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How ChatGPT can make you a better writer

Tips from former New York Times and Wall Street Journal columnist

Unknown (former New York Times and Wall Street Journal columnist)guestClaire Vohost
Apr 29, 20251mWatch on YouTube ↗

At a glance

WHAT IT’S REALLY ABOUT

Using ChatGPT to brainstorm faster and write sharper articles

  1. A former New York Times and Wall Street Journal columnist describes how ChatGPT removes the biggest initial hurdle in writing: figuring out where to start.
  2. Instead of spending hours assembling background context, key players, and angles, they use ChatGPT to surface compelling arguments and point to relevant sources quickly.
  3. Claire Vo probes whether this replaces newsroom collaboration and raises concerns about AI writing becoming generic “slop.”
  4. The columnist frames ChatGPT as an always-available, ~80%-as-good brainstorming partner that supports more specific, impactful writing—typically used alongside a separate drafting window.

IDEAS WORTH REMEMBERING

5 ideas

ChatGPT reduces the “blank page” problem.

The columnist uses prompts like “What’s the most compelling argument?” to quickly generate starting points and structure, making it easier to begin drafting.

It compresses early-stage research time dramatically.

ChatGPT surfaces key people and themes and provides links to read, replacing what previously took “half a day” of gathering and sorting material.

AI can simulate the function of newsroom ideation, even if it’s not human.

While the speaker acknowledges it isn’t a colleague, the conversational interface supports back-and-forth thinking similar to talking through an idea with editors or peers.

Use AI for specificity and impact, not generic prose.

The conversation addresses fears of “slop” and positions ChatGPT as a tool to sharpen angles and highlight what matters—rather than to auto-generate final copy.

A practical workflow is parallel drafting with constant AI support.

Keeping two windows open—ChatGPT and the working document—enables rapid iteration: ask, refine, verify via linked sources, then write in your own voice.

WORDS WORTH SAVING

5 quotes

Before ChatGPT, the hardest part about writing an article was figuring out where to start.

— Unknown (former New York Times and Wall Street Journal columnist)

This is the stuff that... would take me probably half a day or so to just find all the stuff and kind of figure out what I was gonna write about.

— Unknown (former New York Times and Wall Street Journal columnist)

You know you're not talking to a colleague... but in many ways, it sort of has that same function... maybe 80%, and it's great, and instant, and available all the time.

— Unknown (former New York Times and Wall Street Journal columnist)

I think there's a lot of fear that ChatGPT or AI-generated writing is slop, and it's all generic.

— Claire Vo

Now when I write, I have, like, two windows open on my screen. One is ChatGPT, and one is the document I'm working on.

— Unknown (former New York Times and Wall Street Journal columnist)

Getting started: finding the angleBrainstorming without GoogleFast context gathering and source linksReplacing/augmenting newsroom conversationsConcerns about generic AI “slop”Two-window workflow: AI + draft documentAI as an 80% collaborator

High quality AI-generated summary created from speaker-labeled transcript.

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