Blue & Grey

Second, we shouldn't base our opinions solely on what another person says. We should be able to recognize AI generated writing ourselves and know how to respond to it instead of simply following the crowd.

This is going to be a bit long, but I want to explain everything as clearly as possible, so I'll divide it into the following sections:

Common AI writing patterns that can help you identify it.

Things AI often does that aren't, by themselves, proof of AI use (context always matters).

What to do when you come across a fic that was written using AI.

Common AI patterns that can help you identify it

In this section, I want to focus on the recurring details I've noticed many newer "authors" using lately. These aren't just matters of writing style or prose, they're patterns in the structure of the text itself and, more importantly, in how consistently they appear throughout a work.

Paragraph spacing

One thing these fics often have in common is unusually large spaces between paragraphs, and there's actually a pretty simple reason for that. Whenever you copy text from one application to another (Word, Google Docs, etc), the paragraph formatting depends on the program where it was originally written.

Tumblr doesn't require double spacing between paragraphs. ChatGPT and similar AI interfaces, however, do use that extra blank line to distinguish separate paragraphs, and that formatting often stays intact when people copy and paste the text elsewhere.

Random bold dialogue

Before I get into this one, I want to make something clear: if an author bolds all of the dialogue in their fic, it's much harder to use this as evidence. That can simply be a stylistic choice to separate dialogue from narration or internal thoughts.

However —and this is something I've noticed a lot— AI tends to randomly bold certain dialogue while leaving the rest in regular text. Most of the time those lines aren't even particularly important. It'll just highlight four or five consecutive lines for no apparent reason.

Extremely short paragraphs (like... really short)

For some reason that completely escapes me, AI absolutely loves breaking paragraphs after almost every period, as if paragraph breaks and sentence breaks were the same thing. Using this once or twice is perfectly fine, especially for emphasis, dramatic pauses, gestures, or the classic "Oh. Oh." that we all love. But doing it every single chance you get? That starts feeling strange. If you're reading a long fic and you keep seeing two-line paragraphs where, as a reader, you can clearly tell the entire thought could have stayed together, you've probably found another clue.

Heads up!! this doesn't necessarily apply to paragraphs that include dialogue. Those naturally tend to be shorter lol.

"It wasn't X. It was Y/But Y."

A lot of people have probably heard about this one already, and I also understand why many people don't consider it reliable proof of AI use. Honestly, I use this structure myself from time to time. But once again... context is everything.

These tips are useless if you, as a reader, don't consider the author's overall style and the context of the fic. AI often pairs this structure with very abrupt, isolated sentences. Here's an example:

"It wasn't annoyance. It was passion. Desire."

Compared to something like:

"It wasn't annoyance that he felt. No. It was something far greater than that, passion, desire, for something he could never have, for something he longed to hold in his arms even though he knew it could never truly belong to him."

The difference might not jump out immediately, so here's what I mean: AI tends to lean toward one of two extremes: it's either very direct or excessively poetic.

When it uses this particular structure, it usually falls into the first category. Why? Because it's trying to show the emotion through short, impactful statements. Expanding on the feeling, in its "logic," risks weakening the emotional punch, so it prefers brief, declarative fragments instead.

Things AI often does that aren't, by themselves, proof of AI use

In this section, I want to talk about a few things that, as both a writer and a reader, I know can easily be misinterpreted as signs of AI use. Personally, I don't think any of these should be used on their own to accuse someone of using AI (and honestly, no single "sign" should ever be enough to justify attacking someone.)

The em dash (—)

Yes, I know. This is probably the most common one. Even so, I still want to mention it because it's always worth remembering that not everything you see with an em dash was written by AI (despite it being one of the main things people point to when accusing writers for some reason).

Is it something AI uses frequently? Absolutely. We all know that, but it only becomes suspicious when it's being used constantly, over a short span of text, for every pause, every explanation, every interruption, every transition.

Like everything else on this list, frequency and context matter much more than the feature itself.

Perfect grammar and no spelling mistakes

Honestly I've never really understood this one. A perfectly polished piece of writing doesn't automatically mean AI had its digital hands on it. Grammar checkers exist (which I absolutely love using), authors spend hours editing and revising their work, and most writing platforms even have built-in spellcheck.

On the other hand, there are also people who do use AI and intentionally add mistakes afterward just to make it look more "human." So the presence —or absence— of spelling mistakes tells you very little by itself.

Posting fics consistently

I've seen people accuse authors of using AI simply because they post stories frequently, which is genuinely wild to me. Do people forget that writers can have stories sitting in their drafts for months, or even years? Or that some people simply write faster than others? There are plenty of authors who've been writing for years without posting anything online, either because they didn't know where to share their work or because they weren't confident enough in it at the time.

Then one day they change their minds and finally decide to publish those older stories. How quickly someone uploads new work doesn't necessarily prove anything.

That's why I always recommend checking the author's profile instead. Read what they write outside of their fiction. Look at how they interact with readers. Even something as simple as reading the author's notes can tell you where the story came from and what inspired it.

In my opinion, there's no better way to get a sense of whether someone genuinely writes their own work than by listening to their own voice, the way they naturally express themselves outside of the story.

What to do when you come across a fic that was written using AI

This section is much shorter because the answer is pretty simple: "Okay, but what am I supposed to do if I come across someone whose writing checks every single box on this list?"

Well, dear reader, it's as simple as ignoring the account and blocking it. Should you go around telling everyone about them? Should you publicly accuse them and make them feel like bullshit just because they fit all of these patterns? Absolutely not.

That was never the purpose of this post.

I understand the frustration that comes with seeing someone you strongly believe is using AI receive attention and praise. I really do. As a writer, I feel it too. Watching people gain recognition for work that feels so obviously generated can be incredibly discouraging.

But that frustration doesn't justify harassment of any kind. Of course, you can warn your close friends or the people you trust in this community so they can avoid content they'd rather not support, but public call-out posts aren't a solution, confronting people usually isn't either, because honestly... do you really think they're going to admit they're using AI? Most of them won't.

Whether we like it or not, those stories will continue to find readers, the only thing we can truly control is our own response.

Why the hell had you done this? What had been going through your head when you crossed the border that separated your side from theirs? Everyone knew predators were exactly that; predators. There was nothing they enjoyed more than devouring their prey, chasing them until exhaustion, toying with their fear, their anxiety, the adrenaline of being hunted. And once they were satisfied, they sank their teeth in.

You weren't even a brave person, let alone a reckless one. You loved rules, you loved your home, you loved the sense of safety that came from living among your own kind, surrounded by people who would never sink their teeth into anything that bled.

Unfortunately for you, curiosity was one of your greatest strengths, and right now, it was going to get you killed.

You could feel it with every breath you took, with every sound behind you that seemed less like leaves rustling in the wind and more like a mocking laugh. You could feel his dark eyes fixed on your back, his footsteps falling right behind yours, his breath nearly brushing the skin of your neck.

It was almost as though every part of him surrounded you, even when there wasn't anyone within six feet of you.

Or maybe the distance was nothing more than an illusion your mind had created to cope with the fact that you were being hunted in unfamiliar territory by a goddamn tiger.

What were you compared to a tiger? Nothing. You were weaker. Your legs were much shorter. And your stamina was nowhere near good enough. Maybe if you could get close enough to a tree, you could climb onto one of its branches and hide high above, stall until sunrise, or tire him out enough that he'd eventually lose interest.

You just needed—

"Got cha."

Your body froze the moment you heard the deep voice behind you, followed by something warm and soft wrapping around your legs. A sharp scream tore from your throat as you crashed to the ground, your palms sinking into damp earth while twigs and stones scraped against your skin from the impact.

He had caught you.

"I'm not gonna lie," the same voice said, much closer to your ear this time. Now you could feel his weight pressing against your back, the warmth of his body against yours, and that unmistakably strong scent that clung to his kind. "You're a lot faster than I thought you'd be, but not fast enough."

With trembling hands planted beside your head, you managed to push yourself just enough to roll over. Your back screamed against the uneven ground, but the fear was far worse.

Seeing him up close was even more terrifying than watching him from afar. It wasn't his face, despite what everyone back home claimed. It wasn't his height or his strength that left you trembling against the forest floor. No. It was his eyes; so dark. So piercing. So full of a hunger you'd never seen before that just looking into them made you feel like you might throw up. Or cry. Maybe both.

"Oh? Why are you crying, Bunny?" His voice was velvety, low enough to resemble a purr as his fingers brushed your cheek, right where a tear had begun to fall. "Are you trying to make me feel guilty for following my nature?"

"Let me go," was all you managed to say, your words breaking apart. "Please."

The only answer you received made you squeeze your eyes shut even tighter. A laugh. One so loud it made you flinch beneath him.

"'Please?' You're asking me to let you go just because you said please?" He laughed again, amused. "Aw... you're adorable."

That stupid laugh still lingered on his lips, but this time, they brushed against your neck, was this how they tested their food? By smelling it? By savoring the surface before tasting what lay beneath? The books never explained anything beyond the hunt itself. No one had ever survived long enough to tell the rest, and unfortunately for you, you weren't about to become the exception.

You bit the inside of your lip, trying to stop a shaky gasp from escaping. Then you saw it: a rock, amall enough to grab with one hand, yet large enough to hurt him. The perfect distraction, you just had to reach for it and—

"Don't even think about it."

The instant you moved your hand, your wrists were seized by his. His grip was firm, powerful, tight enough to keep you pinned without actually hurting you. Though you had no doubt there would be bruises tomorrow.

If there even was a tomorrow.

"You know... it's funny... watching you run, watching you bolt the second I'm anywhere near you... wasn't this what you wanted?" He shifted his hold, trapping both of your wrists with one hand while the other slid down to your waist. His fingers —rough against your skin— brushed lightly over the fabric of your clothes, slowly trailing lower until they settled against your hip. "Don't think I haven't seen you these past few days... lurking from a distance, peeking out from behind that ridiculous hood you think can hide you... that can hide your scent. You underestimate predators if you really think that's enough to fool us."

"I didn't—"

"You didn't what? Didn't want this?" His eyes gleamed with such intensity your heart hammered even harder against your ribs as his gaze drifted from your lips, your neck, then slowly down to where his hand rested on your hip.

"Do you seriously think I'm gonna believe that cheap bullshit? I could smell you every night. I could see the way your lips parted whenever you watched me laugh. Or talk to another girl. I could hear your heart beating faster... begging me to come closer."

"You're lying."

"Am I?" One of his brows arched, his grin widening even further. It only made your trembling worse. "Yeah," he murmured after your silence. "That's what I thought."

"Please..." you whispered, your voice breaking. "I'm begging you. Let me go. I-I promise I won't ever come back... a-and I won't tell anyone about this."

Your hands twisted helplessly beneath the unyielding grip of the one you had spent all this time calling Subject V.

"Yeah..." he sighed heavily, as though saying those words pained him more than they did you. "I don't think that's possible, Bunny." Slowly, he rose from the cold ground where the two of you had spent the last several minutes. Then, as though you weighed nothing at all, he scooped you into his arms, making sure your own remained pinned securely against his chest. "You're mine now, and I'm not letting you go for a very, very long time."