Timothy Johnson

Tag: Creative Writing

  • I’ve Been Had by Generative AI, and I’m Mad About It

    Months ago, I bought a few prints of artwork from a local artist at a pop-up market. I needed some new decorations for my new-ish office that I still hadn’t quite settled into, and I was excited to support a guy who seemed genuinely excited about his work and seemed like the type of guy I could hang out and have a beer or coffee with for a while.

    I wasn’t even thinking about generative AI because it was a local artist I was meeting in person at a local event, and he seemed genuine and earnest.

    I brought those pieces home, intent on framing them and hanging them on my wall for inspiration, but even as I set them down in my office, something about them bugged me.

    And it kept bugging me.

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  • ‘So you’re a writer? Let me ask you, where do you get your ideas?’

    When you’re a writer, one of the most common questions you get is about where your stories come from. I don’t know about other writers, but in my experience, stories begin like a loose thread you one day notice on your shirt. Smarter people will get the scissors, cut it off, and toss it aside, but not you. You’re compelled to pick and tug at it because there’s something satisfying about drawing it out.

    The more you work it, the more your shirt unravels. Before long, the seam is open, and you can see something of what you look like underneath. You keep pulling, and eventually, the sleeve is in tatters. You keep going, and often, the thread jumps off the seam. That’s when it becomes grueling work.

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  • I Have Some News

    The short version is I was accepted into George Mason University’s MFA in Creative Writing program. I’ll be starting this fall with full funding, including tuition remission, a stipend, and a GTA position. For the next three years, I’ll be taking classes, writing, reading, and teaching full time.

    So that’s pretty neat.

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