AI as an ideation companion
I’ve been interviewing authors about how they use AI. One result surprised me.
First, know that the authors I spoke with take pride in their writing and find it enjoyable. Almost none of them use AI to write things. One author actually went to the trouble of telling her AI, “Do not answer any of my research questions with complete sentences,” because she wanted to ensure she wasn’t tempted to material the AI wrote.
All of the writers used AI tools like ChatGPT and its Deep Research feature to find useful background information.
But what surprised me was that all of them also used AI as a conversation and ideation partner.
Using LLMs to boost your thinking
People with interesting but not-yet-mature ideas conversed with AI tools — either by text or voice. They used prompts like these:
- “I have this idea [followed by a description]. How does that connect with ideas in [related field]?”
- “Here are three approaches I’ve considered for this article. What are the positives and drawbacks of each approach?”
- “What would be the headings and main ideas of an article on [topic]?” (This writer told me that she often uses this query to provoke her with the banality of conventional ideas so she could take a contrarian approach.)
- “Suggest three leads for an article about [topic] based on the idea [description of idea].”
- “Here is a draft of a chapter I wrote. Give me feedback on how those who disagree could poke holes in the idea.”
What fascinated me was that these very intelligent and creative authors were augmenting and strengthening their work with the help of AI tools.
This has, in the past, been the work of developmental editors. But your developmental editor is not always going to be available, while your AI companion is available at any time of day or night.
And note that these sorts of dialogues do not require the AI to be creative or inventive. They just require it to be deeply knowledgeable and to draw on lots of information about both content and writing methods. They don’t write for authors (because that would be boring), they help authors to think things through.
Finally, take note that the more you work with AI tools, the smarter they get about you. This means their answers get more relevant, and they learn that, for example, you avoid political examples or hate the word “leverage.”
Steal this idea
Forget the discussion about AI replacing writers. It won’t replace decent authors, because AI writes in a boring way and the best authors write in ways that are fascinating.
But it will make writers better, smarter, and more productive. Especially if they learn to use it as an ideation companion.
This was a terrifically valuable post that I suspect will cause me to greatly increase my efforts to learn to use LLMs like ChatGPT and Claude when I write. (I barely use them now.) I hope students of all ages, and everyone else who has a need to write, can be given your suggestions and ideas here.
What you wrote today could also be very valuable for teachers who are thinking about how they should adjust how they teach students how to write in the new world that, for better or worse, is unfolding now.
As I endlessly point out, when people ask me about AI (which I have only rarely touched, so far), AI is a tool, not the be-all-and-end-all that will save the world.
I don’t know about the rest of the world, but Americans are professionals at taking a new shiny tool, like a screwdriver, and trying to use it as a hammer, then being disappointed with the results.
I like the sample questions that your survey results provided. We need to learn how to work with AI, and specifics like this can reduce the time we spend “talking” with AI tools and the level of frustration we are likely to encounter.