The Meta of Writing

Writing about the process of writing is difficult these days because of two main technological advances: word processing software and AI. Editing on Word is much easier than the “old-fashioned” way of writing by hand and making editing suggestions in the margins as Shakespeare and Coleridge did. Most spellings are autocorrected, making that bit of proofreading almost obsolete. I edit as I write, revisiting my piece days later with fresh eyes. Using AI in original work is completely unethical. To approach this prompt, I had to write on paper. I chose the first part of the next challenge. I examine one sentence at a time.

“Happy birthday, Sarah!” The hundred people gathered at the restaurant sang. I started with action to grab attention and shake the reader into action. Show, don’t tell. I added the rest of the refrain because it sounded more personal and would have the reader sing it in their mind. ‘Hundred’ is correct but too specific, and they wouldn’t all fit in a restaurant. A ballroom? No, too rich. I want regular people. A park is best: family-friendly, outdoors, enough room. She looked out over her many family and friends, several generations of family. This sentence has to be tweaked a little because I know she didn’t have kids which I haven’t revealed to the reader yet. Since 2051, cellular regenerative technology has improved the health of the population as well as extend their lifespans. ‘Regenerative tech’ is a real thing; my personal trainer is getting injections to replace damaged muscle and tissue damage. If it could be done on a smaller area, maybe in the future it could be used to replace other tissue like the heart or lungs.

When the cure for cancer had been found, most have been spared this painful and gruesome death. This cure seems unbelievable right now. Medical advances, however, have made some types of cancer less of a death sentence. ‘Most’ as in most people? Why not all? Did I really need the word ‘gruesome’ to get my point across? Once diagnosed with cervical cancer, she underwent a series of 5 shots that target and kill any all and all cancer. Clean-up on sentence 5! On paper, my ideas slide out of my head, but my hand makes its own decisions at times. Cervical cancer is a common cancer so that was a good choice. Grammar conventions need to be cleaned up, and I need to address how the shots actually work. Modern miracles. A short non-sentence to transition the explanation behind longevity back to the actual storyline. She blew out the candles and made a wish. She wished for a daughter. A slow reveal that she’s childless and can’t go back in time. Somehow I need to add that the aging process has also slowed down; she doesn’t look like the Crypt-keeper. Now that she has a lot of spare time, the regrets are starting to show. The s/v/do repetition is simple, reflecting the simplicity of her wish.

Sarah was 142 years old, but still went through menopause at 50. I chose Sarah from the bible, who had a child ‘in her advanced age.’ At this point, I had to start brainstorming the effects of longevity on the population. If women reproduced their entire lives, the population would grow exponentially and cause an extinction event as we used up natural resources. I kept 50 as the median for menopause. Why would she not have children? Was there no man in the picture here? She regretted not having children, but as she was advancing in her company, she didn’t want to slow down. This is a sad truth; many women find it difficult to advance in their careers because of the common belief that having children would cause irreparable loss of productivity from women. I need to make this sound not as matter-of-fact. Working for a hundred years, her pension was sufficient to cover all her retirement and then some. This might be wishful thinking here. But the thought of working a century at one job or company is also highly inconceivable. Many people switch careers during their 30-40 years working; what if that number were 100 years? Living longer would have a serious impact on social security and retirement savings plans. Her taxes went up, but that was a price for longevity. I need some sentence restructuring. What would happen if all of a sudden a generation lived 40 years longer; would there be enough in the younger generations working to pay for the next generation’s needs? More jobs would need to be created to counteract the current administration’s willy-nilly axing of jobs and useless tariffs. Prices of everything would go up, and having more people alive would take a lot of money and care. Since this is fiction, I can create better solutions.

“Aunt Sarah, what cruise will you be taking next?” asked one of her many nieces. To be consistent, I need more biblical names as I add characters. Just because Sarah in my story is childless doesn’t mean she doesn’t have any living family left. I chose cruises after sitting through a presentation from one cruise line and seeing the myriad packages and choices of destinations. The majority of those in attendance were older people; they love to cruise. They loved hearing about her excursions around the world. I’m dropping a hint here that perhaps the longevity of one generation would cause future generations to earn less. Sarah is turning into the matriarch of her family.

“I’ve been everywhere. There’s no place I haven’t been. Some places twice!” With that much time and money on her hands, Sarah would be able to do this. Nice to think that she planned this far in advance. Once longevity-induced lower birth rates kicked in, Calcutta wasn’t burdened by crowds. This is where my logic starts falling apart or needs adjustment. If the population lived longer, there’d be less of a need for more children. Economics would deem too many children as overly expensive. At least that’s what’s in my head. If crowded places became less crowded, but older, what would happen? There’d be a point where it would be essential for the human race to continue. Maybe a one- or two-child rule like China had would be enacted to balance out the number of people living at one time. The earth started to regenerate with a decreasing population. This idea came from 2020 when people were quarantined and confined to their homes. With less population in action, certain parts of the natural earth changed. Water and air pollution slowed significantly, some species of animals started coming back, and the impact of our actions became visible. In 2048 there were nearly 9 billion people and resources were limited. We’ve seen enough movies about dystopian futures where the population outlives their resources, resulting in wars and famine. I guessed at that number because we’re at 8 billion now. However, in the back of my mind, I’m sensing that many of today’s younger generations are putting off having families because of the economy. If they can’t afford a house, they certainly won’t be able to afford a family. Thus ends my editing narrative.

“Happy birthday to you, dear Sarah, happy birthday to you!” Nearly a hundred people gathered at the park sang to her. Sarah looked out over her many friends and several generations of family. Since 2051, cellular regenerative technology had improved the health of the human population as well as extend their lifespans. Studies were still ongoing, but she didn’t seem to age after her 70s; wrinkles stopped forming and the aches and pains of getting older were much delayed. Sarah could do just about everything she could always do.

When the evasive cure for cancer had been discovered, people were spared of this painful and often lingering death. Once diagnosed with cervical cancer, Sarah underwent a series of five shots that targeted and eliminated the aggressive cancer cells. Modern miracles. She blew out the candles and made a wish. She wished for a daughter.

Sarah was 142 years old, but still went through menopause at 50. She regretted not having children, but as she was advancing in the Luxon Corporation, she didn’t want to slow down. Putting in her hundred years of work, her pension was sufficient to cover all her typical retirement expenses and then some. Her taxes went up, but that was part of the price for longevity.

“Aunt Sarah, what cruise will you be taking next?” asked, Naomi, one of her many nieces. They loved hearing about her excursions around the world.

“I’ve been everywhere. Some places twice!” Once longevity-induced lower birth rates kicked in, Calcutta wasn’t burdened by overcrowding. With a decreasing population, the earth started to regenerate. In 2048, there were nearly 9 billion people, and resources were limited. Campaign ads encouraged much smaller family units to balance the unintended consequences of longevity.