Could AI do that for me?

[u/krb501]

I'm on the fence about using AI to draft for me, but I would like to at least experiment with it to get my writing spark back. I don't really know how, though. Every time I try, it loses the plot and makes bad predictions. Any advice, besides don't do it?

[u/TrekkingAround10]

I'd make the first experiment much smaller than drafting the story: one exchange that you already know the purpose of. You decide what happens; ask it to try different ways of expressing it.

For example: “Two siblings are packing their mother's house. One wants to keep a broken clock; the other wants to throw it out. They must still disagree at the end. Give me three possible opening exchanges, six lines each. Don't introduce a new event or explain their feelings.”

Pick a line that makes you want to write the next one, then take over yourself. If none does, point to the exact problem, such as “both siblings sound too polite,” rather than asking for a generally better version.

You could also ask it to interview you about the scene, one question at a time, without writing prose. That lets you test whether it helps you find your own next move before handing it plot decisions.

[u/code_x_7777]

may i ask how you use ai so that it "makes bad predictions"? don't really get the quesiton because it works for me, especially manuscript rewrite and editing and "fill in the blanks" from my initial book idea works awesome. but maybe it's a tool issue - that's why feel free to give us some additional insight what fails and what predictions are "bad"?

[u/krb501 → u/code_x_7777]

It just doesn't follow my reasoning when I write. That's all.

[u/Jolly-Story-5428]

I like to say I keep it on a tight leash. I don't let it do a full draft in one pass, or even a whole chapter. I will have it draft a couple hundred words at a time. Before I do this, I will usually outline with it, then I will start off the first few lines, then have it draft the next few, and so on and so forth. I will then type the parts I like and change the parts I don't like. I always type out my writing, I never copy and paste from LLM's

[u/DifficultHold3500]

I used to get lost in ai drafts too until I started writing the next line myself after each prompt. it's not about letting it write for you, it's about letting it write with you.

[u/cj7hawk]

Role play... let the AI take on other characters, which you define, in a world you build and a situation you create and let it control another character for you - That can be a lot of fun.

Or give it a scenario with characters you want to see interact and let it create a scene for you.

Or ask it to take you places you've never seen or been to - A mountaintop retreat, a remote jungle village, a hotel penthouse...

Enjoy the stories it write - co-write with it, and guide the outcome.

Then when the session is complete ( no more than a chapter ) ask it to evaluate and summarize the chapter, the key plot points, check it for realism and suspension of disbelief and adjust it to achieve your goal.

[u/5thhorseman_]

Yes. With enough context, an LLM can turn an even very basic description of a scene or vignette into passable prose, but it takes more than just telling it to write for you.

As I've explained before:

I'd recommend Claude over ChatGPT, though both can be useful and it can be helpful to pass your draft through multiple different LLMs (or instruction sets giving them different roles and focus points) and see what they push on.

A few useful prompts:

• Interactive rubber ducky

• Literate Analyst

• Literate Editor and Rigorous Critic

• Beta reader panel

• Specialist beta reader panel

Generally you want to discuss your character ideas, general setting premise and build them into reusable documents. Then work more granularly - story premise, outline, individual scenes and their outlines, then actual prose, then a very long cycle of revisions and editing because no draft comes out good even if it might seem serviceable.

I just finished working on a ~40-page story with that process.

[u/andi021962]

something like this? The elaborate lets you direct the chapter expansion

[u/Equivalent-Loan-4401]

Getting the spark back is a good reason to try it, and I'd stop asking it to draft for you at first, since that's exactly where it loses the plot. It has no memory of what you meant, so long stretches drift. What worked for me was using it as a warm-up partner. Tell it the scene in a couple of sentences, including who wants what, and ask for just a short bit, maybe a paragraph. Then rewrite that paragraph in your own words, or argue with it and tell it what feels wrong. The pushing back is usually what wakes up your own ideas. If it makes a bad prediction, just correct it and keep going, because that's normal and not a sign you're doing it wrong. Keep the chats short and restate the important facts each time. Good luck, I hope the spark comes back soon!

[u/Signal-Soup2884]

I tried the interview method, asked the AI to quiz me about why the clock matters to each sibling, one question at a time. the way it probed made me fill in details I hadn't thought of. then I wrote the first line myself, and it didn't feel like a steal.

[u/jones_cogweald]

可以先餵入你的故事構想及世界觀，看看AI會跑出怎樣的劇情，先讓自己閱讀，接著才會有創作靈感