Generative AI has no place in creative circles
a prompt to spark your imagination
this week’s prompt:
“I wouldn’t do that if I were you.”
Happy writing!
Pitches and Submissions
Prompted is always open to pitches from writers with something to say about the creative process, creative routines, creativity, or really anything mildly writing-related — including reported pieces and interviews. Got something a little offbeat and weird? Awesome.
Did a Prompted prompt inspire you to write something? Please submit! I'd love to feature it in the newsletter.
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musings
I’ve mentioned before that I’m currently in a distance writing program at SFU. My cohort is brilliant and I feel incredibly lucky to get to workshop with them. It kind of feels like I struck gold, to be honest!
Last weekend, we had a Saturday Zoom class on the theme of playing with form, specifically looking at spec fic. Then, we had a guest speaker. I ended up missing the class because my husband surprised me with comedy show tickets, and I couldn’t say no to a 4 PM, home-by-dinner date. Part of me was relieved. I knew the guest was coming to talk about AI in publishing, and I knew I wouldn’t be able to shut my loud mouth or be polite.
I researched the guy ahead of time and was even less enthused about the idea of being mansplained the benefits of AI because he seemed to me, by all accounts, to be a tech bro.
So, I missed the class, but I did watch the Zoom recording. I was glad to see my classmates questioning a lot of what was being said and pointing out everything missing from the conversation.
Is there merit to preparing a group of writers for the challenges to come from a growing AI-heavy landscape? Sure.
Instead, it felt like we were being fed pro-AI bullshit. And it struck me as extremely bizarre that we were sitting through this in a program where the whole point is to generate our own art.
At one point, he even mentioned using AI to translate his (non-fiction, tech topic) books and turn them into audiobooks.
Cool, bro. It sounds like you have no idea what goes into this kind of human work. Anyone who does translation work or reads translated works (shoutout
) knows that translation is an art. And why would I want to listen to a robot read me a book?There was also much talk of using AI as a “tool” as if it’s akin to a paintbrush or easel. But a paintbrush doesn’t do the work for you.
And ultimately, what makes art compelling (both its creation and consumption) is the human element. I’d much rather gather with my workshop buddies to get their take on my WIP than ask AI for feedback. Because it’s not just the feedback that’s important. It’s being in the thick of it together. It’s laughing about something completely off topic and learning piece by piece about each other’s non-writing lives. It’s about finishing a work and picturing the faces of everyone who had a hand in weaving it together, even if they never touched a single word.
Even in solitude, what I write isn’t just a figment of my imagination. It’s informed by my experiences, feelings, and relationships. My humanity.
things that caught my eye
Current obsession: The messy, messy mess that is The Valley on Bravo. This kind of reality TV is how I empty my brain and get it ready to write 😂
🫠Duolingo CEO Slammed After Announcing AI Will Replace Contract Workers in Shocking Email to Employees — via Unilad. (Well, I sure am glad I don’t use Duolingo!)
🎞️The ‘M3GAN’ ‘Second Screen’ Chatbot Is An Epic Fail — via Variety. (Obsessed with how big a flop this is. I truly don’t even understand how someone thought it was a good idea to encourage phone use during a theatre experience!!)
🛋️ They Lived in a “Secret Mall Apartment” for Years. Now, They’re Telling the Story — via Dwell. (OK, not writing-related at all, but FASCINATING and great inspo for a story!)
🧳Did you know there’s a company offering reading retreats around Europe? It’s probably way out of my price range, and everything is sold out, but a gal can dream, right?
📖 Most Parents Don’t Enjoy Reading to Their Children, Survey Suggests — via The Guardian. (What the headline doesn’t say is that 40% do find it fun! So there’s that.)
🫣Microsoft’s AI Starts Reading All Your WhatsApp, Signal Messages — via Forbes. (Yikes.)
✏️ Burlington Public Library Annual Writing Contest — open until May 31st. Theme is “Whisper.” You need to live, work, or go to school in Burlington to enter!
deadlined stuff from previous weeks
✏️2025 CRAFT Short Fiction Prize — open for submissions until May 18, 2025.
✏️CBC Poetry Prize — open for submissions until June 1st, 2025.
✏️ Applications Open for 2025 Writers-in-Exile Humber Scholarship (applicants must be members of PEN Canada’s Writers in Exile program) — Deadline June 2, 2025.
✏️ Banff Writing Residency for new writers of YA and Children’s Books — Application deadline June 4, 2025.
open submission calls
✏️ Cursed Morsels has a submission call for single-author horror and weird fiction short story collections by BIPOC writers only. Open until 2026 calendar is filled.
✏️ Seize the Press is looking to publish dark speculative fiction, strict 7,500 word limit.
✏️ Okay Donkey is open to poetry and flash fic submissions, no deadline but there’s a monthly cap on free submissions.
thanks for stopping by.
artwork by Angela Miklos Creative