While I do not post videos on TikTok, I do follow the #booktok conversations going on over there. I do this for a number of reasons, not the least of which is to discover what readers are enjoying and get some book recommendations for my reading pile. I’ve gotten several books from these videos and many of them are quite delightful.
Maybe one day I will post a video of my own highlighting a review or two.
Big Maybe.
The other reason I follow BookTok is to keep myself abreast of the current goings on and wider impact that novels are having on society. Which is good because writing is a very lonely venture most days and if I don’t pay attention then I could write something that people would consider blind to current events. Such as the current issues revolving around National Novel Writing Month, which has saddened me to no end.
If you’re not familiar with what’s going on with National Novel Writing Month, suffice to say that I hope they tighten their security for the youth who may still frequent that site. I find that error from 2023 far more egregious than the AI conversation they’re in now, but I do have thoughts on the use of AI insofar as the creation of written works goes.
I try not to judge other people for their choices. Lord knows that’s not my job. I’ve got enough to deal with for myself without judging anyone else, so let’s put that out there first, alright? So everything I’m about to say, know that it comes from a place of honest self-reflection as to why I personally won’t use AI in writing.
Any writer will tell you that writing is hard.
It’s really hard.
Most days I feel like a complete nincompoop and illiterate when staring at the blank page before me. But the truth is, I will never get better as a writer if I don’t do the work. If I am not brainstorming my own creations, then my imagination will stop developing on its own. If am not putting the hours in with words on the page, then my use of language will never develop.
For me, AI cuts a creative corner that will severely hinder my ability to craft my works.
That’s not even getting into the conversation about where AI learns to “write” too.
Reminder, this is not coming from a place of judgement, but those are my two cents on the matter.
There are other controversies swinging around BookTok that I’ve taken note of, such as the concept of Booktok and the books popular therein somehow not being intellectual enough and contributing to a lesser quality of writing/reading. Honestly, that controversy is nothing new. They have just relabeled it to encompass BookTok instead of merely genre fiction.
To that controversy I have one thing to say: Leave people alone.
Of the myriad ways we can entertain ourselves in this year of our Lord 2024, the fact that they’re picking up a book instead of video gaming, staring at their phone, or watching movies/shows , is amazing. Do you know how many people in my own social circle shrug and admit they don’t like reading or don’t have the time for reading or… whatever the reason they have for not picking up a book?
Leave people alone. There is space enough in this wide world for you to let them have their own tastes and preferences. It really has nothing to do with you.
