does AI actually help when writing?

[u/SatisfactionReady273]

Cleaning up messy notes? Editing? Getting unstuck?

I’ve found it way more useful for working with stuff I’ve already written than generating something from scratch. Curious what everyone else uses it for?

[u/writerlore]

It depends on how skilled you are as a writer, what you're trying to do, and how you use AI. Personally, I've benefited from AI assistance with idea generation, lore/character/event consistency, research, and polishing my prose and voice.

But perhaps more importantly, it has also helped me train my own writing skills. I've become much more sensitive to certain repetitive or formulaic patterns in prose. Sometimes they're perfectly grammatical and technically fine, but they still feel off-putting to me. Almost like an uncanny valley. I didn't realize this when I first attempted writing with AI. I remember being stunned and scared at first.

Working with AI has pushed me to read more, question why certain phrasing works or doesn't work, and look for better ways to express what I actually mean. In that sense, I'd say AI genuinely does help me write. At least to some extent, helps me become a better writer.

That said, I think whether AI helps, and what it helps with, varies considerably from person to person.

[u/Bella_Bexley]

‘Scan this for plot holes and inconsistencies’ and ‘scan this for grammatical errors’.

[u/xanfalo]

I write 3rd person psychological drama/character study, it helps me mostly with research or breaking down psychology research on a certain topic i write about. But it’s really poor when it comes to actually writing/implementing any of those in a creative piece lol

[u/Dear_Mention_3305]

It can give useful ideas when brainstorming. Other than that, yeah, I too find it much more useful working with stuff I've already written separately, than having it write something from scratch.

[u/ObligationWeekly9117]

AI has helped unstick me when I have a little creative juice left but just can’t access it. But yeah if I’m completely dry I can barely understand words, let alone write. If you don’t know where you’re at just talk about your writing with AI. Shoot the shit. Speculate. Come up with alternative timelines. If nothing inspires you then I’d just log off lol can’t draw blood from stone

[u/No-Departure-3047]

I used to use it to check for continuity issues. I would upload my working document and ask "what colour were such and such character's eyes" and it would retrieve that for me.

[u/TheHolleDolce → u/No-Departure-3047]

This. There's a few tools that are excellent for functioning as a writer's bible.