What’s the answer to the age-old question: “How do you know you’re in love?” The answer, of course, is: “You’ll know.”
And so it is with good writing—but is AI “good writing”?
Let’s find out …
Good writing is good writing. You know it when you see it. Like being in love, good writing has a seemingly magical quality to it. But since I have 20+ years of experience writing content professionally, and a (finally) happy marriage to my credit, I’ll try to demystify them both.
☑ Good writing means something.
Like being in love, good writing is personal. To the lover, care and meaning are what drive a person to act lovingly toward their partner. To the reader, meaning is what propels them to read on.
Good writing conveys a message, a point, a thought, something. If you read a sentence or a paragraph or a page and can’t tell the main point (especially after reading it multiple times), it’s simply not good writing.
☑ Good writing evokes something.
Like being in love, good writing involves depth of feeling. Indifference is the enemy. Good writing causes a reaction of some kind. Amusement. Laughter. Desire. Agreement. Disagreement. Vehement disagreement. Like a lover, good writing will engage, delight, disgust, surprise and a whole host of other things. (I’ve been married a time or two, so I know these things.)
☑ Good writing leaves something to hold onto.
Like being in love, good writing leaves a lasting impression. A lover cannot stop thinking of or dreaming about their beloved for too long. Good writing does the same. It indelibly impresses a thought, an image, a desire to act, or a feeling upon the reader.
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Agree or disagree with my “in love” analogy. Either way, I think most of us can say that it’s time to move away from cold, impersonal, AI-generated writing, and boring old features-and-benefit-driven copy and, instead, create content that engages our readers with something that’s highly personal and wholly emotional.