leave school, or earlier be causing the fantastic behavior seen in society today? What do you think?

How many of you have ever used comedy in your writing? In my first book there is a scene where a minor character who is drunk gets scared and as a result loses control of himself and lets a loud one loose, if you know what I mean. I actually used the "F--@r@@d" word. Situational comedy or even a tongue-in-cheek, or two can bring up the mood in a story and 'crack' things up. If you know anyone who loves to make up jokes, please invite them to the community. Just ask them to keep it clean, please. The other day I saw a daycare center advertise this: "Now taking all ages". So I went in and asked them to take care of me for the day. They called the cops on me.😁

Many see AI as a danger to the world. Among my Christian friends I have even heard it referred to as the Antichrist. Why is that? It is likely because of the very real threat of AI taking over and either subjugating the human race as slaves doing its will, like in the movie Matrix series, instead of the intended purpose for which it was created, or completely annihilating us and ending the world as we know it, like the movie Terminator series. Many skool communities are dedicated to its use. So, is it a tool or a danger? Any tool can become a weapon and some are more dangerous than others. The question: do we embrace it and use it, regardless of its many dangers, or do we become that man on the horse cursing the steam powered car or train that has spooked them both? I will not outright condemn AI but I have these observations to point out. Writing is art, however, art is generally subjective. On the one hand, a picture is truly worth a thousand words but on the other a thousand words can paint a picture in the imagination. What then? Do we condemn cameras and ban their use; do we junk all forms of mechanical transportation and go back to walking; do we toss all computers in the fire and go back to using ink bottles and quills? AI is a strange and powerful tool, and, yes, dangerous as well. If it weren't for television and other forms of recording and broadcasting devices we would be stuck entertaining ourselves by candlelight but it is equally entertaining to see a play as it is to watch a movie. It is all a matter of preference. I am willing to say that, in time, AI written material will be as acceptable as human written material. I believe each will have its place in this world as long as neither of us blow it up. You may disagree, and that is fine, we can agree to disagree, but if it wasn't for AI managing my spelling, half of the time you wouldn't know what I'm talking about. Let me end with this. For now, I will continue with writing my own stuff on my computer and enjoy the intelligence that underlays that with its watchfulness (spell check), along with the accolades that come with the hard work and hopefully the recognition. I get a better feeling from something I have created all by myself and only feel slightly guilty about not increasing my spelling prowess. Someday that may change but for now I will remain old fashioned and ride that horse at a slow and meaningful pace.

The numbers on your avatar are levels in the community. Skool uses gamification as a took for us community owners to get participation. It can be looked at as a competition, a game if you watch the leaderboard, but I choose to look at the levels as a badge of honor you get for the amount of participation you have within the community, a form of literary rank, so to speak, not unlike a military rank. You will increase in level by the amount of participation, i.e. posts, responses to others posts. To see the points remaining to advance, click on your profile avatar, where your current level is displayed, and view the points needed for the next level. You earn points when others like your posts/comments (1 like = 1 point), so post as much as possible. Ask questions as often as you like.