The unfortunate reality is that many (often unskilled or lazy) writers use AI to produce complete works today, and this has been detrimental to writers who care about creating high-quality, original content. Like many other writers, the mere mention of ChatGPT is enough to send a jolt of anxiety-riddled energy coursing through my veins. As both a content writer and a novelist, AI will undoubtedly have a negative impact on my career and ability to put food on the table. In fact, it already has.
Not too long ago, a client dramatically reduced my workload as he tested the boundaries of AI. It took several months before the client returned to me with a full volume of work. The reason — ChatGPT simply cannot produce the high-quality work that a talented human can.
Yet.
This technology continues to evolve. It’s possible that one day it will produce comparable writing, and writers will need to adapt. Until that time, though, writers can actually utilize ChatGPT in their writing. While the current AI technology doesn’t always produce the sensical responses that a writer needs to create a great piece of work, it does have its purposes.
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How to Use AI in Writing
The one thing that you should never do is copy and paste AI-generated content into your own content. Why? For one, Amazon bans AI-generated books. In addition, blog ratings and traffic can be negatively impacted. Of course, there’s also the matter of not wanting to put your name on something that’s mediocre at best and that you didn’t actually create. So, how can you use AI in writing?
1. Story Ideas
Whether you’re a novelist or a blogger, finding something fresh and exciting to write about can be a challenge at times. While you don’t want to use artificial intelligence to write your whole piece – or even a paragraph, for that matter, it can help you delve into your creativity. For example, you can ask AI create a plot involving a science fiction sea adventure with rogue, time-traveling dinosaurs. You’ll get a response that’s likely fairly dull. However, it can jumpstart the juices and get you thinking about realistic ways to string these elements together.
If you take advantage of ChatGPT to come up with a story idea or a plot, always make thoughtful improvements to make it your own. Keep in mind that other people may also be making similar queries.
2. Getting Started
For many writers, getting that first sentence or paragraph on the page is the most challenging aspect of the entire process. AI can help with this as well. When I asked for an intro sentence on a story about a girl lost in the woods, I received this response: “In the heart of the ancient, whispering woods, a young girl named Emily found herself ensnared by the labyrinth of towering trees, her footsteps fading into the eerie silence as she realized she was lost.”
It certainly needs work (and should never be used as-is.) However, it sets the stage or gives you a nice angle to get started. It’s something that you can elaborate on and build from while incorporating the first exciting elements of your plot and character development.
3. Descriptions
Are you one of those writers who struggle with descriptions? Rather than living in a thesaurus or creating mediocre descriptions, you can find unique combinations of words that bring settings, feelings and other elements to life.
I asked the AI to provide a description about an old oak tree in the woods. I received a response that was four paragraphs long. It described everything from texture of the bark to the centuries-old secrets in the deep woods. Again, not everything may be applicable for your specific story. You probably also don’t need or want four paragraphs describing one tree. With four paragraphs of text to work from, though, AI gives you plenty of ideas to massage into something that suits your needs and entertains your readers.
4. Character Development
Character development is a tricky thing. One-dimensional characters are fine for tertiary characters, but your primary and secondary characters need depth and solid backstories. I asked ChatGPT to write a backstory for a hairstylist whose husband just got out of prison. It gave me five paragraphs describing this woman’s past, motivators, challenges and future goals. These are completely dull paragraphs that certainly require considerably more development. However, AI’s response lays a reasonable framework that can be molded to suit your specific needs and storyline.
5. Thorough Content
If you’re writing something more structured, such as a how-to book, AI can provide you with an outline. You can compare that outline to your own to ensure that you haven’t overlooked essential factors or points. Digging deeper, you can ask AI to structure a chapter outline for each section. However, absolutely do not go beyond this. Customize your chapter titles. Rearrange the order of the chapters. Move some chapter content to other chapters to make it flow better. Above all else, though, all of the content needs to be independently researched. Your own experiences need to be woven into the content as well to make it your own.
Keep in mind that AI isn’t adept at providing fully factual information. While it’s great at spurring the creative juices and ensuring thoroughness, don’t use it for research.
A Word of Caution
ChatGPT can be an excellent tool to keep in your back pocket. Whether you are a novelist, a commercial writer or something else, AI has the potential to improve your writing. Nonetheless, though, it is easy to get caught up in its use. The bottom line is that Chat GPT has profound benefits for writers, but it is not a turnkey solution. It can be used to improve your writing, but it can also be a major time drain.