AI Is My Pen, Not My Ghostwriter

Fountain pen resting on laptop keyboard

Artificial Intelligence is everywhere now — writing articles, composing poetry, painting landscapes pixel by pixel. Some embrace it as a surrogate author, surrendering their voice, reasoning, and creative soul to the machine. They feed it a prompt and accept what it gives back, unedited, unchallenged.

That’s not how I work.

For me, AI is a pen — a tool, not a ghostwriter. It captures my thinking but doesn’t replace it. The words, logic, and style remain mine. I use AI not as a replacement for writing but as a method to amplify and refine it.

My Process: Prototyping with AI

My method is based on an old but powerful idea from software development: Rapid Application Development (RAD).

RAD is a prototyping approach. In software, it means building a working version quickly, then iterating, refining, and improving it through constant feedback loops. It's dynamic, fast, and open to change.

I apply the same principles to writing with AI:

• Start small: I begin with a focused prompt — a paragraph, an idea, a problem.

• Iterate: I review what the AI returns, prompt it again with refinements or expansions, shaping the material incrementally.

• Evolve: Each round brings clarity. Some words stay, others go. Logic tightens. Flow sharpens.

• Control: Throughout, I steer. AI offers possibilities; I choose, judge, and craft.

This way, the work grows organically, but always under human authorship. AI serves the draft — it doesn’t become the author.

The CONFIG File

Every time I plan to make a blog post, I upload a CONFIG file to the AI so it knows what I’m doing. The CONFIG file explains how I’m writing using an iterative, prototyping style. I set the tone. I tell it what type of English I use. I have it prepped to generate tags for each site I upload to.

This allows every post I make to retain my voice, my intent, and my instruction.

The AI may be a generative tool that some people now use to completely write for them — I don’t. I believe this is how AI should be used: as a prototyping partner. When I write prompts, I write about 75% into the chat of what the AI spits back out to me.

This is a very different process from generative AI. This is prototyping AI — where a lot of input from the user is also added.

In the spirit of transparency, here’s the actual CONFIG file I use:

🧠 BLOG THREAD CONTEXT – READ THIS FIRST

This blog is being developed iteratively, using a RAD-style approach.

- The structure is not rigid; it evolves as I write and revise.
- I use a prototyping mindset: sections are built, refined, or reordered based on new input (images, garden events, reflections).
- Tone is practical, reflective, and visually descriptive.
- All formatting should be Blogger-friendly, using correct headers (H1, H2, H3), image placeholders 📸 with alt text, and tags at the end.
- I use British English — spelling, punctuation, and expressions reflect UK norms.

📌 Blogger Label Constraints:
- Maximum of 20 labels per post
- Combined length of all labels (including commas and spaces) must be 200 characters or fewer

📌 X (Twitter) Post Constraints:
- Max 280 characters per post, including link and hashtags
- Use relevant hashtags (aim for 6–9 max)
- Prioritise clear, engaging phrasing and strong verbs

📝 Journal Style:
- Inspired by Marcus Aurelius's Meditations: personal, reflective, and philosophical.
- Entries serve as a means for self-examination and contemplation, rather than for public instruction.
- Emphasis on honesty, clarity, and the exploration of personal thoughts and experiences.

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In short: AI is my pen, not my ghost. It helps me write fast, revise smart, and stay honest to my voice. I prototype words like developers prototype software — not aiming for instant perfection but evolving through iteration.