Write a Novel with me using ChatGPT — Part 1!
Follow along with me as I write a novel using ChatGPT!
Who am I to write about this, you ask? Marisol Blanche is pen name I create specifically for this project as well as other writing, authorship and creativity related non-fiction work. In another life, I am a full-time author of paranormal and science-fiction romance, living my best life doing what I love to do best: write kissing (and more) books!
Goal of the Experiment
This is not a catchy “write a novel in 30 minutes” clickbait article. If you are by chance someone looking for a way to make millions of dollars while sipping a daiquiri and asking ChatGPT to write a bestselling novel rivaling with Jane Eyre, you’ll be sorely disappointed.
I don’t intend to use ChatGPT to mass produce terrible story and further muddle an already saturated ebook market. I’m going to use ChatGPT to refine a process I already learned through years of painstaking work and decades of voracious reading.
I am a writer. This is who I am, the cornerstone of my entire being. Writing is my passion, it’s something I cannot live without. I’m also a voracious reader, which is something kinda goes without saying about a writer.
I live and breathe stories. They create me just as much as I create them.
So why do I want to spend my precious time writing on Medium about this dreaded AI scourge that is coming to eat the heart of our beloved works of fiction?
Because, my dear readers, I don’t think AI is the plague some of us, wordsmiths, believe it is. I think I can find a way to use it to my own advantage without sucking the soul out of my writing. I think I can find a way to use ChatGPT to boost my creativity, streamline my writing process and write faster, better and with less pain. I think I can show you all that ChatGPT can be used for good and not for evil!
I have two distinct goals with this experiment and I want to make them clear from the get-go. I will demonstrate (or not, this is an experiment, after all) that a writer can use ChatGPT to:
1- Assist in writing a complete novel, faster and with less pain, without sucking the soul out of the process
2- Build a tool writers can use to increase productivity throughout the entire process, from concept to editing and even in the marketing stage.
There you have it. My goals are sets and they are ambitious, too!
Scope and Methodology
So, what project am I talking about? I am going to write a full lenght fiction novel in a genre that I love, but don’t have the chance to explore as much as I’d like to: horror. The reason for this are twofold: first is that it’s a genre I enjoy writing and I believe one should love what they write about. The second reason is that it’s not a genre I have lots of experience working in, so my use of ChatGPT will be less influenced by my personal experience here.
As far as the scope of this project goes, I set myself to write the entire novel with a goal of 70K-80K words, from its inception all the way to the end and even some of the marketing, using ChatGPT and my own writing and planning skills.
The process is entirely experimental and is something I never attempted before. I will post my progress daily until the entire project is completed, no censorship, no data withdrawing, no tweaking to meet a desired end other than writing the best novel I can write.
Will I succeed or will I deem ChatGPT an evil, devious entity that should be condemned to the fires of digital Hell? Only time will tell!
Story Idea Generation Using ChatGPT
Let’s get this party started! The very first step in writing is an obvious one, but one that can also be super tricky, if not the hardest! At least for me…
Focusing on a single story idea. This important choice is one that will define the path of the entire project, so it’s a make or break one.
Let’s see if ChatGPT can provide us with 5 viable story ideas for a horror novel. The following is a screenshot of the prompt that I entered:
Ready for the results? Here they are in their integrity, nothing withdrawn or reworded.
As you can see, at this point, ChatGPT actually gave me good ideas! I also think these are fairly varied. There’s nothing in there that feels completely original and blows my mind with originality, but there’s nothing that feels like it’s a hopeless cliche either.
Overall, I can feel the potential of these stories and I feel actually confident in continuing forward.
I’ll be writing a full lenght novel based on this story so I’ll go with the story idea that inspires me the most. And since I’m a writer and I know a good opportunity for a cliffhanger when I see one, I’ll also reveal my choice in tomorrow’s article!
Stay tuned! Part 2 of the series is coming tomorrow!
Want hype-free advice on writing, AI use for authors, or just random thoughts from my overactive imagination?
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