Yes, You Can Use AI (and Still Be a Real Writer)

It was late at night, I was pregnant and exhausted, and I had been staring at a blank screen for an hour, trying to write a scene for my novel set in Afghanistan. My brain felt like a radio stuck between stations: static, noise, nothing clear coming through. I was on the verge of tears—not because I didn’t care, but because I cared so much and had nothing left in the tank.

On a whim, I typed a prompt into an AI tool just to get something on the page. It wasn’t perfect, but it broke the silence. It gave me a place to start. And in that moment, it felt like a lifeline.

Recently, Writer’s Digest published an article titled “No, You Can’t Use AI” by Rob Hart, arguing that using AI in any part of the writing process undermines your legitimacy as an artist. According to Hart, AI usage equals laziness, if not outright plagiarism.

Respectfully, I disagree.

The idea that using AI tools makes you less of a writer is like saying photographers aren’t real artists because they use Photoshop, or screenwriters aren’t creative because they follow structure. We’re already surrounded by tools that assist the creative process; the difference now is that AI happens to be new, and it makes people uncomfortable. But discomfort alone isn’t a reason to dismiss its potential.

To be clear, AI can’t write your book for you. It can’t feel what you feel. It can’t know your story, your perspective, your voice. But can it support the work you do? Absolutely.

Here are a few ways I use AI as a writer and communications professional:

1. Jumpstarting creative momentum. When I’m stuck, staring at a blank page, sometimes I’ll ask AI to describe a setting—for example, a summer evening in rural Alabama, where part of my novel takes place before the characters head to Afghanistan. The result isn’t final copy, but a spark. Something to respond to. Something to rewrite. For me, it’s easier to throw some words on the page that I can write over later than to generate perfection from nothing.

2. Tightening scripts and marketing collateral. In my day job as a comms specialist, I often create video scripts and strategic communications materials. Time matters, and clarity even more so. I’ll run drafts through AI to suggest shorter versions or alternate phrasing. It doesn’t replace my judgment or my goals, but it offers another lens and saves precious time.

3. Learning through feedback. Sometimes I feed my own writing into AI and ask for alternate sentence constructions, tonal tweaks, or simplification. Not to outsource my voice, but to refine it. It’s like having a second set of eyes, instantly available, to challenge me or highlight blind spots.

4. Brainstorming headlines, hashtags, and campaign language. When I’m shaping messaging for a campaign or client, I’ll use AI to generate variations on taglines, email subject lines, or social media hooks. Even if I don’t use any of them directly, they often spark better ideas or help me see angles I hadn’t considered.

5. Streamlining workflows and project planning. Working in communications, I often juggle competing deadlines, campaigns, and content calendars. I’ve used AI to draft project timelines, generate content outlines, and even build first-pass frameworks for editorial calendars or briefing documents. It helps reduce decision fatigue and frees up time for higher-level thinking and creative direction.

Here’s the bottom line: tools don’t define the artist. Voice does. Perspective does. Choices do. And yes, work does.

AI is not a shortcut to genius, but it can be a helpful stepstool when the ceiling feels just out of reach. Writing still demands your time, your intuition, and your soul. That doesn’t change just because you use a new tool to support your process.

So no, using AI doesn’t mean you’re not a “real” writer. It means you’re using the tools available to make your writing better. And that’s something artists have done since the beginning of time.

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About Jessica Lauren Walton: Jessica is a communications strategist, video producer, and writer in the U.S. defense sector. She has written articles on a range of security and mental health topics and conducted interviews with military leadership, CIA officers, law enforcement, psychologists, filmmakers, and more. Read her full bio here.

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