An Emerging Writer’s Guide to AI

Regardless of whether you’re an emerging or established writer, it’s no secret how frustrating the writing process can be. Taika Waititi aptly sums it up in my favourite way, “What does writing actually mean? Sometimes writing is opening up your laptop, looking at a blank page for about eight hours, feeling sad, and closing it…”  

If someone approached me during my time as a writing student and offered a tool to alleviate the experience of staring at a blank page, desperately coaxing words from my mind, I would have cried with relief. Enter – generative AI tools. 

Once viewed as a distant realm of science fiction, AI now has the capacity to become an integral part of the writing process. As someone who has studied creative writing for most of their adult life, this new technology excites and terrifies me. 

Over the past year, rapid advancements in generative AI technology have raised many questions: ‘Do we need to be worried about our jobs?’ (The Guardian, 2023) ‘Where does it get its information from?’ (Leffer, 2023) and ‘Will AI destroy great writing?’ (2024) 

As AI continues to become adept at mimicking human artistry, these conversations are critical – especially for new and emerging writers. For now, though, I’m interested in choosing to see generative AI, not with fear, but with curiosity.  

Keeping in mind the budget and time constraints of emerging writers, I’ve been experimenting with the most accessible, free tools available to see how AI could amplify my creativity.  

ThisPersonDoesNotExist.Com 

Generative AI has proven to be a versatile tool for character inspiration as well as text generation. ThisPersonDoesNotExist is one of the simplest tools out there. The website randomly generates faces, allowing users to select basic prompts such as age and ethnicity, creating composite images of people who don’t exist from an online database.  

I’ve used this tool in both writing workshops and my own practice and have found it useful for creating quick character descriptions. However, like most AI tools, the database lacks diversity and most of the people generated are in want of distinguishing features. You can choose to see this as a limitation or a creative challenge. I’m still astounded at the quantity of ideas cultivated by a room full of writers in response to the same image. 

Generate a face and ask yourself…  

What was this person doing just before this picture was taken? 

What does this person do/want to be doing for a living? 

What is this person thinking right now?  

If, like me, you feel overwhelmed when it comes to AI, using a familiar format for generating characters can help make this new technology more accessible.  

Artflow AI 

I was hesitant to utilise AI generated art because of the heated ethical debates (2022) surrounding it, but the consensus seems to be that if it’s for low stakes, and personal use, go ahead. 

Artflow AI requires more input from the writer, generating images from written prompts. I found it to be most useful when bringing characters to life and decided to see if it could generate a character from my current work in progress, a middle grade novel. 

Prompt: ‘eleven-year-old ghost girl with short brown curly hair, green eyes, freckles, glasses, wearing dungarees and a sparkle of mischief in her eyes.’

The tool offers a variety of art styles, and I found the ‘fantasy’ filter most effective. It really took the colour green and ran with it, but this works within the context of the novel. Although there are limitations based on the database, and it implements its own ideas no matter how specific you are, seeing a visual representation of a character you imagined in your head – within minutes – feels magical.  

Claude AI 

Claude AI was created as an ethical alternative (Toolify n.d.) to ChatGPT, designed as a ‘conversational assistant’ that can respond to prompts and have intelligent conversations. I left it open on my desktop as a workshop partner, checking in when I needed quick information about an Irish myth, a list of names based on a character’s personality, or simply ‘what should happen next?’ 

Like ChatGPT, you can ask Claude AI to write a scene for you, but it doesn’t mimic your writing style (some AI tools are almost capable of doing this) meaning any passages borrowed directly felt out of place.  

So, while it can’t write my novel for me, Claude AI has proven useful for time-saving research, inspiration and brainstorming ideas.  

SUDOWRITE 

I can imagine keeping Sudowrite in my back pocket for those days when getting any words down on the page feels like a slog. You can simply type in a prompt and watch it go, wishing your own writing sessions looked that easy. 

Is the prose any good? Not exactly. It’s an average response at best. But if you’re open to exploring, and playing with ideas, it might spark a phrase, sentence or concept to help get you started.  

TEXTFX 

One of the more user-friendly and sleekly designed tools out there, TEXTFX serves specific creative needs. Perhaps you’re struggling to connect two ideas, need alliteration to liven up your poem, or help finding the perfect simile. In those moments when you know it just needs a little more, but you’re not sure what that is, TEXTFX can identify new connections and direction.  

Will it give you the perfectly formed edit? No. But like all generative tools, it might give you the starting point from which to jump off into your creative flow.  

Embracing AI 

The conversations around AI can feel overwhelming. There are serious concerns as seen in the 2023 SAG-AFTRA strikes (The Guardian, 2023) about a future where AI could replace writers. As an emerging author, it can feel safer to avoid it altogether, but companies will continue investing in AI whether we like it or not.  

As writers and artists, we need to join these conversations to ensure our rights are protected, that AI tools remain accessible, and that they’re trained on diverse, accurate databases. We need to understand where our data is stored, when a piece of AI-influenced writing is no longer fully ours, and much more. Instead of avoiding AI out of fear, we need to grow alongside it. Otherwise, it will leave us behind.  

On a lighter note, it’s important to remember that art and writing are inherently playful – and generative AI tools offer a chance to play. As a writer, who is still finding their voice, these new tools can exist to inspire and create. Can we experiment with them while being cautious? Absolutely! 

As a Creative Writing graduate, the application of generative AI tools within the writing process fascinates me. With an ever-expanding list of tools from image to text generation, the possibilities are vast, and I’m keen to embrace AI as a creative collaborator rather than a competitor.  

Reference List:  

Toolify (n.d.) Discover Claude AI: Free alternative to chatgpt with document upload. Available at: https://www.toolify.ai/gpts/discover-claude-ai-free-alternative-to-chatgpt-with-document-upload126502#:~:text=Claude%20was%20developed%20by%20anthropic,%2C%20nuance%2C%20and%20ethical%20responses. (Accessed: 04 November 2024).  

How Hollywood writers triumphed over AI – and why it matters (2023) The Gaurdian. Available at: https://www.theguardian.com/culture/2023/oct/01/hollywood-writers-strike-artificial-intelligence (Accessed: 04 November 2024).  

Incoherent, creepy and deceptively gorgeous: Six leading British artists making art with AI (2022) The Guardian. Available at: https://www.theguardian.com/artanddesign/2022/dec/01/six-leading-british-artists-making-art-with-ai (Accessed: 04 November 2024).  

Leffer, L. (2023) Your Personal Information Is Probably Being Used to Train Generative AI Models, Scientific American. Available at: https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/your-personal-information-is-probably-being-used-to-train-generative-ai-models/ (Accessed: November 2024).  

SAG-Aftra Union ratifies strike-ending contract with Hollywood Studios (2023) The Guardian. Available at: https://www.theguardian.com/culture/2023/dec/05/sag-aftra-union-ratifies-contract-hollywood-studios (Accessed: 04 November 2024).  

Will AI Destroy Great Writing? (2024) thewritingplatform.com. Available at: https://thewritingplatform.com/2024/01/will-ai-destroy-great-writing/ (Accessed: 04 November 2024).