What Writers Get Wrong About AI

Quick Answer

The question isn’t whether AI has touched your writing. The question is what you asked it to do.

Writers already use dictionaries, spell-checkers, writing software, plotting exercises, editors and other tools to improve their craft. AI belongs in that ecosystem. It is just capable of generating far more than these tools do. That makes boundaries essential.

AI can help a writer brainstorm, research, structure, edit, interrogate an idea and identify gaps. It can even turn a writer’s own raw material into something usable.

But AI cannot replace the things that make writing worth reading: your experiences, observations, worldview, humour, quirks, opinions, pain, anger, joy and judgment.

The Question Writers Are Asking Is Wrong

I am a writer.

I will probably always be a writer, even when I’m not writing, because I’m either thinking about writing or writing posts in my head. I love writing and I think it is the highest form of meditation because you’re spending time with yourself, building something from scratch that is entirely yours.

Now that that is out of the way, let’s talk about AI and writing.

I think the question we ask ourselves, as writers and creators of art, is: is a piece of writing still human if AI has had a look at it? I think we’re penalising ourselves too much for using AI or not using AI.

We’re also asking the entirely wrong question. 

We don’t question the use of Word. We don’t question the use of dictionaries to find better words. We don’t scream and shout because we use writing exercises, spell-checks, Grammarly and other tools for plotting, improving our craft and structuring our writing so that it makes sense.

So why do we immediately turn up our noses when a writer starts talking about AI? I’ll tell you why. Because most of the time, writers are using AI wrong. They use AI to substitute something that cannot be substituted: you.

What Good AI-Assisted Writing Looks Like

Let me share an instance of good usage of AI.

I was reading a book and making notes as I read it. Once I was done, I had a note worth about 1,500 words. I didn’t have the energy to write a review, so I gave my notes to Claude and defined very clear boundaries:

• Use only my words
• Don’t add words of your own
• Don’t paraphrase
• Help me turn these notes into a book review

What came out was almost 80% usable. I cleaned it up, removed bits I knew I would never say and smoothed out the bits that looked too AI-generated. And two months of reading and note-taking was summarised in five minutes.

Did AI write my review? Not really, I had already done the thinking. AI only helped me organise my own material into a form I could work with.

What Bad AI-Assisted Writing Looks Like

Now let me give you an instance of bad usage.

I have three draft manuscripts about two characters I adore. I have tried to write, rewrite, rethink and re-engineer this story multiple times, but I haven’t been able to go anywhere. So I thought: I’ll give my drafts to Claude and ask it to make me a manuscript that I can then edit.

Win-win, yes? Apparently not.

Claude must have asked me a million questions to make sure it got my tone right, it captured my vision for the characters, it understood what I wanted from the story. Yet the final product was…meh.

I stopped when I realised I was rewriting almost the entire thing. Now my manuscripts are lying somewhere, containing three different versions of the story without a cohesive narrative.

That horror story aside, what became clear to me is, I was trying to outsource the part of writing that was actually mine to do. I hadn’t finished thinking about the story. I hadn’t figured out what these characters needed to become. No amount of prompting could substitute for my thinking.

What These Two Experiments Taught Me About Using AI

1. Don’t use AI to think on your behalf

AI is a tool, not a replacement for your mind. If you haven’t figured out what you want to say, asking AI to figure it out for you is likely to produce something technically coherent but creatively empty.

2. Generic inputs produce generic outputs

This sounds obvious, but writers forget it constantly.

If you give AI “write an emotional story about friendship” you are going to get something that could have been written by anyone. The more specific your material, context, constraints and perspective, the more useful the output becomes.

3. Spend more time on the instruction than the output

Think about:

• What do you want it to do?
• What do you not want it to do?
• What material can it use?
• What should it leave untouched?
• What does good writing look like to you?

The prompt isn’t just an instruction, it is a creative boundary. And writers understand boundaries because creativity itself often comes from setting rules that force you to think differently. The same thing applies to AI.

4. Have a conversation with it

I tried the same trick of giving my almost 1,200 words of notes to ChatGPT and asking it to come up with a book review. Despite trying multiple times, I knew it couldn’t do what I needed it to do. So I wrote it myself. 

And that’s alright. AI doesn’t have to succeed just because you’ve decided to use it. Sometimes the most intelligent use of AI is recognising that it isn’t the right tool for that particular job.

Where Writers Go Wrong

The problem isn’t AI. The problem is lazy usage of AI.

I’ve read so many stories that are very obviously AI-written. They have lots of words but aren’t making a single point. They are written the same way – staccato, stacked sentences, metaphors piled high enough to fill a library and absolutely zero personality.

Writing stories is about the human who is writing and about the humans they are writing about. Your humour, quirks, worldview, opinions, pain, anger and joy are all fodder for your writing. AI cannot replace this. 

It can give you more effective words to convey what you’re feeling. It can suggest a different way to structure a scene. It can point out that your character’s motivation doesn’t make sense. But AI cannot make your character human. That is your job. If you outsource your job to AI, it will give you something that is lacklustre at best.

Where AI Can Actually Help Writers

The useful question isn’t “should I use AI?” it is: where in my writing process can AI make me better.

1. Use AI to challenge your plot

Create a plotline and ask ChatGPT for feedback. If you have enough of a starting point, it can point out loopholes, identify weak motivations and make recommendations. You can then ignore every single one of them if they don’t fit your vision.

2. Use AI to feed your curiosity

Ask Perplexity to help you research.

I once asked it to explain agriculture in India because I wanted to understand the sudden love affair almost every nutrition influencer seemed to be having with millets. I wondered if wheat production was declining, which was why we were suddenly championing millets.

It fed my curiosity. That information now lives rent-free in my mind, and I cannot wait to use it in some random subplot in a fantasy story I’m writing about a kingdom.

3. Use AI as an editor

Don’t have beta readers? Have a submission deadline coming up and don’t have time to wait for a friend to read your story? Ask Claude to act as an editor.

Ask it:

• Where does the story lose momentum?
• Which character motivations aren’t clear?
• Where am I repeating myself?
• What feels unnecessary?
• Does the ending work?

Then read what it says. What makes sense? What doesn’t? Which edits genuinely enhance the story?

The Biggest Red Flag: When You Stop Thinking

A lot of times, we think that just because we’re using AI, we have to stop using our critical mind. That’s where writers fail.

I’ve read and followed many community writers who, in their bid to use AI to churn out content, have left behind their own unique voice and perspective. Read their stories now and they are as bland as food without namak or mirchi.

Don’t let AI blunt your sword. Use it to sharpen your blade.

Your writing may have gone too far into AI territory if:

• You don’t recognise yourself in it
• It says very little and adds nothing meaningful to the conversation
• There are metaphors everywhere
• If AI wrote it and you don’t understand or believe it, don’t keep it simply because it sounds good

The Human Parts of Writing That AI Cannot Replace

Writing isn’t just putting words together. It is observation, judgment, experience. It is having an opinion and questioning the status quo. It is having something worthwhile to say.

And let me tell you one more thing. All those people who boasted that they can all become writers now thanks to AI? That you’re no longer special because you can write and they cannot?

Well.

They aren’t the ones using AI to write stories. They’re happy writing their LinkedIn posts that sound exactly the same. It is writers, us, who are capable of using AI badly and diluting what makes writing worthwhile.

And perhaps that’s the part we should actually be worried about. Not that AI can write. But that we might become so obsessed with making writing faster, smoother and easier that we stop making it ours.

Key Takeaways

• AI does not automatically make writing inauthentic.
• The value of AI depends on where it enters the writing process.
• AI is most useful when it assists thinking rather than replacing it.
• Specific inputs and clear boundaries produce more useful outputs.
• Writers should use AI to brainstorm, research, critique, structure and edit – not outsource their lived experience, worldview or creative judgment.
• AI can improve language, but it cannot replace personality.

Frequently Asked Questions

Should writers use AI?

Yes. AI can be a useful writing and thinking tool when used within clear boundaries. 

Does using AI make writing less human?

Not necessarily. AI involvement does not automatically determine whether writing is human or authentic. The writer’s thinking, experience, perspective and editorial judgment remain central.

What should writers use AI for?

Writers can use AI for brainstorming, research assistance, outlining, editing, critique, identifying gaps, exploring alternatives and testing ideas.

What should writers not use AI for?

Writers should be cautious about outsourcing personal experience, creative intent, opinions, emotional truth, character development and final editorial judgment.

How do you prevent AI from making your writing sound generic?

Give it specific context and clear boundaries, and critically review its output. Most importantly, don’t allow AI to overwrite the elements that make your writing recognisably yours.

What is the biggest mistake writers make when using AI?

Using AI to avoid thinking. When a writer delegates the actual creative and intellectual work instead of using AI to support it, the resulting writing is likely to lose specificity, personality and point of view.

Is AI-assisted writing the same as AI-generated writing?

No. AI-assisted writing uses AI as a tool within a writer-led process. AI-generated writing delegates a substantial part of the ideation, creation or expression to AI.