When AI Told Me Who I Am

My whole adult life, people have told me I should write a book. It usually happens after I tell a story that sounds too unbelievable to be true — the kind of thing you’d expect to see in a movie or read in a novel — except it did happen, and I did live it.

The thing about me is simple: I tell the truth.

I don’t embellish.

I don’t dramatise.

I don’t add glitter to make a story sparkle.

I say things how they are.

I’ve been that way since I was a kid. I’ve always prided myself on being straight-up honest — not in a cruel, cut-you-down way, but in a way that’s respectful, empathetic, and kind. The kind of honesty that actually helps people, not the kind that does damage.

Take my husband, for example. Lovely man. Terrible singer.

If he told me he wanted to audition for Australia’s Got Talent, I wouldn’t clap and say, “Go for it, You're awesome!” That’s not kindness, that’s setting someone up to be laughed at on national television. I’d rather tell him gently that if he’s serious about turning his shower-singing into something professional, he’ll need lessons. That’s honesty with care behind it.

I’ve never liked fake people.

I don’t do fake smiling.

I don’t do small talk with someone who’s talked behind my back just because we’ve bumped into each other at the shops. I’d rather walk past and pretend they never existed.

My friend circle is small, and I like it that way. My friends get me, and I get them. We tell each other the truth, even when it’s uncomfortable. I’d rather have a handful of real friends than hundreds of fake ones.

So here’s why I’m telling you all this: I finally decided to do what everyone’s been telling me to do- write. But instead of one long book (which would probably bore most people), I’m writing a series of short stories.

Before I publish my stories, I run them through AI to check grammar and punctuation. I didn’t think I had a “writing style” I just write how I think.

But then I noticed a pattern.

AI kept calling me blunt

Blunt.

A word used for knives that can’t cut and pencils that can’t write.

Not exactly flattering.

So I asked it to describe my writing in one word.

It chose unvarnished — which, let’s be honest, is just a polite way of saying blunt.

But then it explained:

- Direct without being harsh

- Emotionally grounded

- Clear-spoken

- Un-performative

- Intimate in a plainspoken way

And… I can’t even be mad. That is me. Even choosing “unvarnished” instead of “blunt” is exactly the kind of “direct without being harsh” thing I would do.

I’m still sitting with it. I’m still figuring out how I feel about it. But I don’t think it changes anything. I’m still going to write the way I write. I’m still going to be me. And I know not everyone will like my style — and that’s okay.

So now I’m curious.

Have you ever asked AI to describe your writing style in one word?

If you have, or even if you haven't, try it, then tell me what it said, and whether it rang true for you.