Custom Tooling for Any Creative Project using AI
For a while now, I have felt like crafting some notes for a larger book idea I have been thinking about, but just couldn’t bring myself around to actually do it.
Because of fatigue from work and just general overuse of my work from home environment, I actually considered buying a typewriter so that I could draft the book. But, after thinking about this option realistically, I realized it would not be something practically I would ever use (or at least use more than once) since the novelty would wear off pretty fast. So, then, I looked into good writing apps with built in “focus” or zen modes. I didn’t like those options either. I wasn’t even sure if the book would go anywhere, so I wasn’t willing to fully commit to anything.
Out of curiosity, I asked claude 3.7 sonnet to generate a custom writing web app for my book idea and it instantly made me one. I told it my situation - that I explored other options and didn’t want to use them, that I wanted something different where I could just isolate and focus and do good, clear work. It not only generated something positive, the website it made included a focus mode, chapter support, emotional tagging, dark mode, note taking feature, and so much more. I couldn’t believe it.
One minor feature I loved was the way it put the working title for the book at top of the webpage, in addition to the gentle aesthetic theme it came up with which suited the book (while also not being too distracting). I couldn’t believe that essentially an entire app had been built just to support the writing of my book!
The app wasn’t perfect - I still need to customize it further like getting it to store the data appropriately in a database and fixing some of the minor UI bugs, but the bulk of the work is already in there. I then fantasized about other features I could add - either to support my own writing/thinking style or to support the unique needs and angle of the book.
It seems that based on the needs of the project itself, I can use AI to develop a custom app just to help me give life to the book. I can develop unique tooling which provides the exact moulding needed for the special project I am working on. This tooling can reflect the project itself and I hope that it will be felt in the final product - as if there is some kind of etching or stamping in the writing, some kind of imprint, which can be felt by the reader, even if they cannot explain it.
Writers and other artists already systemize their work today. The way they might organize their Word document and develop a workflow to research, group ideas, interview subjects, write their book, revise, and complete the refinement process is already idiosyncratic and deeply integrated with how they individually work and think. The exciting prospect I’m talking about here is using AI to develop custom software which can help elevate, materialize, and nurture this existing process.
The most exciting part of this experience for me was how the custom software made me want to write. The web app put me in the mindset and mood of the book. It felt like a special area on the internet and in my life which existed just for this project to come to life. It felt like I could have an easier time writing the book because I could continually co-evolve the tooling for it as well. I could create a custom, efficient, and smooth user interface and workflow even if it was just for me, which would make writing the book a lot easier and more enjoyable; keeping me in the bounds of and more aligned with my creative flow state. I can’t even imagine what the tooling for a film, music, or other kind of project would look like. What about a website/app for an entire team writing something in realtime?
I also believe there may be another added benefit here too. I feel I could make a custom environment and tooling for every idea I’m working on, making it mentally easier to switch between projects and instantly shift gears.
We’re in this insane era of personalized apps now (I have a bigger article about this coming soon). Custom tooling for every project you’re working on, with direct features created just-in-time as you need them. Customized to how you think with all your special quirks. It has never been a more exciting time to be a creative.
Exciting! Thank you for sharing this post!