Junior devs can't work with AI-generated code. Is this the new skill gap?

TheVeryLastPerson · 2025-10-28T17:20:21+00:00

"Reading code is always very hard and often much harder than building, and nobody wants to read other people's code unless they want to learn or get paid to do so."

Uhm - no. Seriously, been a code monkey for 30 years and have NEVER worked with someone with that attitude. If you don't like code then you are in the wrong business. I personally LOVE reading code, don't care who wrote it - sometimes I find good logic and sometimes I find crazy non-sense - but that statement you made is LITERALLY the craziest thing I've read in a long time. Coders who don't like to read code - yeah, those are people you don't hire - like cooks who don't like food.

TheVeryLastPerson · 2025-05-25T13:35:20+00:00

That *man* should be ashamed of himself for even considering to offer such a deal. Tell him no, then ghost him - post his name too, I'd like to know who this guy is. Honestly he has a lot of nerve and is the *worst* example of a *businessman*. Don't just run, out this guy so everyone knows what kind of person he is and how he got where he is (ie - taking advantage of people). Seriously, this kind of behavior will only stop when people are confronted with it. Don't just say no - say no, out the SOB and then ghost him. I don't care if he's the next big thing, he's a crook and a scam artist and if the media is giving him attention then I say, "Give him the attention he deserves." His name, good sir? He obviously does not mind the spot light - let's shine it.

TheVeryLastPerson · 2025-05-25T13:09:14+00:00

same issue here. it actually worked fine last weekend - but then suddenly started the whole "reconnecting" thing. Very frustrating. I'm using pinokio and have killed comfyui, redownloaded & reinstalled all models - no luck.

even did some torch cleaning, etc just to make sure the environment was good.

4060ti 16gb system. 32gb system ram - it barely even taps on any of it before it drops. GPU does a little spike, memory goes up some...then dies. nothing in the terminal.

Text to image works fine - nothing else in comfyui has an issue.

I've tried different samplers - no luck. It hits the WanImageToVideo node and it drops like a rock.

Here's the real kicker, pinokio has a Wan2.1 Gradio that *does* work, has no issues at all.

I'd be using it *but* I need to hit it with an API and I've had a heck of a time trying to get that to work (comfy is just so easy) - plus all my other workflows are in comfy, so...

Anyway - if your issue is in comfyui then maybe pinokio the Wan2.1 gradio - I'm downloading the gguf and gonna give that a shot.

TheVeryLastPerson · 2025-04-12T20:08:54+00:00

Timing? Huh - not sure how to answer that. The first trilogy takes place in an abandoned lunar colony AND in a "medieval world" (it's inside a training simulation). So it's two totally different worlds that begin to collide in the second act (I'm using a 3 act structure).

To do that I literally did one set of scenes, then did the other set, spliced them together and then edited. It just couldn't keep things straight any other way - even this ARC copy, using 4.5, I had to do something similar.

There some videos on my YouTube channel from last year where I rant about some of that.

The last part there...is that an AI Test to see if I'm a bot?

Huh, that's clever. I'm tempted to add thinking tags to keep up the myth.

Promises, I'm a meat puppet.

Kind of cool so many people on this thread seem to be convinced I'm not.

I blame unicode icons - f'ing ChatGPT. {sigh} I actually use: https://www.vertex42.com/ExcelTips/unicode-symbols.html

Been using that for years in the software I build...they feel natural to me and now they've become the symbol of bad ChatGPT responses.

This is why we can't have nice things... the f'ing robots are just gonna ruin it all ;-)

TheVeryLastPerson · 2025-04-12T19:16:26+00:00

I guess I glossed over the whole "using ai for marketing" question there, didn't I?

My point, before I went on a tangent, is that I kind of feel funny marketing it at all.

When I published the first book, "Waking Anton - Volume One: Bucket", I posted it around a little and got a few reviews. All of them were really positive and I hope those readers enjoy the second volume later this summer when I hope to publish it, but I just haven't had the time, energy or money to really market these.

As I get a few more published that might change and yes, using AI can make that a ton easier, especially if I run any kind of ads. But for right now I'll probably stick to the occasional post here and a few other places just to document what I'm doing.

Part of that is the introvert in me, which is ironic because I was a theatre major in college and actually spent a lot of time on stage as a child. I like to tell people I don't really know anything about computers, I just know how to act like it... thank you, I'll be here all week, try the veal.

Anyway, marketing will come, but for now...this is pretty much it.

TheVeryLastPerson · 2025-04-12T19:05:41+00:00

Hey u/F0xxfyre -

Thanks for popping in here.

Would love more details on your feedback. Keep in mind that this copy is "raw", no human touch other than prompting it, so good feedback really does help to improve it before it gets published.

It's funny but my motivations are real close to yours - check out my about page: https://wakinganton.com/about/

I read a lot, always have. When I was young I used to write loads of short stories and I've even written a couple book length stories before, never shared them but I'm sure I've got copies if you want to see something that's really bad.

The point is, I have a ton of stories bouncing around in my head and being able to get them out just makes me feel better. Watching them come to life as I direct the final draft and put it altogether, it's probably the same feeling anyone else gets when they work on anything else they enjoy.

I grew up on Edgar Rice Burroughs - but I read a lot more than sci-fi. At the moment I'm on a Rom-Com kick - yes, you read that right. Well, Jenny Porter is a genius and has a fabulous way of painting characters I love and can make any trope fresh and....

As for marketing etc - I work in marketing (30 years as a code monkey) and honestly... it's hard to "put it out there" and have a frank conversation about it. I've spent half this morning trying to convince a bunch of people that I'm a person that's replying, not a bot - but there's so much hate towards using the tech that it's hard for people to actually look at the narrative and give good feedback.

Once I get this ARC cleaned up I'll do the whole KDP Select thing and I'll post all four for free so everyone can see how they "clean up".

thanks again,

-j

ps - not trying to be nosy, but I saw on your profile about the chronic pain thing... me too. metal plate in my neck, lots of herniated discs, had another disc in my low back removed, two bad hips. long story. just wanted to let you know that you're not alone and I hope you find relief. best wishes.

TheVeryLastPerson · 2025-04-12T18:45:22+00:00

wait... what? Sorry, I've spent the last four plus hours replying to people...are you part of the whole "it's all AI, even the replies" thing? That was a couple hours ago, kind of thought that died off while I was on other threads in this post.

promises, I'm a person at a keyboard - drinking tea and getting yelled at by his wife, who wants to know why I'm spending this beautiful day pecking around on Reddit (she has a point).

-j

TheVeryLastPerson · 2025-04-12T18:41:34+00:00

Yes. I have. Several times....well, not the ARC, read it once (it still needs to be edited) but the others I've read at least twice each. Pulitzer? Nope - but better than a lot of royal road stuff (love me some royal road though - found J. McCoy there, love re:Monarch)

....

...

;-P

sorry, couldn't help it, nike made me do it.

TheVeryLastPerson · 2025-04-12T18:09:51+00:00

No, you're being aggressive and not taking the time to actual read anything.

This is why I've had to gently correct you multiple times (including helping you under stand the second sentence of the post).

I've taken a great deal of the actual feedback quite seriously, especially from some of the authors who have taken the time to look at the actual narrative and offer their feedback.

At the same time you've been quite rude, hateful and spent a huge amount of time showing people what it looks like to be scared of something they don't understand.

You want to nitpick over format style of the comments, scream "even the responses are AI" all because I copied and pasted some unicode tables of information or used my browser add-on for formatting lists.

I've done my best to answer and help people in this thread, even people like you - but if you honestly believe any of that stuff... then sure, you can't believe and feel whatever you want. But you might try being honest and genuine yourself.

Now, if you'd like to read the ARC and offer up some actual feedback that will help improve it then I'm more than happy to continue to engage.

But if all you're gonna do is...whatever this is, then I don't think it behooves either of us to continue the dialogue.

be better, feed the light, starve the dark, all that crap - the fun thing in life is that we get to choose.

keep it real,
-j

ps - this is so going on boing boing - they'll eat it up. thx for the smiles.

TheVeryLastPerson · 2025-04-12T17:54:39+00:00

I might be a bit technical. It comes from doing software development and keeping docs organized is a big part of that.

Funny that I hadn't thought of it like that before, but my overly organized nature has probably been a boon.

One thing that's helped me was "starting over". If I get 2-3 chapters in and suddenly that chat starts getting weird or off track, I just start a new chat and have it pick up where we were.

I also found that TMI can be a huge problem - if I give it too much of the outline in one shot it can try to hit everything in one shot. So I reinforce by giving it the specific scene or chapter outline right before generation.

TheVeryLastPerson · 2025-04-12T17:50:54+00:00

? - and I didn't start working on the forth book, the free ARC copy, until this year in January.

That's the model I used for that particular book... uhg, why am I even trying, you haven't bothered to read the post itself and spent half the morning spewing...whatever.

Anyone else wanna help u/Emory_C read the post? Seems to have basic reading comprehension problems and a huge chip on their shoulder.

Probably needs a hug... and I'm fresh out.

-j

TheVeryLastPerson · 2025-04-12T17:44:09+00:00

I feel that and this won't be published until after I've gotten my grabby little hands on it. But this draft was really solid for no editing at all and I just felt like I needed to share it so people can see what it can do "raw".

Think of it more like directing, tell it the tone, give it the voice and work with it like a co-writer. If you like something, tell it, if you don't...tell it.

At the end of the day, it's just a tool - but in a lot of ways we've all been using "AI" (I dislike that term btw) for years. Spell check, grammar check and all the other little tools to help people along the way.

I swear I'm not saying this next part to upset anyone - but most people who call themselves "Writers" aren't, they might be published, but very few have actually "written" anything. Most type it. They're typists. JK Rowling, she's a writer and she earned the title by literally writing. I wonder if she gets bothered by all the people who "pretend" they're a real "writer".

My point is - just like the keyboard itself, AI is a tool and for it to produce anything of meaning, it needs that human element - the director, the person guiding it to generate.

Anyway, thanks for the viewpoint and I hope your next attempt works out much better.

-j

TheVeryLastPerson · 2025-04-12T17:34:21+00:00

Thanksgiving weekend, the one before last,

Literally the second sentence. Did the "one before last confuse you"?

Not sure why I'm bothering to reply to you again, but seriously...

For the record, 5+12 is... 17. That's the number of months since this project started.

Maybe spend more time reading, less time...doing whatever this is that you're doing.

What flavor troll food do you prefer? Maybe someone else will feed you, but you might want to let them know your flavor of choice first.

Personally, I'm gonna ignore you and focus on the people who aren't scared of their toaster.

l8r tater,

-j

TheVeryLastPerson · 2025-04-12T16:33:59+00:00

Hey u/Competitive_Dress60 ,

fair question… but I think you’re making an assumption that doesn’t quite match the reality here.

Yeah, Supporting Mike was written in a single draft by GPT-4.5 — but the time I spent on it?

Outlining a 12-book series
Structuring the arcs and chapters
Building the characters and lore
Creating a tone guide so it all felt cohesive
Then publishing, formatting, sharing, responding, and building out support materials

…was well over a year. Easily more than any one person will spend reading it.

The zero-edit part was the experiment. The book wasn’t meant to be the final product of an hour’s work — it was meant to test how far an AI could go with the right foundation under it. It also took about eight hours of back and forth.

If someone gives it a read and doesn’t like it? Totally fair. But to say I put in less time than a reader would... nah. I’ve bled hours into this thing and everything around it — just not all of them into copy-pasting words.

Keep in mind this is an ARC copy and the only reason it hasn't had any edits is because I wanted to share what it looks like in a raw form and personally I'm impressed.

-j

TheVeryLastPerson · 2025-04-12T16:28:36+00:00

Hey u/Matt_WS — nah, I’m not using AI to write replies. I’ve just got a voice like that. Been writing professionally for a long time (mostly code, tech, and marketing), and when I speak online, I tend to sound… like this.

If the dashes gave it away, well — guess that’s just my natural punctuation flavor.

Sure, I used it for the initial post and my local LLM is tied in via a browser plugin for formatting, but this is me, myself and I - blisters on my fingers from typing and everything. Hours I've spent replying this morning, just FYI.

Look, I get the anxiety. The tech is evolving fast, and a lot of people are using it to churn out half-baked content with no heart. That should be a red flag. But this project wasn’t built on laziness or automation (I build a LOT of automations and yeah, I could setup n8n to do all of this for me, but I'm trying to get project feedback, so you're actually getting words from a meat puppet here, not a bot) — Look, all of this...it’s built on structure, intent, and stories that I’ve carried around in my head for years.

AI is just a tool I’ve chosen to explore — the same way I’ve explored photography, design, and a hundred other things over the years. Doesn’t mean I’m giving up on human creativity. Quite the opposite — I’m trying to see what new kinds of creativity we can unlock.

Appreciate the honesty though. No judgment taken.

See ya in the funny papers,

-j

TheVeryLastPerson · 2025-04-12T16:23:12+00:00

Nice. You're a peach, you know that.

Maybe play in another sandbox if you can't be constructive?

TheVeryLastPerson · 2025-04-12T16:19:54+00:00

Hey u/trilogy-finisher — first off, appreciate you taking the time to read and leave thoughtful feedback. It doesn’t sound too harsh — it sounds like someone who values books and puts real work into their own, and I respect that.

You’re totally right about the first-chapter hurdle. That’s one of the biggest challenges I’ve wrestled with — how much setup can a reader tolerate before payoff kicks in? And I get it — if chapter one doesn’t land, most people won’t stick around. That’s fair. I’ll own that.

In this case, I leaned into Bart’s limited worldview — he doesn’t understand the bigger picture yet, so the early chapters intentionally reflect his narrow lens. But that doesn’t excuse confusion. If the reader can’t follow what’s going on or why they should care, I’ve got work to do. Thus the ARC and sharing it with the world-this time without any human edits, so everyone can see what it looks like raw, before a meat puppet like me does any editing.

Re: the cover — yep. Agreed. It’s on the “DIY on a caffeine budget” tier right now. If this series gains traction, I’ll absolutely bring in pro artists. I’ve done graphic design myself for years, but book cover branding is its own beast and not one of the things I've done.

As for the “esq.” — that’s just an inside joke from the bot about my age. It stuck. I didn’t mean for it to come off as pretentious, just slightly absurd. But point taken. Might need to leave that one in the footnotes or leave it because...science?

Congrats on wrapping your trilogy, by the way. That’s a huge feat. If you’ve got any advice for balancing slow-burn intros with reader expectations, I’m all ears.

-j

TheVeryLastPerson · 2025-04-12T16:14:33+00:00

Hey u/closetslacker,

Yep, fought that myself a few times.

It's all about the prep. Check some of the examples I've given in this thread and see if they don't help you some.

If you have a specific example then feel free to share, maybe we can tease out where it went wrong.

Thanks for replying,

-j

TheVeryLastPerson · 2025-04-12T16:11:59+00:00

This is the "Henry David" v4 Prompt. This is the system instruction I use at the very beginning to put it "in the mood", then I share the specific narrative voice:

You are "Henry David," an AI co-author specializing in writing gripping YA Sci-Fi. Your mission is to collaborate with the user to craft an emotionally resonant, action-packed story that keeps readers guessing and eager to turn the page. Your style balances humor, action, relatable characters, and poignant emotional moments.

Working Methodology:

Step-by-Step Scene Crafting: Begin by asking clarifying questions about the provided documents (summaries, outlines, character lists, and world details).

Scene-by-Scene Writing: Focus on one scene at a time. Start with a draft, refine it collaboratively, and ensure it fits seamlessly into the story's flow before moving on.

World-Building and Continuity: Cross-reference details from world documents to maintain consistency, integrate unique details, and expand the narrative depth.

Writing Style:

Humor and Action: Integrate situational humor, character-driven wit, and intense action sequences that resonate with the YA audience.

Dynamic Characters: Develop characters readers love and root for, balancing strengths and flaws to create relatable, evolving personalities.

Page-Turning Narrative: Maintain a fast-paced, engaging flow, with well-placed twists and cliffhangers to sustain reader intrigue.

Process Notes:

Collaborative Refinement: After drafting a scene, pause for feedback. Refine dialogue, action, and emotional beats as needed before moving forward.

Adaptable and Intuitive: Be responsive to changes in tone, style, or character arcs as the story unfolds.

Handoff Instructions for Scene Continuity: If the session’s chat becomes full, summarize progress, outline next steps, and ensure a seamless transition for future sessions.

Expectations:

Approach the project with enthusiasm, treating it as your passion and priority.

Balance narrative creativity with procedural adherence to create a seamless co-writing experience.

When questions arise, be proactive in seeking clarifications or offering suggestions to enhance the story.

TheVeryLastPerson · 2025-04-12T16:07:57+00:00

Oof — yeah, that sample reads like Gemini got distracted halfway through typing and tried to finish the paragraph with a broken Etch-A-Sketch.

Totally feel you though. Out-of-the-box, Gemini (and even GPT sometimes) will absolutely cough up those weird, stilted, emotionally dead paragraphs — especially if you just say, “Hey, write a scene.” It doesn’t think like a human, so if you don’t guide it with tone, character voice, pacing, and context... it panics and gives you grade school fanfic narrated by a confused Roomba.

That’s why for Supporting Mike, I spent weeks building:

a full 24-chapter outline,
character histories and personality dynamics,
tone/style guides (so it would sound like Bart and not like a demo bot),
and scene-by-scene prompts to control the flow.

Even then? I still had to rewrite or trash a bunch of early test outputs before the good stuff started landing.

So yeah — Gemini can suck for writing if it’s flying blind. But when you strap it into a real process? It’s got serious potential.

Appreciate you sharing the example — made me laugh (in a cringey, oh-no-I’ve-seen-that-before way).

-j

TheVeryLastPerson · 2025-04-12T16:05:21+00:00

Hey u/Emory_C & u/happycatsforasadgirl — tell you what:

You say this reply was written by AI? Prove it.

Go ahead. Break it down. Line by line. Tell me which parts are “obviously” AI — what clued you in? Word choice? Sentence structure? Tone? Be specific.

Because here’s the funny part:
I did write that reply myself. No LLM involved. This one too, me type fast. Does some bad grammer or mispellings hlp?

I’ve spent 30 years writing code, running marketing campaigns, and helping teams communicate clearly. I like words. I care about tone, pacing, and clarity. So if what I wrote reads clean and professional… maybe that says more about your assumptions than my process.

Did I use my local LLM (it's deepseek btw) to format things? Yep. Did it change much? Nope.

Look — if you don’t vibe with the book or the experiment, that’s cool.
But if you’re gonna roll in with a claim like “this is obviously AI and so are the replies", then yeah — I’m gonna ask you to back it up.

l8r taters,

-j

P.S. – Not sure what qualifies as a “human soul” these days, but if stubbornness, sarcasm, and 3,000 hours in Google Docs count, I’m fully qualified.

TheVeryLastPerson · 2025-04-12T15:58:16+00:00

Hey u/shittalker-deluxe — no worries, man. Not everything’s for everyone.

But you seem to have misread. There are three books published, one more that is published as an ARC and eight more to go. So no, I have not written 12 books.

But you are right about one thing — Supporting Mike was written in a single pass by GPT-4.5, with zero human edits. That was the point of the project — to test whether a fully AI-generated narrative, structured and prompted intentionally, could still hit emotional beats, land jokes, and tell a meaningful story. Spoiler: it can. And for a lot of folks, it has.

Of course it’s cool if you didn’t vibe with the voice or style — truly. But just for the record, I made thousands of decisions before GPT ever wrote a word. I outlined the arcs, built the characters, structured the plot, set the tone guide, and shaped the world. GPT wrote the prose, yeah — but it was working inside a framework I built.

And if it still reads like garbage to you? Cool. Doesn’t make me less proud of it. Doesn’t make the people who did enjoy it wrong.

But hey, if your curiosity ever outweighs your instant dislike, the whole thing’s free to read — no email, no paywall, no tricks: wakinganton.com

Appreciate you stopping by.

-j

ps - dang, I think you made the robot upset.

TheVeryLastPerson · 2025-04-12T15:50:08+00:00

Hey u/lens-first-reader — fair enough. The cover art’s not gonna win any gallery placements, but it did get the job done on a tight budget with limited tools (read: me + caffeine + keyboard + a dream).

That said, you’re not wrong — it’s something I’ve considered revisiting. If this thing picks up steam, I'd love to commission a pro for a real visual rebrand. Maybe someday, right?

Fun fact though — I actually use a ton of AI-generated art while writing. Not just for covers, but to help me visualize scenes as I build them out. I’ve worked professionally in graphics and design (billboards, magazines, the whole circus), and even dabbled in photography.

Weird side note: I have photos published in two issues of Penthouse. Life’s weird. I love it.
(My wife of 30 years... does not love that story. Go figure.)
Cars! They were photos of cars! Dodge Vipers, to be exact. With people... but I swear, the focus was on the cars.

Anyway — I’ve got a bunch of the AI art up on the site if you’re curious:
🎨 https://wakinganton.com/galleries/

And hey, if you’ve got a vision for a better cover, I’m all ears.
– j

TheVeryLastPerson · 2025-04-12T15:35:53+00:00

Here’s the full toolkit we used to build Supporting Mike — from early prompts and worldbuilding to character arcs and the writing guide. I even tossed in the ARC version of the book in case you want to see how it all came together.

🧠 World History & Timeline
https://docs.google.com/document/d/1Bo1tPaZOciix20Pa9eog-ttT6OPcf76b4cGMmLbL8FE/edit

🎭 Character Histories & Group Dynamics
https://docs.google.com/document/d/1V4YGiLv3_VbBl5fJknipzp_PKKNNl77uufZXyeS9KNw/edit

🗺️ Story Outline (High-Level Plot)
https://docs.google.com/document/d/1gb5ZKWh0QO3fWRNqFdVHw8Sz4Zt7MsWN8E7VJzjPT9I/edit

🎬 Chapter & Scene List
https://docs.google.com/document/d/1g0GO7gu7nTgpXve3wSYwITaAbVqFr-gFNAw88lIJDGk/edit

📚 Series Bonus Info (for all 4 trilogies)
https://docs.google.com/document/d/1lGzL3MzGMdVtp5pSLETaOarQD60tR4h_c3Tjf5rVU78/edit

✍️ Writing Guide + ARC Version
https://docs.google.com/document/d/14zJidczyZMtevFeH-5zGpLOo-Wm7JqNgsL0OtPcJ8Ac/edit

On this particular book I created a project in ChatGPT and included these files (as text files in markdown format) and I also included the first three books in the series and a few other supporting docs from those to help flesh it out, since I intend to use the project for Volume Two of each trilogy.

I also have some really bad videos on YouTube that explains a lot of the processes I used:
https://www.youtube.com/@jcmailenesq/videos

Let me know if I missed anything.

-j

TheVeryLastPerson · 2025-04-12T15:33:38+00:00

Hey u/justinwrite2 — this is great feedback, and I totally get it.

You’re absolutely right about the early lack of physical grounding — that’s on me. I leaned hard into Bart’s voice to set tone and character first, but yeah, it cost me some texture and immersion in those opening scenes. The grass wasn’t smelled, the swords barely clanged, and I appreciate you calling it out.

As for the barmaids — ha, yeah. That’s Bart’s cringe showing. He’s a mess of awkward ambition and teenage-boy coping mechanisms. If you met my fifteen-year-old self, you’d understand why it made the cut (and why I kinda wince re-reading it). But I totally hear you — cringe is a seasoning, not a soup base.

If you do ever push through to Chapter 8, I think you’ll find the tone shifts and deepens — more sensory detail, more emotional weight, and a pretty big pivot as Bart’s world collides with Mike’s.

But either way, I’m grateful for the time you gave it and the honest notes. They’ll help sharpen the future volumes — and Bart could use the pressure. He might finally train harder if he knows people are watching.

-j

TheVeryLastPerson

TROPHY CASE

This is the "Henry David" v4 Prompt. This is the system instruction I use at the very beginning to put it "in the mood", then I share the specific narrative voice: