Archive - Free thoughts of a writer writing (about writing) freely

One Author’s Review of Scrivener

Scrivener is the solo author's version of the Swiss Army knife. Authors who write for immediate digital publication and are responsible for every step…

Jun 17 • I.M. AIken

I wanna be a genre writer

But I keep meeting soul-crushing monsters in human form. Monsters exist. The slightly better ones want to dance well. Can someone train the monsters in…

Jun 11 • I.M. AIken

May 2026

Behind the Scenes: Kahlil’s Wall

An author's notes from the day after writing an award-winning short story

May 18 • I.M. AIken

April 2026

Why NOT credit your editor

Shine a light on your writing team (or let us think you are AI)

Apr 27 • I.M. AIken

March 2026

Sincerity to Nonsense in 10 clicks

How to enshitify Substack by not being human, following algorithms, scheduling notes when off-line, and failing to read/listen to human participants

Mar 30 • I.M. AIken

One Author’s Quick Guide to Voice-Over Techniques

Part 3 of Recording Audiobooks - tricks and techniques for doing your own voice-over of your audiobooks, by an author/narrator of 3 novels.

Mar 27 • I.M. AIken

One Author’s Quick Guide to Reaper

Part 2 of Author Recording Audiobooks - basic setup for narrating audiobooks with Reaper.

Mar 26 • I.M. AIken

Author Recording Audiobooks

A quick startup guide for authors who would want to narrate their own audio book includes ACX rules, DAW and equipment suggestions

Mar 24 • I.M. AIken

Inputs and Outputs

Surprise, we tend to write like the works we read.

Mar 23 • I.M. AIken

Captain Henry: 2½ Insurrections, 2 Wars, 1¼ Centuries and a Story of Love

I.M. Aiken's 2026 novel | Centuries and continents apart, two American soldiers deploy in the years after “mission accomplished”—only to discover a land…

Mar 9 • I.M. AIken

Substack and Censorship

Don't like something on Substack, use mute feature or scroll to the next.

Mar 9 • I.M. AIken

The Anxiety Knob

Authors - climb through the page to adjust tension for your readers: up and down. As a panelist invited to discuss how writers create tension, I thought…

Mar 7 • I.M. AIken

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