Howdy. Been a quiet couple of months at the homestead as winter lost its game in the second period, then rallied to go into overtime.
How’s that brain spot, Leo?
In the last edition of My (Mostly) Monthly Author Newsletter (back around Feb. 10), I mentioned that there remained one spot of concern on the latest MRI of my brain.
This spot had been treated twice before with radiation therapy. The odds of a spot continuing to be an active cancer after two rounds of treatment were slim but of course, not impossible. I had another scan a couple of weeks ago to check again and the news is good. It does appear to just be necrosis, or scarring, from the prior treatments.
Which means the full MRI of my brain and spine back in January was indeed my first clear MRI in two years. Which is awesome news. But this ain’t over yet. Regular CT scans and MRIs will continue for the foreseeable future.
How’s the writing going, Leo?
Slowly.
As I said before, the biggest obstacle continues to be side effects of gene therapy treatment. That is due to finish by end of May.
Meanwhile, I continue to wait on word from my publisher on their plans for the future, as they complete their changes that I mentioned in the last newsletter.
Any fresh media, Leo?
Despite the low key of my author life these days as I drag myself through cancer treatment and recovery, there were two recent bright spots:
- Toronto fantasy author Charles Moffat featured Bane of All Things on his Youtube channel with a book unboxing episode.
- Podcaster and author Dennis Rimmer is featuring me sometime in April on his Talking Books & Stuff podcast.
Did you read that infamous Wired Magazine article about Brandon Sanderson?
Sure did.
If you don’t know, Sanderson is about the biggest name in fantasy these days. Already a multi-millionaire author, he set out to raise $US1 million on Kickstarter a year ago. This was to self-publish four “secret projects” he had completed during the pandemic. Within weeks, his crowdfund had hit a record US$41 million (yes, that’s correct).
Here is that less-than-flattering Wired article, Brandon Sanderson Is Your God.
And, here is Sanderson’s measured and even kind response. (Kudos to him – As a former journalist and as a marketing communications pen for hire, I always do say take the high road with pissy press.)
I can only assume the writer of the Wired article came into it thinking Sanderson had to be some larger-than-life, mythical figure to command such a legion of fans so eager to open their wallets. A source of dramatic sound bites and life experiences from which to build a truly epic tale. When they discovered Sanderson the mere mortal was, well, relatively ordinary, they got all annoyed about it, which is reflected in the tone of the article.
My takeaway?
Creative types like writers are people, too. Often, just regular people who may seem boring compared to the characters and stories we create. We have our passion, our need to spin a good yarn. But that alone doesn’t make us, even the superstars like Sanderson, much different than anyone else who has to earn a living and pay taxes.
Lastly, is Generative AI going to make writers obsolete?
Not yet.
There’s been a lot of discourse lately about generative AI – artificial intelligence systems like ChatGPT. These AIs produce new content, chat responses, designs (art), synthetic data or even deep fakes that can make your own mum look like she’s … well, you fill in the blank.
As stated in this Tech Target article, Generative AI “starts with a prompt that could be in the form of a text, an image, a video, a design, musical notes, or any input that the AI system can process. Various AI algorithms then return new content in response to the prompt. Content can include essays, solutions to problems, or realistic fakes created from pictures or audio of a person.”
So, anyone can use a generative AI like ChatGPT to write entire new works of fiction in literal minutes, with a few well-chosen prompt questions.
When it comes to being a writer, ideas are cheap. It’s the execution that matters. One percent inspiration, 99 percent perspiration. But now, most of the perspiration can be handled by a software algorithm.
If that sounds like cheating to you, I agree it’s a slippery slope. The only reason these AIs can do this is because they have been taught using existing creative works made by actual people. Call it a form of derivative plagiarism by machine.
Already, literary magazines are closing their doors to submissions that are generated by AI (provided they can tell the difference.)
The good news is that the examples of generative AI creative writing that I have seen so far have been mostly mediocre. This, of course, may change, and quickly, as the technology continues to evolve.
But I hold to the simple truth that, while a machine may be able to mimic human emotion and the impact of life’s traumas, it cannot experience these things for itself. That’s the edge that we continue to have as flesh and blood humans.
Generative AI simply reinforces the same old fundamentals for anyone who wants to build a career as a writer or artist. Give your work the respect it deserves and commit the time and effort required to master the craft. Invest the heart and soul and originality that is yours and yours alone.
That’s all for now. As always, stay safe, be kind, and keep reading!
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