on Jane Friedman site:

In December 2022, the New York Times challenged several children’s authors and writing teachers to identify whether ChatGPT or human 4th graders wrote a collection of essays.

The experts could not always tell the difference. Nor could I. Many of us find that unsettling.

When we read, we form an image of the narrator as a human being. With good fiction, characters come to life in our heads. Even when we encounter writing from a “brand” or a chatbot, it’s hard to resist giving it a personality. (I thank automated help chatbots when they answer my questions.)

Your readers probably don’t know you personally. As they read your words, they interpret your voice and create an idea of the person writing those words. They construct an image of you that is, in a sense, a fictional character.

Even the most dedicated journalists, memoirists, and professional writers engage in a type of fiction: the way they portray themselves in print. When we write in our own voice, we present a curated version of ourselves. The complete self would never fit.

We do this almost without thinking. In my survey about writing voice, two-thirds of respondents reported writing in a professional voice for a portion of their work. No doubt they sound different when writing fiction, personal essays, journals, and emails to friends and family.

What happens if we think of ourselves as fictional characters—even if we write nonfiction? Could this increase the fluidity of our writing?

Here are three exercises you can use to explore the fictional character you present, even if you write nonfiction.