Hey friends, Our recent conversations in this group got me thinking more deeply about AI and what it really means for us as writers. Soon after the live class with @Nicolas J on this very subject, I began exploring further—at first tentatively, and later, enthusiastically. The further I wandered into the mysterious world of AI, the more I realised I'd been missing a few important pieces of the puzzle. As for most writers, there was an underlying sense of fuzziness around the whole concept. Once the key ideas slotted into place, I began to sense there was a massive opportunity here for us in actually mastering AI. As the world gets flooded with mediocre AI content, those of us who already understand what great writing is will, indeed, have a huge advantage over others when using this technology. Now, as some of you already know, I’ve been working quietly behind the scenes on a book called, The Alchemy of Prompting: Writing With Flair in the Age of AI. It’s written specifically for writers. And it offers a radically different way of thinking about AI that, I hope, will bring both clarity and inspiration. It's part philosophy, part manifesto, and part practical guide. I’ve poured everything I’ve learned about AI into this book—and I honestly can’t wait to share more details with you. Feel free to tell me in the comments what you've been learning in your own experiments with AI. —Shani

Friends, One of the biggest myths about AI writing tools is that you don’t need to know how to write to use them well. That’s exactly why we’re seeing so much generic, bloated, lifeless content out there on the internet. The fact is, prompting is an editorial skill. If you don’t understand what good writing is—if you can’t tell the difference between something elegant and something awkward, or between clarity and clutter—then you’ll have no idea how to guide the AI or improve what it offers you. Mediocre inputs equal mediocre outputs. And unless you know what exceptional writing is in the first place, you'll have no idea how to fix either. This is why, as I said in another recent post, exceptional writers have an enormous edge right now. If you know how to write well, you will also be able to prompt well. You can shape, refine, and lift words to make the tool work for your own vision, rather than settling for the default, as most others are doing right now. Let's keep the discussion going within the community so we stay on top of this trend. Shani

Hey folks, I have managed to convince our friend and honoured community member @Nicolas J to lock in Sunday, March 23 for our next live class. That's not this coming Sunday, but the following one. Nicolas has kindly agreed to share his experiences working with ChatGPT and other AI writing assistants. Hopefully, it will kickstart an informed discussion. We'd also love to learn from your own experiences writing with AI technology. For anyone who doesn't know, Nicolas is a seasoned journalist who has edited for Bloomberg News and reported for the Global & Mail. He now runs a blog out of Toronto, Canada. I'll send around the exact details and zoom link soon, so please keep an eye out. The call will likely be in the early morning for some, late night for others, and somewhere in between for the rest of you! I can't wait to see you there! Shani