Tips for Writers Who Do Use AI, But Want Their Work to Still Sound Human and Original

Dear Mr. Higgonbottom, what tips do you have for writers who do use AI, but want their work to still sound human and original?

Excellent question. I’ve found that AI can be a great writing partner — but only if you set some boundaries.

Here’s how I do it:

First, I start with my own messy first draft. Even if it rambles, at least it’s mine.

That draft gives me raw material full of my voice, quirks, and ideas. Then, I hand it over to AI for cleanup.

AI is great at tightening structure, fixing flow, and nudging things into a more logical order. The trade-off, of course, is that the writing usually comes out a little stiff.

That’s where the real work begins.

I go back through and rewrite — sometimes sentence by sentence — until the piece sounds like me again.

The danger with AI is the temptation to leave “good enough” sentences alone. But good enough isn’t your voice.

Good enough doesn’t sound like a human.

If you want your readers to connect, you have to breathe your personality back into the draft.

So my rule of thumb: use AI as the scaffolding but always take it down before you call the house complete.

Yours in words,

Theodore W.F. Higgonbottom