Great Writing Can't Be Rushed - Even With AI Beside You
"I write entirely to find out what I'm thinking." That line from Joan Didion hits home for anyone who wrestles with a blank page. Writing is how many of us process ideas, not just express them. If that's your job, you already know: speed helps with publishing; it doesn't create insight.
Creativity needs slack
Cal Newport tells a story about John McPhee spending days on a picnic table, letting a complex piece "click" into place. From the outside, it looked like laziness. Over a career, it was the compounding that makes a writer prolific. That's the pattern: the best structure, angle, and metaphor show up after your brain brets space to wander.
AI won't do that wandering for you. It can riff, summarize, and echo. But the core move-choosing the lens that makes your idea matter-still happens in your head, often when you're not "working."
- Block idle time: 30-60 minutes daily with no phone, no tabs. Think, walk, stare. Let the draft solve itself.
- Park problems: end a session with a question at the top. Let it simmer; answer it tomorrow.
- Collect sparks: keep a one-line ideas file. Return to it when you sit down to write.
Slow Productivity is a useful read if you need the science and examples to defend this approach.
Subtle choices only writers can make
Strong writing isn't a bag of tricks. It's judgment. You decide what to simplify, where to surprise, and how far to push emotion without sounding fake. That instinct gets built through reps, not templates.
Bill Birchard's research-backed "eight S's" is a handy checklist. Use it as a lens, not a script:
- Simple: short sentences, everyday words.
- Specific: concrete details beat abstractions.
- Surprising: break a pattern; earn attention.
- Stirring: emotion with restraint.
- Seductive: tease a payoff and deliver it.
- Smart: respect the reader's intelligence.
- Social: speak to shared beliefs and tensions.
- Story-driven: give events a clear before/after.
AI can imitate these patterns. It can't feel them. Only you can sense when a sentence lands or a paragraph drags-and decide to cut, pause, or punch harder.
The Science of Strong Business Writing breaks down why these cues work on the brain.
Use automation, don't outsource your thinking
AI is great with friction, bad with taste. Offload the mechanical-keep the meaning.
- Great uses: topic brainstorming, outline variations, headline options, tone passes, grammar, sensitivity checks, summary blurbs.
- Never outsource: your thesis, your story spine, the key analogy, your voice, your final cut.
Try this trust-but-verify loop:
- Draft a messy first pass fast.
- Ask AI for line edits and alt phrasings; keep only what sounds like you.
- Have it flag clichés, filler, and vague claims; replace with proof or cuts.
- Read aloud. If you stumble, fix the sentence-not your breath.
A simple, repeatable workflow
- Collect: notes, quotes, data, and personal observations in one place.
- Percolate: 24 hours of distance after outlining; don't skip this.
- Draft: write the core argument in 45-90 minutes, no editing.
- Refine with AI: ask for cuts, clarity, and stronger verbs-approve manually.
- Polish: tighten openings, transitions, and endings. Add one vivid detail.
- Ship: publish on a cadence you can actually keep.
Practical prompts for writers
- "Give me five angles for [topic] that challenge a common belief in [audience]."
- "Rewrite this paragraph to be simpler and more concrete. Keep my tone."
- "List objections a skeptical reader might have to this argument."
- "Point out clichés and filler in this draft and suggest replacements."
Final thought
Writing is a force multiplier for your career. AI can speed the edits and widen your options, but your judgment sets the bar. Give yourself time to think, then use tools to clean the path for your ideas.
If you want a curated list of practical tools that support the editorial side of your process, explore these AI tools for copywriting.
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