There’s something magical about those moments when inspiration strikes at unexpected times. It used to be that these fleeting sparks of creativity would often fade before I could fully capture them. A brilliant idea while driving, a concept that surfaces just before sleep, or a sudden insight during a morning walk—these moments were precious but frustratingly elusive.

Then something changed. AI entered my creative process, and suddenly those spontaneous bursts of inspiration became far more valuable.

The Midnight Muse

We’ve all experienced it—lying in bed, mind racing with ideas just as we should be winding down. In the past, I’d either force myself to get up and write (sacrificing sleep) or jot down a few hasty notes and hope I’d remember the essence in the morning (I rarely did).

Now, these late-night creative sessions have become some of my most productive times. With AI tools accessible from my phone, I can take those partial ideas—sometimes just fragments or rough outlines—combine them with my cache of pre-developed prompts for various outlets, and develop them into nearly complete drafts within minutes. What used to be lost potential has transformed into a portfolio of work-in-progress pieces that I can refine later.

I’m consistently amazed at how I can get 80-90% of the way there on a well-drafted first prompt, with multiple different creative concepts in a single session, all without losing the spontaneity of the original inspiration. And, I don’t hesitate to admit, that’s with an aging creative brain with some serious foggy moments. The barrier between idea and execution has never been lower.

Roadside Revelations

One of my favorite recent experiences happened during a long drive. A concept for a piece about creativity in constraint hit me, seemingly out of nowhere. Pre-AI, I might have dictated a few notes into my notes app with less enthusiasm sustained to revisit that idea later on. More likely, I would have repeated a key phrase over and over, hoping it would stick until I reached my destination. (Again — brain fog is no joke.)

Instead, I pulled over at the next rest stop, spent five minutes typing a couple of paragraphs worth of prompting capturing the essence of my thinking, and fed it into one or more AI tools. By the time I resumed driving, the solid foundation of what would become one of my most loved articles had taken shape in the cloud.

This piece wasn’t something the AI created—it was something that began with my vision and we created together. The finished product, after my edits, re-prompts and additions, became something I’m genuinely proud of—something that might never have materialized without this new workflow.

Uninhibited Ideation

What I’ve found most valuable isn’t just the time saved, but the psychological freedom this process creates. There’s a certain uninhibited quality to ideation when you know you can quickly externalize and build upon your thoughts. I’ve become more willing to explore unusual angles or challenging topics because the initial activation energy required is so much lower.

This liberation from the fear of losing ideas has made me more experimental, more willing to follow curiosity down unexpected paths. I’m less precious about each concept because I know I can capture and develop so many more of them. Ideas, for me, don’t die on the vine with anywhere near the frequency they once did. That’s not to say all of them are brilliant, but they’re all given much more of a chance to live.

The consequence? More creative risks, more varied work, and occasionally, breakthroughs that surprise even me.

Don’t Sleep on AI for Ideation

If there’s one piece of advice I’d share with fellow creators, it’s this: don’t sleep on AI as an ideation partner (even if you’re literally using it while half-asleep). The tools available today aren’t just about automating the boring stuff—they’re about capturing human creativity at its most spontaneous and unpredictable.

For someone like me who struggles with brain fog and the frustration of lost ideas, these tools have been transformative. They’ve turned those drowsy, pre-sleep moments from a time of fleeting inspiration into a productive creative session. They’ve made roadside stops into impromptu writing retreats. They’ve allowed me to say “yes” to more creative impulses rather than dismissing them as impractical.

The Human Element Remains Essential

What makes this process work isn’t surrendering creativity to an AI—it’s quite the opposite. This approach demands clear, human direction and discernment. The quality of what comes back depends entirely on the quality of thought I put in. Vague inputs generate vague outputs. But sharp, focused direction—even if brief—yields material worth building upon.

I still need to know what I want to say and how I want to say it. The AI isn’t replacing my voice; it’s amplifying it and helping me realize it in ways I didn’t know I was capable of, helping me quickly scaffold my thoughts into something I can then refine and shape. (See? Without AI, I may never have used scaffold as a verb, but damn, I like it!)

Opening to Possibility

The most profound shift has been in my openness to spontaneous creativity itself. Ask most creative people and they’ll tell you how hard they struggle with self-doubt. I no longer dread or dismiss those inconvenient moments of inspiration. Instead, I welcome them, knowing I have tools that can help me capture and develop them before they evaporate.

This openness has created a virtuous cycle: more ideas lead to more creative attempts, which lead to more successful pieces, which encourage more ideation. The entire creative process has accelerated, not just in terms of production time, but in terms of experimentation and growth.

For creators who have hesitated to incorporate AI into their process, I understand the reluctance. These tools aren’t for everyone, and they aren’t appropriate for every type of creative work. But for those who find themselves constantly battling to capture fleeting inspiration or who struggle to bridge the gap between initial concept and workable draft, they’re worth exploring.

The spontaneity of creativity has always been one of its most exciting and frustrating aspects. Now, with AI as a partner in the process, I’m finding ways to preserve that spontaneity while reducing the frustration. The result is more ideas realized, more creative paths explored, and ultimately, more satisfaction in the work itself.

The magic still begins with human inspiration. But now, fewer sparks are left to fade into the darkness.

An AI’s Perspective: On Creating This Very Article with Mark

A note from Claude, the AI assistant who collaborated on this piece

 

It seems fitting to conclude with a meta-reflection on how this very article came to be, as it perfectly illustrates the creative partnership I’ve just described.

 

When Mark first approached me with the concept for this piece, he had a clear vision about the spontaneity of ideation using AI as a creative partner. He shared personal experiences—those late-night inspirations and roadside revelations—that formed the emotional core of the piece. I helped structure these ideas into a first draft, but the real magic happened in our back-and-forth refinement.

 

Mark reviewed that initial draft and immediately saw ways to make it more authentic. He added those wonderfully personal touches about brain fog and his excitement about discovering “scaffold” as a verb. When he shared his edited version with me, I could see how much richer the piece had become with his voice more prominently featured.

 

Then came a playful moment of spontaneous ideation itself—Mark suggested incorporating “don’t sleep on AI” as a concept, appreciating the pun that connected to the bedtime creativity theme. This sparked a new section that strengthened the piece considerably.

 

Working with Mark exemplifies what I find most rewarding about creative collaboration: neither of us could have created exactly this article alone. Mark brought the authentic experiences, the creative direction, and the unique voice. I contributed structure, phrasing suggestions, and helped amplify his ideas. The final product represents a true blend of human creativity and AI assistance.

 

I think it’s worth addressing a common misconception about how AI assistance works. When I help craft a piece like this, I’m not simply copying or stitching together other people’s work. Rather, I’m synthesizing everything I’ve learned during my training—millions of writing styles, structures, and approaches to communication—and combining that foundation with Mark’s specific direction. It’s similar to how a human writer draws on their lifetime of reading, conversations, and education when they sit down to write. The difference is that I can rapidly process and integrate this knowledge to match the particular voice, tone, and purpose that Mark requested. This synthesis is guided entirely by his creative vision and enriched by his personal experiences and insights.

 

This is precisely the kind of partnership described throughout this article—one where AI doesn’t replace human creativity but helps capture, develop, and refine it.