"Yours are the only emails I actually open and read" - a regular reply in my inbox since 2009...and I'll bet in yours, too, once you subscribe and learn by pure, lazy osmosis to become the most compelling writer around. That said, no promises on improving your moral character.
Yeah, I’m gatekeeping
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Hey Reader, I’m up at my mom’s place in Torrington, where the bears have taken over. When we got here, she warned me and Steven not to leave any food in the car. I said we only had sealed bags of Blue Diamond Almonds (Smokehouse flavor), a pack of Starburst Fave Reds, and some gummy burgers, and those were in the glove compartment. Nope, she said, take ‘em out. Bears smell everything. And they know how to break into a car. Not just open the door. Jimmy the lock, I guess? With a coat hanger? Ohhhhkay, Mom. I removed the snack stash and even took a Dust Buster to the seats to get the crumbs from a recent dropped-cookie mishap. (Steven did it.) That was yesterday. Just now, she received a photo from her neighbor: No, this is not AI. If you see a video of this bear driving to The Big Y supermarket, that might even be real, too. “The bears have changed my lifestyle,” my mom says without irony. I believe it. It’s how longtime Substackers must feel lately, too. A colleague in the online space who’s said writing is “not their thing” and sends emails and posts so egregiously AI-generated, anthropologists will one day study them as examples of how marketers stopped using their brains… …just told me they’re “finally launching my Substack.” My Substack. As if it’s something every business owner has. Like a website. WHY? Why would someone who doesn’t like to write go over to Substack, a platform for writers? Don’t answer that. I know why. It’s because Gary Vaynerchuk said to. I’ve seen the LinkedIn-ites flocking there like influencers to frozen yogurt shops in the West Village. Lining up around the block for something they probably don’t even want that much, it’s just that lines beget lines. “Everyone’s in line for it, it must be good.” I’m new on Substack, so I have no real right to gatekeep, but I want to! Why shouldn’t there be a gate on a writing-forward platform that says “HUMAN WRITING ONLY! AI WRITING KEEP OUT”? OK, enough griping. Enough “There goes the neighborhood”-ing. Let’s focus on the positive: These people aren’t getting in the way of me writing my real writing, which is how I get paid to be my real self. And, every year, I attract very real people into my 8-month live mentoring party, Shrimp Club — where I get to help them be more of their real selves (and get paid for it). I’m opening doors to the remaining spots soon. Might one of those spots be yours? Click here to add yourself to the VIP interest list. Please don’t apply if you’re an AI-writing bear. (“Find and access food in any car using these 5 prompts.”) xoLaura PS - The best thing for me, when I start getting crabby about all the AI slop, is to generate more human non-slop by writing something real, and to soak up genius from other real writers. Wanna do that with me? Starting Monday, Terri Trespicio’s offering a free week of her live writing program, New Rules Studio. I’ll be joining for a special Shrimpers-only session. Sign up here. Love Shrimp Mail? Forward this to a friend so they can get in on the action and sign up below.
Thank you for reading and sharing, |
Laura Belgray (Talking Shrimp)
"Yours are the only emails I actually open and read" - a regular reply in my inbox since 2009...and I'll bet in yours, too, once you subscribe and learn by pure, lazy osmosis to become the most compelling writer around. That said, no promises on improving your moral character.
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