I Use AI to Write Faster—Here's How (and Why That's a Good Thing)🔗

TL;DR: I write code most of the day. AI helps me turn that work into clear posts faster. I don't paste whatever it spits out—I guide it, edit it, and keep the human judgment. It's a tool, not a ghostwriter. I don't use a quill pen; I won't ignore modern tools either.

Why I use AI at all🔗

I'm a builder first. Most of my time goes into code: prototypes, benchmarks, systems work, instrumentation, and the occasional yak shave that turns into a weekend. When I sit down to write, the "what" is already there; the slow part is shaping it into something concise and useful.

AI gives me:

• Draft momentum: a quick outline or first pass so I'm not staring at an empty editor.
• Audience lens: suggestions that surface what a reader might ask next.
• Reduction & refactors: turning rambling notes into tight sections, or expanding a too-dense paragraph.
• Edge-case reminders: "You never mentioned logging," "What about failure modes?"—the nudge I sometimes need.
• Mechanical chores: title options, summaries, slugs, alt text, link lists.

None of that replaces expertise. It just reduces friction between building something and explaining it.

My workflow (end to end)🔗

1. Capture raw notes while coding I keep a scratch file of commands, gotchas, and mini-postmortems. No polish, just truth.

2. Outline with AI I paste the notes and ask for a lean outline aimed at the audience I have in mind (backend engineers, ops, Rust/Python folks, etc.). I ask for 5–7 sections max and explicit "what/why/how."

3. Fill in the missing pieces I mark gaps: benchmarks, diagrams, examples. I go get the real data. If a claim can't be backed, it's cut.

4. Draft paragraphs collaboratively I'll ask for a draft of a single section, not the whole piece. I guide tone ("no fluff," "prefer bullet lists," "don't oversell"). Then I rewrite it to match my voice.

5. Pressure test I ask for counterarguments or failure modes: "Where will this break? What trade-offs did I skip?" I address them or explicitly call them out.

6. Tighten and label

   • Shorten sentences.
   • Rename headers until they read like promises.
   • Add a TL;DR and a "Do/Don't" block.
   • Generate alt text for images.
   • Final pass is always me.

7. Disclosure I say the quiet part out loud: the writing is AI-assisted, the ideas and responsibility are mine.

Guardrails I won't skip🔗

• I never ship unchecked claims. If there's a benchmark or API quirk, I reproduce it and keep the command lines and versions.
• I keep my voice. If a paragraph sounds like a brochure, it gets rewritten or deleted.
• No factual padding. If I didn't test it, I don't imply I did.
• Human edits last. The final pass is for accuracy, tone, and cutting bloat.

What AI actually does well for me🔗

• Structure: turns brain-dump notes into an outline with sensible flow.
• Compression: reduces three paragraphs into a crisp list without losing meaning.
• Naming: better headers, clearer variable names in examples, tighter captions.
• Reader questions: surfaces "Wait, but how does this scale?"—so I answer it up front.
• Alternatives: prompts me to compare with adjacent tools or patterns I might skip.

What AI does not do here🔗

• Invent results. Benchmarks and configs come from my machine(s), not a model.
• Own the opinion. If I recommend something, that's me—earned from trying it.
• Replace judgment. Trade-offs, ethics, and context are human work.

Practical prompts I use (lightly edited)🔗

• "Turn these notes into a 6-section outline for backend engineers. Keep it pragmatic, no hype."
• "Rewrite this section at 60% length, preserve the caveats, add a one-line 'when not to use this.'"
• "Generate three neutral titles and one spicy title. 70–80 characters."
• "List five questions a skeptical reviewer would ask after reading this."
• "Summarize the post in 3 bullets for the top of the page—no marketing language."

Why this stance🔗

Tools evolve. I don't compile with stone tablets, and I don't write with a quill. AI is a modern writing tool that—used carefully—amplifies the parts I already do: organize, clarify, and ship. It saves me from the blank page and lets me spend more cycles on the part I care about most: building things worth writing about.

Disclosure🔗

Posts on this site are AI-assisted: outlines, edits, and some phrasing come from an AI assistant. The code, measurements, opinions, and responsibility are mine.