AGT Monthly Meeting for September 2025

 The Authors Guild of Tennessee held its monthly meeting on Thursday, September 4, 2025, at Faith Lutheran Church in Farragut from 10:30 to noon.

 The following members were present:

Bill Barbour, Sam Bledsoe, Gary Butler, Deana Charcalla, Laura Derr, John Forcum, Leoma Gilley, David Johnston, Ernie Lancaster, Sean Mitchell, Jerry Morton, Cheryl Peyton, Nancy Pressley, Ron Pressley, Chuck Roseberry, Kit Sexton, Art Stewart, Becky Tucker, Jeri Weems, Victoria Winifred, and Curt Young.

Guests:  Erika Engelhaupt, Elaine Jungk, Allie Brown

Welcome – Cheryl.

Minutes for August  Approved online

Treasurer’s Report – Bill

 

For August 2025
Beginning Cash Balance	$          2,784
Ending Cash Balance	$          2,864
Less:	$           (776)	Writing Competition
	$             (94)	Outstanding checks
Net Cash Available	$          1,994
Income
Trade Show Booths	$               143
Book Sales (Townsend)	$                58
Cookbook sales	$                30
Expenses
Author payments	$                58
Storage Space Rent	$                38

 

Reports by Committee Chairs

 Fairs and Festivals – Nancy. There are 4 tents in the storage area. The two easy-to-put-up ones are in the front. There are tables (varying lengths and they are marked). Small items are in boxes like table skirts, bags, bookmarks, and banners. It is 10 minutes from Faith Lutheran. Events this month are indoors with tables provided.

There may be additional tables available for 1the Books & Readers event on Sept. 13-14 at the Expo Center. Let Nancy know if you would like to attend.

Oct 4-5, Fall Festival I Etowah L & N Depot, $17/person. Several places are available.

Nov 7-9 is the Christmas Fair at the Expo Center. We have an endcap, so plenty of space. Four 3’ spaces are available.

Nancy will send an email about the fairs that have openings. Once you commit, you need to pay AGT, sending your check to Gayle Curtin. If you then can’t go, you need to find someone else to replace and pay you.

Sean Mitchell: His grandmother was an author for many years. He read her contribution to Chicken Soup for the Writer’s Soul.

Gary Butler –He was approached by someone on Facebook, offering to write reviews for a price. Amazon requires that you do not pay for reviews, and will close your account if they find out. Be very careful with people who approach you. There are other sources, such as Pubby.com and Goodreads.com that will provide legitimate reviews.

Writing Contest —  Art reported that five volunteers have agreed to help in the Lenoir City High School. That completes our commitment for this term.

Program 

Our special speaker, Erika Engelhaupt, spoke on “AI-101 for Writers.”

Erica is a freelance science writer and former online science editor at National Geographic. Her writing has appeared in magazines and newspapers, including National Geographic, NPR, Scientific American, Popular Mechanics, Science News, the Philadelphia Inquirer, Boulder Daily Camera, and more.

She’s lived in Knoxville for 9 years. She is now freelance and writes books and articles along with some editing. National Geographic is her publisher. Her books include Gory Details, Adventures on the Dark Side of Science, and Go to Hell, A Traveler’s Guide to Otherworldly Places. Now she is working on Superpower, the science of real-world superpowers like super memories and the world’s strongest woman.

There are several categories of AI:

Generative AI/Chatbots (ChatGPT, Claude, Gemini) create new content, whether images or text.

The Large Language Model (LLM) is a subcategory for generating and understanding human language. It is designed for text-based tasks such as writing and summarizing. It mimics style but doesn’t understand the language. It doesn’t know anything but is based on patterns. It has no capacity to judge quality or consistency. It is trained on billions of words from books, websites, and articles. It predicts text based on the statistically likely next word. It is not necessarily accurate – it will make things up. You must fact-check anything to make sure it is real.

AI-powered search and research (Elicit, Perplexity)

Voice-to-text and transcription (Otter.ai Sonix.ai) record interviews and then transcribe them or summarize them.

Editing and grammar (Grammarly, Hemingway)

Idea generation and outlining (Sudowrite)

A good way to think of AI is to use it as a tool to support, but not to replace creativity. It can save time on transcribing or other mechanical tasks.

Brainstorming and drafting:

• Generate story prompts, article angles, or titles.
• Expand outlines into scenes or paragraphs.
• Rewrite in different tones or voices (emails) to see things from a different perspective. Have a conversational chat with ChatGPT, Sudowrite, or ask Claude to brainstorm ideas for what subject to write about next.

Editing and Polishing:

• Fix grammar, spelling, and style.
• Suggest clearer or more concise wording.
• Detect passive voice or filler words.
• Tools: Grammarly, Hemingway, ProWritingAid. Claude can do copy edits, content edits, etc. You can specify your own tone or style.

Writing Prompts: Jan Taylor presented these ideas at the Knoxville Writers Guild, June 5, 2025.

• Tell AI genre, constraints. “I’m a cozy mystery writer developing a novel about … Help me brainstorm obstacles my protagonist might face.”
• Reader perspective: “Read this scene as if you’re a female reader who loves romance novels. What’s missing?”
• Pattern analysis: common weaknesses in my dialogue. Critique in this way…
• Framing expertise: “I’m a science journalist with a basic understand of physics. Help me develop explanations for a general audience.”
• Focusing structure: “Suggest three different organizational frameworks for my book proposal.”
• Reflective analysis: “Here’s how I’ve described a childhood memory. What question may readers have that I haven’t addressed?” (Good for memoir)
• Boundary setting: “Help me brainstorm appropriate ways to handle a sensitive topic.”
• Visuals Story starters: “Generate an image of a packed suitcase left open on a bed with one item that doesn’t belong.” Repeat 10 times to generate many ideas.
• Scene visualization “Create a moody tavern where my characters will argue–include dim lighting and details that suggest secrets.”
• Reference research: “Create an accurate Victorian London winter street scene with period clothing and architecture. Verify historical details independently.”
• Testing descriptions “Here’s a description of [scene/character] Create an image based on this description. (Canva, Gemini)
• Research and fact-checking: summarize sources or long documents, suggest relevant research or articles. Elicity, Perplexity, ChatGPT with plugins. Claude has a button for deeper research of a topic.

Attribution and originality: Who owns AI-generated work?

Overreliance: Using AI as a crutch vs. a partner.

Case Studies/Real-World Use:

• Journalist brainstorming headlines with AI.
• Novelist speeding up revisions with editing tools.
• Blogger summarizing interviews.

Most of these AI tools are available free for a short time so you can see if they are helpful. Then a paid option is best. These can be done on a monthly or annual basis.

Adjournment

Meeting adjourned at 12:30   Next meeting will be on October 2, 2025, at Faith Lutheran Church.

 

Respectfully submitted,

Leoma Gilley, AGT Secretary