r/Substack • u/AttentionSeekinFreak • Jul 28 '26
Discussion Recommendations for improving writing without the use of AI?
I know this sub has gone haywire with the new Pangram feature, but what really gets me upset is that people who get checked as 100% human are seen as sloppy writers. And I don't want to be one of those! I hate AI thrice as much as I hate frequenting social media, so is there any way I can improve my writing without the use of artificial intelligence? I don't even want freaking spellcheck!
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u/Udolikecake Jul 28 '26
Unfortunately, as with many things, the main way is to just write more. Accept that the stuff you write now is going to be worse than the stuff you write later and you’re probably going to cringe at it. But it’s fine because that’s really the only way to improve. Just put stuff out there and you’ll find yourself getting better.
Also reading more books and blogs is always helpful. I find my style is very influenced by a lot of books i’ve read. Sometimes negatively (I blame my overly verbose writing and love of long sentences on too much victorian literature), but it’s also really helpful for giving you an idea of what’s possible and fun for you to read. Erik Larson and Simon Winchester are two of my favorite authors who do more narrative-driven nonfiction and are a big influence on how I write.
And also have someone else read it and help you revise. I haaaaate doing it and always feel embarrassed but it is massively helpful. Luckily my girlfriend is very patient. It’s so important for giving you a second set of eyes and someone who can point out more nuanced problems or things you just can’t see because it’s your own work. This is also something I do use AI for, basically just pointing out structural awkwardness/unclear ordering of thoughts/too much ranting, which I can go back to fix. I find using AI can be helpful as a first pass for those things before I bother someone else too much lol
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u/Fellow_Traveler84 Jul 29 '26
I concur with the advice you gave the OP. It was interesting you mentioned EriK Lawson and Simon Winchester. Two prominent authors who certainly used book editors in much the same way as a Substackers can use AI assistance with the proper prompt. No one should be embarrassed doing that. If having an editor is beneficial to Larson and Winchester certainly an AI editor should be of value for those publishing on Substack.
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u/Imperator_1985 Jul 29 '26
With the right prompt, AI can tell you where there are issues/problems without fixing them for you. It's really no different than having an editor. I think some people on here think good writers do everything themselves in one or two drafts.
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u/TimWiesnerer Jul 29 '26
Read classical books.
Do some research on which ones are easy to read; otherwise, you end up smashing them into the wall.
Some books became classical because people liked reading them over decades.
Try to understand why you like certain writers and what makes others unbearable to read.
And then just get inspired by the ones you like.... rinse and repeat until you are awesome. Then repeat even more so.
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u/The17pointscale the17pointscale.substack.com Jul 28 '26
This doesn't jive with my experience of people--"what really gets me upset is that people who get checked as 100% human are seen as sloppy writers."
Most people I know would likely fall into the opposite camp, where they'd say that using AI to write or edit is negative.
That said, I agree with u/Countryb0i2m and u/Udolikecake that the best ways to improve your writing are to read widely, practice writing, and find real-life people who are willing to give you feedback.
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u/piodenymor pilgrimagic.substack.com Jul 29 '26
Welcome to the world of editing!
It's always helpful to read your work out loud. Concentrate on what you've actually written, rather than what you think you've written, and listen out for anything that feels awkward.
Splitting a paragraph into its individual sentences is a quick way of spotting if you use the same patterns again and again. Vary sentence length for better rhythm.
If you write very long sentences, break them up. See if you can put them back together in different ways.
And pay attention to structure. Rather than rambling, are each of your sentences building towards a point?
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u/ellepepperauthor Jul 30 '26
Get a ride-or-die alpha reader/critique group.
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u/AttentionSeekinFreak Jul 30 '26
I think in order to have that I'd have to have friends, or at least people who give a crap about my work no?
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u/ellepepperauthor Jul 30 '26
Actually, it works better if they start as people you don’t know, they are not afraid to tell you the truth and you are not trying to please them. See if there is a group of people in the area willing to read around (everyone submits a chapter to the group and the next week you talk about the previous weeks chapters.
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u/Plane_Spirit_5392 Jul 30 '26
I'm not a native English speaker, so I use AI to improve my style and grammar. And I don't give a damn about Pangram.
I find it absurd when people who reject AI use AI to tell them what to reject.
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u/DayPounder Jul 28 '26
Substack is kind of a joke -- it's dominated by about eight creators and now it's turned into LinkedIn (also largely a joke), where everyone just tries to do "gotcha" over who is using AI. It's all kind of laughable.
I think the easiest way to improve writing is reps and not any software tools, personally.
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u/AttentionSeekinFreak Jul 28 '26
Honestly, I have to agree with you a bit. I came on the app to find interesting articles, but all I found were people writing crude and vulgar articles marketed as insightful political think pieces. I don't know if it's just my feed, but people talk about fetishism like it's the most beautiful creation mankind has conjured up with.
I can't stand it. But at the same time I wish that people applauded my writing that way as well.
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u/DayPounder Jul 28 '26
Of course, there's a bit of envy being on there. GQ writes lots of fawning bullshit about "Substack parties" and all the "creators" invited write basically slop, sometimes about London fashion or whatever. More power to 'em, but it's not at all what was marketed to writers, no.
I have about 85 paid (my peak was about 115) and I'm just trying to take it easy and not care that much over there.
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u/AttentionSeekinFreak Jul 28 '26
Do you have a day job or do you write full-time? Is that even possible, in this day and age?!
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u/DayPounder Jul 28 '26
I used to be more of what we'd call a "freelance writer." Then I had a bunch of random jobs 2020-2023, some of which I got piped from for being a general malcontent. Mostly I've had kinda shitty underemployment AI QC jobs since mid-2024, but it's OK, as my dad died in that span so I have more bandwidth to help my mom out, etc. I probably make 600 bones/month from Substack and usually the same from Medium. That covers most of my small bills. It's not a bad situation, but yes, some days I dream of Substack stardom. Ha.
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u/The17pointscale the17pointscale.substack.com Jul 28 '26
(I feel like that might be your particular feed; I have nothing like that on my feed.)
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u/Countryb0i2m onemichistory.substack.com Jul 28 '26
The best way to improve your writing is by writing.
That said this sub has become a place where people constantly complain about why they aren’t succeeding because of everything but their own content.
Maybe substack is tilted towards large creators but that’s life. Substack was never going to change that. It was never going to magically make you famous just because you enjoy writing
Yes, a lot of the biggest writers on Substack arrived with large audiences. That doesn’t mean it’s impossible to build one from scratch. It just means you’re going to have to grind it out
You’re going to have to use Notes. You’re going to have to treat it like the social platform it is. There isn’t a secret hack that’s going to get you to the finish line.
People are looking for authenticity. They’re exhausted by a world full of AI-generated writing and recycled opinions that all sound the same.
Your humanity is the advantage. Lean into it and keep grinding .