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How AI is Making Me a Better Writer

Bethany Crystal

Bethany Crystal

How AI is Making Me a Better Writer

You’ve probably noticed that I’ve picked up the pace on my writing substantially over the past few weeks. I don’t want to jinx anything by writing this post but I did want to address a couple of questions I’ve started to get since writing regularly in a post-ChatGPT era.

  1. Yes, I use AI to help me write.

  2. No, AI doesn’t write my blog posts. (seriously now, do you think an AI could have written that post about my cat last week)

  3. No, this isn’t “cheating.” 

Let me explain. But first…


A Brief Interlude on My Relationship with Writing

Let’s get one thing out of the way: I love writing. I’ve always loved writing. I will always love writing. It is the only reliable the thing that keeps me feeling sane and grounded, and out of my own head. Sometimes, I am even good at it.

And also: I hate writing. It drives me insane. I want to be so good that I procrastinate constantly. I start essays and don’t finish them all the time, then lie awake thinking about all the things I’ve started and never finished. I studied writing so much in school that I know too much about what “great writing” is supposed to look like that often prevents me from even getting started.

Quite the impasse.

Over the years, I’ve noticed that there is a potential and kinetic energy to writing. If you do it a lot, it’s easier to keep going (and in fact, kind of like going to the gym, it actually feels better to do it). But if you stop doing it for an extended period, the potential energy just seeps into your brain and you drive yourself crazy with what I’ll just call writer’s wilt

writer’s wilt (n) - A condition any creative professional may feel after an extended period of denying themselves an outlet for their creative energy. Some say it manifests as a feeling of their insides eating their outsides. Symptoms may include 2am - 4am panicked flashbacks of the disappointed look your AP English teacher gave you years after high school graduation, when they shook their head and disapprovingly asked,  “Why don’t you write anymore? You used to be so good.” Complications include: Excuses upon excuses, absolute denial, cold sweats, jealous rageful feelings in bookstores, and delusional fantasies that your twitter posts and instagram captions convey the modern-day caliber of a Shakespearean sonnet. 

Anyway, this is basically what happened after I had two babies and didn’t have a quiet moment in my apartment for four years. (Do you see what I mean? Excuses.)

post image
OK so after feeding this whole blog post into ChatGPT, THIS is the image DALL-E came up with to generate for me. Apparently, I write like a tweed blazer-wearing white man who leaves his babies screaming on the floor.

Enter: ChatGPT, Writing Coach

When ChatGPT came out, like everyone, I started to tinker with how I could use it in my writing. I started pretty basic – with things like outlines and simplifying big ideas. But then I realized that AI offered something I’d never had in any editor or copywriter before: A non-judgmental objective voice that never got tired of my (annoying) questions.

Over time, I’ve learned how to build AI tools like ChatGPT into my writing process to solve some of my writer’s block problem areas.

For example, here are some main problems with my writing:

Main Problems with My Writing (according to me)

  • I get lost in my own head and overwrite

  • I don’t know how to transition from one big idea to another

  • I speak and think in abstract metaphors and tend to lose people in the process

  • I don’t know how to end anything I write  

  • I never know what to title anything I write

Here’s how I now address these problems with AI:

My writing problem

The AI solution

I get lost in my own head and overwrite

I dump entire paragraphs of text into ChatGPT and ask it to summarize and simplify the main idea for me.


I often also ask things like, “What is the author trying to convey? How might they communicate this more simply?”


Then I cut whatever I wrote in half and rework it in my own voice.

I don’t know how to transition from one big idea to another

I copy-paste two disparate sections into ChatGPT and ask, “Write me a transition sentence to bridge between these two segments.”


Then I edit the bridge.

I speak and think in abstract metaphors and tend to lose people in the process

I will literally have AI check my work on metaphors that feel too abstract. “Hey, do you think there’s a parallel I can draw between how community building gives invisible energy like how airplanes need lift to get off the ground?”


Then I make sure to fill in all of the gaps and spell things out extra clearly so I don’t lose people. Sometimes I’ll even run the revision by ChatGPT to make sure it tracks.

I don’t know how to end anything I write  

I dump my entire post or article into ChatGPT and ask what 1-2 final thoughts I should include in the conclusion of an essay.


Then I write it in my own voice.

I never know what to title anything I write

I dump my entire post into ChatGPT and ask for a title in the tone and voice of the post that I shared.


Then I publish the post with that title (like I said, I’m really, really bad at titles)

For example, I ran into some transition trouble in today’s post and couldn’t figure out how to get from the paragraph about ChatGPT to the problems in my writing.

ChatGPT offered:

“As I delved deeper into using ChatGPT, I discovered its potential to address specific challenges in my writing process.”

But I don’t use words like “discovered its potential.” So I changed it to:

“Over time I learned how to build AI tools like ChatGPT into my writing process to solve some of my writer’s block problem areas.”

Then I didn’t know what else to write about. So I asked, “What else would be a good topic to cover in this post, or should I just wrap it up?”

It offered:

post image

I didn’t like the sound of that at all, so I decided not to take any of that advice.


Why You Should Try It, Too

Integrating any new technology into your workflow is an exercise in habit-building. It's not an "out of the box" secret sauce to solving all of your problems. But I've noticed this is where a lot of people start and stop when it comes to AI usage.

You might type in a single prompt, get excited. Then type in something else, and get disappointed. Then leave it alone for months.

But I've personally found that the near-continuous, iterative approach to AI usage is the only way that I've gotten better at using it. I'm getting better at making it work for me. I am starting to learn where AI tools fit into my workflow in a way that is distinct from other tools. It's just adding to my writing stack, if you will.

By the way, it's thanks to AI that I have finally have the time to spend the time on writing again. Not because it's writing my blog posts for me, but because it's saving me so much extra time in my actual, paid work. (But more on that later.)

So if you've been putting off learning AI as a "maybe someday later" problem, I encourage you to try it out again today. And if you use AI for your own writing workflow, I'd love to hear what else works for you.

Collect this post as an NFT.

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Reid DeRamusFarcaster
Reid DeRamus
Commented 9 months ago

We're back with our 4th edition of our weekly digest, highlighting a few hand-selected great pieces of writing over the past few weeks. Check them out below & let us know which was your favorite!

Reid DeRamusFarcaster
Reid DeRamus
Commented 9 months ago

First up, @macbudkowski outlines how to create a breakthrough web3 social app, including the need to avoid cloning web2 models and instead focusing on first principles, understanding user needs, and exploring unique features and interactions. Through that approach, we may see platforms emerge that connect people in new and meaningful ways, leveraging the decentralized nature of web3. https://kanfa.macbudkowski.com/social-app-canvas

Reid DeRamusFarcaster
Reid DeRamus
Commented 9 months ago

@0x-ry and @atassi (from Coinbase Ventures) dive into all things Layer 3s. L3s are emerging as customizable, cost-effective application chains that settle on Layer 2s, offering developers isolated environments with lower fees and more experimental opportunities. Both writers explore the value propositions of L3s, differences from L2s, and potential to revolutionize the onchain ecosystem by providing scalable, high-throughput solutions. https://paragraph.xyz/@cbventures/l3

Reid DeRamusFarcaster
Reid DeRamus
Commented 9 months ago

@bethanymarz covers how AI tools (e.g., ChatGPT) have helped her writing process, identifying specific problems and how ChatGPT helps solve them. While Bethany doesn't use AI to write her posts, these tools help her overcome writer’s block by simplifying ideas, creating transitions, and generating titles, ultimately making writing less daunting and more enjoyable. https://paragraph.xyz/@bethanycrystal/how-ai-is-making-me-a-better-writer

Mac Budkowski ᵏFarcaster
Mac Budkowski ᵏ
Commented 9 months ago

Thanks for highlighting my piece :)

Reid DeRamusFarcaster
Reid DeRamus
Commented 9 months ago

Thank *you* for writing it, very much enjoyed it

Bethany CrystalFarcaster
Bethany Crystal
Commented 9 months ago

New post: How AI is Making Me a Better Writer 1. Yes, I use AI to help me write. 2. No, AI doesn’t write my blog posts. 3. No, this isn’t “cheating.” Here's how AI is changing the game to help me bring back a habit I love (slash hate). https://paragraph.xyz/@bethanycrystal/how-ai-is-making-me-a-better-writer /paragraph

Mark FishmanFarcaster
Mark Fishman
Commented 9 months ago

This is fantastic - thank you for sharing! I relate to a lot of the same issues with writing and using AI has been somewhat elusive. Will be revisiting this for sure 5000 $degen

Bethany CrystalFarcaster
Bethany Crystal
Commented 9 months ago

Could be fun to see how you can include AI writing hacks or anti-writer's block prompts into your next /firstdraft cohort

Mark FishmanFarcaster
Mark Fishman
Commented 9 months ago

Was just thinking the same thing :)

Trebor🎩🟡Farcaster
Trebor🎩🟡
Commented 9 months ago

Please dont take this as an insult or anything, i actually liked the article But pleaseeee pleaseeeee before publishing, check (which im sure you did) double check and triple check for errors and spelling.. Especially if chat gpt is helping.. LOL

Bethany CrystalFarcaster
Bethany Crystal
Commented 9 months ago

i would never publish anything without reading it, editing it and fact checking it to the best of my ability that's the journalist's code

Trebor🎩🟡Farcaster
Trebor🎩🟡
Commented 9 months ago

Isnt that “the” misplaced? Maybe im wrong, english is not my first language

Cool Beans 🌞Farcaster
Cool Beans 🌞
Commented 9 months ago

smart 100 $degen

FluffheadChaserFarcaster
FluffheadChaser
Commented 9 months ago

Really good read, Bethany. And it came at a good time, as I'm spending a few days rejuvenating and thinking through some of my best/worst practices. I've been slow to adopt AI methods, and this article gave me some great starting points. 🙏 420 $degen

Bethany CrystalFarcaster
Bethany Crystal
Commented 9 months ago

thanks so much! i am pretty sure i've only scratched the surface of making it work for me too, so i'd love to hear what tricks you come up with

FluffheadChaserFarcaster
FluffheadChaser
Commented 9 months ago

looking forward to trying it out!

Daniel McGlynnFarcaster
Daniel McGlynn
Commented 9 months ago

Nice, I am still in the mode of trying to figure out the best ways to use AI, so I appreciated your examples. I also liked the part about writer's wilt. I've never heard it framed like that, but for me writing feels a lot like getting into the groove of running.

Bethany CrystalFarcaster
Bethany Crystal
Commented 9 months ago

Oh lol, I just made that term up because the way I feel reminded me of the way my cucumber plants look when they are afflicted by something called “cucumber wilt” See: Sad plant, shriveled leaves 👇👇

How AI is Making Me a Better Writer