Ive tried letting AI write my articles. It was horrible. I tried ignoring AI-powered tools (such as grammar checkers, summarizers, rewriters, speech-to-text apps), and the writing process felt sluggish.

The middle ground is what works best for me. I use generative AI exlusively mid-process, but neither for input (ideas) nor output (actual drafts.)

Here's how I write:

- I source my ideas from contemplation or conversations on social media. Topics discussed there have at least some pre-validated relevance - I sit down for ten minutes and dictate my thoughts into a tool like AudioPen (no affiliation, just a fan) which summarizes my 10 minutes in 5 or 6 paragraphs. THIS is the AI step. The tool suggests a few paragraph structures that I cycle through until I find a good one. - From there, I write my draft, following that outline. No more AI tools here other than grammar checking at the end.

AI is a great writing partner. It's a horrible writer.