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Weird to frame this in a way where using LLMs is the default way to write. Is this what we’ve come to as a species?
The whole point of writing is that im engaging internally with the process. Words are just words if Im not writing or reading them, completely vapid and inane. Anybody with half a brain who reads can tell writing from output. It has no soul because none was lent it.
The VAST majority of the world do not use AI for anything.
It’s not where we are as a species, it’s where a small subset of people are.
I don’t mean it like that
You shouldn’t write with ChatGPT. That’s easy
Is the problem motivation, or creativity? For motivation, there’s a reason writers in a coffeeshop is a cliche. It helps to get away from your regular situation and just have a notebook and a nice drink. Set a timer and that is your writing time. It doesn’t need to be good. You learn to write by doing it, a lot. You can go over it and edit later.
For creativity, read. Especially outside your normal interests. If you don’t read nonfiction or fiction, read some ones in the other space. Maybe a text about the history of sailing will inspire ideas for a mystery novel. You also learn what kind of writing you admire, and aspire to. What feels good in a sentence structure, and what doesn’t work for you.
Mostly, don’t hold too tightly to things if you’re just starting. Write a bunch of little stories, scenes, dialog. Maybe one of them you’ll love and want to polish up, but each time you write anything, you’re learning. Even if/especially if it sucks.
Sometime, find an art blog for someone you admire who’s been posting for years, and go back to the beginning and compare. Unless they’re an established professional since they started posting, you’ll notice a clear difference in quality. The same thing happens with writing.
That’s a broad question, man. People dedicate years of their lives learning to write. I don’t know if anybody on lemmy is going to be able to answer ‘what should I do to write?’ Stephen King said in his book ‘On Writing’: “If you don’t have time to read, then you don’t have time to write.” I would start with reading books, some of which could be about writing, and maybe taking some classes at your local community college. Khan Academy also has some free courses for writing, I think.
Octavia Butler has an essay that makes the same key point as Stephen King: read and write. It’s the same as any other skill. If you’re a musician, you listen to music and play your instrument. If you want to draw, you watch people draw, observe their process, and you draw. If you’re a welder, you watch people weld, study the process, and you weld.
Storytelling, however, is very broad. You see it on tv, in movies, in books, and you practice in daily conversation. There are loads of books and videos discussing different aspects of storytelling structure, form, and best practices. The Great Courses even has a lecture series on storytelling. But the best thing you can do is read and write. And ask for feedback.
I’ve read that one! Her advice on not relying on inspiration but, instead, relying on habit is good advice for any skill.
This is the second unhelpfully vague question you’ve posed today about writing.
So it would seem the first thing you need to do is to look up resources on effective communication and on accurately identifying problems/goals. Because I’m unclear as to whether the problem is that you don’t know what you’re looking for when asking these questions, or that you do know and for some reason assume that we can read your mind and know it too even without your properly describing it.
I would get into fanfiction, both reading and writing. Places like Ao3 are so batshit insane, that they sort of force you to recalibrate creativity for yourself.
Just write for fun, don’t carry any baggage about turning it into something serious or long term. You’ll randomly get feedback to improve (some good and some bad) and soon you’ll recognize what you value in feedback and what you don’t.
You’ll also start recognizing stories that you like and that you don’t like. Use those moments as opportunities to really sit and figure out why you like and don’t like those stories. Imagine how you would improve them or write them differently.
Eventually, you’ll find that you have your own ideas, your own voice, and opinions on what makes a piece good or bad.
… as someone in his 40s, this post makes me irrationally angry. Write. Don’t know what to write? Write something, anything, anyway until it starts to go somewhere. Read more, both authors you like/admire and maybe something you don’t to see what else is around.
Just start writing whatever you want.
I am not a writer myself, so take this with a grain of salt, but it might be better to just start writing things down in a short framework, even if elements of the story are missing or incomplete. Like you may think about a specific scene/situation so you can jot that down, then you might write something like “there would be a problem that caused X character to be here” just to have a placeholder so later you can come back and replace it with something.
Also consider that studies have shown physical activity can help stimulate your mind. So maybe go for a walk to think about your story or what you want from it
If you wabt help training yourself to not rely on chatgpt, you can use youtube’s search bar and type things like “how to deprogram chatGPT usage” or “how to write without AI”
