Stop using ChatGPT & find your own creative writing spark again.

If you are letting ChatGPT write your stories, you’re not really storytelling. You are not touching hearts. You are not being fair to the person reading your words. You aren’t even being fair to yourself.

We made a deal with the devil, the moment we decided to let ChatGPT tell our stories for us, spill robot writing onto the page and steal our process. AI rids us of the uncomfortable (but necessary) practice of making mistakes. But we all know practice and mistakes are what builds us.

AI tools make us lazy and uncreative, for the sake of saving time. But have you ever considered that time is all we have to share with each other? Have you considered that TIME spent on researching an article, sitting down to journal or to write, second guessing your writing, reflecting and perfecting – it is then shared with the living breathing human reading your writing. Humans can FEEL the interaction deep down in their soul, they relate to your words, sometimes writing from our heart touches others changing their life for the better.

The time you spend on crafting a meaningful response, writing a thoughtful caption isn’t really wasted at all! It’s SHARED passionately and with love with the person reading it.

Struggling with writing and over-reliance on ChatGPT?

Are we writing for robots or are we writing for other humans? Why do you suppose we love books so much and rave over our favorite authors like we do? I think it’s because we can feel their presence and effort. It is recognizable, we enjoy being entertained, inspired, and moved. Writing is a mirror held up to our own thoughts, desires, interests and contemplations.

If you ventured deep down the AI rabbit hole and feel as though nothing you create is coming out right, that things are not connecting, or if you hate seeing your own words on a page – consider being brave enough to stop using ChatGPT as a crutch. Go out and explore places and people to enhance and expand your mental energy.

Most importantly, you are human. We tend to have so much pressure and AI makes it that much more obvious that we have a tendency to feel inadequate, small and unrelatable. Take the pressure off yourself to perform. Just write what you feel like, without trying to fit in, then read it out loud, make notes where it connects and kicks back or where you feel stuck.

One of the best pieces of advice I’ve ever received (from my own intuition during a time of dark depression) was simply: “Go for a walk.” Most decent writing is not done because it is forced, it’s often done away from the keyboard. Go for a walk. Write. Be willing to suck at it. Go for another walk. Write again. Suck less. Keep walking, writing, finding your own voice.

Live. Go out into the world (or in your own backyard) and start feeling alive in every moment, start connecting the dots on why certain things affect you like they do. Identify with other people, their struggles and their strengths. Experience new things and jot them down while they are hot in your memory.

Storytelling takes practice, but even more importantly writing from the heart takes courage. Yes, it will take more time to go to Barnes & Noble, pick up books on destinations and make your own travel agenda, but it will feel rewarding. It will take infinitely more time to respond to an email with a personal anecdote or a sentiment rather than copying an AI generated response, but you will make a deeper connection that day.

Sales page copy will be a daunting task if done without Chat. It will definitely feel overwhelming at first, until you sit down and just begin. Dare to have the discipline it takes to carry out the task. Just try!

I know when Chat first came out, it was exciting and new. But don’t you see that everything ChatGPT touches feels the same? Your instincts aren’t wrong. This is good! AI writing is flawed and this is a magnificent sign that people will never be replaced. Your essence is safe! Your talents will never be touched. Your spirit is more powerful than any machine and YOUR story is worth telling.

My weird but effective methods for overcoming writer’s block:

Join some writing communities. Check out sites like Reedsy Prompts or daily prompt blogs on Tumblr. Write poorly on purpose. When I first started writing, I was comically terrible. Overtime, I greatly improved and even realized that I have a passion for it. A friend told me the other day that if she could go back in time and give herself advice at a young adult age, she would tell herself to try more crafts and do more things. Try writing from the heart and you will be surprised at just how much you might enjoy it.

Try weird things to see if it helps your writing and creative process. I often need distraction so I can be less in my head when writing social media captions, blogging or emailing my list. I like to put on a show or music, I like to eat charcuterie in my PJ’s on the couch with a cat in my lap while writing.

One of my favorite creative writing processes is going to Reddit and researching the topic I am writing on. I love going through and reading posts, comments, responses. I like copying lines that touched me in some way (good or bad) and dropping them into a blank doc or a note. All together, haphazardly. I just like having them there in the corner of my second screen or just within reach. I don’t need to use them (sometimes I do) as a starter for a creative inspiration. Mostly I just like having them there reassuring me that nobody is perfect. Making me remember that I liked this plain writing, someone’s raw thoughts, someone’s stories. Not fancy, just real and relatable. It’s no secret that Reddit is one of my favorite resources for research and creative writing. I love the human mask-off aspects of it. The community.

When I am in my creative writing prime, I always write a lot in my personal journal. I would recommend taking a pen, a simple or an intricate journal and just jotting whatever you feel like down. Celebrate little wins, be honest with your feelings there – in your safe space. I like to share my journey, with myself. No strings attached. I highly suggest keeping one and keeping it close. Looking at it often. Being inspired by your own truths and experiences.

Writing improves with living. And practice. I often go back to blog posts I wrote years ago and cringe. I improve what I can. But mostly I leave their essence alone and add to them.

Put some books on top of your toilet lid and flip to any page at any time to remind you that it’s just words on paper.

Some of my favorite inspiring books:

Just remember: being insecure about our writing means we care about what we put out into the world. You are not alone and more people are waking up to the realization that ChatGPT is a poor replacement for heartfelt expression.

Someday, you’ll write something you’ll be proud of (and maybe even found and booked or remembered for it) and it won’t be something that was borrowed from AI, it will be a piece of writing you poured your heart and soul into.

Now get to writing! Cheers.

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