Three Story Method: Writing Scenes
Date: 2000-01-01 05:00:00+00:00
Keywords: Writing
Description: Are readers bailing on your book? Are you struggling to figure out why? You might be writing scenes that don't work. Three Story Method: Writing Scenes teaches you how to analyze your writing in a way that will unlock your true potential and practically guarantee readers will never bail on your book. Publishing veteran and bestselling author J. Thorn reveals his proven system for writing delicious scenes based on his legendary "Supercharge Your Scene" challenge successfully completed by thousands of authors. This tight yet comprehensive book teaches you what you absolutely must know about writ

Three Story Method

Cowriting with ChatGPT (AI-Powered Storytelling)

J. Thorn

Three Story Method: Cowriting with ChatGPT (AI-Powered Storytelling) Copyright © 2023 by J. Thorn

All rights reserved.

No part of this book may be reproduced in any form or by any electronic or mechanical means, including information storage and retrieval systems, without written permission from the author, except for the use of brief quotations in a book review.

Contents

About the Book

Introduction to Collaborating with AI

AI Ethics & Copyright Issues

F.A.Q. About AI for Authors

Misconceptions About AI

Discovery Writers: Caution!

Three Story Method: Writing Scenes Review

Three Story Method + Save the Cat!

Planning

Drafting

Publishing

The Reader’s Guide

What’s Next?

My Thoughts on AI, May 2023

Resources

Get the Resources!

About Me

About the Book

Are you an author ready to harness the power of AI, but feeling overwhelmed by the vast ocean of unknowns?

Unravel the mystery of AI-powered storytelling with “Three Story Method: Cowriting with ChatGPT.”

This groundbreaking guide is the key to unlocking a future where you and artificial intelligence team up to weave captivating tales.

With AI reshaping the landscape of creative writing, don’t be left stranded in the past. Instead, learn to ride the wave of technological innovation to a whole new world of storytelling possibilities.

In this comprehensive guide, bestselling author J. Thorn demystifies the process of cowriting with ChatGPT. He takes you by the hand, leading you step by step through a proven framework to create narratives that resonate with readers.

Drawing on years of research, Thorn illuminates the path to effectively leveraging AI, providing the roadmap you need to navigate this exciting new frontier.

Based on the internationally bestselling system developed by J. Thorn and Zach Bohannon, Three Story Method, this book isn’t just about theory; it’s a practical guide that equips you with the tools you need to transform your writing process. You’ll discover:

How to seamlessly integrate ChatGPT into your writing workflow Techniques to amplify your narrative with AI-powered insights Strategies to maintain your unique author voice while leveraging AI Proven methods to create compelling stories in collaboration with ChatGPT

And much more!

This isn’t about replacing the author with AI. It’s about forming a powerful alliance where human creativity meets AI efficiency, resulting in stories that are more engaging and impactful than ever before.

Whether you’re a seasoned author looking for a competitive edge or a novice writer ready to take a giant leap into the future of storytelling, this book is your ticket to a brave new world of AI-powered writing.

Don’t let confusion and uncertainty hold you back. Embrace the future, empower your storytelling, and transform your writing process with “Three Story Method: Cowriting with ChatGPT.”

Join the revolution in storytelling—purchase your copy today!

Introduction to Collaborating with AI If you’re eager to immerse yourself in the process immediately, feel free to skip ahead to the “Planning” section.

For those who prefer a more gradual approach, please continue reading.

It’s important to note that I’ve collaborated with ChatGPT in a manner quite similar to my collaborations with previous co-writers. We’ve worked together on this project, with some passages penned by ChatGPT, some by myself, and others being a combined effort. I have no intention of obscuring this fact.

In the course of creating this book, I had to confront an honest question, keeping you—the reader—at the forefront of my mind. What did you value more? Was it my seasoned and distinctive authorial voice that you sought to appreciate, or was it to grasp the most direct, efficient way to collaborate with AI?

I opted for the latter, confident that you’d concur with this decision.

We’re navigating a new paradigm, and your experience with this book is likely to become standard practice, especially in the realm of nonfiction.

You’ll be able to say that your first encounter with such a book was with J.

Thorn and ChatGPT!

I’ll remind you of this offer throughout the book.

If you’d like a free, live version of my AI resources for creatives, simply go here and I’ll email you the complete list, updated in real time:

https://theauthorlife.com/aistorytelling/

*Everything in this book pertains to ChatGPT4, May 2023.

The Big Question

Are you a “writer” or a “storyteller?” Is there a distinction, and should it concern you?

This is the metaphorical elephant in the room amidst the numerous debates unfolding online today.

The distinction between a “writer” and a “storyteller” chiefly resides in the mediums and techniques employed to convey a narrative. Both roles undeniably revolve around the creation of stories. However, a writer typically constructs narratives through the medium of written text, while a storyteller can exploit a range of different mediums, spanning visual, auditory, and even kinesthetic forms of expression, to captivate their audience.

Storytelling is an expansive concept that encompasses the art of communicating a narrative in any given form. In contrast, writing is merely one specific method within the broader spectrum of storytelling techniques.

In essence, the advent of artificial intelligence is accelerating the obsolescence of labels that have been in use for decades, perhaps even centuries. This shift encourages us to reconsider our understanding of these roles and the evolving landscape of narrative creation. In other words, AI is
accelerating the demise of labels we’ve used for decades, possibly centuries.

Jason Bateman and Ozark

Let’s talk about Jason Bateman and the TV series “Ozark” as an example of the distinction between a writer and a storyteller.

“Ozark” is an outstanding example of storytelling because it effectively engages the audience through various elements, such as compelling characters, intricate plotlines, and a suspenseful atmosphere. In the case of

“Ozark,” the storytelling is not limited to the written script but extends to the visual storytelling through cinematography, acting, and directing.

As an actor and director in the series, Jason Bateman plays a significant role in the storytelling process without necessarily being the primary writer. His portrayal of the character Marty Byrde, as well as his work in directing several episodes, contributes to the overall narrative and storytelling experience. In this capacity, Bateman is a storyteller, shaping the story through his acting and directorial choices. His work brings the written words to life, translating them into a visual and emotional experience for the audience.

The difference between a “writer” and a “storyteller” can be seen in the methods and mediums used to convey a narrative. Writers create stories through written text, while storytellers can utilize various forms of expression, including writing, to share a narrative.

Jason Bateman and “Ozark” exemplify outstanding storytelling by engaging the audience through a combination of written material, acting, directing, and other visual elements. Bateman’s role in the storytelling process, both
as an actor and a director, highlights the broader scope of storytelling beyond the act of writing itself.

Role of Storyteller

An author using ChatGPT to write a novel can be compared to Jason Bateman directing “Ozark” in the sense that both are taking on the role of a storyteller, guiding and shaping the narrative through their creative decisions. In both cases, the primary focus is on crafting an engaging, compelling story, utilizing the tools and resources available to them.

1. Collaboration: Just as Jason Bateman works closely with the writers, actors, and crew to bring the story of “Ozark” to life, an author using ChatGPT collaborates with the AI to create their novel. The author provides prompts, guides the AI’s responses, and edits the generated text to ensure it aligns with their vision for the story.

2. Adaptation and Interpretation: Bateman interprets the “Ozark” script, making directorial choices to enhance the storytelling. Similarly, an author using ChatGPT adapts and interprets the AI-generated content, molding it to fit the story’s structure and desired tone. The author has the final say in shaping the narrative, just as Bateman makes critical decisions in presenting

“Ozark.”

3. Enhancing the Story: Both Bateman and an author using ChatGPT
contribute their unique perspectives and skills to enhance the story.

Bateman’s acting and directing expertise bring depth and nuance to the show’s characters and plotlines, while an author working with ChatGPT
leverages the AI’s capabilities to generate ideas, dialog, and descriptions that enrich their novel.

4. Creative Problem Solving: In directing “Ozark,” Bateman encounters and solves various creative challenges, such as working with a limited budget or finding ways to depict complex emotional states visually. An author using ChatGPT also faces creative challenges, such as steering the AI to produce desired outcomes or refining the generated content to maintain coherence and consistency.

5. Embracing Innovation: Jason Bateman’s work on “Ozark” showcases a willingness to embrace innovative storytelling techniques and push boundaries. Similarly, an author using ChatGPT demonstrates openness to exploring new technologies and methods in their creative process, pushing the boundaries of traditional writing.

Let’s not get hung up on labels and titles. “Writing” won’t mean the same thing in a few years, the same way the definition has changed since the invention of the printing press. What really matters is that we become storytellers who collaborate with others, adapt and interpret content, enhance our stories through our unique skills, solve creative challenges, and embrace innovation. In each case, the focus is on crafting a compelling narrative that engages and captivates the audience.

Process Over Prompts

While AI “prompts” are currently in vogue, it’s crucial to understand that a prompt, in isolation, won’t magically yield a stellar novel or a compelling screenplay. A prompt is simply a tool. Its effectiveness ultimately hinges on the skill, creativity, and adeptness of the craftsperson employing it.

My journey in crafting “Three Story Method,” a collaborative storytelling framework co-created with Zach Bohannon, spanned several years of rigorous research and writing. This effort culminated in a book that
documented our collective endeavor and went on to become my best-selling work of all time, amassing the highest average reviews on Amazon. While reading “Three Story Method” isn’t a prerequisite for this book, it serves as a valuable resource for those interested in delving deeper into a proven storytelling methodology.

Prompts are undoubtedly advantageous. However, they alone are not sufficient. My objective is to demonstrate how to employ prompts anchored in an established and thoughtful framework. This approach, I believe, will unlock extraordinary potential in your AI-powered storytelling, leading to narratives that are not just engaging, but also meaningful and well-structured.

Let’s dive in…

We live in an age of breathtaking advancements and dazzling innovation, where the once-impossible is now within reach, and the world of writing is no exception. Enter the brave new world of AI-assisted authorship, a realm where creativity and technology intertwine to create a tapestry of endless possibilities.

Whether you’re an old hand at the writing game or a bright-eyed newbie, this book is your gateway to a writing revolution, where AI becomes your trusty sidekick on the path to literary success.

But fear not, dear reader, for this book is not your typical step-by-step guide to be read in a rigid sequence. Feel free to jump around, explore the chapters, and zero in on the topics that pique your interest. Think of this book as a treasure trove of AI-powered wisdom, where you can pick and choose the nuggets of knowledge that best serve your unique creative journey.

Are you itching to dive straight into the nitty-gritty of AI-assisted planning or drafting and revision? Go ahead! Skip to the relevant sections and immerse yourself in a world of prompts, tips, and techniques designed to supercharge your writing process.

This book is about you – the intrepid author with a thirst for knowledge and an unquenchable curiosity. While I have plenty of tales to tell, this journey is about empowering you, the reader, to harness the power of AI and revolutionize your writing career. So, let’s keep the focus on your transformation and your potential, and if you’re really keen to know more about me, you can always visit the About Me section.

In the end, what matters most is that this book serves as your compass, guiding you through the uncharted waters of AI-assisted writing. Together, we’ll navigate the twists and turns, the challenges and triumphs, and emerge on the other side as pioneers of a new literary frontier. So, are you ready?

Let’s embark on this thrilling adventure and unleash the full potential of AI in your writing journey!

Embrace Mediocrity

What? Hear me out.

By choosing to use a response from ChatGPT that might not be considered the epitome of literary perfection, we open the doors to the vast and diverse world of mainstream readers.

The beauty of this approach lies in its simplicity and relatability. When we use a response that is more down-to-earth and less intimidating, we create a welcoming environment that invites readers from all walks of life to join the conversation. It’s like hosting a friendly gathering where everyone feels at ease, rather than an exclusive soiree reserved for the literary elite.

By opting for a more accessible response, we ensure that our message resonates with a broader audience. After all, the goal is to share knowledge, spark ideas, and foster creativity, and what better way to achieve this than by speaking the language of the masses? We’re here to bridge the gap between cutting-edge AI technology and everyday authors, not widen it.

Embrace the charm of the “somewhat mediocre,” for it is the key that unlocks the door to a world of accessible, inclusive, and collaborative learning.

My biggest commercial failures are the ones where I tried to write a

“unique” or “literary” novel. Those are fine for hobbyists, but if you want to sell copies, you’ve got to appeal to the mainstream.

Remember, most mainstream (by definition) is “average” or “mediocre”

because it appeals to the most people.

Rather than trying to radically revise GPT’s output, roll with it. It’s presenting it that way for a reason.

Real-World Success Stories

Here are three real-world examples of books that might not have been hailed as literary masterpieces but skyrocketed in popularity and sales, proving that accessibility and relatability can indeed triumph over critical acclaim.

1. “The Da Vinci Code” by Dan Brown:

This thriller, with its fast-paced narrative and intriguing blend of art, history, and conspiracy theories, became an overnight sensation. While critics may have found fault with Brown’s prose and character development, readers devoured the book, turning it into a global phenomenon. “The Da Vinci Code” spent more than two years on The New

York Times Best Seller list and has sold over 80 million copies worldwide, demonstrating that a gripping story can captivate audiences far beyond the realms of literary perfection.

2. “Twilight” by Stephenie Meyer:

The young adult vampire romance series, beginning with “Twilight,” took the world by storm, capturing the imaginations of millions of readers.

Critics might have raised eyebrows at the prose, character depth, or the portrayal of relationships, but that didn’t stop the books from becoming bestsellers. With over 100 million copies sold globally, the “Twilight” series spawned a movie franchise and a dedicated fan base, proving that sometimes, the connection between a book and its readers can transcend the boundaries of literary critique.

3. “Fifty Shades of Grey" by E.L. James:

This erotic romance novel, which started as “Twilight” fan fiction, quickly became a publishing sensation. Despite being widely criticized for its prose, character development, and treatment of certain themes, the book struck a chord with readers around the world. The “Fifty Shades” trilogy has sold over 125 million copies worldwide and inspired a successful film series, highlighting that a book’s popularity and impact aren’t always determined by its standing as a literary masterpiece.

These examples demonstrate that books can find immense success by resonating with readers on a deeper, more personal level, even if they don’t necessarily fit the mold of a literary classic. It’s a testament to the power of storytelling and the importance of accessibility, proving that, sometimes, what the mainstream reader seeks goes beyond the confines of literary perfection.

Wrapped in a Bow

ChatGPT’s tendency to “wrap the scene in a neat bow” can be advantageous when writing a novel, as it helps authors to “close loops”

within the narrative. Closing loops refers to the practice of resolving plot points or subplots in a satisfying manner, which is what readers often desire.

Although not every scene necessarily requires a closed loop, having a well-rounded resolution in many scenes can contribute to an overall sense of narrative cohesion and satisfaction for the reader.

1. Reader Satisfaction: When a scene is wrapped up neatly, it provides a sense of closure for the reader. This satisfaction can lead to a more enjoyable reading experience, as the reader feels that their investment in the story is rewarded with resolutions that make sense and feel complete.

2. Maintaining Story Momentum: When ChatGPT helps to close loops within scenes, it allows authors to maintain a clear focus on the primary narrative arc. By resolving subplots or smaller conflicts, the author can ensure that the story’s momentum is not hindered by unresolved or dangling threads.

3. Encouraging Emotional Engagement: A neatly wrapped scene often resolves character conflicts or dilemmas, which can deepen the reader’s emotional engagement with the story. When readers are emotionally invested in the characters and their journeys, they are more likely to continue reading and feel a strong connection to the narrative.

4. Streamlining the Editing Process: When ChatGPT provides resolutions within scenes, it can save authors time and effort during the editing process.

Authors can focus on refining the overall story structure, pacing, and
character development, rather than having to create additional content to close open loops.

5. Flexibility for Authors: While ChatGPT’s tendency to wrap up scenes neatly can be advantageous, authors still have the flexibility to decide which loops need to be closed and which can be left open for future development. This allows for a balance between providing satisfying resolutions and maintaining an element of intrigue or suspense within the story.

This Book is for You if:

1. You’re open-minded and have a growth mindset.

The wonders of embracing new possibilities! If you’re all about expanding your horizons and adapting to change, you’re in the right place. This book will help you navigate the brave new world of AI in writing, nurturing your growth every step of the way.

2. You’re not afraid of trying new things.

Fear not, intrepid explorer! If you’re ready to dive into uncharted territory, test the waters, and experiment with fresh techniques, this book is your trusty guide. We’ll venture into the AI landscape together, leaving no stone unturned.

3. You have a playful nature.

Why so serious? If you’re all about embracing fun and creativity in your writing, you’ll find a kindred spirit in this book. We’ll show you how AI can be a delightful playmate, sparking your imagination and adding a touch of whimsy to your creative process.

4. You don’t hang your entire identity on the word “writer” or

“author.”

Are you an “author” or a “storyteller?” If you’re not the type to be bogged down by traditional definitions, this book is your cup of tea. We’ll show you how to bend the rules and redefine what it means to be a writer or author in the age of AI.

5. You want to sell books for money. You’re more than a hobbyist.

If you’re serious about turning your passion for writing into a lucrative endeavor, this book is your golden ticket. We’ll explore how AI can give
you a competitive edge, streamline your workflow, and help you make a living doing what you love.

This Book is NOT for You if:

1. You don’t like change. You like things to stay the way they are.

Change can be daunting, and we get that! If you prefer the comfort of familiar methods and time-tested techniques, this book might not resonate with you as much. Rest assured, your creativity is still valued and cherished.

2. You’re the last one to get the new phone, gadget, or device.

Technology isn’t everyone’s thing, and that’s perfectly alright! If you tend to shy away from the latest gizmos and gadgets, this book’s focus on AI might not align with your preferences. Your creative journey can still flourish without it.

3. You want the recipe or instruction manual. You don’t like wasting time “playing around.”

If you’re someone who prefers a structured, step-by-step approach to writing, the experimental nature of AI might not be your ideal companion.

There’s no shame in sticking to tried-and-true methods that work for you.

4. You write because it’s a hobby or you enjoy it. You’re not concerned about selling books.

Writing for the sheer joy of it is a beautiful thing! If your main goal is personal fulfillment and you’re not focused on the business aspect of writing, this book’s emphasis on AI’s commercial advantages might not be your priority. Your passion for writing is still valid and cherished.

“Right now.”

I find myself responding with this phrase when someone tells me that ChatGPT can’t do something, or is terrible at it. Remember, the LLMs are
only going to get better, probably at an exponential rate.

“Right now,” is a gentle reminder that AI’s capabilities, while impressive, are still a work in progress. So buckle up, dear creatives, and let’s delve into the dynamic world of “Right now.”

“Right now” is a testament to the relentless march of progress. When we say AI can’t do something well “right now,” we’re acknowledging the potential for growth and improvement. Sure, AI might not excel at a particular task at this very moment, but hold onto your hats, because it’s learning, adapting, and evolving faster than you can say “artificial intelligence.”

This fascinating era of rapid change means that creative professionals need to be nimble and adaptable. Embrace the spirit of “Right now” and stay curious, because the AI of today might not be the AI of tomorrow. Keep an open mind, and be prepared to learn, unlearn, and relearn as technology advances.

The beauty of “Right now” is that it’s a call to action, urging us to explore the possibilities and push the boundaries of AI in the creative fields. It’s an invitation to experiment, to test the limits, and to discover new ways in which AI can enhance our artistic endeavors.

Embrace the Unexpected

One last suggestion before we move to the next section: embrace the unexpected.

Embracing the unexpected when creating with AI can open up new horizons for authors in several ways:

1. Unforeseen Creativity: AI, like ChatGPT, often generates ideas that might never occur to a human writer. It might suggest plot twists, character
traits, or thematic elements that are unique and innovative. Embracing these unexpected suggestions can lead to stories that are fresh and engaging, setting your work apart in a crowded literary field.

2. Breaking Out of Comfort Zones: AI doesn’t have the same inherent biases or comfort zones that human writers do. It might generate content that pushes you out of your usual patterns, challenging you to write in genres, styles, or tones that you wouldn’t typically attempt. This can lead to personal growth as a writer and expand your versatility and appeal.

3. Learning Opportunities: The unexpected outputs of AI can often provide learning moments for authors. Seeing how AI constructs sentences, develops plot points, or handles dialog can offer new perspectives on the craft of writing. It can inspire you to experiment with your writing or reconsider certain writing conventions.

4. Overcoming Writer’s Block: If you’re stuck for ideas or unsure where to take your story next, AI can often provide the spark of inspiration you need. It might suggest a plot development or character decision that you hadn’t considered, helping you to move past your block and keep the creative process flowing.

5. Enhanced Productivity: By embracing the unexpected, you’re allowing AI to take on some of the creative burden, which can significantly speed up your writing process. Instead of spending time trying to shape the AI’s output to match your preconceived ideas, you can use its suggestions as a springboard for further development, helping you to write more quickly and efficiently.

Embracing the unexpected when creating with AI can result in unforeseen creativity, personal growth, learning opportunities, a cure for writer’s block,
and enhanced productivity. It’s an approach that opens up new possibilities and can greatly enrich your writing experience.

I’ve noticed this the most when working with Midjourney to create images, something we’ll cover later in the book.

AI Ethics & Copyright Issues

I am not an attorney. This is not legal advice. Now that we have that out of the way, let’s discuss some of the issues around ethics and copyright as it pertains to the usage of AI.

As the integration of AI into the realm of writing and publishing gains momentum, it’s crucial for authors to be aware of the ethical and legal issues that come with it.

1. Copyright and Ownership:

Determining ownership and copyright for AI-generated content can be a complex issue. While the author might have provided the initial input, the AI system contributes to the final output. Understanding the extent of the AI’s contribution and establishing clear guidelines on copyright and ownership can help avoid potential disputes.

As of publication, the United States Copyright Office has created a website for guidance on copyright of submissions using AI.

https://copyright.gov/ai/

From a PDF posted by the Copyright Office in March of 2023 comes this statement:

Individuals who use AI technology in creating a work may claim copyright protection for their own contributions to that work. They must use the Standard Application, 39 and in it identify the author(s) and provide a brief statement in the

“Author Created” field that describes the authorship that was contributed by a human. For example, an applicant who incorporates AI-generated text into a larger textual work should claim the portions of the textual work that is human-authored. And an applicant who creatively arranges the human and non-human content within a work should fill out the “Author Created” field to claim: “Selection, coordination, and arrangement of [describe human-authored content] created by the author and [describe AI content]

generated by artificial intelligence.” Applicants should not list an AI technology or the company that provided it as an author or co-author simply because they used it when creating their work.

It continues:

Applicants who are unsure of how to fill out the application may simply provide a general statement that a work contains AI-generated material. The Office will contact the applicant
when the claim is reviewed and determine how to proceed.

In some cases, the use of an AI tool will not raise questions about human authorship, and the Office will explain that nothing needs to be disclaimed on the application.

In other words, they don’t know how to handle submissions created with the help of AI. Use your best judgment and do what you’re most comfortable doing.

I can’t imagine how an author is going to “declare” which portions of a manuscript were “AI” and which ones were “human.” But we’ll have to wait and see how that policy develops.

2. Plagiarism:

AI systems learn from vast amounts of data, including existing works, which raises concerns about unintentional plagiarism. Authors must carefully review AI-generated content to ensure it doesn’t inadvertently replicate previously published work. This includes not only text but also ideas, themes, or unique elements that could be considered intellectual property.

However, due to the way Large Language Models (LLMs) have been developed, it is highly unlikely that the AI would return an exact phrase or passage from an existing publication.

3. Bias and Stereotyping:

AI systems are only as unbiased as the data they’re trained on. Authors must be vigilant in identifying and addressing potential biases or stereotypes present in AI-generated content. This includes avoiding
perpetuating harmful stereotypes, racial, gender, or cultural biases, and ensuring that their work promotes inclusivity and diversity.

We have a long way to go when it comes to diversity and inclusion. LLMs reflect back to us what’s already online. In a way, we can’t blame the machines for the data used to train it, the text we collectively created.

4. Privacy and Data Protection:

As authors use AI tools to analyze or create content, they must be mindful of privacy and data protection laws, especially when handling personal information. Ensuring that the AI systems they use comply with relevant regulations, such as the GDPR, is crucial to avoid potential legal issues.

5. Misrepresentation and Authenticity:

Authors should be transparent about the use of AI in their work, as readers may have expectations about the authenticity and originality of the content.

Failing to disclose the AI’s involvement might be seen as misrepresentation, which could damage the author’s reputation and credibility.

Also, this is where I believe we’ll see a renewed interest and development in web3 technologies like blockchain. These technologies will give creators the ability to stamp works as “authentic,” thus cutting down on counterfeits and “deep fakes.”

6. Quality Control and Accountability:

While AI can generate content quickly and efficiently, it may not always be of high quality or adhere to the author’s intended message. Authors are responsible for reviewing and editing AI-generated content to ensure it meets their standards and aligns with their creative vision. They must also be prepared to accept responsibility for any errors, inaccuracies, or misinterpretations that might arise from the AI’s contributions.

7. Ethical Use of AI:

The use of AI in writing raises broader ethical concerns, such as the potential for AI-generated content to manipulate public opinion or spread disinformation. Authors should strive to use AI responsibly and ethically, ensuring that their work does not contribute to negative social or political outcomes.

Authors venturing into the world of AI-assisted writing must remain vigilant about the ethical and legal implications of their work. By being aware of these concerns and taking the necessary steps to address them, authors can harness the power of AI responsibly, enriching their creative process and staying on the right side of the law.

Again, I’m not a lawyer and this is not legal advice. As we say in the world of cryptocurrency and NFTs, “DDYR.” Do your own research.

If you’re looking for help navigating the complexity of the author life, consider becoming a member of The Alliance of Independent Authors.

From their site:

The Alliance of Independent Authors (ALLi) is a global membership association for self-publishing authors. A non-profit, our mission is ethics and excellence in self-publishing.

Everyone on our team is a working indie author and we offer advice and advocacy for self-publishing authors within the literary, publishing and creative industries around the world.

https://www.allianceindependentauthors.org/

ALLi provides resources for authors struggling with issues around AI.

Also from their site:

While ALLi believes that AI has already become a useful tool for many authors (for example, Google Translate now allows authors to do research for their books across languages), it is also the case that all new technology has to go through a period of exploration and clarification in how it will be used ethically and legally. For example, right now AI is being applied to images (which will relate to cover designs) and writing itself. These are fascinating to explore, but have thrown up multiple issues which are still a long way from being addressed (and will likely take years to do so), such as copyright, as well as the impact it may have on the livelihood of many creatives. Keep up to date on these issues by searching for Artificial Intelligence in our Self-Publishing Advice Centre, it’s a topic we’ll be returning to frequently.

I’m a member of ALLi and find it valuable.

An AI Disclosure Statement?

Do you need one? Should you include this in the front matter of your novel?

I don’t know. Here’s what ChatGPT said (direct copy/paste): An author of genre fiction who has used AI in their writing process could consider including an “AI disclosure statement.” While it’s not a requirement, being transparent about the use of AI can provide an interesting insight into the creative process and could even act as a unique selling point, attracting readers who are intrigued by the idea of AI-assisted writing.

However, it’s important to remember that while AI can aid in the generation of ideas, prompts, or even full drafts, the final output is still very much the work of the human author. The author makes the final decisions, does the editing, and shapes the narrative, so the book remains a product of their creativity and vision.

Here’s an example of how such a statement might look:

“AI Disclosure Statement: Some elements of this book were generated with the assistance of artificial intelligence (specifically, OpenAI’s ChatGPT). However, it’s important to note that the AI was used as a creative tool, much like a writer might use brainstorming techniques or writing prompts. The final story, including all edits and narrative decisions, is entirely my own work. The AI helped to spark ideas and occasionally filled in details, but the storytelling, character development, and plot construction were guided by human hands (namely, mine). I hope you enjoy the blend of human and artificial creativity in this novel.”

Using an Author’s Name or “Jailbreaking”

One final word on AI ethics: I’m personally against “jailbreaking” AI or LLMs (like ChatGPT), or using another author’s name in a prompt used in writing the novel.

Again, here’s what ChatGPT said (direct copy/paste): As an AI developed by OpenAI, I must make it clear that I’m designed to respect ethical guidelines and legal boundaries, including intellectual property rights. Here are a couple of reasons why you might be against

“jailbreaking” AI like ChatGPT or using another author’s name in a prompt used in writing the novel:

1. Intellectual Property Rights: Using another author’s name or their characters in your own work without explicit permission can infringe on their intellectual property rights. This includes not only copying their words verbatim but also using their characters, settings, or distinct elements of their work in a way that could be seen as derivative. This can lead to legal repercussions, harm your reputation as an author, and is generally considered unethical in the writing community.

2. Authenticity: Using another author’s name or work as a prompt can undermine your own creativity and authenticity. You might inadvertently start to mimic their style or voice, rather than developing your own unique voice as a writer. It’s one thing to be inspired by other authors, but directly using their name or work in your writing process can blur the lines between inspiration and imitation.

3. “Jailbreaking” AI: This refers to attempts to bypass or modify the restrictions put in place by the AI’s developers. In the case of ChatGPT, OpenAI has put certain restrictions in place to ensure ethical usage,
compliance with laws, and respect for user safety and privacy.

“Jailbreaking” the AI can lead to misuse, unethical activities, and potential legal issues. It’s also a violation of the terms of use set by OpenAI.

4. Trust and Transparency: If you’re using AI like ChatGPT to assist in your writing, it’s important to be transparent about that fact with your readers. Attempting to pass off AI-generated content as entirely your own work can be seen as deceptive. It can also undermine trust between you and your readers, as well as between you and other authors or professionals in the publishing industry.

In conclusion, respecting the guidelines set by AI developers, not using another author’s work without permission, and being transparent about your use of AI are all important for maintaining ethical standards, respecting legal boundaries, and building trust with your readers and peers.

I do think it’s acceptable to use another author’s name when it comes to developing a marketing plan, such as book description and keywords as this is a well-established process often called, “comps.”

Ultimately, you’ll have to decide for yourself where to draw the line.

F.A.Q. About AI for Authors

“Will AI replace me as a writer?”

Fear not, my dear creative comrades. AI is a tool, not a replacement. AI might help you brainstorm ideas, write rough drafts, or even edit your work, but it’ll never replace the human touch. You’re the one with the secret sauce that makes a story resonate with readers.

“How can AI help me with writer’s block?”

AI can be your trusty sidekick in times of creative drought. Use it to generate prompts, dialog snippets, or even entire scenes. Let it inspire you and breathe life back into your writing. But remember, you still need to do the heavy lifting!

“Can I trust AI to understand the nuances of my story?”

AI is pretty great, but it’s not perfect. It might not catch every subtle detail or the intricacies of your plot. Use it as a supplementary tool, but don’t forget to rely on your own instincts and the feedback from fellow humans.

“What if AI-generated content gets me in trouble?”

Think Spiderman: With great power comes great responsibility. Make sure to review and edit AI-generated content thoroughly. You don’t want to unintentionally plagiarize or offend someone. It’s your name on the book, so you gotta own it, pal!

“Will using AI make me less of a writer?”

Absolutely not! Think of AI as a fancy writing assistant. You’re still the mastermind behind your work. If anything, AI might free up time for you to focus on the parts of writing you love most. Embrace the change and let it elevate your craft.

“Is AI better at writing certain genres?”

While AI can dabble in various genres, it might have an easier time with formulaic or procedural ones (think crime, mystery, or romance). But don’t let that limit you! AI might surprise you with some wild ideas in sci-fi, fantasy, or literary fiction. Just remember, it’s up to you to shape and mold those ideas into a compelling story. Remember to “embrace the unexpected.”

“Will AI steal my writing style?”

AI can learn from your writing and adapt to your style, but it won’t snatch your creative essence. It’s more like a chameleon than a thief. If anything, it’ll help you maintain consistency and maybe even improve your style. So relax, your unique flair is safe and sound.

“Can AI help me with character development?”

It sure can, but it’s a bit of a wild card. AI can help generate character names, backgrounds, and even dialog. But it might not always be as nuanced or deep as you’d like. Take the suggestions with a grain of salt and remember that you’re the puppet master. Use AI as a springboard for your own creativity!

“How do I know if I’m becoming too dependent on AI?”

If you find yourself blindly following AI’s suggestions or relying on it for every aspect of your writing, it’s time to take a step back. AI is a tool, not a crutch. Keep honing your own writing skills and trust your instincts. Use AI as an enhancement, not a replacement.

“Can AI help me with world-building?”

AI can help you brainstorm everything from place names to political systems. It might even toss in a few bizarre ideas that could spark your imagination. But as always, it’s up to you to flesh out the details and build a captivating world that’ll sweep your readers off their feet.

If you’d like a free, live version of my AI resources for creatives, simply go here and I’ll email you the complete list, updated in real time:

https://theauthorlife.com/aistorytelling/

You’ll be subscribed to my weekly newsletter, Creative AI Digest. If you are already subscribed to Creative AI Digest, simply reply to any of the emails and I’ll respond with a link to the resources.

Misconceptions About AI

“AI will replace human creativity.”

Wrong! AI may be clever, but it lacks the human touch, emotions, and experiences that make art, well, art! AI serves as a tool to enhance your creative process, not to replace your unique spark.

“AI is only useful for generating content.”

AI can do more than just spew out words. It can help with brainstorming, editing, suggesting ideas, and even identifying patterns in your work. It’s a versatile sidekick in the creative journey!

“Using AI is cheating.”

AI is just another tool in your creative toolbox, like a word processor or a thesaurus. It’s all about how you use it. Embrace AI to help you overcome obstacles and push your creativity to new heights.

“AI-generated content lacks emotion.”

While AI might not experience emotions like we do, it can still generate content that evokes feelings in the reader. It’s up to you to fine-tune and shape that content into something truly moving.

“AI can’t understand complex narratives.”

Partially true, but don’t underestimate it! AI is constantly improving and evolving. While it might struggle with some intricacies, it can still offer valuable input and ideas. Just remember to use your human judgment to sort the wheat from the chaff.

“AI can create entirely original content.”

AI generates content based on patterns and data it has learned. True originality still comes from human minds, fueled by our experiences, emotions, and unique perspectives.

“AI is only for amateur writers.”

AI can benefit writers at all levels. It can help seasoned writers find fresh ideas, break through writer’s block, or simply speed up their editing process. Don’t let your ego get in the way of using a valuable resource!

“AI knows best.”

AI might have a wealth of data and patterns at its disposal, but it’s not infallible. Always trust your instincts and judgment when it comes to your creative work. Use AI as a helpful ally, not an omnipotent oracle.

“AI will make my writing process impersonal.”

AI is just a tool. It’s up to you to infuse your work with your unique voice and personality. AI can even help you maintain consistency in your writing style, making your work more cohesive and engaging.

“AI will make everyone a writer.”

While AI can help with the mechanics of writing, it doesn’t bestow upon everyone the passion, dedication, and storytelling skills needed to be a successful writer. You, dear creative soul, still have the power to captivate and inspire readers.

Remember, “process over prompts.” An experienced author using AI will create much better books than a novice using AI.

Discovery Writers: Caution!

“Pantsers” or “discovery writers” are those free-spirited authors who prefer to dive headfirst into the creative process, letting the story unfold organically as they write. While this approach can result in some wonderfully spontaneous and authentic storytelling, it might present some unique challenges when collaborating with ChatGPT on a novel.

Let’s explore a few reasons why and delve into some examples of where not having a plan or outline can be problematic.

1. Lack of Direction:

ChatGPT, like any AI, thrives on specific input and clear instructions.

Without a well-defined plan or outline, the AI might struggle to generate content that aligns with the writer’s vision. For example, a pantser might provide a vague prompt about a character’s emotional journey, and the AI might generate a scene that veers off in an unexpected direction, creating inconsistencies or plot holes in the story.

2. Difficulty in Maintaining Coherence:

One of the strengths of an AI like ChatGPT is its ability to produce vast amounts of text quickly. However, without a solid outline, it can be challenging to maintain coherence in the story’s structure, pacing, and character development. For instance, the pantser might jump between unrelated scenes or ideas, making it difficult for the AI to discern the overarching narrative and deliver content that fits seamlessly into the story.

3. Inefficient Revision Process:

Pantsers often rely on extensive revision to shape and refine their stories.

When working with ChatGPT, the lack of a clear outline may result in an AI-generated text that requires significant editing and reworking.

For example, a discovery writer might request a scene that introduces a new character but later realize that the character’s role in the story is unclear or redundant. This can lead to additional time spent reworking the text to fit the evolving narrative.

4. Incompatibility with AI’s Strengths:

AI tools like ChatGPT excel at tasks that require structure and organization, such as generating outlines, planning scenes, or suggesting plot points.

Pantsers, by their very nature, might be hesitant to take advantage of these strengths, potentially missing out on valuable opportunities to streamline and enhance their writing process.

Pantsers or discovery writers might find it challenging to collaborate with ChatGPT on a novel due to their preference for organic storytelling and lack of predefined structure. However, by recognizing these potential pitfalls and taking steps to address them, pantsers can still harness the power of AI to support and complement their unique writing style. It’s all about striking the right balance and finding a creative partnership that works best for the individual writer.

Three Story Method: Writing Scenes Review Let’s do a quick review of leveraging the power of Three Story Method in writing scenes. The following excerpt is from my book, “Three Story Method: Writing Scenes.”

Conflict

The thing that yanks your protagonist out of his ordinary life. Yes, it’s that simple. The term “Inciting Incident” is often used in screenwriting and movie production as well as novel writing, but we chose to call it “conflict”

because it’s more specific. This single event does not necessarily need to be tense, dramatic, or a life-or-death situation—the nature of the inciting incident will depend on your genre. However, it does need to force the main character into changing, which then “incites” the story. Without change precipitated by conflict, there is no story.

Choice

In every unit of Story, your protagonist must face a choice. I need to repeat this: There must be a choice. In all of my client work over the years, this is the single-most challenging concept for most authors to conceptualize.

The Choice is a difficult decision the protagonist must face, born from a challenging question with equally wonderful or horrific consequences. The best Choice in any story leaves the reader (1) arguing with himself over which option is best for the character and (2) unable to put the book down, insistent on finding out what the character decides.

Determining the intensity of the Choice is often a case of splitting hairs and not nearly as important as making sure the question facing the main character is a supremely difficult one. We are compelled to turn the page or keep watching when we empathize with the character, running the odds on the consequence of the decision as if it were our own. Make it difficult on the character and your reader will follow.

Consequence

The Consequence is the answer to the Choice as well as the new circumstance resulting from it.

The resulting circumstance for this decision often creates, “the new normal,” the action that resets the life of the protagonist. She’s had her life upended, gone through a series of ordeals, been forced to make a difficult decision, and then suffered the consequence of that decision. So, what now?

The Consequence answers that question, and it can also set the stage for the next Conflict at the scene, chapter, or act level.

If only there were a universal agreement on what makes up a scene. If there were, I could write that definition and be done with it.

But there isn’t, so let’s use the Three Story Method definition for consistency. My definition is not the only one, and it certainly isn’t “right.”

Using the same terminology helps to eliminate ambiguity and confusion, so let’s investigate.

Although a single story beat could be a scene, a scene is usually a combination of story beats. What is a “beat?” When I hear the term, I think of Michael Jackson’s dance routine for “Beat It,” which is not the same thing. You can’t just beat it.

The term “beat” probably originated from the world of screenwriting.

Producers and directors used the term to explain “moments” that occurred on stage.

The article, “Learn About Beats in Screenwriting: How to Create a Beat Sheet in 12 Steps,” defines four types of beats, or plot points.

Events - Social gatherings where things can happen, such as “graduation parties and proms, to battles and boxing matches.”

Realizations - “Small, subtle, and quiet moments that occur after some buildup… Realization beats help characters make decisions based on the information they have.”

Resolutions - Resolutions “stem from a character’s desire to change the status quo or conduct an experiment.”

Interactions - These include interactions with “characters who provide additional conflict and dimension to the story… Conversations fall under this category as well.”

You can now see how a sequence of beats creates a scene.

Although not always the case, a scene usually ends for one of two reasons.

1. The characters have physically moved from one location to another. For example, a conversation in a coffee shop between two characters ends when they walk out the door and onto a busy city street.

2. A “significant” time jump occurs in the story.

“Significant” is subjective. However, if two characters are riding down the highway late at night, and the next beat has them seated at a table for breakfast the next morning, that is probably the beginning of a new scene.

Are there exceptions to this rule? Absolutely. Elmore Leonard’s phenomenal short story, “Three-Ten to Yuma,” takes place over a 12-16
hour time frame and the characters move through various physical locations. However, the entire short story reads as a single scene.

What’s the point of scenes, anyway? Why do authors need scene or chapter breaks? K.M. Weiland proposes two important reasons for using scene breaks:

1. Scene breaks allow the author to control pacing, which tightens up the story.

2. Scene breaks provide clarity by snapping the reader into attention.

A chapter can be one scene, but it can also be several scenes. It’s best to be aware of this distinction when using the terms “scene” and “chapter”

interchangeably.

One last note on defining scenes. Like many aspects of writing fiction, we should take reader expectations and genre into consideration. Tone, tempo, and even structure of a scene can differ.

A “meet cute” scene in a romantic comedy could look strikingly different from the “final battle” scene of an epic fantasy. A meet cute on the battlefield in an epic fantasy would be a scene I’d like to see.

Writers often ask me these questions about scenes:

What makes a compelling scene?

Authors misunderstand what makes a compelling scene, thinking it must be action-packed or with life and death stakes. That’s not true. You can write a very compelling and gripping scene with two people having a dinner conversation. But you must have that initial Conflict, a Choice, and its Consequence. If you have those three elements, then your scene will always be compelling, even without big drama or high stakes.

Is there a sweet spot for scene length?

It’s genre dependent, although you should be able to write a great scene in 2,000 words or less. Some genre conventions prefer shorter scenes, some longer. Scenes of 1,500 to 2,000 words make it easy for readers to read “just one more” before going to bed. If they skip ahead and see a massive chapter, they may not want to start it. And once a reader puts a book down, there’s no guarantee they’ll ever pick it up again. Your goal as the author is to make it impossible for a reader to put your book down. You should be the reason they had to stay up all night and were late to work in the morning.

Because of reading. Just wanted to clarify that.

How do I create gravitas in my scenes?

Word economy and efficiency. Especially when I write short stories, I struggle with every word I put in there. I get to where I’m trying to decide between a proper name or a personal pronoun. Words do matter. Mark Twain supposedly once wrote, “I didn’t have time to write you a short letter, so I wrote you a long one.” It’s harder to underwrite than overwrite. Use as
few words as possible to get your point across. That applies even more so in nonfiction than fiction. If you’re writing a memoir, or narrative nonfiction, or a blog post, or sales copy, use as few words as possible. <-Not like that.

Terrible example.

How do I know if my scene is necessary?

No scene should be unnecessary. Each scene should reveal character or move the plot forward, or it shouldn’t be there. Making sure that every scene contains the 3Cs will make it compelling and necessary.

Why are scenes so important?

I firmly believe that if you can write a great scene, then it makes writing a novel easier. There’s probably not a more important component of Story than the scene. We know readers now are fickle and sophisticated. They won’t wait long to be entertained. If you can’t write good scenes, they will not stick around for the rest of the story.

How will I know if I’m getting better at scenes?

Use the Scene Rubric, a free tool you can get at https://scenerubric.com .

Sometimes it’s challenging to self-evaluate, so get yourself an accountability partner. Swap rubrics and help each other evaluate your scenes. Because the rubric is objective, you should be able to measure progress.

It’s important to recognize that this is a process, a way to write—not a recipe. A story has to have a beginning, middle, and end. But that doesn’t mean every story is the same because it has those components. It’s not a recipe. It’s not a lockstep program. It’s more of an approach.

Will I always have to use a scene worksheet for every scene I write, for the rest of my life?

At some point, you’ll internalize the elements of a good scene, and you’ll draft them without conscious thought. Like anything else, train yourself to do it properly and without thinking.

When I started running, I had to think about my stride, my breathing, my pacing. Now, after running long-distance for several years, I just run.

Until you feel confident that you’ve internalized proper scene structure, use the worksheet. You’ll know when you no longer need it, which will be different for everyone.

Is Three Story Method just for fiction writers?

You can use these concepts, these basic fundamental skills, to tell any kind of story—from a novel, to a memoir, to email communication. The 3Cs work in all aspects of your writing that involve narrative storytelling.

Three Story Method + Save the Cat!

Using the Save the Cat! story methodology at the macro level and the Three Story Method at the micro level when writing a novel with ChatGPT can be highly beneficial for authors. Combining these two methodologies allows you to capitalize on the strengths of each method while ensuring that your story maintains a cohesive structure and engaging character arcs.

1. Save the Cat! for Macro-Level Structure:

Save the Cat!, developed by Blake Snyder, provides a framework for story structure with its 15 key plot points or “beats.” This methodology helps you establish the overall narrative arc of your novel, including the beginning, middle, and end.

By using Save the Cat! at the macro level, you can ensure that your story follows a proven structure that appeals to readers, keeping them engaged and invested in the narrative. When working with ChatGPT, this framework can guide the AI in generating scenes and plot points that adhere to the desired story structure.

2. Three Story Method for Micro-Level Detail:

The Three Story Method emphasizes three core aspects of storytelling within individual scenes: Conflict, Choice, and Consequence. This approach ensures that each scene is engaging and drives the narrative forward, while also providing meaningful character development.

Here’s quick look again at the 3Cs:

Conflict:

The conflict is the event or situation that yanks the protagonist out of their ordinary life, forcing them to change. This element is crucial for kickstarting the story, and its nature will depend on the genre. By introducing a conflict that compels the main character to adapt, you create a dynamic and engaging story.

When working with ChatGPT, providing clear conflicts can help the AI generate scenes with a strong narrative drive.

Choice:

In every scene, your protagonist must face a difficult decision. This choice should have significant consequences, leaving the reader debating which option is best for the character and eager to discover the outcome. Ensuring that each scene contains a challenging choice for the protagonist is essential for maintaining reader engagement.

ChatGPT can be guided to create these dilemmas by providing clear prompts that focus on character decision-making.

Consequence:

The consequence is the outcome of the protagonist’s choice, as well as the new circumstance resulting from it. This “new normal” resets the protagonist’s life and often sets the stage for the next conflict. By incorporating consequences that lead to further conflicts, you can create a gripping, interconnected narrative that keeps readers invested in the story.

ChatGPT can be directed to generate these consequences by using prompts that build on previous choices and conflicts.

When writing a novel with ChatGPT, combining the macro-level structure provided by Save the Cat! with the micro-level detail of the Three Story Method can result in a well-rounded, compelling story. By focusing on conflict, choice, and consequence within individual scenes, you can ensure that your novel maintains a strong narrative drive and provides meaningful character development.

This approach will help you make the most of ChatGPT’s capabilities, creating a novel that resonates with readers and keeps them turning the pages.

If you’d like a free, live version of my AI resources for creatives, simply go here and I’ll email you the complete list, updated in real time:

https://theauthorlife.com/aistorytelling/

You’ll be subscribed to my weekly newsletter, Creative AI Digest. If you are already subscribed to Creative AI Digest, simply reply to any of the emails and I’ll respond with a link to the resources.

Planning

Embarking on the journey of writing a novel with ChatGPT can be an exciting and rewarding experience. However, to ensure a smooth collaboration and make the most of AI’s potential, authors should take some crucial preparatory steps.

Let’s delve into the importance of understanding genre conventions and obligatory scenes, establishing story architecture and/or an internal outline, and setting a total word count goal.

The Basics

1. Genre Conventions and Obligatory Scenes:

Before diving into writing with ChatGPT, it’s essential to have a firm grasp of the genre conventions and obligatory scenes specific to your chosen genre. Genre conventions are the established elements, themes, and tropes that readers expect to find in a particular genre. Obligatory scenes, on the other hand, are the key moments or events that must occur within a story to satisfy genre expectations.

By understanding these conventions and scenes, authors can ensure that their novel aligns with reader expectations while still offering a unique and engaging story. Additionally, a clear understanding of these elements will help authors provide more focused and effective prompts to ChatGPT, allowing the AI to generate content that adheres to the genre’s requirements.

2. Story Architecture and/or Internal Outline:

Establishing a solid story architecture or internal outline is crucial when collaborating with ChatGPT. This involves mapping out the story’s structure, including the beginning, middle, and end, as well as any major plot points, character arcs, and thematic elements.

By creating a detailed outline or framework, authors can guide ChatGPT
more effectively, ensuring that the AI-generated content aligns with their vision and maintains coherence throughout the novel. This foundation also allows authors to identify any gaps or inconsistencies in the narrative, enabling them to fine-tune their prompts to ChatGPT and produce a more cohesive and engaging story.

Although I’m using a combination of Three Story Method and Save the Cat!, you can use any story methodology in the planning and drafting phase with ChatGPT. You can even “teach” it a story methodology you’ve created.

3. Total Word Count Goal:

Setting a total word count goal before starting a novel with ChatGPT is essential for several reasons. First, it helps authors maintain focus and stay on track throughout the writing process, ensuring that the story’s pacing and structure remain balanced. Additionally, having a word count goal can help
authors break down the writing process into manageable milestones, making the task of writing a novel less daunting.

Furthermore, setting a word count goal allows authors to gauge their progress more effectively and make adjustments as needed. For instance, if the story seems to be progressing too quickly or too slowly, the author can modify their approach or revise their outline accordingly. Providing ChatGPT with a target word count for individual scenes or chapters can also help the AI generate content that aligns more closely with the author’s overall vision.

Taking the time to understand genre conventions and obligatory scenes, establish a robust story architecture or internal outline, and set a total word count goal can significantly enhance the author’s experience when writing a novel with ChatGPT.

By laying the groundwork and setting clear expectations, authors can harness the power of AI to create a compelling, coherent, and captivating story that resonates with readers.

Important Items to Consider

1. Keep all prompts in the same conversation within ChatGPT: By maintaining a single conversation thread with ChatGPT, you can ensure the AI has context for the story and its characters. This continuity helps the AI generate more accurate and relevant responses, minimizing the need for extensive editing or rewrites. ChatGPT can only “remember” about the last 4,000 words of the conversation.

2. You can go from series to idea to drafting the first chapter in 90
minutes or less:

ChatGPT can help you quickly generate ideas, plot points, and character sketches, allowing you to transition from concept to drafting the first chapter in a short amount of time. This rapid progress can boost your creative momentum and kick-start your novel-writing journey.

My goal is not necessarily to write faster, but to write more efficiently.

Sometimes I could have written a chapter myself faster than prompting and revising ChatGPT’s output, but I’m cutting days to weeks off my revision time because the ChatGPT output (with my tweaks) is “final draft” quality.

3. ChatGPT cannot create a 50+ chapter outline “right now”: While ChatGPT may not be able to generate a comprehensive outline for a lengthy novel, you can still use it to create obligatory scenes and plot points. By focusing on key scenes, such as the 15 obligatory scenes in Save the Cat!, you can lay the foundation for your story and fill in the gaps as you draft.

4. Write or prompt 40-50% of your dialog and use that in the chapter prompt:

By providing ChatGPT with a portion of your dialog, you can guide the AI to generate the remaining dialog in a manner that aligns with your vision.

This approach ensures your characters maintain a consistent voice and helps you craft engaging, natural-sounding conversations.

However, you can use prompts to have ChatGPT generate dialog. More on that in the Drafting section.

5. ChatGPT answers default to about 500 words:

If you need a longer response, you can request ChatGPT to “make the previous answer twice as long” or use other methods like copy-pasting passages for revision. This flexibility allows you to tailor the AI’s output to your specific needs and manage the length of your scenes effectively.

6. Adjusting tone or voice of the scene: If you need to refine the tone or voice of a scene, you can provide ChatGPT
with specific instructions, such as “Make John’s sense of relief more profound.” This level of control allows you to shape the emotional landscape of your story and ensure the AI-generated content aligns with your creative vision.

7. Limited need for developmental editor or line editor: With ChatGPT’s assistance, your manuscript may require minimal editing, potentially saving you time and money. However, it’s still advisable to have a proofreader review your work for any remaining errors or inconsistencies.

8. Wait until the first book is drafted for marketing materials: Once you’ve completed your first draft, you can use ChatGPT to generate book descriptions, loglines, and other promotional content. By waiting until your manuscript is finished, you can ensure that the marketing materials accurately reflect your story’s themes and unique selling points.

When writing a novel with ChatGPT, it’s essential to maintain a consistent conversation, use the AI for outlining and dialog generation, adjust the tone and voice as needed, and be strategic about when to request marketing materials. By carefully considering these aspects, you can optimize your collaboration with ChatGPT and create a compelling, polished manuscript.

Important: I believe you get the best results with the “top down” approach.

Therefore, I’m going to ask ChatGPT to help me create a world, character, and series arch before tunneling down into the first drafting phase of book one.

The Prompt Process Before Drafting

Note: To differentiate between my input and ChatGPT’s outputs, I’m going to steal a page from the web design playbook—the use of hypertext markup.

It’s simple. I’ll “bracket” the text like this:

<question>What’s your favorite color?</question>

<answer>Green.</answer>

This will allow me to “comment” between the exchanges.

The Genre

<question>You are a bestselling genre fiction writer with dozens of highly successful novels. We’re going to co-write a new series. Are you ready?

</question>

ChatGPT will say yes, maybe even add a word or two of encouragement.

Remember, it’s not a person. Don’t go getting attached or falling love.

<question>Tell me what you know about the EMP subgenre of post-apocalyptic fiction, including conventions, tropes and obligatory scenes.

</question>

Obviously substitute your genre or sub-genre specifics in the questions you’re asking ChatGPT.

If you agree with ChatGPT’s output, continue. Or correct it if necessary. I find it helpful to copy/paste these responses into whatever word processing tool you’re using because the conversation in ChatGPT is going to get long and cumbersome. As of today, there isn’t an easy way to organize or categorize the questions and answers inside the conversation.

I use Scrivener to organize my manuscript and will provide a basic template you can download in the Resources section.

The Protagonist

Because characters are so important for reader engagement, my next step is to have ChatGPT create the main character for the entire series.

<question>We’re going to write an EMP series together. Before we begin, we need to create a protagonist. What questions do I need to answer for you to develop the character? Here are some ways we can develop a character: a basic backstory, their strengths and weaknesses, a tragic flaw or wound, wants and needs. Also, the protagonist needs a unique quirk or behavior that will make the character memorable to the reader. Include a unique quirk or behavior. </question>

Accept ChatGPT’s answer, correct it, or ask it to revise. When satisfied, copy that answer to your first draft document.

Tip: If anything about the protagonist feels “overused,” ask ChatGPT to try again. This is the power of AI. It’ll keep making revisions and suggestions if you ask for them. It doesn’t get cranky!

The Series Arc

<question>Using the Hero’s Journey as defined by Christopher Vogler, create a 12-book series, each book mapped to the 12 stages of the Hero’s Journey from the perspective of the protagonist. Include: The overarching story arc, subplots and character arcs, a primary focus or theme for each book, and ensure continuity and progression. </question> Accept ChatGPT’s answer, correct it, or ask it to revise. When satisfied, copy that answer to your first draft document.

</question>Are you familiar with the Pixar Pitch? Here is more information:

Once upon a time...

Every day...

One day...

Because of that...

Because of that...

Until finally...

Example from Star Wars: Once upon a time, there lived a boy named Luke.

Every day, he helped his uncle on the farm and with the droids. One day he stumbles upon a mysterious message from Princess Leia. Because of that, he meets Obi-Wan who explains his Jedi heritage. Because of that, he is drafted into the Rebellion’s air fleet. Until finally, he lands the perfect shot to destroy the Death Star. </question>

Notice that I’m teaching ChatGPT the methodology I want to use. If you’re not using the Hero’s Journey, just substitute yours. Don’t rely on ChatGPT’s answer. Always check to make sure it knows the methodology and is applying it accurately before you continue.

<question>Create a Pixar Pitch for the overall 12-book series. </question> Accept ChatGPT’s answer, correct it, or ask it to revise. When satisfied, copy that answer to your first draft document.

<question>Create a Pixar Pitch for the first book of the 12-book series.

</question>

Adjust the number of books in the series if necessary.

Accept ChatGPT’s answer, correct it, or ask it to revise. When satisfied, copy that answer to your first draft document.

Now that we have sketched out the series and the Pixar Pitch for book one, it’s time to have ChatGPT develop other characters.

The Antagonist

I like using the character archetypes from the Hero’s Journey, so I will include that archetype in my question, including an example, plus a sentence or two with the antagonist’s motivation.

This is where your unique experience and creativity really matter. The more you give ChatGPT, the better the answer will be.

<question>Let’s create an antagonist for book 1. This should be a character who is [character archetype + a sentence or two with antagonist’s motivation] </question>

Accept ChatGPT’s answer, correct it, or ask it to revise. When satisfied, copy that answer to your first draft document.

Repeat the question for as many main characters you need to start the story.

You can always add more later.

Don’t be afraid to ask ChatGPT for it’s recommendation on more characters. You don’t have to use them just because it suggested you do.

<question>Are there any other characters we need to include in the cast right now? Please create the explanation of the secondary characters, including the character archetypes as defined by the Hero’s Journey.

</question>

Accept ChatGPT’s answer, correct it, or ask it to revise. When satisfied, copy that answer to your first draft document.

Global Story Structure for Book 1

Now it’s time to review/teach ChatGPT about the global story structure I plan to use, which is Save the Cat! Instead of “teaching” it first, I asked ChatGPT what it knows about the methodology and it seemed fairly accurate.

<question>Are you familiar with the Save the Cat story structure?

</question>

<answer>Created by screenwriter Blake Snyder, Save the Cat! is a popular storytelling method that breaks down the structure of a narrative into 15 key story beats. These beats help guide the plot and pacing of a story, ensuring that it remains engaging and satisfying for the audience.

The 15 story beats in Save the Cat! are:

Opening Image: A visual representation of the story’s beginning, setting the tone and establishing the world of the story.

Theme Stated: A statement that hints at the story’s central theme or message, usually posed as a question or challenge for the protagonist.

Set-Up: The establishment of the protagonist’s everyday life, showing their wants, needs, and desires.

Catalyst: A significant event that disrupts the protagonist’s world and propels them into a new situation or conflict.

Debate: A period of hesitation or reluctance, where the protagonist must decide whether to fully commit to the journey.

Break into Two: The protagonist makes a choice that leads them into a new world or situation, marking the transition from Act One to Act Two.

B Story: The introduction of a secondary plot, often involving supporting characters, which often explores the story’s theme.

Fun and Games: A series of scenes showcasing the story’s premise, offering humor, action, or other entertaining elements.

Midpoint: A pivotal moment that raises the stakes, often involving a major revelation or emotional shift for the protagonist.

Bad Guys Close In: The protagonist faces increasing difficulties or obstacles, often with antagonistic forces applying pressure.

All Is Lost: The lowest point for the protagonist, where they experience a significant loss or failure.

Dark Night of the Soul: A period of introspection, where the protagonist reflects on their journey and finds the resolve to push forward.

Break into Three: The protagonist makes a choice or receives new information that propels them into the final act, marking the transition from Act Two to Act Three.

Finale: The climactic sequence, where the protagonist confronts their challenges and ultimately achieves (or fails to achieve) their goal.

Final Image: A visual representation of the story’s end, reflecting the protagonist’s growth and transformation.

While Save the Cat! was initially developed for screenwriting, its principles have been adapted for various forms of storytelling, including novels, short stories, and other narrative works.</answer>

Correct or tweak ChatGPT’s response before continuing.

Accept ChatGPT’s answer, correct it, or ask it to revise. When satisfied, copy that answer to your first draft document.

Next, I’m going to ask it to create the 15 obligatory scenes according to Save the Cat! Because as of right now, it can’t “remember” a 50+ chapter outline. I plan to fill in the missing chapters or ask ChatGPT for help on those when the time comes.

<question>Using all of the information and characters we’ve generated for book 1, please create the outline for the 15 obligatory scenes from the Save the Cat! structure at the appropriate word count target of 1,000 words. Label them with their Save the Cat! label. Please create the outline using three bullets for each scene based on the Three Story Method structure which is: Conflict = the inciting incident of the scene Choice = the difficult choice facing the protagonist in which the choice isn’t apparently clear Consequence = the result of the Choice. Randomly include the Consequence at the end of the scene and sometimes end the scene as a cliffhanger and make the Consequence the Conflict of the following scene.

For each scene, list the location, date, and time of day. The elapsed time of the story in book 1 should be one week.</question> Accept ChatGPT’s answer, correct it, or ask it to revise. When satisfied, copy that answer to your first draft document.

Next, I’m going to ask it to create a bulleted list version of all 50 chapters (total for my book) along with a one-sentence overview. Pay careful attention here because sometimes ChatGPT will create inconsistencies or inaccuracies on the outline.

Remember, you can manually fix that in your manuscript or ask ChatGPT
to do so before copying it’s answer to your document.

<question>Please create a bulleted list of all 50 chapters, making sure to label all 15 of the “Save the Cat!” scenes. Provide a one-sentence overview for each additional scene. Note: Check for redundancy and plot inconsistencies.</question>

Accept ChatGPT’s answer, correct it, or ask it to revise. When satisfied, copy that answer to your first draft document.

Drafting

Beginning to draft a novel with ChatGPT is an innovative way to harness the power of AI for your creative process. Here’s how you might go about it, depending on which of the following three approaches you decide to take:

A. Write the Dialog Without Any Prompts or Planning: This approach is for the free spirits, the authors who like to let their characters lead the way. Start by simply writing dialog between your characters. Let them talk to each other, argue, joke around, reveal secrets.

Don’t worry about where it’s going or how it fits into your plot. Just focus on their voices, their relationships, and their personalities. Once you have some engaging exchanges, you can use these as prompts for ChatGPT. Ask it to generate descriptive narrative, action, or introspective moments that fit around the dialog.

This approach can lead to some unexpected twists and turns, so be prepared for surprises!

B. Manually Create the 3C’s (Conflict, Choice, Consequence) or Bullet Points and Write the Dialog from Them:

This approach is a bit more structured. Start by outlining the main Conflict, Choice, and Consequence for each scene or chapter. This gives you a clear structure to work from and ensures your narrative has a strong sense of direction.

Once you have these bullet points, you can start writing dialog that aligns with them. For example, if your Conflict is a character discovering a betrayal, write dialog that reflects their shock and anger. Then, you can prompt ChatGPT with these bullet points and dialog snippets to fill out the rest of the scene.

C. Prompt ChatGPT to Sketch Out the Chapters Between the Obligatory Scenes:

Almost every story methodology has “obligatory scenes.” These chapters are like tent posts or mile markers to keep your story moving in the right direction. As previously mentioned, I’m using Save the Cat!

The Save the Cat! method involves planning out 15 key scenes (the ‘beats’) that are crucial to your story. This approach is more detailed and can be particularly helpful if you’re writing a genre novel, as it ensures you hit all the expected beats for your genre.

Once you’ve plotted out these obligatory scenes, you can prompt ChatGPT
to help you sketch out the chapters in between. For example, you might give it a brief summary of what needs to happen in a particular chapter, then ask it to generate a rough draft. From there, you can refine and revise the AI-generated content, adding your own touches and ensuring it aligns with your vision.

Remember, there’s no ‘right’ approach here. The best method is the one that suits your personal writing style and helps you to create the most engaging and satisfying story. Feel free to experiment with different approaches until you find the one that works best for you.

A Word About Dialogue

I asked my good friend, Jeff Elkins, to step in and share his expertise on using AI to generate great dialogue. Jeff is "The Dialogue Doctor" and has a
superb course to teach you how to do this. You can access Jeff's course at "5

Ways to Use Chat GPT to Enhance Your Dialogue by Jeff Elkins."

The most popular complaint about using AI to write is, “AI can’t write great dialogue.” Writers love to throw simple prompts into the AI like, “Write me a chapter in which two people are fighting.” And then marvel at how basic the dialogue between the characters sounds; and getting basic dialogue with that kind of prompt makes sense.

Even though these are new tools, we have already learned that the result we get from AI is only as good as the prompts we give it. The question therefore moves away from “can AI write great dialogue?” to “how can I prompt AI to write great dialogue?”

Many writers experimenting with AI writing early in its development (myself included), began improving the quality of the dialogue from AI right away by using other author’s names in our prompts.

For example, I love Fredrick Backman’s writing. He writes multidimensional characters, his dialogue is natural and has great energy to it, and his scenes beautifully vary between emotional depth and comedy that makes me literally laugh out loud.

I discovered that the dialogue in scenes I asked AI to write for me were greatly improved if I invoked Backman’s name in the prompt: “Write me a scene about two people fighting in the style of Fredrick Backman.”

Yet, as AI has progressed, consensus has grown that this tactic is potentially unethical. Regardless of whether we agree, it is a concern we need to take seriously if we want to avoid our work being hit for copyright infringement.

Even though referencing my favorite author was not a long-term solution, it was still an encouraging moment for me. Knowing that invoking Backman improved the output I got meant that getting stronger dialogue from AI was possible. I just needed to teach it how to write great dialogue in my prompts.

Which leads me to another question: “What is great dialogue?”

Dialogue is a concept many of us know but don’t know. It’s like a distant relative we’ve never met face-to-face. We know a lot about them. When we see them in a picture, we recognize them, but we’ve never actually talked to them.

In the same way, we’ve been told about great dialogue. We recognize great dialogue when we see it, but it is difficult for us to define. Unfortunately, before we can teach AI to do something, we need to define it.

Dialogue is the verbal and nonverbal interaction of characters on the page.

It is contrasted with exposition, which is typically made up of paragraphs of description, reflection, or summary.

Dialogue is fantastic for making a reader feel like they are part of the action. Exposition is perfect for helping the reader pull out of the scene and take in the bigger picture.

With this base understanding of dialogue, we can ask what makes it great.

Why is Backman’s dialogue better than the initial dialogue that comes from

AI.

There are four things that make dialogue great.

1) The dialogue drives the conflict, choices, and consequences of the scene

– the dialogue “shows” instead of “tells.”

2) Each character’s voice is an expression of the character’s personality.

Characters sound like themselves.

3) The dialogue communicates how the characters feel and how their emotions change.

4) The dialogue provides the reader with an insight into the characters’

expectations and motivations.

Let’s tackle these one at a time and talk about how you might build a prompt that will ensure the dialogue is “great.”

Show Don’t Tell

Right off the bat, I’ve got great news for you. As an editor, I’ve worked with a lot of authors. More often than not, I have to tell new authors to make their chapters “dialogue-centric.”

This means that the character interactions have to drive the conflict, choices, and consequences of the scene. This is what we mean when we say the phrase, “show don’t tell. When we “show” the reader the scene, the reader can see the conflict, choices, and consequences in the ways the characters engage with each other verbally and nonverbally. When we are

“telling,” we explain to the reader what is happening rather than letting it unfold in the character interaction.

Much to my surprise, I’ve never had to tell an AI to “show don’t tell.”

When I ask AI to “write a scene in a novel,” it will automatically make that scene dialogue-centric. This means that from the jump, AI is likely to write a stronger dialogue focused scene than many new novelists.

Character Voice

When the dialogue is weak, writers will often say something like, “That dialogue doesn’t sound real because no one would ever say that.” This statement is often followed by a caveat like, “I mean, unless the character is an idiot. If the character is an idiot, then he might say that. But no real person would say that.”

What is being expressed in this sentiment is that the dialogue in question doesn’t align with the character’s personality. The character in question is not an idiot, so the dialogue feels inauthentic.

Strong character voices are an expression of the character’s personality.

This means, when you are prompting AI to write you a scene, you need to prompt it with the character’s personalities. There are two ways to go about this.

First, you can simply tell the AI what your characters are like. I recommend boiling personalities down to a single sentence. For example: Buck is a grumpy, introverted, kind-hearted elderly man who enjoys paperwork.

Ethan is a wide-eyed, eager, curious, twenty-two-year-old who loves to learn new things.

River is an absent-minded, fun-loving, snarky punk who teases people he likes.

Giving the AI this information in the prompt is a simple way to align the dialogue with the characters’ personalities.

Buck is a grumpy, introverted, kind-hearted elderly man who enjoys paperwork. Ethan is a wide-eyed, eager, curious, twenty-two-year-old who loves to learn new things. River is an absent-minded, fun-loving, snarky punk who teases people he likes. Write me a scene from a novel in which Buck, Ethan, and River are arguing with one another.

While the dialogue will improve, this prompt leaves the AI to determine what a grumpy voice, an eager voice, or an absent-minded voice sounds like. If you want more control over your character voices, use the AI to help you define them by asking the AI what those character voices might sound like. For example, as the AI:

Buck is a grumpy, introverted, kind-hearted elderly man who enjoys paperwork. What might his character voice look like in a novel?

The AI is going to give you several paragraphs describing what Buck might sound like.

Character voices are made up of five things: the words the character uses, the topics the character talks about, the character’s body language, how many words the character uses in an utterance, and how often the character participates in a conversation.

I like to take the paragraphs an AI gives me and pull from them key phrases I think describe a character’s voice well.

Buck’s voice is gruff. He sounds frustrated and cynical. He is reluctant to speak in a conversation and will complain when people interrupt him. He uses small sentences and often just grunts in reply. At the same time, he will offer comfort to someone if they are in need.

You can see that if I use this for the prompt instead of the single sentence personality description, I’m exerting more control over my character voices.

Either prompt will help improve the dialogue you are receiving from the AI.

Emotions

Besides aligning character voices, communicating to the AI how the characters are feeling will also improve the dialogue. It’s important to note that in great scenes, characters start the scene feeling one way and end the scene feeling differently. This modulation of emotion is important for crafting the reader’s emotional journey through the scene. For example, you might tell the AI:

Buck begins the scene annoyed at River, but then becomes more compassionate as they talk.

River begins the scene laughing at Buck for being old, but then becomes more serious.

Ethan begins the scene anxious about the argument, but becomes less anxious as Buck and River work out their differences.

Combining our aligned character voices with the emotions might lead to a prompt like the following:

Write me a scene for a novel in which Buck, Ethan, and River are having an argument about paperwork. Buck is a grumpy, introverted, kind-hearted elderly man who enjoys paperwork. Ethan is a wide-eyed, eager, curious, twenty-two-year-old who loves to learn new things. River is an absent-minded, fun-loving, snarky punk who teases people he likes. Buck begins the scene annoyed at River, but then becomes more compassionate as they talk. River begins the scene laughing at Buck for being old, but then becomes more serious. Ethan begins the scene anxious about the argument, but becomes less anxious as Buck and River work out their differences.

Motivations and Expectations

The third thing about great dialogue is that it communicates a characters’

motivations and expectations. These are different, but connected to a character’s emotions.

While emotions are what the character is feeling in the moment, the expectations and motivations are about the future. Expectations are what the
character wants to happen, and motivations are what is driving the character toward those desires. For example:

Buck wants to finish his paperwork so he can go home.

In that prompt, I’m explaining Buck’s expectation: he wants to finish his paperwork; and his motivation: he wants to go home.

This will enrich the dialogue by giving foundations to the character’s emotions and helping the AI understand the conflict, choices, and consequences you want on a deeper level. If we were to take our previous prompt and build expectations and motivations into it, our new prompt might look like:

Write me a scene for a novel in which Buck, Ethan, and River are having an argument about paperwork. Buck is a grumpy, introverted, kind-hearted elderly man who enjoys paperwork. Ethan is a wide-eyed, eager, curious, twenty-two-year-old who loves to learn new things. River is an absent-minded, fun-loving, snarky punk who teases people he likes. Buck begins the scene annoyed at River, but then becomes more compassionate as they talk. River begins the scene laughing at Buck for being old, but then becomes more serious. Ethan begins the scene anxious about the argument, but becomes less anxious as Buck and River work
out their differences. Buck wants to finish his paperwork so he can go home. River wants to hang out and have a good time with Buck and Ethan.

Now that we’ve thought more about how to build prompts that will give us stronger dialogue, let’s talk about two more quick tricks that will make our dialogue even stronger.

When you tell the AI to write a scene from a novel, it will add lots of detail you may not want. For example, when I was practicing with the prompts above, the AI kept giving River blue hair. If I were going to use those passages, I’d have to edit that out of the scene.

Additionally, the AI is aware of its word count and will keep its output within the limits of the count. Often the AI will wrap up a scene when I think it is just getting going.

Instead of asking the AI for a full scene, consider asking it for a section of a conversation.

For example, the scene in my head might have River and Ethan walking into the office and saying hello to Buck, then River complains about Buck doing paperwork, then Buck complains about River not doing anything, and then Ethan makes peace between them.

If I want a fuller and more in-depth scene, I will ask the AI to write the scene in four separate prompts. By asking the AI to tackle one aspect of the scene at a time, I give the AI more words to play with.

To cut down on the descriptions, sometimes I will ask the AI to write the scene for me as a screenplay instead of as a novel. The beautiful thing about
screenplays is that they are just the dialogue. I can then take the dialogue the AI has written and ask it to convert it into novel format for me.

With these new tools, the exciting news is, anything is possible. Again, the key to getting fantastic dialogue is teaching the AI what great dialogue is before asking it to write it for you.

If you want to learn more about crafting better dialogue prompts, access

Jeff's course at "5 Ways to Use Chat GPT to Enhance Your Dialogue by Jeff

Elkins."

The Chapter 1 Prompt

IMPORTANT: As of the publication of this book, ChatGPT can only

“remember” about the last 4,000 words of the conversation. Therefore, you should repeat the following prompt series for every chapter.

<question>You are going to employ “showing, not telling,” which is a technique expert writers use to create a more engaging reading experience.

Here some ways to apply, “showing, not telling:”

Include sensory details, but not too many. Textures and tastes are used less frequently and therefore can be most effective when not overused. For example, you can show how cool grass smells instead of just how it looks.

Use facial expressions, gestures, or body posture to show emotion instead of adjectives. For example, describe a character’s furrowed brow instead of telling the reader the character is worried.

Use specific details. For example, describe a character picking their fingernails instead of telling the reader the character is worried.

Do you understand how to employ the “showing, not telling” technique? If so, just say yes.</question>

ChatGPT should respond. Then continue.

As you’ll see from my sample prompts, I’m asking ChatGPT to write a post-apocalyptic EMP story in the style of a mainstream thriller.

Where I’ve used (parenthesis) you should substitute the specifics of your novel.

This is a long prompt with my suggestions embedded in (parenthesis) so read this carefully.

<question>Here is the first draft for this chapter of the novel. The story should read (your genre specifics). (character name) is the protagonist and
the chapter is written in (POV and tense). Here is the chapter summary: (1-2 paragraph chapter summary. The chapter 1 summary will most likely be longer than typical chapters because you’re including the story setup, such as setting, time, etc.)

(It’s also helpful but not necessary to tell ChatGPT where the scene ends as well as the emotional tone you desire. Do this by using emotion. Is your protagonist excited? Frightened? Relaxed? Angry? I ask ChatGPT to make to use subtle hints for the reader, otherwise the answer tends to be “on the nose.”)

(You’ll also want to include tell ChatGPT if this scene is an obligatory one from your chosen methodology, as well as your target word count. Add any other instructions you find relevant. Example: This chapter is the “Opening Image” scene in the “Save the Cat!” story archetype. The chapter must be at least 1,000 words in length and remember everything we’ve already discussed about showing not telling. Vary sentence structure so that not every sentence ends and begins the same way.)

Here is the dialog for this chapter of the novel. Where there are [brackets], replace the bracketed text with story narrative that enhances the dialog, including William’s thoughts:

“Alright, class,” I say, trying to cut through the chatter over the latest viral video on social media. “Today, we’re discussing the 1929 stock market crash.”

[Class settling as William begins the lesson]

(… rest of dialog for the chapter …)</question> ChatGPT will most likely answer with a scene that is about 500 words. Use this prompt to get it closer to your word count target. For my project, I wanted a minimum of 1,000 words so I used this question:

<question>Please make the previous response twice as long.</question> If ChatGPT pauses in the middle of a word or sentence tell it to keep going:

<question>continue</question>

Copy/Paste to Your Manuscript Document

Take ChatGPT’s answer, and paste it into your working document. If you’re using Scrivener, remember there is a template in the Resources section.

The scene is still probably not how you want it, so now you’ll “ping pong”

passage back and forth. Find a passage that doesn’t quite work for you.

Copy/paste back into ChatGPT, and give it instructions such as, “make this passage more tense.”

Or, manually revise the passages to suit your style.

Outline or Reverse Outline

Once you’re happy with the chapter, go back to ChatGPT and ask it to summarize the chapter. Whether you’ve started with an outline or are discovery writing, this chapter summary is indispensable. Copy it to a new document in your project files and title that document, “Outline.”

You’re now refining your existing outliner or building one as you draft, either approach creates a valuable resource you’ll want to have.

<question>In 2-3 sentences, please summarize the chapter you just wrote.

</question>

Rinse and Repeat

Again, whether you’re “pantsing” or working from an existing outline, simply repeat the process for every scene or chapter in your novel—with one exception.

For every chapter after the first, I like to include the previous chapter summary because as mentioned previously, ChatGPT will eventually forget what happened in prior chapters. Use the summary you had ChatGPT
create, and paste at the beginning of your next chapter’s prompt. Like this:

<question>Here is a summary of what happened in the previous chapter: (previous chapter summary). Here is the first draft for this chapter of the novel. The story should read (your genre specifics). (character name) is the protagonist and the chapter is written in (POV and tense). Here is the chapter summary:

… and continue with the standard chapter prompt.

Introducing New Characters

You’ll most likely introduce new characters as the story progresses. I prefer to ask ChatGPT to create the new character’s profile right before or after I introduce that character to the reader. Use the same prompt you used for your protagonist in the Planning section.

I recommend keeping a character file in your project, copying/pasting ChatGPT’s profile to that master document. Remember, ChatGPT has a limited memory so look over the newly created character profile carefully, looking for inaccuracies and inconsistencies. Make those revisions on your character file.

Periodically, you might need to copy/paste a character profile into a chapter prompt if that character hasn’t appeared recently or you feel as though ChatGPT has forgotten the character. You’ll be able to tell.

Between Scenes

If you started drafting without an outline or with a minimal one, and you’re using a story methodology, you’ll most likely need to plot the “between scenes,” meaning the scenes occurring between ones that are obligatory.

You have several options:

You can “pants” the scene and revise it later.

You can plot the scenes and then write the dialog and follow the procedure in this section.

You can ask ChatGPT to “brainstorm” with you to come up with ideas.

I like the last option because it introduces an element of spontaneity and surprise, which I find entertaining.

I’m using Three Story Method in my example. Here’s how you ask ChatGPT to brainstorm the next scene:

[Using ChatGPT to create 3Cs for “inbetween scenes”]

<question>Based on the chapter you just wrote, please suggest 3
alternatives for the next scene.

Use the Three Story Method format for each scene overview. To review, Three Story Method structure is: Conflict = the inciting incident of the scene Choice = the difficult choice facing the protagonist in which the choice isn’t apparently clear Consequence = the result of the Choice.

Randomly include the Consequence at the end of the scene and sometimes end the scene as a cliffhanger and make the Consequence the Conflict of the following scene.

The scene should begin (tell ChatGPT how the scene should begin), and the scene should end when (tell ChatGPT how the scene should end).

</question>

If you want to push ChatGPT to answer with more nuance or depth, ask it how a character knows something. For example, “How does Joe know that he’s been betrayed by Jane?”

Publishing

ChatGPT can be a valuable tool for independent authors not just in the writing stage, but also when it comes to preparing a novel for publication.

If you’d like a free, live version of my AI resources for creatives, simply go here and I’ll email you the complete list, updated in real time:

https://theauthorlife.com/aistorytelling/

You’ll be subscribed to my weekly newsletter, Creative AI Digest. If you are already subscribed to Creative AI Digest, simply reply to any of the emails and I’ll respond with a link to the resources.

Meta Data

1. Crafting Sales Copy: A well-crafted book blurb or description is crucial for enticing potential readers. ChatGPT can assist in drafting this copy, especially if you provide it with key details about your book such as its main themes, characters, and plot points. You can then tweak the AI-generated copy to make it more compelling and in line with your own voice and style.

2. SEO Optimized Keywords: Keywords can greatly impact the visibility of your book online. You can use ChatGPT to brainstorm a list of potential keywords relevant to your book. For instance, you might prompt it with something like, “Generate a list of keywords related to a fantasy novel about dragons and magic.” You could then use these suggestions as a starting point, selecting the most relevant and impactful keywords for your specific novel.

3. Genre Categories: Determining the appropriate genre and sub-genre categories for your book can make a significant difference in reaching the right audience. ChatGPT can help here too. By providing a brief summary of your novel, you could ask the AI to suggest suitable genres. Remember, the AI’s suggestions are a starting point – you’ll want to make the final call based on your deep understanding of your work and its target audience.

4. Drafting Marketing Materials: Beyond the book blurb, you’ll need other promotional materials like social media posts, email newsletters, and author website content. ChatGPT can help generate these, freeing up more of your time for the actual writing process.

5. Reader’s Guide: As you’ll discover in the next section, a reader’s guide is a valuable tool for engaging your audience post-reading. With ChatGPT, you can easily create a comprehensive guide, including Q&As, character bios, behind-the-scenes details, and more.

Cover Design

ChatGPT can help with conceptualization and development of your cover.

While the technical details of using AI to create a book cover is beyond the scope of this book, I’ll include resources to get you started.

Here is my strategy:

1. Use ChatGPT to develop concepts.

2. Use Midjourney for the initial design, the cover’s focal point.

3. Use DALLE to “outpaint” the original Midjourney design to create

“white space” on the cover for other elements.

4. Use Photoshop to arrange the elements, add text/typography, and export into a compatible file type.

Brainstorming with ChatGPT

1. Conceptualization: One of the initial steps in creating a book cover is to conceptualize what you want it to look like. ChatGPT can help you brainstorm ideas based on your book’s themes, setting, characters, and tone.

2. Tagline and Title: An important part of your book cover is the title and, often, a tagline. I can help you brainstorm and refine both the title of your book and potential taglines that could go on the cover.

3. Feedback on Ideas: As you create drafts of your cover design, you can describe them to me, and I can provide feedback and suggestions for improvement.

4. Tutorials and Guides: I can provide links to tutorials and guides on how to use design software or online tools to create a book cover.

5. Using AI tools: If you’re using AI tools like Midjourney or DALLE to assist in the design process, I can explain how they work and guide you through the process of using them.

Using Midjourney

Midjourney is an AI tool developed by OpenAI that enables the creation of visual content. It’s designed to generate a range of possible visual outputs based on text inputs. As an author, you could input a description of a scene, character, or concept from your novel, and Midjourney could generate an
array of visual interpretations. This could help inspire your book cover design or even become a part of it.

“Midjourney’s AI Art Generative Tool” is a user-friendly artificial intelligence program that helps users generate unique visuals. To get started, users need to join the Mid-Journey Channel on Discord, which is free. Once there, they can find the Newbies Channel and start creating artwork.

The process of image generation involves using the command “/imagine prompt” followed by words describing the desired image. For example,

“/imagine prompt: two lovely ants friends and make adventures in a chocolate factory”. After this command, Mid Journey processes the request and generates four image options.

Once the images are ready, users can upscale the image size or create variations of the chosen image using the U and V buttons respectively.

Users can also re-run a job for a new grid of images using the 🔄 button.

Images can be rated by simply clicking on a smiley button.

To save an image, users can click on the image and then right-click to save.

For mobile users, a long tap on the image will reveal a download icon.

Users can group their artworks in one place by clicking on the “reaction”

button of a message and selecting the envelope emoji ✉ . This will trigger a Direct Message from the bot with all the required images and Job IDs.

Mid Journey also has a variety of basic commands users can use for different purposes, such as /help for information about Midjourney, /info for information about the user’’’count and usage, and /subscribe for managing the user’’’bscription plan.

The platform is also available on mobile devices via midjourney.com/app.

Users need to sign in with Discord to access it.

Source:

https://bootcamp.uxdesign.cc/easy-beginners-guide-to-mid-
journey-the-revolutionary-ai-art-tool-3b4de95bd4ca

Using DALL·E

DALL·E is another tool developed by OpenAI that creates images from textual descriptions. It’s’similar to Midjourney but has its own unique capabilities. You could use DALL·E to generate visual elements for your book cover based on descriptions you provide.

The DALL·E editor provides a way to edit images through inpainting and outpainting, giving you more control over your creative vision. Here’s’what you need to know about the DALL·E editor:

Once you’re logged in on a desktop device, you can launch the editor in two ways:

1. Start with an image: From any image on the DALL-E website, you can click the “Edit” button to drop into an editor with that image as the starting point.

2. Start with a blank canvas: If you’d prefer to start from scratch, you can bookmark and use this URL: https://labs.openai.com/editor. Mobile devices don’t currently have access to advanced editor features like outpainting, but you can still inpaint images by tapping “Edit” on an existing image you’ve generated or uploaded.

Cost: Like DALL·E’s other functionality, each prompt you submit by clicking the “Generate” button will deduct one credit from your credit balance, regardless of how many pixels you are filling in. Additional credits can be purchased from the user dropdown at the top right of the application.

Effective Use: The Generation frame contains the image context that the model will see when you submit a text prompt. It’s important that it contains enough useful context for the area you’re expanding into to avoid
the style drifting from the rest of your image. You can also erase parts of your image, upload existing images, resize them, and place them within the canvas. The Download tool will export the latest state of the artwork as a

.png file, and it’s recommended to download often to keep snapshots of your work. You can always re-upload previous snapshots to continue where you left off.

Keyboard Shortcuts: The editor supports keyboard shortcuts for zooming, switching tools, undo/redo, and more. Press ‘?’ while using the editor to show the full list of keyboard shortcuts.

Tips & Tricks:

Start with the character before the landscape, if there are characters involved, so you can get the body morphology right before filling the rest.

Make sure you’re keeping enough of the existing image in the generation frame to avoid the style drifting too much.

Ask DALL·E for a muted color palette, especially as you stray further from the center, to avoid oversaturation and color-blasting.

Consider what story you’re trying to tell when picking the direction you want to expand the image into.

Source: https://help.openai.com/en/articles/6516417-dall-e-editor-guide

The Reader’s Guide

An author should consider using ChatGPT to create a “reader’s guide” for their novel due to several benefits that such a guide can provide. These benefits include immediate relevance to readers, targeting a dedicated audience, and significant time savings.

Advantages

1. Immediate Relevance and Helpfulness: A reader’s guide, as opposed to a free short story or bonus content, provides additional context, insight, and support for readers who have already finished the book. It can help them better understand the characters, themes, and plot points, as well as offer discussion questions and background information. This makes the guide immediately relevant and valuable to readers, as it enhances their overall reading experience.

A free short story, on the other hand, can sometimes feel like “homework”

for readers, who might not be as motivated to engage with it due to its separate nature from the main book.

2. Targeting a Dedicated Audience: By creating a reader’s guide, authors can ensure that their supplementary content is reaching a more dedicated and engaged audience. Readers who download the guide are likely those who loved the book and want to explore it further, rather than casual readers or freebie seekers. This enables authors to connect more deeply with their most passionate fans, strengthening their reader base and encouraging future sales and loyalty.

3. Leveraging ChatGPT’s Strengths for Time Savings: ChatGPT can help authors significantly cut down on the time it takes to create a reader’s guide. The AI can quickly generate insightful questions, character analyses, thematic explanations, and other relevant content based on the author’s input. This allows authors to focus on refining the generated material and ensuring it aligns with their vision, rather than spending countless hours on the initial creation process.

By leveraging ChatGPT’s strengths, authors can potentially reduce the time spent on creating a reader’s guide by up to 90%, freeing up valuable time for other writing projects or promotional activities.

Building the Reader’s Guide

Your imagination is the only limit when it comes to creating a reader’s guide.

I decided to start with a more conventional approach to learn how to best utilize ChatGPT in the process.

Therefore, the table of contents for my guide looks like this: Plot Overview

Chapter Summaries

Book Club Questions

Unfamiliar Terms

Interesting Places

Character Introdcutions

Let’s begin by creating a plot overview from the chapter summaries ChatGPT created for you in the drafting process. Remember, you copy/pasted these into a outline in your project documents.

Using the final version of your outline, copy and paste all of the chapter summaries into a single question with this prompt:

<question>Using the following chapter summaries, compile these into a single plot overview in 1,000 words or less:</question> The next step should be done one chapter at a time, which can be tedious, but with one “super prompt,” you can have ChatGPT generate all of the content you need for Book Club Questions, Unfamiliar Terms, and Interesting Places.

<question>Please create three bulleted lists: 1. a list of words or terms that might be unfamiliar to the average person and 2. a list of locations mentioned in the chapter, including interesting facts and trivia about those locations and 3. Two questions that would be fun for a book club discussion.

(… the chapter …)</question>

If you want to create a list of 10-15 book club questions that span the entire novel, you can copy/paste them into a question and use this prompt:

<question>Based on these chapter questions that could be used for discussion in a book club meeting, create 10 questions that address the decisions and motivations of the protagonist.

(… all of the book club questions previously generated …)</question> To create instructions for the book club leader, use this prompt:

<question>Please write a 3-5 paragraph explanation on how to use these questions in a book club. Give specific instructions on how to run the book club including optimal number of people, length of time, and frequency of meeting.</question>

Depending on the genre of your story, readers might find it interesting to have the characters introduce themselves. You can tell ChatGPT what you want them to say, or you can give ChatGPT a few lines of dialog and ask it to draft the rest.

Here’s a sample prompt using the character bio we created in the Planning section:

<question>Using this character bio below, in 3-5 paragraphs, write an introduction from the character to the reader.

(… the character bio …)</question>

Social Media

Using ChatGPT for social media could be a book on its own and is beyond the scope of this one. However, ChatGPT can be a powerful tool for independent authors looking to promote their books on various social media platforms. Here are some ways you can use this AI tool across different platforms:

Facebook:

ChatGPT can be used to generate captivating posts and updates about your book. For example, you can use it to draft short snippets from your novel to pique interest or to create engaging questions that might spark discussion
among your followers. It can also be used to create event descriptions if you’re planning a virtual book launch or reading.

Twitter:

Twitter is a great platform for sharing short, engaging content. ChatGPT
can help you generate a series of tweets about your book, such as intriguing quotes, fun facts about the writing process, or teasers about the plot. You can also use ChatGPT to draft responses to common questions or comments from your followers.

Here’s an example of a prompt I used to have ChatGPT create a Twitter thread:

<question>From the book description below, please create a 5-tweet twitter thread with 1-2 emojis per tweet. Write the Twitter thread in the form of a story, drawing in the reader and incentivizing them to purchase the book.

Do not include links or images.

(… the book description …)</question>

Pinterest:

While Pinterest is more visual, text still plays a crucial role in pin descriptions and comments. ChatGPT can help you write engaging descriptions for your pins, using keywords that can help your content get discovered. For example, if you’re pinning an image of your book cover, you could use ChatGPT to generate a pin description that highlights the book’s genre, plot elements, or the inspiration behind the cover design.

TikTok:

TikTok is a video-centric platform, but captions and hashtags are still important. ChatGPT can help you come up with fun and catchy captions for your videos. For instance, if you’re posting a video of yourself talking
about your book, you can use ChatGPT to generate a caption that teases the video’s content or asks a question to encourage comments.

Snapchat:

On Snapchat, you could use ChatGPT to draft short, snappy captions for your snaps or Stories. This could be a brief synopsis of your book to accompany an image of the cover, or a question to encourage your followers to swipe up and learn more.

If you’d like a free, live version of my AI resources for creatives, simply go here and I’ll email you the complete list, updated in real time:

https://theauthorlife.com/aistorytelling/

You’ll be subscribed to my weekly newsletter, Creative AI Digest. If you are already subscribed to Creative AI Digest, simply reply to any of the emails and I’ll respond with a link to the resources.

What’s Next?

This book documented my process for using ChatGPT to cowrite a mainstream, genre fiction series.

I've already begun a new project, one where I'm literally cowriting with ChatGPT. The experience has been surreal thus far, and I feel as though an entirely new world of creativity has opened up to me.

If it’s not a complete disaster, I’ll publish my documentation as the next book in this nonfiction series.

My Thoughts on AI, May 2023

“Man, things are moving at warp speed, aren’t they?” That’s a sentiment I hear echoed everywhere I turn - from the world of blockchain and crypto to the burgeoning sphere of AI.

This rapid pace of change is dizzying, and it’s compelling me to constantly reassess and recalibrate my beliefs. Stuff I firmly stood by a year ago? Well, some of it no longer holds water today. Take, for instance, my initial reluctance to dip my toes into Sudowrite. I was convinced that it represented a facet of creative writing I simply didn’t want to delegate. I was wrong.

That being said, there have been instances where my predictions hit the bullseye. Around the same time I was turning my nose up at Sudowrite, I had the foresight to anticipate the eventual demise of many industries, including the looming transformation of commercialized entertainment as we know it. And lo and behold, it’s already underway.

I thought it best to tuck these musings away at the end of the book. Rather than serving them upfront and center, I’ve left them here as food for thought
for those who are inclined to ponder. I intend to revisit and revise this section with each new edition of the book, as I have no doubt my perspectives will continue to evolve.

Here’s a thought I’m currently championing, based on my accumulated knowledge and experiences: AI is here to stay.

Now, I’m not one of those ‘unicorns-and-rainbows’ optimists about this technology. I can say with absolute certainty that we’re in for a roller coaster ride - there will be hiccups and bumps along the way. And no, I’m not on a mission to convince the AI naysayers - the ‘doom-and-gloom’

crowd - that they’ve got it all wrong. They might have a point.

But, the fact remains - the AI genie is out of the bottle and there’s no stuffing it back in. So, my strategy? Be proactive. Learn all I can about this tech and figure out how to weave it seamlessly into my business operations.

Will I still subscribe to this belief six months or a year down the line?

Honestly, I haven’t a clue.

But, here’s what I believe now:

Race to the Top of the Bottom

In his latest literary offering, Kevin Kelly - the mastermind behind the

“1,000 True Fans” concept - posits that a whopping 90% of everything in the creative sphere is, frankly, trash. It’s an uncomfortable thought, one that many creatives shy away from confronting.

Let’s be honest: we’d all like to believe our work is part of the exceptional 10%, standing above the mediocrity. We fancy ourselves akin to those drivers who, despite statistical improbability, insist they’re among the superior 80% on the road. A comforting illusion, isn’t it?

For argument’s sake, let’s say that 10% of quality art is a realistic estimate -
which might be generous. Within that slice of the pie, the real standouts -
the undeniable masterpieces - are those that starkly differ from the vast sea of average offerings that make up 90% of the marketplace. By this logic, your only shot at breaking into that coveted 10% is to produce something so refreshingly distinctive that it captures attention, unless of course, you’re the uncontested best in your field.

Take Stephen King, the undisputed maestro of horror. You’re not likely to dethrone him as the reigning champion of the genre. Ever. What you can do, however, is craft horror tales so uniquely chilling, so profoundly different, that they carve out their own niche and join that exclusive 10%
that readers can’t stop talking about.

This might seem like a no-brainer, but it’s a radical departure from the well-worn strategies that indie authors - myself included - have clung to for years. The “write to market” or “find your niche” approach is being rendered obsolete.

AI technology is rapidly advancing, now capable of “writing” novels that are “good enough” to crest the heap of the 90% mediocrity. Competing against this is futile, a race to the bottom that no human author can win.

Whether you’ve embraced AI as a tool or remain skeptical, now is the moment to redefine your writing strategy. Aspire to be a genre unto yourself.

There is, however, a caveat. If you happen to be among the select few authors who command a loyal army of ‘whale readers’, you might be able to sustain your current approach... for the time being. But beware, the tide is turning. As the 90% continues to swell with the influx of AI-authored books, even the most steadfast following will struggle to maintain its edge.

Arts or Crafts, Not Arts and Crafts Satisfied authors throughout history have often grappled with a pivotal decision: choosing between their work as an art form or as a craft. Some have daringly blurred these lines, but with the advent of AI, this choice is becoming inescapable. We must ask ourselves: Is my book a commercial product or a piece of art?

Let’s be clear: neither option is inherently superior to the other. Neither always demands more sweat, skill, or creativity.

If you perceive your book as a product, then treat it as you would any commodity on the market shelf. Your objective is to churn out a quality product that consumers are willing to shell out their hard-earned money for.

Utilize AI to streamline your story, fitting it snugly into a tried-and-true archetype that’s been captivating humans for millennia. That’s what readers crave from a book as a product. Think of it as a breezy beach read or a popcorn-munching blockbuster flick. Don’t shy away from selling the hell out of it.

AI excels at summarizing and analyzing. It’s a reservoir of practically all recorded history, providing an averaged response that could very well be in your favor. Embrace this feature rather than considering it a flaw. No one yearns for a cheeseburger topped with yogurt and chocolate sprinkles (at least, I hope not). Stick to the familiar and beloved toppings - cheddar, maybe some bacon. Feel free to experiment with the bun. But at the end of the day, give the people what they want: a classic, satisfying burger. We yearn for burgers that meet our expectations, not ones that surprise us with their eccentricity.

Conversely, if you’re crafting art, feel free to let your imagination run wild.

Seriously, don’t concern yourself with market trends, genre constraints, reader preferences, or publisher demands. Art is a deeply personal expression. As famed music producer Rick Rubin pointed out in his book, when creating art, the audience comes last.

AI, being non-human, can generate outputs that might strike us as peculiar, uncanny, or downright bizarre. Leverage this quirkiness as a unique feature, not a bug. No one is looking for “fine art” from a poster bin at Wal-Mart.

Art connoisseurs seek something distinctive, unique, and divergent from the norm.

Feel free to set your novel against a familiar backdrop like Ancient Rome, or kickstart a sci-fi tale with a portal. But dare to veer off the beaten path.

Guide your story (or let AI lead you) into uncharted territory. Most importantly, put it on sale without any preconceived expectations. It may sell. It may not. But that’s beside the point. Create art for the sheer love of creating, for the satisfaction it brings you. Period.

Meat Suits Seeking Meaning

The role of an author isn’t to dictate meaning to the reader; rather, it’s the reader who uncovers the significance for themselves. As an author, your job is to provide the framework and let the humans, those fascinating creatures in their “meat suits,” do their thing.

We, humans, are experts at infusing meaning into everything, fashioning narratives from the most mundane and trivial observations. Have you ever delved into the origins of the constellations?

If you aim for readers to find insight in your work, the secret lies in embedding your story within a familiar framework, that is, a story
archetype. It’s something we’re instinctively programmed for. Let the structure carry the weight.

There are critics who argue, “The content AI produces is mediocre, average, predictable.” Precisely. Much like every other blockbuster movie or bestselling book.

No one can foresee what will go viral or top the bestseller list. Even those who’ve struck gold once struggle to replicate their success.

So if your objective is to create products, which by their very nature are designed to cater to a broad audience, cease the self-sabotage. The AI has an in-depth knowledge of story archetypes that surpasses yours. It has read, summarized, and analyzed thousands of them. Leverage this to your advantage!

Integrate your story into the framework provided by AI and hope for the best. There’s no assurance it’ll resonate. It might not even sell. But at least you’re taking your best shot.

“But I want to narrate a unique story. Something only I can craft.”

Splendid! Then you’re creating art. Refer back to the previous section for more on that.

“Make it Sound Like Me”

If your books haven’t hit it off with a mass audience, why would you want AI to mimic your style? Do you really want to duplicate your lack of success?

I’ve heard many authors discuss feeding their books into AI to make it

“sound like me.” If you have a substantial following and you’ve been able to live off your fiction royalties alone before the advent of AI, this approach makes sense.

However, this isn’t the case for most of us. Thus, you’re taking the most potent writing tool ever created and asking it to replicate a voice and style that hasn’t found an audience. It might sting to hear it laid out so bluntly, but it’s the truth. It’s certainly the truth for me.

Most magazines, newspapers, and blogs have a Flesch-Kincaid grade level of 8. Yes, you read that right, 8th-grade reading level.

So, put aside your prejudices about AI-generated content. Stop trying to make it sound like you unless you’ve sold hundreds of thousands of books.

If you haven’t attained that level of commercial success, why would you want AI to mimic your authorial voice?

I’m not suggesting you shouldn’t revise what comes out of AI. By all means, edit as you would words you’ve penned. However, “training” AI on your unsold books is like aspiring to be a quarterback based on the performance of the kid who played the position at your junior high school.

If you’re concerned about readers’ opinions or feel embarrassed about using AI tools, then don’t. There’s no need to revise or camouflage words generated by AI. Stop thinking from an author’s perspective and adopt a reader’s viewpoint. They’re seeking an engaging, easy-to-read story, not a lecture on literary prose from you.

Self-Publishing is Dead

The rapid-release model. Kindle Unlimited page reads. Amazon and Facebook ads. All are relics of a bygone era.

These outdated approaches might lumber on like the undead for a while, but make no mistake, the age of self-publishing is over. The strategies that brought us this far won’t ferry us to our next destination.

I can’t predict the path we’ll traverse to get “there.” Heck, I can’t even precisely pinpoint where “there” is. But I’m certain that the landscape for indie authors - and traditional publishing, for that matter - will never be the same.

The Entertainment Industry is Dead

Picture this: you come home from work, sink into your couch, and instruct your personalized AI robot idling in the corner, “Create me a story about a guy in Chicago. He solves crimes like Jack Reacher. Make him me and set the book in 1989.”

Instantaneously, your story materializes. Perhaps you’re a bookworm, so it’s a novel waiting on your e-reading device. Or maybe you’re a cinephile, so it’s a movie on your wall-mounted flat screen, with a play button pulsing invitingly. Or perhaps you’re a gamer, and it immerses you in a first-person side-scroller. Or, it might even be delivered via a neural link straight into your brain, letting you live out the story in what we might call the metaverse.

Bruce Willis may not have licensed his likeness to a deepfake company...

yet. But the technology to create an endless parade of new Bruce Willis movies exists. Imagine a new “Die Hard” every month. You might even co-star with him!

I can’t predict where we’re headed, but one thing’s clear: the entertainment industry as we’ve known it for the last century is a thing of the past.

Resources

Because of the rapidly changing nature of AI development, a list of resources would be outdated almost as soon as I published the book.

Therefore, I’m providing a live, updated version to you for free.

Simply go here and I’ll email you the complete list, updated in real time:

https://theauthorlife.com/aistorytelling/

You’ll be subscribed to my weekly newsletter, Creative AI Digest. If you are already subscribed to Creative AI Digest, simply reply to any of the emails and I’ll respond with a link to the resources.

Get the Resources!

Don’t miss out! Get instant access to all the latest and greatest AI resources for creatives.

Simply go here and I’ll email you the complete list, updated in real time:

https://theauthorlife.com/aistorytelling/

You’ll be subscribed to my weekly newsletter, Creative AI Digest. If you are already subscribed to Creative AI Digest, simply reply to any of the emails and I’ll respond with a link to the resources.

Keywords

This list of keywords and keyword phrases is here to help bots and search engines match this book to the right reader.

AI in Writing

Artificial Intelligence for Writers

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Using AI in Novel Writing

Storytelling with ChatGPT

AI and Fiction Writing

Using AI for Writing Books

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AI and Writing Skills

ChatGPT in Literature

AI in Crafting Stories

AI for Writing Improvement

AI in the Art of Storytelling

Three Story Method with AI

About Me

J. Thorn has published two million words and has sold more than 185,000
books worldwide. He is an official member of the Science Fiction and Fantasy Writers of America, the Horror Writers Association, and the Great Lakes Association of Horror Writers.

J. co-founded the Writers, Ink podcast with J.D. Barker, and has interviewed some of today’s most successful authors including Matthew

McConaughey, James Patterson, Dean Koontz, Seth Godin, Joyce Carol Oates, Hugh Howey, Andy Weir, Jodi Picoult, Nicholas Sparks, Lee Child, Stephen Pressfield, Chuck Palahniuk, and many more.

Thorn earned a B.A. in American History from the University of Pittsburgh and a M.A. from Duquesne University. He is a husband, father, full-time writer, part-time professor at John Carroll University, founder of The Author Life Community, podcaster, FM radio DJ, musician, and owner of the Three Story Method Editing Agency.

More recently, J. Thorn has spent the past two years studying and experimenting with blockchain, cryptocurrency, and NFTs.

Now, he’s excited to focus on the positive potential of AI in the creative industries.

Document Outline

- About the Book
- Introduction to Collaborating with AI
- AI Ethics & Copyright Issues
- F.A.Q. About AI for Authors
- Misconceptions About AI
- Discovery Writers: Caution!
- Three Story Method: Writing Scenes Review
- Three Story Method + Save the Cat!
- Planning
- Drafting
- Publishing
- The Reader’s Guide
- What’s Next?
- My Thoughts on AI, May 2023
- Resources
- Get the Resources!
- About Me

Table of Contents

- About the Book
- Introduction to Collaborating with AI
- AI Ethics & Copyright Issues
- F.A.Q. About AI for Authors
- Misconceptions About AI
- Discovery Writers: Caution!
- Three Story Method: Writing Scenes Review
- Three Story Method + Save the Cat!
- Planning
- Drafting
- Publishing
- The Reader’s Guide
- What’s Next?
- My Thoughts on AI, May 2023
- Resources
- Get the Resources!
- About Me