Yes, I use Artificial Intelligence in my writing. And yes, I use generative AI.
I use it as an editor, researcher, and idea-sparring partner. Never to generate the first draft.
How I Use AI in My Writing
My usage varies by project, mood, energy (and dopamine levels, etc.). Not every piece I publish will use everything listed below. Heck, most of them won't. That said, I'm keeping the disclaimer to cover my ass in the rare occasion that I just want to get past a mental roadblock.
Fleshing out ideas: I prompt my AI writing partner to act as a critic and approach me using the Socratic method. I also tell it to bring receipts - quotations, articles, research papers (with links) to challenge me on the stance I want to take. I ask it to take on the role of naysayers and point out the weakest links in my arguments. I then apply some of the feedback given. What this means is that I decide what I'm writing about - I just tighten up what I want to get across.
Research: I ask my AI writing partner to look up information for me and to not only share the explanation but also the websites it used in its research. I then visit those websites to find supporting information. Is the author a credible source (and if so, how), and are other sites/works cited to back up what was said (erm... written)?
Outlining: At this point I know what I want to write about, my supporting points, and what outside views I want to bring in. However, that blank screen is annoying, so I ask my AI writing partner for a list of prompts to use when fleshing out my first draft.
Revision/Tone/Flow: Once the first draft is at an "I feel done" point, I do initial proofreading myself. My goal is to make what I write sound like how I talk (with sidebars because, let's face it, that's how a neurodivergent brain operates). Once I complete that, I run it past my AI writing partner for feedback on grammar, flow, and tone. And then I use maybe 10% of the feedback. I'm looking for major gaffes I overlooked, or phrases that may make sense to me because of how my brain is wired but may not make sense to the average person. One of my tools focuses on readability: making sure the sentences aren't too complex, and that I'm at the 6th-8th grade level.
Does This Apply to Tarot Readings?
My Tarot readings (pulling the cards + interpretations) are 100% me, no generative AI to "pull" random cards or analyze their meanings.
What About Image Generation?
I use image generation to create graphics for my AI Roleplay chatbots. That is standard practice in the hobby (most of us don't make money in this niche; hence my calling it a hobby).
I feel less inclined to use AI-generated images for my overall branding (website cover images, featured images for posts, etc.) because purely text-based image generation doesn't capture my style, and I don't have the mental spell slots to do a deep dive into ControlNet workflows.
So what do I do here? I jump on Canva, grab a bunch of stock photos, and mash them up. I've been doing graphics on the computer since the late 90s, when we didn't have touchpads, and I had to make brush strokes with mouse clicks. I understand color theory and basic design elements. The AI used here is assistive - color matching, auto-correcting tone, removing backgrounds, etc.
The Tools I Use
Claude: I use Claude at every step of my writing process except generating the first draft. That part is still me. I may take about a third of its recommendations. The feature I really like: being able to speak to the app, have it take notes, and then push the notes to my various project-organizing tools. Part administrative assistant. Part editor. Part project manager. Definitely not a ghostwriter.
Novelium: For my novels and short stories, I use Novelium as my one-stop writing shop. This platform reviews my work and creates character/plot notes to help me stay consistent. There is no "generate" functionality on this platform - it's 100% my words on the page. The tool just streamlines the behind-the-scenes note-taking.
ComfyUI: (runs on my computer): An open-source graphical user interface (GUI) that uses a node-based approach to visually construct ControlNet workflows for AI image generation. Since this runs on my own computer, the final quality depends on my system (a 3-year-old gaming laptop).
SeaArt: An all-in-one platform for AI-assisted image generation. It follows a simplified version of the ControlNet workflow system. If I feel especially nerdy, I can also move my ComfyUI workflows to this platform, where the subscription plan pays for the server's processors to run the final image generation.
I Have Feelings™ About the Broader AI Discourse
No, you're not getting them today.
This page is about my usage, not a dissertation on generative AI and its impact. That's a whole separate can of worms that deserves its own space. I promise that I'll share my actual takes on AI ethics, art, and authorship on another page.