In a recent study comparing stories written by human subjects and AI to determine whether AI can create authentic narratives with a unique style, voice and humour, some AI ‘authors’ consistently received higher scores than human authors. This paper examines what Nick Cave calls the fast-tracking commodification of the creative process by AI, and how we can counter and protect the integrity of the essential humanness of creative endeavour. We suggest that the creative writing process and the struggle to achieve literary quality enables self-actualisation and celebrates the wonder of our innate ‘humanness’ as signified by a practice led process in a performative space. We advocate for a deeper re-examination of practice led research, process-oriented and craft-based creative activity to redefine the essence of what it means to be a creative writer as we strive to maintain creative integrity in an increasingly AI dominated field.