Writers in the Storm

Subtitle: (While Still Protecting Your Work)

by Jenny Hansen

AI tools like ChatGPT have stirred up plenty of discussion in the writing world this year. Some writers are curious, others cautious, and many a mix of both.

To be clear, this post isn’t about letting AI ghostwrite for you. I don’t condone that AT ALL. It’s about seeing whether you can use an AI tool as a creative partner to help you stay organized while YOU do all the writing.

For neurodivergent brains like mine, organization and staying in flow pose serious challenges. I don’t know about the rest of you ADHDers, but tools like ChatGPT have helped me immeasurably in keeping track of my tangled-up creative brain.

First Things First: Turn off the sharing!

In the title of this post, I promised to help you protect your work. I can't control all the pirates on the internet, but I can give you the following recommendation.

Before you put a single piece of your writing into any AI tool, I recommend you ask a question like this first:

What use is tracked in this program? What is used to train the program? Please show how I can use the program to ensure my content remains safe inside the program without being shared.

Doing this immediately in any type of GPT program will let you know from the beginning what the program will and will not retain or use for training.

Writers learned the hard way that the creators of AI didn’t always respect copyright. In the beginning (was it really only 1000 days ago?), those developers used the hard work of tons of writers to “train the tool,” which was infuriating to say the least.

I encourage everyone to block the option of unwanted-sharing your work before you do a single other thing in AI.

Two ways to protect your work in ChatGPT

Note: I did my research for this post in ChatGPT (aka OpenAI/chatgpt.com). Since I'm a brand storyteller by day, I use the paid version, but all of this works in the free version as well.

1. Use Temporary Chats

This is a great way to keep a chat private without having to change a single setting. Temporary Chats aren’t stored or used to “train future models of AI.” They’re like a quick creative sandbox for you to experiment and play without any consequences.

How to Create a Temporary Chat in ChatGPT

• Open ChatGPT in any browser.
• Click “+ New Chat” at the top for a fresh conversation.
  (My favorite Windows keyboard shortcut for this is Ctrl + Shift + O)
• Toggle on “Temporary Chat.”
  In the upper right of the chat, you’ll have one of the following icons (depending on your version): a clock, an hourglass, or a conversation bubble made of dashed lines. When you click it, it turns on “Temporary Chat.”

Remember: You have to do this EVERY time you want a temporary chat. It is a feature that must be chosen.

When Temporary Chat is active, you’ll see a notice at the top of your screen that your history, memory, and files won’t be saved after the session ends. Warning: this also includes refreshing your screen.

All the normal features will work, and you can even upload or download files. But nothing is saved, and nothing leaves ChatGPT. It’s a great way to play and try things in AI, without having to worry that your work will be shared.

2. Turn off the Data Sharing!

Like every software these days, there are hidden settings that benefit their company and not you. AI tools are no exception.

How to Turn Off “Help Train ChatGPT” Data Sharing

• Open ChatGPT in any browser.
• Click on your name or the Profile Icon in the bottom left.
• Choose “Settings” from the menu.
• In the box that opens, click on “Data Controls.” (see photo below)
• TURN OFF “Improve the model for everyone.” (some versions might show it as “Help Train ChatGPT.”)
• Then close the Settings box and work in peace.

If this option is one you haven’t yet heard of, I’m glad we’re talking about this. At least it will be OFF in your version moving forward. Note: Mine has never turned itself back on (like it does in Facebook and LinkedIn *blurgh*).

8 Cool Non-Writing Uses of AI Tools

Writers like me (with scattered brains) know that focus can be tricky. Perhaps, like me, you sit down to write and suddenly you're researching something nebulous or watching a string of pet videos.

In the past, I’ve scribbled ideas on Post-its and notebooks (that I invariably lose), or in software like OneNote or Evernote (although I sometimes lose those files too).

The goal of these tips below is to enhance your creative process and make it searchable when you need to rediscover your own brilliant ideas.

1. Make a Story Dump Chat or Project for your WIP

Dump your ideas, snippets, and dialogue sparks into a chat so nothing gets lost to the void. Once every few weeks, I review it and pull out any shiny gems I’ve forgotten so I can use them.

For me, this is way better than something on paper that I am bound to lose.

2. Organize Tasks into Manageable Micro-Tasks

I’ve learned that when I’m stuck and frustrated, it’s often because a task is too large for me to see clearly.

If you read my post at Writers Helping Writers on Writing Tips for the Neurodivergent Brain, you know big things like manuscript-length Word documents break me. My brain needs tiny little scenes in Scrivener instead, or I get lost inside my manuscript, paralyzed and dejected...and not moving forward.

ChatGPT is really good at taking a huge ball of whatever ranting frustration I dictate into it, and breaking it into bite-sized steps or checklists that feel more manageable.

3. Act as “The Keeper of Continuity”

You can include a file in a ChatGPT chat or project. I often add a recent draft of my story into the Story Dump I made and use it as an all-around search tool.

Some examples:

• Can’t remember your character’s eye color or boss’ name?
• Or which chapter the wedding/funeral/graduation happens in?
• Or what all your neurotic character’s phobias are?

ChatGPT will hold those details for me so I can go to that chat/project later and ask about the thing I can't remember (and receive a fast answer). If I have to stop writing to find some detail out, it's guaranteed to break my writing flow. I rarely get it back. That's why I work so hard to minimize distractions.

4. Brainstorming with Boundaries

Endless options give me brain freeze. Or worse send me down the research rabbit hole for hours upon hours. That’s almost always a waste of my valuable writing time.

But if I ask ChatGPT for five possible weather-related conflicts that fit with a romantic suspense set in Glacier National Park in Montana, I will get five answers and that’s ALL. If none of them spark anything, I can ask for a new specific amount of examples. No rabbit holes. No reading through pages of search results. Just five quick ideas, and then staying productive in your manuscript.

This is a massive time saver for a wild mind.

5. Confidence CPR

A few months ago, I was having a day where I just felt like my manuscript was garbage. My inner critic was wearing a big ten-gallon hat and nailing me in the heart with the Shame Shooter.

I asked ChatGPT the following: “Please give me a pep talk about what's good about [Manuscript Title].”

It gave me SIX glowing and detailed reasons why my story was powerful. Phrases like emotionally intelligent, deeply kind, and honest about imperfection were used. It was awesome. And it was wicked effective. I was motivated enough to get back to it without all the negative self-talk.

Other Writers’ Input

After reading through the first draft of this article, one of my writing friends added three more great non-writing uses by giving her own free AI tool the following prompt: How can you support writers by sparking creativity without actually doing any writing or editing?

Below are the amazing answers it gave her (I’ve italicized GPT’s answers):

1. Character Discovery

I can guide you through character-building questions and naming ideas, such as:

• "What name feels like your character — elegant, earthy, mischievous, or fierce?"
• Exploring origins, meanings, or name vibes to match their personality.
• Helping you figure out their backstory motivations, contradictions, or inner growth arcs.

Note: I also use One Stop for Writers for this sort of work, because their character builder and various thesauruses are amazing, and have been around since long before all the AI tools.

2. World-Building Companionship

If you're creating a fantasy, sci-fi, or children's story world, I can:

• Ask the kind of "what if" questions that make a setting deeper ("How do seasons affect your world's magic?")
• Help you think through logistics like economies, geography, daily life, or rules of magic.

3. Creative Problem-Solving

When you're stuck, I can suggest writing prompts or mini-exercises to re-ignite inspiration.

A note of caution

AI tools try to be very very helpful. For example, it will offer to write things for you. Often they’ll sound just fabulous, but they probably won’t sound like you. In my personal opinion, AI isn’t remotely a good substitute for your own unique human voice.

But it’s a really great assistant for helping you keep your forward motion by doing tasks like:

• Answering research questions quickly. (Pro tip: always double-check the accuracy of historical or technical details during your editing phase.)
• Remembering the details of your writing, as I mentioned above.
• Offering naming or world-building ideas.
• Giving much-needed writing encouragement.

Final Thought

Used wisely, tools like ChatGPT can help you be better organized, more productive, and best of all. . .protect your forward motion and creative flow. The goal isn’t to let technology replace your imagination. The goal is to give your imagination more breathing room, especially if all the brain clutter is slowing you down.

Maybe I’ve embraced this tool because I’m a retired software trainer, or because this kind of organizational and editing work is challenging for me. But to me, every minute you save by organizing, brainstorming, or editing with technology tools like the ones I’ve mentioned is a minute you get back for storytelling.

Your unique story is an important gift that only you can provide. My vote is to let the tools handle the noise, while you handle the magic.

Where do you stand on using AI tools like ChatGPT to stay organized? Do you have other cool non-writing uses for the program? Please share your tips and opinions down in the comments!

About Jenny

By day, Jenny Hansen provides brand storytelling, LinkedIn coaching, and copywriting for accountants and financial services firms. By night, she writes humor, memoir, women’s fiction, and short stories. After 20+ years as a corporate trainer, she’s delighted to sit down while she works.

Find Jenny here at Writers In the Storm, or online on Facebook or Instagram.

All photos created in Canva Premium.

by Rebecca Forster

When I started writing, my definition of a fan was anyone who loved my books and me for writing them. I wanted a thousand-million-zillion fans. Over the course of 40 years, as both a traditional and independent author, I managed to collect a few.

The Oxford dictionary tells us that fan is short for fanatic, a word introduced into English around 1550.  The word is defined as “marked by excessive enthusiasm and often intense, uncritical devotion”.

The Good Fans...

My first fan was a woman who wrote me a lovely note on beautiful stationery. We corresponded and finally met at the airport for lunch when she passed through town. Her husband, wary because, as he pointed out, I could be an ‘800-pound gorilla”, came to protect his wife from me, a rather short, newly minted author. Later, my first-fan’s husband sent me a tiny gorilla that still lives on a lampshade in my home. We still laugh about it.

Another letter, written in a shaky hand, was signed “Mavis”. I believed I was writing to an old woman. Imagining her to be frail and lonely, I sent her free books which I could ill-afford in those days. I was actually writing to an older gentleman with bad handwriting named ‘Marvin’. He was a stock broker to the ultra-rich. We remained friends and fans of one another until he passed away.

There are so many more stories of fabulous people I have met because of my books. And then there are the unbelievable and frightening ones.

And the Not-So-Good…

One day, I opened a fan letter to find three pages of praise for my work written in a tight hand. I was humbled by the detailed notations. Then I got to this: When I get out of this hell hole maybe we can have coffee. I looked at the envelope and saw that the return address was a notorious California prison, and the writing was typical of inmates for whom paper is a luxury.

I did not write back.

And the Truly Ugly Fans…

Once we entered the digital age, interaction with readers grew by leaps and bounds. Readers wrote often, some with praise and some because they found typos. I was energized by the give-and-take until two more crossed the line.

My first stalking began with an avalanche of phone calls, my number gleaned from a writing group’s roster. The woman showed up at every book signing, taking pictures of me with a telephoto lens. One morning I found an envelope on my doorstep, the pictures inside. Every new encounter felt like an escalating threat.

Another, a man, believed I would leave my husband for him. I dreaded my email and worried that he might travel to find me.

A third—along with her family— bombarded me with emails, begging me to be the woman’s friend. If I refused, then she would refuse a life-saving operation. Her life was in my hands and I didn’t even know the woman.

The stories of these encounters are long and better told over a glass of wine, but the point is that public caution should be part of your writing life.

6 Tips to Prevent “The Ugly”

Here are a few tips to keep you safe from the fanatics and open to your fans.

1. P.O. Boxes

Get one. It is tax-deductible. Even though we are in the digital world, fans sometimes want to send cards and gifts. The return address on thank-you notes should be the PO Box number.

2. A digital address

Funnel your website and social media e-mail communication through a dedicated generic email.

3. Language

In any communication, be aware of overly effusive language about your work, hyper-focus on you personally, and/or questions about your private life. These are red flags.

4. Phone calls

Use extreme caution. An innocent phone call ‘just to say hello’ from my first stalker became a nightmare. Politely say,“ I’m not much for the phone, but I would love an email.”

5. In-person meetings

Only on your terms, in daylight, at a busy venue, after you have vetted the fan. Email or text your location, time of meeting, and name of person you’re with to a trusted source.

6. Vet a fan’s social media

Posts about family, friends, hobbies get a thumbs up. Long posts about depression, health, and traumatic events are a red flag. 

Final Thought

Our work as authors is solitary but never really lonely. Our bursts of energy and inspiration are what we live for. Even when they desert us, we revel in the challenge of problem solving.

When a person contacts us to say they appreciate the story we’ve told, the seamless way we tell it, the way we brought our characters to life, our hard work is joyously validated. It is an unfortunate fact of any creative profession that there will be outliers, people who read more into our work than we intend and want more of ourselves than we are willing to give.

So our final job is to control our personal narrative. Do that and there will always be happy endings.

What are your experiences interacting with your fans and readers? Do you have any tips to add (or your own crazy stories to tell)? Please do share them down in the comments!

Free Gift for WITS Readers!

Be one of the first to download Rebecca's new Hitchhiker's Guide, a 52-page, full-color magazine that shares the real-life stories behind each of her books. Sign up now for her monthly look-at-life newsletter to receive your free gift, The Hitchhiker's Guide. Click here!

About Rebecca

Rebecca Forster started writing on a crazy dare and found her passion. Now a USA Today and Amazon best selling author, Forster is known for her legal thrillers and police procedurals. Over three million readers have enjoyed her Josie Bates thrillers in the Witness Series alone. With over 40 books to her name, Rebecca had a long career in traditional publishing before becoming an indie author. Her fast-paced tales of law and justice are known for deep characterization and never-see-it-coming endings.

In an effort to make her work as realistic as possible, Rebecca has graduated from the DEA and ATF Citizens academies, landed by tail hook and spent two days on the nuclear submarine U.S.S Nimitz, engaged in police ride-alongs, and continues to court watch whenever possible.

Rebecca has taught at the acclaimed UCLA Writers Program and various colleges and universities. She is a sought-after speaker at bar and judges' associations as well as philanthropic groups and writing conferences. Rebecca is also a repeat speaker at the LA Times Festival of Books.

Rebecca has just released The 9th Witness, the final book in her acclaimed Witness Series, Josie Bates Thrillers. Find all her books at any online bookstore or here: https://www.rebeccaforster.com/.

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Featured photo created in Canva.

By Jenn Windrow

Writers in the Storm readers know that craft is where art meets heart. We talk about pacing and plot and structure, but at the center of it all—especially in romance and women’s fiction—is emotion. The kind that makes readers stay up past midnight because they can’t not turn the page. The kind that makes them laugh, cry, and text their friends about your book the next morning.

But here’s the thing, writing emotion is one skill. Editing for emotion is another skill entirely. Editing for emotion is where the story’s heart gets polished until it shines. And developmental editing is about sculpting those raw feelings, refining motivations, shaping arcs, and fine-tuning the rhythm of connection, so every emotional beat hits home.

Let’s talk about how you, as a writer, can approach your next draft with a developmental editor’s eye and elevate the emotional resonance that keeps readers coming back for more.

1. Character Motivations Must Be Crystal Clear

If readers don’t understand why a character feels something, the emotion won’t land. You can spend hours writing the most heart-wrenching scene imaginable, but if the reader doesn't buy the character’s motivation, it’s just noise.

When I edit, I always ask:

• Is this emotional reaction in proportion to the situation?
• Do past wounds, fears, or desires explain it?
• Are internal and external conflicts working together—or at odds?

Clarity doesn’t mean spelling everything out. It means letting the reader sense the logic beneath a character’s choices. If your heroine snaps at her best friend, we should feel the echo of all the betrayals that came before.

Pro tip: Chart your character’s emotional progression the same way you’d outline a plot. Each chapter should show movement—forward, backward, or sideways—but never static. Emotion needs momentum, just like story.

2. Pacing the Emotional Beats

Think of your story’s emotional rhythm like a rollercoaster. Readers want the thrilling highs, but they also need a few slow climbs and quiet pauses to breathe. If every chapter is an emotional meltdown, readers will tap out. If nothing happens for too long, they’ll drift away.

Developmental editors often help writers:

• Space out emotional highs and lows for balance.
• Delay gratification to build tension (especially in romance).
• Layer contrast—humor before heartbreak, calm before chaos.

Pro tip: Try color-coding your scenes by emotional intensity. When you look at your story map, you’ll see instantly if your highs are bunched together or if your emotional arc is sagging in the middle. Adjust pacing accordingly.

3. Deep POV = Deep Connection

Romance and women’s fiction thrive on intimacy. Not just the romantic kind, but emotional intimacy between reader and character. The deeper you dive into your character’s head and heart, the more your reader will feel what they feel.

Editors often flag:

• “Head-hopping” (jumping between POVs mid-scene).
• Filter words like she felt, he realized, I noticed.
• Emotional shorthand that tells instead of shows.

Pro tip: When revising, do a “filter pass.” Cut phrases that distance us from the emotion. Don’t tell us your heroine feels anxious—show us how her chest tightens, how her phone feels slippery in her hands. That’s what makes readers’ hearts race right along with hers.

4. Dialogue That Reveals, Not Just Informs

In real life, we rarely say exactly what we mean, and neither should your characters. Subtext is your best friend. What’s unsaid is often more powerful than what’s spoken.

Ask yourself:

• Does this conversation hum with tension or vulnerability?
• Do both characters have distinct voices?
• Are pauses, miscommunications, or interruptions used purposefully?

Pro tip: Read emotional scenes out loud. If the dialogue sounds flat or “too on the nose,” dig deeper. Real emotion hides between the words and in the silences, the stumbles, the things they can’t quite say.

5. Emotional Arcs Matter More Than Plot Arcs

Romance and women’s fiction often follow familiar structures. The meet-cute, conflict, dark moment, and resolution. But the emotional journey underneath is what makes each story unique. Readers don’t fall for your plot points; they fall for your characters’ growth.

When editing, look for:

• True emotional transformation, not just changed circumstances.
• Relationship shifts that are earned, not forced.
• Setbacks that lead to genuine insight or healing.

Pro tip: Reframe your story beats in emotional terms. Instead of asking “What happens here?” try “What does my character feel here, and how does that feeling change by the next turning point?”

Final Thoughts

Editing for emotion isn’t about dialing up the drama until everyone’s crying on every page. It’s about truth. Emotional truth. When you refine each beat, the motivation, pacing, POV, dialogue, and arc, you create a story that doesn’t just entertain; it connects.

Readers of romance and women’s fiction don’t want to be spectators. They want to live the story. They want to ache, swoon, rage, and heal right alongside your characters.

Your draft might already sparkle with chemistry and heart, but a thoughtful developmental edit ensures it also has depth. Because the best emotional writing doesn’t just make readers feel something. It makes them remember why they read in the first place.

Think about the last time a book made you cry or laugh out loud, what do you think the author got right emotionally? How can you bring that same magic to your next draft?

About Jenn Windrow

Jenn Windrow once attempted to write a “normal” book—and promptly bored herself into a coma. So now she sticks to what she does best: writing snarky, kickass heroines, broody supernatural men, and more sexual tension than a vampire in a blood bank.

She’s the award-winning author of the Alexis Black novels and the Redeeming Cupid series, where the undead never sparkle and the drama is always delicious. Jenn moonlights as a developmental editor, helping other writers wrangle their wild plots and tangle-free prose.

When not arguing with her characters or muttering about Oxford commas, she can be found binge-watching trash TV, wrangling the slew of animals that live in her house (husband and teenagers included), or telling herself she’ll only have one more cookie.

You can find her at jennwindrow.com or lurking on social media where she pretends to be an extrovert.

Header image by Brock Wegner - Unsplash