AI + fanfic

I posted a very vulnerable video today and so far i am glad that I did.

I thought i should share transparently how I had been using AI (chat gpt) to help review my fanfics since there has been a lot of discourse about a method of detecting when folks pasted output from Claude into AO3. 

When i heard of this, I didn't think it was so bad. Like some folks are probably having Claude proofread and then pasting in. But a lot of folks were very discouraged, so i thought i would go through and shared my whole process. So over the weekend, I vlogged it and then today I posted it: https://youtu.be/paY4mNiNJs8?si=EOkMei8L4Sm0siHQ

Again, it was mostly for the transparency and the discussion. And i did get a discussion. 

I got two really lovely comments: 

I say this with all the love in my heart, this is not good for you. I used to do the exact same thing and it destroyed my writing style and my cognitive abilities, including ones other than writing. It actively made me stupider. Please, for the sake of your brain and your skills, find an online community or a friend rather than an AI. Even speaking to a stuffie/doll or talking aloud to yourself can help. It is an addictive cycle (brains like being lazy and this lets them be VERY lazy) and it was hard to get out of, but I have felt infinitely better not using AI compared to whatever effervescent, meager joys using it gave me. And this doesn't even BEGIN to touch on the environmental devastation AI use contributes to. Please do not continue doing this to yourself.

I watched the whole video but still don't understand why you have to use it. As a fellow fanfic writer, I don't have anyone in person to bounce my ideas off of, but I found groups on FB, Reddit, Discord, Tumblr, etc. to discuss stories with when I feel the need. And even then, before I had those groups, I didn't bounce my stories off anyone because the stories were just for me. You said you don't trust some of your story analysis, but you'll never develop that analytical skill by relying on AI. If anything, using AI will just stunt your ability to. I'm just an internet stranger, so just take what I say with a grain of salt, but have faith in your abilities and writing. I've been writing fanfic since I was 11 or so (32 now) and just started posting online the last year or so. But being unsure about your writing and making mistakes, taking a long time to mull over your ideas, etc are just all part of the process. Sometimes they work, and sometimes they don't. But they're human made top to bottom, and that's what gives them value despite the flaws. Happy writing, and hope you ditch AI. It's not worth the costs creatively and especially not environmentally

I really appreciated these comments so much, because honestly i have kind of been feeling the same way. Especially talking through the process, thinking about it, thinking about how it would be perceived, editing the vlog, and then knowing i would receive backlash when i posted it... it really made me consider my decisions much more heavily. 

So overall, i'm so glad i made the video and went through the process. 

I am still so happy with the fics i've written and honestly how much i've grown as a writer since starting writing fanfic, but I do believe i need to put this practice behind me and move forward with my own confident and more time consuming work (i.e. leave chat gpt behind).

I recently got a really little notebook so i could jot lyric ideas down and i think physical writing is likely in my future. remove myself from this beast entirely! I guess i just wanted to express my appreciation for these folks being compassionately blunt.