You're right to be skeptical.
In recent years, there has been a justifiable reaction within the writing community to AI generated content. Novelium has taken a thoughtful, ethical stance on this debate which precludes AI writing tools. Read more about it on our blog.
"AI writing software" covers two completely different categories of tools, with opposite effects on your writing career. This guide explains the difference, what each type actually produces, and which approach serious fiction writers are using.
Category 1: AI Content Generation Tools
These tools write prose for you. They're marketed as "your AI co-author" or "finish your novel 10x faster." Here's what they actually deliver:
Tools in This Category:
Sudowrite
The most popular AI fiction generator. "Your AI writing partner."
NovelAI
AI storytelling and prose generation, marketed to fiction writers.
Jasper AI
Originally for marketing copy, now includes "fiction writing mode."
ChatGPT / Claude (for prose)
General AI models used to generate novel scenes and chapters.
What They Actually Produce
Generic Prose
These days, every reader knows what AI sounds like. Even careful editing has a hard time removing all traces of em-dashes, "it's not x it's y", and other hallmarks of AI. Further, it eliminates the voice of both the author and the characters.
Every Sudowrite fantasy novel has the same cadence. Every NovelAI mystery uses the same pacing patterns. Readers notice.
Loss of Fiction as Meaningful Art
Fiction is about expressing unique human experiences. AI generates statistically average text based on patterns in existing books. It cannot convey genuine emotion, insight, or originality.
Agents and editors can tell. Your manuscript sounds like the dozens of other AI-assisted submissions they've rejected this month.
Coherence Breaks Over Long Manuscripts
AI models have limited context windows. As they reach the end of their context windows, they're less able to make sense of everything in their memory. AI can write good individual paragraphs, but over longer prose, the context becomes fragmented. Character motivations drift, plot threads contradict, and the story overall loses cohesion.
You end up spending more time fixing AI inconsistencies than if you'd written it yourself.
Characters That Feel Hollow
AI can describe characters. It cannot create characters that feel real, because it doesn't understand human psychology. It just knows what descriptions usually appear in fiction.
Dialogue sounds like dialogue. Motivations sound like motivations. But nothing feels true, because truth requires understanding, not pattern matching.
The Copyright Gray Area
These models were trained on copyrighted books, often without permission. The legal status of AI-generated content is unsettled. Publishers are increasingly wary. Some explicitly reject AI-assisted manuscripts.
Do you really want your book's rights status to depend on ongoing litigation?
The Fundamental Problem
Fiction isn't about arranging words into grammatically correct sentences that advance a plot. It's about communicating a specific human experience in a way only you can express it.
AI content generators produce competent mediocrity. They can write a scene that checks all the boxes (dialogue, description, action) while being completely forgettable. Because statistical averaging optimizes for "acceptable," not "exceptional."
If you're serious about building a writing career, AI-generated prose is a dead end.
When Content Generation AI Might Help:
- ✓ Brainstorming alternatives - "Give me 10 name ideas for a cyberpunk hacker"
- ✓ Breaking temporary writer's block - Generate a bad version to get unstuck, then rewrite entirely
- ✓ Exploring directions - "What if this scene went differently?" (then decide yourself)
But not for actual prose in your manuscript. That must be yours.
Category 2: AI Analysis & Editing Tools
These tools read and analyze what you wrote. They don't generate prose. They catch errors in your manuscript that would take humans weeks to find manually.
Tools in This Category:
Novelium - Manuscript Intelligence
AI analyzes your manuscript for timeline conflicts, character inconsistencies, plot holes. Doesn't write anything. Just finds structural problems in what you wrote.
Example: Catches that your protagonist attended a funeral on Tuesday in Chapter 3 but the obituary in Chapter 15 says it was Thursday.
ProWritingAid - Style & Readability Analysis
Deep analysis of your prose: pacing, dialogue tags, overused words, sentence variety. Reports on YOUR writing, suggests improvements to YOUR voice.
Example: "You use 'suddenly' 47 times. Consider varying your surprise indicators."
Grammarly - Grammar & Clarity
Catches grammar errors, unclear phrasing, weak word choices in YOUR sentences. Suggests fixes to YOUR prose.
Example: "This sentence has a dangling modifier. Consider: [revised version]"
Why This Approach Works
✓ You Remain the Author
Every word is yours. AI just catches errors: timeline problems, character contradictions, weak pacing. Like a tireless continuity editor who never gets bored reading your manuscript for the 20th time.
✓ Your Voice Stays Intact
Analysis tools work with YOUR prose, YOUR style, YOUR voice. They make your writing stronger, not more generic.
✓ Clear Copyright Status
You wrote every word. The tool just analyzed it. No legal ambiguity, no publisher concerns. It's your book.
✓ Publishers & Agents Accept This
Using Grammarly or Novelium is no different than hiring a copyeditor or continuity checker. It's a standard editing tool, not a ghostwriter.
✓ Readers Can't Tell (Because There's Nothing to Tell)
Your manuscript doesn't sound AI-assisted. It sounds like you, but with fewer timeline errors and plot holes. Which is exactly what readers want.
The difference is simple:
Content generation AI asks: "What would a novel usually say here?" and writes generic prose.
Analysis AI asks: "Does what the author wrote make logical sense?" and catches errors.
Direct Comparison: Generation vs Analysis
| Question | Content Generation AI | Analysis AI |
|---|---|---|
| Who writes the prose? | AI generates text | You write everything |
| Unique author voice? | Generic, statistically averaged | Preserved and strengthened |
| Copyright status? | Unclear, legally risky | Clear - it's your work |
| Publisher acceptance? | Increasingly rejected | Standard editing tool |
| Reader reception? | "This feels AI-written" | Readers can't tell (nothing to tell) |
| Long-term career impact? | Unsustainable | Sustainable, professional |
| Best use case? | Brainstorming only | Serious manuscripts |
| What it does? | Writes for you | Catches your errors |
Real-World Examples
❌ Using Sudowrite to Write Chapters
The promise: "Write your novel 10x faster! AI completes your scenes!"
The reality: Chapter 1 sounds decent. By Chapter 10, character motivations have drifted. By Chapter 20, you're spending hours rewriting AI prose to sound like you, fixing consistency errors the AI introduced, and wondering why you didn't just write it yourself.
Outcome: Manuscript reads like a Sudowrite manuscript. Agent passes. You've trained yourself to rely on AI instead of developing your voice.
✓ Using Novelium for Consistency Checking
The approach: You write your novel entirely yourself. Before sending to beta readers, you import to Novelium for analysis.
What it catches: Your protagonist's eye color changed from Chapter 2 to Chapter 18. A character learned critical information in Chapter 12 but somehow knew it in Chapter 8. Your timeline shows 10 days passed but the manuscript says "two weeks later."
Outcome: Beta readers focus on story and character instead of finding continuity errors. Your manuscript is cleaner. Your voice is intact. It's your book.
⚠️ Using ChatGPT for Brainstorming (OK)
The use case: "I need 20 ideas for a heist that goes wrong." ChatGPT generates a list. You pick one and develop it yourself.
Why this works: You're using AI to break through a mental block, not to write your book. The actual heist scene, dialogue, character reactions... all yours.
Key distinction: AI for ideas is fine. AI for prose is not.
The Bottom Line
If you want a sustainable writing career:
- ✓ Use AI for analysis, not generation
- ✓ Let AI be your continuity editor, not your ghostwriter
- ✓ Protect your unique voice (it's your only competitive advantage)
- ✓ Build skills that compound over a career, not dependencies on tools
The question isn't "Should I use AI for writing?"
The question is: "Do I want AI to write for me, or help me write better?"
One path leads to generic prose and questionable authorship. The other leads to cleaner manuscripts with your voice intact.
See AI Analysis in Action
Import your manuscript to Novelium. Get AI-powered timeline and consistency checking without changing a single word of your prose.