It’s more important than ever to make your writing stand out, with so much AI slop being published.
Writing has always been a challenge for attention, but never before has automation been the main competitor.
While it might still be true that cream rises to the top, the top of the mountain is much higher today.
The only way you can compete now is by being yourself, staying authentic, and being stubbornly determined to attract readers.
Battling the robot in writing
You might have noticed signs that people are starting to push back against robotic AI content.
On Reddit, you often see sarcastic comments such as, “Thank you, ChatGPT,” in response to AI-generated articles and posts.
Pinterest users have been extremely vocal about the amount of AI content ruining their enjoyment of the platform.
So, as a writer, don’t think you are alone in viewing AI writing as a poor substitute for human writing.
People are not easily deceived, and they are getting better at recognizing the mechanical, flat, and grammatically perfect style of the robot in writing.
It’s still a problem, though, and it’s a challenge that self-publishers, bloggers, newsletter writers, and content creators face now.
The biggest concerns are speed and volume. AI robots never get tired and can pump out an extraordinary amount of content in minutes.
All of this generic content floods the space in search engines, online ebook stores, and social media.
That’s the battle that writers now face, and the only way to make your writing stand out and rise above all the slop is to write better and improve its discoverability.
You might not win every time, but you can take heart in the fact that readers are becoming much more astute and are on your side.
Writing with style: your style
Artificial intelligence is everywhere, and you’re probably using it in one form or another now.
You might use it for research, brainstorming, or writing corrections. But if you rely on it to write, you’re backing a loser in the long term.
Whatever you write and publish hangs around for a very long time, so think twice about the effect that might have on your writing reputation.
The only way to succeed as a writer is to be just that: a writer. You don’t need to find tools to humanize your writing, because you are human.
How you write is you and is always your unique voice. You might be sarcastic, ironic, love slang and jargon, or can’t resist using the word “actually”.
It doesn’t matter if your writing style is formal, informal, or poetic. It’s you, and that’s what attracts readers.
That’s the only way to gain new readers and keep them.
Yes, discoverability is increasingly difficult thanks to changes in search engine algorithms and the different ways people now find content.
So, you need to find new ways to promote your writing, which means more work than ever.
But in doing so, you will attract new readers. However, people have short attention spans online, so you have to make your writing pop to keep them reading.
You need to make your writing more engaging than ever to attract and retain readers. But that will only happen if readers like what you write.
And that’s the key factor in beating all the robots in writing; you have to make your writing stand out.
You need to know and understand what your writing style is, and how you can use it to your advantage to gain blog readers or book buyers.
There’s only one you, so take the most advantage you can of that.
Avoiding or resisting the AI temptations
You’ve probably noticed, or even tried, some of the many AI writing tools that seem to pop up every day.
My junk mailbox is full of emails announcing new and groundbreaking tools to write, bypass AI detection, or humanize AI content in seconds.
It’s a sure sign that the AI trends affecting writers and authors will continue. But that doesn’t mean that you have to get on board.
Sure, use AI to help you with tasks that can save you time, such as hunting for ideas, analyzing data, researching possible writing topics, outlining, or, as I do, for translation.
You might also use AI to create decorative or featured images for your articles or blog posts.
But you need to keep a level head and use it only for support tasks. When it comes time to write, don’t be tempted to take shortcuts.
I just checked, and it’s taken me about an hour and a half to get to this point in this article. Yes, that’s slow-going, but I’ve never regarded writing as a race.
Sure, there are hundreds of ways now to make writing faster, easier, and perfect.
However, the aim for real writers is originality, personality, and connecting with human readers.
Remember: the tortoise beat the hare. Slow, thoughtful, and genuine writing usually wins in the long run.
Practical steps to make your writing stand out
The first step is to know your unique writing voice and understand your style.
Are you witty, sarcastic, formal, helpful, or poetic? Always think of your voice as your superpower. It’s what sets your writing apart from other writers, and also generic AI slop.
Look at varying your sentence structures to mix short, sharp sentences with longer ones. Avoid repetitive patterns that could make your writing seem robotic or dull.
Every word counts, so select your vocabulary carefully. Replace vague or generic terms with precise, vivid, or stronger language. It’s the best way to grab attention.
Show, don’t tell. Instead of just stating cold facts, try to illustrate them with examples, personal anecdotes, or even metaphors. All of these options can make your writing memorable.
Use hooks to grab instant attention. You can use question, surprise, promise, story, or contrarian hooks to give readers reasons to stick around.
Go for authenticity. Don’t try to copy or follow trends or attempt to please algorithms with SEO tricks. Stay human, and write for humans.
If you are a blogger or article writer, try to publish more often. But don’t trade quantity for quality. Only increase your frequency if it’s possible.
I’ve managed to increase my article output a little each month, but I’m certainly not racing the clock to do it.
Promote your writing as far and as wide as you possibly can. Even the best writing will go unnoticed without a little push.
I used to be lazy and relied on Google to deliver traffic for me. It worked for years, but that’s all changed now, and how.
But with a lot of work and finding new avenues, my traffic now comes from many more sources. A quick look at my analytics shows 162 traffic sources in the last 30 days.
High up on the list now are AI search tools such as ChatGPT, Perplexity, and Bing Copilot.
So yes, leverage social media as much as you can, keep using good SEO, but be reassured by the fact that AI search can now latch on to great writing and bring you new readers.
I always try to practice what I preach, so I know it’s not easy trying to accomplish all of these points. However, once you grasp them, you can develop new habits that make it easier.
Conclusion
Yes, the world is changing rapidly, especially in technology.
But there’s no point in trying to resist or fight something that isn’t going away.
AI is here to stay, like it or not. So the only way forward is to adjust to it and find new and better ways to write for readers.
And remember, readers are affected by AI as much as writers, so they’re on your side.
All you need to do is help them find you and write your heart out to please them.
I know that might sound trite, but that’s the way it is.
Related Reading: How Writers Can Survive AI Search And Attract Readers
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