AI Writing Methods

From Voice to Page

Using AI to Transform Interviews into Written Stories: Lessons from Writing Nadene's Journey

When I began capturing video conversations for "Nadene's Journey," I faced a daunting task: transforming hours of video interviews into written stories. Traditional transcription methods would have required 200-250 hours of typing - nearly six weeks of full-time work just to get the words on paper. Like many family historians and biographers, I needed a way to preserve these precious stories without spending countless hours on mechanical transcription.

I discovered that AI transcription tools could dramatically reshape this process. Using Transcribe.com, I developed a workflow that preserved Nadene's authentic voice while reducing the mechanical work of transcription. The process, I learned, is much like developing a photograph - it happens in three distinct stages.

Stage One: Basic Development

Just as digital cameras have automated capturing images, AI now handles the basic conversion of speech to text. For interviews under 70 minutes, I simply uploaded the video through Transcribe.com's app from my iPhone. Within 15-20 minutes, the AI produced a transcript, complete with speaker identification and basic punctuation. Longer interviews required converting the video to MP3 first, but the process remained straightforward.

Stage Two: Technical Refinement

Like a photographer checking color balance and removing imperfections, the second stage requires careful human attention. This is where my knowledge of Nadene's life became essential—verifying names of people and places from rural Arkansas, checking dates, and ensuring the accuracy of family references. While AI handled the mechanical transcription, only a human familiar with the subject's life could ensure the technical details were correct.

Stage Three: Preserving Authentic Voice

The final stage proved the most crucial - and the most resistant to automation. We experimented with using ChatGPT to help refine Nadene's stories but discovered something important: like over-processed photographs, AI-refined stories often lost their authenticity. The Beauty Shop story, where Nadene described how she and her sister experimented with plant sap as makeshift beauty products, demonstrated this clearly. While we kept a small portion of the AI-refined version, most AI attempts at polishing her stories transformed her authentic rural Arkansas voice into something too polished, too different from the grandmother we knew.

A Practical System for Success

Organization proved key to managing this process effectively. I created a simple but powerful system:

• A "Raw" folder containing original interviews and AI transcriptions

• A master document collecting the polished Q&A content

• A consistent process for moving from raw transcripts to the final narrative

This system ensured that no story details were lost while maintaining the efficiency of AI assistance.

Getting Started with AI Transcription

If you're considering using AI transcription for your biography or family history project, here's how to begin:

1. Choose an AI transcription service that works with your recording setup.

2. Test the process with a short interview to learn the quirks and limitations.

3. Set up your organization system before you begin.

4. Most importantly, while AI can handle the mechanical work of transcription, preserving authentic voices requires human understanding and care.

Just to remind you: AI serves as your assistant in documentation, but you remain the guardian of your subject's authentic voice and stories. Used thoughtfully, AI transcription tools can free you to focus on what matters most - preserving meaningful stories for future generations.

Beyond Basic Word Processing

Choosing the Right Tools for Biography Writing: Lessons from Writing Nadene's Journey

When I began organizing the stories from my interviews with Nadene, I quickly realized Microsoft Word wouldn't be enough. Like many biographers, I needed to constantly reorganize content as new stories emerged and connections between different life events became clear. Traditional word processing tools, designed for linear writing, weren't built for the dynamic nature of biography writing.

I discovered that specialized writing software could transform this process. Using Scrivener, I developed a workflow that made organizing and restructuring Nadene's stories as natural as arranging photographs in an album. The process, I learned, revolves around three key capabilities that set it apart from traditional word processors.

Stage One: Organization and Structure

Just as photo albums have sections and pages that can be easily rearranged, Scrivener's binder feature allowed me to organize chapters and sections with simple drag-and-drop movements. Each story became a movable piece that I could shift as needed without the cumbersome cut-and-paste operations required in traditional word processors. The split-screen mode proved invaluable, letting me view different sections side by side – like comparing photographs to decide their proper sequence.

Stage Two: Progress Tracking

Like a photographer tracking their portfolio development, Scrivener's progress-tracking features helped maintain momentum. I could monitor both the frequency of my writing sessions and the daily word count changes. This accountability helped ensure steady progress through the lengthy biography writing process, motivating during challenging periods.

Stage Three: Professional Publishing

The final stage focused on preparing the manuscript for publication. Scrivener's export capabilities allowed me to share drafts with Nadene for review and export raw text versions for AI tools. Most importantly, Scrivener's flexible export options ensured an appropriately formatted manuscript for my editor, which served as the final 6x9 format of the book that I exported from Word as a PDF for upload to Kindle Publishing Direct.

A Practical Approach to Software Selection

While Scrivener worked well for Nadene's Journey, several other options exist for biography writers:

• Atticus offers similar features with a more modern interface.

• Reedsy Book Editor provides a free, web-based alternative

• LivingWriter and Novlr focus on simplified, distraction-free writing experiences.

Getting Started with Specialized Writing Software

If you're considering moving beyond Microsoft Word for your biography project, here's how to begin:

1. Start with a free trial to test the features that matter most to your writing style.

2. Focus initially on organization tools – they're often the most significant improvement over traditional word processors.

3. Export test documents early to ensure compatibility with your editing and publishing workflow

4. Remember that while advanced features are helpful, they should support, not complicate, your writing process.

Just to remind you: While specialized writing software can streamline your biography writing process, it's just a tool. The real value comes from how it helps you organize and share your subject's stories more effectively.

AI as Your Writing Partner

Collaborating with AI for Biographical Writing: Lessons from Writing Nadene's Journey

When I began writing "Nadene's Journey," I planned for AI to serve as more than just a transcription tool. Like many biographers, I needed help with various aspects of the writing process - from drafting initial content to ensuring consistency across chapters. Through careful experimentation, I developed a three-tier AI partnership approach that preserved authenticity while enhancing efficiency.

Working with a Junior Writer

Just as a writing team might include junior writers to help with initial drafts, I found that Claude, an AI from Anthropic, could serve as a reliable first-draft partner. The key was to provide a prompt to be a junior writer and then include precise "beats" - detailed descriptions of what each section should cover - along with specific guidelines about style and voice. I learned the concept of the beat from testing SudoWrite, an AI writing tool mainly focused on fiction writing.

For example, when writing about Nadene's theater experiences, I would use AI assistive storytelling using beats for sections like "Set the stage: Open with a vivid, theatrical description of what drew Nadene to community theater" and "Behind the scenes: Dramatically recount how Nadene became a founding member of the Guymon community theater." By treating Claude as a junior writer who needed to align with my writing style, I maintained control over the narrative while benefiting from AI assistance with initial drafts.

My Junior writer prompt to Claude included specific style guidelines:

• Nostalgic and reflective tone

• Focus on resilience

• Blend of past tense with occasional present tense moments

• Straightforward vocabulary with varied sentence structure

• Rich sensory descriptions

Most importantly, I established a strict rule: when quoting Nadene, only her exact words could be used. This preserved the authenticity of her voice while allowing AI to help craft the surrounding narrative.

Partnering with an AI Developmental Editor

As a first-time author, I discovered that understanding the various roles in book editing - developmental editors, copy editors, typesetters – from Reedsy. I leveraged multiple AI tools (ChatGPT, Claude, and Perplexity) to research and define a comprehensive developmental editing process. This resulted in a robust set of AI Prompts for developmental editing:

1. Initial Review & Preparation

2. Big Picture Review

3. Detailed Manuscript Analysis

4. Feedback & Author Communication

5. Ongoing Collaboration

6. Final Review & Manuscript Preparation

The heart of this process lies in phases two and three. For the Big Picture Review, I created specific prompts for Claude to evaluate:

• Structure and organization

• Narrative focus and theme development

• Pacing and reader engagement

• Historical accuracy and fact-checking

The Detailed Manuscript Analysis involved even more specific prompts, examining:

• Writing style and tone consistency

• Narrative cohesion

• Dialogue and quotation effectiveness

• Proper resolution and theme closure

This systematic approach led to significant improvements. For instance, I had initially separated Nadene's time in Guymon into three distinct sections: career, family life, and community theater. Through AI-assisted review, I recognized that combining her career and family life narratives would create a more cohesive story, reducing length while better highlighting how these aspects of Nadene's life intertwined.

Leveraging AI for Research

The third tier of AI partnership involved using Perplexity as a research assistant. While maintaining strict verification of all facts, I found that AI could help:

• Identify relevant historical context for Nadene's stories

• Suggest connections between different periods of her life

• Flag potential areas needing additional verification

• Generate questions for follow-up interviews

Maintaining Authenticity

Throughout this process, one principle remained paramount: AI serves as a partner, not a replacement for human judgment. My initial attempts with ChatGPT revealed its limitations - it struggled to maintain context with the 70,000+ word transcript and would sometimes fabricate childhood stories. Switching to Claude proved more successful, as it could maintain context across the entire transcript and effectively combine quotes to support the narrative. Even then, I remained vigilant about discarding duplicated AI-generated fluff that didn't progress Nadene’s story.

Getting Started with AI Writing Partners

If you're considering using AI in your biographical writing, here's how to begin:

1. Start with clear guidelines about voice and style

2. Provide detailed "beats" for each section

3. Establish strict rules about using direct quotes

4. Create specific prompts for different editing phases

5. Maintain final authority over all content decisions

6. Verify all AI-suggested historical context

Remember: AI tools should enhance, not override, your voice as a writer. Used thoughtfully, they can free you to focus on the most crucial aspect of biographical writing - capturing and preserving authentic human stories.

Just as Nadene adapted to new challenges throughout her life, modern biographers can adapt to new tools while maintaining the integrity of their subjects' stories. The key lies in viewing AI as a collaborative partner rather than a replacement for human understanding and judgment.

Polishing with Purpose

Using AI Analysis Tools to Refine Biographical Writing: Lessons from Writing Nadene's Journey

When I began to polish Nadene's Journey, I faced a common biographer's challenge: I needed objective feedback before sharing the manuscript with beta readers or editors. I found a great solution in Authors.AI's Marlow tool, developed based on Matthew L. Jockers' groundbreaking research detailed in The Bestseller Code. It analyzed thousands of successful novels to identify patterns in everything from sentence structure to character development. While initially designed for fiction, I discovered how Marlow's AI analysis could enhance the technical aspects of biographical writing while maintaining the heart of personal storytelling.

Stage One: Character Analysis

Just as a portrait photographer might adjust the lighting to highlight specific features, Marlow's personality trait analysis helped refine how each character's essence shone through the narrative. The tool revealed interesting insights about how my writing portrayed the main characters. For instance, early drafts showed Nadene primarily as perceptive and intuitive, while her daughter Dena appeared confident and bright. This analysis helped me realize that Nadene's active, hardworking nature needed stronger emphasis.

By carefully selecting words associated with these desired personality traits, I made subtle adjustments to character descriptions throughout the manuscript. These changes didn't alter the fundamental stories but enhanced how readers would perceive each character's unique qualities.

Stage Two: Balance and Flow

Like a symphony conductor ensuring each instrument contributes appropriately to the overall piece, Marlow helped identify the balance between narrative and dialogue. The initial draft contained only 20% dialogue – significantly lower than what readers typically expect. By thoughtfully incorporating more of Nadene's direct quotes from our interviews, I increased this to 40%, creating a more engaging rhythm between narration and Nadene’s personal voice.

The tool also highlighted patterns in my writing that needed attention. Repetitive phrases like "we had to" appeared ten times in early drafts, while certain adverbs and adjectives showed up with distracting frequency. Words like "new" (145 times), "little" (45 times), and "high" (22 times) exceeded typical usage in successful books. Through careful revision, I reduced these repetitions to more natural levels, allowing Nadene's story to flow more smoothly.

Stage Three: Accessibility and Clarity

The final stage focused on making Nadene's story accessible to a broader audience while maintaining its depth. Marlow's analysis revealed that my average sentence length of 16 words and an 11th-grade reading level might create unnecessary barriers for some readers. Through thoughtful revision, I reduced the average sentence length to 13.66 words and brought the reading level down to 9.25 grade level. This process required careful balance – simplifying sentence structure without losing meaning or emotional impact. Creative AI prompting helped suggest alternative phrasings, but each change required careful consideration to ensure we preserved the authenticity of Nadene's voice.

A Practical Approach to AI Analysis

For biographers considering AI analysis tools, here's how to begin:

• Start with a complete draft before applying AI analysis. This allows you to focus on the story first and technical refinements second.

• Use personality trait feedback to enhance your characters.

• Balance statistical improvements (like reading level) against maintaining authentic voice and story impact.

• Remember that AI analysis provides guidance, not rules – every suggestion should be weighed against your knowledge of your subject and audience.

Most importantly, maintain your role as the final arbiter of changes. AI can identify patterns and suggest improvements, but only you can ensure these changes serve the story and honor your subject. Used thoughtfully, these tools help polish your manuscript while preserving its essential warmth and humanity.