More Typos, Fewer Em Dashes: Writers Are Creating an Anti-AI ‘Literary Counterculture’

Writers across fiction, criticism, journalism, and online publishing are increasingly avoiding AI-like habits such as em dashes, generic phrasing, and formulaic lists.

Some are adopting deliberate quirks and stronger voice cues to make human prose stand out from large language model output.

Editors at outlets including Aeon and Pitchfork are tightening guidance toward more conversational, first-person, and idiosyncratic writing.

The shift reflects growing anxiety that AI-assisted text is flattening style and pushing publishing to redefine what reads as distinctly human.