I’ll be honest. While the idea AI creating fiction scares me to death, I’d use it to create a 500 word synopsis of my 86,000 word novel in a heartbeat ! Now if only I could figure out how to input that request into Chat GPT.
For me, distilling my own words requires some analytical skill I just don’t possess. And it’s a skill, frankly, that seems absolutely foreign to the act of writing the book. Because ultimately chat gpt will always lack one of the most critical elements needed to write fiction. A heartbeat.
My 80yo aunt was a huge supporter of my writing... until I was published and she read my first novel. She was appalled by the sex and swearing and said “Alan Titchmarsh writes lovely novels and he doesn’t need any of that” which still makes me laugh.
Your very nice piece gave me pause, so thank you for that.
I decided to try my hand at writing in secret. I told no family or friends I started a Substack. I also make sure not to write about the living, and generally I don't write all that much about the dead either. I live with the knowledge that when my publication and subscriber page is discovered by family, it is likely to be a source of friction because, I could have been doing so much more with my time. Or, it could be a source of irritation, "Why didn't you tell me you were doing this?" Or, most likely, I'll have committed some foul or something I can't think of right now.
I can resonate with this! I have people in my life that I care about that don’t understand my writing at times and have made critical comments. It is hurtful, but with time and practice I am learning to take it less personal. However, it stings. I like to receive encouragement as well :) I recently heard Rick Rubin say, it says more about the critic than the artist. I love that. Thank you for your work!
I am slowly learning not to ask my husband for feedback on my artwork, as he tends to hone in on my biggest insecurities and innocently pop them out in his feedback: “I think you need to loosen up a bit”(!!!).
Re: AI - am I the only one that occasionally rubs my hands in glee when imagining work that AI can save me doing!? Writing marketing blurb about me or my work (I am sooo bad at this!). But I never get past the imagining, and I’m sure a computer couldn’t actually write well about me or my art (could it??!!) But when I look past this laziness, AI scares the bejeezus out of me! Fabulous newsletter, as always! X
I probably already told you this dude, but Dad’s love language was sprinkling in criticism to anything he was appraising - like “I don’t think those toucans’ feet look load-bearing - have you looked at Degas recently?” So I stopped showing him so much - then he’d go directly to my blog, and email me his thoughts.
I am very scared about AI when I let myself think of it. I’ll go read the article you’ve linked to, and get more scared! Those gags from that robot are good though - I give him/her two flesh-filled thumbs up! Loved this whole post dude. Xx
When I finally dared to start writing my first draft of my first novel, I happened to leave it open on my laptop when a close friend came over. She glanced at the screen, said, “Whatcha writing?” I told her the barest plot synopsis, and she said, “Oh! Is it like that movie, _______? you know, that wasn’t very good.”
I decided that if that’s how a “friend” responded, without even reading the work, I didn’t yet have the chutzpah to tel my family anything! My instinct is that they’ll either be blithely encouraging, or they’ll be competitive and need to devalue my goal (which is where, after a decade of knowing this earlier friend, I learned she starts from). If you’re writing for the joy of writing, you don’t want/need that stress in your life!
Great newsletter. Your quote, "Writing is so deeply tied up with critical thinking – it’s part of how we reason things out, how we question power and how we shape the culture. I’m not sure that’s something we should learn to outsource." was bang on. Well said!
Five years ago I wrote a thing where I said the most harrowing thing will be when someone circulates an amazing manifesto arguing human writing will always be superior, and it turns out an AI has written it— I feel pretty prescient now
As a reader, I really don't care who "wrote" a book. I only care that I derive pleasure out of reading it.
As a writer, if I can't create a story that readers find more compelling than one produced by AI, then I should probably up my game or, alternatively, not care and simply write because it's how I prefer to spend my time.
To put it in perspective, some people earn a living by carving spoons out of blocks of wood despite the fact that machines can do that job more efficiently. I'm not one of them. However, in a world without spoon-making machines, I could be. But I don't believe a strong (or valid) argument can be made that such a world would be an unequivocally better place despite the fact that many, many more people (including me) would then be employed as carvers.
My family doesn't read my stuff. They say they'll read it and never do, so that solves that problem. I've had more customers at my day job (4) read my books than family members. I've learned not to depend on them for real support in my chosen creative field.
As for AI. Ban it. All of it. Humans can be terrible enough people already, a machine without biological limits could be far worse.
I'd caught my parents once in a secret discussion whispering to each other about 'what happened to their child - where did it go wrong'. Turned out they were talking about my book and how weird it was. This still draws a chuckle from me.
Feedback is a difficult thing - I'm still trying to work out who to get it from and what to do with it. One thing though: I don't feel like seeking supportive non-critical comments from family/friends is narcissism. I would (hopefully) do the same, and if the support comes along with constructive criticism, that'd be even better. Writing can be hard and solitary, and I cherish all the support I can get.
Re: AI, sorry it's all gloomy on my end too. I've also put all my hopes in the regulation basket. As I live in the EU, seems like there's a better chance of it coming sooner. Regardless, it looks like the act of writing - as in choosing words and crafting sentences and paragraphs and worrying about rhythm and style is going to go away. There might be still be room for the storytelling parts of writing - plotting, character arcs and so on, but I've always loved the wordcraft as much or more than the storytelling, and the thought that it's going away makes me sad.
Firstly, I write for the sheer enjoyment of clarifying myself to myself, Secondly to offer to others what I trust are my gained wisdoms, and Lastly to be respected as a creator. By accepting the act of criticism in good faith I advance both myself and my writing. I do not wish to be respected for something that I did not personally create. That would be an act of Ignorant Fascism. Peace, Maurice
I’ll be honest. While the idea AI creating fiction scares me to death, I’d use it to create a 500 word synopsis of my 86,000 word novel in a heartbeat ! Now if only I could figure out how to input that request into Chat GPT.
For me, distilling my own words requires some analytical skill I just don’t possess. And it’s a skill, frankly, that seems absolutely foreign to the act of writing the book. Because ultimately chat gpt will always lack one of the most critical elements needed to write fiction. A heartbeat.
My 80yo aunt was a huge supporter of my writing... until I was published and she read my first novel. She was appalled by the sex and swearing and said “Alan Titchmarsh writes lovely novels and he doesn’t need any of that” which still makes me laugh.
Your very nice piece gave me pause, so thank you for that.
I decided to try my hand at writing in secret. I told no family or friends I started a Substack. I also make sure not to write about the living, and generally I don't write all that much about the dead either. I live with the knowledge that when my publication and subscriber page is discovered by family, it is likely to be a source of friction because, I could have been doing so much more with my time. Or, it could be a source of irritation, "Why didn't you tell me you were doing this?" Or, most likely, I'll have committed some foul or something I can't think of right now.
Also, thank you for asking.
I can resonate with this! I have people in my life that I care about that don’t understand my writing at times and have made critical comments. It is hurtful, but with time and practice I am learning to take it less personal. However, it stings. I like to receive encouragement as well :) I recently heard Rick Rubin say, it says more about the critic than the artist. I love that. Thank you for your work!
I am slowly learning not to ask my husband for feedback on my artwork, as he tends to hone in on my biggest insecurities and innocently pop them out in his feedback: “I think you need to loosen up a bit”(!!!).
Re: AI - am I the only one that occasionally rubs my hands in glee when imagining work that AI can save me doing!? Writing marketing blurb about me or my work (I am sooo bad at this!). But I never get past the imagining, and I’m sure a computer couldn’t actually write well about me or my art (could it??!!) But when I look past this laziness, AI scares the bejeezus out of me! Fabulous newsletter, as always! X
The episode about that pick-up artist book "The Game" on If Books Could Kill is hysterical!
I probably already told you this dude, but Dad’s love language was sprinkling in criticism to anything he was appraising - like “I don’t think those toucans’ feet look load-bearing - have you looked at Degas recently?” So I stopped showing him so much - then he’d go directly to my blog, and email me his thoughts.
I am very scared about AI when I let myself think of it. I’ll go read the article you’ve linked to, and get more scared! Those gags from that robot are good though - I give him/her two flesh-filled thumbs up! Loved this whole post dude. Xx
When I finally dared to start writing my first draft of my first novel, I happened to leave it open on my laptop when a close friend came over. She glanced at the screen, said, “Whatcha writing?” I told her the barest plot synopsis, and she said, “Oh! Is it like that movie, _______? you know, that wasn’t very good.”
I decided that if that’s how a “friend” responded, without even reading the work, I didn’t yet have the chutzpah to tel my family anything! My instinct is that they’ll either be blithely encouraging, or they’ll be competitive and need to devalue my goal (which is where, after a decade of knowing this earlier friend, I learned she starts from). If you’re writing for the joy of writing, you don’t want/need that stress in your life!
Great newsletter. Your quote, "Writing is so deeply tied up with critical thinking – it’s part of how we reason things out, how we question power and how we shape the culture. I’m not sure that’s something we should learn to outsource." was bang on. Well said!
Five years ago I wrote a thing where I said the most harrowing thing will be when someone circulates an amazing manifesto arguing human writing will always be superior, and it turns out an AI has written it— I feel pretty prescient now
As a reader, I really don't care who "wrote" a book. I only care that I derive pleasure out of reading it.
As a writer, if I can't create a story that readers find more compelling than one produced by AI, then I should probably up my game or, alternatively, not care and simply write because it's how I prefer to spend my time.
To put it in perspective, some people earn a living by carving spoons out of blocks of wood despite the fact that machines can do that job more efficiently. I'm not one of them. However, in a world without spoon-making machines, I could be. But I don't believe a strong (or valid) argument can be made that such a world would be an unequivocally better place despite the fact that many, many more people (including me) would then be employed as carvers.
My family doesn't read my stuff. They say they'll read it and never do, so that solves that problem. I've had more customers at my day job (4) read my books than family members. I've learned not to depend on them for real support in my chosen creative field.
As for AI. Ban it. All of it. Humans can be terrible enough people already, a machine without biological limits could be far worse.
I'd caught my parents once in a secret discussion whispering to each other about 'what happened to their child - where did it go wrong'. Turned out they were talking about my book and how weird it was. This still draws a chuckle from me.
Feedback is a difficult thing - I'm still trying to work out who to get it from and what to do with it. One thing though: I don't feel like seeking supportive non-critical comments from family/friends is narcissism. I would (hopefully) do the same, and if the support comes along with constructive criticism, that'd be even better. Writing can be hard and solitary, and I cherish all the support I can get.
Re: AI, sorry it's all gloomy on my end too. I've also put all my hopes in the regulation basket. As I live in the EU, seems like there's a better chance of it coming sooner. Regardless, it looks like the act of writing - as in choosing words and crafting sentences and paragraphs and worrying about rhythm and style is going to go away. There might be still be room for the storytelling parts of writing - plotting, character arcs and so on, but I've always loved the wordcraft as much or more than the storytelling, and the thought that it's going away makes me sad.
Firstly, I write for the sheer enjoyment of clarifying myself to myself, Secondly to offer to others what I trust are my gained wisdoms, and Lastly to be respected as a creator. By accepting the act of criticism in good faith I advance both myself and my writing. I do not wish to be respected for something that I did not personally create. That would be an act of Ignorant Fascism. Peace, Maurice