8 Great Uses of Critical Thinking

Remember that client who clearly wasn’t using critical thinking when he insisted on using the AI program Claude to “improve” his manuscript? If not, read about him here. Despite complaining about how often Claude and ChatGPT fell short, he sent me a manuscript replete with all the ways he (suddenly?) liked what Claude did.

On first glance, I saw that the AI trimmed the manuscript by 2,373 words, to 79,921, so good for Claude. But my client wanted me to look at 209 instances where he liked what Claude did and see if I can implement them into my ghostwritten manuscript.

Good thing he asked for that because AI changed the entire voice. It no longer sounds like my client, nor does it reflect the violence, grittiness and coarseness of the streets of the South Bronx. It’s become sanitized, watered down. Although it retains the first-person narrator, he has become more distant and removed from the actual events, actions, and crimes that made the original story so compelling.

The story that opens the book— a five-year-old boy sees a man gunned down on the street two feet from him, the story I had previously shown editors and they were blown away by—had lost its dramatic impact. 

For me to accurately take Claude’s suggestions and rewrite them into my manuscript will take a lot of time, skill, and critical thinking. It’s that last one I want to write about today.

A ghostwriter needs critical thinking skills to stand apart from and, in effect, counter what AI is doing to language and long form narratives.

In fact, I would argue that critical thinking is not just helpful to ghostwriting. It’s essential. Here are eight ways.

1. Knowing what’s the real story. Clients often start a project with ideas and/or memories that are all over the place. Critical thinking helps identify the true narrative thread that’s worth investing time and money to tell.

Take my Bronx client. He originally provided so much information that he wanted to write a “Wonder Years” kind of book. But the really powerful and irresistible story lied in the struggle to either escape the South Bronx or fall prey to its temptations and dangers. One brother gave in, the other brother got out. 

2. Cutting what’s not relevant. Related to No. 1, not every anecdote belongs. A ghostwriter must constantly ask himself or herself, Does this fit?

In the above example, all the stories that involved growing up that had nothing to do with the violence, drugs, sex, and gangs were cut. That also meant some family members weren’t included or were minimized.

It’s too bad because one of the best stories involved a fishing expedition gone horribly wrong, but it just doesn’t fit the narrative.

3. Separating fact from fiction. AI can’t do this, but a human can. Critical thinking allows a ghostwriter to take a client’s story and figure out what is real and what is interpretation.

For example, I had a client who recalled going to one of Ken Kesey’s Acid Tests in the San Fernando Valley section of Los Angeles. I didn’t take him at his word. Instead, I asked him where and when and what else he remembered. He gave the year but couldn’t get more specific about the venue, but he remembered there was a band and a lot of black light.

I took that information and did my research, discovering that it was February 5, 1966 at the Sepulveda Unitarian Universalist Church, nicknamed the Onion because of its shape. 

He also didn’t remember that the band was the Grateful Dead. 

4. Asking the right questions. The best ghostwriters with critical thinking skills dive beyond the surface to ask questions that uncover hidden meanings and truths. I suggest those questions begin with who, what, where, when, how, and why.

How do you know you’re probing? The client thinks, gives a detailed answer, and says something like, “Wow, good question.”

5. Structuring a coherent narrative. A book isn’t just a collection of events, whether sequential, chronological or thematic. Critical thinking allows a ghostwriter to organize material into a clear arc with a beginning, middle, and end that follows the traditional path of one of the seven basic story archetypes (and critical thinking helps identify the archetype, too!).

6. Maintaining the client’s authentic voice. As I wrote above,  AI changed my client’s voice into something more generic. It takes judgment to decide what sounds true to the client versus what sounds polished, but artificial. Critical thinking protects authenticity.

I have another client who could charitably be described as a narcissist. He believes he changed the world with his invention, and he told me so. I wrote a draft with that in mind, and he didn’t like reading it. So, I had to massage it a bit to still sound like him but less arrogant.

7. Identifying what’s missing. Sometimes, what isn’t there matters, and it needs to be there. Critical thinking spots gaps and fills them.

I’m about to start an editing project in which the manuscript is an expository essay about how Christians pick and choose how to interpret the Bible and judge people based on those interpretations. What is needed is less judgment and more openness and faith.

I have the manuscript, and I immediately see a glaring omission: The author does not include himself in the entire manuscript. If this is his point of view, he will increase his credibility if he adds his own experiences to this.

8. Editing with purpose. When it comes time to revise the manuscript, critical thinking comes into play because editing isn’t just fixing sentences, it’s diagnosing problems. Critical thinking leads to meaningful revision, not just cosmetic changes.

The essence of critical thinking is go beyond the surface, to move beyond merely transcribing the client’s thoughts, deeds, and words and move into interpretation, structure, and meaning. That way the ghostwritten story transforms into a compelling story that resonates with the audience.

Feel free to read and check out my other posts related to ghostwriting. Go to https://leebarnathan.com/blog/ If you need an experienced ghostwriter in NYC to help bring your unique story to life with critical thinking and authentic voice, let’s connect.