Why I Use AI in Writing (and Why It’s Like Excel for Novelists)

Many authors push back against using AI in creative writing—but here’s my take: AI tools like ChatGPT and Sudowrite are to writing what Excel is to financial analysis.

Before you decide how you feel about that, hear me out.

Back in high school, calculators in class were still a novelty. You couldn’t use them on most tests—except maybe for calculating sine and cosine in Trigonometry. We learned to work out limits in calculus and net present values in finance class by hand. You had to grasp the logic and math principles before you could use a tool to speed up the work.

Fast forward forty years. At my son’s high school orientation, the math teacher told parents they no longer teach “math” in the traditional sense. Instead, students learn how to use advanced calculators (now required) and Excel.

Before my career in contract law, I was a financial analyst. Excel was my constant companion. I wrote macros, streamlined workflows, and got more done in less time. Could I have done it manually? Sure—I had the degrees and the know-how. But using Excel made me more productive, and in any business, time is money.

Here’s the thing: if you don’t understand the math you’re asking Excel to perform, you won’t get the right results. The same goes for AI in writing. Without a firm grasp of storytelling fundamentals—plot, character, pacing—you won’t get good output.

For experienced writers, AI is a productivity booster. It can brainstorm, outline, or draft in seconds, but it’s still your skill and revision that make the final piece shine. We don’t take AI’s first pass any more than we’d publish our own first draft. We refine, reshape, and make it ours.

And here’s a thought worth considering: AI is not the artist—it’s the brush. A brush can’t paint a masterpiece without the vision and skill of the painter. Likewise, AI can’t create a compelling novel without the mind, instincts, and imagination of the writer holding it.

Used well, AI doesn’t replace creativity—it accelerates it.

One of the paragraphs above was generated by AI. Can you tell which one?