Essays · Oct 2, 2025 · 4 min read
Scribe & Seek: Writing's Future in the Age of AI
Best-selling author Eric Jorgensen on why books remain culture's headwaters and the timeless drills that still make writers great.
This summer I sat down with Eric Jorgensen, best-selling author of The Almanac of Naval and CEO of Scribe, to ask two questions: Where is writing headed in the age of AI? And what practices can make a writer unmistakably better?
Books Are Still the Headwaters
"I believe books will still be the headwaters of culture. Most of what gets talked about online can be traced back to a book. Serious people still read. A book is powered by your attention in a way no other medium is." — Eric Jorgensen
On AI and the Long Game
"AI will make the mediocre easier to produce. I'm still going to spend five thousand hours on a book because readers recognize quality. In a power-law game, the long tail of slop gets longer, but people who can produce top-1% work should be able to produce two to ten times as much." — Eric Jorgensen
Drills That Sharpen a Writer
- Read out loud. Your ears catch what your eyes miss.
- Change mediums. Computer to phone to print. Each shift reveals different problems.
- Diversify beta readers. Different ages, cultures, and geographies expose invisible assumptions.
- Write for timelessness. Avoid fragile, hyper-contemporary references.
- Hire multiple editors. Stack perspectives. Even inexpensive editors can move a draft from 95% to 99%.
AI can strip away busywork, but it can't replace taste, courage, or the hours spent wrestling with sentences until they sing. Books remain the headwaters of culture. Our task is the same as it ever was: sit down, pay attention, and write something that lasts.