AI and Me: A Practical Guide to Creativity with AI Assistance
- Marya Triandafellos
- Mar 18
- 7 min read
Stronger Together?
This article is contributed by our special guest writer, Bill Raymond, from Bill Talk AI
Creativity is a defining part of the human experience, bringing depth and fascination to our lives. But we often focus more on shortcuts in order to sell our work. In this article, I’ll share how I’ve learned to control my narrative when using AI.
My AI's Showing?!
Recently, someone told me they “could tell I obviously use AI” to share my work on social media. When I asked for an example, they shared this and a few other social media posts for my podcast:
You might wonder, “So did AI write that post?” The answer is “sort of.”
I would always have a transcript for my podcast productions, send it through AI, and have it generate my social media posts. I would use a prompt template so every post shares a similar narrative structure (question, answer, podcast description, what you will learn, bullets, links, hashtags, etc.).
So yes, I used AI initially, but I would rewrite the content and then cherry pick some words I liked from the suggestions.
I started asking more people if they thought my content was AI-generated, and they also said, “Yes.” After some digging, it turns out it was the “sameness” of the posts and the “lack of personality.” Ouch!
Although hearing people I know, trust, and look up to tell me the posts lacked personality was a sting, it led me on a profound thought journey to reframe my brain and think about my relationship with AI.
Oops! AI did it again!
Give me a blank page and a good topic for long-form content, and I immediately get in the zone. The concept of time disappears as I get into the flow. Then my editor, Dr. Deborah Chen, and some trusted colleagues provide their critiques. I love the collaborative nature of writing, so it is no wonder that AI takes a serious backseat.
Ask me to write a social media post, and I forget how words work. When I have to post to social media, my brain seems to unhook itself from my head. I see my anthropomorphized brain floating in front of the screen, shifting through the various states of the Three Wise Monkeys 🧠🙈🙉🙊🧠.
Knowing full well that people told me my content looks AI-generated, what did I keep doing? You guessed it, I leaned on my AI crutch and prompted it to write the post for me so that I could modify it to read more like me.
Having AI write the first draft would actively reduce my cognitive load, giving me that comforting sense of psychological detachment that is ultimately unhealthy for someone trying to grow a business. It’s as if I’m outsourcing the emotional processing and personal engagement that would have shaped my voice in the work.
I decided this situation is similar to people who can’t write their resumes or can wax poetic about their favorite artists but shiver in a corner if they have to talk about their work.
In short, it was time to work through this and reframe my brain.
Gimme more of my own voice
Did you know AI can write like you? Brands, big and small, use this feature daily to write in their particular style to advertise their products and services to you.
People can upload previously written content to ground the AI in their writing style, such as tone, vibe, vocabulary, and structure. Then, they prompt the AI to “Crank out some ads for our spring specials over the next six weeks.” The AI dutifully produces content written on-brand, and plugs in the placeholders for the images and “Buy now” buttons. AI is great at automating those sorts of things. Some people are smart enough to know AI can get sloppy, so they use a human-in-the-middle approach to review and edit the content before it goes out.
Want to see this AI-generated content in action? Stop here and read a few emails from that one company that tries to sell you something every day. Look at the narrative structure, text length, and repetitive use of the same words. Once you see it, you can’t unsee it.
As it turns out, I created a custom GPT called “BillBot.” I use BillBot to upload my articles and verify that they follow my writing style. But, I could have easily written the prompt: “Write an article about why I changed my creative writing process because I felt AI was wearing me and I want to wear AI.”
Believe it or not, I tried that prompt for the first time when writing this article and was shocked to find it was similar to what you are reading now! The article contained far too many AIisms, full of optimism, hyperbole, and metaphors, all of which are turned up to volume 11, but it was pretty good!
But what would be the point of me churning out articles that don’t involve me thinking about nuanced conversations and adding my unique perspective? I have one fun idea, but that is a story for another day.
Can AI still be a piece of this?
Allow me to share a typical AI case study.
You and a partner are starting a new small business. You work hard to define your brand identity, values, and forward-looking vision statements. You meticulously define how your products look and how you want the market to perceive them.
Since you are just starting, you need a lot of business-related content. Why not upload all that brand identity work you already created and then ask AI to generate the first drafts of all this content:
The website, including pages like About Us, Working for Us, and Our Customer Pledge
HR policies, such as leave, safety, ethics, equality, and anti-discrimination
IT policies, such as password retention, incident reporting, and acceptable use
Finance policies, such as expense reimbursements, fraud reporting, and procurement policies
That type of content is necessary, nuanced, and has legal implications. I always recommend hiring licensed professionals for this type of content, but in this case, I am an AI optimist who believes something is better than nothing.
Yeah, I’m Stronger Than That AI!
After all my soul-searching, it was clear that I needed to create personal rules and policies that articulate how I will write in the future.
I can use AI for research. Most of the articles I write are based on direct interactions with people. However, I frequently look at trends and what my readers want to see. I will use AI when it makes sense to help me with that research.
AI can help me with writer’s block. I am not afraid to share the good, bad, and ugly of what goes through my brain. Sometimes I cannot correctly convey those emotions with words. In that case, I share a portion of a sentence or paragraph with AI, prompt it with my thinking, and brainstorm ways to rewrite the content. That is a powerful use of AI.
AI can suggest rewrites for social engagement. Did you know AI can act like an expert in social media engagement and suggest changes? I will upload my article and ask it to recommend changes and to explain why. Over time, I suspect I will use that feature less often as I build the muscle memory to do it myself.
AI can help fact-check. Sometimes, I write content that is on the bleeding edge. I have opinions but am not an expert. For that type of content, I see no shame in uploading my content and asking, “Is this factually correct? Please provide citations.” or “Is this article missing an important nuance or topic area?”
Use AI for inspiration. Sometimes I will hear a song, talk to someone, or see something in nature that can add something extra to what I write. If I struggle to create it independently, I will ask AI to inspire me with ideas. For example, I used AI as a collaborative partner to write this article’s title, tagline, and section headings based on music I was listening to on my walk.
Finally, AI can help me write better. By using custom GPTs and Grammarly, I can learn my blind spots and improve. I thought it would be fun to share my Grammarly “Top 5 Mistakes” report from March, 2024 to today, March, 2025. Let’s see if I learned anything!
Here are my AI-assisted spelling and grammar mistakes from March 2024:
One year later, here are my Top 5 AI-assisted spelling and grammar mistakes in March 2025:
Stronger than before
This article is the first time I have documented my internal process, so despite the simplicity of the infographic, it took me a few hours to complete and it feels right to me. I hope it helps you think about how you might use AI without it sucking away at your creative energy.
As you can see, I focus on writing and brainstorming first and then use AI to help me overcome writer’s block, enhance readability, and keep the content engaging.
If you are wondering what my new not-AI social posts look like, here is an example:
👆 Thank you, Marya!
While I need to cool my jets with the hashtags, I am writing from a blank slate, sharing the content and engaging with people in the conversation. This last month has been fun writing on social media! My content is getting more engagement, more people are signing up for my newsletter, and I am in a groove. Growth! That is what it is all about!
You are the pop star. AI is not the villain.
Creativity is alive and well. AI is having a moment, but the sameness cranked out by content farms won't last forever. Your personal expression, originality, and direct connections with other human beings will always stand out. AI can have your back, but you hold the mic.
Are you grappling with how to use AI (or not)? Are you curious about leveraging AI while standing firm on your boundaries? Join me at the Bill Talks AI Newsletter, and if you send me a note with "Marya sent me," I'll give you a discount for my next live training!
Thank you to Marya Triandafellos for the opportunity to share this article with you.
Dr. Deborah Chen provided editing services for this article.
