Embracing AI in Writing & Editing

For authors and editors like me, the standard ‘No, don’t worry, AI won’t replace you; you just need to learn how to use it’ won’t be enough. We want to know how that’s possible. Since I’m promoting the use of AI to our advantage, I asked ChatGPT for a few suggestions.

Please note that I didn’t edit any of ChatGPT’s responses—this will demonstrate a few flaws in the structure of its answers. Answers by ChatGPT are italicised, and I expand on each answer below based on my experience working with AI so far.

Here’s my question:How can I, as an editor and author, learn how to use AI to my advantage to enhance my skills, embrace new tools, and improve my creativity and critical thinking?

ChatGPT said:

Leveraging AI as an editor and author can enhance your skills and foster creativity. Here are several strategies to effectively integrate AI tools into your workflow:

1. 1. Content Generation: Use AI to brainstorm ideas, generate content drafts, or overcome writer’s block. Tools like ChatGPT can provide prompts, outlines, or even entire drafts that you can refine. This can free up time for you to focus on higher-level editing and polishing.

I have to admit, I love this aspect of ChatGPT. Writer’s block has never been easier to overcome. If I have an idea, but there are large gaps that just don’t want to be filled, you can ask ChatGPT for a few prompts and choose your favourite. It’s as simple as that.

Now, this raises a new question—does using ChatGPT make an author’s work less original? I admit, it can feel like cheating, especially when asking for entire draft outlines. Part of creative writing is creativity; it’s in the name after all.

That’s why I would never recommend AI as the first stop every time we’re stuck. But during those instances of writer’s block that have us staring at a blank screen, contemplating how much strength we;ll need to shatter it against the wall, maybe then consider asking an AI chatbot first.

2. 2. Editing and Proofreading: Utilize AI-powered editing tools like Grammarly or ProWritingAid. These tools can help catch grammar and punctuation errors, suggest style improvements, and provide readability scores, allowing you to focus on substantive edits and enhancing the overall flow of your work.

‘Woah, woah, woah—hold up. That’s half my job as an editor!’

This may be our first reaction, but let me ask in return: How many of us don’t use Grammarly or something similar while writing or editing? Even just Microsoft Word’s built-in editor, though it’s by far the least reliable.

AI-powered editing tools make writing and editing easier. It has a habit of pointing out those pesky little things the human eye may miss … even after multiple rounds of editing. By no means does it take away from our role as an editor.

The fact remains that AI can’t replace the individuality and personality of the human voice.

Someone who uses Grammarly alone, even or especially Grammarly Premium, will end up with a piece of writing that’s rigid and soulless. These editing tools have a very generic tone of voice meant to cater for a large network of users. This means it will standardise all writing into the same unoriginal, bland tone, which isn’t very inspiring or engaging.

3. 3. Research Assistance: AI can streamline your research process by summarizing articles, identifying key themes, and extracting relevant data. This can help you stay organized and informed without getting overwhelmed by information overload.

I can’t rave enough about this advantage! My writing takes place in many different settings, genres, and historical periods I know very little or nothing about. During high school, this meant hours of scouring the Internet for vague answers among hundreds of articles.

Enter ChatGPT.

Research has become a delight! If I want to know about Viking dance styles, ChatGPT explains each one to me. If I need to know about ghost towns in the Wild West, it gives me a list. If I have questions about the Greek deities, it gives me full descriptions. And all of this happens in a matter of seconds (depending on internet speed, of course).

The same qualifies for editing. A prime example is the different rules for punctuation, grammar, and referencing between the various style guides. If I just need a quick answer to check on a difference, I ask ChatGPT. It’s much faster and simpler than using Google, which often makes finding answers a very frustrating scavenger hunt. ChatGPT completes that hunt for us while we get to walk away with the reward.

4. 4. Style and Tone Analysis: Some AI tools analyze your writing style and tone, helping you adjust your work to better fit your target audience or brand voice. This feedback can be invaluable in honing your unique writing style.

This is where it can get tricky. Didn’t I just say that AI can’t replace human style and tone? Well, yes, and here’s where the difference lies: AI isn’t writing this style or tone from scratch unless we ask it to with very detailed specifications. And even then, it can only draw on existing structures.

Grammarly can detect the tone of voice, but only if it falls within certain categories that are usually aimed at something formal or general. When it comes to creative writing especially, it will not detect and dictate our individual style.

Remember, AI chatbots can only draw from existing online data or scripts provided by human writers. It uses Natural Language Processing (NLP) to turn the input data into natural-seeming answers by studying the patterns in human writing. So, while AI tools can analyse and help guide our tone, we still need to create our own style first.

5. 5. Continuous Learning: Engage with online courses or webinars focused on AI in writing and editing. Platforms like Coursera or Udemy offer courses that teach you how to effectively use AI tools in your writing process.

Okay, we had to know that at some point we would have to pay to get ahead. My father often says it takes money to make money. If anyone really wants to master any new skill or tool, it generally helps to take a course designed and presented by professionals in the area. AI might still be new or developing, but it’s no different.

If we feel like self-study isn’t taking us much further and we want to learn more, there are already many courses that will help. Continuous learning will be with us until the end of time. There’s no dodging it, so we need to make sure that we find a way to engage in continuous learning that suits each of us best.

6. 6. Collaboration with AI: Experiment with AI as a collaborative partner. Instead of viewing it as a replacement, use AI-generated content as a starting point. You can build on it, adding your unique perspective and insights, which encourages creativity.

This adds to what I mentioned above about whether using AI diminishes creativity. It doesn’t have to. In the same way that collaborative writing partners work together to turn a concept into a reality, AI can be our silent partner.

The foundation of this will be our ethical and moral views. We could use AI to write entire novels or articles for us, but odds are, someone will call us on it. There goes our reputation. People know what AI is capable of and they’re cautious enough of it that some will make it their lives’ mission to determine the difference between human and AI writing.

If we’re using AI to do our writing for us from start to finish, are we really authors, or are we just lazy? We know the answer.

So, don’t be lazy. We need to be authors and editors in our own right. Our minds are still brilliant even if they come to an abrupt halt sometimes when overloaded. When the mind does overload, we should take a breath and trust it to show us how to bring our ideas to life. The ideal is to only use AI when there’s an obvious gap in our knowledge that we would’ve had to fill with Google research anyway.

7. 7. Stay Updated: Regularly read articles, blogs, or join forums discussing AI advancements in writing and editing. Websites like Writer’s Digest and Medium often publish insights on the evolving role of AI in the writing industry.

‘More research, yay….’

This answer may seem to contradict after I just said that AI can lessen the amount of research we need to do, but in careers like editing and writing, research is the ever-present shadow. We’ll always have to put in an effort to learn new things and validate our answers.

AI chatbots can still be used as a guide to find sources faster or summarise long articles we don’t have the time to read. After all, AI is only a very convenient summary of everything already available to us on the Internet. However, while this helps for quick answers, it’s still better to go straight to the source sometimes.

8. 8. Ethics and Best Practices: Familiarize yourself with the ethical considerations and best practices for using AI in writing and editing. Understanding the limitations of AI and ensuring originality in your work will help maintain credibility and authenticity.

How we use AI will ultimately be determined by our own ethics, morality, and self-value. AI itself has a pretty strict moral code according to which it formats its answers. There are certain things it won’t tell us that we’ll still have to Google.

However, when it comes to credibility and copyright, it will be in our hands to remain ethical and authentic in our choices. If we’re writing or editing non-fiction, we need to make sure our chatbot fully references its sources for our own bibliography. Or we should ask it for a list of sources and read through them ourselves to enhance our own understanding.

The key is not to rewrite AI’s answers directly, but to use it as a foundation to build and improve on. It may be difficult at first since AI is already quite good at summarising, but that’s the challenge that faces authors and editors. It’s the same challenge as it has always been when quoting and referencing sources; it just comes from a different place now.

9. 9. Join Communities: Participate in writing and editing communities that focus on technology’s role in the industry. Engaging with peers can provide insights into successful strategies and new tools.

Before AI, we had people to guide and support us. With AI, we still have those same people who can provide new perspectives that AI might not think about. Grow together as a community, teach each other how to effectively use this new tool, and find a way to ensure AI doesn’t become a threat to the future.

As long as people still value a fellow human’s opinions and input more than a machine’s, AI will never be able to replace us.

10. 10. Feedback and Iteration: After using AI tools, seek feedback from peers or mentors on the outputs. Iterating based on this feedback will enhance your critical thinking and improve your editing skills.

Edit, edit, edit. Even AI-generated content needs to be edited to make sure everything aligns with our aims and purposes. So, if we’re unsure whether we’ve taken your collaboration with our AI partner too far, we can ask the people who know us best to check that we’ve stayed true to our unique style and voice. AI can’t replace a friend, family member, or colleague willing to give their input.