Artificial Intelligence (AI) is the new kid in school, with people wondering if it’s worth getting to know or if it’s just ‘having a moment.’ But anyone who thinks that AI is just the latest tech trend will be missing the boat. It’s not clear yet if AI will be the equivalent of the Internet in terms of its impact, but the two of them, especially when used together, are making major changes to the way we live and the work we do.
Like many, my approach to AI was similar to my approach to the Mac when it first came out. If you were like me, you wrote a note to your friends and family using as many fonts as the paper could (including Zapf dingbats) hold. And after the novelty wore down, we all just went back to business. With AI, I focused initially on its artistic capability. I’d be with someone talking about AI and, to give them an idea of how fast and powerful it was, I had them come up with a seemingly impossible combination. As an example, I gave them my initial visual: “Develop three different treatments of a senior surfer, using three different visual types.” Half a minute later I had three different (and very expressive) treatments: one in Cubist style, one pointillist, and one in the style of Van Gogh. In 30 seconds.
To be honest, I was amazed but not that sure how AI would transfer its capabilities to the left-brain world of writing. I tried using it when I got stuck writing my current project (The Forever Factor) and then used it to help me hone my query letter, my loglines and synopses. To my amazement, AI not only ‘read’ my novel but offered me ideas that were specific to the novel and its characters, rather than generic fluff. Which led me to start using AI at different points in the writing process. Here’s where I discovered:
Big picture: AI can be a brainstorming partner for ideas, whether you’re stuck or just want to get another perspective (It’s odd to speak of AI in human terms, but it feels like a relationship that matures, the more your AI ‘partner’ learns about you and your project.) Whether it’s generating big ideas at the beginning of the process, helping you structure your plot, or developing characters, AI can help. (At first it may feel like you’re cheating, but it’s still your idea, your plot, your characters. Think of AI as a really smart reader.)
As you write: Once you’re into the writing process, AI can help in a number of ways, depending on what you task it with (the more precise the question, the deeper the responses will be). Specifically, AI can help with character development, offering motives, backstories, etc. Same with dialogue—it can suggest ways to deepen what you’re trying to say or it
Once the first draft is done: This is where AI can help with proofing, editing and other tasks related to getting to that final draft. It can help you with collaboration, if you’re got a writing partner. And, while you’ll still need to have a human editor do a final read, you should be able to negotiate better terms than you’ve had in the past, given that AI will have caught most of your errors in a final ‘read-through.’
One last suggestion: Writers are notorious for clinging to the past. Some still work in long-hand, some are comfortable with typewriters but not computers. But if you’ve made the jump to either Word or FinalDraft, you’ve crossed a Rubicon of sorts. AI is just the next step in that process.
Good luck.
PS: the next blog will focus on what AI can do for the fiction-writing process.
