AI Writing Tools Simplified

A Non-Technical Guide for Everyday Users

At Screen Skills, we start with the basics. I assume you have the general skills to work on your desktop or phone, but don't spend your weekends coding or improving your computer skills; walking in nature or meeting with friends is a higher priority for you.

If that's you, why wouldn't you invest a little time in quickly improving your efficiency and enjoyment of the time you spend behind your screens? It will improve the quality and quantity of your production and give you more time to spend on non-screen activities.

At Screen Skills, you're at the right address for that. Since we just got started, we are really at the basic level. Over time, when you feel more comfortable and have learned the basics, we will move to a more advanced level that is still accessible to all.

This newsletter is 13 days old today. I mention this because Screen Skills has another educational aim: to show you how to build a newsletter or brand from the bottom up. If you want to start or grow on Substack, follow this newsletter to learn how to do so.

Screen Skills grew in these 13 days to 243 subscribers. Have a look at this growth curve:

My Journey With AI Writing Tools

In my last newsletter, I wrote about my first experiences with generative AI to produce images. It wasn't my first experience with AI; the algorithms of my social media already used AI to decide which information and advertisements to show me, and I already used Grammarly to correct my spelling and writing.

Interestingly, Grammarly (https://app.grammarly.com) hardly ever got mentioned in the heated debate about using AI for writing. It's likely that many who wrote about their eternal dislike of using AI writing tools first Grammarly-checked their fuming article before publishing it on social media, which used AI to push the article to others opposed to the AI revolution.

However, I understand their frustration. Typical ChatGPT language is so baroque it is hard to read. Let's do a quick test. I will ask ChatGPT to "describe in about 40 words the feelings I had when I walked on the beach and enjoyed a beautiful sunset." You can try it yourself:

1. Open chatgpt.com

2. It asks you, "What can I help with?"

3. Copy and paste the question and press enter

Here is the result. If baroque is not a proper word to describe an overdose of words, it is now:

Walking along the beach at sunset, I felt a quiet serenity wash over me. The sky blazed with gold and pink, the waves whispered secrets to the shore, and for a fleeting moment, everything felt infinite—calm, beautiful, and wonderfully alive.

Would you come home after a walk on the beach and tell your loved one how you noted the waves being very busy today to whisper their secrets to the shore?

I wrote back to ChatGPT: Some people would refer to your use of words as baroque. How would you describe your style?

ChatGPT replied it is "not overloading with fluff." Here is the complete answer:

I'd describe my style as vivid and immersive—leaning into rich, expressive language when the moment calls for it, but always with intention. It's about capturing feelings and scenes in a way that resonates, not overloading with fluff. Think poetic, but with purpose—like painting with words, not drowning the canvas.

Testing Popular AI Writing Tools

But there are also other options. The Hemingway App (hemingwayapp.com) claims to "make your writing concise and correct." I logged in by giving my email address, clicking on the confirmation email, and opting out of their newsletter. It gave me a free trial.

I then asked to shorten the ChatGPT answer, which resulted in the following:

"I write vividly and immerse readers. I use rich language when it matters, capturing feelings and scenes that resonate. It's like painting with words."

Hemingway App (note that I’m on the website, not an app)

I can see Jake Barnes, sitting in Café Iruña in Pamplona, explaining to Brett Ashley that he left most of ChatGPT's fluff in the sunken part of the iceberg. But this text would still be much too fluffy for Hemingway. He would likely say something like:

"I write simply and true. I use words that matter and let the rest stay unsaid. The meaning is there if you look for it."

Hemingway’s favorite hangout in Pamplona: Café Iruña (Photo by me, 2022)

Let's go back to writing AI tools. My original prompt describing that beach moment is unsuitable for the Hemingway App. Like Grammarly, it corrects a text you wrote but doesn't write it for you. Still, it can clean up the worst ChatGPT words. I tried it, and Hemingway changed "I felt a quiet serenity wash over me" into "serenity enveloped me." And, fitting to the Hemingway character, it wasn't charmed by "the waves whispered secrets to the shore"; our virtual Ernest simplified and charged it to "the waves crashed to the shore."

ChatGPT writing is easily recognizable by phrases like "quiet serenity wash over me;" the verb "whispering" is undoubtedly one of its top ten most used words. Other frequent words are tapestry, explore, captivate, delve, embrace, leverage, or resonate.

AI wouldn't be AI if there weren't AI tools to detect its use. Teachers asked for it to detect whether essays written by their students were original works. However, teachers should be aware of the boomerang effect. I recently heard from a student who checked the teacher's feedback in an AI detector: It scored 93% AI-generated text.

Getting Started with AI Writing Tools: A Personal Guide

Earlier today, an advertisement passed my screen promoting a tool that writes a book for you in less than two minutes; you only have to click on one of the preselected titles. I hope you don't spend your money there.

However, I don't understand the resistance to the responsible use of AI. There is a large grey area between the black-and-white extremes of zero AI use and fully letting ChatGPT write a book for you. I use AI to search for resources, help structure large texts, and especially for spelling and grammar. For a non-native speaker, Grammarly makes it possible to write faster and better. It puts me and the majority on this planet who are not born in an English-speaking country at a level that we can write acceptable English.

So far, in this article, I have used AI to provide the text examples I shared. But I also used it twice to check if there is a tilde on the letter 'n' in the spelling of Café Iruña and then to ask about Brett's surname in Fiesta, The Sun Also Rises. I will use it again to find resources for the second part of this article before I use Grammarly to check the final text.

Let's have a look at different AI writing tools. I will share a few that I believe work best for beginners who want practical results without drowning in technical details:

ChatGPT (chat.openai.com)

ChatGPT hardly needs any introduction. One of the many ways you can use it for writing is brainstorming when you are stuck on ideas. It works best when you're extremely specific. Instead of asking for "ideas about climate change," I prefer to write something like "Give me five conversation starters about climate solutions that would work at a dinner party with skeptical relatives." The difference in quality is remarkable.

The free version works fine for most needs, though sometimes, during busy periods, you'll need to wait. If you use it to generate text you want to use, be aware of its distinctive "AI voice." That tendency toward flowery language we saw in the beach sunset example means that you will likely need much more time to revert it to your own writing style than when you write it yourself.

Grammarly (grammarly.com)

I've used Grammarly for years, well before the current AI boom. The browser extension monitors my writing across most websites, and I've come to rely on it catching small errors I miss. I don't accept all suggestions and often use the dismiss button for its advice on passive language or its preoccupation with commas. (P.S. Just now, while doing a final check, Grammarly wanted to change 'small errors' into 'minor errors.' I don't mind a small error; I hope you don't mind either).

Since a couple of years ago, Grammarly has added more AI features that suggest tone adjustments, which I find useful when writing emails; it often warns Dutchmen like me when they sound unintentionally harsh.

The free version handles basic grammar and spelling, but I eventually upgraded to Premium for the tone suggestions and clarity improvements. I consider it essential for anyone who writes professionally, even if they're an excellent writer.

Hemingway App (hemingwayapp.com)

About a year or two ago, I tried this app a few times, but I preferred Grammarly. However, it is a popular app, and if you write your sentences as long as I do, it's actually a good idea to use it. (While writing this line, I know Grammarly will tell me later to scratch out 'actually,' which is actually a good suggestion).

Grammarly correcting me

If you plan to use text written by ChatGPT, Hemingway is probably the best tool for unfluffing the text and making your writing clearer and more direct. It highlights adverbs, passive voice, and complicated phrases.

My Personal Approach to AI Writing Tools

After experimenting for a few months a few years ago, I decided I didn't want to give the writing out of my hands to a computer. I have no objections to others doing so as long as I don't get irritated by having to read overly rich ChatGPT prose. I just find it reduces my creativity.

But I'm an enthusiastic user of AI for research. Perplexity is an example of an excellent tool, which I will describe in another newsletter; Copilot is another good one. These apps have replaced Google search for me.

As I mentioned, I will soon run this text through a Grammarly check. (If you are wondering, this post is not sponsored by a company.)

This way, my writing benefits from AI assistance, but the tools haven't replaced my writing process. I'm better informed, work faster, and make fewer mistakes. It saves me time on the mechanical aspects of writing so I can focus on what matters: communicating my experiences, perspectives, and ideas.

What's Next for Screen Skills

In upcoming newsletters, I will write more about AI tools for tasks other than writing. We'll also discuss writing prompts for AI and look at different screen skills that are easy to learn, cheap, and quickly facilitate daily tasks.

Suggestions and comments are welcome via direct message, in the chat, or via the comments button below.

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