Writing is not a Formula

AI can be taught a lot of things:

It can be taught facts and dates

It can be taught names and numbers

It can be taught the rules of grammar

It can be taught character arcs

It can be taught cookie-cutter plots

It can be taught to string these together

To make something resembling

Something we might read

To make a story or perhaps a poem

That we might even be impressed by

But it cannot be taught what’s at the core

Of every story, essay, and poem:

The heart and mind of the writer

The soul that makes the writer write

The observations of humanity

That makes the writer wonder

What makes their fellow man tick

For writers do not just string words together

They capture the essence of humankind

In the words that they intertwine

They make worlds come to life

And characters jump off the page

They are heart, soul, and mind

All together on the page—

—and that cannot be taught

To an unliving machine