Over the last decade, I have written more than 500 short stories using Word or Google docs. Some of these stories are just a few notes about the characters, plot, and general theme, while others are more developed with dialogues and thousands of words. The topics of my stories vary, but most of them deal with the impact of technology, including AI, on society, and issues related to misinformation and information policies.
Previously, I treated writing short stories as a hobby and would do it during my free time, such as while on vacation or waiting at the airport. However, with the emergence of Chat GPT, I wanted to see if I could use it to turn some of my notes into stories and potentially publish them. My goal is not to get them to a level where they could be entered into short story writing competitions, but rather to test how to work with text using AI and observe its advantages and disadvantages.
Please read my short stories, which I wrote with the help of AI.
Observations
- Using Chat GPT inspired me to start going through my archive of stories, something I had been wanting to do for at least 5 years. I am impressed by how Chat GPT allows me to take a 500-word note and turn it into a coherent story in less than two hours. This is a major shift for me as previously, my main barrier was lack of time. I had hundreds of stories saved on my drive but never had the time to do anything with them. However, with the use of AI, I was able to write 30 stories in the span of two weeks. While the plots and characters were already developed, it would have taken me at least a day or two to write one story without AI.
- I also experimented with different writing styles, prompting Chat GPT to use the styles of Quentin Tarantino movies for some stories and Stephen King books for others. One challenge I faced was trying to teach AI to use my own style. I may need to provide more detailed instructions and descriptions in each prompt to achieve this.
- Once I have finished writing a story, I try to illustrate it using Dalle 2. This is all very new to me, but by the time I reached the fifth story, I started to really enjoy it. For my earlier stories, I usually only generated a single image. However, for more recent stories, I have been illustrating them with AI-generated images and include 5-6 images with each story. It is a lot of fun and I really enjoy it.
- I began taking notes directly in Chat GPT. I would start with the prompt “Correct grammar and style:” followed by my notes, which were often in a messy format. Chat GPT would then rewrite these, and I could keep them or use them immediately. I did this several times during work calls, converting my notes into well-written notes in seconds after the meeting. I spoke to many people about this, and several non-native English speakers said that they also use it to correct the grammar, style, and general English of their notes, work emails, chats, or Twitter posts. This is an example of AI being used to improve grammar, style, and English.