I got my first computer with word processing software in the final months of my college career as an English major. It was the first edition of the Macintosh, purchased through a lottery with the educational discount. (I realize I’m dating myself.) One floppy drive, not much memory, but it felt like magic. “I wish I’d had this sooner,” I thought, “It makes writing papers so much easier.”
Yes, word processing software made everything easier. It also changed my writing process in a subtle way—removing the necessary revision that happens while typing a clean copy.
How revision changed
Before word processors, most writers took at least two passes through their words by necessity. They might write the first draft by hand or type a messy first copy, then mark it up. Then, they’d retype the whole thing in a fresh copy. No matter how rushed, that last pass always improved the work.
Every great writer before the mid-80s used that process. (Many still do.) Retyping is a forced revision cycle.
The word processor made the revision process less rigorous, more optional. You could simply change a few obvious errors and let the rest stay, without carefully checking it out. Sometimes that’s fine—writers can get too precious about revising and refining our work. But, having the text already there can be a curse. We are tempted to settle for what’s there, instead of pulling out the sandpaper and taking off the rough edges.
Technology tempts us to skip part of the process. Serious writers plan for revision and commit to it.
How will AI change your writing?
Is AI changing your writing process? Most of us are still figuring it out, as in the early days of word processing, impressed by the time savings and how magical the technology seems.
Some writers use AI to replace parts of the process altogether—but that’s a risky strategy. Others ignore it completely. The rest of us are experimenting and figuring it out.
If you’re in the “still figuring out” group, don’t forget the lessons of word processing—a technology I love and would not want to live without! Know your process and see if the technology can help you, not replace you, in each step. Don’t let the technology tempt you to shortcut the necessary steps.
A Few Books on my AI Reading List
Here are a few of the books that I have found particularly insightful.
More Than Words: How to Think about Writing in the Age of AI by John Warner
Teaching With AI: A Practical Guide to a New Era of Human Learning (2nd Edition) by José Antonion Bowel and C. Edward Watson
Co-Intelligence: Living and Working with AI by Ethan Mollick
The AI Con by Emily Bender and Alex Hanna
