Partner, Not Pen: How I Use AI Without Losing My Voice
By Travis I. Sivart
Tags: #AuthorLife #AIinPublishing #IndieAuthorTools #WritingProcess #CreativeEthics
Let’s get the obvious out of the way: I don’t use AI to write my books.
Not a ghostwriter. Not a co-author. Not a digital monkey pounding out prose while I sip bourbon and pet cats (okay, I do sip bourbon and pet cats, but I’m still the one doing the writing).
But I do use AI. Regularly. Intentionally. And it’s made me a better, faster, and saner author.
1. The AI Art Angle
I use AI for art.
Not always. Not exclusively. But often enough to say this:
It helps me share more stories, faster.
Character sketches. Moodboards. Bookish promo graphics. A weird-ass cybernoir cat in goggles? I can show you that now instead of just describing it and hoping you picture what I do. And when it comes to making social media scroll-stoppers or concept covers, that’s gold.
Do I still work with human artists when it counts? Absolutely. But AI lets me prototype, explore, and test visuals without bleeding my wallet dry on every whim or character quirk.
TL;DR: AI art is a sketchpad, not a replacement. I still value the brush more than the algorithm.
2. Writing Tools, Not Replacements
Here’s where AI really shines: not as a writer, but as a writing support team.
Blurb stuck? I feed it the bones, it throws out a few angles, I sharpen the best.
Need a title? We brainstorm like drunk poets at a dive bar.
Social media caption? I hand it the mood and a quote—it riffs with punchlines and hashtags.
Beta feedback? I run a chapter through and say, “Tell me what’s unclear, boring, or clunky.” It doesn't pull punches or ghost me for three weeks.
What it doesn’t do is write the soul. That still comes from the heart, the gut, and the half-drunken 3am conversations with imaginary people in my head.
TL;DR: AI helps me polish what I write—not replace what I create.
3. So… Why Not Just Let It Write the Book?
Because I’m not here to mass-produce content. I’m here to tell stories.
Stories with scars and fingerprints and weird little inside jokes that only I could write.
Could I crank out 10 AI-written books a month? Probably. But they wouldn’t be mine. They’d be puppets dancing in my general direction.
My readers know my voice. My sarcasm. My rhythm. My obsessions. If I gave that over to an algorithm, it’d be like letting someone else wear my skin to a party. (Creepy visual? Good. That’s how it should feel.)
Final Thoughts: The Middle Path
AI isn’t evil. It isn’t magic. It’s a power tool.
Like any tool, it can build something great—or slice off your fingers if you’re careless.
I use AI to speed up the boring parts, enhance the visual parts, and get feedback that doesn’t come with a “Sorry I didn’t read it yet” DM. But when it comes to the story? The real story?
That’s mine. Always.
Want to see how AI art enhances the weirdness?
Check out my latest story promo [link to Purrella, Villain Us, etc.], where a snarky cat burglar narrates her crimes in style—and yes, ai made the art. But I wrote the mayhem.
