How AI Became My Creative Edge, Not My Co-Author
I know it's a huge debate: "Why use AI to help write a book?" And I do sympathise—there are people who will write a prompt and ask for a finished book. So did I do that? No, God no.
I'm well-read. My mother, a retired nurse, taught me some really flowery words that kind of mean the same thing (my favourites are pernickety, finickity, addled, and befuddled), and I know how to use them... So why AI?
The Truth: I'm a Creative Genius with Information Retention Issues
I'm a creative with exceptional imagination, able to fully interact with and rotate a 3D object in my mind. I can look at it from all angles, feel the texture of the surface, or just... look at it like I'm standing on the other side of it. My brain is built for large-scale, intricate world-building; I can bring it to life to the point of actually smelling and tasting it.
Amazing! you say, so what's the crack?
The Challenge: My Operating System
I have a very short, short-term memory. I struggle to remember six digits for more than a few minutes without constantly repeating it to myself. It takes a great deal of repetition for something to transfer to my long-term memory, and once it's tossed in there, I need to recall it regularly so it doesn't become lost in the unorganised disarray that is my brain. It also means... I'm prone to "squirrel" moments where I can just start talking about random things because a thought dropped into my head at that precise moment.
My type of Dyslexia means I struggle with organisation, memory, and language. Organizing and editing the stories is a significant challenge. But as a creative, I need to get these stories out of my head somehow. So, being a poor nerd, I found the best solution for the money I had available: Technology.
The Solution: AI as Assistive Technology
Technology and I get along so well. From college onward, I used technology to make sure everything is ordered and structured.
So, here is how I utilize it: I utilize generative AI tools primarily for editorial assistance, structural organization, and accessibility within the McTrill Books pipeline.
Lost you again? Basically, I write what I want to happen in a chapter as detailed as possible, and then I ask AI to organize it into five simple bullet points. I've then got a structure to follow—none of that pesky explaining something only to forget my train of thought and then having to start from the beginning.
Once I've written a chapter, I read it through, and then I discuss any rough writing or sentences that just don't flow, rewriting until it just makes sense.
AI acts as an assistive technology that bridges the gap between my creative vision and the final manuscript. It allows me to daydream in a world and focus on adding human story and emotional depth.
Every word, plot point, character, and idea originates with me, Julia McTrill.
I'm well-read. My mother, a retired nurse, taught me some really flowery words that kind of mean the same thing (my favourites are pernickety, finickity, addled, and befuddled), and I know how to use them... So why AI?
The Truth: I'm a Creative Genius with Information Retention Issues
I'm a creative with exceptional imagination, able to fully interact with and rotate a 3D object in my mind. I can look at it from all angles, feel the texture of the surface, or just... look at it like I'm standing on the other side of it. My brain is built for large-scale, intricate world-building; I can bring it to life to the point of actually smelling and tasting it.
Amazing! you say, so what's the crack?
The Challenge: My Operating System
I have a very short, short-term memory. I struggle to remember six digits for more than a few minutes without constantly repeating it to myself. It takes a great deal of repetition for something to transfer to my long-term memory, and once it's tossed in there, I need to recall it regularly so it doesn't become lost in the unorganised disarray that is my brain. It also means... I'm prone to "squirrel" moments where I can just start talking about random things because a thought dropped into my head at that precise moment.
My type of Dyslexia means I struggle with organisation, memory, and language. Organizing and editing the stories is a significant challenge. But as a creative, I need to get these stories out of my head somehow. So, being a poor nerd, I found the best solution for the money I had available: Technology.
The Solution: AI as Assistive Technology
Technology and I get along so well. From college onward, I used technology to make sure everything is ordered and structured.
So, here is how I utilize it: I utilize generative AI tools primarily for editorial assistance, structural organization, and accessibility within the McTrill Books pipeline.
Lost you again? Basically, I write what I want to happen in a chapter as detailed as possible, and then I ask AI to organize it into five simple bullet points. I've then got a structure to follow—none of that pesky explaining something only to forget my train of thought and then having to start from the beginning.
Once I've written a chapter, I read it through, and then I discuss any rough writing or sentences that just don't flow, rewriting until it just makes sense.
AI acts as an assistive technology that bridges the gap between my creative vision and the final manuscript. It allows me to daydream in a world and focus on adding human story and emotional depth.
Every word, plot point, character, and idea originates with me, Julia McTrill.
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