Was just thinking, what about using bondo (automobile body filler) to fill the gap and drill it?

naw man, what you need is a hardening wood filler, it looks ugly but it definately does the job, if you find a good stainable one you may not even notice its there provided the spot is small enough, Ive used one from minwax in the past that i really liked

im posting a link to website with some video tips

Here is a link that might be useful: minwax wood filler

Abatron filler will take screws, but you must pre-drill with an appropriately-sized pilot, or it can split out.
Gun-driven finish nails wouldn't need piloting, but hand nails larger than 8's - it would be a good idea to pilot them as well.
Casey

I'll keep the autobody filler and Minwax filler in mind to try in the future, and I will definitely predrill the Abatron! Thanks so much for your responses.