Hope, creativity, and crying about KPop Demon Hunters
On editing book 2, Golden, and what KPop Demon Hunters' success means for creativity.
Dear friend,
Hello from the editing cave! I was locked in over the Halloweekend, finishing up developmental edits for my second book, BIRD KING RISING.
Seeing all the HUNTR/X and Saja Boys costumes in my feed made me inexplicably emotional. But it wasn’t until I came across EJAE and Mark Sonnenblick’s recent interview with Vanity Fair that I started bawling.
There is something incredibly moving about the way EJAE talks about “Golden” and her unprecedented path to success. Her passion for songwriting is undeniable. She pours so much of her emotions and experience into her melodies, and that is why the soundtrack of KPop Demon Hunters speaks to so many people.
In the Vanity Fair interview, she talks about the bridge of “Golden” and how it embodies a bittersweet kind of hope. This is the hope we all need in 2025. It’s certainly the kind of hope KPop Demon Hunters gave me.
AI is being shoved down our throats. Every day feels like a constant battle against unbridled corporate interests and casual nihilism. But then you wake up and realize that projects like KPop Demon Hunters are taking over the world. That true creatives like EJAE are finally getting their flowers. That stories with heart and authenticity are still rewarded.
As creative work (and human labor in general) gets further and further devalued, as companies seek to profit from our isolation and despair, this is where the fight is.
One voice, among thousands, deciding that this matters. That we matter.
Because, at the end of the day, art is about connecting with other humans. And it matters now more than ever before.
✏️ Authorly musings:
As my deadline for book 2 dev edits approaches, I’m finally seeing the light at the end of the tunnel.
I’m not going to lie—at first, I was overwhelmed. In the past few years, I’ve been lucky. Most of my creative spurts fell during day-job lulls (e.g. during a career pivot when I was unemployed, or the summer period when business slows down). Having a deadline leading up to the craziness of Q4 was definitely a challenge I had to overcome.
But I don’t want to complain too much. I love the revision phase of writing. There’s something so gratifying about refining your vision—about seeing a manuscript go from meh to good to (possibly) great. It’s crucial to have an editor who understands exactly what you’re trying say, and I have been extremely blessed in this domain.
Apart from that, I love what revising does for my brain. Thinking through narrative problems, finding the best way to express certain information—it’s enjoyable, soul-feeding work. It’s why most of us get into writing in the first place.
If you truly value creativity, I don’t understand why you would ever feel the impulse to outsource this process to an LLM. The urge to create, to express ourselves, is a vital human need.
Writing prompts does not suffice. AI puts so much distance between yourself and the output. The disconnect is not only antithetical to the craft; it robs you of an opportunity to grow. To understand. To self-actualize.
The point is, it’s not just about the “quality” of the writing, nor is it about the plagiarism (although those are core parts of the discussion). It’s about what writing is for—because it seems too many people have forgotten why we write in the first place.
💌 What I’m loving lately:
Uncanny Valley by Anna Weiner. I have been meaning to read this since it came out five years ago, but I’m glad I waited. In 2025, it’s meeting me at my exact stage of disillusionment. Even though I never worked in Silicon Valley, I’m familiar with the tech industry and its arrogant, all-consuming ethos. There were several observations and lines in the memoir that spoke to me on a deeper level. The industry has remained frustratingly the same, but it’s validating to remember that there is nothing particularly unique about my experience. That someone has lived it all before. That we are not alone.
Partner Track. Once again, I’m several years late to the party. I finally watched Partner Track on Netflix. I was infuriated to hear it was canceled after one season. I’ve been working a lot, and I needed to unwind with a comfort watch that nonetheless had something to say. Partner Track, with its commentary on intersectionality, workplace bias, morality, and ambition, checked all the boxes for me. (However, I was never too sold on Arden Cho’s love interests. The chemistry between Ingrid and Z though?? That was a storyline I would have gone rabid for in a future season).
🔗 Links:
Add BLACK SALT QUEEN to your TBR on Storygraph and Goodreads.
Order BLACK SALT QUEEN via Amazon, Barnes & Noble, Bookshop.org, and wherever books are sold!
All my love,
S.B.
samanthabansil.com | @sam_bansil