(note: the above featured image is taken from the NaNoWriMo Statement on Artificial Intelligence and does not reflect my views)
I tend not to bring the dramas of the writing and publishing community onto this blog because it’s more of my space to talk about my goals and accomplishments. Also, I tend to try to steer clear of any drama because I find it upsets my creative equilibrium. but seeing how I’ve been open about my participation in NaNoWriMo in previous years, have had it listed on my Writing Resources page, and have promoted it to my writing friends in the past, I thought I’d better make my current stance on NaNoWriMo clear:
I no longer support NaNoWriMo.
I no longer donate to NaNoWriMo or buy NaNoWriMo merch.
I do not agree with NaNoWriMo’s statement that being against the use of generative AI is inherently classist and ableist.
Even prior to the statement NaNoWriMo put out this week about their stance on Artificial Intelligence, I had already planned not to participate again due to the board’s mishandling of child grooming allegations on the NaNoWriMo Forums and the board’s decision to get rid of MLs (Municipal Liaisons – volunteers who have worked within their regions to organize in-person and on-line writing meet-ups during the month of November), among a growing list of concerns.
Others have outlined the aforementioned events in a much more knowledgeable and detailed way than I currently have time to do so I recommend checking out the following for more information:
NaNoWriMo and Artificial Intelligence
I do, however, want to talk about where I stand on generative AI.
I do not use it.
I have never used it.
I consider using generative AI counter to my goals as a writer.
That said, I do not condemn those writers who use it as a brainstorming or worldbuilding tool, so long as they don’t use it to do their actual writing for them and they tweak the AI-generated ideas to make them their own. Personally, I derive satisfaction from the process of writing and not the end product. I enjoy worldbuilding and brainstorming—bending my brain around new puzzles gives me a sense of pride and accomplishment that’s almost more satisfying than selling and publishing a story. I know not everyone is a process-driven writer and that’s okay. Every writer has different things they like about being a writer. I’m just a process nerd.
But, quite frankly, if you want to be a writer but don’t want to do the actual work of writing all it says to me is that you do not value the hard work involved in the creative process and you do not value writers as creatives deserving of respect for what they do. Therefore, if you use generative AI to do your writing for you, I cannot respect you.
What has NaNoWriMo said about AI?
Let’s break that down.
Classism.
Yes, it is true that it requires a certain level of financial privilege to be able to afford to hire a professional editor. However, it is disingenuous to imply that the only way to get feedback and review of your work is to pay for it. Outside of writing workshops (most of which provide scholarship opportunities), I have never paid money for review. My experience has been one centered around exchange: I ask a friend to provide feedback on a story and later on down the line I will provide feedback in turn. It’s a reciprocal relationship.
And would the editorial feedback provided by AI actually useful? I doubt it. I used to pay for a Grammarly subscription, but stopped because the AI generated rewrite suggestions were frankly terrible. I’m not alone in this stance. I’ve had writing professor friends who’ve had to ban their students from using Grammarly Premium because it has started making their writing worse. Does AI have any ability to accurately access tension, pacing, character development, narrative satisfaction, or any number of subjective writing elements? Not that I’ve seen. Those are the kinds of things I want feedback on as a writer.
So, if you can’t afford professional feedback, find community. There are writers in virtually every nook and cranny of the internet: Facebook, Tumblr, Threads, Reddit, and Scribophile (a free online writing community centered around giving and receiving feedback on your writing). I’m sure there are others. The point is, that if you are genuinely looking for feedback, you can find it without needing to pay a professional editor for it.
Ableism.
I’m a low-support needs Autistic person. Personally, I don’t think this impacts my writing ability other than the fact that writing is one of my special interests. I cannot, however, speak to the experiences of other disabled writers whose disabilities may impact their physical or intellectual abilities as they relate to writing. What I have seen is the online backlash from disabled writers who feel insulted by NaNoWriMo’s statement and the implication that they cannot write without resorting to using technology that steals the work of their fellow writers.
I can see how other forms of AI are helpful to disabled writers such as speech-to-text programs, but that is not generative. The writer is still creating their own work in their own words.
Overall, I do not feel like I am in a position to speak to this point from a place of knowledge or experience and so I will defer to the views of those who can do so.
General Access Issue.
Again, this reads as a bad-faith argument to me. Any writer who has access to generative AI will also have access to other, non-AI resources. Using the very real issues of institutionalized racism, classism, and other kinds of discrimination that are present within the publishing industry to support the use of generative AI does not serve to address the underlying issues. You know what does actually address these issues:
- Publishers having dedicated submission windows for writers from marginalized communities;
- Scholarship and Grant opportunities for writers from marginalized communities; and
- Small presses that focus on publishing niche writing and the work of writers from marginalized communities.
This statement reminds me of something that happened at the Nebulas Conference. This wasn’t during a panel but during an evening informal social circle. I wound up stuck in a conversation with a person who was pro-generative AI (at a writer’s conference!? Weird, right?). Their argument was that generative AI was going to be the next great equalizing technology, that it would allow people without access to education to tell their stories. And on the surface, this seemed like a reasonable argument in defense of generative AI. But my first thought upon hearing what they said was, “wouldn’t it be a better use of our resources to expand access to education?” To my mind, arguing that AI will help people tell their own stories sounds like putting a Band-Aid on a gaping chest wound and not an actual solution to the real problem which is underfunded education systems and systemic discrimination. Generative AI is not going to fix the fundamental flaws in our society. It’s up to people to do that.
So yeah, wouldn’t it be better to provide greater accessibility to writers from low socioeconomic backgrounds and disabled writers by strengthening community ties and broadening access to educational and publishing opportunities through scholarships and grants? Then you are providing a foundation upon which these writers can stand. Something Something about teaching men to fish versus giving a man a fish.
What is NaNoWriMo For?
Everything that NaNoWriMo has put into their statement ignores the very purpose of why NaNoWriMo was created in the first place: to provide a community where writers could challenge themselves to write 50 thousand words in 30 days during the month of November. The point of NaNoWriMo is to put in the work and write those 50 thousand words. The board is basically telling everyone who’s struggled for years to achieve that goal – many of whom aren’t able to – that their effort is worth the same as someone who uses AI to generate the same number of words. The statement is an invalidation of years of effort put in by a community that spans the globe. It’s insulting and it’s disingenuous, especially in light of the fact that NaNoWriMo has a sponsor that sells generative AI writing products.
If anyone else has any thoughts on this issue, I’d be interested in hearing them in the comments so long as they’re presented in a respectful manner.
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