Will AI (ChatGPT) Kill the Writing Star?—by Susan J Bruce

Photo by Brett Jordan on Unsplash

Back in the late 70s there was a hit single called Video Killed the Radio Star, a one-hit-wonder by The Buggles. It was the first song played when MTV debuted in 1981 and it’s about the concerns and mixed attitudes toward the use of 20th-century inventions and machines for the arts. 

 

Fast forward to 2023 and technology continues to grow exponentially—especially artificial intelligence (AI). 

 

From Siri to self-driving cars, AI technology is quickly becoming ubiquitous and changing the way we live and work. It’s not just making our lives easier but it’s also unlocking new frontiers in fields such as medicine, finance and space exploration.

 

It’s also impacting the arts.

 

One of those AI programs, ChatGPT, is currently generating a lot of discussion—inspiring conversations all over the internet. 

What is Chat GPT?

ChatGPT is a new language model program that has been trained on a large amount of text from the internet and beyond. It can generate words and ideas in a conversational tone about almost anything. 

 

I’m a copywriter as well as an author. We talked about it as a team at work and I’d seen some chatter about the program in various writing groups, so I thought I’d better check out what it could do. 

• Was ChatGPT going to put me out of a job? 
• Was it going to kill off my author career?

I decided to sign up to the free version of ChatGPT and have a play with the program! 

 

First impression? Wow! The conversational nature of the chatbot was scary-good. At times I felt as if I was talking to a real person.

 

Second impression? My job and writing career were safe—for now!

What ChatGPT can and can’t do 

When you sign up for ChatGPT, the site gives you some warnings about the program’s capabilities and limitations:

• It remembers what you said earlier in the conversation
• It allows you to give follow-up corrections       
• It’s trained to decline inappropriate requests (Not sure what that means, so I didn’t test it!)       
• It may occasionally give you incorrect information       
• It can sometimes produce harmful instructions or biased content       
• It has limited knowledge of the world and events after 2021 (which is obviously when it was programmed)

It also isn’t private—anything you enter could be read by one of their technicians—so don’t give it any information that’s deeply personal or anything related to your security, online or otherwise.

 

I decided to check out the program’s abilities for myself.

ChatGPT writing experiments

Writing copy

To begin with, I decided to check out its copywriting capabilities. I asked ChatGPT to write an advertising blurb for my young adult novel, Running Scared. I gave it the book description and asked it to generate several responses. The first few were simply awful, but I gave it more information and it finally gave me this copy. It's still pretty iffy—I wouldn’t use it as is—but with time I could tweak this draft to come up with something I liked:

 

Experience the heart-wrenching and thrilling journey of Melinda in "Running Scared", the latest novel by Susan J. Bruce. When the boy she loves is hiding a dark secret, Melinda must confront her worst fears and uncover the truth. With themes of first-love, friendship, and bravery, this captivating story explores the power of standing up to bullies and the consequences of keeping secrets. Perfect for young adult readers who love stories filled with emotion and mystery, "Running Scared" will keep you hooked from beginning to end."

 

Verdict: Don’t rely on ChatGPT to write great copy, but it can be used to give you something you can work with and refine.

 

Writing poetry 

I then switched to poetry and asked it to write a ‘happy sonnet’. I reasoned that asking for both poetry and emotion would test its writing abilities. The result was four simple quatrains like this one:

A world of joy, a heart of gold, 

A smile that shines, a story told, 

Of happiness that overflows, 

And laughter that forever grows.

 

I then asked ChatGPT if it understood the structure of a sonnet. It said yes and explained the sonnet structure accurately and defined an English (Shakespearian) sonnet as having three quatrains and a rhyming couplet—all in iambic pentameter. I then asked the program to rewrite the poem according to its definition of an English sonnet.

 

Once again, it gave me four quatrains.

 

I explained that it wasn’t writing according to the rules it gave me and it apologised profusely (yes, really) and had another go. After several attempts, the best it came up with were three quatrains and two rhyming couplets. I gave up and moved on.

 

Here’s another example of inaccuracy that made me laugh: 

 

An amusing ChatGPT chat I found on reddit—used with permission

 

Verdict: Don’t ask ChatGPT to help you with your poetry (or other) homework! 😎

 

Things became more interesting when I asked it to help me with my novel.

Novel writing

I’m writing a mystery novel and I’m at a point where I need to thread subtle clues to the identity of murderer throughout the story. I gave ChatGPT a couple of paragraphs summarising my story and the character of the antagonist. I then asked for hints regarding how I could thread these clues throughout the narrative.

 

I won’t list them here because I don’t want you to know whodunit 😊, but it gave me some good suggestions. Then I asked the program how I could make my antagonist a more rounded character. Nothing it said was new, and I had to ask the right questions, but it was surprisingly helpful. I felt as if I was brainstorming with another author in my genre. 

 

I could have got this information from a Google search, but it would have taken a lot longer. I could also have chatted with an actual author friend, but we are all busy, right? 

 

Verdict: If you ask ChatGPT the right questions, it can be a useful tool in plotting your novel.

The emphasis here is on the word “tool”

I’m sure this program can do a lot more. When I asked Chat GPT to tell me how it could be useful for authors. This is what it said: 

 

ChatGPT is … an excellent tool for authors who are looking for feedback and suggestions on their writing. Simply provide your draft to ChatGPT and ask for suggestions, and it will respond with insightful suggestions and recommendations, tailored to your writing style and tone. This real-time interaction with an AI model offers an exciting new opportunity for writers to improve their craft and reach their audiences in new and engaging ways.

 

We already have AI tools that are used extensively in the writing world. Editing programs such as Grammarly and ProWritingAid are a form of AI, as are search engines like Google and DuckDuckGo.

 

If we see AI technology as a tool that can help writers create better work, faster, it can be an excellent resource. As long as we treat ChatGPT as a resource and not as a ghostwriter. 

 

The reality is that technology is developing exponentially. In a couple of years GPT3 (on which ChatGPT is based) will become GPT4, so AI isn’t going to go away anytime soon. It will only become more powerful. 

How do we respond?

I think in the future we’ll have three choices as authors: 

• Let programs like this do our writing for us (meh…)
• Ignore it completely
• Harness the technology like we do every other tool (computers and internet, anyone?) and use it to our advantage.  

Photo by Martin Shreder on Unsplash 

My vote is for the third option. I don’t think using an AI tool to write your whole work, or even significant sections of your book is a good idea, from either a craft or ethical perspective. But, like all technology, it can be a handy tool.  

If, like me, you’re the kind of person who likes to bounce ideas off someone to clarify your thoughts, but you don’t always have access to another writer right then, tech like this can be really helpful. It’s fun to play with and it can help you look at your story in a different way.

 

The good news is that even with further technological advances, I don’t believe ChatGPT will take over our roles as writers and authors anytime soon. 

 

Even if AI can one day generate commercially viable stories and books, these books will lack the human creative spark. And I sometimes wonder that if technology uses the internet as its source and AI works take over the internet, will all the information one day devolve into the literary version of grey goo? 

 

There has to be some safeguards. Somehow we need to make sure the dystopian future Roald Dall hypothesised in his book, The Great Automatic Grammatizator, doesn’t happen. In this story a man creates a machine that can write a prize-winning novel in about 15 minutes. More and more of the world’s writers must license their names to the machine—so killing human creativity.

 

As Christian writers (this is a CWD blog after all), whether we write for the Christian community or for mainstream audiences, we have a secret weapon: the Holy Spirit. It’s amazing to think that the God who brought this brilliant and beautiful world into being, also made us to be creators in his image. Our heavenly dad loves to help us make things.

 

I wouldn’t swap that for any AI 😊.

 

But back to that song I mentioned… 

Video didn’t kill the radio star—video and radio are two different media sources. Video music clips entertain by blasting both the visual and audio senses, while radio is a more intimate, invite-the-announcer-into-your-living-room kind of experience. 

 

I don’t think ChatGPT will kill the writing star, either. If AI can help us organise our thoughts and brainstorm ideas, that’s pretty cool. And if we harness the power of AI programs in the right way, it can help our star rise.

 

What about you? Do you think there’s a place for ChatGPT and other AI in an author’s toolbox? What do you think are the ethical issues of using AI?

 

Let’s talk in the comments!

 

Susan J Bruce is an author, artist and animal addict who writes mystery and suspense books—with heart. Susan is a former veterinarian and animals often run, jump, fly or crawl through her tales. Her writing group once challenged her to write a story without mentioning any animals—she failed! Susan’s first novel, Running Scared, was awarded the 2018 Caleb Prize for an unpublished manuscript and is currently available on your favourite online retailer books2read.com/u/3RLoLB. 

Visit Susan at www.susanjbruce.com.

 

 

The CPU of Publication and Beyond

 by Jeanette O'Hagan

The C's

Way back in 2012, when I launched back into my writing dreams, I was introduced to the 'Snowflake Man Randy Ingermanson. Randy developed a nonlinear system of plot development - the Snowflake method - but that's a post for another day (you can find out about it here).  He suggested three things are needed to get published - Content, Craft and Connections

Content

'What you know'. Randy says everyone has content that is unique to them. It might be your life experiences or story, or a skill or professional expertise, or it could be your imagination. No matter if you write fiction or non-fiction - who you are, your story, your personality, your life and your imagination will infuse your writing so that it is uniquely yours. 

Even so, it's important to refine and test your content. Make sure you have a story worth telling in a way that's compelling and impactful. 

Craft 

Knowing what you want to write is important, but so is knowing how to tell it. There's a joke about someone on a tour of (let's say) an aged care home. The director takes the guest to the recreation room where a group have gathered. One old woman shouts out 23 and the whole group falls about laughing. A man says 12 and by this time the group is in stitches. The guest turns to the director and asks for an explanation. The director says, 'This group have been together so long, they know each other's jokes, so they've assigned numbers to them to save time. A few more call out numbers, much to the merriment of the group, until a man stands up and mumbles, '34'. Dead silence - not a chuckle, not a snicker, not a smile. The guest turns to the director mystified. 'What happened there?' The director shakes her head, 'Ah, Sam could never tell a joke. He always gets the delivery wrong.'

It's not quite enough to have a good story, we also need to know how to tell it. That is the craft - learning the techniques, the strategies, the rules of writing. It includes knowing reader expectations and being aware of changes over time. If as writers, we want our stories to be noticed we need to hone the skills of the craft.

Connections

The next C is connections. This, I think works on a few levels. Randy mentions going to conferences to make connections with agents and publishers. Not that this is an invitation to stalk or hound or to button hole. Make genuine connections. 

I think connections can be much wider than that and include being part of the writer community - encouraging and supporting each other. Other writers are not the opposition. Rather, we are stronger if we support each other through many and diverse ways - maybe providing constructive feedback in critique groups or as beta-readers, buying, reading and reviewing other authors' books (especially those who write in a similar genre or area) or maybe through encouragement and prayer. 

And the other important group to connect with are readers and fans.

But it's not quite as simple as that in my experience. I would add three Ps and a U.

Add in the P's

Patience

If we plant a young mango tree today, we would be mad to expect it to provide us with a bumper crop tomorrow. Fruit trees take time to grow and often don't fruit at all for the first several years. Most authors do not experience instant results. So one of the most important tools in a writers' toolbox is patience. Allowing time for things to happen. it takes time to write a book - and then to rewrite it, to prune and polish it. It generally takes time to publish (whether traditionally or as an Indie). And it takes time to build an audience - and generally it takes more than one book. And the hardest thing is being patient when nothing seems to be happening, no one seems to be taking notice. 

Persistence

Being an author is not for the faint-hearted. It requires hard work. It can be a rollercoaster ride of excitement (typing 'The End' for the first time, holding the first book in our hands, reading a glowing review, the first royalty payment, having a bunch of sales, having a fan come back to buy the next book, winning a prize) but it is also packed with times of disappointment (getting negative feedback, receiving the umpteenth rejection letter - or no letter at all, having sales drop or getting no sales at all, discovering a scathing one star review, having hardly anyone buy your latest book, and 'crickets' - the long periods of silence). And there are so many things to juggle, so many things to spend money on for, often, so little (monetary) return. Moreover, there's a lot of trial and error - of working out what works for you and your books among the multitude of options and possibilities

If you see a successful author (however you define success) you see an author who persisted despite the setbacks and disappointments. 

Prayer

And as Christian writers, we should add prayer. Why do we write? What is our motivation? Whatever we do, we should do to honour our Lord. And in whatever we do, we should seek His guidance, His wisdom, and His provision. In the fallow times, when nothing seems to be happening, we can and should trust Him, rest on Him, wait for Him to do His work through us. And maybe, that's the hardest lesson of all. 

Then there's the U

What does U stand for? Unlimited? Unexpected? Unequalled? Ultimate? Unerring? 

It stands for YOU. 

Yes, you.  You have a unique story or stories to tell - even if it's the 1000th retelling of Beauty and the Beast - or Pride and Prejudice - you can put your own imprint on it, if told well. 

But it's more than that, because in the end, the buck stops with U.  No one else is responsible for your story. The world does not owe you a reading of your book, no matter how hard you worked on it.  

There's that saying 'If you build it, they will come.' (From the movie Field of Dreams). But just because you wrote a book, even a book the Lord has called you to write, doesn't mean you can stand in the field and wait for people to discover it. Don't stand around asking what others can do for you - rather, be proactive and consider what you can do, what you need to do to bring your dream and calling to fruition. 

Trust in God does not mean quiescence, standing still and doing nothing. It may mean waiting in active faith but it also means stepping out of the boat in the middle of the storm and walking on the waves.

Omega Writers Book Fair & the Omega Writers Conference

There are two upcoming opportunities - the Brisbane Omega Writers Book Fair (31 July) and the Omega Writers Conference and CALEB dinner (October) - opportunities to meet with other Christian writers, to learn from others and - with the Book Fair  - to connect with readers and, perhaps, sell some books. Even if your book is unpublished, it's still worth coming to the Book Fair to connect with other writers, to do the workshop or panel - and maybe to win a prize. Mark the dates in your diaries and - if you can - please come.

Jeanette O'Hagan has published and promoted two joint anthologies – Glimpses of Light and Let Sea Roar, and seven books in her YA epic fantasy world - Under the Mountain novella series, the first two books in her Akrad’s Legacy series - a Young Adult secondary world fantasy fiction with adventure, courtly intrigue and romantic elements, and a collection of short stories in Ruhanna's Flight and Other Stories. Her short stories and poems have also been included in over twenty anthologies - including Gods of Clay, Challenge Accepted and Tales of Magic and Destiny.

It's one thing to write the book, another to get it published and a whole new level to make it visible. It's a steep learning curve and can often feel overwhelming but there is nothing better than connecting with enthusiastic readers.

 
She will be one of the panellists on Marketing and Promotion for Writers at the Omega Writers Book Fair, along with Sally Eberhardt and Lynne Stringer and moderated by Nola Passmore. 11:30-12:15 am, Saturday 31 July 2021. Find out more here.

When all you've got is an empty page - by Susan J Bruce

Photo courtesy of Deposit Photos

You need wise words. You must have some… somewhere. It’s your turn to blog, but your ideas don’t just fly out of the window. They do a full circle and smash into the glass, falling stunned on the ground below. Your body aches – the pain is persistent, your brain is tired, and the shop you needed that thing from closed just as you got there. You’re grumpy at your husband. No major reason, you just are. The dog is barking, the cockatiel is screeching and you wonder why it’s all so hard. 

 

A fruit rat clunks along the gutter outside your study window. Another - or possibly a very large mouse - scurries behind your skirting boards, changing direction with a clunk so loud the wall vibrates. You don’t want to put down bait – you have pets – so you shut your eyes and pray that the resident rodents won’t eat wiring. Then you survey your study and wish you could be rewired so you could have the energy to clean up the category-five-like devastation around you. With a deep sigh you check your bank balance and wonder if it’s time to give up writing and get a real job that pays the bills. 

 

Cute rodent photo by Svetozar Cenisev on Unsplash

You start typing but your words depress you. You want heart and hope to be part of your brand but it’s as if the H-words have grabbed their togs and towel and headed to the beach with a wave of a hand and a conspiratorial giggle. You tap your foot and stare at your watch: They were due back an hour ago, but they are out there somewhere cruising down the street in the little red convertible you know you’ll never own.

It’s been a while since you’ve had such a penchant for the pity-party (not to mention excessive alliteration) and the smallest smile invades your face. The corners of your lips twitch and a reluctant, wry grin reframes your countenance. You lift your gaze again. This time not to the rooftop racetrack of the resident ‘Rattus rattus’, or the cobwebs in the corner, or the dust on your desk-shelf, but you see the truth of who and whose you are. 

 

Hope pushes through the window of self-pity. Heart grapples with the gloom and casts out the word ‘can’t’. You cheer as truth squashes lies like flies. You are not alone.  

Photo by Kristopher Roller on Unsplash

There is a King. You are His.
There is a Creator. He made you in his image.
You are fearfully and wonderfully made. His. Works. Are. Wonderful.
You did not choose Him. He chose you.
You are part of his plan and purpose. 

You were bought with a price. 

You will live for eternity with him.
You are loved with an everlasting love.

He is with you to the end of the age.
And he can do more in your life than you can ever ask or imagine. You grin at that. You can imagine a lot.

Photo by Greg Rakozy on Unsplash

Sometimes the page before you is empty – but you are never an empty page. Eternity is written on your life with indelible ink, the colour of blood.

 

Remember.

Rejoice.

Write.

 

Reflect...

Genesis 1:27 

Psalm 139

Song of Solomon 2:16

Jeremiah 31:3

Matthew 28:20

John 1:1-5

John 15:16

1 Corinthians 6:20

Ephesians 3:20

Revelation 17:14

_______________________

Susan J Bruce, aka Sue Jeffrey, spent her childhood reading, drawing, and collecting stray animals. Now she’s grown up, she does the same kinds of things. Susan worked for many years as a veterinarian, and now writes stories filled with mystery, suspense, heart and hope. Susan also loves to paint animals. Susan won the ‘Short’ section of the inaugural Stories of Life writing competition and won the 'Unpublished Manuscript' section of the 2018 Caleb prize. Susan is the editor of'If They Could Talk: Bible Stories Told By the Animals' (Morning Star Publishing) and her stories and poems have appeared in multiple anthologies. Her e-book, 'Ruthless The Killer: A Short Story' is available on Amazon.com. You can check out some of Susan’s art work on her website https://www.susanjbruce.com.

A Bag of Goodies!

 by Anusha Atukorala

In Jan 2019, I flew to Sri Lanka for a family reunion. My Mum was a well known journalist for almost 70 years, so we put together a book that comprised some her articles. We her seven children came from the corners of the globe to celebrate Mum’s life and work at her book launch. It was precious time, filled with love and laughter, family and friends, food and fellowship.

 

Before I returned home to Australia, my sister Sal gave me a generous gift—a voucher from a clothing store. The blouses and skirts in the shop didn’t catch my eye, but I did find something I loved—a spacious canvas bag! The eloquent black and white pattern on it called out to me like a kookaburra’s laugh and the bag fit snugly on my shoulder. I knew I’d find good use for it back home. However, as the months rolled on, I found I didn’t have much reason to reach for it. The thing is, that I had numerous other handbags that were more useful because they, unlike this one, contained numerous separate sections that helped carry the innumerable small items I usually take with me. Did I choose the wrong gift, I wondered!

 

Last year, when winter’s icy chill had waned, when birds began to twitter and colour-splashed flowers danced in the light of day, God wooed me to my backyard. I have been spending hours there with Him every day, enjoying the beauty and solitude. I use an interesting assortment of items for my Quiet Time—a folder containing worship songs, one with lyrics of songs I’ve composed while a third is crammed with spiritual tools that nurture my walk with God—prayers, pictures, reminders, blessings.

 

And of course I take my well-worn bible, a notebook and pen, my reading glasses, sunglasses and even my phone, in case I need to take pictures. I’ve a few tissues for when tears drench my blouse—as they often do in God’s presence. I take a book I’ve created, crammed with evidence of God’s love for me and thoughts I reflect on daily. There’s a book on prayer by Richard Foster and another on healing by Agnes Sandford, both which have been a help in my journey with God this past year.

 

One day, as I collected my Quiet Time Treasures to take to my garden, I dropped my packet of tissues and my reading glasses. Clumsy me! Like a feather falling from a bird in flight, an idea dropped into my mind then … soft and sure. I went to my bedroom at once and found my new but unused bag. I placed my folders, Bible, pen, tissues, books, folders, phone, notebook, sunglasses and reading glasses inside it, slung it on my shoulder and with a steaming cup of English breakfast tea in hand, went out to my favourite spot in our backyard. Why hadn’t I thought of it before?

 

I had a bag of Treasures and oh how it enhanced my morning routine! No dropping items on the way anymore! Since then, I’ve kept my bag filled—I don’t waste time any more, gathering my belongings each morning for my time with the King of kings and Lord of lords.

 

Did you know that you also have a bag of goodies which you can dip into daily, on order to enhance your life as a Christian writer? Let me warn you though. There could be unfortunate scraps inside our bags which should not be in there. Things like …

Procrastination.

Negative thinking.

Self-put-downs.

Comparison.

Rejection.

Past mistakes … and more. Lots more.

They get in the way of doing God’s work, so let’s discard them.

 

Here are some of what you might need in your Writer’s bag of Treasures:

1.     Jesus

2.     God’s love

3.     Your calling

4.     The Holy Spirit

5.     Books on writing

6.     An uncluttered self

7.     Faith, hope and love

8.     The Word planted in you

9.     Writing ability. Writing ideas

10.  Christian  Writers Downunder

11.  Life lessons learnt from the past

12.  Family. An anchor and a catalyst

13.  Friends. To help us on our journey  

14.  Courage to write. Clarity of thinking

15.  Perseverance. Hope. Wisdom. Knowledge.

16.  Good books that teach us as we enjoy them

17.  Writer friends who walk the journey with us

18.  God’s forgiveness and mercy for past failures

19.  2020. A year with many experiences to write about

20.  The realisation that you have something important to share

You are rich in the things that matter. Did you know that? Which of these have eluded you of late? Which of them you do need to put back into your bag before you go out to your writing space today?

 Let’s walk together into the rest of 2021 with a song in our hearts.

Jesus has called you. He has called me. He has called us.

Let’s join hands and change the world, one word at a time.

We have our bag of treasures. We have Jesus. We have each other.

What more do we need?

  Anusha’s been on many interesting detours in life, as a lab

 technician, a computer programmer, a full time Mum, a full

 time volunteer, a charity director, a full time job chaser, until

 one golden day (or was it a dark moonless night?) God

 tapped her on her shoulder and called her to write for Him.

 She has never recovered from the joy it brought her. She

 loves to see others enjoying life with Jesus and does her mite

 to hurry the process in her world through her writing and

 through her life. The goodness of God is her theme song

 through each season, as she dances in the rain with Jesus.

 

Her first book Enjoying the Journey contains 75 little God

 stories that will bring you closer to your Creator. Her second

book ‘Dancing in the Rain’ brings you hope and comfort for

 life’s soggy seasons. Her 3rd book, ‘Sharing the Journey’ is

 a sequel to 'Enjoying the Journey' and was released in March

 2020 and comprises of more God stories to bring connection

 and hope as we share the journey of life together during

 Covid's challenging season.

 

Do stop by at her two websites to say G'day! She'd love to see you.

 Dancing in the Rain 

Light in the Darkness

Dancing in the Rain: https://www.booktopia.com.au/dancing-in-the-rain-anusha-atukorala/book/9781925380118.html

Sharing the Journey: https://www.booktopia.com.au/sharing-the-journey-anusha-atukorala/book/9780648713869.html