Do you really want to write “quietly”? (It’s an AI favorite)

Do you really want to write “quietly”? (It’s an AI favorite)

From Ann Kroeker, Writing Coach by Ann Kroeker

February 27, 2026 · 9 min

About this episode

This episode explores the impact of AI on writing styles and the use of personal literary techniques.

Do you really want to write “quietly”? (It’s an AI favorite)Release Date: February 27, 2026 We all have “pet” words or phrases that slide into our prose like a favorite shoe that’s shaped to our foot and supports our gait—literary techniques that feel like our voice on the page. Some writers come across more casual, using sentence fragments or words like “ain’t” and “c’mon!” Others turn to ellipses for hesitation and pop a statement (or question) in parentheses for humor. Guess who’s been paying attention to how we express ourselves? Yeah, LLMs slurped up our online writing and got a taste for the way we write. Their favorite words and phrases draw from our favorite words and phrases, and now they’re repeating them ad nauseam, shoving them into everyone’s drafts so people leaning on AI for their writing start to sound suspiciously similar. What’s especially frustrating is that these are perfectly good writing techniques, and now that I see them spilling into my inbox, I hesitate using them. In the hands of skilled writers, a light touch with these could produce a pleasant flow, but AI doesn’t yet seem to fully sense the need for restraint, balance, and pacing. It stuffs otherwise…

Topics covered

  • writing
  • AI
  • literary techniques
  • self expression
  • communication

Keywords

  • pet words
  • sentence fragments
  • ellipses
  • humor
  • writing techniques

Mentioned in this episode

Products: Cracker Jack

More episodes of Ann Kroeker, Writing Coach

Explore listener stats, chart rankings, contacts and more on the Ann Kroeker, Writing Coach podcast page.