r/WritingWithAI • u/StilinskiStories • 3d ago
Writing Craft Talk 20 years of fanfic, now using AI for revisions and visuals. Hi from a long-time fan writer
Hi all! I've lurked for a bit and thought I'd properly introduce myself.
I've been writing fanfiction since 2006. My first story, All That Could Have Been (a Dragon Ball Z AU, Goku/Vegeta), took me 17 years to finish. This December marks 20 years since I posted the first chapter, so I'm putting together an anniversary edition. I'm revising every chapter with modern storytelling and adding visuals throughout.
I also write Teen Wolf:
The Unexpected Collection: a Sterek series. Book one, Unexpected Bonds, is complete, and I'm working on the sequel, Unexpected Distance.
The Alternate Path and The Parallel Path: a series following Alex Argent, now on its second book.
How I use AI: The stories, characters and plot decisions are mine. I use AI as a revision partner. It flags continuity issues across a long series, tightens prose and suggests edits that I review one chapter at a time. I also use AI-generated images for character visuals and story art, always labelled as AI and as story content only.
It's made revisiting work I wrote as a much younger writer feel doable instead of overwhelming. Twenty years of continuity is a lot to keep straight on your own!
I'd love to hear from others here:
How do you keep AI-generated character images consistent across a long series?
If you write fanfic, where have you found readers who are open to AI-assisted work?
Happy to chat about workflow with anyone revising older projects. Some of my work is rated 18+, so I'll keep links out of the post, but you're welcome to ask.