About Machine Help

Post 2007:

I think talking about A.I. might be the most boring thing imaginable. Anyway, here are some thoughts on what it does for creative writing.

Not much.

Not nothing, just not much. There will be writers out there that say I don’t know what I’m talking about, that I’m not fully utilizing the possibilities presented by technology.

Here’s how technology works. Something get invented and it’s going to change everything. Our way of life is going to suddenly die out. Existence itself is going to change so dramatically, everything will be recognizable.

Then life pretty much changes gradually and people catch up to the new technology. Most people were farmers or ranchers when this country was founded. I can’t ranch or farm crap, but still I’ve found a way to exist.

As far as writing, we’ll still be around. I use the little Microsoft Word thing to tell me what I already know and to tell me how idiot literary agents and idiot publishers think. If the machine says do a thing, I usually do the opposite.

Really, it’s not smart. But it does help me remember certain parts of the story. My memory sucks. Always has… I think.

Use the tech or don’t. You still gotta write. There’s no way around it, far as I can see. That’s a good thing. Cheers and see you after.