Features — February 2026

Essays | Themes | Research

Writing with AI is
a New Art

Now Is the Time to Share

— Frida Guzman

Not long ago, when people needed to write an essay or an article, they first had to come up with a main idea, divide it into subtopics, and develop arguments that would engage their audience. They needed to study the audience, context, tone, and medium. They reviewed large amounts of literature to find knowledge that supported their arguments. This process could take days or even weeks. Today, AI simplifies this process for us!

When we explain to AI our main idea, along with the subtopics and arguments, it can help navigate many sources to support our thinking. From there, we enter the familiar creative process: editing, consulting more sources, reflecting, and considering AI’s suggestions.

Correct me if I am wrong, but we are standing at the door of a new art: writing with AI.

In this context, AI is a supportive partner. It helps writers organize ideas, break the ice, explore content, and refine details, but without replacing creativity or lived experience.

AI as a Supportive Partner

Seniors carry invaluable wisdom, stories, and insights shaped by decades of experience. Today, more than ever, seniors have the opportunity to transmit that knowledge to future generations with clarity and power.

Let’s utilize this incredible opportunity that AI offers us to produce writing that is both fast and high quality. Creativity, judgment, and lived experience always remain human. AI makes it easier to move from reflection to expression, without diminishing the writer’s voice.

This is not about surrendering creativity. It is about unlocking it.

Speaking Now, When It Matters Most

The younger generations are surrounded by fast, distracting media that often pulls attention away from deep reflection and lived reality. Senior voices, grounded in experience, patience, and perspective, have never been more important.

Now is the time to speak.

Master the Prompts

Writers use AI to brainstorm, outline, draft, and revise, but all decisions remain human. Students learn how to guide AI through written prompts, so the technology follows their intent rather than dictating content.

This approach emphasizes authorship, originality, and voice. Writers are encouraged to revise, reflect critically, and take full ownership of their work.

AI suggestions are starting points, not final answers.

from a Prompt to a Book Chapter

One of the core tools used in the course is a Prompt Book, a collection of prompts that guides each chapter or section of a writing project. These prompts help writers focus on audience, purpose, tone, and structure.

Using a Prompt Book allows writers to:

The result is a writing process that feels both structured and freeing. Supportive without being restrictive.

a Small Prompt-Book Example (illustrative Only)

Topic: A forgotten object from childhood

Prompt 1: Reflection

Think of an ordinary object from your past that you no longer have. What emotion does it carry now that you didn’t notice then?

Prompt 2: Focus

Why does this object still matter to you today? What does it quietly represent about who you were, or who you became?

Prompt 3: Expression

Write a short paragraph describing the object and its meaning, focusing on one specific memory rather than a summary of events.

Resulting Short Paragraph

I had a small blue notebook I used to keep under my bed, its pages filled unevenly with half-finished stories and secret lists. At the time, it felt unimportant; it was just a place to write when I was bored. Looking back now, I realize it was the first space where I felt free to think without interruption or judgment. I don’t remember what most of the words said, but I remember the feeling of closing that notebook and believing, briefly, that my thoughts were worth saving.

Focusing on the Inner Life of Fictional Characters

When writing fiction, developing characters who think and feel like real people is less about generating traits and more about sustained attention to their inner world. Writers often return to the same character repeatedly, describing not only what the character does, but what they fear, desire, suppress, or misunderstand about themselves.

The more clearly this internal landscape is articulated — conflicting emotions, private justifications, moments of doubt — the more meaningful the conversation with AI becomes. Rather than producing surface-level behavior, AI can respond to this richer emotional input by suggesting situations, reactions, or language that feel psychologically consistent.

Still, each small adjustment requires human judgment: deciding which emotions matter, which contradictions should remain unresolved, and when emotional truth outweighs narrative efficiency. Over time, these choices accumulate into a character that feels coherent and alive, not through formula, but through patience, sensitivity, and careful listening.

A New Opportunity for Writers

AI training courses invite writers to explore a new partnership between human experience and modern tools. AI does not replace storytelling; it helps stories emerge. For senior writers, it offers an unprecedented opportunity to share wisdom, reflection, and insight thoughtfully, responsibly, and powerfully.

Writing Illustrations and more

Writers can also learn how to illustrate their books by collaborating with AI. Illustrations are stories in themselves, often worth thousands of words. And AI makes it possible to create meaningful and rich images that strengthen written work.

With the proper tools students can explore how to identify niches and gaps in the book market, areas where knowledge is needed but underrepresented. This helps writers shape their ideas with purpose and audience in mind. As a practical outcome, participants have the option to publish their eBooks for free on Amazon, making their work accessible to readers around the world.

Beyond writing, this new technology is part of a broader learning pathway that includes opportunities to create audio, music, video, phone applications, and augmented reality experiences—all developed in thoughtful partnership with AI. Together, these tools open new ways for seniors to express knowledge, creativity, and lived experience across multiple mediums.

How AI Images are Shaped, Not Generated

Writing a Fishing Guide

AI-generated images rarely appear fully formed in a single attempt. They emerge through a process of refinement, where the creator adjusts mood, setting, and emphasis until the image aligns with an intended message.

While writing a guide to fishing in Florida’s mangrove forests, this image was created to encourage anglers to respect juvenile fish, using visual storytelling.

The goal was not simply to depict a person fishing, but to communicate stewardship and respect for the Florida mangrove ecosystem. The image evolved through multiple iterations, guided by human judgment rather than automation. AI responds to the clarity of intention, but the final image reflects the time, patience, and ethical choices of the person shaping it.

Example 1 (above). The resulting AI-generated image was created through multiple prompt iterations, refined to convey environmental responsibility and respect for the Florida mangrove ecosystem. One prompt used during the process was “represent a caring, responsible angler within the Florida mangrove ecosystem, emphasizing stewardship, balance, and respect for wildlife. The scene should feel healthy, transparent, and full of life, using cinematic portrait photography and natural light.” This prompt was adjusted multiple times to refine tone, composition, and emotional emphasis.

Writing a Children’s Book

While imagining a children’s story about courage and self-trust, this image was created to bring the heroine to life in a single moment of decision. The forest, the fading light, and her determined movement all reflect a child learning that bravery often appears when we choose to protect ourselves and move forward.

AI image creation often begins not with a blank prompt, but with a visual reference that establishes mood, character, and emotional tone. In this example, an initial portrait (left) was used as a visual anchor to preserve the character’s identity while imagining a new narrative moment.
The goal was to transform a static likeness into a scene that conveys urgency, resolve, and bravery. Through multiple refinements, the image evolved into a character in motion on the right, running through a dense, dark, evening forest, where clothing, posture, lighting, and environment reinforce emotional intent. While AI assists in exploring visual possibilities, the final image reflects deliberate human choices about atmosphere, symbolism, and story.

Reference image used to preserve character identity.

Example 2 (right). AI-generated scene refined over multiple iterations to convey movement, bravery, and narrative tension.

One Prompt Used During the Process
“Use this picture to generate a girl running in a deep dark forest, showing bravery and decision to defend herself. It is an advanced evening, the trees are tall, it is like a dark forest. She is wearing cargo pants, and a red shirt, dressing like a ranger. Her long curly red hair blows as she runs. It used clay style.”

Writing a Travel Memoir

This image reimagines personal experience as a narrative scene, transforming shared travel memories into a story of companionship, movement, and enduring joy. The goal was to reimagine a personal moment as a fictional scene that explores how shared memories and late-life freedom continue to shape identity and joy. Through multiple refinements, the image evolved into a narrative of companionship in motion, where the open road, coastal light, and relaxed posture suggest ease, continuity, and choice rather than destination.

While AI assists in visualizing the scene, the final image reflects deliberate human decisions about tone, symbolism, and story, inviting a reflection on vitality, memory, and the quiet freedom that comes from choosing life again and again.

Example 3: An AI-generated illustration inspired by the idea of shared memories, showing how personal experiences can be transformed into narrative scenes rather than literal portraits.

One Prompt Used During the Process
“Create an illustrated, oil-paint–style scene showing a senior couple sharing a moment of joy and companionship during a drive along a coastal road. They are in a red modern open-top car, with the wind moving through the woman’s hair. The setting should feel warm and expansive, with ocean light, distant buildings, and a sense of movement and freedom. Their expressions should suggest shared history, ease, and affection. The overall tone should be narrative and timeless, emphasizing memory and vitality.”

Frida Guzman has more than 30 years of experience designing, building, and maintaining computer applications, and has worked internationally throughout her career. Over the past two years, she has focused on developing applications that integrate modern AI tools. She enjoys teaching practical, hands-on courses that help students better understand technology. She shares this professional passion with her husband and two sons, and is also deeply passionate about nature.