The Day I Asked AI 'What Did I Forget?' and Everything Changed

How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love My AI Writing Tools

Writing with AI

Using AI to Enhance Your Fiction Writing: A Writer's Honest Guide

I've been experimenting with AI tools in my fiction writing process for a while now, and I wanted to share what's actually working (and what isn't) when it comes to using artificial intelligence as a writing companion. This isn't about replacing the human creative spark. It's about making your writing process smoother and your stories stronger.

Important note: My experience is primarily with historical fiction dramas, which need extensive research and attention to period-accurate details. What works brilliantly for my genre might be less useful for fantasy world-building, contemporary romance, or science fiction. Consider your own genre's specific needs when evaluating these tools.

The Game-Changing Benefits I've Discovered

Research That Actually Works

Claude and Google AI have revolutionized my research process. Claude is often quicker and better than traditional web searching. Especially when I need to dig deep into historical details for my immigrant stories. Before, I spent hours bouncing between Wikipedia articles and academic papers. Now I ask targeted questions and get comprehensive answers in minutes.

The key? Your prompts need to be specific. Don't ask. "Tell me about 1880s immigration." Instead, try "What would a Swedish immigrant family experience when arriving at Ellis Island in 1880? Include the specific documentation process and common fears they might have had."

Your Creative Thinking Partner

This is where AI shines for me. When I hit a wall with plot development or character motivations, AI becomes my brainstorming buddy. Claude helps me organize scattered thoughts, expand on plot threads I'm exploring, and even suggest conversation directions when my dialogue feels flat.

But here's the crucial part: whatever AI writes is the creative spark, never the end product. Think of it as that friend who throws out wild ideas during a brainstorming session. Some are gold, others are complete nonsense, but they all get your creative wheels turning.

The "What Did I Forget?" Secret Weapon

Here's my favorite trick: at the end of every writing session, I ask Claude, "What did I forget?" or "What might I have overlooked in this chapter?" The suggestions are surprisingly insightful. Claude can report plot threads that need attention, character motivation clarification, or world-building consistency.

Consistency Checking That Actually Helps

With the right prompts, AI is excellent for checking consistencies such as dates, character details, and even accents. Crucial for historical immigrant stories like mine. For instance, I'll paste sections of my manuscript and ask Claude to check the speech patterns of different immigrants. Or I'll tell Claude to analyze the chapter to ensure it has a logical flow without loose ends.

Important caveat: Always double-check these suggestions. AI is thorough but not infallible.

Understanding the Two Types of AI Writing Tools

Before diving into specific recommendations, it's essential to understand that there are two different categories of AI tools for writers, and they serve very different purposes in your writing process.

Passive AI: The Editing and Analysis Tools

These are tools like Grammarly, Hemingway Editor, and AutoCrit. Think of them as sophisticated versions of Word's spelling and grammar checker. While Word catches basic typos and obvious grammar mistakes, these AI tools go much deeper. They analyze your writing style, identify patterns, and offer insights that Word can't provide.

What they do well:

• Catch objective errors you might miss (like Word, but more comprehensive)

• Identify patterns in your writing that Word ignores (like overusing certain words)

• Provide style and readability feedback beyond basic grammar

• Some work automatically in the background

What they don't do:

• Generate new content or ideas

• Understand your creative intent beyond surface-level patterns

• Engage in back-and-forth creative discussion

• Adapt to your specific story needs in real-time

Interactive AI: The Conversational Writing Partners

This is where tools like Claude, ChatGPT, and Google AI shine. These are conversational AI systems that you can brainstorm with. You can ask questions and receive customized responses tailored to your specific project needs.

What they excel at:

• Research help tailored to your exact questions

• Creative brainstorming and "what if" scenarios

• Helping you work through plot problems or character development

• Providing feedback on specific passages when you ask

• Adapting their responses based on your writing style and genre

The key difference: You're having a conversation with these tools, not just running your text through an analysis engine.

A note on ChatGPT: While ChatGPT is a well-known conversational AI, I found it less helpful for fiction storytelling compared to Claude. Your mileage may vary, but I've had better results with Claude for research and creative brainstorming for historical fiction.

The Writing and Editing Toolkit That Works

The Passive AI: Smart Editing Assistants

These tools range from basic grammar checking to sophisticated style analysis:

• Grammarly: Great for catching grammar, spelling, and basic style issues. The premium version goes beyond basics to identify tone, clarity problems, and repetitive word usage. It has a rewrite AI that can change tone. For example, it can make a paragraph more concise or set a more professional tone. Finally, it has a plagiarism and AI usage identifier.

• Hemingway Editor: Focuses on readability. It highlights complex sentences, passive voice, and dense paragraphs to help you write clearer, more accessible prose. I like that it analyzes the reading grade level. Different target audiences require varying levels of complexity.

• AutoCrit: Compares your writing against published fiction to determine how your writing measures up. It's like having industry standards at your fingertips, although it requires uploading your finished draft rather than working within the program as you go.

Pro tip: Don't accept every suggestion these tools make. Use them as a self-editing compass, not gospel truth. Sometimes that "lazy" writing is exactly the voice your character needs.

Research the Hard Way

A Word About AI Detection and Plagiarism Checking

Many of these tools also offer plagiarism detection. This helps catch accidental similarities or ensure your work is original. But, there are some significant limitations to be aware of:

Plagiarism detection quirks:

• May flag innocent sentence fragments that happen to match common phrases

• Can identify references and citations as "plagiarism" because they're properly formatted

• Sometimes flags standard formatting or common expressions used in entirely different contexts

AI detection is seriously flawed:

• Well-written, polished human prose often gets flagged as "AI-generated"

• Formal or academic writing styles trigger false positives

• Clear, concise writing (the kind we're taught to strive for!) is often mistaken for AI

• Even published works by established authors sometimes get flagged as AI-written

The bottom line: Use these detection features as one data point among many, not as definitive proof of anything. Your own editorial judgment is still the most reliable tool you have.

Privacy and Security: Protect Your Work

Before uploading your unpublished manuscript to any online AI tool, consider these critical privacy concerns:

What to watch for:

• Data retention policies - How long do these companies keep your writings? Some store it indefinitely.

• Training data usage - Will your work be used to train future AI models? Most reputable companies now offer opt-out options.

• Third-party sharing - Read the fine print about whether your content might be shared with partners or affiliates.

• Account Security - Use strong passwords and enable two-factor authentication when available.

Safer practices:

• Work with excerpts or chapters rather than full manuscripts when possible

• Remove character names and specific plot details when testing tools

• Consider using tools that offer local/offline versions when available

• For highly sensitive projects, stick to tools with strong privacy commitments

Many established tools, such as ProWritingAid and Grammarly, have made privacy commitments. I recommend always reviewing their current policies before uploading your work.

The Honest Reality Check: Where AI Falls Short

When AI Doesn't Get Your Vision

AI struggles with understanding that you may want partial sentences for stylistic effect. That sparse description is intentional. Or that certain details will become important later. AI often needs to be reeled in when creativity veers from the tone you're trying to set or develops "hallucinations".

The Hallucination Problem

Here's a critical issue every writer needs to understand: AI can and will generate content that is not entirely accurate. In AI terminology, this is referred to as "hallucination." The system generates information that sounds plausible but is entirely false.

This is especially dangerous for:

• Historical details (AI might invent "facts" about time periods)

• Research information (fake statistics, non-existent studies, made-up quotes)

• Source citations (AI will confidently cite books or articles that don't exist)

• Character consistency (AI might "remember" details about your characters that you never wrote)

Always verify:

• Any "facts" AI provides during research

• Historical details, especially for period fiction

• Citations or sources AI suggests

• Technical or scientific information

Think of AI research as a starting point that gives you leads to investigate. It is not authoritative information you can trust without verification.

The Prompt Precision Problem

Obtaining useful results requires very focused and revised prompts. You'll spend time crafting the right questions to get the answers you need. It's a skill in itself. Google AI is decent for straight research, but Claude is more intuitive.

The Integration Issue

Most AI tools work in isolation. You can't work inside your preferred writing software with many of these tools. You're copying and pasting between applications, which breaks your writing flow.

Emerging Tools Worth Watching

Sudowrite is popular with fiction writers because it's designed for creative storytelling. Features include Story Bible for character tracking and scene expansion tools. Early reports from fellow fiction writers are promising.

Squibler provides an all-in-one writing and AI solution that supports both fiction and nonfiction genres. It can help with those integration headaches.

Tools That Work for Others (But Not for Me)

I want to be honest about some popular tools that many writers swear by, but don't fit my personal workflow:

Scrivener: A comprehensive writing organization tool rather than AI, but it's worth mentioning since so many writers love it. I found it too complicated for my taste. Too many features and organizational systems, which I prefer over a simpler approach to drafting.

ProWritingAid: A solid option, but I personally don't use it. The 25+ reports and deep analysis can be overwhelming, and I find myself getting lost in the data rather than focusing on the actual writing.

Sudowrite & Squibler: These are designed for fiction writers and have gained significant traction. Sudowrite's Story Bible feature and Squibler's all-in-one approach sound great, but are too complex for my straightforward writing process.

The takeaway: Just because a tool is popular or feature-rich doesn't mean it's right for your workflow. Sometimes, simpler tools that excel at one thing are more valuable than comprehensive platforms that attempt to do everything. Don't feel pressured to use a tool because other writers rave about it. Find what actually helps your process.

The Bottom Line

You can't depend entirely on AI, but these tools can absolutely help streamline your process and strengthen your craft. The key is understanding what each tool does well and using them strategically rather than as a crutch.

My current workflow:

1. Use Claude for research and brainstorming

2. Write my draft (human brain only!). I write in Word, but I don't use the grammar/spelling checker as I go, since it will bog me down when I'm being creative.

3. Run sections through Claude to check consistency.

4. Ask Claude, "What did I forget?" to catch overlooked elements.

5. Use editing tools Grammarly and Hemingway for style and grammar polishing

Remember: AI is a powerful assistant, not a replacement for your creativity, intuition, and unique voice. Use it to handle the mechanical stuff so you can focus on what only you can do: tell your story.

Resources and Tools Mentioned

Research and Brainstorming

• Claude (Anthropic): claude.ai - Excellent for research and creative brainstorming

• Google AI: gemini.google.com - Good for research, though less intuitive for creative prompts

• ChatGPT: chat.openai.com - Popular conversational AI, though I found it less helpful for fiction storytelling

Grammar and Style Editing (Tools I Use)

• Grammarly: grammarly.com - Great all-around grammar and style checker

• Hemingway Editor: hemingwayapp.com - Focuses on readability and clarity

• AutoCrit: autocrit.com - Fiction-specific editing with industry comparisons

Tools Popular with Others (But Not My Preference)

• ProWritingAid: prowritingaid.com - Comprehensive writing assistant with a creative writing focus

• Sudowrite: sudowrite.com - AI writing partner built for fiction

• Squibler: squibler.io - All-in-one writing and AI platform

• Scrivener: literatureandlatte.com - Comprehensive writing organization software

Additional Learning

• For comprehensive prompting strategies: Anthropic's Prompting Documentation

• Writing communities often share AI-prompting tips. Join forums like Absolute Write or She Writes for ongoing discussions.

Happy writing, and remember, the best AI tool is the one that enhances your unique voice, not replaces it.

Comfortable Writing with AI