I thought I would stop complaining about AI publicly for a while, because it puts people on the defensive, and I have sympathy for those of us who have to use it at work, or for whom it improves access to one or more functions they couldn’t otherwise afford and many other reasons. We aren’t the ones who forced it down our own throats, after all (*cough-Sam Altman-cough*).
And yet, the emails.
The greater the persistence and constancy of the spam emails telling me how “masterful, outstanding, impressive, wide-ranging” and more that my work is, the angrier I get. It has the feeling of a popular boy I liked in middle school telling me he liked me and then shouting “SIKE” while his equally popular friends snickered at the devastation in my face. These expressions of praise are the very things many writers have waited years to hear from literary agents, publishers and readers. In the same way that AI itself is sycophantic—always validating you and fawning over you no matter how bad your ideas— these emails appeal to the most vulnerable, insecure parts of ourselves. (YES—EM DASHES MINE). You could say this feature preys on the human ego.
This AI-driven era of false praise also reveals a shadowy underbelly of creativity and art. It helps me understand why it’s so easy to get caught in a loop of “why bother”— if no one is seeing, buying, and now add fawning, over our work.
We may say we don’t write to make money, we may say audience isn’t a big deal, that we write to soothe our demons, to express our hearts, but we’re soaking in it, the pressure to monetize, that is, and it’s driving this horrid feedback loop.
I also think it’s stifling many, many writers.
Now, quick caveat: I DO think writers and other creative souls should be paid for their creations. I do think the arts are valid careers and vocations and callings, and I am HERE FOR money being thrown our way.
But in this increasingly slop-ified sea, where writers are competing with those who are using AI to write “creatively,” the urge to be found and hoisted up to a pinnacle of success is becoming a false prize.
In other words: We gotta make our own way. Pave our own paths, which may not all end in a payout or clicks. I’m not saying—I will never say—abandon money. I, too, live in this real world of ridiculously overpriced costs of living, my thinning bank account a daily reminder that just breathing air costs money, and hoping I survive the next round of layoffs at my day job.
What I’m saying is: If lack of money, eyes on your work, or material success is what’s keeping you from writing or creating, it’s worth interrogating what the writing does for you and you alone and staying connected to that.
And if you would like to live in a world where humans do the creative writing and art making, keep supporting the work of writers who strongly oppose using AI in their creative work.
Some books that I have loved recently:
How to Plant A Billion Trees: A memoir of childhood trauma and the healing power of nature, by Nicole Walker
The Talking Bone: A novel, Rene Denfeld
Martyr! by Kaveh Akbar
Pre-Order Writing Through the Pause.
If you’ve been struggling with your writing practice in or around midlife or are just feeling fallow, stuck or disconnected, I think you’ll gain a lot from my forthcoming book Writing Through the Pause. Pre-orders are very welcome, and if you pre-order a hard copy, I will be glad to send you a signed book plate when you finally get it!
September Classes, Conferences and Cohorts
This month, we send our only son to college and tend to our health, but come September I hit the ground running HARD! I hope to see some of you at this variety of in-person and virtual events and conferences.
September 3, 10am PT/ 1pm ET.
Join me for a new webinar with Writer’s Digest University! Make it Hurt: Bring Emotional Impact and High Stakes to Every Scene. Register here.
Scenes often fall flat because writers shy away from creating real emotional impact. Plots often lose their steam because the stakes aren’t high enough or the pacing drags. And characters can feel like cardboard cutouts because the reader can’t access the impact of the story on them.
This live webinar urges writers to do the thing they often shy away from: Causing their characters pain, taking away things they love, and making life generally harder on them in every scene (in ways that make sense to the plot).
Also: Look for my article “Curating a Persona in Memoir” in the September/October issue of Writer’s Digest Magazine.
New Fall Classes with Sibyl Writing Craft
Stay tuned for a host of cool new classes coming through Sibyl Writing Craft! Sign up with your email to get 10% off.
Some of mine include:
Sept. 4. Start Strong, End Unforgettably: On Endings and Beginnings
Sept 1- December 1: (12 week cohort). Write the Pause: Creative Accountability Circles for Women + Non-binary Writers
Sept. 18: When The Character is You: Curating Persona in Memoir
September 25-26. Central Coast Writers Conference!
Thinking of attending one of my favorite writing conferences of all? The Central Coast Writers Conference takes place Friday and Saturday, Sept. 25 and 26 in beautiful San Luis Obispo, California. In addition to the very reasonably priced conference itself, you can also add on one of eight Master Classes! I’m teaching “Unlocking Voice on the Page: Level Up With Character and Style.”
Editing Services
Need an editor for book-length manuscripts (fiction, memoir and other non-fiction), short stories, essays, query letters or synopses? Message me (jordanwritelife (at) gmail (dot) com) that you saw this Substack post and I’ll extend a $100 off discount.
So sad when a budding writer asked: "How can you monetize that?" An experienced writer and editor asked me about a piece of mine in a literary magazine, "Did you get paid for that?" There is real pressure online and in the so-called real world for writers to justify the time we spend creating by "earning out," which is never enough. We are in a tough time but/and we need to keep creating. And yes, the effusive fake praise for my writing makes me sad.
Ah, yes, living in the real world of money and also trying to write without caring about money. So sad that AI is infiltrating the creative writing world. It is bad enough that much of the writing in the wellness space is obviously AI-produced. And, when true wellness is about being real and authentic, it all seems so icky. I could ask AI to give me a better word, but I won't.