Why Should You Write When AI Can Do It Quicker and Better?
There’s a ghost in the machine. The twist is: it’s you.
AI can write a sonnet, but it can’t tell the story of why you love your hobby.
Guess what most people say when I tell them I’m a writer?
I thought AI did all that now!
Yep.
“AI” can sure do a lot of things.
But when it comes to writing about subjects that real people are actually interested in, our robotic chum faces one insurmountable obstacle.
In today’s newsletter, you’re going to find out what that is...
...and why you can beat it.
Every time.
The Problem With AI (and why I think it always will be)
What do you think “AI” actually is?
I’m no expert — I left the world of software engineering many years ago. But I’m told that it’s essentially a language model, programmed to receive user input, find and collate data, and formulate a response.
And what is all this cleverness based on?
The models were trained by real people — including you and me.
But here’s the thing.
Due to a mixture of resource constraints and market research designed to find what users would find, well, useful, AI’s output is deliberately... average.
Even the most-customised versions are programmed to tell you what you want to hear, in the most “IBM PC Beige” tones possible.
So that one size really can fit all.
The result?
For research and brainstorming? It’s absolutely brilliant.
For creativity and talking about the Human Experience? It bombs harder than a Blue Shell in Mario Kart.
And guess what?
Real human readers still need real human writers.
And who’s better than you at talking about the thing you love?
Writing online shouldn’t feel like shouting into the fog on the barrow-downs.
If you’re still in that “lonely” phase, wandering the woods and wondering if anyone is listening, I’ve left a few lanterns lit for you.
My New Writer Bundle is a Field Guide designed to clear the mist. It’s a collection of starting spells to help you turn your hobby into a community without the usual “blank page” dread.
Whatever the Topic, Only You Know What You Know
And this is why you keep feeling that irresistible pull.
You are the only writer in the world who can talk about your interests from your point of view.
For instance:
The Hobby: Lego
AI can:
Tell you which sets have just come out.
Fill in the details when you’ve lost the instructions.
Tell you which pieces are missing after that incident with the vacuum cleaner.
But only YOU can:
Say which set is really tugging at those pursestrings.
Try a slightly off-piste configuration of the bricks to give the build a true custom flavour.
Tentatively poke your fingers into the vacuum bag to grope for that missing piece when nowhere in the whole world HAS IT IN STOCK. (Ahem, sorry.)
And which content do you think regular readers want to see popping up on their screen each week?
Yeah.
And You’re Already in a Great Place To Start
As a WWOTI reader, one way or another, you get this newsletter via Substack.
I don’t know why you chose this platform.
But I suspect it’s because you, like me, were looking for a home, not just a “content feed”.
When writing about hobbies, pastimes, interests and our lifestyles, we want to find an audience of like-minded folk, to meet them in a warm, friendly, welcoming tavern, and for the newsletter to... to not be a one-way ticket, a monologue... for it to be the opening sentence of a discussion.
A conversation.
And to that end, if you’re hovering on the brink of writing rather than reading, I can think of no better place to begin.
I’m glad I did.
🤗 Enjoy the weekend.
And, as always, the very best of luck with your writing.
The 1st Few Ink-Splats Are Always the Hardest
We often convince ourselves that writing about our curiosities requires a grand library and a lifetime of study.
In reality, it just requires a slightly better map than the one you have now.
I’ve tucked my favourite starting spells and a few structural lanterns into the New Writer Bundle.
It’s designed to quiet the noise and help you take that first, surprisingly doable step into the light.
Claim your bundle and begin the journey — it’s on the house:
PS
Roses are red, violets are blue, AI can write about “what you love”, but not as well as you...
PPS
Want a private 1-to-1 review of your next post? Book your Writer’s Confidence Check here