r/Valentino_Cult

Hey! You seated comfortably? Got your bag of pork rinds and/or sandwich?

Greeeeeat!

So let's talk about AI. This one is specifically towards any fic writers that are using AI to generate their fics. Namely those who are generating entire fics with AI, or using the AI to largely generate their ideas, character arcs, etc.

Though you non-AI users can also stick around, this might give you some more firepower to use.

To bring y'all up to speed, it's been found recently that if you copy/paste text from Claude (and indeed even other LLMs it seems like), and into AO3's Rich Text Editor, there's leftover code from Claude that you can then use Inspect Elements to search for. There's even a skin for AO3 now that turns the screen red if the code is detected.

Inb4 you think you're slick and clean that code somehow, be careful, because other LLMs have their own sneaky ways of signaling it's AI generated -- Gemini has SynthID, for example. And no, "cleaning" the code out won't get rid of SynthID.

So, AI fic writers, let's have a chat. I'm not gonna moral grandstand, or judge, or call you lazy, or do any of that crap.

Look, I can get it, right? Let me guess a few reasons why: it's faster, maybe you think it's more efficient, or that its prose is better than yours, or it can pace better than you, put the puzzle pieces of the story better, etc. You can go from an idea to a few chapters written in the span of what, an hour? And hey! You got fans on AO3! Clearly what you're doing is good enough?

So let me hit you with this: In Donald Maas' The Fire In Fiction, he begins by talking about two types of writers he notices (Maas owns a publishing company, you see). You have the storyteller and the status seeker.

The storyteller is driven by the innate desire to write. To tell stories. They do like to get the likes, the book deals, the money. But all that's secondary to that desire to tell stories; all just a means to an end, the end being I want, no NEED to tell stories. They want to tell stories the best they can. And if their craft needs work, they hop to it, because better theory and craft mean better stories.

The status seeker, on the other hand, only wants fame. Writing is a means to an end for them. They don't care about craft, or theory, or symbolism. Unless it feeds into them getting fame. If their story needs work, they do the bare minimum to get it sufficient enough. They're floaters.

So, much like Maas does at the end of that intro, I ask which one you are. I won't make assumptions. This is for you to stop and think about. Why are you having the AI do all of the heavy lifting of writing for you? Be honest with yourself.

Now, if you're a storyteller, drop the LLM and learn how to write on your own, goddammit.

I can hear it now -- "Tara! You said you won't judge!" I'm not! Hear my hope me out.

No matter what you think, and this is speaking as someone who entered the lion's den and experimented with LLMs themself, AI will ALWAYS be second best to a human writer. Even if it seems shaper, smarter, brighter, newer, it's second best. Sure it can churn out a chapter faster than any human alive can, but I personally believe that, when matched up with even a mid tier writer, the writer has better command of craft and theory than the AI can even hope to have.

LLMs are tools. They're not do it all quick done machines, no matter what those dumbass AI bros will tell you. And if you don't know theory and craft, then you don't even know if those tools are telling YOUR story the best it can be told! But all that takes time to learn, you say.

Well shucks, that's life. Anything worth doing will take time. but let me tell you, dear AI Fic writer, that if you commit yourself to learning theory and craft, then anything you write when you put finger to keyboard will straight up BLOW an AI's generated material out of the water. Yes that's right, YOU who may doubt your own ability to bring your ideas to reality can learn how to do it and outclass an LLM's story any day of the week and twice on Sinsmas.

No, you don't need to be like Uncle-Aunt Tara and get a fancy BA in English (with an option in creative writing). Just get some books on writing. The Fire in Fiction and Writing the Breakout Novel by Donald Maas are great and filled with tons of good examples. Characters and Viewpoint by Orson Scott Card is a EXCELLENT starting point for learning what you need to about creating, developing, and managing characters. You also got Alice LaPlante's The Making of a Story.

Find books on writing. Read them. Do it however you have to, I don't care. But for the love of all that is holy and unholy, if you're like me and you want to tell the best damn stories you can, learn that craft and theory. Write your fiction with your own two hands. Do your characters and concepts proud.

Yes your first few stories might suck. That's okay! We've all been there! But that's how you get better, honestly. You write it out, read it and go "hmm. Okay for next time, I'll try this and that".

But let me tell ya buddy, when you come up with awesome characters, thrilling scenes, and twists that even surprise you....when you come up with a moment for your character where you start feeling so bad for them you cry with them...

...An AI can only DREAM it can give you that experience.

Just because Valentino’s from Florida, I don't really see him owning a gator as a pet. Rather he'd have gator skin pants or something like that. But personally for me, I could see Val owning some kind of tropical cat. Like a jaguar or a black panther. Or some kind of fancy bird like a peacock. But what do think what kind of pet would Val own?