“Katie, why do you still write if Ai can write for you?”
“Besides, the writing process is horrible.”
Even many authors don’t “like” it. Stephen King relies on his daily 2,000 word count to return to the “terror of the blank page,” and Anne Lamott (who I adore) has said plainly “I can honestly tell you that I never feel like writing.”
“No one wants to read any more.”
As marketers, we say that websites need less copy, with:
Bullet lists
Scannable text
Visual cues
If we don’t add those design elements then no one will take the time to read a paragraph-style text block like this, because attention spans are too low.
“Everyone uses Ai, right?”
Generative Ai helps people get results, fast.
Many people use Ai for grant writing, presentations, I even recommend them to start your marketing plans on the cheap.
But, writing this article (without Ai) helped clarify my own thoughts.
When I’m stuck in the whirlpool of my own thoughts, writing forces my brain to make choices.
And, before hitting the “publish” button, I review what I write. I swim through the stew of my past self on the page, and delightfully, I toss out the gross bits.*
I suppose I keep writing simply because precisely what makes is difficult is what I find most helpful.
I keep writing, because the process calms my mind.
Writing allows us to figure out the answer for ourselves
When we write, we learn how to fuse thoughts into words, arguments, and stories. What will we lose if we accidentally give up that freedom to Ai?
I worry that if we stop writing, we’ll never develop the discipline of figuring things out.
I worry what else we’ll stop doing, because it’ll feel too hard.
I worry that we’ll forget how to learn.
I don’t want to leave you with a half-baked conclusion, so maybe I need to write more about this another time. For now, I’m going to press pause on worrying and use Gemini to help me figure out what to make for dinner. ;)
How about you. Are you still writing?
Let me know. (Truly).
*Anne Lamott describes first drafts as the “child draft,” because we are under the false childlike pretense that all our thoughts matter. She also names this, “the shitty first draft.” If you’re someone who still likes reading and writing, I’ve re-read her book Bird by Bird many times and highly recommend it.