The Work Before the Words

I don’t copy-paste from AI. I collaborate with it — like a sparring partner who sharpens the edges of a thought I’ve already sketched in my head. My recent post, Living in the Gap, is a case study in how this works.

The MisconceptionPeople imagine AI writing as a vending machine:

Prompt → Instant content → Copy-paste.

That’s not what happened. Living in the Gap started as a visceral metaphor — a quiet frustration I felt about always being ten steps ahead, like leading a car through familiar streets with someone trailing behind. That seed was entirely human.

The Creative Cycle1. The Human Spark. I started with this raw question:

“Do you understand the feeling when you’re driving to a familiar place and someone is following who doesn’t know the way?”

2. The AI Response. The first reply gave me language for my feeling — “hyper-awareness,” “unspoken accountability.” But it was still shallow.

3. The Expansion. I refined the prompt:

“Expand that to include the feeling of going slower, waiting for others to catch up.” This surfaced phrases like “intentional slowness” and “leading while waiting” — language I could shape further.

4. The Human Synthesis. Then I pulled it into my own experience:

“In most conversations, I’m already 10 steps ahead…” That became the heartbeat of Living in the Gap.

5. The Final Post. Only once I had a clear human narrative — the tension of pacing between now and what’s next — did I draft the blog.

The Real WorkThe heavy lifting isn’t typing. It’s mapping. It’s holding the pace between instinct and clarity. AI helps me widen the lens, but I choose what matters. I edit, cut, and synthesize. It’s not copy-paste — it’s creative speed with human authorship intact.

Why Share This?Because the process itself mirrors the essay’s theme. The tension I described in Living in the Gap — scanning ahead, waiting for others, holding the map — is the same tension I feel when building ideas with AI. I’m leading, but I also have to slow down enough to shape and share the vision.

What About You?Are you using AI as a thought partner, or a vending machine? Do you feel that same tension — of being ahead, but trying to bring others with you?