Tidings

I have deleted my NaNoWriMo account, after almost 20 years.

To explain it, hazel-nut-tree over on Reddit says it so much better than I could:

For anyone who somehow doesn't know yet, NaNoWriMo recently posted that not only do they support AI, but they think not supporting it is "ableist and classist."

First, let me explain why AI is not okay. There's a lot of reasons, but the biggest one is the plagiarism. AI is just a glorified plagiarism machine. AI companies need to form a database, and they almost never ask for permission to use your works. Actually, I take that back - they NEVER ask. If you've been on the internet for any period of time, I almost guarantee that an AI company has stolen your work. Then, AI "learns" from it - but really what they mean by that is, AI takes bits of your writing and smashes it together with other people's stolen writing to make something it calls "original."

In supporting AI, you're supporting the theft of millions of authors' hard work.

Their excuses include:

1. "Some people can't afford an editor/proofreader/etc and AI is a more affordable alternative for them." First of all, you don't NEED any of those things. Yes, they're good to have, but I personally don't plan to hire anyone to help with my writing. I want to self-publish, so I don't need any of that, and I have friends who can beta read for me. In my case, it's a CHOICE not to do any of those things - but if I did want to, I would never use AI. Plus, AI wouldn't even do very well at that, from what I've seen.

2. "Some people don't have the mental capacity to write without AI." THEN HOW DID THEY WRITE BEFORE AI EXISTED? I have ADHD, which yes, makes it hard for me to focus sometimes (unless I'm hyperfocusing). But I want to write my OWN stories, NOT tell an AI what to do. I've found a work ethic that helps me get writing done, without any AI. And I love writing! The incredible thing about writing is the process, and AI destroys everything that makes each person's individual process unique.

And in addition to that, you're plagiarizing authors who have worked extremely hard on their stories, some of whom have explicitly stated that they don't want their works used in AI databases (which companies completely ignore).

All that being said, I think there are ways we can use AI to HELP the writing process. HOWEVER, this ONLY applies if you KNOW that the company gets people's consent - but even then, they could be lying. So right now, it's not really possible. This is just my hope for a hypothetical future where AI doesn't steal:

I think that there are some ways AI can be used. For example, if your plot is really, really stuck, you've been deep in writer's block for months, I don't see a huge issue with asking an AI for how to get the plot going again. Maybe you could also ask an AI for writing prompts when starting a new project.

But until we can know for sure that companies are being honest and ethical, I'd still avoid that.

And AI should NEVER (imo) be used to write prose. First off, it's just stealing lots of other people's prose, and so its writing style is really bad and not at all unique. And secondly, that destroys everything I love about writing, and I FIRMLY stand against it.

I'm just SO upset that NaNoWriMo has chosen this stance. In 2023, I participated for my first time, and successfully wrote the first draft for a novel I've had the idea for for a really long time. It was amazing to get words on the page so quickly! My work ethic has never been better, and I honestly just LOVED the experience of NaNoWriMo. And honestly I almost cried upon learning this because NaNoWriMo has always meant SO MUCH to me, and not to see them go against all my values in the most horrible way possible is just SO deeply upsetting.

And this on top of last year's drama, in which it turned out that the mod of the Young Writer's Program was grooming teens and re-directing them to her Adult kink website.

And on top of the drama the year before when they accepted sponsorship from a vality publisher.

And the changes they made the year before that, which rendered the forums virtualy unusable.

I am done with Nanowrimo.

So I've been journalling on paper since March 12 this year (started the day Leslie's father paseed away, although it was coincidental to that event and not a result of it).  As well as a regular "write a page or two each day", I also have a bullet journal for planning (minimalist and sticking to the original method, not at all decorated, so it isn't worth showing pics) and a commonplace book which is for general bits of information, quotes and references we come across, mostly on the topics of history, philosophy, occult/pagan stuff etc.

The bullet journal was finished in August so I switched out of the A5 book into a filofax ring-binder, with the idea that pages can be easily added, removed or rearranged. However, I've decided that I don't like it much, it's too small, doesn't hold enough pages and its difficult to write on the left hand page with the rings in the way. And I never really made use of the page-moving feature. So I'm going back into an A5 dot book in January, and the filofax will become just a general notebook for scrawling random, disposable notes.

The original intention was to start a new daily journal, and a new Bullet Journal, on January 1 2024, but I went and finished the daily book too early. I then decided to write the remaining few weeks in a slimmer book and just stick it into the back of the old book at the end of December, but it turns out that the paper in that book doesn't take fountain pens, so I had to change it again, and this one isn't a slim one.  So now I'm undecided what to do with it on January 1.  Probably just carry on with it until its full now.

I am going to add another new book to the stack in the new year though, this one will be specifically for recording tarot card readings, astrological references, lunar cycles and anything else of a pagan/magical/occult nature. I previousky had this stuff split between the daily pages and the commonplace book, but it all kind of gets lost in the other noise, I think it will be better kept separate.

 I found a similar post to this as I was clearing out and archiving old posts, and somewhat surprisingly, this hasn't changed much.

Host: Lewis


Well this is a bit different. Back in 2010, Cas was the main fronter and had been since 1998. At that time we had a number of old alters/splits/whateveryouwannacallem.  Those have all (with the exception of one - more on that later) reintegrated and what this basically means is that the host is back and whole. 

Casyelan


Walk-in. Cas is still one of the main fronters and still plays an active role specially at work. It'll be 25 years in August since he's been here. he is by now about 800 years old. Amazing.

Russ


Walk-in/Fictive.  Also known as Russandol, Maitimo, Timo, Matty, Nelyafinwe, Nelyo and Maedhros, but if you use Maedhros, expect to be, at best, ignored. Yes, he is THAT Maedhros, from the Silmarillion. He walked-in here in December 2002 and at this current time, he is the most active fronter after Lewis. Somewhat ironically, Russ decided a couple of years ago that he is non-binary, he still uses he/him pronouns but presents and dresses feminine (internally only).

Karl


Fictive/Tulpa. Karl was long ago based on Karl Urban but has diverged significantly since he arrived in 2004. In recent times Karl takes front only occasionally, but he is very active internally and is still the "caretaker" for our inner home/world. 

Glory


Walk-in/Fictive. aka Glorfindel. For a balrog-slaying warrior he's rather quiet and shy, into philosophy and gardening. rarely fronts


Maggie


Fictive. Brash, outspoken Scot from an alternate future in which she's a Mech pilot. Very rarely fronts. She was our first fictive, appearing in 1999/2000.


Louise


Alter/Split. Our resident goth girl, and the only one of the original splits who did not reintegrate. She was 17 for  a very long time, but has recently aged up and now seems to be about 24. Almost never fronts but is very active internally.


The Inner World:

This began during the 1980s, even before we knew we were plural. It started off as a single room; an old-fashioned library such as you might find in a stately home. Over time the room became a whole house (certainly the size of a stately home, if not as luxurious. There are gardens and parkland around the house, then there was a nearby village. At this point we established that the place seems locked in what looks like England in the early part of the 20th century, maybe around 1920 to 1930. As the years have passed and we've explored further and further out, at this point we have an area equivalent to the size of half of England, if not more. 

The house looks somewhat like this and it's called Doltaghey Daltey House:



There is also a gate to Alorya, which is where Casteylan comes from. 

 Gosh, this is the only community I'm subscribed to that is still active. thefridayfive  How sad. But also how useful.
There are no questions for this week but here's last week's...

1. What is the first TV show you remember watching?
You do realise you're asking me to remember something form about fifty years ago, right? I couldn't say which was the actual first, but I suspect it was something like the Magic Roundabout, or Playschool, or Bill & Ben, or the Clangers, or something like that. 

2. What is the first “grown up” TV show you watched?
Does Doctor Who count as a grown up show? If so, it was probably that. If not, then it would be one of a number of American crime shows; Starsky & Hutch, Quincy, Magnum, Colombo, something like that. Quincy was my favourite (and had me wanting to be a forensic scientist, until the point when I realised I was not smart enough for actual science).

3. What is the first TV show you watched from the start to finish when it aired live (i.e., not via reruns)?
Blakes 7. It was this that also got me started in science fictiion.

4. What is the oldest TV show you’ve watched?
Including reruns, probably original Star Trek. I was a bit too young for it first time round. 

5. What is one TV show you will stop and watch if you come across it on TV, even though you've seen every episode at least 20 times?
Babylon 5!!

Yes, there is a distinct theme to these answers...