An AI Writing Process Emerges

Finding a Quality Process

01: “Navigating the AI Revolution in Novel Writing“

02: “Finding My Generative AI Tools“

03: “An AI Writing Process Emerges“

by Bart Niedner, 23 November 2023

The Creative Process is Personal

In this article, I share my experience finding a reliable process for using generative AI tools to write a novel. Your experience will undoubtedly vary. Methods that I like may be different from your taste, and your unique writing process may be of little use to me. However, I would love to hear about your AI journey. It is through our differences that we purchase a greater perspective. I hope my viewpoint may provide helpful insights, but I am not trying to prescribe anything.

My Process

I am not rigid with my creative workflow, yet a regular pattern has naturally taken shape over the past four months. I don’t suggest that others adopt this exact approach. Instead, I share it in the hope that insights into my creative journey might inspire or help others in honing their distinctive methods of creativity.

Crafting the Narrative Framework

Four years ago, I assembled a rough draft for the first book in my trilogy before it was set aside under distraction by life’s other interests at the time. So, when I picked this project up again earlier this year, I had a detailed plot outline ready. It predated the AI revolution in which we currently find ourselves. Although I occasionally turn to AI tools like Claude 2 or ChatGPT 4 for fleshing out complex segments of an intricate storyline, such usage is exceptional. I look forward to book two, where my outline is relatively sparse.

However, I should highlight an unexpected use case for engaging AI‘s ability to outline. There were moments when I composed chapter-length segments involving numerous intricate elements. In these instances, I had crafted phrases I particularly liked and wanted to retain. Yet, the narrative became disjointedly complex and challenging to manage, hindering the story’s progression and risking the reader’s engagement. In these select cases, using Claude 2 to draft an outline of my work allowed me to enhance the narrative’s coherence without sacrificing crucial timing or the sequencing of key revelations. It’s important to note that attempts to use Claude 2 or ChatGPT 4 for a direct rewrite to streamline the narrative were unsuccessful. Both AI tools struggled with the plot’s nuance and lost essential details, which impeded further development based on their revisions. However, reverting to an outlined approach enabled me to visualize and track the narrative elements and make precise, incremental adjustments.

World-Building

I am thoroughly amazed by the capabilities of both Claude 2 and ChatGPT 4 in crafting rich, detailed world details, especially when provided with sufficient context. ChatGPT 4 excels in creatively synthesizing multiple ideas, while Claude 2 sometimes leans towards more predictable results. However, I particularly enjoy working with Claude 2 for its interactive nature and ability to explain its choices. It helps me iteratively enhance aspects I like and tweak those I don’t, using subsequent prompts.

The level of detail in the world details created by ChatGPT 4 is astounding, and the process of iterating on these creations has become a pivotal and exhilarating part of my creative workflow. Engaging in a dynamic, reciprocal process of refinement and expansion with ChatGPT or Claude has opened up endless depth and breadth for the universe of my novel, making it one of the most enjoyable aspects of the entire writing process.

Research

ChatGPT 4 and Claude 2 excel in gathering and presenting information up to early 2023, surpassing the capabilities of ChatGPT 3.5, which is confined to pre-2022 data. These AI tools are particularly adept at delivering research findings narratively, often making them valuable assets in my research process. Nonetheless, I have developed a strong preference for Bing Chat for my research needs. Its integration with Bing Search provides swift and efficient access to information, enhancing the research experience significantly.

The Manuscript’s Narrative Process

The Data Limits

Here is where the rubber meets the pavement. Getting well-crafted words and phrases on the page is the stardust by which an author touches a reader. And ChatGPT 4 reigns supreme as a wordsmith. However, even mighty ChatGPT 4 cannot currently produce a high-quality novel-length product. It even struggles at the scale of a dozen pages (see “What Current AI Tools Can’t Do” in Finding a Quality Process 01: “Navigating the AI Revolution in Novel Writing”). This limitation means that, for the time being, these generative AT text tools are enhancers more than they are producers, assuming a high-quality product is desired.

Harnessing AI for Novel-Writing
The current limitations of AI in crafting high-quality, novel-length manuscripts stem primarily from resource allocation and the demands of computing power. Generative AI is exceptionally resource-heavy. As the cost of resources decreases and computing power increases, we will soon witness consumer AI tools capable of autonomously creating entire novels. This evolution is unavoidable and will significantly disrupt multiple professions. Wringing hands won’t work any better for today’s novelists than it did for painters when photography debuted. But that conversation is for a different article. Suffice it to say, impactful change is coming, and we need to harness its power before it tramples us under hoof.

A Starting Point

Some authors simply enjoy the creative act of writing; some need to use their skill to generate an income, and others pursue it for the beauty of its art form. There are many reasons someone might write a novel. I come to it as a multi-disciplinary creative. I am curious about the AI revolution we are witnessing and its effects on the creative process. And in the case of this novel, that intellectual curiosity is combined with a child’s joy of sci-fi makebelieve. The little boy in me has a story to tell. The adult in me wants to do it meaningfully and beautifully. 

My process begins with me tapping out the thoughts of a young boy on my keyboard. I am unusual in that I do not usually start with an outline. I have found that creative products are primarily products of their process, and a narrative is more compelling than an outline. Of course, creative acts bring order to chaos – they create form from the unordered. (If you are interested in learning more about this, I invite you to read my article, “Unveiling the Beauty of Process.”) As such, my work cannot exist solely as a narrative for long. At some point early on, the interplay of my narrative and a new outline intertwine, each informing and changing the other as I anxiously strive to see what it is they will together become. 

The Outline and Rough Draft

My outline is a dynamic document, typically a simple Google Doc, that I heavily modify during this early phase. It serves the usual purpose of guiding and organizing my story. While I primarily progress linearly, mirroring the book’s sequence, there are times when I advance to build out future elements that impact earlier parts of the story. Occasionally, I’ll revisit or introduce previous chapters or sections to enhance world-building or believably add a detailed context. These non-sequential chapters often undergo significant revisions later or might be entirely set aside as world-building notes. The process can be chaotic and messy, but this chaos is a fertile space for creativity.

I typically proceed chapter by chapter with minimal AI intervention. This stage is more about capturing the characters’ essence and the plot’s mechanics. The writing is brisk, delving into story nuances only as far as necessary without much concern for grammatical precision or crafting the perfect sentence. Each chapter is in a very plastic form at this stage, together forming my rough draft.

Pulling It Into a First Draft

Once satisfied with the storyline and the rough draft, I embark on a heavy second pass. This process involves picking up the easy fixes with Grammarly’s help and making straightforward adjustments in wording. During this phase, I also identify potential improvements and issues that may lead to changes in the outline or other parts of the manuscript. This phase brings me considerable joy. In delving into the finer details, many new ideas and directions emerge. At this stage, the characters start to come to life, each gaining depth and a consistent, unique personality. With these refinements, the work solidifies into a first draft.

Leveraging AI for Narrative Progression

During all phases of the drafting process, I periodically turn to AI for guidance in shaping the narrative’s flow. When I hit a roadblock in advancing the plot within a chapter, tools like ChatGPT 4 or Claude 2 become invaluable for generating alternative narrative paths. This approach is particularly useful when the story feels sluggish or seems to bog down the reader.

AI also serves as a rapid solution for overcoming smaller narrative hurdles. For instance, if I’m seeking to build a dialogue segment swiftly to maintain momentum while focusing on a complex plot element, AI assists in keeping the flow uninterrupted. Additionally, I often consult Bing Chat for research, ensuring my story remains authentic and immersive. 

Refining Subsequent Drafts

When I’m satisfied with a first draft that effectively advances the story, I start refining it with the aid of AI. I don’t rely on AI for the entire process, nor do I often use its suggestions entirely as they are. At times, it’s just a few words that I integrate into my writing. Typically, I provide ChatGPT 4 or Claude 2 with closely related excerpts from the chapter, tasking them with various functions. The specific nature of the content guides my prompts, but generally, my approach involves a set of prompts like the following:

• Connect with the Characters:
  “While helping me maintain a consistent point of view, please give me specific textual examples of where I can emphasize the emotions and feelings of the characters or subjects I’m writing about, making the reader feel and connect with the characters and story more.”
• Vivid and Evocative:
  “Please give me specific textual examples of where I can increase emotional resonance and be more evocative through actions and internal monologue, helping paint a vivid and unforgettable picture in my readers’ minds.”
• Sensory Details:
  “Please give me specific textual examples of where I can increase sensory details, such as describing textures, sounds, and scents to ground the reader at the moment, particularly where vivid details would heighten the scene’s intensity or relatability.”
• Tighten:
  “Please give me specific textual examples of where I can tighten verbose descriptive passages to help improve narrative flow and concision without sacrificing meaningful world-building and story immersion.”

I do not accept all of the generative AI’s suggestions, but most of them impact something about my manuscript, and a few make the cut wholesale.

The iterative process continues as I collaborate with ChatGPT 4 or Claude 2 until I have the chapter where I like it. At that point, I move on to the next chapter. Once I have several chapters that go well together, I will take time to reread them with the advantage of fresh eyes. I implement the inevitable narrative tweaks manually, or I might use options from an AI. Once I have reread a set of chapters, I will listen to the work using Speechify, making adjustments and corrections as I notice them. Typically, I find errors and opportunities when listening to Speechify that I miss reading aloud to myself.

Ready for Beta Readers

This messy, iterative, unpredictable dialogue between chaos and order is my process of getting the manuscript to a point where I can share it with selected sources for critical comment. And with my mom for the applause.

The Adventure Evolves

As my journey with generative AI in novel writing matures, it’s clear that these tools, though not perfect, have become indispensable in my creative process. The dynamic nature of AI, from ChatGPT 4’s nuanced world-building to Claude 2’s interactive narrative assistance, has significantly impacted how I approach storytelling. These tools have enhanced my creative workflow and allowed me to explore new dimensions of narrative and character development. By integrating AI into various stages of my writing, from initial narratives and outlining to refining drafts, I have discovered a powerful ally in bringing my ideas to life. Though it requires discernment and selective incorporation of its suggestions, the iterative process of working with AI has been a revelation, offering fresh perspectives and unexpected solutions to narrative challenges.

Looking forward, the potential of generative AI in novel writing is immense. As we navigate this evolving landscape, it’s crucial to remain open to AI’s possibilities while acknowledging its current limitations. The future of AI in creative writing is not about replacing the author but augmenting and enriching the human creative process. As AI advances, I anticipate even more sophisticated and nuanced assistance crafting compelling narratives. For fellow writers embarking on this journey, I encourage embracing AI not as a crutch but as a creative partner. It’s a journey of discovery where the fusion of human creativity and AI’s capabilities can lead to extraordinary storytelling achievements unobtainable by either alone.

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Article by Bart Niedner

Bart Niedner, a versatile creative, embarks on a journey of discovery as he delves into both novel writing and the intriguing realm of AI-assisted writing. Bart warmly welcomes you on this journey from novice to master as he leverages his creative abilities in these innovative domains. His contributions to AI-RISE and BioDigital Novels reflect AI collaboration and exploratory work – the purpose of these websites.

About Bart Niedner

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