Melinda π»
@justewriting.bsky.social
Writer - trilingual (ish) - globe-trotter - π«π. I write speculative fiction & personal essays. Working on a novel & short stories. ι εΌ΅γγΎγ! She/her #amwriting
Reposted by Melinda π»
YES TO THIS. π I recently was trying to find the words to describe the way AI slop steals our appreciation of beauty, our curiosity, and sense of wonder.
It isnβt just about truth in political matters, etc.
It isnβt just about truth in political matters, etc.
Funny animal videos no longer being trustworthy just fucking sucks all around. I love the wonder of animal behavior and what it says about the experience of being alive. It's because it happened in reality that it's so fun. It's not fun if it was just made up. There's no wonder there.
December 19, 2025 at 3:14 AM
YES TO THIS. π I recently was trying to find the words to describe the way AI slop steals our appreciation of beauty, our curiosity, and sense of wonder.
It isnβt just about truth in political matters, etc.
It isnβt just about truth in political matters, etc.
Wow that feels weird, please don't call me that π
Anyway, rewarded for my good deed by a bunch of adorable fluffy birds flitting adorably (upside down, even) on a tree on the quiet back road.
Naturally, I had my croissant when I got home. π (Next time, I'll get it fresher in the morning...) 4/4
Anyway, rewarded for my good deed by a bunch of adorable fluffy birds flitting adorably (upside down, even) on a tree on the quiet back road.
Naturally, I had my croissant when I got home. π (Next time, I'll get it fresher in the morning...) 4/4
December 2, 2025 at 10:02 PM
Wow that feels weird, please don't call me that π
Anyway, rewarded for my good deed by a bunch of adorable fluffy birds flitting adorably (upside down, even) on a tree on the quiet back road.
Naturally, I had my croissant when I got home. π (Next time, I'll get it fresher in the morning...) 4/4
Anyway, rewarded for my good deed by a bunch of adorable fluffy birds flitting adorably (upside down, even) on a tree on the quiet back road.
Naturally, I had my croissant when I got home. π (Next time, I'll get it fresher in the morning...) 4/4
Ah ha! Makes more sense.
I double check no cars are coming, go get the ball (nearly dropping the bag with my eggs in the process) and toss it back over the fence to them.
I'm thanked profusely, and I even hear one kid say "bonne chance avec les courses madame" and. 3/4
I double check no cars are coming, go get the ball (nearly dropping the bag with my eggs in the process) and toss it back over the fence to them.
I'm thanked profusely, and I even hear one kid say "bonne chance avec les courses madame" and. 3/4
December 2, 2025 at 10:02 PM
Ah ha! Makes more sense.
I double check no cars are coming, go get the ball (nearly dropping the bag with my eggs in the process) and toss it back over the fence to them.
I'm thanked profusely, and I even hear one kid say "bonne chance avec les courses madame" and. 3/4
I double check no cars are coming, go get the ball (nearly dropping the bag with my eggs in the process) and toss it back over the fence to them.
I'm thanked profusely, and I even hear one kid say "bonne chance avec les courses madame" and. 3/4
Immediately the thought is followed by a stranger one: ils demandent l'aumΓ΄ne? (Are they asking for alms?)
As I get closer, the only pedestrian on this side of the street (and/or at the moment), they start pointing and asking me to get the ball which is in the middle of the (two lane) street. 2/4
As I get closer, the only pedestrian on this side of the street (and/or at the moment), they start pointing and asking me to get the ball which is in the middle of the (two lane) street. 2/4
December 2, 2025 at 10:02 PM
Immediately the thought is followed by a stranger one: ils demandent l'aumΓ΄ne? (Are they asking for alms?)
As I get closer, the only pedestrian on this side of the street (and/or at the moment), they start pointing and asking me to get the ball which is in the middle of the (two lane) street. 2/4
As I get closer, the only pedestrian on this side of the street (and/or at the moment), they start pointing and asking me to get the ball which is in the middle of the (two lane) street. 2/4
I just wanted a croissant...
(What a stereotypical French phrase to say π #sorrynotsorry) #storytime
My first outing since arriving, jetlagged, in this small French town. On my way back (WITH π₯,) I see a dozen kids' arms sticking out the schoolyard fence.
Strange, I think, is it a new game? 1/4
(What a stereotypical French phrase to say π #sorrynotsorry) #storytime
My first outing since arriving, jetlagged, in this small French town. On my way back (WITH π₯,) I see a dozen kids' arms sticking out the schoolyard fence.
Strange, I think, is it a new game? 1/4
December 2, 2025 at 10:02 PM
I just wanted a croissant...
(What a stereotypical French phrase to say π #sorrynotsorry) #storytime
My first outing since arriving, jetlagged, in this small French town. On my way back (WITH π₯,) I see a dozen kids' arms sticking out the schoolyard fence.
Strange, I think, is it a new game? 1/4
(What a stereotypical French phrase to say π #sorrynotsorry) #storytime
My first outing since arriving, jetlagged, in this small French town. On my way back (WITH π₯,) I see a dozen kids' arms sticking out the schoolyard fence.
Strange, I think, is it a new game? 1/4
Reposted by Melinda π»
I think the shortest version of why LLMs are an anti education technology is that education is fundamentally about making shared context to understand ourselves, each other, and the world
And by design LLMs destroy shared context
And by design LLMs destroy shared context
November 23, 2025 at 12:57 PM
I think the shortest version of why LLMs are an anti education technology is that education is fundamentally about making shared context to understand ourselves, each other, and the world
And by design LLMs destroy shared context
And by design LLMs destroy shared context
I guess it's time for another installment of the Short Story Challenge by @nycmidnight.bsky.social! What better way to start the year than with a deadline and the threat (thrill?) of an avoided genre. π«£
Starts January 23rd, info here: nycmidnight.com/ssc
Starts January 23rd, info here: nycmidnight.com/ssc
The Short Story Challenge β nycmidnight
The Short Story Challenge is an annual creative writing competition that challenges writers around the world to create short stories based on genre, subject, and character assignments in as little as ...
nycmidnight.com
November 18, 2025 at 12:34 AM
I guess it's time for another installment of the Short Story Challenge by @nycmidnight.bsky.social! What better way to start the year than with a deadline and the threat (thrill?) of an avoided genre. π«£
Starts January 23rd, info here: nycmidnight.com/ssc
Starts January 23rd, info here: nycmidnight.com/ssc
Reposted by Melinda π»
I need everyone who uses AI to generate art & text to notice what Vince Gilligan says here. You're surrendering your brain, your creativity, the divine spark within you to a machine. Someday you'll wake up and find you're no longer capable of writing or thinking. And for what?
![["When your selling point is: 'This thing is great, it'll write your high school essays for you, it'll create your artwork for you if you're an artist, so you don't have to actually learn how to draw and paint anymore ... You don't ever need to learn how to read a map or use a compass ... this this will wipe your butt for you.' What's left to live for? The creative spark in human beings - it's one of the most precious, wonderful things we have. What is more important than being creative?'"]](https://cdn.bsky.app/img/feed_thumbnail/plain/did:plc:hppum4l25hcczzffastsicpq/bafkreiazbvzipuugud3dfrlmwalqxgfkzqkm6hhhnc4deh22bwaxnmz5p4@jpeg)
November 11, 2025 at 8:59 PM
I need everyone who uses AI to generate art & text to notice what Vince Gilligan says here. You're surrendering your brain, your creativity, the divine spark within you to a machine. Someday you'll wake up and find you're no longer capable of writing or thinking. And for what?
Reposted by Melinda π»
I'm very grateful to @jasonkoebler.bsky.social for letting me speak on the relationship between AI and book bans.
This is a great and thorough article, and I'm glad I got a chance to say a thing I say a lot but that-- without the context Jason provides-- makes me sound a little conspiracy minded.
This is a great and thorough article, and I'm glad I got a chance to say a thing I say a lot but that-- without the context Jason provides-- makes me sound a little conspiracy minded.
November 6, 2025 at 6:40 PM
I'm very grateful to @jasonkoebler.bsky.social for letting me speak on the relationship between AI and book bans.
This is a great and thorough article, and I'm glad I got a chance to say a thing I say a lot but that-- without the context Jason provides-- makes me sound a little conspiracy minded.
This is a great and thorough article, and I'm glad I got a chance to say a thing I say a lot but that-- without the context Jason provides-- makes me sound a little conspiracy minded.
To #shortstorychallenge 2026 or not to, that is the question...
Pros:
βοΈ deadline(s) & word count provided
βοΈ new genre(s) exploration guaranteed
βοΈ create new! (ideas/stories/worlds/characters/etc)
Cons:
βοΈ deadline(s) π«
βοΈ new genre(s) π¨
βοΈ writing π±
#writerproblems #writingcommunity
Pros:
βοΈ deadline(s) & word count provided
βοΈ new genre(s) exploration guaranteed
βοΈ create new! (ideas/stories/worlds/characters/etc)
Cons:
βοΈ deadline(s) π«
βοΈ new genre(s) π¨
βοΈ writing π±
#writerproblems #writingcommunity
November 10, 2025 at 7:14 AM
To #shortstorychallenge 2026 or not to, that is the question...
Pros:
βοΈ deadline(s) & word count provided
βοΈ new genre(s) exploration guaranteed
βοΈ create new! (ideas/stories/worlds/characters/etc)
Cons:
βοΈ deadline(s) π«
βοΈ new genre(s) π¨
βοΈ writing π±
#writerproblems #writingcommunity
Pros:
βοΈ deadline(s) & word count provided
βοΈ new genre(s) exploration guaranteed
βοΈ create new! (ideas/stories/worlds/characters/etc)
Cons:
βοΈ deadline(s) π«
βοΈ new genre(s) π¨
βοΈ writing π±
#writerproblems #writingcommunity
Reposted by Melinda π»
Good morning! AI is being force-fed to you by a handful of billionaires who will lose a bunch of money if they fail to convince you that you need it. You do not need it π«Ά
November 6, 2025 at 11:55 AM
Good morning! AI is being force-fed to you by a handful of billionaires who will lose a bunch of money if they fail to convince you that you need it. You do not need it π«Ά
Some writers sticky note their brain (for a time)
Some doodle the vaguest lines barely resembling a shape but better than misplacing the brain sticky... π«
Some doodle the vaguest lines barely resembling a shape but better than misplacing the brain sticky... π«
November 10, 2025 at 7:03 AM
Some writers sticky note their brain (for a time)
Some doodle the vaguest lines barely resembling a shape but better than misplacing the brain sticky... π«
Some doodle the vaguest lines barely resembling a shape but better than misplacing the brain sticky... π«
Reposted by Melinda π»
Too many people have resigned themselves to not reading because they fear they no longer have the focus for it. You only need to limit your screen time for a few days to begin feeling the effects on your brain. I promise you, you are capable of reading books again.
November 10, 2025 at 1:14 AM
Too many people have resigned themselves to not reading because they fear they no longer have the focus for it. You only need to limit your screen time for a few days to begin feeling the effects on your brain. I promise you, you are capable of reading books again.
Reposted by Melinda π»
In huge positive news, the Australian government just ruled out handing the work of their countryβs creatives to AI companies for free π
They resisted the well-funded tech lobby & shut down proposals to upend copyright law.
Other governments should do the same!
www.theguardian.com/technology/2...
They resisted the well-funded tech lobby & shut down proposals to upend copyright law.
Other governments should do the same!
www.theguardian.com/technology/2...
October 27, 2025 at 6:35 AM
In huge positive news, the Australian government just ruled out handing the work of their countryβs creatives to AI companies for free π
They resisted the well-funded tech lobby & shut down proposals to upend copyright law.
Other governments should do the same!
www.theguardian.com/technology/2...
They resisted the well-funded tech lobby & shut down proposals to upend copyright law.
Other governments should do the same!
www.theguardian.com/technology/2...
Reposted by Melinda π»
If you want to push back against tech's encroachment into every corner of our lives, you have to read books. They're eager to create a future in which most people are illiterate and hooked on slop, a world without imagination or knowledge. Reading is resistance.
October 20, 2025 at 9:44 PM
If you want to push back against tech's encroachment into every corner of our lives, you have to read books. They're eager to create a future in which most people are illiterate and hooked on slop, a world without imagination or knowledge. Reading is resistance.
Reposted by Melinda π»
This is one of the absolute toughest things about predatory inclusion β the predation is often fun or a little useful. Criticism makes a reasonable person sound like an asshole. LowerEd weathered me for this kind of social death.
So Iβll say it: your enjoyment does not matter & should not matter.
So Iβll say it: your enjoyment does not matter & should not matter.
I don't fundamentally disagree with a lot of this, especially the environmental cost/ benefit. I'll just offer that as a maker,tinkerer,experimenter, having access to a LLM has massively decreased the time required to design build and debug relatively sophisticated hw/sw prototypes.
August 23, 2025 at 7:01 PM
This is one of the absolute toughest things about predatory inclusion β the predation is often fun or a little useful. Criticism makes a reasonable person sound like an asshole. LowerEd weathered me for this kind of social death.
So Iβll say it: your enjoyment does not matter & should not matter.
So Iβll say it: your enjoyment does not matter & should not matter.
Reposted by Melinda π»
If an individual offering consensual nudes of themself on OnlyFans is considered βillicitβ but a program generating nudes of women without their consent is fine, the powers that be have made their priorities clear. And theyβre the same as they ever were.
Sex is getting scrubbed from the internet, but a billionaire can sell you AI nudes
Sex is getting scrubbed from the internet, but a billionaire can sell you AI nudes
Grokβs nonconsensual deepfakes show how hollow the online safety push can be.
buff.ly
August 11, 2025 at 1:51 AM
If an individual offering consensual nudes of themself on OnlyFans is considered βillicitβ but a program generating nudes of women without their consent is fine, the powers that be have made their priorities clear. And theyβre the same as they ever were.
Reposted by Melinda π»
*leans in real real intimidatingly close to your face* even if they're a protagonist
btw just because a character says something in a book doesn't mean the author is endorsing that point of view. just sum food 4 thot
August 12, 2025 at 12:33 AM
*leans in real real intimidatingly close to your face* even if they're a protagonist
Hmm, I do have a virtual group during the week and technically writing to a prompt (assignment, potato potahto? π€) but the contextualizing is louder than the scene π©
Maybe I'll add a word/space goal and see if that helps π€
Maybe I'll add a word/space goal and see if that helps π€
July 27, 2025 at 7:48 AM
Hmm, I do have a virtual group during the week and technically writing to a prompt (assignment, potato potahto? π€) but the contextualizing is louder than the scene π©
Maybe I'll add a word/space goal and see if that helps π€
Maybe I'll add a word/space goal and see if that helps π€
Reposted by Melinda π»
Reposted by Melinda π»
You donβt have to like, approve of, or engage with porn and nsfw work to see how right wing extremists are using fear and stigma around smut to ban queer people from public life, define βgoodβ sex as only between married people for procreation, and otherwise further force white supremacy on everyone
July 24, 2025 at 1:57 PM
You donβt have to like, approve of, or engage with porn and nsfw work to see how right wing extremists are using fear and stigma around smut to ban queer people from public life, define βgoodβ sex as only between married people for procreation, and otherwise further force white supremacy on everyone
Reposted by Melinda π»
Reposted by Melinda π»
This, and also,
Aromantic β doesn't want romance
Aromantic in fact = experience little/no romantic ATTRACTION
You can be aro and desire relationships. You can be aro and desire intimacy. You can also be aro and desire neither.
Aromantic β doesn't want romance
Aromantic in fact = experience little/no romantic ATTRACTION
You can be aro and desire relationships. You can be aro and desire intimacy. You can also be aro and desire neither.
PSA, because some how folk still don't understand:
Asexual β doesn't want sex.
Asexual in fact = experiences little/no sexual ATTRACTION
You can be ace and desire relationships. You can be ace and desire intimacy. You can also be ace and desire neither
That is all
Asexual β doesn't want sex.
Asexual in fact = experiences little/no sexual ATTRACTION
You can be ace and desire relationships. You can be ace and desire intimacy. You can also be ace and desire neither
That is all
July 25, 2025 at 9:22 PM
This, and also,
Aromantic β doesn't want romance
Aromantic in fact = experience little/no romantic ATTRACTION
You can be aro and desire relationships. You can be aro and desire intimacy. You can also be aro and desire neither.
Aromantic β doesn't want romance
Aromantic in fact = experience little/no romantic ATTRACTION
You can be aro and desire relationships. You can be aro and desire intimacy. You can also be aro and desire neither.
Reposted by Melinda π»
It is so, so important to learn to understand the difference between A Gross Thing That Freaks Me Out, versus A Thing Which Causes Actual Harm In The World
because as long as you can't navigate the difference, your disgust is a lever that can be used to manipulate you
because as long as you can't navigate the difference, your disgust is a lever that can be used to manipulate you
This remains evergreen.
July 22, 2025 at 1:43 AM
It is so, so important to learn to understand the difference between A Gross Thing That Freaks Me Out, versus A Thing Which Causes Actual Harm In The World
because as long as you can't navigate the difference, your disgust is a lever that can be used to manipulate you
because as long as you can't navigate the difference, your disgust is a lever that can be used to manipulate you
Has anyone found the perfectionist off switch? I'd like to get words on the page, not spend an hour stress dissecting the scene I haven't even written yet... π«
#writerproblems #writingcommunity #writerslife
#writerproblems #writingcommunity #writerslife
July 26, 2025 at 6:31 PM
Has anyone found the perfectionist off switch? I'd like to get words on the page, not spend an hour stress dissecting the scene I haven't even written yet... π«
#writerproblems #writingcommunity #writerslife
#writerproblems #writingcommunity #writerslife