Writing to Reflect Thought
We were sitting in the cafeteria of a multiple service provider in the heart of Fort Lauderdale swampland in 2017. My friend Daniel criticized me for trying to post daily. He was right on many fronts. My short, often typo-laden posts, could seem trite and rushed. From the angle of impactful writing, getting views, and doing research, posting daily didn’t move the needle.
I was thinking again about this conversation in relation to people using ChatGPT to help with writing. There is defiitely purpose to using generative AI for writing, but mostly to enhance the language and provide criticism. It can be a great coach for writing. However, to generated ideas for writing, it’s shortcutting and offloading an important process that is really important — forcing the writer to sit, think, and contemplate ideas. Sure, we can offload this but what are we doing with that “freed up” time? Are we contemplating something else or watching a TikTok?
We need time for quiet contemplation. We need to sit with ideas and be our own generative beings. This is why I post.
There are many corollary benefits, some of them vain. I get a record of my work, I have something that shows up in others’ feeds and says “hey, look at me!”, and if someone likes, fans, or highlights some of my writing, I’m totally tickled. But, ultimately, idea spreading is selfish endeavor and it is meat to keep the idea generator alive.
