I was scrolling through my feed the other day and came across an article in The Guardian that really caught my eye. Stephen Marche, a pretty well-established writer, basically confessed to writing an entire novel using AI. Naturally, it kicked off a massive debate online about whether a machine can actually be creative.

The truth is, the whole landscape of writing is shifting incredibly fast right now. Using tools powered by language models isn’t just a quirky experiment anymore—it’s something more and more authors are quietly playing around with to get past writer’s block or flesh out their worlds.

Why is everyone so obsessed with this right now? Basically, these writing assistants have gotten scary good. They aren’t just spitting out boilerplate text; they can help brainstorm character arcs, suggest dialogue, and even churn out rough first drafts. Authors are realizing they can treat these AI platforms like a tireless writing partner. It’s a trend that’s definitely not slowing down anytime soon.

Marche’s take on the whole thing is actually really grounded. He argues that we shouldn’t be terrified of AI stealing our jobs as writers. Instead, we have to accept that the tech is here to stay, and human intuition is what separates a sterile, AI-generated draft from a real piece of art.

Want to give it a shot? If you’re curious and want to see what the hype is about, you can easily dip your toes in.

  • start small: Don’t ask the AI to write your whole book. Just ask it to generate ten random plot hooks or name a few fantasy towns.
  • test the waters: There are platforms out there like Sudowrite designed specifically with fiction writers in mind.
  • treat it like a bad first draft: Whatever the AI spits out is going to need heavy editing. You’ve still got to put in the work to refine the prose and inject your own voice.

At the end of the day, I don’t think humans are going to stop writing. It’s more like we’ve just been handed a very weird, brand-new tool, and we’re all still figuring out how to use it without losing our own creative souls in the process.