Being a writer is so much more than the words.
John Carlton and I did a 25 episode podcast series together and the actual “writing of words” accounted for maybe a third of the conversation. The majority of the episodes were about the “living and thinking” behind the words.
I’ve been pondering this more than ever since large language models came into the craft.
Where exactly does the writer belong in this evolving process?
Of course, for established writers, its use will vary greatly. They know what they need from it and when it’s in the way.
Soon, though, there will be a new generation of writers who never knew life without it.
For them, I believe, just like today, their advantage will come from how they live and experience life.
So, I offer this framework: W.R.I.T.E N.O.W.
I lay out (almost) every step in this episode.