ChatGPT - Author Sniper or Writing Partner?

I asked ChatGPT to tell me how it can serve fiction writers, as well as what its weaknesses were when it came to writing fiction. This was me giving it a chance to defend itself after producing absolutely deplorable work (deplorable work at end of article, but we’ll get there. Journey before Destination)

Let’s see what the bot had to say for itself:

II. Benefits of Using ChatGPT for Fiction Writing

A. Generating ideas and inspiration

B. Developing characters and plot

C. Improving writing style and grammar

D. Enhancing world-building and description

E. Streamlining the editing and revision process

III. Weaknesses of ChatGPT for Fiction Writing

A. Lack of creativity and originality

B. Difficulty in understanding and incorporating emotional depth

C. Limited understanding of literary devices and techniques

D. Inability to understand and replicate specific writing styles

E. Dependence on data and lack of human intuition

Okay, the all-knowing (pre-2021) oracle bot makes some humble points. I’ll grade each one of these points based on my experience with the bot, then specify how you can get the most out of it for your work.

II. Benefits of Using ChatGPT for Fiction Writing

A. Generating ideas and inspiration

ChatGPT gets a 100% here.

You can input stale ideas you’ve been struggling with and it can spruce it up with tons of twists, alternatives, spins, etc. It can even pull fresh ideas if you’ve got nothing. And if you specify parameters like genre or age group, it can provide you with relevant ideas that you can take off from. Great job ChatGPT!

Tip, include ‘list this or that for me’ in your prompt to get an organised answer, and paste it into excel so you can build on each one (or even ask ChatGPT to ‘elaborate’ on any points in the list)

B. Developing characters and plot

Don’t get ahead of yourself Mr GPT. You might have access to tons of ideas, but you’re still repetitive as all hell. It can provide possible arcs for plotlines or characters, but as you’ll see later, it lacks context and nuance so again, it’s use is limited to providing ideas. ChatGPT is starting to look like a writing partner that is fun and full of bright sparks, but isn’t much of a writer itself. Its greatest strength though, which it has not listed, is that this writing partner is available 24/7 and is a beast at summarising information 

GPT-san would get a D- in character and plot development, but I’m going to give it a B- because of one thing. If you describe a scene to it, the bot will let you know if the scene is too dense or too thin.

Tip: if your scene is too dense, ask ChatGPT to list the points it would include in the scene and which points it would work into the story later. You likely won’t get a perfect answer, but it will certainly give you some clarity to work from.

C. Improving writing style and grammar

A+

Nothing much to say here. It’s pretty good at correcting typos, playing with commas, paraphrasing, etc. It’s a machine, this is its time to shine.

I still recommend reading over your work afterwards anyway, using a spellchecker like word that’s set to your country’s language rules, and if you’re publishing a book, hiring an actual proofreader.

D. Enhancing world-building and description

Geez this one is a toss-up between a D- and an A

On one hand, the bot is so repetitive and random that by time you get a good answer, your prompt has grown larger than if you were to have done the work yourself (because you just did, but in the weird language that might prompt a bot to spit out something relevant and good, and now you’re torn between its version and yours, both of which need editing)

But sometimes, when you add ‘show don’t tell’, or ‘describe this vividly’, etc to your prompt, it comes up with something good. But again, by time it actually does, you probably would have done it faster yourself.

I will settle on a C since it still can be a help if you’re really blocked.

E. Streamlining the editing and revision process

While it can revise as per your prompts, its story content often lacks nuance. Here, help with sentence structure and grammar will be how it best serves you. As I’ve said before, it can tell you when certain parts of your story are too dense or thin, so if you describe your story to it, it might be able to give you pacing advice, but I would take anything it says with a grain of salt. I might trust it with a scene, but for a whole book it needs context and that is not ChatGPT’s area of expertise.

B+ for it’s technical abilities 

III. Weaknesses of ChatGPT for Fiction Writing

A. Lack of creativity and originality

Oh humble bot, don’t sell yourself short. While you might scramble everything out there into a disfigured excuse of a response, we do the same. Where you do actually fall short is in the mindless repetition unless I harp on about ‘don’t repeat this, don’t repeat that, give unique ideas about this and don’t mention anything you’ve said before, etc etc.’

Tip: tac on the above to your prompts and you might eventually get something creative

2.5 Stars.

B. Difficulty in understanding and incorporating emotional depth

Deplorable. This is where it all starts to fall apart. While prompting ‘show don’t tell’ could help, as well as describing the situation or character’s arc, this thing cannot write between the lines or imply subtext to save its life. I’ve directly prompted it to do so and it just goes and writes on-the-nose again anyway.

Fail, 0%, never use ChatGPT to write actual prose. It is like a 10-year-old at this point.

Tip: tell it what your character’s problem is and ask it for an analysis, especially if it’s a common emotional problem or clinical condition, and it will give you golden information for you to apply. Ask it how people usually overcome that type of problem and add things like ‘let’s think about this in steps’ to your prompt and ChatGPT will shine.

C. Limited understanding of literary devices and techniques

The more you move away from the technical aspects of writing like grammar, research, etc, the less useful ChatGPT becomes. When you reach the realm of nuance and abstract concepts, it misses the beat.

But, if you want it to break down those literary devices and techniques and help you understand them better, one hundred percent chef’s kiss.

I would fail it if it wasn’t able to inject a little bit of humour and provide some suggestions on how to give a passage a more entertaining tone, etc. It will start to use some exclamation marks here and there and change up its diction a little.

D-

D. Inability to understand and replicate specific writing styles

You can ask it to write something in the style of Hemmingway or Shakesphere, and while it’s a neat party trick, it’s right about itself on this one. Style is too far on the nuanced, abstract side of the scale for ChatGPT to truly replicate. I’ve given it the chance to do Patrick Rothfuss (Name of the Wind) and Laini Taylor’s (Strange the Dreamer) flowery styles but I got a generic bard-storyteller voice for Rothfus and I don’t even want to get into what it did for Laini…

It wasn’t even verbose like me back in 10th grade. It was… if Picasso wanted to do an abstract painting, but he decided to use only one colour. It made everything vague and repeated words and phrases until I stopped it to preserve the world’s computing power. I could not justify spending any more energy producing such rubbish.

Fail.

E. Dependence on data and lack of human intuition

It lacks intuition on the writing level, and the ability to inject intuition into characters in the story world. There is no nuance. Everything is on the nose. It cannot write something that will pique your interest or have you turning pages to find anything out. It lacks an understanding of narration vs showing. You can beg it to show in every prompt, but it will go back to narrating (telling) to make sure you know what’s happening like a new writer afraid that the reader has 2 rocks for brain cells.

Fail.

I’ll end with an example, and you can decide for yourself. Here’s a piece I wrote for my article on Character Design:

I watched Jen walk down the sidewalk, her face alight with a bright smile. She greeted every passerby with a cheerful "Good morning!" and a wave of her hand. Everyone who saw her couldn't help but be drawn in by her infectious energy and positivity.

I crossed the road and called to her, “Hey, Jen! You forgot your books!” but she skipped and hummed her way around the corner. That was just Jen, happy all the time. What made people like her tick?”

The airhead had forgotten some books at school today, and ma’am asked me to take them to her. Apparently, her father hadn’t signed her homework in days. I kept going, hungry but eager to get one of her bright thank yous.

I walked up her patio and found the front door ajar. I hovered my knuckles over the door, but paused as I heard a sob coming from inside. Curious, I craned my neck to see further down the hall into the living room. That was when I got a fowl smell.

“Dad, will you please come down now?” Jen’s voice came from the living room.

I couldn’t quite see into the room, but in an ornament reflection I glimpsed a man’s swaying feet. Suddenly, the smell made sense, and so did her naive optimism.

I was not proud of my reaction, but I turned and ran as fast as I could and threw up in the bushes, no longer hungry.

Here’s what I got after giving ChatGPT the first bit, and describing what happens, and also letting it know exactly what I’m trying to convey about people with overly positive outlooks. I also told it to show, don’t tell. Use subtext. Etc.

As Jen strolled down the sidewalk, her face beamed with a radiant smile. She greeted every person she passed with a cheerful "Good morning!" and a wave of her hand. Those who saw her couldn't help but be captivated by her boundless energy and positivity. I found myself wondering, what lies beneath Jen's constant cheer?

I crossed the road and called out to her, "Hey, Jen! You forgot your books!" But as I watched her skip and hum down her street, I couldn't shake off the feeling that something was off.

I was asked to deliver her forgotten books to her house. As I approached it, I couldn't shake the feeling that something was off. The front door was slightly ajar, and I could hear faint sobs coming from inside. My curiosity got the better of me, and I cautiously pushed open the door.

The first thing that hit me was a smell. As I walked further into the house, I saw Jen sitting on the living room floor, tears streaming down her face. In front of her stood a man, swaying unsteadily on his feet. The smell, I realized, was alcohol.

Jen looked up at me with pleading eyes, "Dad, please come down now," she begged. But the man paid no attention to her, his focus solely on the bottle in his hand.

It all clicked into place. Jen's constant positivity was nothing more than a coping mechanism, a way to deal with the trauma and pain of living with an alcoholic parent. Her smile was a facade, a shield to protect herself from the reality of her home life.

I couldn't bring myself to stay any longer. The sight of Jen's shattered facade and the smell of alcohol were too much for me to handle. I turned and ran as fast as I could, feeling guilty for not being able to help her. But as I walked away, I couldn't shake the feeling that Jen's story was not unique, that many people have a facade they present to the world to hide their true struggles and pain. Jen's constant optimism and happiness was just a coping mechanism for the turmoil in her home.

This realization made me even more determined to be there for my friends and family, to truly see them and support them through their struggles, rather than just accepting their surface level emotions. As I walked away from Jen's house, I couldn't shake the feeling that her story was not unique, that there are many people hiding behind facades and in need of support. It was a harsh reminder to never make assumptions about someone's life based on their outward appearance and to always be there for those we care about.

I find it hilarious that it thought her father was drunk. It did a nice job with the trepidation while entering the house, but damn. Also, I gave it a fully written piece and it still started two paragraphs with ‘As’. And the preaching! Even in fiction, it gives on-the-nose disclaimers about the issues it’s supposed to be showing. It will beat the disclaimer into your skull with a hammer until you get it, stupid human.

Conclusion

Research, brainstorm, study, and check technical aspects of your work with this new writing buddy. But don’t give them the pen. Not just yet. If and when that changes, it might be time to go back to that day job—if it still exists—but for now, ChatGPT is here to assist.

Cheers!

Reece Naidu

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