My untitled novel.

Of course it was Lance!! I should have seen that coming.

and 7 years ago

Hey these things don't just disappear you know.

Was just thinking about this today. I wrote the whole first draft and had started to go back through the manuscript to clean it all up but never finished it. Even got a cover designed!

Maybe one of these days I will make the time and have the patience to do it. The creative part is fun, the editing part is very tedious!

Not many writers seem to think the writing process is a joy.  Kids often think it's a joy because they don't realize what shit they're writing; adults have to pound their heads to turn it into something worth reading.

yep lots of head pounding happens. editing is a pain in the bum.

I really enjoyed the creative process. I just want someone else to puck it up and clean up the language, inconsistencies and other crap that requires attention to that detail.

I tried to! I even got a book cover designed!

I like editing.

But I figure after one has pored over something enough times it would drive one crazy to try again.

I like editing other people's work, not mine.

{{ I've a ton of stuff you two can happily edit Halfy and Forest! I hate editing, I find it a very difficult process as not only am I a dyslexic typer but I find when I read back my own stuff I often see what I know should be there rather than seeing the typo or other error that is there. Its very annoying as it means concentrating very hard on each individual word rather than reading in the normal fashion. I liken it to the difference between writing, driving a very good expensive sports car on amazing roads, and editing, taking the entire car apart down to individual screws and checking each one over for any possible flaw. I prefer driving and Im not a great mechanic! }}

I think the key to editing your own work is you have to put it aside long enough to forget what you wrote. Otherwise as you say you glide over your own words without actually seeing them; the intended meaning is too strong in your mind to see what's actually on the page.

It might be like seeing yourself in the mirror vs in a photo. When you are surveying your active self you don't see the wrinkles and sags that are frozen in time in a photo. when reading something freshly written the mind is still actively working it, so you don't see the frozen details.

8 years should be enough but I still don't want to do it!!

I think rather than editing what you want to do is look at it as an outline: you've figured out the plot and characters, now rewrite it in a style that you like better. It should flow easier since all the technical details have been worked out. Look over each chapter to get it in your head then rewrite from scratch.

just pay someone to do it.

Mrs Figg wrote:just pay someone to do it.

That's costs about £1 per word.

you can get AI to do it,

https://renaissancerachel.com/best-ai-novel-writing-software/#:~:text=You%20can%20use%20AI%20as,it%20more%20readable%20for%20readers.

Yeah... not so much.

We mess about with A.I. for work stuff and it's still pretty cringey in those kinds of areas. Probably not for too much longer though.

I think AI means the end of human intelligence. People will be too lazy to stop use their brains and AI will take over.

Already happened. Ask your typical teenager to add 17 + 9. They'll pull out their phone and start punching the calculator.

AI is the biggest threat to humanity, I dont know why on earth they are allowing this.

That's almost like saying photography was the greatest threat to visual art. What happened is the artists moved from trying to recreate reality to something more abstract.

I'm not a believer in "the computer will free up our brain to do less mundane tasks" because I've seen kids who no longer understand algebra because they no longer understand basic arithmetic. But I do believe in the computer freeing us up from (mundane X excess labor) tasks such as mass mailing so we have time to stretch our brain into other things.

Right now the internet has freed us up from checking things in reference books, which means we no longer have to compare knowledge and apply common sense to figure something out when such reference books are not readily available. It has made things faster at the cost of some common knowledge and sense. I think AI will have a similar effect, and we'll find a new equilibrium where we know where to apply AI and where our own special human talents lay.

{{ I see the Israeli government has already started using Ai to attack Palestinians with and to plot theior next moves and attacks. I find that very worrying as the Ai will only work stuff out according to the parameters its set, and Israel is already a government that thinks blowing up an eentire building full of civilians and families to get 1 Hamas leader is justifiable, so what sor tof 'collatoral damage' perimeters do they give their AI when it comes to Palestinian civilains, presumably 'treat them no better than cockroaches" which would be in line with how the Israeli govt already thinks of Palestinians (I wonder if theyve asked it how to make their imaginary Messiah appear!) }}

They kill and overuse force, but at least they don't torture or disappear people. If they weren't a religious state there might be hope of convincing them to give up the occupied territories in exchange for peace, and Israel could become a bright light in the middle east. Not much hope of that, though.

AI will destroy human creativity and there wont be any point to studying or writing anything anymore.