I’ve been rereading old VOT chapters to get into the mood for writing again, and while scrolling through older comments, I kept seeing people say things like “chatgpt coded” about my writing. At first I didn’t even understand what that meant. Then it hit me, and honestly, it pissed me off more than I expected.
I’m not a professional writer. English isn’t even my first language. I write because I love it, and because I’m trying to improve. I focus on making scenes feel natural, on actions, on pacing. Emotions, comedy, intimacy… those are things I struggle with, and I’ve been actively studying and practicing them for months. I don’t have a fixed writing style yet because I’m still learning.
Yes, I use ChatGPT—but only for guidance. For tips. For checking tone. For understanding how to make a moment land. Not to write my story. Not to replace me. Every chapter is mine. Every sentence is mine. I spend days rewriting paragraphs until they feel right, and seeing people assume it’s all AI work is honestly insulting.
My writing is one of the few things I’m proud of because I’ve worked for it. So watching strangers erase all that effort with one lazy label genuinely hurt. I’m still improving, still learning, but everything in VOT is written by me.
Sometimes it’s discouraging to see how quickly people jump to assumptions without knowing how much work actually goes into something. It makes all the hours spent learning, rewriting, and trying to improve feel invisible for a moment. I know my writing isn’t perfect, but it’s mine, and I’ve put real effort and care into every chapter. It just gets exhausting when something you’re proud of is brushed aside so easily.
So, think twice before you put random labels over someone's hardwork without understanding an ounce of that effort—
—YIN YUE