I love the question, “What if?”
What if I could turn that story I've been thinking about into an animated movie? What if I could build my own writing software? What if I could create an audiobook, design a game, or learn something I've always wanted to learn?
I've always been a bit of a tinkerer. I'm an author, a software developer, and someone who gets ridiculously excited about new ideas. Unfortunately, I've also had more ideas than I've had the time, money, or skills to pursue.
I suspect I'm not alone.
That's what makes AI so exciting to me. Suddenly, things that once seemed impossible are becoming possible. The barriers between having an idea and bringing it to life are getting smaller every day.
And we're only getting started.
A World of Possibilities
I think we're living through one of the most exciting periods in history for creative people.
For years, bringing an ambitious idea to life often meant spending a fortune, learning an entirely new profession, or convincing someone else to take a chance on you. Sometimes it meant abandoning the idea altogether.
AI is changing that.
An author can explore audiobook production without spending thousands of dollars on narration. They can build a professional website, experiment with cover designs, or develop marketing materials without hiring an entire team.
They can brainstorm a hundred different directions for their novel, explore unfamiliar subjects, get feedback on their work, and even experiment with new ways of writing.
And the possibilities extend far beyond books.
I've spent a lot of time developing software with AI, and it's remarkable how much I've learned along the way. Every new idea leads to another question, another experiment, another opportunity to try something I might never have considered before.
That's the part I find most exciting.
AI gives us the freedom to explore. We can experiment, make mistakes, learn from them, and try again. We can take bigger creative risks because failure doesn't have to cost us months of work or thousands of dollars.
Imagine what people will create when they're no longer afraid to try.
We Need Better Stories
I love stories. It's why I became an author.
But lately, I've found myself revisiting older movies and books more often than discovering new favorites. There's still wonderful entertainment being made, of course, but so much of what I encounter feels familiar. Another sequel. Another variation on a popular trend. Another story that plays it safe.
I understand why. Creating something new is risky, and creating something ambitious can be expensive. Publishers, studios, and developers have businesses to run. Familiar ideas are easier to justify.
But I miss being surprised.
I want more stories that take chances. More imaginative worlds, memorable characters, and experiences that stay with me long after they're over.
And I think AI can help us get there.
Consider all the stories that never made it beyond an author's imagination. The movies that were too expensive to produce. The games that would have required a team of fifty developers. The novels that were abandoned because their authors simply didn't have the time.
Those ideas don't have to stay ideas forever.
I get excited thinking about the incredible movies we might see in the coming years from storytellers who have never made a film before. Or the books that will come from authors finally able to experiment with ideas they once considered too ambitious.
Of course, making something easier doesn't automatically make it better. AI can generate an enormous amount of content, and much of it won't be worth our time.
We don't need another book. We need GOOD books.
We need creators who care about their craft, their stories, and the people who experience them. People who are willing to learn, experiment, revise, and keep improving until they've created something they're proud to share.
Those are the creators I'm excited about.
Your Creativity, Your Rules
There are countless ways to write a book.
Some authors discover their stories as they write. Others spend months outlining every scene. Some dictate their manuscripts. Some collaborate with other writers. And increasingly, some use AI throughout their creative process, including generating prose.
I think that's wonderful.
The process that works for me might be completely wrong for you. What matters is finding a process that helps you create your best work.
AI can be a brainstorming partner, a researcher, an editor, a writing assistant, or something entirely different. You might use it for every stage of your novel or simply to help with the business side of publishing.
You might even discover a completely new way to work.
I believe developing your craft is important. The more you understand storytelling, the better equipped you are to recognize what works, identify problems, and make creative decisions. AI gives us another way to develop those skills, with opportunities to experiment and receive feedback whenever we need it.
And if you prefer writing everything with pencil and paper? Great! There's nothing wrong with that.
I respect anyone who takes their craft seriously, regardless of the tools they choose.
There are legitimate concerns surrounding AI, and I think those conversations are worth having. What I don't have much patience for is the hostility directed at creators simply because they've chosen to explore new technology.
We can disagree about tools without tearing each other down.
I'm far more interested in what we can create together.
Quality Matters
There's another side to all this excitement that I think deserves some attention.
When technology makes it easier to create something, it also makes it easier to flood the market with things nobody has put much thought into.
We're already seeing that with AI-generated books.
I have very little interest in helping someone generate fifty novels a month, publish them without bothering to read them, and hope a few make money.
That's a terrible experience for readers, and it makes life harder for authors who genuinely care about their work.
I want authors to have the freedom to create more. I also want them to care about what they're creating.
Those ideas go hand in hand.
The greatest opportunity AI gives us is the ability to push beyond our previous limits. To try more ambitious ideas. To learn faster. To keep improving.
That's the kind of creativity I want to encourage.
Welcome to AI Apps for Authors
I created AI Apps for Authors for people who wake up in the morning and ask, “What if?”
The curious ones. The makers. The authors who love learning new things and can't resist exploring an interesting idea.
This website is my way of helping you discover what's possible.
Our app directory explores the tools available to authors, while our guides help you put them to work. We've also created a Possibilities page dedicated to showing you things you might never have thought to try.
Because sometimes the hardest part of learning something new is realizing you can do it in the first place.
I don't know exactly what the next few years will bring. AI is evolving so quickly that something extraordinary today might seem ordinary six months from now.
But I know I'm excited.
I'm excited about the stories we'll tell, the skills we'll learn, the creative risks we'll take, and all the amazing things people will make when they realize just how much is possible.
I hope you are, too.
Now, go make something awesome. :)
— Dustin