Writing in the Dark: June 2026

Creator: nicoletaionescu, Credit: Getty Images

Recently, I saw fellow horror author S. Alessandro Martinez post on Facebook that someone accused him of using generative AI to write because his work had perfect grammar.

Alessandro and I after the Bram Stoker Awards Banquet, 2026

(This is where you imagine me screaming Fuck! so long and loud that my house eventually collapses around me.) The Dark Lords save us from people on the Internet who think they know everything, when they really only know two things: jack and shit.

“Fuck off” is a perfectly reasonable response to these idiots, as is ignoring them (which is my preference; why give them the attention they crave?).

But what if editors and agents start asking us to prove we didn’t use AI to produce our writing?

I haven’t heard of anyone doing this yet, but it’s becoming common for agents and publishers to have writers sign “I did not use AI” statements in contracts. It’s not far-fetched to believe a day may come when the burden is on the writer to prove their work is 100% self-written.

Not long after my first daughter was born, I realized that if I were out in public with her and someone came up to me – another citizen, a cop, a federal agent – and demanded proof that I was my child’s father, I had nothing I could show them. No “parental license.” No wallet-sized duplicate birth certificate. There were no smartphones back then, so if I had any photos of the two of us together, they’d be small ones I could carry in my wallet. I’d have no video of the two of us together.

I feel a little like that when I consider how I would prove something I wrote really was something I wrote.

I plan to retire from my college teaching job in two years, and what I’d love to do (because of AI) is quiet quit, pretend AI doesn’t exist, and grade papers as if none are plagiarized until I can walk out the door with my full retirement package and never set foot inside a classroom again. But I guess I’m just too damn dedicated and conscientious. (Or too stupid and pigheaded.) So I asked my two summer semester classes how they could prove to an instructor that they wrote their work if asked. (I told them not to worry about using assistive AI, like various grammar and spellcheck programs.) Here are some of their lightly edited comments:

“One of the best ways I could prove that my memoir wasn’t written by AI is the notes that I took. Notes that recall personal, one-of-a-kind details that only I could confidently express since our own experiences are so unique.”

“I’m a real person with real feelings vs AI. It wouldn’t add any human emotions.”

“I have a certain writing style I seem to always write in, in comparison to AI’s style of writing papers.”

“A good way to prove that a paper was not written by AI is to take notes about your topic. The more notes you take on a topic, the better, so you can show your professor or teacher once you turn it in. I believe that the better notes taken on a topic, the easier your paper is going to be to write. Show your thought process and ideas that led to that specific topic.”

“I can provide any notes, outlines, drafts, brainstorming materials, or document revision history that may help demonstrate how the essay was developed.”

“How can I prove my essay was not written by AI?

· I can document the writing process

· Show the work history of my document

· Have others proofread it for me

· Document the editing process

· Document any research that goes into the writing process”

I wasn’t surprised by these comments. They mostly boil down to “Turn in my invention materials, my drafts, and my feedback along with my final” – which they’re supposed to do anyway. What does this mean for working authors, though? You might have to treat your job a little like you’re in a composition class. The difference is that you would document your process in case someone asks to see it. This might mean extra work for you, and work that will seem useless if no agents or publishers ask for it. But it might become the standard way writers do business sooner rather than later.

For a time, I used to handwrite my drafts, so I would have those pages to show editors, but I haven’t done that for a few years now. I have outlines and notes regarding the characters, settings, names of things, etc., on my computer. Maybe those files are timestamped, but I have no idea if they are or how to find out. And I don’t leave track changes on when I write. Hell, I can barely figure out how to use track changes when an editor sends me manuscript feedback. So if an agent or editor asked me for proof that I wrote something, I wouldn’t have much.

In the old days—back when Fred, Barney, and I were in a writers’ group in Bedrock – common wisdom was that to prove you wrote a manuscript, you needed only mail it to yourself and then store it in a safe-deposit box. The date stamp on the envelope, along with no evidence of tampering, was supposed to be all the proof you needed. This won’t work in the age of AI, though. Even if you pay to officially register your copyright, the manuscript you submit could’ve been written by AI before you applied for copyright. There is a way you can do a modern equivalent of mailing yourself a copy of your work, though.

Get a new email address, and when you finish the day’s writing, send it to that address. You’ll have the file in the outgoing email of your main address, and the file will be in the inbox of your other address. I’m sure there are ways to falsify the day and time you sent an email, but most people don’t know how to do this. And yes, you could be sending small sections of an AI manuscript to yourself day after day to fake evidence of a writing process over months and years, but I doubt anyone who would use AI could make themselves wait so long to “finish” their novel. Process means nothing to them, because if it did, they’d write their own material and never go near AI.

If you get feedback from beta readers, make sure it’s dated, save it, and have it ready to show editors and agents if necessary. Having a folder on your computer for each project where you put all the process work will save you from having to send tons of attachments to agents and editors.

My college subscribes to Turnitin, a plagiarism detection program/service that’s only available to educational institutions, but there are alternatives you can use to generate a report that you could show to editors and agents. Here’s a link to an article on such alternatives that individuals can use:

“The Top 5 Turnitin Alternatives (2026)” https://gptzero.me/news/top-turnitin-alternatives/

I know, ChatGPT’s company wrote the article, but the comparison between the alternatives looks decent.

The following article provides specific steps you can take if you’re accused of using generative AI to produce your work. It’s written for students, so you’d need to adapt some of the steps for your situation.

“How to Prove Your Essay Wasn’t Written by AI: Seven Steps to Prove Authorship.” https://racinecountyeye.com/2023/08/23/to-prove-essay-wasnt-written-by-ai/

I’m lucky. I’ve been writing and publishing for over forty years. I’ve got a long record of publication that I can put forward to show my current writing style, which – while hopefully improved – still holds similarities in style, content, language, and theme to my older work. Any writer who has published work before the advent of AI has this advantage. Some rando accuses you of using AI? Send them a link to your website, your Amazon author page, your bibliography on Fantastic Fiction, your Goodreads author page, or your Wikipedia entry. Or, if, like me, you have all of these, send them ALL the goddamned links!

Wikipedia has a long entry on how to spot AI-written text, as well as a quiz on how to test your AI-spotting ability. Since AI-written material is average at best, you could use the list to improve your own writing and avoid any unintentional similarities with AI slop. I think there’s a potential danger for writers here, though, because you might go nuts trying to make your writing “perfect” and end up so paralyzed that you never produce anything. Although editors and agents might find the examples in the entry handy to help them spot AI slop.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wikipedia:Signs_of_AI_writing

What bothers me the most about the entry is this passage:

“One has to be aware that human speech and writing is being influenced by LLMs, and thus they are becoming more similar. This was already evident in 2024, as shown by a study that detected a significant LLM influence in spoken content (e.g. conversational podcasts). Further studies seem to confirm this influence on language, including semantics and word choices.”

(We are sooooooo fucked…)

I wrote a recent blog post discussing writing techniques that you can use that will set your work apart from AI (and hopefully save you the hassle of having to prove your work truly is your work). You can find the entry here: https://writinginthedarktw.blogspot.com/2026/04/how-to-win-war-against-ai-fiction.html

I think the most important thing writers can do during this time of AI upheaval is to preserve their sanity and their ability to continue creating their work. So do whatever you need to in order to stay mentally healthy and function creatively. If that means pretending you live in a world without AI, so be it. If you want to prepare yourself for potential questions about whether your work is AI, do that. But whatever you do, keep writing. The only way we’ll be able to counter AI slop is by continuing to produce good writing that only we can create.

Fuck AI.

DEPARTMENT OF SHAMELESS SELF-PROMOTION

My story “When the Mask Comes Off” appears in the Creepshow anthology edited by James Aquillone. (Officially released on June 23^rd.) Amazon: https://tinyurl.com/45jf33zw

“The World Has Teeth” appears in Of Dread, Decay, and Doom, edited by Jendia Gammon, Gareth L. Powell, and Scarlett R. Algee. Amazon: https://tinyurl.com/2wzam2dd

“Closure” appears in Darkness at the End of the Road: The Winding Road Stories Horror Anthology, edited by Alexander Nader. Amazon: https://tinyurl.com/5aj2pnau

SCHEDULED APPEARANCES

Shore Leave 46. July 10-12. Lancaster Wyndham Resort and Convention Center, Lancaster, Pennsylvania.

Gen Con Writers Symposium. July 29-August 2. Indianapolis, Indiana.

Into the Springs Writers Workshop. August 7-9. Yellow Springs, Ohio.

Shivercon. August 14-15. Muncie, Indiana.

WHERE TO FIND ME ONLINE

Want to follow me on social media? Here’s where you can find me:

Website: www.timwaggoner.com

Newsletter Sign-Up: https://timwaggoner.com/contact.htm

Amazon Page: https://www.amazon.com/stores/Tim-Waggoner/author/B001JP0XFM?ref=ap_rdr&store_ref=ap_rdr&isDramIntegrated=true&shoppingPortalEnabled=true

Blog: http://writinginthedarktw.blogspot.com/

YouTube Channel: https://www.youtube.com/c/timwaggonerswritinginthedark