Interesting thoughts on AI, Sarah. I'll never say I know where it's going, but I can only hope it dies out, as most ludicrous fads do. We humans have been known to do many foolish things in the name of expediency (AKA laziness), so I don't put anything past us.
The best way for us to combat it is to shame 'real' writers out of using it, and I hope that, too, does the job.
Thanks so much for including my piece on writing advice scams. I pity the newbies coming up now, in a time where scams are acceptable business practice and dedicated hard work is for suckers. They'll learn the truth the hard way.
Good work here. I'll share it, hoping it'll make some lightbulbs go off.
And this is awesome. I write for myself. I write because I feel that I have to at times. I write for the enjoyment of it. I don't look at AI, because the samples I've read have been bad. Writing is a way of getting in touch with inner self. Writing is about rewriting, and then doing it again, and again if you have to. I don't make money. This is the first time I've made anything with my writing. I'm bringing in a whopping $43/month. But I wouldn't give it up for nuthin'! Everyone around me is looking for a way to invest, and make money off the Internet. I tell them I'm doing what I can, and if it takes another ten years until I can find subscribers, I'll give it the ten years. Take a look at what I have to offer... https://benwoestenburg.substack.com/about
I remember when Facebook began to get more popular, and I, being the idealistic world-changer that I am, wanted to reach people with information about how things work, talk about the wonders of the world, and share and discuss interesting, nuanced ideas. Surprise, surprise, never got the amount of attention or likes that a random classmate got for sharing whatever an update on whatever food they were eating or some picture of a new handbag or something. Kept trying other social media like twitter, here and there with some success but ultimately hamstrung by that platforms issues and constraints. I did always have the mentality of 'if I only reach one person with this it will have been worth it', but eventually figured there were better ways to reach people and stopped using social media for a while. Only now that I got into Substack did I really feel like putting in the time to connect with people and write nuanced arguments (and research and talk about how things work yay) was actually worth the effort. Currently looking into ChatGPT and A.I. as well, incidentally, and everything that has been going on lately: https://roberturbaschek.substack.com/p/breaking-chatgpt-is-a-ravenclaw
So long story short, what do I write for? Because I'm interested in learning how things work, because I want to reach and inspire people, and because it's something that I really love doing.
The fact that writing can also provide an income is undoubtedly a bonus. It's wonderful when we can turn our passion into a viable means of support. However, it's important not to lose sight of the true essence of writing – the joy of creation and the gift of expression.
At the end of the day, writing is a labor of love that allows us to leave a lasting legacy. We can inspire, provoke thought, and foster understanding with our words. So, let's continue to write for the sheer pleasure of it and the opportunity to share a piece of ourselves with the world. Embrace the fun and remember that any financial reward is just the cherry on top of an already delicious cake.
King's book is my ANNUAL writing read! I always get something new out of it. I do think AI is a threat to bad/mediocre information writing, but that's not the kind I do, anyway. Coonecting with readers and engaging with them to build loyalty and connections is more important than ever!
When ChatGPT came out I asked it to write 500 words on ‘the malaise of working motherhood’ and it read like it had copy and pasted the internet. So there is definitely no substitute for an honest voice!
Interesting thoughts on AI, Sarah. I'll never say I know where it's going, but I can only hope it dies out, as most ludicrous fads do. We humans have been known to do many foolish things in the name of expediency (AKA laziness), so I don't put anything past us.
The best way for us to combat it is to shame 'real' writers out of using it, and I hope that, too, does the job.
Thanks so much for including my piece on writing advice scams. I pity the newbies coming up now, in a time where scams are acceptable business practice and dedicated hard work is for suckers. They'll learn the truth the hard way.
Good work here. I'll share it, hoping it'll make some lightbulbs go off.
And this is awesome. I write for myself. I write because I feel that I have to at times. I write for the enjoyment of it. I don't look at AI, because the samples I've read have been bad. Writing is a way of getting in touch with inner self. Writing is about rewriting, and then doing it again, and again if you have to. I don't make money. This is the first time I've made anything with my writing. I'm bringing in a whopping $43/month. But I wouldn't give it up for nuthin'! Everyone around me is looking for a way to invest, and make money off the Internet. I tell them I'm doing what I can, and if it takes another ten years until I can find subscribers, I'll give it the ten years. Take a look at what I have to offer... https://benwoestenburg.substack.com/about
I remember when Facebook began to get more popular, and I, being the idealistic world-changer that I am, wanted to reach people with information about how things work, talk about the wonders of the world, and share and discuss interesting, nuanced ideas. Surprise, surprise, never got the amount of attention or likes that a random classmate got for sharing whatever an update on whatever food they were eating or some picture of a new handbag or something. Kept trying other social media like twitter, here and there with some success but ultimately hamstrung by that platforms issues and constraints. I did always have the mentality of 'if I only reach one person with this it will have been worth it', but eventually figured there were better ways to reach people and stopped using social media for a while. Only now that I got into Substack did I really feel like putting in the time to connect with people and write nuanced arguments (and research and talk about how things work yay) was actually worth the effort. Currently looking into ChatGPT and A.I. as well, incidentally, and everything that has been going on lately: https://roberturbaschek.substack.com/p/breaking-chatgpt-is-a-ravenclaw
So long story short, what do I write for? Because I'm interested in learning how things work, because I want to reach and inspire people, and because it's something that I really love doing.
The fact that writing can also provide an income is undoubtedly a bonus. It's wonderful when we can turn our passion into a viable means of support. However, it's important not to lose sight of the true essence of writing – the joy of creation and the gift of expression.
At the end of the day, writing is a labor of love that allows us to leave a lasting legacy. We can inspire, provoke thought, and foster understanding with our words. So, let's continue to write for the sheer pleasure of it and the opportunity to share a piece of ourselves with the world. Embrace the fun and remember that any financial reward is just the cherry on top of an already delicious cake.
https://neverstoplearning1.substack.com
I just wrote my own piece about AI and why I still think I have something valuable to say. Thanks for sharing your perspective!
King's book is my ANNUAL writing read! I always get something new out of it. I do think AI is a threat to bad/mediocre information writing, but that's not the kind I do, anyway. Coonecting with readers and engaging with them to build loyalty and connections is more important than ever!
When ChatGPT came out I asked it to write 500 words on ‘the malaise of working motherhood’ and it read like it had copy and pasted the internet. So there is definitely no substitute for an honest voice!