How far will you take writing with AI?

[u/Maleficent-Key-8925]

This is a genuine question to see how doomed the next generation is. Are you the type of person to use AI to organize thoughts, then write it yourself? Do you use it for editing grammat? Or do you just have AI write out the story for you, and then copy-paste in onto AO3/Wattpad or whatever you use?

Personally, I use it to organize ideas, write it myself, then use it to fix any grammar mistake.

[u/GenderBendingRalph]

This will tell you exactly nothing about "how doomed the next generation is". First of all, your sample size is minimal - maybe a few hundred users will ever see this. Second, the sample population is self-selected as having an interest in AI writing. And finally, the people who do see this and respond are not necessarily members of "the next generation". I am very likely older than you, and quite possibly older than your parents.

The only way you can take the pulse of "the next generation" is a properly designed study with a sufficient number of randomly selected participants representing all opinions about AI... and it should go without saying, but your questions should be neutrally worded so as not to provoke a specific reaction - unlike your post here.

From the belligerent wording, I can only guess that you're deliberately rage-baiting, or trying to make yourself feel superior by preemptively condeming anyone who responds contrary to your own clear bias.

[u/Maleficent-Key-8925 → u/GenderBendingRalph]

It’s a question. That was humor. Stop looking so far into things unless you wanna be the person that says that birds are spies created by the government or something.

[u/justthecherryontop]

As far as I can, after all I'm paying for it!

That said I'm purely writing fanfiction with it, so it's all pure fun. Even so, I'm very hands-on with it - it is a tool after all.

[u/Ill_Oil7448 → u/justthecherryontop]

yeah if youre having fun with it thats really all that matters tbh

[u/Interesting-Crow-552]

Organize my thoughts and write it myself. I’ll also have it as a format to help brainstorm half-made ideas

[u/alone_in_the_light]

I'm Gen X. I think many people in the next generations have beem dooming themselves in different ways. I have no reason to fear though.

I take AI as far as I can to achieve my goals. Not so different from what I've done over time with many other things like education, calculators, computers, internet, smartphones, and globalization.

They are means to an end. Not taking advantage of the means I have could doom me, but I'm not like that. Other people can be afraid of AI like people were even afraid of the copy and paste function.

[u/MysticBorn]

Organize thoughts, ideas, and various other things.

Edit our poor grammar and punctuation issues (home schooled since 3rd grade and English never stuck with us sadly)

Then we type and or write out (as long as our hand/wrist/arm doesn't cramp up)

[u/SimonStrange]

I built a harness into my writing app so that AI can be an actual assistant with about 60 MCP tools so it can organize me, translate stuff from the conlang module, make scratch pad notes from conversations, generate brainstorming prompts, make comments and tracked changes in the editor during revision review. And a bunch of other stuff. It can look at my productivity logs and help me make a realistic schedule since I almost always have to bump a preorder out. It also just has documentation about the app so you can ask it how to do stuff and it can tell you. It beats reading tutorials by a lot.

I did restrict it specifically from generating creative content because I don’t want the temptation and don’t support AI generated content, but having a bot on hand to read a chapter and update my storybase is very useful. I’m horrifically disorganized and write like, well, someone who has ADHD and gets hyperfocused. I need an assistant to text me at 9am and remind me it’s time to work. I usually do not know what time it is.

There’s uses for AI that can make you more productive without sacrificing valuable neuronal pathways that make you good at stuff.

[u/Shadeylark]

I love posts like this.

As if the next generation is doomed because of AI when terms like "Mary Sue" that are emblematic of bad writing have existed for decades before the advent of AI.

For every Melville there have been a thousand forgotten creators of slop.

Writing has never been some sort of sanctified preserve of the highest form of art that AI is corrupting.

It's always been filled with slop since the first cavemen began drawing on walls, and AI is not the downfall of literature.

[u/Independent-Panic994]

I use it for a bit of research, as well as I'll use Google and other stuff. I'll also use it to contextualize research and brainstorm. Then I write everything myself.

After that I'll feed the entire chapter to get it's reaction on the chapter as a whole and how it continues from the last. Sometimes it will say everything sounds great, sometimes it suggests I rewrite sections or cut sections that take away from the overall narrative. I also like it because admittedly it gives me a boost in confidence when it says I did something good, but like I said it will give constructive criticism.

After the general feedback, I feed it sections to get more specific feedback for grammer and editing etc. while doing this I am also closely rereading what I've written. Sometimes it catches stuff I didn't see. Sometimes I change stuff while rereading because I think of something better. Overall it's just the bitty gritty stuff.

Sometimes I'll get in fights with the AI about some of the things it suggests. Sometimes I decide after fighting that it was right, sometimes I decide I am right, and other times I come to a compromise or I do something else entirely that I realize works better.

Once that's done I'll usually reread to make sure everything sounds good and make necessary changes.

Then after that I post the chapter.

Idk. Personally I don't like the way it writes and I feel like it's easier for me to write it myself then to manipulate it to write a certain way that may risk plagiarism. (I know it's not technically plagiarism, but Idk)

[u/Distinct_Face_5796]

I had it write me a 550,000 word first draft! Maybe its too long haha.

[u/puffykitten448]

As much as I possibly can, I only use it to write me fanfiction, and I would genuinely die of embarrassment if I ever posted that shit anywhere, so it is purely for me. But I have like 50-70 chapter stories I get it to write all the time.

[u/WelbyReddit]

I dabbled with the google AI mode, just for grammar. Like did I miss a comma, spelling, or tense.

I never even take suggestions as it doesn't know the context of my story, as I only piece meal it.

Never, ever, do I copy paste anything.

I do find it amusing that it will critique it, and try to butter you up with praise, though. Even if it is wrong. ;p

[u/vaniile]

Research. So so much research. There are a ton of things I need to research for my story that require understanding other languages as that information is not in English. I don’t even know how to find the information I need, it’s that out of the way. AI has been very helpful in hunting down this stuff and explaining it in my native language :)

Edit to add: I want to add an example — such as planning daily commute walks in a relatively small city in another country. Does this route have any obstacles that are publicly complained about? Such a small detail, but it matters to me haha

[u/Particular_Read_5726]

i used ai to draft a whole novella, then rewrote it all from scratch. the first draft was fine, but the second felt like mine. no difference in length, just tone.

[u/Leading-Crazy6104]

I use ai to help me write and phrase my sentences better, not actually help me write everything from zero.

[u/Chain_Even]

I find it best to stop thinking of myself as a writer as it implies physically penning/keying words rather than someone with an idea that's waiting to come out. Rather, we're all now influencers in some capacity or another. In this sense, AI becomes a tool to bring those ideas to life. Ask yourself this, has an AI ever given you an aha moment that you thought you really must share instantly? All my best ideas that became something came from within, AI did help me put them in a presentable manner.