Writing in the Dark: Dear Aithors

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

Someone on a Facebook thread asked if it was necessary to use AI to write a novel. I have no clue whether the poster was serious or if they were trolling, but either way, people responded. Some dropped snark bombs, but others took the question seriously. The responses boiled down to two things: One, generative AI was created with stolen material (including around thirty of my novels), it’s harmful for the environment, and research has shown it damages cognition (and that this damage is permanent). Two, why would anyone want to write a novel without going through the process of making it yourself?

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

(Before I continue, I’m only talking about using generative AI to write for you or do the bulk of writing for you. And as I tell my students, if you’re comfortable with the moral and environmental issues with generative AI use, that’s your business. I’m not here to judge your choices. My students and I talk about the limited ways generative AI might be able to help them without doing too much of the work for them. My creative writing students want nothing to do with generative AI. Some of my composition students feel that way, while others would gladly use generative AI to do as much of their coursework as possible if they could get away with it.)

After I posted my comment on Facebook, I kept thinking about it, and I realized a truth about AI “writers” (I saw one person use the word Aithors, on another thread). Extending my marathon example a bit – the motorcyclist does not understand the purpose of a marathon. They believe the goal is to reach the finish line, and if a motorcycle can get them there faster than everyone else (and without taxing them physically), they’ve simply worked smarter, not harder. A marathoner knows the goal is to run the race. To do this, they have to train. They have to become a marathoner. They test themselves in both body and mind, learn about their perceived limits, continue to push themselves, 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 the vast majority of the human race has never attempted, and of those who do attempt it, only a few reach the point where they can finish a marathon, let alone come in first.

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

Through my marathon example, I realized that most “aithors” are motorcycle riders. They think the goal of writing a novel is to have a finished book in hand, so anything that can get them to that goal as fast as possible, with as little effort as possible, is the way to go. And all those idiots plodding along on their feet behind them just aren’t smart enough to hop on a motorcycle.

Writers are marathon runners. They understand that writing is a verb, just like running. 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 to the castle beyond the Goblin City…” Being at the castle isn’t the point. Reaching the castle is, along with all the knowledge, self-insight, and growth that occurred to you on the journey.

Aithors would reach Jareth and say, perhaps smugly, “I didn’t feel like doing all that walking, so I called an Uber.”

This is why I think it’s useless to argue with aithors. They have no understanding of what 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 a button, and they get their result, never seeing all the steps that occurred to get that result, because those steps can’t be perceived. If aithors aren’t creative 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 only value having.

Lots of people suggest that generative AI is an aid to people who lack creativity, writing ability, and writing training, so it’s like an accommodation for someone who has 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 worked in 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 the world. As a writing tutor, I worked with people who had a range of physical and cognitive challenges, and the tool that did provide accommodation for them was a new thing called a personal computer. We could adjust the font size for people with vision problems. Often, people with physical disabilities could still grip a pencil and press the keys to type. If they were physically incapable of typing, we sat at the keyboard and typed the words they spoke to us. We were trained not to comment on their writing as they were drafting, and not to improve it as we typed. The PC was a wonder tool back in those days. It made it possible for people with certain disabilities to write because while writing is a verb, it’s ultimately a mental process. Writing is thinking is what comp teachers always say. This accommodation did not replace someone’s thinking. It allowed their thoughts to be recorded as writing so they could be revised later, or turned in as a finished assignment, if that’s what the tutee desired.

The thinking is the goddamned point.

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

My experience at the Writing Center is a big reason why I don’t let myself worry about writer’s block or whether I can accomplish a challenging writing task. In the Writing Center, I saw people overcome challenges I can’t even imagine having. 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 because of the disabled tutees I worked with in college. Every fucking one of them was a hero to me. And the only time I really get furious at aithors is when I think about those heroes. Every single one of them was more of a writer than any AI-assisted “author” will ever be.

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

I know aithors aren’t going anywhere. Why would someone stop using AI when it can give them something for nothing? But if any of you who are reading this are on the fence 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 if you feel you don’t have these things, or if you do, they aren’t strong enough yet, remember that every journey begins with a single step.

Just like a marathon.

DEPARTMENT OF SHAMELESS SELF-PROMOTION

As I was finishing up this blog post, I wondered what work(s) of mine to promote this time. I decided to go with the Custodians of the Cosmos series from Aethon Books. 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 create anything as bat-shit crazy as these books.

Creatures from dark dimensions infesting your home? Demonic beings trying to drive you insane? Alien gods attempting to destroy your universe?

Just call Maintenance.

This underpaid and overworked secret organization is dedicated to battling forces that seek to speed up Entropy and hasten the Omniverse’s inevitable death.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

SCHEDULED APPEARANCES

“The Art 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.

Shore Leave 46. July 10-12. Lancaster, Pennsylvania.

GenCon Writers Seminar. July 30-August 2. Indianapolis, Indiana.

Into the Springs Writers Workshop. August 7-9. Yellow Springs, Ohio.

Shivercon. August 14-15. Muncie, Indiana.

WHERE TO FIND ME ONLINE

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Website: www.timwaggoner.com

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