Brent Weeks

Turns out the one place I don't mind AI sycophancy is when it summarizes my books.

Just got one of those emails writers get now with, frankly, a really flattering ai summary of my last book. The scammer, who had stolen the headshot and LinkedIn deets of an innocent editor, wrote proposing that "they could do great things for me at Hachette Books." Dude, that book--like all my books--was published by Hachette.

I sometimes worry that my most cynical writing seems to land best. Puppies and rainbows from here on out.

Art is craft first. Crafts can be learned. Some learn fast, some slow. Many who could learn give up. Innate giftedness matters, but "her work ethic and perseverance were amazing" tells the tale. This is why some artists/musicians/writers hate it when you tell them they're "so gifted" or "a genius," and will say, "Nah, I just work hard." You think they're being humble. They're being real, and if they're annoyed by what you intended as a compliment, it's because they think you're discounting the work, as if all their mastery just got plopped into their laps unearned. They've seen those vanishingly rare cases and know they're not that guy. This is why a Billy Joel, with decades of success and many hits, will say, "As a musician, I'm merely competent." The artist in the anecdote also kept trying, which gave her many chances to get lucky. That matters too.

I may need a new pen name: Brent Years.

I'm not saying the new Siri is bad--but I haven't had to spell out so many words since the days of Dragon NaturallySpeaking.

I've met Doug, and I like him a lot. If you get a book published AND it does well? You feel like you've forfeited any right you have to complain. Ever. You're living the dream! And yet the work can still chew you up.

I took a creative writing class with a professor who didn't like my "sci-fi stuff" but was hugely encouraging to me anyway. The odd thing is that maybe the best writer in the class wrote about incest repeatedly and so viscerally, it was clear she was processing it in front of everyone. Heartbreaking, but also super awkward. So while this list is ridiculous, I do feel a bit of empathy for the prof. I mean, who wants to be repeatedly exposed to Science Fiction?

I've seen a related gain. I don't feel enough need to hire a personal trainer, but a few times I've used AI to correct my form lifting weights: navigating around old injuries, alternative lifts, etc. It's a real but invisible (to GDP) benefit.

Wholesome parenting comes in many guises.

Fan: Hey, do you want to grab a drink after your signing? Author:

Every epic fantasy novelist:

I've heard it's a tempest in a teacup.

It gets weird when you know it's a delusion, but also that it's necessary, so you live sustaining a delusional superposition.