Nicole Sune Sbitani (she/her) is a diplomat by day and speculative fiction author by night. The views expressed in her newsletter or on her website are her own and do not necessarily represent the views of the U.S. Department of State or the United States.
Why I Stopped Writing Fiction in Google Docs
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Hello! I've used Google Docs to draft three different novels and countless short stories. I'm grateful for the tool that helped me write so much for so many years, but I decided to jump ship for my fiction given the pervasive embedding of AI. There are so few spaces left that are free from AI right now (see: partial screenshot above of an AI-generated flyer from my kid's school with a leg growing out of the shoulder), and I want to protect my human creativity. Someone made a great Chrome browser extension called Bye Bye Gemini that has improved my visual experience by hiding Gemini in Gmail, Google Docs, and my Google searches. (As an aside, I have found so many inaccuracies in the Gemini AI overviews that are automatically generated at the top of Google searches. The worst example I have from a friend is false visa information. They almost traveled internationally without the correct visa. Please do not rely on LLMs for visa advice!) Wired did a great article on how to turn off some AI features in Gmail and Google Docs, but it seems very difficult to remove them completely. So where did I go? I decided to try Ellipsus at the recommendation of another writer friend. So far, it's working well for me as a drafting and editing tool, though I have to export files to LibreOffice to put them in standard manuscript format prior to submitting for publication anywhere. I've seen there are other tools with fancier features like moving scenes around, comparing your outline and draft in one screen, or even getting prompt cards for story structure as you go. For now, I've been fine without those features, but I'm always open to trying something new. If there's another non-AI tool you love for writing, feel free to reply and let me know! Happy writing, Nicole Disclaimer: The views expressed in my newsletter or on my website are my own and do not necessarily represent the views of the U.S. Department of State or the United States. |
Nicole Sune Sbitani
Nicole Sune Sbitani (she/her) is a diplomat by day and speculative fiction author by night. The views expressed in her newsletter or on her website are her own and do not necessarily represent the views of the U.S. Department of State or the United States.
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