My editing and art process with AI

A Note on My Creative Process

Every story I publish begins with me.

The worlds, characters, relationships, plots, scenes, emotions, and ideas in my books come from my own imagination. I write and develop my stories myself, including full paragraphs and scenes, and I make the final decision about every word that appears in my books.

I am also a self-taught independent author. I do not have a traditional editorial team, a group of writer friends reviewing my manuscripts, or professional designers sitting beside me while I work. Because of that, I use modern AI technology as one of the tools that helps me learn the craft of publishing.

I use AI for assistance with grammar, spelling, sentence structure, word choice, and formatting. Sometimes I know exactly what I want to say but need help finding a more imaginative or playful word, reorganizing a sentence, or turning my writing from something that reads like an essay into prose that feels and flows like a novel. I may ask for suggestions, experiment with different placements, rewrite passages, combine ideas, remove things that do not sound like me, and continue editing until the final version reflects the story I want to tell.

I also use AI-assisted technology in developing of the artwork and visual concepts associated with my books. I provide the creative direction—describing characters, settings, clothing, atmosphere, composition, and countless other details—and continue revising those concepts until they represent the worlds I imagine.

For me, AI is a tool and a teacher. It gives an independent writer access to guidance in areas where I do not have another person available to teach or assist me.

It does not imagine my stories for me.

The heart of every story—the idea that started it, the characters I love, the worlds they inhabit, the choices they make, and what I ultimately want the reader to feel—comes from me. Technology helps me learn how to present those ideas more professionally, but the stories themselves are mine.

I believe there is a difference between asking technology to replace creativity and using technology to help a person develop the skills to express the creativity they already possess.

I choose the latter.

— Sebastian R.L.K. Kingston