Don’t get your knickers in a twist over Twisted50

“I am a writer.” I have to keep telling myself that. I write for a living, but about tech, so it’s not the same as being creative and standing your work up against “real writers.” But the thing is, I love the creative buzz that comes when you weave a story, picking up lost threads and throwing in a little color here and there. It’s a process that draws you into a world only you inhabit, a nether world, a place of lost and found souls.

When I first saw Twisted50 I thought, “hmmm, should I, could I, write a story that’s a bit horror-esque?” As well as writing about tech, I indulge in writing the odd short story, and I love to read sci-fi, fantasy, and certain types of horror – more M.R. James and H.P. Lovecraft-type horror. So, I thought, “Just do it, Susan,” What do you have to lose? You lost your dignity years ago.”

At that, I put pen to paper, or rather, fingers to a keyboard, and away I went.

As I write about tech, I have a love-hate relationship with Generative AI (GenAI). It, therefore, felt natural to create a storyline around technology. The problem is, some great sci-fi writers have written about this subject with aplomb, so who am I to even think about bringing my version of the genre to life? The “rogue AI trope” is a long, well-trodden path; just ask HAL 9000 in 2001: Space Odyssey for its views on humanity. However, after some wrangling with myself, I decided to jump in.

Choosing an antagonist for a modern take on the rogue AI was easy – Generative AI, aka the interfaces to Large Language Models (LLMs), like ChatGPT, was the obvious choice for a story about AI that has gone bad. Humanity is already teetering on the edge of reason with this new era in artificial intelligence (I use the word intelligence loosely.) Of course, one of the industries negatively impacted by AI is the creative industries. It made sense that if the antagonist was GenAI, then the protagonist would be a freelance writer.

With the conflict duo in mind, I wrote the story and tentatively uploaded it to Twisted50.

One of the scarier aspects of Twisted50 is that you receive a peer review of your entry. This was a daunting prospect for me as I have quite low self-esteem when it comes to writing fiction. So, the upload was completed, and I waited and watched. A few people commented. I read the comments. They were fair and encouraging, but most importantly, they advised me on improving the first draft.

One of the great things about Twisted50 is that you get a second chance. So, I took the advice of fellow writers, updated the piece, and resubmitted it.

I also spent time reading some of the entries and giving feedback. The writers are so talented, and it felt overwhelming. But now that I’ve done it, I can say that it is well worth trying to create your own twisted tale.

My short story is WayneGPT, and I hope you like it. But be careful—don’t ask a GenAI what they think of the story; it might give them ideas…