Writer / Product designer / Builder
Charles Wilke.
A little more about how I make things—and why I keep making them.
Omaha, Nebraska
“Then DALL·E 2 came out. Then the fun began.”
Generative AI kind of fell in our laps. I was working at GoDaddy when, about six months before ChatGPT arrived, we were looking at the GPT API to help people build out the About pages on their online stores.
Then came DALL·E 2 and a small AI art Slack channel where we kicked around our abominations. It was fun, silly, and fascinating. That early potential has since turned into tangible projects and opportunities beyond my wildest dreams.
I had a whole career making things before AI. You can explore some of that writing, games, and experimentation in The Before Times.
“It’s never really the same thing twice.”
I often start with a draft: something tangible, if a little disjointed. I bring that into a conversation with AI, bounce around the core idea, and try to find the spine of my thoughts.
From there, we build the structure of a piece, flesh it out, bat it around, and edit, edit, edit. I revise, tweak, adjust, add imagery, and try to get it out before noon. It’s equal parts feeling it’s ready and wanting it done.
Early on, I tried the shortcut of asking for 1,500 words on a concept, in someone else’s voice, then asking for it to be longer or funnier. That fizzles at scale. I’ve got things to say and avenues to explore.
The conversation transcripts are linked at the end of the essays, so you can see the work behind them. I’m the editor in chief of what appears here, including the opinions and choice of subject matter.
What happens when an essay becomes a song?
The music started because I wanted to play with how an idea is delivered. Could the concepts and messages in a piece of writing become a song?
Just about all the songs grew directly out of specific essays. A piece often ends somewhere I didn’t expect; using it as the basis for a song becomes another unexpected journey. It turns out that process is really satisfying.
The writing, music, and theatrical projections are things I make for myself, too. They’ve been a labor of love.
The space between good enough and meaningful.
These tools make “good enough” more accessible. There’s still a huge gap between good and great, meaningless and meaningful, inert and provocative. Attempting to bridge those gaps is where I find the artistry.
There’s still room for skill, taste, nuance, and perspective for anyone willing to take the time. I decide what’s worth making when I have the interest in making it. Sounds reductive, sounds recursive, but that’s how I tend to decide what’s next.
What I enjoy day to day is the sheer velocity: building bigger things, crafting more intricate ideas, and exploring with wonder. When I work with other people, though, I take my time to understand, digest, and consider. I really listen.
“I just like to noodle.”
- The surprising assumption
- People assume I’m an engineer. I just like to noodle. And I have a high capacity to endure discomfort.
- Why all the retro?
- I’m an ’80s kid living through repeated unprecedented times. Those aesthetics make me feel at home.
- The stoplight proposal
- Yep, I proposed without a ring at a stoplight. I think we just agreed, then shook hands.
There’s more about creativity, AI, authorship, and the questions I’m still working through in the full FAQ.