duckprintspress

the first in a series of guest posts by Rascal Hartley.

editor’s note: Duck Prints Press is highly anti-gen-AI in all usages, but we recognize it’s very easy to say “don’t do that” and very hard, for people who have gotten used to using a tool, to actually stop. That is the spirit behind this series of posts: not simply “don’t do that,” but a concrete guide for people who have gotten into the habit of using generative AI to do their heavy lifting and want to stop but aren’t sure how to do so. We encourage people who have not ever used generative AI to continue to not do so, but also, we want to arm people who have used this tool and no longer want to with the tools and supports they need to stop. We recognize that “just stop” is rarely helpful advice for people habituated to a poor practice, and that is the why we are making these posts. You, person using genAI who doesn’t want to but isn’t sure how to break away: you can quit. And these posts can help.

Hi! I’m glad you’re here.

I want to start off by removing some of the overwhelm of approaching writing on your own. Writing can feel like a huge beast to tackle, but it isn’t. I promise it isn’t. It can be broken down into steps, and, if we’re being honest, sometimes you can skip some of them. It all boils down to what is needed to tell the story you want to tell.

That is not to say that this will be easy, but it is possible.

Let me assure you, firstly, that perfect grammar and spelling are not required. Editors exist for a reason, and the reason is that the burden does not fall to you. All you have to do is write. We will cover basic editing in a later blog, but for this one, I really just want to hammer home one point:

It should not be perfect.

Writing feels overwhelming because there is so much to do, and “all of it needs to be done to a certain standard” only makes it harder. But it doesn’t need to be. To repurpose a line from one of my favorite fanfics (that link will take you to Bilbo/Thorin smut, just fyi), “There is no room for perfection in a good story.”

AI makes (mostly) technically correct works. It makes them “good enough,” and it makes them fast. The result is there soon after you have the idea. That’s pretty hard to beat. Every writer I know has expressed the wish to just take an idea from their head and transpose it instantly onto paper, which makes the anti-AI stances seem kinda hypocritical, right?

Except I don’t want someone else’s words on that paper. If I did, I’d hire a ghost writer. I want my own words there. And if you’re here, I think you do, too. If you’re here, you have a story worth telling, and you want to tell it yourself. And that is scary. Stepping away from the easy way to do things the way they should be done is really, really scary.

But that’s okay.

We’ll do it scared.

Over this blog series, I’m aiming to guide you in going from idea to finished draft. But bear in mind that, though you’re not using AI to do it, you’re not doing it alone. There is a wonderful community of writers out there who will cheer you on and offer help. Rope in your friends, your pets, and your rubber ducky (seriously, THE best writing companion you could have) and remind yourself that you CAN write a story.

After all, we’re humans. We invented stories.