Why I Write (1946)
61–70 of 86 posts
Re: Why I Write (1946)
#62About 2 years ago, I took a break after 8 years in tech, and taught/supported in public schools as a substitute. One of the first books we covered in 8th grade English was Animal Farm.
It left such a stark experience with me how my interpretation of that and what was happening in the world at that time, with the school & teacher and thus projected-onto-the-students interpretation, was so different and obviously this in itself in a meta way was what Orwell warned about in his works.
This top county, one of the richest public schools in Maryland, was teaching its students to interpret even Animal Farm in a biased and blind way unable to see their current political circumstances as the issue Orwell warned about and myopically focusing in on the Russian/overseas/communist philosophy as the only ones Orwell could have referred to in his works. I knew there was brainwashing I encountered growing up in any public school, experiencing it this fundamentally deep was visceral.
Re: Why I Write (1946)
#63I think I haven't been exposed to such a good writing in years. (Which probably says as much about average modern writing as it does about my reading habits) > Writing a book is a horrible, exhausting struggle, like a long bout of some painful illness. One would never undertake such a thing if one were not driven on by some demon whom one can neither resist or understand. For all one knows that demon is simply the sa…
> Story of my life is how to align that demon to force me into things I actually want to do. My favorite example of creators discussing the drive to create is from the video game Dwarf Fortress. It has mechanics for it [0]. Dwarves that are stuck with inspiration to create a masterwork will go mad and destroy themselves if they can't find the raw materials they need. Dwarf Fortress is known for the absurd scale of it…
I really wish Dwarf Fortress was open source or at least source available. The game is freeware anyway, it isn't like he'd be losing money
Re: Why I Write (1946)
#64This is critical to consider in this age of slop. It’s important first to consider the purpose of writing anything at all. Slop almost always fails this test.
People that don't understand this is best to explain to with AI music. AI music appears to be reasonable music, but it carries no human emotion, it has no intent to exist and stand up on its own. That's key to explain when it comes to writing or anything. AI assisted anything, sure, maybe, but AI for creative purposes is bland and ultimately poisons the well. No one really wants to go see an AI movie at the cinema, e…
> AI music appears to be reasonable music, but it carries no human emotion, it has no intent to exist and stand up on its own.
The 'lack' of human emotion does not make anything less musical, at least on the composition side.
But even on the playing side: well-crafted AI music these days have started sounding just as expressive as human-made music. It is not bland at all.
Re: Why I Write (1946)
#65I wonder, is this surfacing because of the reviews of the new Animal Farm animated film? I found this review to be a good little read: https://consequence.net/2026/04/animal-farm-review-andy-serk...
Re: Why I Write (1946)
#66Earlier quoted context omitted.
Animal Farm is considered a novella, which is shorter than a novel.
for perspective, a novel is around 100k words, and animal farm is under 30k.
For perspective closer to the topic here, these are the approximate word counts of the books currently listed at "George Orwell bibliography" under "Novels":
• Burmese Days (1934): 97000
• A Clergyman’s Daughter (1935): 94000
• Keep the Aspidistra Flying (1936): 87000
• Coming Up for Air (1939): 83000 (?)
• Animal Farm (1945): 30000 (just over 30k)
• Nineteen Eighty-Four (1949): 103000 (or 99000 without the “The Principles of Newspeak” appendix).
Re: Why I Write (1946)
#67The state of the UK suggests to me that Orwell's writing was as much an expression of British post-colonial anxieties as it was an indictment of the USSR. His books are no doubt pushed in US education system for their nonpartisan anti-communism.
1984 was surprisingly prescient about automatically generated propaganda. The slop deluge we're going through certainly echoes the "Novel-Writing Machines".
Re: Why I Write (1946)
#68I think I haven't been exposed to such a good writing in years. (Which probably says as much about average modern writing as it does about my reading habits) > Writing a book is a horrible, exhausting struggle, like a long bout of some painful illness. One would never undertake such a thing if one were not driven on by some demon whom one can neither resist or understand. For all one knows that demon is simply the sa…
> I think I haven't been exposed to such a good writing in years. (Which probably says as much about average modern writing as it does about my reading habits) I have been reading the Aubrey-Maturin book series by Patrick O'Brien (you may have heard of the film, Master and Commander, based on some of the books). It is a literary treasure trove that has impeccable historical accuracy. The same demonic drive rings thro…
As an aside, there's a Facebook group for Patrick O'Brien fans. Content consists mostly of questions about tiny details in one book, which are rather nicely examined in a cooperative, investigative spirit by other fans. It's refreshingly different from, well, pretty much all other online discussions.
Re: Why I Write (1946)
#69I think I haven't been exposed to such a good writing in years. (Which probably says as much about average modern writing as it does about my reading habits) > Writing a book is a horrible, exhausting struggle, like a long bout of some painful illness. One would never undertake such a thing if one were not driven on by some demon whom one can neither resist or understand. For all one knows that demon is simply the sa…
sounds like software dev. Life consuming
ahahahaha, I code in the day and write by night. And no, I do not have a semblance of life.
Re: Why I Write (1946)
#70Great writer, in this age of AI writing, we must not forgot the power of a human voice and the wonderful subtlety of intention and purpose.
also, sad that he died at 46 of tuberculosis, what a waste.