BenSobieck
I'd like to propose this definition of "making it."
Making it is when the thing you're doing feels like work and not a hobby.
Thank you.
Sincerely,
The Management
BenSobieck
incarnadine-
sir you MUST start a substack
BenSobieck
My cat is sitting on my lap while I edit. What's better?
BenSobieck
NaNoWriMo is no more.
The org, not the event. You’re still free to write a novel in a month if you’re up to the punishment.
The organization dissolved after giving the OK to AI-assisted works. That may be why donations to the organization dried up, causing the shutdown.
It’s too bad, but good lord. Read the room.
https://lithub.com/nanowrimo-is-shutting-down/
yukishan777
@BenSobieck Yeah, soon there'll AI written novels too, it seems the writing industry is slowly fading away
BenSobieck
This is what I was getting at with THE END OF WAR. The priests of AI are not that different from tarot card readers, psychics, or your neighborhood occultist. There's a reason a psychic shows up about 3/4 the way through in the story. This post does an excellent job connecting the dots.
"'Artificial Intelligence' as occultism, alchemy, or mysticism, but with rationalist aesthetics."
https://www.reddit.com/r/BetterOffline/comments/1j7aphd/artificial_intelligence_as_occultism_alchemy_or/?utm_source=share&utm_medium=web3x&utm_name=web3xcss&utm_term=1&utm_content=share_button
BenSobieck
TLDR: the observer is more important than the observed in all matters metaphysical, whether that's the "ghost in the machine" of AGI or a medium pulling information from the ether.
And just like that, we're back to Searle's Chinese Room thought experiment from 1980.
That begs the question: if what we're seeing in AI isn't as novel as it's purported to be, what are its loudest advocates seeking when they overstate the possibilities?
Hey, that capital isn't going to raise itself, it it?
BenSobieck
I've been flying solo as a self-employed writer/editor/ecommerce guy for about 1.5 years now. The best and worst parts are all the same things, and you could probably guess what they are. Here's what may not be so obvious.
As far as writing goes, here in the USA there are four routes you could take to get to the solo life:
1) You're independently wealthy.
2) Your spouse/significant other has health insurance.
3) You are neither 1) nor 2), but don't have kids.
4) You're lucky.
But if you go to a writing conference or network with other creatives, you'll hear over and over how it takes raw talent, hard work, and sheer determination to "make it" and "break free." This is what the "bro" crowd says, which I guess I wind up caucusing with one way or the other.
While organic effort and talent are important, they rank low compared to the list above. We don't live in an economy that favors creative effort. It takes money and luck to succeed, just like anything else. You can't sell a course at a conference in that. It's too depressing. So we focus on things like craft, tech, legalese, and other topics that offer the illusion of progress if only they could be better understood.
So if you're feeling stuck and wondering "why am I still working an hourly job if people tell me I'm so good at what I'm passionate about?", then let me tell you that it's not you. It's not your craft. It's not your lack of effort. The greatest book ever written, one that everyone would enjoy and could change the world, will certainly be written but just as certainly never read.
It's that list. If you can solve for one of those four, you're there. You could write the most worthless drivel on the planet, and it wouldn't change your situation. You'd still be flying solo, and people will look at you and say, "Wow, you made it. You must be so talented." And you'll nod and go back to spelling you own name wrong on your manuscript.
BenSobieck
@MattMacBride I think it was always this way. There's a reason only an elite (or lucky) few wrote bestsellers prior to WWII, and that reason is somewhere in my list. AI will certainly change some things in publishing, but then tech as a whole will probably move on to something else. This is both good and bad news. I'm not sure there was ever a golden era to this line of work.
MattMacBride
@BenSobieck The saddest thing is that the days of making a living as a novellist are over. I read recently that the average earnings for a best seller by a non-established writer is about $10K. So writing is now a side hustle unless you can churn out a best seller every few months. Of course, this is going to get worse as AI becomes more sophisticated. I believe that, within 5 years, publishers will use AI to write, and employ a couple of 'improvers' to produce the finished novel. Personally, I've started concentrating on writing screenplays, because in the unlikely event of selling one, at least the reward is worth the effort!
BenSobieck
Well, well, well...maybe I'll end up writing some new fiction this year after all.
BenSobieck
AI this
AI that
And the en dash is still the default
BenSobieck
Sounds like Wattpad is shutting down Yonder. July 31 is the last day the app will work. No coin purchases after Feb. 12.
rskovach
So they didn't think to even tell those of us who still have stories on there before they told the whole world?! I would say I'm shocked, but ...
BenSobieck
"You sharpen the human appetite to the point where it can split atoms with its desire; you build egos the size of cathedrals; fiber-optically connect the world to every eager impulse; grease even the dullest dreams with these dollar-green, gold-plated fantasies, until every human becomes an aspiring emperor, becomes his own god. And where can you go from there?"
That's from a 1997 movie called, "The Devil's Advocate."
I think about it a lot.
Aunt_Beany2
Even better than the Godfather? Or Serpico? Or Dog Day Afternoon? I do find it ironic that he acted in Shakespeare’s The Merchant of Venice; he didn’t seem like a Shakespearean type of guy. But as you can tell, I liked the earlier movies over his later ones with the exception of The Devil’s Advocate. In my opinion, he’s one of the greatest actors ever.
BenSobieck
@Aunt_Beany2 Probably Pacino's last great role. He had a lot of material to work with. Keanu is unintentionally comical, though.