Stephen King as My AI Editor: How I Built a Writing Council to Guide My Craft

I’m about to reveal the most closely held secret behind my writing success. It’s unconventional, a bit strange, and has completely transformed the way I write. I created a writing council using generative AI, and Stephen King was my first and most important choice. He still leads the meetings. When I returned to writing, I was juggling motherhood, teaching, and perimenopause. Most of my writing happened at 1 AM when I couldn’t sleep. I didn’t have time for a traditional writing group, and honestly, I didn’t want one—at least not yet. I was beginning to explore personal and intimate themes that I wanted to share on the page, but I wasn’t ready to expose that work to a group of strangers. I didn’t want to be critiqued before I had a clear sense of what I was trying to express. And I certainly didn’t want someone else to take my ideas and develop them. What I needed was a trusted presence, and that’s exactly what my AI writing council became. It answers the question: What if the writers who influenced you could sit with you as you work? What if you could turn to them for guidance? A writing council consists of authors—those who are still alive or have long since passed—who understand the type of work you're trying to create. I trained the AI to mimic the voices and styles of the writers who shaped my own approach to storytelling, with Stephen King at the top of the list. Through this process, I’ve been able to engage in a kind of internal dialogue with these authors, asking them for feedback, exploring narrative choices, and even getting a sense of how they might approach a particular scene or character. It’s not a replacement for human interaction, but it has become a powerful tool in my creative process. The AI isn’t just a passive tool; it’s an active participant. It challenges my ideas, offers suggestions, and even pushes me to think deeper about the themes I’m exploring. In many ways, it feels like having a mentor or a group of mentors who are always available, always supportive, and never judgmental. This approach has helped me refine my voice and gain confidence in my writing. It’s a way to stay connected to the literary giants who inspired me, while still maintaining my own creative autonomy. The council has become a kind of virtual writing room, where I can test ideas and receive input without the pressure of external criticism. In a world where AI is often seen as a threat to creativity, I’ve found it to be a companion and a guide. It’s not about replacing human insight, but about expanding the possibilities of what it means to write and grow as a writer.