Readers ask, and editors and teachers ask more pointedly, whether I use AI in my writing. This is the answer, an expanded version of the one that appears on my Substack when a reader runs its scan.
The statement
I have been writing in public since 2005. I started using Claude in March 2026. My routine is the same. I sit down to write when I have thoughts that breach containment. Before Claude, most would die before they reached digital paper. Now I dictate what I want to say, use a tool to shape it, revise it, and post it. Some pieces flow in bursts and need no tool at all. So in this archive, you will find a mix.
My books are different: those I write by hand, with Claude as a sounding board, auditing structure, identifying plot holes and acting as my personal cheering squad. I write my outline on paper. I flesh it out in bits and pieces when I walk, over voice notes. I brainstorm with my friends over the phone. My children help name characters. The actual writing, that is me. My voice is the only thing I have.
What that means in practice
- Blog posts are a mix. The pieces from March to mid July 2026 lean hardest on Claude: I dictated them, shaped them with the tool, and revised them. Since then, I write most of them straight through myself.
- The Smudged Hyphen essays are all my words. Claude organized the archive and structured the book.
- Books I write by hand. Claude is a sounding board for brainstorming and feedback.
- I do not edit old work to pass or fail anyone’s detector. The archive stands as written.
- This website is maintained with Claude: SEO, tags, categories, and meta fields are semi-automated.
- Social posts are mostly me. Blurbs for posts and essays are drafted by Claude.
The other side of this, the systems I build and run with these tools for the business behind the books, is on The Systems Behind the Books.
Statement first published July 21, 2026. This page: September 2026.