ChatGPT and the Death of (Fan)Fiction

 Hi everyone! I'm here with more of an opinion piece. As you probably know, generative AIs like ChatGPT have become more and more present in our world. From academia to creative art, it seems like we can't escape the chatbox. I'm not here to regurgitate facts or statistics. Rather, I want to speak on a phenomenon that's grown increasingly relevant.

As a tween, I LOVED fanfiction. Fanfiction.net (my ride or die), AO3, and the occasional Wattpad stories were my kryptonite. I stayed up in the wee hours of the night reading from the fandoms I adored (TMNT, Disney's Zombies, Teen Titans just to name a few). At school, I'd anxiously count down the hours until dismissal and reuniting with our home computer so I can see any new updates.

I keep seeing tags such as "ai generated" pop up on some of these platforms, and it breaks my heart.

Sure, it's easier. More convenient to copy and paste. But it misses the whole point of creative writing.

As a writer myself, it's not always easy. There are some days where the words flow, and there are others where I only get a maybe a paragraph done. When I finish a story or chapter, I feel like I'm on top of the world. Other days, I question whether I'm even cut out for this. But no matter how cringy or "bad" they seem, I keep going. 

And that's the point. 

The reward lies not only in completing the tale, but the craft of writing. Spending time in a character's head to discover what they most desire. It's to put ourselves into another's shoes or talk about the experience walking in our own. Writing is about documenting a sliver of the human experience and inviting others to come along. It's about trying to capture our unique individuality and universality. 

Whether it's filthy smut, complicated sci-fi, or abstract poetry, never stop writing. Especially now. The world needs your art.

Using ChatGPT for your essays and creative writing can only get you so far. Sure, you might get the A and pass your class. But you've cheated yourself and your readers.

I'd rather read fanfiction riddled with grammatical errors, mischaracterization, and plot holes than the soulless output of a computer.