Writing Novels with VS Code: A 1M-Word Author's Guide
How I've written over 1 million words across 16 novels using Visual Studio Code and Markdown—30–40% faster than Word or Scrivener. With QuillDrop for formatting.
Read →Jay's Journal
Original posts on history, mysteries, writing, and other amusing topics.
Written by me, Jay Penner, not by AI.
How I Make My Cartoons - Jay Penner
A behind-the-scenes look at the process of creating historical cartoons using Affinity tools and traditional sketching.
Read →What to Read First: Jay Penner's Book & Series Guide
Not sure which series to start with? This FAQ covers Whispers of Atlantis, Cleopatra, Spartacus, Hannibal, and Dark Shadows by Jay Penner.
Read →Google Earth Flybys for My Historical Fiction Novels
I create Google Earth flybys for every novel—take virtual tours of where Cleopatra, Spartacus, and Alexander's stories unfolded in the ancient world.
Read →QuillDrop: Simple Book Formatting for Amazon KDP In Seconds
Transform your Markdown manuscript into a KDP-ready Word document instantly. Used to format over 1M+ words across 15+ published novels.
Read →Discipline Beats Inspiration: A Writer's Mindset
Waiting for inspiration keeps books unwritten. A visual breakdown of how disciplined daily writing outproduces even the best inspirational bursts.
Read →POV Cheatsheet: First Person vs Third Person for Writers
A visual guide to choosing the right Point-of-View for your fiction—first person, third limited, omniscient, and more—with a handy comparison matrix.
Read →My First Unpublished Novel: A Cringeworthy 2010 Attempt
In 2010, I wrote my first novel—a London serial killer story called "14 Days." It was never published. Here's what I learned from my most embarrassing work.
Read →My Book Cover Went Through 9 Versions: What I Learned
I was convinced I could design my own book cover. After nine embarrassing versions, I finally learned humility—and saw ad click-throughs jump 8x.
Read →ChatGPT Made Up a Book I've Never Written
ChatGPT confidently told me I wrote "The Gabriel Proxy"—a sci-fi novel that doesn't exist. A real encounter with AI hallucination, and what it revealed.
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