The big question: Do I use AI for my writing?

The answer: Absolutely.

Let’s clear something up—there’s nothing wrong with using AI to help you write. You’re not committing some literary sin by doing it.

However, before you go typing “write me the greatest article ever” into ChatGPT, I have some bad news.

If you want to receive a prompt set on how to use ChatGPT to improve/polish your writing, do the following:

Follow me on Medium.
Comment “Done” on the medium article.

If you expect AI to do all the work for you, what you’ll end up with is a generic, soulless piece of writing. You know, the kind of article that reads like it was spat out by a robot (which, technically, it was) and leaves you feeling... underwhelmed.

So, how do you actually use AI to write something that doesn’t suck?

Simple: you write the article yourself.

You heard me. You have to put in some effort.

I know, I know, that’s not what you wanted to hear. But if you think an AI is going to magically create the next viral blog post while you sit back sipping your coffee, think again. AI models like ChatGPT don’t know what “original” is. They’ve been trained on tons of data (I know this first hand since I train AI models myself) and all they do is shuffle around that data to create something “new.” (It’s not)

If AI’s just using a bunch of old data, how can it possibly be original?

It can’t. That’s the point.

But! AI can still be super useful if you know how to use it right. Here’s the secret: You give it a prompt — aka. a set of instructions—, you write some content, and then you ask it to help you expand or tweak certain areas.

Let me break it down.

Say you’re writing an article about some historical event and you’re in full-on critique mode, but—fugg—you’re light on facts. This is where AI can swoop in to save the day. You can ask it to pull up relevant facts, and you even get to choose where they go.

Just make sure to double-check the facts, eh.

Or better yet, if you have no clue where to put em, tell it to place the facts wherever they seem appropriate. You’re the boss here.

Need humor? Tell the AI what kind of jokes you’re going for. You can even specify the writing style—like, if you’re sick of writing long paragraphs, ask it to break them up. Frequent line breaks, baby doll.

The point is, you have to be in control.

If you just let AI do its thing without any direction, the only engagement you will get will come from you, yourself reading your own article over and over, wondering why nobody even touches it. You don’t want that.

Oh, and don’t forget about titles. People love those more than the content itself.

Lastly, you have to edit your articles. The output will almost always never be what you want. Rewrite sentences. Delete unnecessary fluff. Again, you’re the boss here as well.

Once you’re satisfied, click that “Publish” button.

The TL;DR is, yes, use AI. It’s a great tool, but it’s just that—a tool. You’re the one with the creative vision, so don’t hand over the reins entirely. Otherwise, your articles are going to suck.

The end.

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