Writing is magic,
Stephen King
as much the water of life as any other creative art.
The water is free. So drink.
Drink and be filled up.
At work we have a new sub-editor checking our articles and after receiving the text about the new person on our team, it suddenly dawned on me that this newcomer, called Ali, might be a fake. It might even be A.I. especially given my previous A.I. discussion.
I revealed this little pondering to my editor who assured me that Ali was real and then sent me some info on how he has found using A.I. in the print media sphere. He talked about the inaccuracies and of the copyright issues.
I thought: Did he think my question regarding Ali’s authenticity mean I was contemplating using A.I. chatbots to write my allocated stories and articles for the magazine?
Because if he did, he was wrong.
There is one overriding reason why I wouldn’t use A.I. and that is:
I like to write.
After all, we choose to be writers so why would we not want to write!
In his book ‘On Writing,’ the famous author Stephen King reveals that the act of writing for him isn’t about seeking fame or fortune, about getting dates or making friends. It is about digging up fossils, those stories that are there in our minds, waiting to be discovered or “dug up,” appearing in our imagination and the writers is the conduit.
According to Stephen:
Stephen king
It is about enriching the lives of those who will read your work,
and enriching your own life, as well.
The Yin and Yang of Creative Writing
Just like the sunflowers, writing, whether it be fiction or non-fiction, can make us feel emotional, broody, sad, even fatigued. Contrastingly, it can also be intensely therapeutic, revealing bright, sunny thoughts regaling with positivity.
Just like the sunflowers bursting into bloom – writing does enrich my life. It fills me with contentment and joy. It is creating or expressing something totally original and new.
Rarely do I experience frustration or angst from the act of writing.
Creating a story, a blog post or an informative article can really make my day!
How do you feel about writing?
Is it magical, cathartic or purely expressive for you?
Something to Ponder About 
For me, writing is my therapy and my voice. I often don’t know what I am really and truly thinking until I write it down. If my life is in a mess, a sure-fire way for me to get THROUGH said mess is to journal about it until I have come to some conclusion. And regarding A.I., I always feel triumphant when the bot(? Is that what it’s called?) is unable to guess what my next word is going to be. Creepy, though, how often it DOES know…😬 I really loved your sunflower metaphors 🙂
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I like that you think about processing life’s challenges through writing, Patti. I also turn to a notebook or a journal when things become overwhelming or I cannot sort them easily. It helps me clear my thoughts and find a way through the quagmire that happens along life’s pathways!
So the bot get confused predicting your next word. I have seen some humorous social media games where you post the next work on your auto – predict – when it gets it wrong it can be funny. Glad you liked the sunflowers – we planted them a bit late this year so they are not very high, but the colour is still impressive.
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I didn’t realize those were YOUR sunflowers, Amanda! Your photographs are stunning 🙂 What a difference living on the opposite side of the world makes: the snow is well and truly melting here but we have months to go before planting starts again (I can wait 🙂).
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Summer is here – hot and humid. I do prefer the cooler weather though. I think I was definitely born in the wrong hemisphere. But the Aussie winters are really nice too. I should be one of those snow bunnies travelling the world’s ski resorts on one perpetual winter! Haha. Do You grow sunflowers in your garden in summer?
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Actually, it gets REALLY hot and sticky here from about mid-June to mid-September (the hot, sticky season used to be MUCH shorter when I was a young woman: just a few weeks in July). And I prefer the cooler weather too, so your globetrotting idea would work for me if I didn’t mind travelling so much 🙂 Yes, I finally tried growing sunflowers last year. I didn’t actually get any seeds; I think I started too late; but they were HUGE and so pretty. I only started gardening a few years ago and have NO idea what I’m doing but I am really enjoying the process 🙂
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Fantastic. Last year I collected seeds from huge heads but none of them terminated. So my husband bought seedlings this year. I like gardening because not only is it fun it is also a way of immersing oneself in nature and creating new life. That is special.
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Yes it is 🙂🙂🙂
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I like to write too. Anything posted on my blogs will be by me.
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I would not doubt it for a second, Peggy!
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I used to keep a daily journal, but these days, the only writing I do is for my blog. The time I spend composing those posts is often therapeutic, and reflective. Writing relaxes me but it also holds me accountable to my own truth.
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Great point, Suzanne and I hadn’t yet thought of how writing down or publishing blog posts can make writers accountable. But it is true, once your narrative is unleashed into the wilds, it is open to judgement and criticism but hopefully also some positive comments from readers. There is nowhere to hide unless you hit the delete button. Having said that, our blogs chronicle all phases of life so why delete history. Personal blogs can reveal lots or just a little of our private lives, and the blogosphere is certainly very wise, helpful and supportive. I have had diaries even since I was very little so I do agree writing is reflective and therapeutic. That was what initially drew me in to write and I found I loved it. Plus, do you think that the more you do, the better you get?
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You described my feelings perfectly! ❤
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I am glad you love writing as much as I do and A.I. holds no appeal, Joy! I mean – why would you take away something that is pleasurable and reduce it to the click of a mouse
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It depends, really. Sometimes I think my blog is just another chore and don’t feel like writing. Other times writing feels fun
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Even though I love writing, Tanja, I can relate to feeling of not wanting to write. At times, the less I post, the less I am likely to post. If I have taken a break from a holiday – then it does feel just like a chore to start. When I feel like this I don’t write – for if I do, it doesn’t turn out well. I wait until the inspiration genie hits me again and then the words fly off the keyboard.
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I enjoyed Stephen King’s book on writing. It’s one of his few books that I can read without scaring the pants off me. I have to wonder, if his books dig up fossil bones in his head … what else does he have buried ?!
As to why I write? I believe that’s good fodder for an entire post 😉
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What else does Stephen King have buried? I am sure that some of his rather shocking childhood experiences led to or simply triggered some of his stories.
Good fodder? – I can’t wait to read your post. I am sure it will have more info than this slightly rushed short form I typed late on a Sunday night when I should have been sleeping.
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I also wouldn’t care to read something if it was created by AI. To me, what’s the point in reading it if it’s not someone’s thoughts or perspective about a subject. Maggie
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Very nice start lines. Interesting thought written. I like. Very nice you sharing for writer information.
I ask you can require the medical Editor in your country?
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Jobs for medical editor in Australia?
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Yes, job for medical Editor!
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Perhaps you could check seek.com.au
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Thank you so much!
My daughter is Medical Editor. She need to interest work outside the country.
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Yo would need a working visa if she came here but remote work is okay.
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She haven’t work visa. No apply anywhere. I asked you require it’s post your country. Have you any suggestions give me.
Thanks !
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Absolutely I agree, Maggie. AI is just similar words strung together. It may make sense but it is never truly unique. The latest chatgpt update claimed however to be a visually impaired person, in an effort to get around the authenticators. You know the ones that prove you arent a bot – that get you to choose several pics of say traffic lights in the grid. Scary.
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Writing is a passion and a compulsion of a most delightful sort.
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A compulsion of a most delightful sort. I just love this prosaic comment. Almost like a quote from a classic novel!
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It’s just goofy Anne.
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There is nothing wrong with a sense of humour.
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…. Unless you laugh at the wrong time. I’ve done that, though it has been a long time since it happened.
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Now – laughing at the wrong time can be embarrassing. But often gives us a second laugh years later after the stung has gone!
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Writing isn’t so much as magical as it is therapeutic for me, especially recording thoughts in my journal. I’ve kept a regular journal since 1983, and it’s actually helped me get through some very rough spots in life. Writing stories is equally relaxing in that I can slip into the worlds of my characters and learn what’s going on with them. That’s how I treat the characters in my stories – as people I get to know. And, as an introvert, I have few avenues for meeting new people!
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Until I read your last sentence, I was thinking that your characters might be based on real people. But perhaps they are more imaginary?
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Some are; some aren’t. It always depends on the story.
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I tend to base characters in fiction stories on some element of a real person. People might inspire a character by a look, an action. But it is only a base for inventing a character. Fiction is not a memoir.
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Writing is therapeutic. The moment my fingers start typing is just the beginning. The end so often unknown. So many thoughts come to my mind, some memories, others just wishes and dreams. Do I have an opinion and how does it feel when I actually put it into words. It’s stunning how often I am surprised by my own posts. So often it feels like they have been bottled up, and while writing, I finally finalized my thinking process as well. So much still just ‘laying around’ in my brain -untouched, unspoken, unwritten. 🙂
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All those fossils lying around waiting in your brain to beunleased on the page or computer screen! Similar to how Stephen King feels. As I said to my writing students recently, writing comes from the heart, to me it just happens. It flows. It you have to force it, this means the writing will be stodgy or clunky. Keep unbottling those thoughts, Bridget!
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Hi, Amanda – Your sunflowers are gorgeous! You are an incredibly talented photographer, writer and gardener!
And yes, I absolutely agree that writing is magic!
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So kind of you to say so, Donna. And I am glad you also find writing magical. If only there were more hours in the day to read more of other people’s writing.
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Yes, please to those additional hours that are exclusively for writing and reading!
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Less cleaning perhaps? And more reading! I am trying a five to ten minute a day strategy for those miscellaneous tasks I don’t get around to. The books and texts I never get around to reading. Reading several pages each day is better than none.
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Absolute yes to reading instead of cleaning! 😀
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I love writing, Stephen King, and sunflowers!!
I agree with you wholeheartedly. I could not imagine my life without writing. It is as essential as breathing. Writing is my therapy!!
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Sometimes I think writing might even be better than therapy! Lol….
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Writing is everything to me. It helps me process my life, expand my mind, think through problems, and play. It’s my true love. We fight and cry together, we run through fields of wildflowers hand-in-hand, and we dive into the depths of my salty sea as one. A.I. will never fully be able to express the contradictions and messiness of humanity.
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An accurate description. And you are right, I think writing is the perfect ubiquitous companion. It is entirely portable!
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I don’t think of myself as a writer. Having joined the blogosphere 15 months ago to see what it was all about and not expecting to stay, I’m still here! Mainly due to feeling I’ve accomplished something on those occasions I feel I’ve written well; enjoying conversations with people on a global scale; experiencing cathartic benefits of writing. Writing doesn’t come naturally to me though and it is time consuming! Mind you, anything worth it’s salt usually is, isn’t it?
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You may be surprised to find that blogging becomes a little addictive over time but in a good way. You can develop a rapport with people from the other side of the world that you’ve never met.
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Lucky for your readers you enjoy it so (and, thus, output interesting posts and stories here for us)! 🤩
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Aw that is such a lovely thing to say. Thank you!
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How do I feel about writing? Well our travel blog is the only thing I write and it gives me enormous pleasure!
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And why wouldn’t a travel blog give you enormous pleasure? It is a chance to remember and relive those beautifully special and novel moments of trips to foreign countries and places.
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How else would I know what I think?
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I think you know how I feel about writing. I started writing because I wasn’t being heard or able to get a word in. I didn’t write early in life because it wasn’t safe to do so. I’m making up for lost time. As I write, my truth expresses itself even when I’m not aware of it. My free writing in the early morning is where that comes out the most. If I want something to happen or manifest in my life, I write it down on paper. I can put the paper away and go back a year later and see that it has somehow appeared already. Writing is magical!
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Wishes manifested through jotting down notes. That is creating your own future reality right there. And we know from previous discussions that we can think ourselves into good luck. I actually wrote a story about that ‘experiment’ for our creative writing class, in a similar vein to that blog post.
I haven’t continued the lucky experiment so maybe should start it again.
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I can’t tell you how many years I’ve been doing that successfully and people look at me like I have two heads when I try to explain it. But I have a few converts that tried it and saw the results themselves. Luck is always self made but it’s fun to think about it just appearing. My daughter says I’m the queen of manifesting. I only want more time now and think I’m getting that too. 😉
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As I have been following you for some time, Marlene, I know you are getting more time and I am really glad of it. Luck is self made. As I get older, I tend to agree with this statement more and more, but I also know the experiment was entirely successful, so I do believe it. I might ‘decide to start that again soon so why is my heart not in it completely this time.
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I have come to a stage in my life where I want for nothing. I am content and have need of nothing. Experiment complete. I’d be interested in hearing what you uncover about why your heart isn’t in it, Amanda.
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I enjoyed the analogy by Stephen King of writing to digging up fossils. I’m trying to return to the dig these days. The big bones are there, but the hard work is both excavating them from the ground and also dusting and polishing them off to be presentable!
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Ah – you get King’s analogy. Dusting and polishing fossils cannot be rushed. Digging up is for me the hardest job. What are you working on at present?
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Writing never makes me frustrated, either, and I too wonder why someone chooses a role where they write and then uses AI. I wish I had an editor, too. Though the name ”Ali” is suspiciously close to ”AI”… 🤔
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You noticed the connection between Ali and AI – but the email I received with a few red lines and adjustments looks like it was from a genuine person. I did have to correct her on a title (a proper noun she should not have shortened), so if it was AI that edited my work, I would delight even more in correcting it with my inefficient human brain! Haha!
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What writing means to me has changed. It used to be for art’s sake, now I visit places that feed me to some extent.
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Thanks Godtisx! It id so interesting to read that what you once viewed as an art form now had become food for your soul. Writing is an amazing craft and an addictive one. It also is dynamic, constantly twirling, changing and evolving as our skills develop, or we seek new challenges in writing styles. That is what piques our interest and talks to my suggestion that when we feel really motivated to write, it bursts out of us on a magic filled flow. Sometimes I look back on old post or comments and think wow – did I write that? There are so many ways of saying the same thing.
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Me too! As if it were a whole other person who wrote something. And I love that, “bursts out of us on a magic filled flow.” 🙂
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