So true. I think its also key that the brand has a very clear point of view and voice so that they actually can generate copy drafts that's are on brand. I have to generate a lot of content in my role so use of AI has sped up my delivery—but my brands have a clear point of view and tone so I know how to take what I'm given to spin as our own.
Yes! I mean, AI is a very useful tool if you're in a content-heavy field, and you're right that it needs to be used with a skilled and light touch. Sometimes if I find I'm having a hard time getting something started, I'll kind of brain dump a general concept into it and give it as much detail as possible and then read through what it gives me. Often I'm so annoyed by what it spits out that it gets the wheels turning haha like, "NO! That's not what I meant by this! I mean to say THIS!" and then I start writing exactly what I mean. It's like it helps me unplug the dirty bathwater that is my overworked brain and allows me to put my fresh ideas out there.
It's one of the most useful bits of advice for any writer to read what they've written, out loud. And as for using AI for copy, that's a dangerous line to walk as if I get a whiff of that in any text, that company/writer is dead to me, forever.
I understand the strong feelings behind using AI but I'm curious about how you feel about a person using AI as a means of getting started. Obviously copying and pasting the slop AI puts out is no bueno, but what if someone is using it to help them organize their thoughts and then doing the actual writing themselves?
I'm young GenX with an English Literature degree and make my living as a writer, so I'm going to be about as anti-AI as you can get. In my book, every part of the process is part of the process. You start taking shortcuts and the writing suffers, if it's meant to be the least bit creative and personal that is. If it's just something mass market, fine, use whatever tools there.
Fair enough, AND (playing devil's advocate over here), AI can be a good tool for people who weren't formally trained in writing or English Lit.
I have some basic writing skills from my early education, but my background is in science which requires a whole different knowledge base and skillset. I don't recall ever learning about em dashes or the proper use of a semicolon, but I gained that knowledge through a lot of reading and eventually was helped along by AI tools, like ChatGPT.
As I learn more about the environmental impacts of AI, understand how AI is harming fellow artists/creatives, and also gain more confidence in my own creative writing process, I'm finding better ways to get the knowledge I need, but there are still times when using AI helps me organize my thoughts before diving into writing a new article.
I hope that revelation doesn't turn you off of reading what I'm putting out on Substack, though I understand if it does.
I do promise that the concepts I write about come directly from me and the things that keep me up at night. I just sometimes need help making my thoughts a bit more coherent before I jump into the actual writing.
I'm always going to be in favor of either some kind of formation in writing or then beating the pavement and working in journalism where how to write gets worked out through repetition and limits.
This is actually one of the big issues with using AI in that there's simply too much text in what many people are writing. It lacks for brevity and I think it's why I often find myself reading things diagonally these days. While the concepts are usually good, the execution is a big middle aged in that it can be flabby in the middle.
That makes sense. I do feel like AI has forced me to learn how to cut things down, though. It so often says the same thing in myriad ways that I get annoyed and cut whole chunks of it out. Pre-AI, I was a bit precious about what I wrote. I tend to be quite long-winded when I speak, let alone when I write but seeing the slop that AI has spit out has allowed me to be a bit more ruthless and far less precious about my words. It's something I'm still learning, for sure, and sometimes the concept I'm writing about requires a bit more space.
So true. I think its also key that the brand has a very clear point of view and voice so that they actually can generate copy drafts that's are on brand. I have to generate a lot of content in my role so use of AI has sped up my delivery—but my brands have a clear point of view and tone so I know how to take what I'm given to spin as our own.
Yes! I mean, AI is a very useful tool if you're in a content-heavy field, and you're right that it needs to be used with a skilled and light touch. Sometimes if I find I'm having a hard time getting something started, I'll kind of brain dump a general concept into it and give it as much detail as possible and then read through what it gives me. Often I'm so annoyed by what it spits out that it gets the wheels turning haha like, "NO! That's not what I meant by this! I mean to say THIS!" and then I start writing exactly what I mean. It's like it helps me unplug the dirty bathwater that is my overworked brain and allows me to put my fresh ideas out there.
It's one of the most useful bits of advice for any writer to read what they've written, out loud. And as for using AI for copy, that's a dangerous line to walk as if I get a whiff of that in any text, that company/writer is dead to me, forever.
I understand the strong feelings behind using AI but I'm curious about how you feel about a person using AI as a means of getting started. Obviously copying and pasting the slop AI puts out is no bueno, but what if someone is using it to help them organize their thoughts and then doing the actual writing themselves?
I'm young GenX with an English Literature degree and make my living as a writer, so I'm going to be about as anti-AI as you can get. In my book, every part of the process is part of the process. You start taking shortcuts and the writing suffers, if it's meant to be the least bit creative and personal that is. If it's just something mass market, fine, use whatever tools there.
Fair enough, AND (playing devil's advocate over here), AI can be a good tool for people who weren't formally trained in writing or English Lit.
I have some basic writing skills from my early education, but my background is in science which requires a whole different knowledge base and skillset. I don't recall ever learning about em dashes or the proper use of a semicolon, but I gained that knowledge through a lot of reading and eventually was helped along by AI tools, like ChatGPT.
As I learn more about the environmental impacts of AI, understand how AI is harming fellow artists/creatives, and also gain more confidence in my own creative writing process, I'm finding better ways to get the knowledge I need, but there are still times when using AI helps me organize my thoughts before diving into writing a new article.
I hope that revelation doesn't turn you off of reading what I'm putting out on Substack, though I understand if it does.
I do promise that the concepts I write about come directly from me and the things that keep me up at night. I just sometimes need help making my thoughts a bit more coherent before I jump into the actual writing.
I'm always going to be in favor of either some kind of formation in writing or then beating the pavement and working in journalism where how to write gets worked out through repetition and limits.
This is actually one of the big issues with using AI in that there's simply too much text in what many people are writing. It lacks for brevity and I think it's why I often find myself reading things diagonally these days. While the concepts are usually good, the execution is a big middle aged in that it can be flabby in the middle.
That makes sense. I do feel like AI has forced me to learn how to cut things down, though. It so often says the same thing in myriad ways that I get annoyed and cut whole chunks of it out. Pre-AI, I was a bit precious about what I wrote. I tend to be quite long-winded when I speak, let alone when I write but seeing the slop that AI has spit out has allowed me to be a bit more ruthless and far less precious about my words. It's something I'm still learning, for sure, and sometimes the concept I'm writing about requires a bit more space.
Such a good read!
Glad you like it!