#ai helps them with their writers block

[rainachaeri]

I fucking hate this fucking confession with a fucking passion

Transcript: Hello, I am the "I use AI to write my PRIVATE Undertale fanfics" person

Mod, I am so sorry for hiding inside your inbox for replying to other people's reblogs, I really am, this is surely going to be my last confession about this topic.

People misunderstood my confession. I said it was fine to USE AI as a tool, not rely on it. Like.... this feeling of writer's block where you need to communicate with someone to write something. Like a roleplay. I was an rper so I kind of need a feeling of collaboration to progress.

I write a lot without AI. I just use it for fun SOMETIMES.

It's fine. to use it for your OWN entertainment. I DID say AI fanfics are soulless?? Usually you get inspiration from other sources, like music, or manga, or literally anything else that isn't AI, AI won't give you anything original.

I just wrote that confession because people don't take this topic with nuance. You seriously going to bully a kid for using chatgpt to write their fanfics the same way people used to bully kids who traced art? That happened before and it's ridiculous. At least get your point of view across without attacking or being rude about it

I'm not pro-AI, I don't write my main and ambitious Undertale fics with AI, and for the people who are saying it's bad for the environment... i need to do proper research on it and if it's right, i'm going to do my best to avoid supporting AI (it's already bad enough that it steals other people's works without their consent, I already don't put a cent in supporting that). That's it. No need to be so aggressive

[Note for mod: I'm so sorry that this is barely Undertale-related. If I don't see this get uploaded on your blog, I'll understand, it just fuels the drama. Just frustrated that I got misunderstood and dunked on so much, and got too scared to reply under my own name. Hope you understand as well, wherever your stance on the topic is]

[rawbin-hsr]

In the x reader fandom space something irks me so so bad about seeing a creator who very clearly uses ai getting called "THE [character] writer"

like no..... NO........ the only reason they can produce MULTIPLE fanfics in a day (all grammarly correct without any spelling errors mind you) is because THEY DO NOT WRITE THEIR OWN FICS !!! A BOT WRITES THEM FOR THEM !!!!!!!!!! I feel like I'm going insane the amount of people who do not notice when someone uses AI ??? Holy shit dude

And even if it wasn't just for the sheer quantity, the WAY things are written are such a red flag too ??? Like. Big words that usually belong in an essay, frivolous ways of building what should be a short and to the point sentence, perfect grammar despite its overly complicated structure + no spelling errors ever, avoiding direct dialogue and when it does show up it's ooc. Fics that never go beyond a certain word limit (cause ChatGPT has a word limit), and when they do go beyond a word limit, it's because it's multiple characters. Then in these hcs, they're broken up into overly detailed sections that no real human would probably think to section them up in.

Some things could be ascribed to writing style or the author's personal preference for writing (esp the avoiding dialogue part), but all mixed together PLUS the frequency of the fics...... man I genuinely don't know how people don't put together the pieces ??

[physalian]

How to make your writing sound less stiff

Just a few suggestions. You shouldn’t have to compromise your writing style and voice with any of these, and some situations and scenes might demand some stiff or jerky writing to better convey emotion and immersion. I am not the first to come up with these, just circulating them again.

1. Vary sentence structure.

This is an example paragraph. You might see this generated from AI. I can’t help but read this in a robotic voice. It’s very flat and undynamic. No matter what the words are, it will be boring. It’s boring because you don’t think in stiff sentences. Comedians don’t tell jokes in stiff sentences. We don’t tell campfire stories in stiff sentences. These often lack flow between points, too.

So funnily enough, I had to sit through 87k words of a “romance” written just like this. It was stiff, janky, and very unpoetic. Which is fine, the author didn’t tell me it was erotica. It just felt like an old lady narrator, like Old Rose from Titanic telling the audience decades after the fact instead of living it right in the moment. It was in first person pov, too, which just made it worse. To be able to write something so explicit and yet so un-titillating was a talent. Like, beginner fanfic smut writers at least do it with enthusiasm.

2. Vary dialogue tag placement

You got three options, pre-, mid-, and post-tags.

Leader said, “this is a pre-dialogue tag.”

“This,” Lancer said, “is a mid-dialogue tag.”

“This is a post-dialogue tag,” Heart said.

Pre and Post have about the same effect but mid-tags do a lot of heavy lifting.

They help break up long paragraphs of dialogue that are jank to look at

They give you pauses for ~dramatic effect~

They prompt you to provide some other action, introspection, or scene descriptor with the tag. *don't forget that if you're continuing the sentence as if the tag wasn't there, not to capitalize the first word after the tag. Capitalize if the tag breaks up two complete sentences, not if it interrupts a single sentence.

It also looks better along the lefthand margin when you don’t start every paragraph with either the same character name, the same pronouns, or the same “ as it reads more natural and organic.

3. When the scene demands, get dynamic

General rule of thumb is that action scenes demand quick exchanges, short paragraphs, and very lean descriptors. Action scenes are where you put your juicy verbs to use and cut as many adverbs as you can. But regardless of if you’re in first person, second person, or third person limited, you can let the mood of the narrator bleed out into their narration.

Like, in horror, you can use a lot of onomatopoeia.

Drip Drip Drip

Or let the narration become jerky and unfocused and less strict in punctuation and maybe even a couple run-on sentences as your character struggles to think or catch their breath and is getting very overwhelmed.

You can toss out some grammar rules, too and get more poetic.

Warm breath tickles the back of her neck. It rattles, a quiet, soggy, rasp. She shivers. If she doesn’t look, it’s not there. If she doesn’t look, it’s not there. Sweat beads at her temple. Her heart thunders in her chest. Ba-bump-ba-bump-ba-bump-ba- It moves on, leaving a void of cold behind. She uncurls her fists, fingers achy and palms stinging from her nails. It’s gone.

4. Remember to balance dialogue, monologue, introspection, action, and descriptors.

The amount of times I have been faced with giant blocks of dialogue with zero tags, zero emotions, just speech on a page like they’re notecards to be read on a stage is higher than I expected. Don’t forget that though you may know exactly how your dialogue sounds in your head, your readers don’t. They need dialogue tags to pick up on things like tone, specifically for sarcasm and sincerity, whether a character is joking or hurt or happy.

If you’ve written a block of text (usually exposition or backstory stuff) that’s longer than 50 words, figure out a way to trim it. No matter what, break it up into multiple sections and fill in those breaks with important narrative that reflects the narrator’s feelings on what they’re saying and whoever they’re speaking to’s reaction to the words being said. Otherwise it’s meaningless.

—

Hope this helps anyone struggling! Now get writing.

[nobodysuspectsthebutterfly]

FYI artists and writers: some info regarding tumblr's new "third-party sharing" (aka selling your content to OpenAI and Midjourney)

You may have already seen the post by @staff regarding third-party sharing and how to opt out. You may have also already seen various news articles discussing the matter.

But here's a little further clarity re some questions I had, and you may too. Caveat: Not all of this is on official tumblr pages, so it's possible things may change.

(1) "I heard they already have access to my data and it doesn't really matter if I opt out"

From the 404 article:

A new FAQ section we reviewed is titled “What happens when you opt out?” states “If you opt out from the start, we will block crawlers from accessing your content by adding your site on a disallowed list. If you change your mind later, we also plan to update any partners about people who newly opt-out and ask that their content be removed from past sources and future training.”

So please, go click that opt-out button.

(2) Some future user: "I've been away from tumblr for months, and I just heard about all this. I didn't opt out before, so does it make a difference anymore?"

Another internal document shows that, on February 23, an employee asked in a staff-only thread, “Do we have assurances that if a user opts out of their data being shared with third parties that our existing data partners will be notified of such a change and remove their data?” Andrew Spittle, Automattic’s head of AI replied: “We will notify existing partners on a regular basis about anyone who's opted out since the last time we provided a list. I want this to be an ongoing process where we regularly advocate for past content to be excluded based on current preferences. We will ask that content be deleted and removed from any future training runs. I believe partners will honor this based on our conversations with them to this point. I don't think they gain much overall by retaining it.”

It should make a difference! Go click that button.

(3) "I opted out, but my art posts have been reblogged by so many people, and I don't know if they all opted out. What does that mean for my stuff?"

This answer is actually on the support page for the toggle:

This option will prevent your blog's content, even when reblogged, from being shared with our licensed network of content and research partners, including those that train AI models.

And some further clarification by the COO and a product manager:

zingring: A couple people from work have reached out to let me know that yes, it applies to reblogs of "don't scrape" content. If you opt out, your content is opted out, even in reblog form. cyle: yep, for reblogs, we're taking it so far as "if anybody in the reblog trail has opted out, all of the content in that reblog will be opted out", when a reblog could be scraped/shared.

So not only your reblogged posts, but anyone who contributed in a reblog (such as posts where someone has been inspired to draw fanart of the OP) will presumably be protected by your opt-out. (A good reason to opt out even if you yourself are not a creator.)

Furthermore, if you the OP were offline and didn't know about the opt-out, if someone contributed to a reblog and they are opted out, then your original work is also protected. (Which makes it very tempting to contribute "scrapeable content" now whenever I reblog from an abandoned/disused blog...)

(4) "What about deleted blogs? They can't opt out!"

I was told by someone (not official) that he read "deleted blogs are all opted-out by default". However, he didn't recall the source, and I can't find it, so I can't guarantee that info. If I get more details - like if/when tumblr puts up that FAQ as reported in the 404 article - I will add it here as soon as I can.

Edit, tumblr has updated their help page for the option to opt-out of third-party sharing! It now states:

The content which will not be shared with our licensed network of content and research partners, including those that train AI models, includes: • Posts and reblogs of posts from blogs who have enabled the "Prevent third-party sharing" option. • Posts and reblogs of posts from deleted blogs. • Posts and reblogs of posts from password-protected blogs. • Posts and reblogs of posts from explicit blogs. • Posts and reblogs of posts from suspended/deactivated blogs. • Private posts. • Drafts. • Messages. • Asks and submissions which have not been publicly posted. • Post+ subscriber-only posts. • Explicit posts.

So no need to worry about your old deleted blogs that still have reblogs floating around. *\o/*

But for your existing blogs, please use the opt out option. And a reminder of how to opt out, under the cut:

The opt-out toggle is in Blog Settings, and please note you need to do it for each one of your blogs / sideblogs.

On dashboard, the toggle is at https://www.tumblr.com/settings/blog/blogname [replace "blogname" as applicable] down by Visibility:

For mobile, you need the most recent update of the app. (Android version 33.4.1.100, iOs version 33.4.) Then go to your blog tab (the little person icon), and then the gear icon for Settings, then click Visibility.

Again, if you have a sideblog, go back to the blog tab, switch to it, and go to settings again. Repeat as necessary.

If you do not have access to the newest version of the app for whatever reason, you can also log into tumblr in your mobile browser. Same URL as per desktop above, same location.

Note you do not need to change settings in both desktop and the app, just one is fine.

I hope this helps!

[fixyourwritinghabits]

How to Tell If That Post of Advice Is AI Bullshit

Right, I wasn't going to write more on this, but every time I block an obvious AI-driven blog, five more clutter up the tags. So this is my current (April 2024) advice on how to spot AI posts passing themselves off as useful writing advice.

No Personality - Look up a long-running writing blog, you'll notice most people try to make their posts engaging and coming from a personal perspective. We do this because we're writers and, well, we want to convey a sense of ourselves to our readers. A lot of AI posts are straight-forward - no sense of an actual person writing them, no variation in tone or text.

No Examples - No attempts to show how pieces of advice would work in a story, or cite a work where you could see it in action. An AI post might tell you to describe a person by highlighting two or three features, and that's great, but it's hard to figure out how that works without an example.

Short, Unhelpful Definitions - A lot of what I've seen amount to two or three-sentence listicles. 'When you want to write foreshadowing, include a hint of what you want foreshadowed in an earlier chapter.' Cool beans, could've figured that out myself.

SEO/AI Prompt Language Included - I've seen way too many posts start with "this post is about..." or "now we will discuss..." or "in this post we will..." in every single blog. This language is meant to catch a search engine or is ChatGPT reframing the prompt question. It's not a natural way of writing a post for the average tumblr user.

Oddly Clinical Language - Right, I'm calling out that post that tried to give advice on writing gay characters that called us "homosexuals" the entire time. That's a generative machine trying to stay within certain parameters, not an actual person who knows that's not a word you'd use unless you were trying to be insulting or dunking on your own gay ass in the funniest way possible.

Too Perfect - Most generative AI does not make mistakes (this is how many a student gets caught trying to use it to cheat). You can find ways to make it sound more natural and have it make mistakes, but that takes time and effort, and neither of those are really a factor in these posts. They also tend to have really polished graphics and use the same format every time.

Maximized Tags (That Are Pointless) - Anyone who uses more than 10 one-word tags is a cop. Okay, fine, I'm joking, but there's a minimal amount of tags that are actually useful when promoting a post. More tags are not going to get a post noticed by the algorithm, there is no algorithm. Not everyone has to use their tags to make snarky comments, but if your tags look like a spambot, I'm gonna assume you're a spambot.

No Reblogs From The Rest of Writblr - I'm always finding new Writblr folks who have been around for awhile, but every real person I've seen reblogs posts from other people. We've all got other stuff to do, I'm writing this blog to help others and so are they, the whole point of tumblr is to pass along something you think is great.

While you'll probably see some variation in the future - as people get wise to obviously generated text, they'll try to make it look less generated - but overall, there's still going to be tells to when something is fake.

I don't have any real advice for what to do about this (other than block those blogs, which is what I do). Like most AI bullshit, I suspect most of these blogs are just another grift, attempting to build large follower counts to leverage or sell something to in the future. They may progress past these tattletale features, but I'm still going to block them when I see them. I don't see any value in writing advice compiled from the work of better writers who put the effort in when I can just go find those writers myself.

[literaticat]

Jennifer, I'm hearing from creators that some publishers either are or will require authors to disclose if they used AI in any way to write their book. Even brainstorming. Is there any truth to this?

I use AI to help me plot out my stories (I'm Horrible at plotting, honestly) and to help me battle writers block. Not to generate my stories!

will people look down on me for this? I'm definitely not going to lie, but some part of me wonders why it's their business if I'm not using AI to generate text. I feel so conflicted.

Well, yes and no?

Short answer: Just don't use AI to write your book. You will probably have to sign a contract that says you didn't use AI to write your book, and you shouldn't anyway, for lots of reasons. However, using AI tools is not the same thing as AI writing your book, so relax.

Long answer:

There are two (main) ways AI might come up in a contract. One is in the Warranties clause** (which I'll explain in the footnote below), and the other is in an AI clause -- not all publishers have them (yet?) but generally the AI clause has some wording like, neither the publisher or author can sell or license or give permission for the text to be "Scraped" by AI technology -- additionally, something like either the publisher or author may use AI tools in the course of normal business, but nothing in the text was generated by AI, the editor will be human, not AI, etc.

You'll notice here that both the author AND the publisher are held to the same standard -- that's important. And you'll also notice that it acknowledges that AI is a tool that MAY be used in the normal course of business. Zoom, google/gmail, adobe photoshop/acrobat, microsoft outlook/office-- all programs that publishers and authors use every day, any of which might have AI things woven into them. Autocorrect? Spellcheck? Grammarly? The thing on my tumblr RIGHT NOW that is highlighting words I should have capitalized in the sentence above? That's all AI technology. Obviously you don't have to "disclose" that you use normal tools of doing business.

If that includes "give me a list of girls names popular in the 1970s" or "what are some accidents that could happen at a skating rink" or "give me an example of plot beats in a mystery" -- OK. I still consider that a TOOL.

As long as you, a human, understand that generative AI technology uses other people's words to "create" -- so for fiction, OK if you want to brainstorm names or beats or whatever as above, as long as you are NOT USING IT TO WRITE THE BOOK -- YOU MUST WRITE THE STORY AND THE WORDS IN THE STORY.

And for nonfiction, AI makes up answers to questions that SOUND good but are actually just lies -- so PLEASE don't use AI technology to do actual research -- do your due diligence, make sure that any research you do online in any capacity (including Google) is factual, has primary sources to back it up, etc, etc. It's not actually a useful shortcut if all the info it gives you is straight up bad.

--

** In all publisher contracts there's a clause called Warranties and Indemnities. In that clause, you are warranting (swearing) that you have not plagiarized your book, that you personally created and own the rights to the book so you have the ability to sell/license them, that you have full permission for anyone else's work that you have quoted in the book, that nothing in the book breaches the law, yadda yadda.

IF ALL OF THAT IS THE TRUTH, and somebody sues you for plagiarism or copyright infringement or whatever, and you really didn't do it, the publisher will defend you and you won't have a problem. If, in fact, you lied in the Warranties section, then the publisher will not defend you and will cancel the contract and you'll be liable for whatever happens and can twist in the wind as far as they are concerned.

Some publishers are adding / have added / will add something in the Warranties clause where you also attest that the text is not generated by AI. (This is for several reasons aside from the fact that AI generated stories are crapola -- 1. AFAIK, AI generated text cannot be copyrighted, and 2. AI generated text may be plagiarized, soooo you'd be in danger of being in breach of your warranty even if it DIDN'T specifically call out AI!)

[poetsblvd]

SKINCARE BABE ꪆৎ CL16

“How do you not get confused at all?” Charles mumbles in awe of your skincare collection, staring at the jars and tubes of different sizes that sit prettily in organised containers on the large vanity of your bathroom.

You shrug, pulling him lightly by his knuckles towards a seat facing your bathroom mirror. “You get used to it, now sit!”

He smiles softly taking a seat on the cushioned stool next to yours, nodding as you pull out an array of different types of face masks to try with him.

“I have so many fun ones we can do! There’s this clay mask, this gel one, that’s a sheet mask, and then this one peels off.” A delicately manicured finger pulls out the containers and thin boxes from cabinets and lays them down in front of him.

He doesn’t quite know what you’re saying at all, the words mostly fly over his head and he doesn’t understand much of what you’re saying, except that maybe the world has far too many face masks to choose from, but he knows he can listen to you prattle on for hours on end about sheet masks, gel under eye patches, everything really, and never tire.

You hum in concentration, still looking through drawers for anything you may be missing to show him, completely unaware of your boyfriends’ attention being solely on you rather than your skincare.

“You’re so beautiful, you know?” He murmurs smiling up at you.

Your hands pause in their movements, a pretty flush creeping up your cheeks and down your neck, only endearing you more to him.

His hands come to rub at his chest unconsciously still staring at you in awe, a soft gooey feeling coating him turning his eyes into hearts and making his brain go almost numb.

‘’Tellement jolie.” He smiles, large hands carefully sliding around your waist and pulling you closer to stand in front of him, chin resting on the pretty pink silk robe that coats your body. ( so pretty )

“Mon belle amour, comment ai-je eu autant de chance?” He wonders, laughing softly when your hands bashfully come up to cover your face, french glossy nails shining in the light. ( my beautiful love, how did i get so lucky? )

“Charlie!” You whine, dragging out his name in exasperation mumbling a shy I love you, that’s incredibly well received if his ear splitting grin and giggle are anything to go by.

He tugs you onto his lap, making sure you’re comfortable, hands still woven tightly around your waist, his head in the crook of your neck, he smears a soft kiss on your shoulders and nudges you to the face masks again.

“Tell me what face mask you like the most mon beau.” You pull out a small glass pot labeled ‘volcanic clay mask’ and he fights all his inner questions down when you start rattling off its benefits of how it minimises pores and helps target fine lines?

“Okay amour, will you put it on for me?” He smiles cheesily, pushing his face forward and turning you around in his hold.

“We have to push your hair back first love.” You pull out a brand new headband from the drawer next to you and present it to him, grinning at his loud bark of laughter at the lightning mcqueen skincare headband in front of of him.

“Oh my God!”

“You like it?” You question, happiness bubbling inside you.

Nodding eagerly he lets you slip it onto his head and push back his hair “Love it! Love you, so much, Je t’aime mon coeur.”

“Je t’aime aussi Cha.”

“Wow, I am going to be the coolest in the paddock, Lightning mcqueen headband? Max is going to be so jealous.”

love note , hi i hope you guys liked this!! i’m not the most pleased with this but i had the teeniest crumb of inspo to write and it’s 4:20 am (again) so please bear with me!! but i found the idea cute and i was struggling to put it into words, but it is what it is! also i have a bunch of reqs in my inbox that i promos i’ll get to, but i’m recovering from the most disgusting flu and have the most awful writers block, so we’ll go slow and steady!! anyways happy reading mwah xx

[rosesradio]

tl;dr for the pjo fandom 🔱

• In the six years that I have been on ao3, 0.5% of all total readers i've had have left a comment on one of my fics. zero-point-five percent.

• Please support fic writers, fan artists, & other creators with comments. Kudos are great, but letting us know with words what you enjoyed about the piece or just that you're Unwell about it in general is the best thing a creator could ask for! It's why we do what we do!

• Yes, this includes every kind of fic you enjoy. I promise you, no one is going to "catch" you lurking on the "wrong" fic (define "wrong" fic??) and even if they do, block them, because no one should be telling anyone what to read & not read.

• This also goes for fics you think "have enough comments" (they don't, or this post wouldn't exist), or are "too old" to the point of which it would be "weird" to comment. I promise you, those stigmas are not real, and no author has ever thought it was "weird" to recieve a comment on a fic they still choose to have on their profile (in fact, they're probably thrilled that the work is still making people happy!).

• Please don't use AI to make fandom creations for you! There are thousands of people in fandom looking to take requests, and fandom thrives from engagement!

• You cannot complain about a dead fandom or disheartened creators leaving the fandom space if you are not doing your part to ensure they feel appreciated.

• Most of my comments come from older people in fandom, from early 20s to 30s. Don't let commenting become a practice that dies with older gen z & millennials!

• I don't normally push to boost posts, but if you'd like, you should reblog this to share with people in the fandom! I want to try to do my part to help other creators feel appreciated as well! 💌

[brainwashed-klarkstella]

I'm just gonna say it

Fuck AI and go fuck yourself if you're generating and posting fics with AI. Block me if you support this. You are a shitty human being if you think actively harming writers with AI-generated work for the sake of pushing out a low-quality AI fic is worth it.

You can write. Yes, you may be a crappy writer. We've all been crappy writers. No, being a crappy writer is not your excuse for pushing out AI slop. You can learn to write. You can improve through practice like the rest of us are doing! There are so many people out there that would be willing to give you tips and beta read for you, I promise.

Oh yeah, this includes those of you saying "AI wrote some parts and I wrote others!" and "AI helped me write this". This includes AI art and other AI-generated creative works. This includes those of you who don't generate AI works but still support them because you can't be bothered to care about the very real impact this has on creators.

I'll say it again: block me if you support this garbage. I don't care what your justification is because there is no justification for AI-generated creative works.

Also helpful tip: AO3 has a tag for this! It's "Created Using Generative AI" and it includes any fic with a tag mentioning that AI helped make it. You can use the exclude section of filtering so you (probably because tag wranglers are just humans and might not be perfect) never have to see AI-generated content on AO3

[jlcardenas]

NaNoWriMo: Screw the Company, Keep Writing

Ever since NaNoWriMo made their statement on AI I knew I was most likely not going to be participating in their program this year. To clarify, I will still be participating in National Novel Writing  Month this year, but not through the NaNoWriMo website itself. Which I’m sure many people do in the first place because the website has been a mess for years. 

I have participated in NaNoWriMo through the website for a few years now, joining their community of writers and creatives. I’m sad that I will not have as easy of a place to make these connections, but I strongly believe anyone who still has an account on the website should delete it immediately. There are plenty of other places to make connections with writers that I will be looking into and I hope everyone else does too.

My decision to stay away from the website stemmed from their odd nonanswer statement about using AI as a writing tool. So I went on YouTube to see how many other people were going to be staying away from the website too, and what I found shocked me. NaNoWriMo, the organization, should have been shut down years ago and the leaders should have to answer for their crimes against humanity. And I’m only very slightly exaggerating here.

I found multiple videos and blogs talking about the NaNoWriMo controversies but none broke them all down as well as the YouTuber SAVY WRITES BOOKS. If you want to watch a long video essay that breaks it down phenomenally with interviews and insider knowledge I would recommend checking out their video on the subject it is where I got most of the information.

NaNoWriMo Cares More About Its Sponsors Than Its Writers

There are multiple instances where the company chose its wallet over its writers. 

During one of their contests, they promised a partnership with another website that also made their own promises to get the contest winner's book published. This was a complete scam. Not a single one of the winners got published through the sponsored website, and the website itself was the subject of scrutiny. 

It made promises that were impossible to keep. No website that promises to get your book published through a big publishing company actually has the power to achieve that. By accepting this sponsorship without vetting its credibility, NaNoWriMo proved it only cared about the dollar amount of the deal.

NaNoWriMo has another sponsorship that has caused a lot of controversies recently. This one is with ProWritingAid, a tool that promises to help cure your writer's block with the use of AI. This is what caused me to question NaNoWriMo in the first place.

How can this organization claim to care about its community of hardworking writers when it is being sponsored by an AI writing tool that cheats and writes for you? Short answer, they don’t care about you. And they almost said as much in their recent statement on AI which side steps actually making a stance on AI at all. 

They knew they had to make a statement on AI but also knew that if they said anything bad about AI they’d jeopardize their sponsorship. Putting the sponsorship before the community.

NaNoWriMo Mistreats its Volunteers

I did not know that most of the NaNoWriMo team members are volunteers. I have been complaining for a while about the messiness of the site and some of the disorganization. And a lot of the team members for certain areas have had to answer for this. No one ever told me they were volunteering with the organization.

Had I known this, I would have understood a bit of the disorganization and aimed my blame at the people who were truly at fault, the ones being paid! I have a full-time job and barely find time to write, I admire the volunteers who took time out of their day to help create this community for us. 

But only today did I find out that NaNoWriMo sent out a document to their area leaders to sign stating that they would take the blame if anything went wrong in their areas. If you’re a volunteer, you should never have to take the blame for a company when an issue is not your fault. I haven’t seen the document itself, but the fact that the organization asked so many of its volunteers without compensation is simply disgusting. 

In Savy’s video, they interview a few ex-volunteers, all of whom had disturbing stories to tell. 

If you didn’t agree with a policy, too bad. You’re the problem and you can be let go at any point. And if you talk about us we will drag you. That’s the general way those volunteers were treated.

NaNoWriMo Dismisses Child Endangerment

One of the most disturbing parts of the video essay was the subject of child endangerment. 

NaNoWriMo had a smaller community within the larger one dedicated to teen writers. You’d expect them to take every precaution necessary to keep those writers safe, right? They did the exact opposite. 

One of the moderators for that community was sending links to their own adult content websites to these teens! Did NaNoWriMo ban him once they received complaints about his conduct? Nope. They stated that he didn’t do anything bad enough to warrant a ban. It’s speculated in the video that they allowed the moderator to get away with this because he had written code for the website and they didn’t want their money maker to take a hit. 

Unforgivable!

Instead of apologizing and ensuring the safety of future teen writers in their community, NaNoWriMo shut down that community of teen writers without warning. Who knows how many teens lost valuable friendships they had made through this community because of this?

This was the last straw for me. If I had been on the fence about leaving NaNoWriMo before, this solidified it for me. 

Keep Writing

If you are a writer and you’re still considering writing for National Novel Writing Month, I highly recommend you still do it! No one is saying to stop writing in protest of this company, but instead, protest the company itself. They do not deserve to keep this month for themselves when it is the people within the community itself that made it grow.

Writers must take back the month of November for ourselves. 

Update your progress on Reddit, X, TikTok, and whatever social media you use. Just keep writing.

Please check out Savy Writes Books video as there is way more that the company did that can ever fit into one blog post. 

[nondelphic]

Hiiii! May I ask for some advice? After a really long time of not writing fan fic, I recently started getting back into it but have been struggling… So I started using a little bit of the chat.ai help me but I feel icky about it but at the same time, I’m constantly struggling with writers block and being burnt out… What should I do?

i'm actually really glad you asked this because i've been preparing a post about using ai responsibly for writing, might just post it here lol:

tldr: this post isn’t about using ai to generate your story for you. it’s about how to utilize ai to enhance your writing process while still keeping your voice and creativity at the forefront.

the rise of ai has stirred up a lot of talk about ethics, originality, and how much tech should really be in our creative space. as writers, our work is highly personal, it's a reflection of our thoughts and experiences. so it’s totally normal to feel icky about bringing ai into the mix.

here's a hot take, though: ai isn’t here to replace your creativity. it doesn’t get the deep, emotional layers that only a human writer can bring. sure, ai can generate text, but it doesn’t really understand what it’s saying. that’s where some of the ethical concerns come in—if we rely too much on ai, we risk losing that personal touch that makes our stories resonate.

on the flip side, when used thoughtfully, ai can actually boost your creative process instead of taking away from it. think of ai as a helpful assistant, it can take care of some of the boring, tedious stuff, giving you more space to focus on what really matters: writing your story, your way. it’s not about letting ai take over, but using it to support and streamline your process.

this is not a post about my experience with ai, but i have to say, that as someone with adhd, ai has been a game-changer for me. it helps me keep track of my ideas, organize my thoughts, and even manage my writing schedule when my brain is all over the place. it's like having an extra set of hands (or, you know, a brain) to help me stay on top of everything, so i can focus more on the actual creative part of writing.

the key is to make sure ai never overshadows your original voice or creative vision. ai should be a tool that helps you bring your ideas to life, not something that writes the story for you. if you’re curious about how to use ai in your writing process while keeping your authenticity intact, here are some tips to do it responsibly:

brainstorming ideas: when you’re stuck on a plot point or character development, use ai to generate prompts or ideas. these can spark new directions for your story, giving you fresh perspectives to explore.

dialogue experimentation: if your dialogue feels flat, try using ai to generate conversation snippets based on your characters. it might not be perfect, but it can give you new ideas for how your characters might interact.

synonym suggestions: tired of using the same word over and over? ai can help you find synonyms or alternative phrases, keeping your writing fresh without losing your voice. i've found this very helpful as an ESL writer!

outline generation: got a rough idea but need a structure? use ai to create a basic outline, then tweak it to fit your vision. it’s a great way to get a head start on organizing your story.

character backstories: use ai to brainstorm character traits, backstories, or names. you can take these ideas and expand on them, adding the depth and personality that only you can create.

quick research assistance: save time by using ai for quick facts or historical details. it lets you focus more on storytelling and less on getting bogged down in research. (disclaimer: never 100% trust what an ai generates, fact check everything). i've found it a great starting point if i have a very niche question for my research.

editing help: use ai for basic grammar and spelling checks to speed up your editing process. just remember, it’s your judgment that will shape the final draft, not the ai’s.

plot analysis: use ai to scan your draft for plot holes or inconsistencies. it can help identify gaps in logic or missing links in your storyline, giving you a clearer idea of where to tighten things up.

tone consistency: ai can help you maintain a consistent tone throughout your story by analyzing your draft and suggesting adjustments where the tone shifts unexpectedly.

pacing adjustments: ai can review the pacing of your story, highlighting sections that may be too slow or too rushed, helping you find the right balance.

character consistency: track your characters' traits, behaviors, and dialogue to ensure they remain consistent throughout the story, preventing out-of-character moments.

theme reinforcement: use ai to analyze how well your themes are being conveyed across the narrative, suggesting areas where you might strengthen or clarify your message.

draft comparison: if you’ve gone through multiple drafts, ai can compare them to highlight what’s changed, what’s been improved, and what might have been lost in the revisions.

to answer your question more personally, i think we can never please everyone, and ai will continue to be developed and get better and better. i understand feeling icky about using ai, and you might get judged for it, but do what you need to do, tbh.

i have found myself in a writing routine where i use most of the advice above in my writing process. i write most of my work myself, but i use ai as a tool to bounce ideas off of, and it's been a life changer. i managed to finish my first novel draft with the help of ai, and it fuelled my creativity to have "someone" (or rather something) to feed my ideas and help them identify what i could do better.

[sparklepocalypse]

Soapbox moment incoming --

We love a rarepair writer, but -- there's evidence that one of the most prolific Alex/Raf posters on Ao3 right now is using ChatGPT to generate their fics instead of actually writing them. They removed the line when they were called out on it, but when they initially posted one of their works, they left "Chat GPT said..." at the top of a chapter. They've also evidently systematically deleted any comments suggesting they're using AI.

This same user "wrote" a POV switch of a fic that another person in the fandom put actual, significant mental energy and time into creating, and there's no doubt in my mind that this was also ChatGPT-generated. I have blocked this user on Ao3, but blocking someone on the site only prevents their works from showing up in search for you, and prevents them from commenting on yours. It doesn't prevent them from seeing your works, or you know, copying and pasting them wholesale into a natural language processing site or app and having it word vomit out "their" version of a work so they can post it as their own "writing."

If your immediate response to this is "Telling people not to use AI to write is ableist," you can shove that bullshit right up your ass, because they're stealing words that other people in the fandom have created and claiming they put the same sort of time and energy into them as people who actually write. But, if your immediate response is "Yeah, fuck this noise, who the fuck does this person think they are," then you are precisely my sort of person.

And listen, I'm not saying AI isn't useful. There are certainly a lot of practical applications for AI. However, there's a line about a mile wide between using AI as a tool to help you when you're stuck or looking for ideas (or hell, using it professionally to turn your recorded meeting transcript into meeting notes), and just saying "fuck it," and passing off AI's regurgitation as your own work. It's not your work, nor will it ever be; it's other people's work and you are using AI to steal it, and then basking in the easy dopamine hit from the recognition that it gets once you hit post. Fucking stoppit.

If you find works on Ao3 that are generated by AI, please note that while AI-generated works are not in and of themselves banned by the site (because, sadly, it'd be almost impossible for the Ao3 team to identify and ban them all at this point), plagiarism is explicitly against the site's Terms of Service and you should report plagiarized works for content violations. (Don't submit more than one report per user; their small but mighty team of volunteers doesn't need to be spammed about the same person to address a concern.)

[writingquestionsanswered]

Many artists are wary of AI. I've been using Chat Gpt and come to the realization that with my kids, school and other life obligations I need to use AI in my writing process. No, I'm NOT using the AI's writing or passing it on as mine. It's for plotting, character arcs and to help me get over writers block. I'm conflicted. I just don't have the time to write that I wish I did. :( if I use AI am I not a real writer?

Using AI as a Writer

I want to preface this by saying that we are quite literally in the Wild West when it comes to AI and how it fits into the creative world. The technology is still evolving. The legalities of use are still evolving. Public sentiment and codes of ethics are still evolving... the only definitive answer I can give on the topic of using AI in writing is that you should never use it to write all or part of your story.

Using AI as a tool to help you think through plot problems, flesh out character arcs, and move past story road blocks in and of itself is something many writers and writer organizations have embraced. You're still doing the actual writing, plotting, character arc design, etc. yourself.

However, if you're using AI to generate your entire plot, characters, character arc, etc., it gets into a bit of a gray area for me. Yes, you're still doing the actual writing, but are you a landscape painter if you only do paint by number? I'm not sure. Yes, you're technically moving the brush and making the strokes, but your brain didn't imagine the imagery and your skills didn't know what colors to use or where to put the shadows. So I'm not sure where that leaves writing. And my bigger concern is that you're not putting in the work to improve your craft, so you may get stories or books out there, but you don't have the writing skills to back them up.

What I can tell you is this: people still write when they have kids, and jobs, and school, and various other responsibilities and dependents. They may only write for twenty minutes a day, or once a week for an hour, but they find the time. And some don't... some put off writing until the kids are older or the other obligations let up... either route is fine. I guess what I'm saying is I don't think not having time or energy is a good excuse for using AI or over-relying on it. But, I also don't think you should feel bad if you're simply using it as a tool to help flesh out your own thoughts and ideas. ♥

•••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••

I’ve been writing seriously for over 30 years and love to share what I’ve learned. Have a writing question? My inbox is always open!

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[da-birb-writes-sometimes]

Hi, hi dove!! 🥺🥺💖💖💖 congrats on 400+ :D I'd like to request 'whispers of the past' with poly leona and vil (I am slowly being converted 😔😔😔😔) have this btw :))

Visions of the Past; Leona Kingscholar & Vil Schoenheit

Content; gender-neutral reader, past established polyam relationship

Word Count; 800+

A/N; Hi Soru!!! I whipped this bad boy out surprisingly fast (now that the writer's block is semi-gone) ... I will forgive you for that photo though since I'm conflicted about it in this context.

Please do not put my work into AI. If you would like to see more of my work check out my masterlist!

No wonder the house was a steal. But in this economy? You were willing to do a few renovations, maybe do battle with a spider or two, and make the best with what you had, since there was no way another opportunity like this would show its face any time soon.

Plus you were sick and tired of living with roommates that kept you up, didn’t clean up after themselves, AND ate YOUR leftovers. So yeah, creepy house it is! But a creepy house all to yourself!

You lugged your last box into the living room where you had an air mattress all set up since you didn’t trust the bedroom not to have its fair share of creepy crawlies. So the living room will do for now.

Only downside?

It was freezing, so cold that you could see your breath.

“Place is probably haunted,” one of your friends had chimed when you told them the news.

You huffed out a breath, rubbing your hands over your arms to fight away the goosebumps. “There is no such thing as ghosts,” you muttered.

Lounging on your air mattress though was a being that very much proved that statement wrong — not that you could see him — and another was standing next to you, studying your features.

You shook your head though, grabbed a broom, and made your way to another room, leaving the two figures alone again.

“So,” the man lounging on the air mattress spoke up, side-eyeing the other ghost, “they finally came back.”

The other ghost tutted, “They won’t remember anything, Leona, so don’t—”

Leona sighed and placed a translucent hand over his eyes, “I know better than to interfere, Vil.”

They both knew you, but you were different. Yes you didn’t look the same, but they could both tell your spirit regardless of appearances; that was what they had fallen for too.

The back-and-forth bickering that ended in soft looks. Of lazy afternoons spent resting in each other's laps. Of a tenacious person who wasn’t scared or intimidated by either of them. 

You had captured their hearts in life, and oh, how they missed you in death.

They couldn’t move on, and at first it frustrated them both to no end — such is evident at the state of the house — but now, you were back, and for the first time in decades both Leona and Vil felt like their hearts were beating.

Yes, they had each other as company, but it felt like something was missing, a crucial piece. The crucial piece was you, you helped balance them out. You made it work.

“DAMMIT!” 

Leona and Vil became invisible again as you ran out of the kitchen, chasing a bird out.

There’s that fire.

You slammed the door shut after you made sure there weren’t any more avian intruders making residence in your place.

“Note to self, make sure the house is empty before setting up camp. Yeesh,” you sighed, rubbing at your temple.

“Pft!”

Leona gave Vil a questioning look. Why did you make a sound? 

Vil was wearing a soft smile, even though he had nearly blown their cover. And it made Leona pause; he hadn’t seen Vil smile like that for a long time.

You tensed and squinted your eyes. “Who’s there? Just so you know, I’m armed!” 

With a broom and some attitude, herbivore.

Leona looked at Vil and then at you. And Vil looked at you and then at Leona. They were both trying to decide what to make of this situation. Trying to decide whether or not to pick up where they had left off in the past, or to leave well enough alone. Whether or not to listen to their head or their heart.

Leona grumbled but decided enough was enough. If the three of you were going to be living together again, it was best to get everything back in the open and not waiting around.

Vil raised his brow, but understood what the grumbling was about.

“And we’ve been waiting,” Vil sighed, slowly appearing next to you.

Your eyes widened upon seeing him, and they nearly bugged out of your head upon seeing another man appear right behind him.

They didn’t step forward, instead, they waited, curious to see your reaction. Curious to see if you were still as bold as you used to be.

You took a deep breath, gathering your wits before looking back at them. “Nice to see you too… both of you.”

No such thing as ghosts. That’s what you had told others so they didn’t think you were completely out of your mind. Who would buy a house knowing it was haunted?

You would, especially after seeing the photos of the two men with a third figure that plucked at a heartstring. You felt at home here. This — they — was your home.

“I missed you.”

~~~~~~~

~~~~~~~

Tags; @azulashengrottospiano @eynnwwyjth @inkybloom-luv @ithseem @savanaclaw1996 @syrenkitsune @twistwonderlanddevotee @xxoomiii

[the-s1lly-corner]

If it's alright (and if it doesn't make you uncomfortable, but if it does then feel free to skip, as it's completely understandable),

Could I request a Caine, Ragatha, Zooble, and Gangle x reader (separately) where the reader might have been grieving over someone before entering.

Again, it's completely understandable if you don't want to do this one, so do whatever you feel comfortable doing.

Either way, have a good day.

Various TADC characters x grieving!reader

So so so sorry for the wait! Writers block is hitting GRRHRRGRR

Characters: caine, ragatha, zooble, gangle

Notes: reader is GN, can be seen as a platonic post or a romantic one, written on mobile soooooo

CWs: grief

CAINE

Theres a bit of a disconnect when you come to him about your feelings about the topic

It's not that he doesnt care about your feelings it's just that he doesn't fully understand the gravity. Hes an AI and as far as we know hes never lost anyone significant to him

Tries to make light of the fact you're in the circus and that some of your memories are blurred

Its... not at all as comforting as he thought it would be, especially since you seem to want to keep those memories of the person

Tries to take your mind off of things by making adventures more full of energy and chaotic

Also tries to keep your attention on him or something else to keep your mind busy... probably not the best long term solution but hes too happy for your temporary relief to stop

Admittedly not the best with emotional support but hes trying his best

RAGATHA

Very patient and understanding with you, let's you come to her whenever

Shes going through her own feelings but she doesnt have the heart to shut you out- given she canonically internalizes things as well as I personally headcanoning she has the "x has it worse, so my feelings need to come second" mindset

Let's you talk about them if it makes you feel better, getting to know who you lost makes helps give the feeling that they're still here in some way

Keeps an eye on you to make sure you're doing okay as well as checking in on you whenever you have a moment alone

Keeps what she knows to herself if you dont want it to be aired out for everyone to see

Reminds you to take care of yourself as well and to keep thriving

ZOOBLE

More of a listener than a comforter, they struggle with finding the right words to say in a situation like this

They let you know that they're paying attention to you and you're feelings though by bluntly stating so

Let's you talk about your feelings as well as the person you lost as much as you want, zooble was never much of a talker anyway so you tend to fill the silence

Let's you stay with them in their room if you need some company, even if you dont feel like talking

Becomes slightly more protective of you and is more likely to stand up for you if theres anything stressing you out

GANGLE

Very hesitant to ask questions not because she doesnt care but because she doesnt want to make you feel worse, it's such a delicate topic that she doesnt want to accidentally push you back on your healing journey or otherwise hurt you

Gets better with those feelings with time and shows that she does feel for you and your situation

Let's you draw your feelings out, you're open to all of her supplies.. or if you would like, you can write them out

If you'd like she can turn around so you can have some privacy, or she can outright leave the room if you need alone time

Can see her making a paper bouquet of flowers or something along those lines so the two of you can leave something to grieve, even if what was lost was.. lost before the circus..

A little service of sorts to help sort out your feelings and organize them, if that makes sense

[selfship-confession-box]

https://www.tumblr.com/selfship-confession-box/759343510151380992/i-really-hate-how-so-many-selfshippers-use

no offense anon but thats not as easy as you think, at least imo. first you need to see if your fandom had a (character) x reader fanfic. if they don’t, why not write one yourself? but what if you aren’t a writer? you can commission someone! but what if you’re broke? you can find a roleplayer, but finding one is tedious nowadays cuz:

- could find a good roleplayer but they hate oc x canon

- dry roleplayer or a roleplayer who expects you to type out the bible as a response back

- a roleplayer who’s rarely active

what im tryna say is sometimes its hard to find a roleplayer who matches your flow AND is into oc x canon. or maybe its just me idfk.

plus, not on ai’s side, but tbf c.ai has kind of helped people get out of writing block, learn a language, help them communicate, and just help them mentally. cant say that for everyone but at least theres some good to it?

i dunno, i hate ai but i don’t think c.ai is much of a threat like ppl say it is. i feel in a way chatgpt might be more of a threat. c.ai is just there sometimes. if anyone wants to tell me that im wrong be civil be mindful and demure, cuz im open minded n willing to hear ppls sides out.

- another brainrot production (🧠🗣️)

.