Author Diary Entries

187: You are hurting YOURSELF when you use AI to "write" your books

• Sagan Morrow • Episode 188

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Using generative AI to quote-unquote “write” a book is harmful not only to the artists those people are plagiarizing from, but it’s also harmful to the plagiarizer and to CREATIVITY, itself. 

Let’s talk about that! In this episode, your Author Diary Entries podcast host — romcom novelist and Personal Fulfillment Coach Sagan Morrow — takes the conversation about *AI as art theft* a step further by exploring the self-exploitation that occurs throughout this process, and the way in which we are now living a creative dystopian nightmare/horror story when so many people willingly give up their own voice, their own creativity, their own artistic experience, by outsourcing it to AI.

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You’re listening to the Author Diary Entries podcast — formerly known as Indie Author Weekly. I’m your host, Sagan Morrow, and this is episode #187.


Let’s talk about people using generative AI to quote-unquote “write” their books. 


I could talk about how generative AI plagiarizes artists and is therefore a form of theft — which it is — but that conversation has already been had many times and I don’t have anything new to contribute to that particular aspect of the conversation. 


Rather, today I want to talk about how *using generative AI to quote-unquote “write” a book is harmful to the people who are doing it*. Let me say that again: It is harmful not only to the artists they’re plagiarizing from, but it’s also harmful to the plagiarizer and to CREATIVITY, itself. 


It is through THAT lens that I want to talk about it today. 


As an author, my purpose in writing is in the ACT of writing — not the goal of “being a bestseller” or “having my books made into movies” or “earning a full-time living from writing.”


Any and all of those things would be AMAZING and I would love for that to happen! And also… if they DIDN’T happen, that wouldn’t stop me from writing. 


I don’t write books in order to have my name as the author on the cover of a published novel in bookstores. If that’s the only thing that matters to you, you can hire a ghostwriter. 


But to me personally, that defeats the entire purpose of it because I write for the WRITING itself. 


The act of ideation and outlining and writing and rewriting is what fills my cup and fires me up.


If no one else ever read my books, if I never published my books, that wouldn’t stop me from writing. It is the writing, the creative process, that fulfills me. Publishing my stories and sharing them with the world is the cherry on top; it isn’t the meal.


There is a joy, a thrill, a spark, in sitting in front of a blank page and filling it up with a story that came from within you. There is magic in realizing, “oh wow, I just write that! That came from me!” There is beauty in tinkering during the revision phase to create just the right sentence or turn of a phrase. 


When you use AI for any stage of the writing process, you are taking that away from yourself. 


You are robbing yourself of that experience. 


There is something that feels soulless about people using AI to “write” their books. 


It’s such an empty way to make progress on a book. 


Being an artist is about BEING an artist, and the ACT of CREATING art. The finished product is wonderful, but if that’s your sole purpose, you can get someone else to make it for you so that you can admire the finished product. 


Our society devalues artists while simultaneously acting entitled to the end result and possession of their art. 


People want to call themselves artists without BEING artists. 


In this society, we want to enjoy art, but we don’t want to have to pay artists to create the art we enjoy.


We demand to experience the finished product or end result of creativity, while dismissing the seriousness with which artists take their craft (and the effort and skills and time and energy that they have put into that very real work). 


This, in and of itself, is a horror story. 


And what makes it even scarier is that people are doing this to themselves, when they turn to generative AI for quote-unquote “making” art: Because in doing so, they further disengage the art from the artist; the creativity from themselves. 


The best part about creativity and art is in the creation and artistry of it. And we’ve reached such a low point in our society that many people aren’t able to recognize or understand or appreciate that kind of joy; the unique joy found only in the act of creativity and making art. 


We are living a creative dystopian nightmare. 


We are living in a creative horror story. 


What happens when our society continues down this path of further devaluing art and depriving ourselves of the joy of being artists?


Maybe you’re thinking to yourself, “okay Sagan, you’re being a little dramatic here.” Am I, though?


Creation is a fundamental part of life. When we create art, we breathe life into it. And that is being lost every time people use generative AI to spit out an end product.


What is your purpose in this world? What is everything FOR, if not to experience some kind of joy, some degree of personal fulfillment? Being an artist and the act of creativity are an experience, not an end product. Strip that away and we lose something of ourselves. Remove the creativity from the art and you take away its soul. Distance yourself from the creative process and you lose out on the sheer awe, the thrill, the magic, the pleasure, the transformational power, of creation. 


Why would you do that to yourself?


Why would you take that away from yourself?


Who hurt you?! Seriously. 


You deserve to have the experience of creating your own art. It can be “bad” art. It can be “weird” art. You don’t need to be highly skilled in order to create art — skill is a practice that you build over time. 


You just need to be with your art and create your own art, rather than stealing from other people to “create” frankenart. 


When you skip over the creative process and the experience of creating art, you are also losing other invaluable skills: You’re missing out on flexing your resiliency muscle and your self motivation muscle. You’re skipping over the practice of putting effort into something you care deeply about. You’re losing out on the opportunity to think critically and think for yourself, to assess and analyze and critique and problem-solve.


Those are all skills that can be applied to just about any other area of life — and you are limiting your practice of them. Which actually puts you exactly where society wants you: Easily controlled and within its confines so you never step a toe out of line or question anything through critical thinking. 


Just because we live in a world of toxic productivity where our society glorifies instant gratification and prefers cutting corners to doing things well — just because our society mistakes technological advancements for progress — just because our society wants you to put on blinders while the world burns, it doesn’t mean you need to fall for that trap. You don’t need to succumb to that way of thinking. You can think for yourself. You can strengthen your problem-solving and critical thinking muscles. And one of the most enjoyable and effective ways you can do that is through the creative process; through the act of writing or making any kind of art. 


When generative AI is used to quote-unquote “write” for you, you are depriving yourself of thinking. You are depriving yourself of creating. You are depriving yourself of using your voice. You are depriving yourself of being an artist. You are hurting yourself. And you deserve so much better than that. Artistry deserves so much better than that. Artists deserve so much better than that. 


You don’t need to suffer for your art in order to be an artist, but you do need to create your own art in order to be an artist. 


You need to write your own words in order to be a writer. 


You need to immerse yourself in the creative process to be a creative. 


Don’t take that away from yourself. Don’t silence your own voice.


If you want help with any of this, being a creative doesn’t mean existing in a silo or doing everything on your own. Not by a long shot! In addition to being a romantic comedy novelist, I’m also a Personal Fulfillment Coach — and helping people  improve their relationship with themselves, unleash their unique voice, and be MORE of themselves, is what I excel at. You can watch the on-demand replay of my (free!) Intuition Activated masterclass at SaganMorrow.com/masterclass, or book your life coaching sessions today at SaganMorrow.com/coaching. 


That’s a wrap on today’s episode, but this is a big conversation and a really important one, so I don’t want it to stop here! Let’s continue to talk about this. Find me on Instagram & Threads to share your thoughts on this episode — my handle is @Saganlives. 


As always, you can access the show notes and transcript of this episode at SaganMorrow.com/podcast. And if you are enjoying the Author Diary Entries podcast, please take 2 minutes to rate and review it on your favourite podcast platform. 


Thanks so much — I appreciate you!


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Sagan Morrow

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