Dear Aithors

How Horror Writers Can Win the War Ag... Written By: Can Human-Created Writing...

Dear Aithors

Theother day, I had what literary writers call an epiphany, and which regularwriters like me call an insight. But epiphany sounds cooler, right?

Someoneon a Facebook thread asked if it was necessary to use AI to write a novel. Ihave no clue whether the poster was serious or if they were trolling, buteither way, people responded. Some dropped snark bombs, but others took thequestion seriously. The responses boiled down to two things: One, generative AIwas created with stolen material (including around thirty of my novels), it’sharmful for the environment, and research has shown it damages cognition (andthat this damage is permanent). Two, why would anyone want to write a novelwithout going through the process of making it yourself?

Mycomment: Writing with AI is like using a motorcycle to win a marathon.

(Before Icontinue, I’m only talking about using generative AI to write for you or do thebulk of writing for you. And as I tell my students, if you’re comfortable withthe moral and environmental issues with generative AI use, that’s yourbusiness. I’m not here to judge your choices. My students and I talk about the limitedways generative AI might be able to help them without doing too much of thework for them. My creative writing students want nothing to do with generativeAI. Some of my composition students feel that way, while others would gladlyuse generative AI to do as much of their coursework as possible if they couldget away with it.)

After Iposted my comment on Facebook, I kept thinking about it, and I realized a truthabout AI “writers” (I saw one person use the word Aithors, on anotherthread). Extending my marathon example a bit – the motorcyclist does notunderstand the purpose of a marathon. They believe the goal is to reach thefinish line, and if a motorcycle can get them there faster than everyone else(and without taxing them physically), they’ve simply worked smarter, notharder. A marathoner knows the goal is to run the race. To do this, theyhave to train. They have to become a marathoner. They test themselves inboth body and mind, learn about their perceived limits, continue to pushthemselves, to grow. Becoming is all about process and growth. The ultimate product– in this case, winning a race – means something because of the process.The marathoner has worked hard as hell to become capable of doing something thevast majority of the human race has never attempted, and of those who doattempt it, only a few reach the point where they can finish a marathon, letalone come in first.

Non-runnersdon’t think marathoners are elitists who are gatekeeping marathoning. This isbecause they can see people run, can understand how long a marathon is, can tryto run that distance without any training and preparation, and see how far theyget. Enough of the process takes place in the physical world for non-runners tounderstand, in general, what it takes to become a marathoner. Time, dedication,practice, acquired and applied skills, hard-won experience…

Throughmy marathon example, I realized that most “aithors” are motorcycle riders. Theythink the goal of writing a novel is to have a finished book in hand, soanything that can get them to that goal as fast as possible, with as littleeffort as possible, is the way to go. And all those idiots plodding along ontheir feet behind them just aren’t smart enough to hop on a motorcycle.

Writersare marathon runners. They understand that writing is a verb, just likerunning. Writing is doing. It’s Sarah’s speech at the end of the movie Labyrinth.“Though dangers untold and hardships unnumbered, I have fought my way here tothe castle beyond the Goblin City…” Being at the castle isn’t the point. Reachingthe castle is, along with all the knowledge, self-insight, and growth thatoccurred to you on the journey.

Aithorswould reach Jareth and say, perhaps smugly, “I didn’t feel like doing all thatwalking, so I called an Uber.”

This iswhy I think it’s useless to argue with aithors. They have no understanding ofwhat writing really is, hell, what process is. If they’re young enough,they’ve lived their entire lives in a world where all they have to do is push abutton, and they get their result, never seeing all the steps that occurred toget that result, because those steps can’t be perceived. If aithors aren’tcreative by nature, or haven’t had their creativity nurtured as they grew up,they literally do not understand it. They don’t value doing. They onlyvalue having.

Lots ofpeople suggest that generative AI is an aid to people who lack creativity, writingability, and writing training, so it’s like an accommodation for someone whohas a disability. Now everyone can be a writer, and no one will be left out!Except aithors aren’t writing. When I was an undergrad in the eighties, I workedin the Writing Lab at Wright State University. WSU was known for being one of –if not the – most accessible schools for people with disabilities in theworld. As a writing tutor, I worked with people who had a range of physical andcognitive challenges, and the tool that did provide accommodation forthem was a new thing called a personal computer. We could adjust the font sizefor people with vision problems. Often, people with physical disabilities couldstill grip a pencil and press the keys to type. If they were physically incapableof typing, we sat at the keyboard and typed the words they spoke to us. We weretrained not to comment on their writing as they were drafting, and not to improveit as we typed. The PC was a wonder tool back in those days. It made itpossible for people with certain disabilities to write because while writing isa verb, it’s ultimately a mental process. Writing is thinking is what compteachers always say. This accommodation did not replace someone’s thinking. Itallowed their thoughts to be recorded as writing so they could be revisedlater, or turned in as a finished assignment, if that’s what the tutee desired.

Thethinking is the goddamned point.

And yes,some tutees had cognitive issues because of organic damage to their brains orbecause they had learning disabilities. We still helped them think, processinformation, express their thoughts, and produce them as writing. Processinginfo might’ve been a challenge for them, but they worked hard at it, and theydid it to the best of their ability. And the more often they did it, the morethey improved.

Myexperience at the Writing Center is a big reason why I don’t let myself worryabout writer’s block or whether I can accomplish a challenging writing task. Inthe Writing Center, I saw people overcome challenges I can’t even imaginehaving. After that, I couldn’t take my petty bullshit writing fears seriously.My challenge is depression, but I work to deal with it and not let it stop me becauseof the disabled tutees I worked with in college. Every fucking one of them wasa hero to me. And the only time I really get furious at aithors is when I thinkabout those heroes. Every single one of them was more of a writer than any AI-assisted“author” will ever be.

If AI couldfunction as a tutor instead of a replacement for thinking, it might actuallybecome an accommodation tool. I’ve never used programs like Scrivener (I boughtand downloaded the damn thing a year ago just so I could become familiar withit, but I’ve never opened the program), but I’m familiar with the basic toolsit gives writers, and it seems like it can be an aid to thinking rather than areplacement for it.

I knowaithors aren’t going anywhere. Why would someone stop using AI when it can givethem something for nothing? But if any of you who are reading this are on thefence about using generative AI for writing, I urge you not to replace yourselves.I want you to write, not some fucking program. We need your voice,your vision, your perspective, your imagination. And ifyou feel you don’t have these things, or if you do, they aren’t strong enoughyet, remember that every journey begins with a single step.

Just likea marathon.

DEPARTMENTOF SHAMELESS SELF-PROMOTION

As I wasfinishing up this blog post, I wondered what work(s) of mine to promote thistime. I decided to go with the Custodians of the Cosmos series from AethonBooks. This trilogy, perhaps more than anything else I’ve written, is the most me,and it would be impossible for generative AI as it currently exists to createanything as bat-shit crazy as these books.

Creaturesfrom dark dimensions infesting your home? Demonic beings trying to drive youinsane? Alien gods attempting to destroy your universe?

Justcall Maintenance.

Thisunderpaid and overworked secret organization is dedicated to battling forcesthat seek to speed up Entropy and hasten the Omniverse’s inevitable death.

“Waggoner offers a fresh variation on the trope of acovert agency combating evil in his blood-drenched Custodians of the Cosmosseries opener.” – Publishers Weekly

“This gripping dark fantasy boasts an indelible castand an unwavering pace.” – Kirkus Reviews

"THE ATROCITY ENGINE is a wild ride full ofentertaining scenarios and scary monsters!" – Booklist

“THE ATROCITY ENGINE is a kick-ass cross-genrethrill ride of a novel! Holy moly! Tim Waggoner is easily one of today’s besthorror writers.” – Jonathan Maberry, NY Times bestselling author of CAVE 13 andNECROTEK

"This is edge-of-your-seat Horror Fantasy. It'sas if Stephen King wrote MEN IN BLACK!" —Scott Sigler, #1 NYT Bestsellingauthor of EARTHCORE

“Fast-paced, cleverly thought-through, and deeplyunnerving in all the right places—urban horror fantasy with a decidedly creepydifference. Don't read it in the dark!” – Diane Duane, New York Timesbestselling author of TALES OF THE FIVE: THE LIBRARIAN

https://aethonbooks.com/book-author/tim-waggoner/

SCHEDULEDAPPEARANCES

“TheArt of Suspense” workshop. May 4, 5:30-6:30 p.m. Dayton Metro Library,Wilmington Stroop Branch. Kettering, Ohio.

StokerCon.June 4-7. Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania.

ShoreLeave 46. July 10-12. Lancaster, Pennsylvania.

GenConWriters Seminar. July 30-August 2. Indianapolis, Indiana.

Intothe Springs Writers Workshop. August 7-9. Yellow Springs, Ohio.

Shivercon.August 14-15. Muncie, Indiana.

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