AI-Powered Writer: A Race to the Bottom or Rise to the Top?

The race is on.

We are finding faster, better ways to work. Speedier routes to productivity. Everything moves faster. We text instead of talk. We do take-out instead of cooking from scratch. We live in the age of instant gratification at microwave speed. No wonder we’re drowning.

Gen-AI is making it too easy to forget who I am and why I do what I do.

I almost forgot. People ask, what do you do?

Long pause. “I'm a digital storyteller and copy and content strategy partner.”

It's missing. I remember when being a writer was a badge of honor. I know I'm not supposed to use that word, which should remain nameless (like Voldemort). The new word for "writer" is editor, prompt editor, or prompt engineer.

Well, I'm coming clean. Underneath all of that, I admit it. I'm a writer. Maybe even part of a dying breed. Maybe the last of my kind. I hope not.

Before you lob tomatoes at me, stifle me, tell me to disguise who I really am…or click away, I'm going to use my voice.

Writers have gotten a bad rap. Slowly, without even knowing it, the frog is simmering in the water, and we don't even realize that the frog is us.

Each writer has a distinct flavor. In a sea of bland vanilla, the writer is the hint of crunchy chocolate chips, cinnamon swirl, or cream that rises to the top.

Writers can rise to the top.

Writing Is Exercising a Muscle

You can develop and tone your writing muscle every day. My 90-year-old father goes to physical therapy once a week. But that's not what strengthens his muscles and improves his balance. Daily exercise does that

As a writer, I have a daily writing practice. Before I do my freelance client work, I exercise that muscle by free writing in a journal. Writing helps me understand what's allusive to me. It’s the lens that crystallizes my ever-evolving thoughts.

Writing Is Critical Thinking

Writing unearths my deepest thoughts, revealing the ones that never would see the light of day. The thoughts I’m too afraid to face, acknowledge, or share.

?Especially all the contradictions that comprise who I am as a living, breathing human being. Sometimes, I’m not aware of those contradictions until I unpack them.

Is that you?

Writing Is Taking a Stand

I'm not going to be that frog anymore. I'm going to use my voice.

Here’s How I Use AI:

I do use AI as my writing assistant.

I don't use AI to write for me.

I do use AI to develop a detailed outline using prompt engineering.

I do use voice-to-text transcriptions from interviews and meetings.

I don’t share AI-generated transcripts until I clean them up and turn them into a usable, shareable document.

I do use AI as my research assistant to ask questions, dig deeper, and discover opportunities.

I do develop personas using Perplexity and ChatGPT.

And, I do use AI as a tool to help me refine my writing.

Writing Is Using Your Voice

When I write a blog or email series, I focus on the person I'm writing to. Instead of writing to a group, I tailor the message to the individual who benefits most from what I’m conveying. I imagine what they're feeling right now, and meet them with the right message and content where they are in their work and home life.

By taking the time to understand their worldview, I spark or continue a conversation. As a writer, I tap into their inner voice. The one they are too embarrassed or afraid to verbalize. With words and stories, I convey they are seen, heard, and understood.

AI lacks Emotional Intelligence. It can’t feel what it’s like to move from drowning in a sea of self-doubt to rising in a tidal wave of unshakeable confidence. It can’t taste all the flavors in your favorite gourmet dish. It can’t feel the pain and indelible scars of rejection.

AI can only write about these experiences through a murky lens. The sum of our experiences is not blurry visions of someone else’s distant memories.

We are more than prompt engineers and editors. We are writers.

Your Turn Writers and Creatives

I want to hear from you. Are you using your voice?

How do you respond when asked: What do you do?

Have you replaced the word “writer” in your LinkedIn headline to fit in like I did?

Do you now speak differently about what you do?

Me too! I’m rethinking how I introduce myself.

“So, Lynda, tell me about yourself... What do you do?”

As a teacher-turned digital storyteller, copywriter, and content strategy partner, I help busy B2B content marketing agencies turn complex ideas and jargon into clear, compelling copy that connects, cares, and converts for K-12 education, EdTech, nonprofits, and health and wellness decision makers and other social impact firms.

Need a reliable, persuasive writer to help you develop Search Engine Optimized core content assets that build online authority and thought leadership? DM me.

Ilise Benun 's group discussion and nudge inspired me to articulate my AI policy. What's yours?

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