This Is Not Just A Story, This Is Our Future

frequent posting, particularly with high word count.

this is a big one. now i know some writers are just insanely fast (i personally can do approx. one 20k word fic per week), and some have predetermined posting schedules. i'm also not talking about drabbles or ficlets below 3k—i mean 10k-25k word fics every day or two. that is just unrealistic, no matter what you say. if you ask any writer (or artist) they will agree with 'quality over quantity', and quality takes time.

it is highly unlikely that someone has a multitude of perfectly polished drafts ready to go every couple of days. most writers on here will be able to attest to the absolute struggle of having a million wips and almost no complete fics. none of us are doing this full time, but even published authors don't have book after book lined up ready for release every week... it's a red flag.

repetitive language or phrasing (or repeating detail).

this is also a big one. don't get me wrong, i know it's easy as a writer to repeat phrases or have favourite metaphors / descriptors, but i mean strangely repetitive. like repeating detail you've already read, or similar sentence structure / rhythm over and over. basically, you'll be reading these long fics thinking "this could have been 5k not 20k" with how much unusual repetition is in it.

overly polished writing, but emotionally flat prose.

if a fic is waxing lyrical and perfectly structured—flawless grammar, reader-friendly formatting—but you have to keep re-reading sentences because nothing is sticking... yeah, that's because robots don't know how to elicit emotion.

inconsistent or shallow characterisation.

do all the characters seem to have the same voice? are fics about *different characters* reading the same way? real writers will have consistent and distinct voices for each character, because they know and love them. robots don't know human depth like fanfiction writers do. e.g., if you're reading about bradley but you remove the name… do you still know it's bradley? could it be jake, or even bob? fanfiction writers love the little details about their fictional boyfriends (physical description, mannerisms, expressions, dialogue, etc…)

lack of specificity or detail (or inconsistent detail).

this is similar to the above, because writers are suckers for detail. ai generated writing will generally skip out on distinct detail, especially relating to a character's individuality or a thing's uniqueness. if the description is vague and easily applied to *anyone* or *anything* it could be a sign. also, ai will often "forget" already stated detail (like physical description or character positioning) and then state something totally different, which can get super confusing. so if you find yourself reading something like 'he leaned against the wall' and then a paragraph later 'he turned and rested a shoulder against the wall' that could be a sign.

in-depth knowledge or detail that is just... sus.

trying not to call myself out here because i know way more than i should about the u.s. navy... but this is a sign. if there is a lot of detail or strangely specific detail about a topic that seems odd to know that much about, it might be because it's ai generated. but this one is grey because i know a lot of fanfiction writers do a concerning amount of research for their writing.

graphic content (smut / violence).

i'm not sure about other bots, but apparently, the most popular chatbot is not able to generate graphic content. i know a lot of writers simply choose not to write smut, but... if you're reading a fic that seems perfectly polished and written in a specific format but then you get to the smut and it's wildly different—that might be a sign. or if a writer used to write smut, but their writing style has suddenly changed and they're no longer including smut scenes... also a potential sign. this goes for graphic violence too, not simple fight scenes but graphic violence and injury description (though i know this is a little less common in fanfic).

suspicious or guilty behaviour.

if someone says—or has ever said—that they're "flattered" their writing seems "too perfect" or "too polished" when being asked if they use ai, that's a big red flag. most genuine writers would literally flip their lid if they were accused of ai. or if someone is pro ai (or not expressly anti ai) and they admit to using it for *other things* but not writing... well, that's hard to trust. i personally would also say it's hard to trust a writer who refuses to comment on ai (not that everyone should make a huge fuss, but i think 99% of real writers have—at least once—expressed their disdain for ai).

also, if someone is over-explaining themselves when asked simple questions about their writing (e.g. how do you know so much about 'this topic'? how do you write so quickly? how do you write so well?) you know when someone is lying about something so they dig a deeper hole? or come up with some insanely intricate explanation that is way too thorough? yeah, that's sus.

format

there is a very distinct format that the chatbot generates (when the person is not "editing" it themselves). i know there are blogs out there that admit to using ai, so if you come across those, it can be informative to look at the format of their "writing". then you can (potentially) use that knowledge to identify it elsewhere, and once you start recognising it, it gets easier to notice. i do want to provide an example of this formatting, but i definitely don't want to unintentionally call anyone out (so bear with me while i work something out).

does it mimic someone else's writing / style / format?

i've had several lovely people recognise where my work was being mimicked. they've all said they thought they were overanalysing it, but guys... trust your gut. you're probably right. if something feels off, flat, repetitive, or soulless. just block it.

support real writers, real creatives, and let's hope we can save fandom before uncreative walnut-heads who use ai ruin it for everyone.

thanks for reading. ♡

disclaimer #2: again, i am not accusing or targeting anyone or any blog (i never have). and i am not saying this is a sign to do so. please don't be nasty about it. if you clock it, just block it. and don't come for me, i'm just sharing information.