Is there no worse enemy to the writer than generative AI?
This increasingly ubiquitous technology can automagically generate pages of text at the click of a button. It threatens the livelihood of creatives around the globe. That said, for now it remains a tool, and like any tool it can be used for both good and bad purposes.
Today I want to explore how authors can leverage AI as a tool to create better stories, without necessarily having AI write the actual stories themselves. Here are a few thoughts:
AI as an Idea Generation Tool
The first time I remember using generative AI to support my writing was to generate a title.
I had a story all written out, but I didn’t know exactly what to call it. I realized that I could ask AI, so I copied the story and pasted it into my prompt, and I asked it what titles it would recommend for my short story.
Sure enough, within seconds it spit back a list of a dozen or so title ideas. This got my mind thinking – here was a tool that could do more than just write, it could help brainstorm!
- Uncertain what to call your story? Ask it what titles it would recommend.
- Uncertain what to write? Ask it for story ideas based on a theme or your favorite genre.
- Uncertain what to name a character? Ask it for name suggestions.
I wasn’t required to use the ideas it shared with me, but I could. I could also use them to inspire, to use as a point from which I could dive into my next creation.
AI as a Proofreader
I did this recently on a short story I’d written. I gave AI (in this case Microsoft Copilot) my story and asked it to proofread and get back to me with corrections it would recommend.
I know what you are thinking – I could have used my word processor to get things reviewed, and in a sense you are right. That said, there were a few reasons why I like doing it this way instead:
- I don’t like using word processors to write my first drafts. They get distracting with all their red and blue squiggly lines, and I start editing rather than writing. By writing in a tool that is not distracting (this article, for example, was written in plain old Notepad), I can get my ideas out of my head with no distraction, and then it’s a simple Control-A, Control-C, and Control-V into the AI prompt to get a quick proofread done.
- AI caught items my word processor had not. I’m not sure what happened here, but it happened on two occasions: one typo and one repeated word were not caught by Microsoft Word. Were it not for me asking the AI prompt, I would have published the stories with those mistakes.
- AI’s response was conversational, creating inspiration. It was as though I was chatting with an Alpha Reader. I wasn’t transactionally trying to fix errors, but rather was inspired by the response and suggestions because they were more than just grammar corrections. Some of the suggestions I incorporated, others I ignored. In the end, the exchange was much more valuable than using a traditional spell check tool.
AI as a Theme Validator
This one I really enjoy – I ask the AI tool to review my story and tell me the different themes the story represents.
Shouldn’t you know what the themes are in your own story? you ask.
Yes, I do, but I’m reminded of how certain creators regard their works once published. They describe them as belonging to the consumer of the work, and someone who reads my stories may see different themes or have different takeaways than I do, or than I intended.
And I want to know what those are!
I want to know because they present opportunities to revisit the story in a way I had not initially considered, to flesh out an element that could support the main theme, or to remove something that goes against what I am trying to say. In a sense, asking AI this question creates opportunities to better round your story out.
A final note on using AI when writing
Writing as a practice has evolved quite a lot over the years, and just as we moved from pen and paper to word processors, it would be a mistake to not leverage the new technologies made available to us today. The examples above are all real-life examples of how I used AI to support my writing.
My opinion – we have an opporutnity to enhance our writing, and we should explore and learn how we can do that. We should not, however, use this technology to replace writing altogether. That would be a mistake.
My choice is to not use AI to write for me. I feel doing so would cross a line – publishing something authored by AI as my own would be an attack on my credibility. It would break the trust that exists between writer and reader, a trust that takes time and effort to build.
Use of AI to write is a personal choice and I’m not saying whether or not you should do it, but for me, it’s a step too far.
In closing, the examples above are very useful for short story authoring, which is what I’m currently doing on this site. How AI can be leveraged for longer works like novels and such, I’m not too sure about. I’m up for hearing what others have learned though, so if you have any examples of how you’ve used AI to support your writing, or for any creative works fo that matter, feel free to let me know! You can find me on the socials linked in the footer below.
Thanks for reading!
Dan…