Purpose: To share and encourage. Writers can express doubts and concerns without fear of appearing foolish or weak. Those who have been through the fire can offer assistance and guidance. It’s a safe haven for insecure writers of all kinds!
Posting: The first Wednesday of every month is officially Insecure Writer’s Support Group day. Post your thoughts on your own blog. Talk about your doubts and the fears you have conquered. Discuss your struggles and triumphs. Offer a word of encouragement for others who are struggling. Visit others in the group and connect with your fellow writer – aim for a dozen new people each time.
Don’t forget to visit them and thank them for co-hosting!
Our Twitter handle is @TheIWSG and hashtag is #IWSG.
Every month, we announce a question that members can answer in their IWSG post. These questions may prompt you to share advice, insight, a personal experience or story. Include your answer to the question in your IWSG post or let it inspire your post if you are struggling with something to say.
Remember, the question is optional!
October 04th Question: The topic of AI writing has been heavily debated across the world. According to various sources, generative AI will assist writers, not replace them. What are your thoughts?
I don’t know enough about AI so I will try not to dismiss it outright nor embrace it fully… or get caught up in a singular view about it – but somehow adapt to it, and think about how to use it to better our writing. If that’s even an option? I’m not sure. I don’t know enough about AI.
But how do we do all this without cheating? I have no idea.
My concern is, if it’s here to stay, the longer we try to fight against it, the longer it will take to adapt to it in a productive manner.
Having said that, I worry that the next generation may struggle with creativity: just copy, paste and multiply. At its worse, instead of building and sharpening knowledge and skills, will AI create a passive and dependent generation??
Bottom line – I don’t know enough about AI. I’m curious to see what others have to say about it.
Happy IWSG Day!
Like you, I’m interested to know more from those who’ve used AI and found it either as awful as I fear or as great a tool as I’d hope for. I’m seeing examples of both so far, and a lot of concern.
@DebsDespatches posting today from Fiction Can Be Fun
I suspect, over time, we will all acclimate to the AI-style of writing, think it normal. Sigh.
Good point about the next generation. They already copy and paste from the Internet, learning nothing in the process.
I don’t know enough about it either.
The next generation might struggle or they might see that AIs can’t do everything. For example, adding the human touch. 🙂
Anna from elements of emaginette
AI is a powerful tool, and none of us humans know exactly how to use it correctly. Like any new technology, it comes with a learning curve. It will definitely bring changes, but I think creative people would still find their way. AI can’t replace them. Just like movies and TV and streaming services never replaced live theater, despite all the doomsayers.
Hopefully, you’ll learn more about it and find it can be a helpful tool for some tasks. I’ve read that college professors may be going back to the blue books and handwritten test answers to avoid cheating.
I can see it being a good tool, but there’s some major ethical problems with how it’s been trained that need to be addressed.
My daughter loves RolePlays in Roblox, and that’s a bunch of collaborative improv worldbuilding and plot development. It seems to me that there will be no shortage of creativity, so the stories will keep on flowing–AI assisted or not.
Well said! I’m in the wait and see camp too.
Hi Michelle – ‘m with everyone else on this … I”m quite glad I don’t need to worry about it too much – but I’ll watch quietly … cheers Hilary
I’ve watched enough sci-fi films to know AI can take over things. Look at the recent writers’ strike in Hollywood – AI was a big part of their concerns. I have strong opinions, but – as ever with my negative ones – I hope to be proved wrong.