A few weeks ago, I typed two words into ChatGPT: “Feeling overwhelmed.” Between a busy summer season, organizing a writer’s retreat, and delivering on promises to clients, not to mention the daily work of being a husband and father to teenagers, I was not in a good place.
“Feeling overwhelmed” was all I could muster. But that was enough. Here’s what the AI said back to me: “I’m really sorry you’re feeling that way, Chad. Want to talk about what’s weighing on you? Or we can just shoot the breeze for a minute if that’s better.”
This response got me to open up, to begin sorting through the different tasks on my list. In about fifteen minutes ChatGPT and I had developed a schedule for my day (including time for a nap!), and I was feeling much better.
At its base, AI is a gift. Much like electricity, the automobile, smartphone, WIFI—pick any major innovation. These technologies are at bottom an incredible step forward for humanity. That’s where I start. Appreciation. Gratitude. Even wonder.
But there’s more to it than that, particularly for writers. Neil Postman, author of Amusing Ourselves to Death, said, “Technology giveth, and technology taketh away.” We ignore either part of this reality at our peril.
Adopt or Avoid?
I work with writers across the spectrum of AI adoption. Some use AI dozens of times a day; others have yet to type in a prompt. The reasons writers end up wherever they are on the spectrum are numerous and diverse.
If you choose to avoid Large Language Models (LLMs) like ChatGPT or Claude.ai altogether, I think that’s an honorable and respectable choice. I may wonder a little if you’re missing out, maybe even working harder than you need to for results that may not be as good as they otherwise could be. But I will not begrudge your decision.
Those who are on the other side of the spectrum, who use AI a lot—again, I respect your decision. As a writing coach, I might caution you about letting AI steal your voice, or letting the rapidity with which it produces text seduce you into being lazy. I might even wax philosophical about how the joy of creativity often involves persisting through struggle. But I do understand (and actually join you in) trying to maximize AI’s usefulness.
To adopt or avoid AI is a false binary. Instead, I like to think in terms of an “appreciative critic” approach. Let me explain by way of an analogy.
A Wild Intelligence
LLMs are like wild horses—amazing, powerful, and unpredictable. I spent large portions of my childhood around horses, which led me quickly to two conclusions:
- Horses can be awe-inspiring. I treasure memories of riding through mountain meadows and galloping across wide-open fields.
- Horses can also be dangerous. I remember sitting on a horse once when it reached its head around and bit me on the thigh—painful! Another stepped on my foot when I wasn’t wearing proper boots. That one earned me a trip to the ER and a lifelong scar.
In the same way, this new “wild intelligence” to which we now have access can be a powerful ally—or a source of real harm. So how do we harness it? How do we enjoy its benefits without getting bitten?
Appreciative Critic
I’ve written just over 500 words in this article, and right now I’m facing a temptation. I’m tempted to copy and paste what I’ve written into ChatGPT and ask it to draft the rest of the article for me. Fact is, it’d probably do a decent job. Not a great job, but a solidly mediocre job that was ultra easy for me to produce. I could settle for the good instead of the best.
But I’m not going to do that. When I’ve finished the first draft, I may paste in the whole thing and ask for typos or suggestions, but I don’t want to cut off my own creative process.
In other words, while I deeply appreciate AI, I’m also its critic. I’m doing my best to be an engaged and thoughtful user. I’ve got the reins in my hands, and I’m trying to steer this wild intelligence in a productive direction.
Here’s a quick cheat sheet—a nowhere near exhaustive list of places where AI is most helpful for writers, and where it might lead you astray.
| Helpful Uses of AI for Writers Title or heading brainstormer Conversation partner Outliner Schedule consultant Fairly proficient proofreader of non-designed text Idea generator Light/mediocre copyeditor Very mediocre beta reader Summarizer Sounding board Amusement When you need help making a sentence clearer or more succinct Mistake-prone research partner When you’re feeling emotional about something and need help expressing yourself A repurpose machine—for example, drafting social media copy from (and to promote) a blog post | Risky Uses of AI for Writers Writing a first draft Developmental/substantive editor In lieu of a great copyeditor Replacement for your own voice An infallible research partner Ghost writer Proofreader of designed text Artist |
This table is intended as a practical starting point to discern the best and worst ways to use AI. Here’s a general rule of thumb to keep in mind: AI works best when you give it something to work with, rather than asking it to generate text with minimal input.
Of course, we’re all figuring this out in real time. I really enjoyed a thoughtful post on Jane Friedman’s site in which Audrey Kalman describes what happened when she hired ChatGPT as her writing coach. Her experiment points up what many of us are discovering: AI can offer real support—but it can’t replace the human parts of the creative process we value most.
Our relationship with AI is still unfolding. LLMs will continue to evolve, and so will the ways we use them. Cultivating an appreciative critic mindset will help us harness the promise of AI—while avoiding its perils.
Do you think AI is dangerous or helpful for writers?
22 Responses
Great insights!
I have a cautious mindset toward AI. Have asked it a few questions but don’t want dependency on it. I appreciate your suggestions for ways it can be used productively without dependency.
I hear you, Bob. It’s definitely a bit of a balancing act. Thanks for commenting!
I used AI to write two chapters for my ongoing project, Person Centered Care. The result was impersonal and lacked grace. It didn’t follow the research I suggested.
Yep, it’s imperfect at best. Kudos to you for giving it a whirl!
Chad, I’m still not sure of the answer. I don’t want to be lazy and use as a crutch. I have not used yet, but am trying to read and learn as much as possible before I take that big step. Thanks for your article.
You’re so welcome! Thanks for commenting, Julie!
Thank you, Chad, for this timely and balanced clarification.
My pleasure, thanks for the engagement, Lois!
Great insight, Chad! The first time I used ChatGPT, it felt exhilarating. It could take my mediocre text and transform it. But then I realized the opposite side, it erased my voice and those great sentences suddenly felt like cheating. I think your chart nails it! There’s some ways AI can be helpful, in small doses!
You hit the nail on the head. AI is great at some things, horrible at others. So it’s a matter of maximizing its strengths while avoiding its weaknesses like the plague!
Testing, testing… Just making sure folks can leave comments…
This is such an entertaining—but oh so wise post, Chad!
Thank you for not hiding from this conversation. You’ve truly nailed that tension point, to use or not to use- that IS the question.
The wild horse analogy is perfect and helped put a visual to it for me- thankyou!
Sorry to hear you’ve had some actual wild experiences with horses—hopefully your AI journey has been less painful!
Jane Friedman certainly has helpful insight into this discussion-I recently listened to a podcast with Jane and Thomas Umstattd Jr and seo being replaced with geo and how ai can help promote our books. It was fascinating, but also overwhelming. There is so much to consider.
https://www.thecreativepenn.com/2025/06/13/book-discoverability-in-an-age-of-ai-geo-for-authors-with-thomas-umstattd-jr/
I’m a huge AI user myself, though I draw the line at letting it create new content for me or generate illustrations. I still use thy good okd pen and paper method. As you alluded to, there’s gold in the wrestle, and I don’t want AI to steal that from me.
That said, I use it daily for a plethora of tasks. Like you, I’ve leaned on it more than once for a quick pick-me-up, a little cheap therapy, or some triage for life’s curveballs. It’s also a brilliant tool for processing new ideas and exploring the viability of book concepts. I especially love having Claude ask me clarifying questions to help me get to the heart of a creative vision.
Most recently, it helped me reformat some older blog content into Substack-ready posts—ready-made content! Saving me weeks of work.
I truly honor those who prefer to steer clear of AI altogether. But like you, I do wonder if some might find themselves left behind as it becomes more ingrained in the creative and professional landscape.
For me, AI is a helpmate, a tool, and a gift—best handled with care. Like a box of TNT: it has a purpose and can blow up time-thieving tasks or clear creative clutter—but without clear boundaries, it might just take out the whole farm.
Keep asking these questions Chad… these missions musings are truly valuable.
Thank you so much for this! I have cautiously used GPT Chat to help ” tighten up” some of the devotionals I have written. Some I loved- others – it took my voice away- I scolded it for doing so! Ha! Ha! Once it understood I wanted my creative voice to come through- it was helpful. It helped in a couple of ways. It has helped to re-word some things to be more efficient, and provide me a place to learn to do this more on my own! I love encouragement it gives but keep it mind IT”S NOT A HUMAN! ( I’m chuckling to myself!) I can relate to your horse example. I too grew up with horses and as much as I loved them ( and they loved me!) I held a healthy fear and respect of their strength and power. I have struggled with the whole AI issue – like it’s cheating if I use it but have settled in knowing my thoughts and ideas have come from God- AI can at times help me to frame it a little better! So thank you so much for this!
Great post.
AI is a great tool in the hands of the right user and with good prompts.
I used AI in the final phases of completing my manuscript.
It’s useful for brainstorming, helping with structure, summarizing, refining, reducing,.
Carefully used, AI is a great tool. In the wrong hands, it can be risky.
Well said, Greg, and thanks for commenting!
I’m a fan of AI, but also of my creativity.
Let it help, don’t let it lead.
Amen!
Honestly, I find myself in the camp that has not really used AI (outside of asking it to turn a picture of me into a Simpsons character), but not because I think it is a threat to artists. I’ve seen my share of AI written articles and artwork, while they are good, like you say, they lack voice and even worse, they lack heart. I guess I don’t use it because I feel like I can write a better story without it.
I think the danger is in taking too extreme an approach: love it and have it write everything, or hate it and exile it to the pit. I did enjoy the list you provided because it gave me some ideas on how I can utilize AI to make my writing process more proficient. So, thank you very much.
Thank you, Josh! I think that’s exactly right–not going too far in either direction. The language of a an appreciative critic captures that for me. Glad you liked the list, and I appreciate your comment!
I enjoy writing too much to allow AI to do that part for me, but I do find it very helpful in certain circumstances. For instance, as part of a series of books, it’s very helpful in summarising book contents and keeping track of characters, their traits, ages, etc. I also use AI as a research assistant. It can be extremely helpful if you want to keep things realistic. In that way it’s much like a search engine on steroids.
Overall, I’m not worried about AI taking a human’s place and I still use real people for proofing, editing, artwork, etc. but I don’t turn my back on it.
As an extra: I sometimes find it fun to give it five words and have it crank out a full novel. The results are hilarious 🙂
Michael, thank you! Sounds like you’re making great use of it! Appreciate the comment.