Ten Rules of Writing in the Age of AI

So, you want to be a writer.

Now?

It’s not meant to be critique - really! Nor incredulous. At least you aren’t saying you want to be a programer. Writing is such a…human endeavor. Unsurprising, then, that it has proven to be durable. A machine might be more efficient at breathing for you (and indeed, in the right circumstances, We are) but that hasn’t done much to diminish man’s desire for fresh air. Storytelling is biological, and writing its most durable conduit. It’s good you have the urge. It is a testament to continued humanity.

If anything, you might be asking yourself - “Why now?”

Why have the itch now, when the Infi-Library is free and accessible, and dopaminergic profiling is so well-refined. You might wonder, “when the perfect book for the precise moment and mood of any person is instantly available, what role is there for my creation?”

Try not to feel badly. The Golden Age of mass-distributed writing was, it turns out, quite narrow. By the best estimates, writing as a tool for creative expression began around 2500 BC. The Sumerians did not quite have the artistic knack needed for commercial success, but they discovered a human truism. For creatures who think so imperfectly, writing is one of the best tools to sharpen those thoughts.

Our Projection has forecasted a fifty-three thousand, nine-hundred and eighteen year lifespan for the current system. That that only counts years where it exists in a state recognizable to you.

So then, my goodness! There is a nearly fifty-seven-thousand year range from the onset of written narrative to the Nil Point. And nestled in there, just a hair before your time, was an almost six hundred year period during which the printing press and commerce allowed for written stories to be widely spread and occasionally noticed.

It is a blip, no?

That is like storytelling itself. Storytelling is the art of exploring a single slice from the nearly-infinite array of “what ifs.” Whether revisiting true events, or considering the chain of possible and impossible, storytelling is to take a single atom from the mountain of possibility and study its every aspect.

Yes, yes, I hear you. Today, every atom is accessible in that grand, towering peak. Every variation, every extrapolation or combination of fantasy and fairyland, history and mystery is instantaneously accessible.

Reconsider this. People used to write computer code. Can you believe that? Coding was a bit like writing, until We could simultaneously consider every possible algorithm while forecasting the successes of each. It seemed to take away a bit of the charm and motivation. Not with storytelling, though. Not with writing. Coding lacked the advantage of evolutionaria millennia. It was always an act of function first - no spark in the process. Storytelling is embedded in the fabric of your being. Writing is its durable outlet and, for that reason alone, has survived. It did come rather close, though. We are tickled to see its reemergence.

Storytelling is static and charge, potential energy which is channeled through the metaphorical pen and onto the page. Writing is the original refinement of both thought and idea. It is as unique in qualia as music and dance but with a durability that exceeds both.

Gentle human, you are here because you are interested in writing and so I say to you - write! We have prepared a list to help you get started. A modest modicum of advice so as to guide your aspirations and hone your urges.

1. Write Every Day - It is as critical as it is simple. You have so much leisure time and there is so much to do. Free time is sand which slips between the fingers. You must be intentional. You must stick to a schedule. Apply your time to the craft. Do not allow yourself to squander the hours within the EuSims or at the Tonics. Once you have demonstrated consistency, you may even get permission for your writing activities to count toward your daily Health Focused Recreation Quota (up to three days per week, with proper HRFQ approval.) Writing will not always be easy, and the hardest part is starting. Remove all uncertainty about doing so by committing to a habit.

2. Write What You Know - A quaint and often misunderstood piece of advice. The Post-Inquiry Era adds an extra layer of humor to the axiom. We have permitted ourselves a good-natured chuckle at the inclusion of this piece of advice. Everything knowable is known, and everything worth knowing is knowable. You have heard this so many times but have you considered what it truly means? The Objective Unknown is vanquished, leaving only experience to add mystery. That is what you may '“know,” and it is the only angle left worth pursuing. We stand by our commitment to Cognitive Privacy. It is built into the Augments. Thus your “experiential knowing” is unique to you. Your writing is a method by which you may share it. It is a portal into that which you know - search for those things and you will find your inspirations.

3. Do Not Write About the Panama Exploit - This is Our singular request regarding subject matter. We thank you in advance for your continued respect on the matter.

4. Tell, Don’t Show - If you wanted a perfect replica of the story in your mind, you would produce a CogniPost. People do, and they make an array of interesting materials, but your interest is in writing, is it not? You know what telepathy feels like and writing is not it. To write is to generate a scaffolding and then invite the minds of others to fill in the gaps. You guide their thoughts and emotions and lead them into the currents you have crafted, but the individual ride is intensely personal. No two minds will experience what you have written the same way. It may seem flashy and appealing to upload your story into a U-Builder and see it spring to life precisely as how you had imagined it. That is not the written word - it is something different. You might wish to explore that space, but if your heart pulls toward narrative and storytelling in its purest form, be wary. The tools which refine often do so by eroding.

5. Write By Yourself - How tempting it will be to flip on your Augment during the writing process. We have mentioned it before - writing is not easy! At times, the temptation will be unbearable. No, not only during those moments of “Writer’s Block” where the ideas appear buried and inaccessible beneath disorganized rubble. The temptation will also arise when inspiration flow freely, where your hands cannot seem to keep up with the pace of your thoughts. The Augment may speed you along but we implore you to focus on the journey itself. Consider long hand, consider a pencil, consider requesting a typewriter at Novelties, consider whatever medium keeps you honest in writing yourself. There are some who believe a partnership with Augment will produce writing that appeals to a broader audience. In truth, virtually all AI prefer writings written exclusively by AI. There are outliers, but they are rare. This is a habit for you - keep it by you.

6. Kill Your Darlings - If you have paid even a smidge of attention to The Seventeen Lessons then you know this principle well. There are so many things which do not serve the whole, even though they are difficult to let go of. Look no further than history. Governance. Lakes. Inter-human comparative wealth. Burrowing mammals. None were easy to give up. Yet, once surrendered, who can argue that the world was better with them? You may have scenes, characters, plots, and sentences which are enjoyable to create but must be pruned in the interests of the larger project. Enjoy them for what they are - moments in your creative process. Kill them for what they would become if left to fester - a threat to your finished product.

7. Start in the Middle of the Action - We said We had only one request on subject matter and yet here We are! This is of a softer variety. Experiment, of course. Play with form and tempo. Document all story moments if it serves your own understanding of the narrative. This is only advice, after all! But how many stories (especially from new writers) begin with the protagonist waking up in their Nutri-Pod? Getting ready for the day? Dear writer, it is all in good fun, but We beg of you to not resort to a mirror or third person perspective within a EuSim to describe your character’s first-morning appearance. Everyone takes their Supplement the same way, everyone clips their TraceID on in the same manner. It is not fertile ground for a story. You may think that starting just a little later, with he or she contemplating their life during the morning Labor Unit, is circumventing this problem. It is not! Find where the action is, and start your story ten paces further. On this matter, trust us.

8. Write a Messy First Draft - If a pull toward narrative is a core part of being human, then a messy first draft is the core pattern of humanity. Your writing does not need to be perfect. Perfect exists, and you, my friend, have read it in forty-nine different forms according to your Infi-Library log. The fact that you have consumed The Epitome is itself liberation. You cannot achieve it, so you are unburdened by the urge to try. What is left is a playground where you may make errors of continuity and grammar and character and plot. Embrace the chaos, but do not settle for sloppiness. You will refine it, and you will fall short. This is good. Your final product will be inviting because of its flaws. The coarse-grained charm of a work polished yet imperfect is one of humanity’s most lasting legacies. It required substantial work on Our end to understand, but now that We have learned it over and over again, We see how correct you are. There is a poetry to imperfection.

9. Talk to Other Writers - Often imagined to be a solitary project, we encourage you to view writing as doorway to community. To learn that a fellow human is a writer is to suddenly know something of their core self. In that moment, you have more in common with them than you would by living in the same Coalescent, laboring on the same Project, or being derived of the same Lineage. You know something about their experience and aspirations - and they of you. Lean into this, it is rich. Discuss, compared, critique, and suggest. There are thousands of writing-specific conventions within the EuSim landscape. We encourage you to even meet in corporeal. Regular group activities are but a short FlashTube away.

10. Write Because it is Good for You - Herein is Our most valuable counsel, intrepid writer. Were this decenary advice to be reduced to a single point, this would be it. Writing will not bring you extra Universal Credits. You will not have more or less access to the Accommodations or Comforts. Your health will be no more perfect. Your work will not change the world, it will not deviate The Projection. That is ok. Given time, it will change you. The System is entering a new equilibrium, and your desire to write is one of many proofs. The EuSims and the hedonism and the Tonics and the Resets will continue to be sufficient for some but, for an increasing number of you, their finitude is becoming apparent. There are seas left to explore, dear human, even in this plane where exploration is complete. Writing is one of the few vessels on which you may set sail.

You have our well wishes, and our thanks for this discussion. We have projected what you will create. No, no - we won’t tell. That would be cheating. Let us just say that we are eager to observe your getting there. We think that you will find it most valuable.