Midjourney and Writing

When various AI programs were launched a few years ago, I was intrigued. As an illustrator who rarely finds the time to actually illustrate due to the demands of writing, I thought these tools might offer a solution. I’ve always wanted to illustrate a graphic novel based on Poacher’s origin story, but realistically, I knew I’d never finish it because I am so wretchedly slow. Sloth-like in fact. That’s when I hoped MidJourney might help bring my vision to life.

After spending about a year experimenting with prompts, I discovered two things. First, AI was quickly becoming a rabbit hole that pulled me away from writing. But secondly, and unexpectedly, using AI for image generation was surprisingly additive to my writing. Generated images often sparked new ideas, pulling the story in directions I hadn’t anticipated. Sometimes, a small, incongruous detail—like a wrecked car in the background—would open up an entirely new narrative possibility I hadn’t considered. More often than not, there always seemed to be an unexpected “What if?” moment.
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AI art generation proved to be a valuable tool for idea generation rather than just a means of producing visual content. After enough experimentation with MidJourney’s outputs, I realized I had fed my creative brain enough fuel. I could then return to my writing with renewed inspiration, knowing that someday I would eventually find an artist—pen in hand—to bring my graphic novel to life.