{"id":3722,"date":"2024-10-01T00:00:50","date_gmt":"2024-10-01T05:00:50","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/memorialswordandshield.com\/?p=3722"},"modified":"2024-09-30T16:43:18","modified_gmt":"2024-09-30T21:43:18","slug":"nanowrimo-ai-and-the-death-of-process","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/memorialswordandshield.com\/es\/3722\/opinions\/nanowrimo-ai-and-the-death-of-process\/","title":{"rendered":"NaNoWriMo, AI, and the Death of Process"},"content":{"rendered":"

If you\u2019re a huge nerd about writing, you already know what this article is about. But for those of you who aren\u2019t, some context: on September 2, 2024, NaNoWriMo (National Novel Writing Month, a nonprofit organization best known for their yearly challenge to writers across to globe to draft an entire novel in one month) released <\/span>an official statement on the use of AI<\/span><\/a>. In the original statement, NaNoWriMo claims that the condemnation of AI is classist, ableist, and that they,<\/span> \u201cabsolutely do not condemn AI, and we recognize and respect writers who believe that AI tools are right for them.\u201d\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

I recommend you read the original statement yourself to see just how strange these claims are. They\u2019re also oddly focused on editing\u2014the assertion of classism is based on the idea that not everyone can hire an editor and the declaration of ableism is grounded in the concept that, \u201cThere is a wealth of reasons why individuals can’t \u2018see\u2019 the issues in their writing without help.\u201d I firmly believe that both of these issues are better solved by giving people access to a community of fellow writers (similar to the ones that existed in the NaNoWriMo forums before they were shut down due to moderation problems) they can collaborate, co-edit, or beta-read with rather than with generative AI. This is for a number of reasons, from the emotional benefits of being in a community with fellow writing enthusiasts to the fact that you can learn much better from real actual humans who are capable of explaining their real actual thoughts.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Additionally, by focusing so heavily on grammar or autocorrect programs, it feels an awful lot like NaNoWriMo is attempting to lump all forms of machine assistance together to avoid having to take an actual stance on <\/span>generative<\/span><\/i> AI. You know. The thing that people are actually talking about.<\/span><\/p>\n

NaNoWriMo has since backtracked heavily in the wake of enormous backlash from their community and their sponsors\u2014<\/span>one of whom they\u2019ve lost entirely<\/span><\/a>. They still refuse to go any further than frustratingly middle-of-the-road, and for the life of me, I don\u2019t understand why. Because the thing NaNoWriMo is best known for, the thing it is <\/span>named after<\/span><\/i>, is a challenge that becomes utterly pointless when you throw AI into the mix. There\u2019s no difficulty in writing fifty-thousand words in a month if you aren\u2019t the one writing them.<\/span><\/p>\n

The purpose of NaNoWriMo isn\u2019t to have written a novel, it\u2019s to write a first draft.<\/span> NaNoWriMo is <\/span>meant<\/span><\/i> to help writers practice writing consistently and overcome writer\u2019s block. It\u2019s a wonderful challenge, but it is just that\u2014a <\/span>challenge<\/span><\/i>. 1,667 words a day might not sound like a lot, but it is a rather grueling pace that not everyone can meet.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

And guess what! Not everyone needs to meet it! Not everyone needs that shiny digital certificate! Completing NaNoWriMo is <\/span>meant<\/span><\/i> to be hard because it is about doing <\/span>work<\/span><\/i>. It\u2019s about scraping a rough draft into existence, it\u2019s about slogging through the weak parts of your plot, it\u2019s about making the worst version of a novel so you can start making a better one. NaNoWriMo, at its core, is about the process of writing. Not the finished product, not editing, not even particularly <\/span>good<\/span><\/i> writing\u2014just <\/span>writing<\/span><\/i>. Like, actually doing it. Sitting down and scrawling it out. Creating something from yourself.<\/span><\/p>\n

This is my biggest issue with NaNoWriMo\u2019s stance on AI\u2014it doesn\u2019t account for the heart and soul of its titular challenge. To me, it is demonstrative of a larger trend within the public consciousness that I like to call the death of process, because I\u2019m pretentious.<\/span><\/p>\n

To put it simply, the death of process refers to the devaluing of the creation of art and the subsequent overemphasis on having created\u2014or just <\/span>having<\/span><\/i>, full-stop\u2014art. This applies to all forms of art, from writing to music to illustrative. This is particularly prevalent on social media where by and large, the focus is entirely on a finished final product. Mistakes and rough drafts go unseen, creating a bit of a black box around the very act of making art for those who don\u2019t regularly engage in that particular form. And you can\u2019t value what you don\u2019t see.<\/span><\/p>\n

AI is just the logical end stage of this view. If the goal is only to have art, if the process of creating it is irrelevant at best and a nuisance at worst, then of course generative AI becomes appealing. You press a button, and it dispenses art. Simple. Easy. Eliminate the middleman. Why bother with the craft? Why put in all that time and effort when you could have something <\/span>now? <\/span><\/i>Why write those fifty-thousand words when you could edit something else\u2019s?<\/span><\/p>\n

With the increasing interconnectivity of the world and the sheer quantity of art available, it is all too easy to view it as a commodity or just \u2018content\u2019 to be consumed. But art is not a product, it\u2019s a human activity. It\u2019s a process. For as long as we\u2019ve existed as a species, we\u2019ve made art. We, as a species, <\/span>make<\/span><\/i> art. When you make art, it doesn\u2019t matter if you or anyone else thinks your art is bad or weird or not good enough\u2014what matters is that <\/span>you<\/span><\/i> make it. You do something, anything, and that\u2019s all the reason art needs to matter.<\/span><\/p>\n

So what’s the point of it if <\/span>you<\/span><\/i> aren\u2019t the one doing it?<\/span><\/p>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

If you\u2019re a huge nerd about writing, you already know what this article is about. But for those of you who aren\u2019t, some context: on September 2, 2024, NaNoWriMo (National Novel Writing Month, a nonprofit organization best known for their yearly challenge to writers across to globe to draft an entire novel in one month)…<\/p>","protected":false},"author":25,"featured_media":3723,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[8],"tags":[235],"staff_name":[202],"class_list":["post-3722","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-opinions","tag-october-24","staff_name-amalia-weix"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/memorialswordandshield.com\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3722","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/memorialswordandshield.com\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/memorialswordandshield.com\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/memorialswordandshield.com\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/25"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/memorialswordandshield.com\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=3722"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/memorialswordandshield.com\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3722\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":3724,"href":"https:\/\/memorialswordandshield.com\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3722\/revisions\/3724"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/memorialswordandshield.com\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/3723"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/memorialswordandshield.com\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=3722"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/memorialswordandshield.com\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=3722"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/memorialswordandshield.com\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=3722"},{"taxonomy":"staff_name","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/memorialswordandshield.com\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/staff_name?post=3722"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}