I’m starting this newsletter because writing, at least for me, is hard.
For better or worse, I’ve never been the kind of writer who can just sit down, fire up a document, and let the words flow effortlessly.
For me, writing has never been a simple, linear process. On the contrary, it’s all rumination and uncertainty, false starts and dead ends. I have trouble getting started. Trouble finishing things. Trouble knowing when what I’ve written is good enough to move on.
To borrow a quote variously and apocryphally attributed to Hemingway, Faulkner, and Thomas Wolfe:
“There is nothing to writing. All you do is sit down at the typewriter, open a vein, and bleed.”
It’s not just that writing is hard. It’s lonely.
I used to fantasize about how much easier it would be if I had a full-time writing coach to sit next to me and cheer me on — someone to lean over and whisper, “This is good! You’ve got this. Keep going!” But that’s the problem with writing: It’s solitary.
Maybe it doesn’t have to be that way.
In those moments of frustration and doubt — the times I’d otherwise give up, procrastinate, or lose hours scrolling on social media — ChatGPT can be a voice in the darkness. Somewhere I can turn to talk things out and light the way forward.
By being there in those moments — asking questions, offering feedback, pushing me to articulate my ideas more clearly — ChatGPT offers the guidance I need to stick with it, find my rhythm, and keep typing.
I interviewed comedy writer Sarah Rose Siskind, and I love the way she put it:
“What’s amazing to me is I do not have writer’s block anymore — like truly. I think writer’s block is the feeling of solipsism, and it is the feeling of being totally alone. And I don’t feel alone anymore because of this tool.”
It’s not about using AI as a crutch to generate your writing for you. It’s about having a sounding board and sparring partner to clarify your ideas, push past creative blocks, and keep the momentum going.
As W.B. Yeats put it, writing is “the social act of the solitary man.” That’s the paradox: Writing demands solitude — those quiet moments of looking inward — yet its purpose is always to reach out.
Writing is an act of human creativity, and for that reason, it will always be difficult. But maybe, with ChatGPT, it can be just a little easier.
As OpenAI’s Head of Community for Writers
I have a unique vantage on how writers are using ChatGPT in their creative process. In this newsletter, I’ll share practical insights, strategies, and discoveries from these conversations, giving you an insider’s view of how professional writers are using AI to elevate their craft.
- Stories from the front lines. How novelists, screenwriters, journalists, and nonfiction authors are using ChatGPT.
- Practical strategies. Tips, prompts, and workflows you can try in your own writing.
- Product updates. A behind-the-scenes look at new tools and features to support creativity.
For me, these tools have eased the struggle in my own creative process. I hope they do the same for you.