How I use (and don’t use) AI in my writing process
Behind The Scenes #2
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“Oh no, not another article about AI”
Sorry (not sorry) - I think this might be useful.
I’ve been an AI skeptic for pretty much the entire time ChatGPT and its robot buddies have existed in the mainstream.
There was a period when I hated it and got awfully judgy about anyone else who incorporated it into their system.
I do understand that feeling, by the way. I was a little reluctant to write this post because of it. I know some people will see the headline and unsubscribe without a second thought.
But over the last few months, I’ve come to realise something pretty key: AI can’t replace human creativity (no matter what anyone says), but it can act as a support mechanism for that creativity.
To put this into context, here’s how my initial train of thought concerning AI played out:
“Wow, this thing is amazing! I can’t believe it was able to write that entire article in seconds! The AI revolution has begun!”
“Wait… these articles are kinda crap. Maybe I should’ve written them myself.”
“Wait… I can do this WAY better than that damn robot ever could - I’ll never use it again!”
“Argh, I’m so disorganised! There’s so much I want to do and I just can’t get everything in line. I’ll burn out in no time this way.”
“What if I used AI to help me plan and organise my content schedule (because it’s better at it than me) but I wrote the actual content (because I still feel more comfortable doing it myself)?”
“Oh. That works.”
“Hey… this is great!”
I’m now at a place where I’m actively experimenting with AI to see how it fits into my overall business setup.
So far, I can say it’s definitely boosted my productivity, lowered my stress levels, and helped me focus like never before, purely by organising the parts of my working life that were becoming something of a rambling trainwreck.
(I’m a pantser - I’m not great when it comes to planning)
I realised AI is just a tool, one that can handle tedious, time-consuming tasks in my day-to-day and free me up to focus on the creative parts of writing that I truly love.
I know you’ll have heard that sort of thing over and over by now, but it’s honestly been the case for me. And I still skew more towards AI skepticism than fandom.
In this post, I’ll share the specific ways I’m using AI to support my writing process, and just as importantly, the ways in which I don’t use it.
Hopefully it’ll help if you’re still unsure about how to make the most of it right now.
This post is part of my ‘Behind The Scenes’ series for paid subscribers. Upgrade now to read every new and previous instalment. 👇