Hi Kelly, I would definitely take the advanced personal essay course. I would check out the videos, but I get a lot more from feedback during live zoom calls. Any chance we could do the calls once a week? I would be happy to pay more for your time. Also, do we do any readings (Joan Didion, James Baldwin, Zadie Smith, etc.) during these classes? I've found those to be helpful, too.
Thanks for reaching out to us. We need to support each other in these absurd times.
So the live course is a group course, which is why I haven’t run it recently. It was difficult to get the timing right for everyone. If you want to do it as an individual send me a DM and we can see if we can figure something out.
I can imagine the logistics for a live course are tough since you're in Australia. I'm working on some things and will let you know about the other. Thanks!
Hi Kelly. It saddens me to think that talented people like you are no longer able to make a living from writing. I looked at your packages and although not geared to me as a fiction writer, thought they looked incredibly good value.
Have you thought about offering editing to non-fiction writers? Just a thought.
I am seriously thinking about giving up my Substack. I have shown up regularly weekly and sometimes twice weekly and after 5 years have 342 subscribers! That sucks. OK - 6 very kind folk are paying subscribers and they are all happy for me to post monthly rather than weekly. I want to focus on my novel writing and there are only so many hours in the day. Substack is saturated with celebs and famous people who are pushing us little guys aside.
I think writing and getting published is tougher than ever and you really have to get your work noticed - great marketing is key.
I hope things pick up for you, Kelly and I have the greatest respect for you as a writer and mentor. Keep up the good work! 💪✍️📖
I'm getting the impression that what works here on substack is things that focus on community, so things like monthly live zoom calls or write in sessions where people can connect with each other and learn from you directly. So perhaps redesigning your current course to include a substack community aspect could be the way to go.
Just like anyone who has ever had a child believes they could easily do the job of a teacher, with the rise of AI, everyone believes that they can write using the powerful tools at their fingertips. Writing since AI isn’t about crafting the language, spelling well, or even building a story. I don’t think anyone has defined yet what it is. It is at the same point where the luddites attacked the automated weaving mills, not because the machines were taking jobs, but because they knew the customers would accept the cheaper, less refined, machine woven products. We appear to be at that point in the world of writing. Human attention spans have shrunk, fewer people read novels, more listen to audiobooks or even more to podcasts. The writers are saying “but people aren’t consuming our fine products, but they are consuming the automated crap even when it’s labeled as AI slop”.
AI has nothing to do with creative writing or the creative arts writ large. I have to believe, although I probably won't live long enough to see it, that eventually people will realize that. Unfortunately, the pain between now and then could be immeasurable.
I will disagree. For now, the AI can only generate text or art in response to a human prompt. The creativity remains in the human. AI is the shortcut path to putting in the effort. Learn how to ask the right questions of the AI and the AI does all the work of gathering resources, combing through them for salient information and then following examples of excellence already out there, to craft a document or art. It mimics what a human does but without the human making any of the effort or gaining from those efforts. Some human can learn to paint like Rembrandt or write like Shakespeare and they learn a lot in the process, but it takes years. AI mimics that process, following the human prompt to cull through Rembrandt’s art, critics comments on his techniques, etc. to produce something that passably is in the style of Rembrandt.
Where I do agree with you is that without a constant feed of new human creative efforts, which AI will stifle, that AI will then become repetitive, predictable and boring and the humans, having lost the gift of actually learning to reproduce Rembrandt or Shakespeare will struggle to re-learn how to create on their own.
All due respect, I couldn't disagree more and you even outline my reasons why:
"Some human can learn to paint like Rembrandt or write like Shakespeare and they learn a lot in the process, but it takes years."
It should take years!!! Where is the joy of discovery/creativity or the epiphany from using your brain, if a robot is doing all the work for you.
"AI will then become repetitive, predictable and boring and the humans, having lost the gift of actually learning to reproduce Rembrandt or Shakespeare will struggle to re-learn how to create on their own."
Exactly! Why on earth is that a good outcome? And now they are so accustomed to having a robot do everything, they won't bother. The dumbing down of our society is complete.
Hi Kelly, I would definitely take the advanced personal essay course. I would check out the videos, but I get a lot more from feedback during live zoom calls. Any chance we could do the calls once a week? I would be happy to pay more for your time. Also, do we do any readings (Joan Didion, James Baldwin, Zadie Smith, etc.) during these classes? I've found those to be helpful, too.
Thanks for reaching out to us. We need to support each other in these absurd times.
So the live course is a group course, which is why I haven’t run it recently. It was difficult to get the timing right for everyone. If you want to do it as an individual send me a DM and we can see if we can figure something out.
I can imagine the logistics for a live course are tough since you're in Australia. I'm working on some things and will let you know about the other. Thanks!
Hi Kelly. It saddens me to think that talented people like you are no longer able to make a living from writing. I looked at your packages and although not geared to me as a fiction writer, thought they looked incredibly good value.
Have you thought about offering editing to non-fiction writers? Just a thought.
I am seriously thinking about giving up my Substack. I have shown up regularly weekly and sometimes twice weekly and after 5 years have 342 subscribers! That sucks. OK - 6 very kind folk are paying subscribers and they are all happy for me to post monthly rather than weekly. I want to focus on my novel writing and there are only so many hours in the day. Substack is saturated with celebs and famous people who are pushing us little guys aside.
I think writing and getting published is tougher than ever and you really have to get your work noticed - great marketing is key.
I hope things pick up for you, Kelly and I have the greatest respect for you as a writer and mentor. Keep up the good work! 💪✍️📖
I'm getting the impression that what works here on substack is things that focus on community, so things like monthly live zoom calls or write in sessions where people can connect with each other and learn from you directly. So perhaps redesigning your current course to include a substack community aspect could be the way to go.
Just like anyone who has ever had a child believes they could easily do the job of a teacher, with the rise of AI, everyone believes that they can write using the powerful tools at their fingertips. Writing since AI isn’t about crafting the language, spelling well, or even building a story. I don’t think anyone has defined yet what it is. It is at the same point where the luddites attacked the automated weaving mills, not because the machines were taking jobs, but because they knew the customers would accept the cheaper, less refined, machine woven products. We appear to be at that point in the world of writing. Human attention spans have shrunk, fewer people read novels, more listen to audiobooks or even more to podcasts. The writers are saying “but people aren’t consuming our fine products, but they are consuming the automated crap even when it’s labeled as AI slop”.
AI has nothing to do with creative writing or the creative arts writ large. I have to believe, although I probably won't live long enough to see it, that eventually people will realize that. Unfortunately, the pain between now and then could be immeasurable.
I will disagree. For now, the AI can only generate text or art in response to a human prompt. The creativity remains in the human. AI is the shortcut path to putting in the effort. Learn how to ask the right questions of the AI and the AI does all the work of gathering resources, combing through them for salient information and then following examples of excellence already out there, to craft a document or art. It mimics what a human does but without the human making any of the effort or gaining from those efforts. Some human can learn to paint like Rembrandt or write like Shakespeare and they learn a lot in the process, but it takes years. AI mimics that process, following the human prompt to cull through Rembrandt’s art, critics comments on his techniques, etc. to produce something that passably is in the style of Rembrandt.
Where I do agree with you is that without a constant feed of new human creative efforts, which AI will stifle, that AI will then become repetitive, predictable and boring and the humans, having lost the gift of actually learning to reproduce Rembrandt or Shakespeare will struggle to re-learn how to create on their own.
All due respect, I couldn't disagree more and you even outline my reasons why:
"Some human can learn to paint like Rembrandt or write like Shakespeare and they learn a lot in the process, but it takes years."
It should take years!!! Where is the joy of discovery/creativity or the epiphany from using your brain, if a robot is doing all the work for you.
"AI will then become repetitive, predictable and boring and the humans, having lost the gift of actually learning to reproduce Rembrandt or Shakespeare will struggle to re-learn how to create on their own."
Exactly! Why on earth is that a good outcome? And now they are so accustomed to having a robot do everything, they won't bother. The dumbing down of our society is complete.