u/MostTie8317

I have a finished manuscript for a novel that is approximately 86,550 words and I'm trying to figure out the best way to approach the editing stage. My next step would be to hire a professional developmental editor followed by a line/copy editor but unfortunately I don't currently have the money to hire professional editors for both stages so I'm considering using AI. I'm specifically looking for an AI that can do more than basic proofreading. I want something that can help with:

-Developmental editing: plot structure, pacing, character development, consistency, scene effectiveness, unnecessary sections, etc.

-Line editing: prose quality, sentence structure, dialogue, word choice, flow, repetition, awkward phrasing, etc.

-Copy editing: grammar, punctuation, spelling, consistency, and factual/technical errors.

-Maintaining consistency and context across a manuscript of around 86,550 words.

I have a finished manuscript for a novel that is approximately 86,550 words and I'm trying to figure out the best way to approach the editing stage. My next step would be to hire a professional developmental editor followed by a line/copy editor but unfortunately I don't currently have the money to hire professional editors for both stages so I'm considering using AI. I'm specifically looking for an AI that can do more than basic proofreading. I want something that can help with:

-Developmental editing: plot structure, pacing, character development, consistency, scene effectiveness, unnecessary sections, etc.

-Line editing: prose quality, sentence structure, dialogue, word choice, flow, repetition, awkward phrasing, etc.

-Copy editing: grammar, punctuation, spelling, consistency, and factual/technical errors.

-Maintaining consistency and context across a manuscript of around 86,550 words.

I'm talking about the character of Jerry Russo not David Delusie. The "fat cheap dumb dad" trope is just overplayed, annoying and tiresome. Justin was a better father to his children in Wizards Beyond than Jerry ever was in the original.

This is what Ephesians 6:5 says:
^(")Slaves, obey your earthly masters with respect and fear, and with sincerity of heart, just as you would obey Christ. "

Yet today in this Christian western world this piece of "inspired wisdom" is ignored and we no longer practice slavery. We view it as a reprehensible part of our past. My question is why can't the prohibitions on homosexuality be just as ignored as the condonement of slavery is in the Bible nowadays? Why are the prohibitions on homosexuality viewed as binding?

I grew up as one of Jehovah's Witnesses in a very fundamentalist environment where the Bible was treated as completely inerrant and meant to be taken in an extremely literal manner. Every verse was presented as historical fact, scientifically accurate, morally perfect, and directly applicable at face value.

Eventually I left the religion because I just could not reconcile that framework with logic, reason, history, and science. For a while I became atheist because I felt that if Christianity required that kind of rigid biblical literalism I simply could not believe it.

Now, however, I find myself wanting to return to Christianity but in a form that is not tied to the fundamentalist worldview I was raised in. I’m drawn to more progressive and non-literal approaches to faith yet I still struggle with this deeply ingrained reflex that says: “If you’re Christian, you must believe the Bible is inerrant and literal.”

For those of you who came from fundamentalist backgrounds, how did you unlearn that mindset? How did you come to see scripture differently without feeling like you were abandoning Christianity altogether? Were there particular books, theologians, spiritual practices, or thought processes that helped you make that shift?

I want to apologize to someone for how I acted towards them during an episode that caused us not to be friends anymore (They don't know that I have schizophrenia nor did I at the time) but I'm guessing that this person does not want to see or have anything to do with me anymore as we've been no-contact for a while. Is it ok if I have a friend explain to them the situation and apologize to them on my behalf because I really do want to make things right with them.

A while back two Christians came to an LGBTQ support group at a community center I attended. They presented themselves as allies, said they cared deeply about the queer community and claimed they wanted to support and help however they could. They acted completely accepting and compassionate. I decided to give them a try a visit their church and suddenly it was a full 180. The same people who claimed to care about us were openly bashing the LGBTQ community from a religious perspective and making it clear they viewed queer identities as sinful. It felt manipulative, predatory, and honestly disgusting. Like they deliberately wore a mask to gain trust in a vulnerable space just to lure people in. I never went back after that.

Have any of you experienced Christians doing this? Infiltrating progressive or marginalized spaces under false pretenses to evangelize? The snake-like dishonesty of it makes me furious. Things like this are actually doing the exact opposite of what they want it to and turning more people away from Christianity than ever before.