Writing with AI: Ethical Use of Tools for Creative Writers

Audience: MFA students, creative writers, poets, instructors
Format: Self-paced e-learning module (Storyline or Google Slides-based mockup)
Estimated Time: 30–45 minutes

🧭 Module Structure

1. Welcome + Learning Objectives

In this module, you will:

• Understand current applications of AI in creative writing
• Explore ethical and responsible ways to use AI
• Practice using AI as a creative tool, not a replacement
• Reflect on authorship, originality, and intent

2. What Is AI (and What Isn’t It)?

• Quick intro to large language models (LLMs)
• Limitations of AI: hallucinations, bias, gaps in emotional resonance
• Debunking myths: AI doesn’t “think” or “feel”

Interactive Element: Drag-and-drop myth vs. fact activity

3. Use Cases for Writers

• Generating prompts or story starters
• Exploring different styles or “what-if” scenarios
• Rewriting or revising awkward phrasing
• Brainstorming structure or ideas
• NOT: replacing human insight, voice, or experience

Example:

Original student draft → AI rewrite → Human revision for tone/voice → Side-by-side comparison

4. Ethics in Creative Use

• Disclosure in collaborative or professional work
• Respecting tone, voice, and cultural nuance
• Avoiding over-reliance or flattening originality
• Credit, acknowledgment, and creative boundaries

Interactive Element: Scenario-based choices (e.g., “You’re submitting a short story you co-wrote with AI—do you disclose? Why or why not?”)

5. Practice Activity

🛠️ Guided Prompt:

• Start with an AI-generated image or sentence
• Use it as a launchpad for a poem or flash fiction piece
• Reflect on what came from you vs. the tool

6. Reflection + Discussion

• Questions for journaling or group dialogue:
  • What surprised you?
  • Where did you feel resistance?
  • What do you still control that AI cannot touch?

🌱 Final Thought:

“AI is not a shortcut to brilliance. But in the right hands, it can be a mirror, a map, or a stone skipped across the imagination.”