Ha! That's a joke, folks! I was actually thinking about that song, War. Remember the lyrics to that one:
(War) h'uh
Yeah!
(What is it good for?)
Absolutely (nothin) uh-huh, uh-huh
(War) h'uh
Yeah!
(What is it good for?)
Absolutely (nothin')
Say it again, y'all
I referenced the song because I've been at war with myself about how much I want to use AI and how dependent I want to become. I believe that as authors, we all have to figure out the answer to this question. I find the line I draw in the sand constantly evolving.
Even if you've ignored the AI (artificial intelligence) craze everywhere, you must have noticed Kindle now asking whether you've used AI to create your book. Then, in January this year, the winner of a prestigious literary award admitted she used AI to write hers. Granted, it was only a tiny percentage. With both things happening, I thought now might be an excellent time to discuss AI.
Four years ago, as a newbie writer, I was highly interested in computer-assisted writing, so I bought in as a lifetime member of one start-up, QuickWrite at an incredibly low one time fee. I believe it was one hundred dollars. They are now charging amounts I would never consider paying. It has come a long way, but it's something I seldom use, not even for my non-fiction writing. Once in a great while, it's helped me generate a title for a non-fiction article for a local magazine I sometimes write for, but that's been the extent of things. Most writing the computer generates doesn't rival what a good writer can create (even though the author who won the prestigious prize and others may feel differently). It could make a poor writer better if the writer knows the right questions to ask if they are searching for plot ideas or help with the development of their character or even their prose. Still, if you are a fiction writer and a solid one, I believe you won't be happy with what AI creates for you. That's not to say that things might not advance in the future. The one thing that most fiction writers are trying to develop is their voice. How does one do this if the computer becomes your voice?
That's not to say that all AI is worthless. Every writer can benefit in some way by using AI, whether it's for research, marketing, or first-pass editing work, so finding the appropriate AI platform for these tasks makes sense.
One platform that I do find myself using continuously is ChatGPT. This one is free, and I use it like a research assistant. For instance, I'm writing a follow-up book to Hitman's Honey, Hitman's Holiday. I wanted to know three better hotels in Dublin, Ireland, because my hero will need to travel there. When I asked ChatGP that question, it answered: The Merrion, The Shelbourne, Autograph Collection and The Westbury. It also provided a short paragraph on each one, describing what makes each one unique. It did all of this in less than two seconds.
I selected The Shelbourne as the hotel my hero would stay at and asked ChatGPT what made this hotel iconic. The answer: "it's history (dates back to1824) and location, it overlooks St. Stephen's Green and its cultural significance. Writers such as W.B. Yeats and Brendan Behan, as well as political figures like Michael Collins (IRA), have been associated with the hotel. The Shelbourne's elegant Georgian architecture and grand interiors, like its historic ballrooms also contribute to its cultural significance." Of course, I wanted to learn more about Georgian architecture, so I asked ChatGP where I could see these Georgian elements at The Shelbourne and what Georgian architecture is. This is what it reported:
"In The Shelbourne Hotel, you can expect to see these Georgian architectural features reflected in the building's exterior design, including its facade and entrance, as well as in its interior decor, such as the grand lobby, ballrooms, and other public spaces. These elements contribute to the hotel's historic charm and timeless elegance."
Here are some features typically associated with Georgian architecture that you might find in The Shelbourne (photograph above):
“Symmetry: Georgian buildings are known for their symmetrical facades, often featuring evenly spaced windows and a central entrance.
Proportion: Georgian architecture emphasizes proportion and balance, with careful attention paid to the relationship between different building parts.
Sash Windows: Large sash windows with multiple panes are a common feature of Georgian buildings. These windows often have decorative moldings and are arranged symmetrically on the facade.
Cornices and Molding: Georgian architecture is characterized by elaborate cornices, moldings, and decorative detailing that add elegance and sophistication to the building's exterior and interior.
Classical Elements: Georgian buildings often incorporate classical architectural elements such as columns, pediments, and pilasters, reflecting the influence of ancient Greek and Roman architecture.”
Some of this can now be woven into the description of the building or used in other areas of the story.
For the sake of argument, before ChatGPT, I would have used Google to find my hotels. Still, it would have been a more significant investment of time, and the more time I spend on Google, the more distracted I become. Time should be spent on the actual writing of the story. ChatGPT and programs like this are time savers for researching things like this. Even when working on something like a werewolf story, it proved helpful. I asked how wolves hunt:
"Pack Formation: Wolves are pack animals, and hunting is usually a cooperative effort among pack members. A typical wolf pack consists of a dominant breeding pair (alpha male and alpha female) and their offspring of various ages.
Tracking Prey: Wolves have keen senses of smell, sight, and hearing, which they use to locate potential prey. They may roam over large territories in search of food, often following scent trails left by animals or observing their movements from a distance.
Selecting a Target: When wolves identify a potential target, they assess its size, health, and behavior to determine if it's suitable prey. They may target a variety of animals depending on availability, including deer, elk, moose, bison, and smaller mammals like rabbits and rodents.
Coordination and Communication: Once the pack decides to pursue a target, they coordinate their movements through vocalizations, body language, and visual cues. Wolves may use howls, barks, and growls to communicate with each other during the hunt, maintaining contact and strategizing their approach.
Chase and Ambush: Wolves are adept at pursuing prey over long distances, relying on their endurance and teamwork to tire out their quarry. They may employ tactics such as herding, flanking, or chasing prey into obstacles to gain an advantage.
Subduing the Prey: When the pack catches up to the prey, they work together to bring it down. Wolves may target vulnerable areas like the hindquarters or throat to incapacitate the animal quickly. Their powerful jaws and sharp teeth are used to deliver fatal bites or hold the prey in place.
Feeding and Sharing: After the kill, wolves typically feed together as a pack, with the dominant members eating first. They may consume large portions of the prey on-site or carry meat back to the den to share with pack members, including pups, who may be left behind during the hunt.
Scavenging and Opportunistic Feeding: In addition to hunting, wolves are opportunistic feeders and may scavenge carrion or steal kills from other predators when the opportunity arises. This behavior helps them survive during times of food scarcity or when hunting is less successful."
This information is enough that I can easily weave it into a story for those scenes where you want to show and not tell. This could be your base-level research, and you can go deeper with it, either on ChatGP or through other channels, which is wiser. It's always best to pull information from a variety of sources.
Not all authors use ChatGP for research; others use it for marketing. If this interests you, check out this blog, Thriving Scribes, and read the section on AI for Marketing. I can only speak for myself, but anything involving marketing makes me break out in a sweat. Sitting down with ChatGP and having it come up with some taglines was fun. I wouldn't say I liked any of the ten outright, but I took them, found bits and pieces I wanted, and created a tagline that worked. It would have taken me hours to do it without ChatGP. I spent fifteen minutes on it and ended up with two possible tag lines. I took the tagline and had ChatGP write a book description. Again, it was far from perfect, but it gave me a start and something to work with.
I see the potential for ChatGP to also develop some FB ad copy. Again, I didn't like any of them outright, but there was enough to create something. Again, it saved me time, and isn't that what it's all about—saving us precious time so we can do what we really want to do, write our book? I'm interested in knowing how you use AI. Please leave a comment.
Perhaps if we approached the writing of our books in much the same way that I’ve approached these researching and marketing tasks, we could possibly live with ChatGP, but I don’t know. I’m afraid it would slow me down, not speed things along. It seems counter-intuitive to maintaining control of your voice and vision. Maybe you've had a different experience and been successful in writing your book with ChatGP. If so, please share under comments. I’d love to hear about it!
Baby steps…I hope you'll give ChatGP a try. It's easy to use and might save time on basic research or marketing tasks. Next week, I'll delve into how I've used AI for first-pass editing tasks and some of the software platforms I've tried.
Other News: All my paperback books are now available on Kindle, and this month, in March, so far, 55% of my sales are coming from my print books. Since I make more from the print book, I'm happy about this. Yeah!
Finally got my draft for my book, The Devil I Love, from Draft2Digital. It looked good, so I pushed the publish button. It is now under review. I put The Devil You Know up and ordered a draft copy. My royalties will be much lower from Draft2Digital than from Amazon. They charge more for printing, and I make much less with the distribution than if I sell through Amazon. Still, I want to sell on these other platforms, especially AppleBooks, Barnes & Noble, and Kobo.
My last consideration is whether I want to sell print books from my website. If I do, I must mail the books or subcontract the work. If I sold the books from my own site, I would make all the money minus the printing cost. I'm already paying for the website. However, it would be a big responsibility to mail the book to the buyer or subcontract this part. I'd love to hear from anyone with experience selling their print books from their webpage. This is all the news fit to print from Kay Freeman. Have a great week, authors!
As befits one of my generation (age 76), I am highly suspicious and generally antagonistic to the notion of what AI can already do and the damage it may inflict upon writers. However, I see a marvelous potential (still, alas, probably decades off in the future).
We know that Shakespeare wrote a number of "histories," but that Henry II was not among them. Given such a marvelous work as THE LION IN WINTER, might it be possible to feed the AI every word Shakespeare wrote, then add the history of Henry II (as known during the appropriate time span -- e.g., 1592-1607), and hope to have it produce a "Shakespearean" play about that monarch?
More ambitious still: Giuseppi Verdi, the Italian operatic giant, wrote three plays based on Shakespeare's works (OTELLO, MACBETH, and FALSTAFF). He wanted and indeed worked on an operatic setting of KING LEAR, but the project aborted. Again: might a technological device absorb all the compositions of Verdi, then focus on his treatment of Shakespeare's texts in the three operas above, and ultimately produce the "Verdian" opera the composer never wrote? Just curious.
*****
Finally: as for draft2digital: Their printing costs are indeed higher and the royalties are thus compromised. However, their royalties for digital books are arguably comparable, since they seem to offer a better return on lower-priced (i.e., sub-$2.99) books. Good luck with them, though. [I don't wish to sell books from my website, but if you find someone who might be interested in 600 copies of a small paperback (on an obscure tragedy of the American Revolutionary War), please let me know!]
I am curious about your thoughts about the veracity of ChatGPT. What does OpenAI say about how much we can rely on the research we ask its software to do?