Writing.
Since uploading “The Unknown,” I have been hit with a barrage of rude comments. One person also suggested that I pursue a less harmful hobby.
You see… “The Unknown” is an entirely AI written fanfiction, and I made it a point to be upfront with that.
So… I’ll share the comments here and my responses.
And no, I’m not putting them on blast.
Them: “LLMs are trained on stolen literature – among other copyrighted material.* AI companies are getting the pants sued of them in court and they are losing badly. (I’m an IP adjacent attorney, so I follow this pretty closely.)
As a writer, please consider that these sorts things. AI fiction is not simply a curiosity, it is the output of an unhitherto known amount of stolen intellectual property. As one judge put it (although I paraphrase), the question of whether an AI can be considered a transformative use is still up in the air but stealing things has always been illegal.
* This includes visual art, pornography, film, music and I’m sure whatever they can grab.”
Me: “Ah… what does “unhitherto” mean?
Do you mean “immeasurable”?
“Hitherto” doesn’t mean… um… so…
Yeah, I found out that Musk’s AI generates pornographic material, which is horrifying. And by material, I mean pictures AND videos.
I wonder if they stole part of my novel. I wouldn’t be surprised. -_-
Thank you for not being rude. I only shared the story because I liked it. The insults I got made me want to up and leave writing again. Permanently.
I write as stress relief. And I have been writing creatively for over thirty years.
I’m also not so conceited as to make mean jabs at the quality of the writings of other people, even if I don’t agree with them or what they have uploaded.
Quality.
Or lack.
Thereof.”
Them: “Quite frankly, if you continue to post AI stories, perhaps you ought to find another outlet where you can be less destructive and hurtful.
Hitherto means until now. Unhitherto is perhaps an obscure construction but it means not before now. (It pops up in legal documents.)”
My Response? This: “Oh, okay. I wasn’t sure because none of the dictionaries I’ve used contain that form of the word. Not even collegiate dictionaries.
Thanks for your input too, but I don’t see using AI as writing at all. Prompts do not equal writing.
I write creatively as a hobby and stress relief.
I will continue to write my own fanfic, as I did before I shared this AI story.
I recently returned to writing after quitting abruptly, reuploaded a longfic and spat out an additional 4 chapters before going on a hiatus. In around a month. Those four chapters are not at all easy to write either.
I’ll explain further…
My form of writing involves me sitting for hours typing, printing and using a red pen to correct errors, then typing more. And back and forth. I have now lost two betas because a single chapter of NtC is over 10,000 words. I spend 2-3 hours editing each chapter. I also spend a lot of time researching (for that one) both medical terminology and actions… along with legalese. A lot of legalese. I research locations, and which characters I might include. If I write action scenes, I might have to draft it four or five times.
If I want to have a “preview” at the end of a chapter, that means I need to write at least half of the next chapter. I jot down ideas I might suddenly have if I can. And unfortunately, I get ideas of in a variety of places. So, ideas are typed on my phone, written on a sheet of paper or in a dedicated notebook. All are transferred to the notebook. I’ve also made audio recordings of myself stating a story idea. I scribble a summary to the notebook.
Each of my on-going stories have individual notebooks with numbered pages and tables of contents.
I have a rotating roster for ALL of my on-going fictions, save BtB, which will be placed alongside my longfic. So, if I want scenes from BtB in that other story, I have to pen out ALL of the details first.
Currently, I’m working on a long update for NtC. NtC is also the one that needs heavy chapter repairs. It is very slow going.
Because… SIZE.
NtC is the longfic. It has over 300,000 words, and I wrote every single one of them.
Spread between only 29 chapters.
Each of my stories also have their own associated folders, which include subfolders, notepad notes in them and other documents, including layout ideas (which use bullet points.) I print out these additional notes at 70% of their original size, cut off the excess, then tape and/or glue them inside the associated notebook.
—
Oh, and I have no notebook or roster spot for “The Unknown,” because I did not write it.
I’ll also explain what I mean by BtB and NtC, along with the rest.
NtC = Navigating the Curve
BtB = Before the Bend
OA = Open Arms
C&R = Catch & Release, I, II, and III (which has not yet started.)
E&C = Emerald & Crimson
I hope none of my other readers see this before it’s up, but BtB is a prologue. I’m working in Google Docs between a Windows PC and Linux Mint computer on BtB. I’m excited because I can drag the Linux into bed and leave the Windows PC where it is.
I have fallen asleep on the keyboard or in my office chair. I miss meals a lot during writing frenzies.
You are more than welcome to read any of my fanfictions. If you don’t want to, that’s fine though.
XXO
~J. Lyst”
Course, I never got a response to that.
I wonder why…
Now then… I’ll share a section from Chapter One of “Before the Bend,” which shows off the stress I put myself through to use somewhat correct dialogues. I have no legal background whatsoever.
“And that Your Honor,” Jennifer continued. “Is how we can tell for a certainty that my client had absolutely nothing to do with what “the Ruby Serpents” did the night of January 30th.” Pausing momentarily, Jen made brief eye contact with the jury. “We have the location ping from both his mobile phone and ankle bracelet. He didn’t go anywhere that night.”
Her client, a young grey-eyed blond, was trying to sit still–just as Miss Walters had instructed him. All the scrutiny was making him nervous. He wasn’t just fearful of the charges either. He knew the gang was already aware of the case. Should any of them continue to hold a grudge…
“He has had zero contact with any of the Serpents. He barely managed to get away.”
Her next pause was strategic as she turned to the defendant’s table. “I will direct the court to Exhibit B.” Walking to the easel near the table, she lifted the black cover over a large poster board.
Several of the jurors covered their eyes.
“As you can see,” Jennifer continued, pointing to the first images at the top–pictures of her client’s injured face . “As you can see, Mister Nickerson was brutally beaten for attempting to leave the Serpents,” Intelligent brown eyes turned to the jury again. “Right here,” she gestured to a document right next to the picture. “Is a copy of the medical report from the hospital that treated Mister Nickerson. It’s dated for December 27th, a little over a month before the events that unfortunately befell Mister Droni.”
“Objection, Your Honor, Relevance.” At the opposing table, the attorney representing the distraught family members of Mister Droni stood.
Suppressing a frown, frustrated at the interruption, Jennifer politely responded and turned her attention to the bench. “Your Honor, Mister Choi and his clients were provided with copies of Mister Nickerson’s discharge papers from the emergency room. On the second page, the extent of his injuries were recorded. My client sustained four broken ribs along with two breaks in his left femur.” Jennifer paused for a moment. “The police report taken from Mister Dronis regarding his injuries before he unfortunately succumbed indicated that the suspect ran away after and jumped a fence. The report also stated that this fence was six feet tall.”
Now, Jennifer looked directly at Mister Choi. “Having a broken leg and broken ribs mean it would be impossible for my client to run… let alone jump a fence. Also, at his listed height of five feet, seven inches, leaping a six foot high fence would be difficult even without the broken leg.”
Choi was quiet a moment before addressing the judge, “Your Honor, I withdraw my previous objection.” He resumed sitting.
Mm… Yeah! I love writing. I really do!
~J. Lyst
I’m also on a writing binge, rn. For Before the Bend. It’ll be cross-posted between AO3 and FanfictionNet.
Hey, Miss J! 
Your Thoughts?