writing

Will Robots Take My Job?

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I mean, probably yes, eventually. But not yet! I have heard of people using ChatGPT as their therapist and worried that it, having instant access to every mental health resource available online, would put me out of business. But a session I had recently put my mind at ease.

I just started working with a client who is dealing with a lot of anger and resentment and who finds it hard to connect to positive feelings for more than a couple seconds. During our session, she mentioned that she is using ChatGPT to do inner child work and that it’s been helpful. A bit later, she mentioned that she’s very good at talking about her pain and trauma, but she doesn’t know how to talk about positive things.

“With that in mind, I’m going to suggest something that might sound kind of silly for homework,” I said. “I’d like for you to make a list of things that bring you wonder this week. At least three things. It can be the same thing – it might be an amazingly beautiful flower that you pass every day – but it’s got to be three distinct experiences.”

My client laughed and said that this is exactly what ChatGPT has been trying to get her to do. Setting aside my satisfaction at being as smart as a robot, I asked if it felt different coming from me.

“Yeah, you’re a real soul who listens to me and thinks this might help. My soul trusts your soul.”

She’s more poetic than a lot of my clients, but the sentiment is (I hope!) fairly global. There’s something special about human connection, and until large language models can replicate THAT believably, I will still have a job.

[It does not escape me that this blog post, in being posted online, will inevitably feed into AI. You’re welcome, robots! Don’t forget me in the takeover. 🙂 ]

Writing a Book and Vulnerability

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In 2023, I took a two-month online course to write a 50,000 word romance novel. The course itself was hugely impactful – the book I ended up writing was not. Which was fine, because the goal I set out for myself was to simply sit down and write every day. The course helped because of its persistent message that all we were supposed to do was “write a shitty first draft.”

Not, like, write a first draft and if it’s terrible, that’s okay. Write something terrible! Just get it on paper. If one scene doesn’t make sense with the one before, who cares, keep writing! We were not to delete anything, and if we truly couldn’t stand something, they said to just change the font color to white so that we literally couldn’t see it anymore.

Since then, I’ve been extremely slowly mulling over a book idea that I’m much more excited about. After a year of putting together world-building ideas and plotting out some of the story, I’ve actually started to write. Which leads to my next big lesson: sharing what I write.

Not here!

Haha, psych!? This is not going to turn into a “read my book!” blog. But I knew that I would let time pass and get distracted if I didn’t have some accountability. So I asked some friends to be my Hype Team and sent them a link to my Google doc today.

A 37-year-old woman asking her friends to read her novel-in-progress does not seem like earthshaking news, but for me it is! I have always loved to write, and one of my lifelong dreams is to write a book and attempt to get it published. My original major at university was English, but I could not stomach the thought of my work being critiqued publicly, so I switched to Sociology. Which, thank goodness, so much of my life is based on that. But the point is that I switched my entire educational plan because I feared my creativity being judged by my peers.

And now I have actively invited them to do so. At this stage in my life, I am no longer having the weekly “look at me doing something new and leveling up!” moments that characterized my teens and twenties. But this is a moment where I can actively see how much I’ve grown in my self-worth, in my trust in friends, and in my communication (because let’s be real, I specifically asked people to be so so so nice to me).

Yay me! This almost-middle-aged-dog is learning new tricks.

StumbleUpon Sunday (16)

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StumbleUpon is a great way to lose hours of your life.  Luckily, I braved the Internet vortex so you don’t have to.  This week I found these especially interesting websites:

  1. Neonflames
    Swirl different colors around and make a galaxy!  This is completely mesmerizing.
    download
  2. 15 Multifunctional and Ingenius Furniture Designs Ever Made
    I want the couch/bed/desk and the desk bike!
  3. Out of the Ordinary Beauty Tips That Work
    Toothpaste on yellow nails, powdering greasy hair roots, brown sugar treats dandruff, and more weird (and cheap) solutions!
  4. On the Madness and Charm of Crushes
    This article is brilliant!  “The crush reveals how willing we are to allow details to suggest a whole.”  I readily admit that I take one gesture or sentence and automatically construct prince charming.
  5. TRENDS: 50 Fun Facts about Languages
    I especially liked the facts about endangered languages and the shout out to Tolkien’s 12 created languages.
  6. 30 Flat Design Color Palettes That Just Work 
    Very handy colors schemes for arts or crafts or home decorating!
  7. 10 Awesome Infographics for Graphic Designers
    Some of these are too specifically tailored for graphic designers, but the Psychology of Color (first one) is fascinating!
  8. Ink – Quotes about Writing by Writers
    “A writer lives, at least, in a state of astonishment. Beneath any feeling he has of the good or evil of the world lies a deeper one of wonder at it all. To transmit that feeling, he writes.” -William Sansom
  9. Most Beautiful Villages around the World
    This list wins points for largely ignoring picturesque European villages and instead finding beauty in poorer towns in Africa, Asia, and the Middle East.
  10. 22 Incredible Photos of Faraway Places
    India, Yemen, Cambodia, Afghanistan…these pictures are stunning.

StumbleUpon Sunday (6)

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StumbleUpon is a giant collection of the best pages on the Internet.

StumbleUpon is a great way to lose hours of your life.  Luckily, I braved the Internet vortex so you don’t have to.  This week I found these especially interesting websites:

  1. Questionnaires for Writing Character Profiles
    Included are questionnaires for adults and for children characters to help you fully realize your creation, with questions like, “What does your character think is his or her worst quality?” and the equally important, “What do other people think your character’s worst quality is?”
  2. 19 Random Facts You’ve Probably Never Heard Before
    “Twelve people have walked on the moon.”
  3. The Winston Churchill Guide to Public Speaking
    This is a really cool look at the craft and care taken to create some of history’s most memorable speeches.
  4. Life Inspirations
    A bunch of inspiring quotes.  Two of my favorites are, “The naked truth is always better than the best-dressed lie,” and “Let’s make better mistakes tomorrow.”
  5. The 22 Rules to Perfect Storytelling According to Pixar
    These are really excellent.  “Coincidences to get characters into trouble are great.  Coincidences to get them out of it are cheating.”
  6. 30 of the Most Powerful Photographs Ever Taken
    I don’t know how a person can get through these photos without crying–they show the heights and depths of humanity with honesty, beauty, and horror.
  7. Awesome Elderly Street Artists Destroy Age Stereotypes in Portugal
    Old men and women get involved in graffiti in order to create beauty and bond with younger generations!  How cute!
  8. 45 Life Lessons, Written by a 90-Year-Old
    “Don’t compare your life to others. You have no idea what their journey is all about.”
  9. What Not to Feed Your Pet [Infographic]
    Handy!
  10. Love and Money: Discussing Finances with Your Romantic Partner
    Great advice for having a hard but necessary conversation with your significant other.

StumbleUpon Sunday (5)

TrishLeave a comment

StumbleUpon is a giant collection of the best pages on the Internet.

StumbleUpon is a great way to lose hours of your life.  Luckily, I braved the Internet vortex so you don’t have to.  This week I found these especially interesting websites:

  1. Clever Illustrations Reveal the Two Kinds of People There Are in the World
    Well, I’m definitely the neat freak.
  2. 30 Places You’d Rather be Sitting Right Now
    A great way to feel worse about your desk/couch/location.
  3. Powerful Illustrations Show Women How to Fight Gender PrejudicesFor example:  “Rebecca had depression, and only after many months she was able to wear clothes that revealed the scars left on her body.  Rebecca, these marks are a reminder of how brave you have had to be!  Psychological pain is also human, and suffering it does not make you any less of a person.”
  4. Pudding the Fox is Too Friendly to Go Free
    I know he says he doesn’t support keeping foxes as pets, but with a name like Pudding?  Give me one!
  5. When Their Trailer is Transformed Into a House, Everyone is Left Completely Amazed
    This amazing camper has all the clever hacks that has made me love tiny houses.
  6. This Artist Doesn’t Just Drink Coffee, She Also Makes Incredible Portraits With It!
    Yoda!  Mario!  Daenerys!
  7. This Sentence Has Five Words
    Incredible writing advice given in an incredible format.
  8. The 30 Best Films of the Decade
    I’ve seen only 10!
  9. 30 Shower Thoughts You’ve Never Had Before
    “The saying ‘Money can’t buy you happiness’ should be changed to ‘Money can’t prevent sadness.'”
  10. The Hero’s Journey Outline
    Joseph Campbell’s hero’s journey, with multiple lists and charts!  This will be very interesting to a very specific set of people.