Nicholas AstillWritingPortfolioMap

Essays

Writing and reflections.

Thoughts on Identity

Why are you so weird about it?

My identity doesn't belong to me, it is something conferred by others, and how others perceive me is well beyond my control. However, much of my discomfort is driven by the fact that something important to me, something intrinsic to me, is ethereal in a world requiring tangibility.

23 September 2026

Kids Killing Each Other, Power, Fear, Fantasy, and Lies

All those stupid lies we keep believing.

A measured opinion piece.

22 August 2026

Write Using Your Brian

A madness-induced ramble of concerns and writing observations listed and vivisected live-on-air-in-gore-drenched-detail for your eyeballs' reading pleasure.

LLMs appear to have infected human wrists and mouths nowadays, and the writing habitus of the machine subjugates the human voice. Furthermore, LLMs have fundamentally changed how written assignments are approached by institutions and students. Related, perhaps? Please, for the love of all the small joys left in the world: do better. As a favour.

22 June 2026