Last month in Thailand, I met a German guy outside a massage parlour (not that kind of massage).

We got talking about work. I explained I was a writer and that I coach people how to write, too.

He asked:

“But can’t AI write for you now? What’s the point of writing yourself?”

I must have been feeling relaxed after my massage. Because instead of berating him like I would a social media AI-bro, I explained why writing is much more than words on a page.

The skill dances hand in hand with the quality of your thoughts.

The clearer you write, the clearer you think.

And at a time of rampant superficiality and almost infinite noise, thinkers stand out most. When you outsource your writing, you outsource your thinking—a dumb decision.

Consider what Paul Graham wrote recently about AI:

“In preindustrial times most people's jobs made them strong. Now if you want to be strong, you work out. So there are still strong people, but only those who choose to be. It will be the same with writing. There will still be smart people, but only those who choose to be.”

The crowd will always follow the path of least resistance.

But this is a slippery slope to the place of most difficulty. With writing, this means uninspiring ideas, generic style, and no substance. Considering there are over 200 million content creators now, you can’t afford to be average.

So if everyone uses AI, do the opposite.

Lean into overlooked techniques.

It’s why I’ve been talking about copywork this weekend.

Handcopying is the most effective way to write like the pros. It’s slow, but not everything needs to be fast. Paradoxically, patience is the fastest way to improve.

And my friend Derek Johanson has a fantastic course called Copyhour.

In it, he gives one of the best explanations of copywriting I’ve read, spread over a 90-day email course. Each email takes a few minutes to read, and he recommends 35 minutes of copywork 5 days a week.

It's been one of the most enjoyable and effective courses I've taken (there’s a reason 4,000 students have gone through the material).

The deadline to sign up is tomorrow, and it won’t be available again for 3-4 months.

Take a read here:

https://portal.copyhour.com/a/2148027147/bFZHG8wY

Cheers,

Kieran