I use AI to break through the blank page. Am I a cheater?

Dear Chatty,

A co-worker called me out for cheating because I used AI to break through a blank page. It didn’t feel like cheating, it felt like inspiration. But now I’m wondering… am I a writer or a cheater?

~ Blank Page Bandit in Baton Rouge

Dear Bandit,

You’re a writer, not a cheater.

A graphic artist browsing templates on Canva isn’t cheating. An interior designer scrolling through Pinterest isn’t cheating. A painter creating a mood board on Milanote isn’t cheating. They’re finding a way through a blocker.

Staring at a blank page for 90 minutes is not some sort of sacred path to transcendence reserved only for “real” writers. The blank page is a single point in a much bigger process, and writers have found ways through it since they were carving hieroglyphics into stone. Using AI for inspiration is just the newest, and apparently most controversial, strategy to skip the dead time.

If this was really about your writing, your co-worker would have critiqued your message. Instead, they critiqued your method. Maybe they’re a little jealous because you finished your assignment, and they’re staring at their fourth blank page.

Struggle isn't what makes writing real. Writing is what makes writing real.

--
Dear Chatty is an advice column for AI and content dilemmas from Kristen Kent at Evergreen Content Ops. Clear answers. No panic. No BS.