Reclaiming Cadence and Authenticity in an Age of AI Writing

In the pre-dawn stillness, as professionals across fields compose emails, briefs, and reports, a strange paradox unfolds. While our tools for writing grow more powerful—offering perfect grammar, optimized structure, and AI assistance—our actual writing grows flatter, more mechanical, more forgettable. Something essential has been lost: the unmistakable pulse of human voice.

Today, in legal, business, and technical writing, this loss is especially visible. Read enough client memos or court filings, and you’ll notice a creeping sameness: perfectly balanced sentences, methodical paragraphs, and arguments delivered with all the warmth of an instruction manual. The prose is correct—but it’s empty. What's missing is cadence, conviction, and authenticity.

This is not just an aesthetic problem. Writing without voice fails to persuade. It fails to connect. Judges, clients, and colleagues aren’t just logic machines—they’re humans. Humans respond to rhythm, emphasis, tone, and presence. The writer’s unique mind—once visible in the twist of a sentence or a bold rhetorical choice—has been edited out by a wave of readability scores, templates, and now generative AI.

But there's a way back. And strangely, it begins not with the eyes, but with the ear.

Subvocalization: Hearing the Voice You Lost

Reading aloud—or subvocalizing as you read silently—reveals what editing tools can't. It shows you where your writing breathes. Where it stumbles. Where your rhythm feels robotic or alive. This simple act acts as a diagnostic: does the writing sound like someone meant it? Would a judge say this in court? Would a client hear this in their own head?

When a paragraph sounds off—even if it looks fine—it usually means the voice is missing. Subvocalization makes that absence tangible. It turns writing from a visual task back into what it originally was: an auditory, embodied form of communication.

Cadence: The Pulse Beneath the Prose

If voice is the character of writing, cadence is its rhythm. It’s not just sentence length—it’s the interplay between short, punchy statements and long, reflective ones. It’s knowing when to pause, when to repeat, when to slow down, and when to drive the point home.

In courtrooms, great litigators use rhythm to hold attention. In writing, that same rhythm must live in syntax: a sudden em dash, a one-line paragraph, a deliberate shift in pacing. This isn’t fluff. It’s persuasion by resonance.

To reclaim this, writers must think musically. Not about melody—but about pulse. Cadence should mirror the mind in motion, not the machine in output.

Complexity vs. Clarity: A False Choice

There’s a growing myth that good writing is always short, simple, and fifth-grade readable. Tools like Hemingway and Grammarly reinforce this bias. But legal, academic, and business writing often wrestles with complex ideas that demand complexity in structure. The trick isn’t dumbing it down—it’s navigating complexity well.

That means using rhythm, transitions, and internal scaffolding to guide the reader through nuance. Great writing is not simple—it’s clear about its complexity.

Humanity in the Age of AI

AI tools now generate entire documents with plausible competence. But what they lack is conviction. They don’t believe anything. They don’t mean anything. They imitate voice without having one.

So the role of the writer is changing. We are not just drafters—we’re curators, conductors, and editors of intent. The AI can give us structure, style, even rhythm. But it cannot provide stakes. That’s still our job.

What Writers Can Do Right Now

• Subvocalize everything. Hear what’s missing.
  
  

• Vary your sentences deliberately. Don’t settle for polished symmetry.
  
  

• Use repetition strategically, not accidentally.
  
  

• Write as if someone will read it out loud. Because they might.
  
  

• Let AI assist, but don’t let it decide. Use its tools, not its tone.
  
  

The best writing in this new era won’t come from resisting the tools. It’ll come from using them well without losing ourselves.

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Thomas Fox, J. D.
Fox Paralegal Services
Lake Cumberland, Kentucky
thomas@foxparalegalservices.com

TEXT ONLY: 502-230-1613
Voice: 606-219-6982


Disclaimer:
This information is for general educational and information purposes only and should not be taken as legal advice. I am not a lawyer. I can provide legal information but not advice. The difference is that legal information is equally applicable to everyone. Legal advice is tailored to your specific situation, and it is based upon a personal relationship of trust between you, as a client, and a lawyer. Your communication with a lawyer may be privileged and protected by law. Your communications with me are not. It is advisable to consult with a qualified attorney in your specific jurisdiction for guidance on your legal rights and obligations. The laws of every state are different. Consulting with experienced local counsel is essential. If you are involved in litigation, I urge you to seek legal counsel.