I need advice

SpoilerDiscussion πŸ—£οΈ

I made a post yesterday asking to what extent people here think it's okay to use AI in the creative process, in terms of research, brainstorming, help with certain details, and generally talking ideas out with the AI (specifically regarding writing). A lot of people, both on this subreddit and others, assumed that I was lazy/uncreative/defending the use of AI/whatever else. That isn't it at all. I had a specific situation I needed advice with, but I just figured I'd ask the general question first. In some of the replies to the comments I got, I was asking clarifying questions or making counter-arguments, and that was mainly just to get complete answers from people or to make arguments that someone else asking the same/a similar question could potentially make (playing the Devil's Advocate, if you will). I did expect the answers I got, and I wouldn't be comfortable using AI in my planning process again, anyway β€” I just figured it would be helpful to have the discussion and have a more general post available for someone else who wants an answer to this question (as the posts I found when doing research were very specific situations, typically regarding OP using AI simply to avoid working on a skill they struggled with).

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Anyway, now that I've explained that, here's my specific situation:

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About a year ago, I started planning a story idea I had. It was my idea, and a lot of the ideas that went into it were also my idea. However, I used AI for some research, name selection (especially for places and creatures; I generally used baby name sites for people), help with specific details (particularly minor ones), and to talk my ideas out with. At the time, I didn't have as hard of a stance against generative AI, as there were many things that I wasn't aware of/as aware of. I now do have a much harder stance, and I regret using AI to plan my story. I'm uncomfortable using all those ideas when I don't remember exactly which ideas were originally mine, and which were suggested by the AI. It does feel like the story idea I had β€” a story idea I was very proud of and excited about β€” has been corrupted. However, I really like the base concept, and I do still want to create the story. Therefore, here are my questions:

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Should I scrap the idea entirely, or can I just take the base idea that was 100% mine and just rewrite everything else? If I do rewrite everything else and attempt to steer it in a different direction, away from what the AI was involved in, is it an issue if I use some of the same ideas/details that I was using initially (when I don't remember exactly what was 100% mine and what was influenced or suggested by the AI)? If not, how do I avoid that entirely? Can I?

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It is worth noting that it's been several months since I've touched this (because I've been busy with other things), so there are a lot of details I don't remember, particularly when it comes to minor characters. However, I do remember a lot of the worldbuilding details, both ones that were 100% mine and ones that were suggested.

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Please give detailed responses. Thank you.

Posted Jun 12, 2026, 8:22 PM UTC

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