AI Won’t Eat Your Brain: New Taxonomies & Opportunities for the Creative Writing Classroom

There is no doubt that AI causes many problematic disruptions in the world of writing, but there is also no doubt that it is here to stay. Students are already using these tools, and so it has become our responsibility to demonstrate, discuss and dissect their use and implications in the classroom. This paper examines how the effects of Gen AI necessitate a return to first principles and a need to negotiate new conceptions and definitions of what we mean when we talk about process, authorship and originality. It will explore how AI can be used to assist us in redefining outdated concepts and lore surrounding writing and authenticity, and how this reconceptualization, along with focusing on process-based tasks and reflexive writing, can help creative writing students see AI as a support tool and source of analysis rather than a shortcut. This paper aims to offer a starting point for practical and pedagogical adaptations, a guide to fostering responsible use of AI models and platforms in the classroom, and also a framework for responding to the changes generative AI is already enacting upon the world of creative writing and the students in our courses.