Writing Fiction With AI (ChatGPT) &
Analysing It As a Writer
Written by Vladislav Kolev | Written Works: Medium, Wattpad, LinkedIn, Notion
Vladislav Kolev is a Technical Artist, Learning Technologist and aspiring Writer based in Nicosia, Cyprus. A diverse skill set and experiences obtained have made him into a jack-of-all-trades type of professional that loves reading, writing, learning and all hobbies that let him create and problem solve creatively.
Armed with a love for languages, exposure to new experiences and cultures and being an avid gamer, he knows his way around computer hardware after building his own computers. He’s a passionate geek that adores genres like Fantasy, Sci-Fi and Adventure, regardless of the medium they are.
As a writer, he creates works in the following genres (so far): Fiction, Fantasy, Dark Fantasy, Sci-Fi.
Currently investing in many hobbies including: Narrative Design and Writing, Fitness, Arts & Crafts, Digital Design, Coding and more.
The stories, styles and techniques it comes up with are bland and lifeless. As as a writer’s tool, it lacks usefulness.
“I realized that if you’re going to write…you had to be willing to do the equivalent of walking down a street naked. You had to be able to show too much of yourself. You had to be just a little bit more honest than you were comfortable with.” -Neil Gaiman
No soul to draw from
Keep that quote in mind, because it embodies the main reason why I believe an AI will never quite be able to reach the level of a good writer, unless it can develop emotions. Not code, not algorithms trying to emulate emotional responses; raw human emotions.
One of the first stories I sat down to write, without having any experience with writing fiction, was a story about the parallel journeys of two characters, which ended up edging closer and closer until they became one storyline. I wrote 12 chapters, and in each chapter I experimented with a new technique, style or writing method I had never tried before. Although I consider it a bad story, I learned a lot by butchering it with every chapter (though I did get good reviews, I never believed them).
With the AI craze, I decided to see what ChatGPT could do, under my instruction, with creating that story from the base up, and if it could improve it after I taught it how. I’m not going to include the whole text because that would take forever to read, but here’s a few snippets. (If you’re interested to read the full correspondence with the AI, click here)
The initial prompt
The more I kept pressing and making changes to the story – the worse the AI became at it. At one point it wrote that the two characters were together even though a paragraph later it said Aurora had not revealed herself to Aridan yet. I pointed it out.
It proceeded to make changes and adapt, but it just suddenly stopped writing after a moment, this happens a lot after a bit of usage, and when it gets interrupted – it appears to reset; it loses memory of previous commands and output, so if you ask it to continue, it messes it up completely.
Picking the story apart
The final story it came up with using my commands is this (click on the toggles to see the text I’m commenting on):
Once upon a time, in a world full of mystical creatures, there lived a werewolf named Aridan. He was a daredevil, always in search of a new adventure to quench his thirst for excitement. Aridan was in his thirties, but he had seen and experienced things that most could only dream of, and yet he still craved for more.
Aridan was cursed with lycanthropy, which granted him the ability to transform into a wolf at will. The curse came with immense power, but it also brought with it immense pain. When he transformed, it felt as if every bone in his body was being broken and reformed, his skin stretching and tearing as fur sprouted all over his body. The process was agonizing, and it took all of Aridan’s willpower to keep from screaming out in pain.
But once the transformation was complete, Aridan felt alive like never before. He could feel the wind rushing through his fur as he ran, the strength of his muscles propelling him forward with incredible speed and power. He could see and smell things that were hidden from his human form, and he felt a strong connection to the world around him.
As a werewolf, Aridan was a fierce protector of his pack and those he cared for, and his alignment was chaotic good. He preferred using his wolf form and relied on it more than weapons, which he only used when he had to. However, he had to be careful not to transform in front of humans, for they might not understand and fear him.
One day, while on the hunt for prey, Aridan stumbled upon a group of demons attacking a white werewolf female. He fought with everything he had, his wolf-like instincts taking over as he tore into the demonic horde. In the end, he emerged victorious, having saved the white werewolf from certain death. From that moment on, the white werewolf became a part of his journeys.
Unbeknownst to Aridan, he had caught the eye of Aurora, a powerful Valkyrie. Aurora was thousands of years old and feared by many. She wore shining armor and wielded a glaive, and she had been secretly following Aridan, intrigued by the artifact he wore around his neck, which she recognized as an object of ancient magic.
Aurora knew she had to be careful. Aridan was already powerful, but the artifact around his neck made him even more dangerous. She watched him closely, studying the artifact and learning everything she could about it. Aurora realized that the object had the power to unleash unspeakable horrors if it fell into the wrong hands.
As Aridan and the white werewolf continued their journey, they encountered countless challenges. They battled against all manner of mystical creatures, their weapons clashing in a blur of steel and fury. Aridan relied on his wolf form, and the white werewolf fought alongside him, protecting each other in battle.
Aurora continued to follow them, observing and waiting. She knew she had to be careful and earn Aridan’s trust before revealing her true intentions.
One night, as they made camp, Aurora finally revealed herself to Aridan. Aridan was wary of her at first, but Aurora explained that she had been following him to protect the ancient artifact he carried around his neck.
Aridan was still suspicious of her motives, but he knew the artifact was too powerful to be left in the wrong hands. He reluctantly allowed Aurora to join their journey, but he kept a close eye on her, not fully trusting her yet.
As they continued their journey, Aurora proved to be a valuable ally. Her combat skills were unmatched, and her knowledge of ancient magic was indispensable. She helped them overcome many obstacles, and Aridan began to warm up to her.
But despite Aurora’s efforts to earn his trust, Aridan couldn’t shake off the feeling that she was hiding something from him. He noticed her sneaking off at night, and he became increasingly suspicious of her motives.
One day, as they were traveling through a forest, they stumbled upon a group of trolls. The trolls were fierce and outnumbered them, and it seemed like they were about to be defeated. But Aurora suddenly stepped forward, her glaive glowing with a bright light as she unleashed a powerful spell that decimated the trolls.
Aridan was impressed by Aurora’s power, but he couldn’t help feeling uneasy about her sudden burst of magic. He knew that the power of the artifact had already corrupted many, and he feared that Aurora might fall victim to its influence.
Despite his growing distrust, Aridan and the white werewolf continued to travel with Aurora, and they faced many challenges together. They battled against dragons, demons, and other mystical creatures, their weapons clashing in a blur of steel and fury. Aridan relied on his wolf form, and the white werewolf fought alongside him, protecting each other in battle.
As they traveled, Aridan’s suspicions grew stronger, and he began to question Aurora’s true intentions. He confronted her about her past and the artifact, but Aurora remained evasive, telling him only what he needed to know.
One night, as they made camp, Aurora suddenly disappeared, leaving behind only a cryptic message. Aridan and the white werewolf searched for her, but they found no trace of her.
Days turned into weeks, and Aridan and the white werewolf continued their journey alone. Aridan couldn’t help feeling that he had made a mistake by trusting Aurora, but he knew that he had to keep going, for the safety of the artifact and those he cared for.
the verdict
While working on this, I couldn’t escape the feeling that this reads like a story I wrote when I was 10. It was about a man that became invincibly powerful after a mine accident, and proceeded to do impossible things – sort of like Superman. The way I described things, the way I wrote generally was much like this AI. Bland, short, no pacing, mechanical, boring with zero flow to any story elements at all. I was basically just playing a linear board game and moving through the steps one by one, without any regards of what each step was beyond a number.
It is in no way ready to currently write an interesting story, or even come up with one. Even when given a good start with a twist – it quickly devolves its writing into what you’ve seen above.
Due to how unstable it is, it is also pretty useless when you have to make changes to what it generated previously, as it seems to often either forget the previous input/output or just does not understand that it should take it into account. I had a bit more luck by telling it “keep the whole of our previous conversation in mind and rewrite the story…” etc. etc. But even so, the result was not great.
The future: Where do I see this in 5 years?
Honestly, I don’t think it will be able to generate fictional writing of the same quality as a good writer. It can definitely learn how to be better, but in the end every good writer draws from something deep inside them – often their own experience – that they don’t quite understand, and uses that as fuel. Even without the skill, it stands out. And I’m not talking about a descriptive experience like “I asked someone and got rejected”, it’s not about what happened so much as it is about how it affected the person, and often there’s no formulae on how you can translate that into writing; it’s instinctual.
I cannot see an AI writer being able to create something like that without having the same experience – which by default – it simply cannot have, barring some Detroit: Become Human level of advancement.
The Handmaid’s Tale, The Sandman, The Graveyard Book, Bag of Bones, Lord of the Rings, Harry Potter. These are just a few of the works that have been created from experiences and the depths of their authors’ souls.
Perhaps if and when an AI reaches the equivalent of having a soul and emotions, we can discuss it again.
“I realized that if you’re going to write…you had to be willing to do the equivalent of walking down a street naked. You had to be able to show too much of yourself. You had to be just a little bit more honest than you were comfortable with.” -Neil Gaiman
No soul to draw from
Keep that quote in mind, because it embodies the main reason why I believe an AI will never quite be able to reach the level of a good writer, unless it can develop emotions. Not code, not algorithms trying to emulate emotional responses; raw human emotions.
One of the first stories I sat down to write, without having any experience with writing fiction, was a story about the parallel journeys of two characters, which ended up edging closer and closer until they became one storyline. I wrote 12 chapters, and in each chapter I experimented with a new technique, style or writing method I had never tried before. Although I consider it a bad story, I learned a lot by butchering it with every chapter (though I did get good reviews, I never believed them).
With the AI craze, I decided to see what ChatGPT could do, under my instruction, with creating that story from the base up, and if it could improve it after I taught it how. I’m not going to include the whole text because that would take forever to read, but here’s a few snippets. (If you’re interested to read the full correspondence with the AI, click here)
The initial prompt
The more I kept pressing and making changes to the story – the worse the AI became at it. At one point it wrote that the two characters were together even though a paragraph later it said Aurora had not revealed herself to Aridan yet. I pointed it out.
It proceeded to make changes and adapt, but it just suddenly stopped writing after a moment, this happens a lot after a bit of usage, and when it gets interrupted – it appears to reset; it loses memory of previous commands and output, so if you ask it to continue, it messes it up completely.
Picking the story apart
The final story it came up with using my commands is this (click on the toggles to see the text I’m commenting on):
Once upon a time, in a world full of mystical creatures, there lived a werewolf named Aridan. He was a daredevil, always in search of a new adventure to quench his thirst for excitement. Aridan was in his thirties, but he had seen and experienced things that most could only dream of, and yet he still craved for more.
Aridan was cursed with lycanthropy, which granted him the ability to transform into a wolf at will. The curse came with immense power, but it also brought with it immense pain. When he transformed, it felt as if every bone in his body was being broken and reformed, his skin stretching and tearing as fur sprouted all over his body. The process was agonizing, and it took all of Aridan’s willpower to keep from screaming out in pain.
But once the transformation was complete, Aridan felt alive like never before. He could feel the wind rushing through his fur as he ran, the strength of his muscles propelling him forward with incredible speed and power. He could see and smell things that were hidden from his human form, and he felt a strong connection to the world around him.
As a werewolf, Aridan was a fierce protector of his pack and those he cared for, and his alignment was chaotic good. He preferred using his wolf form and relied on it more than weapons, which he only used when he had to. However, he had to be careful not to transform in front of humans, for they might not understand and fear him.
One day, while on the hunt for prey, Aridan stumbled upon a group of demons attacking a white werewolf female. He fought with everything he had, his wolf-like instincts taking over as he tore into the demonic horde. In the end, he emerged victorious, having saved the white werewolf from certain death. From that moment on, the white werewolf became a part of his journeys.
Unbeknownst to Aridan, he had caught the eye of Aurora, a powerful Valkyrie. Aurora was thousands of years old and feared by many. She wore shining armor and wielded a glaive, and she had been secretly following Aridan, intrigued by the artifact he wore around his neck, which she recognized as an object of ancient magic.
Aurora knew she had to be careful. Aridan was already powerful, but the artifact around his neck made him even more dangerous. She watched him closely, studying the artifact and learning everything she could about it. Aurora realized that the object had the power to unleash unspeakable horrors if it fell into the wrong hands.
As Aridan and the white werewolf continued their journey, they encountered countless challenges. They battled against all manner of mystical creatures, their weapons clashing in a blur of steel and fury. Aridan relied on his wolf form, and the white werewolf fought alongside him, protecting each other in battle.
Aurora continued to follow them, observing and waiting. She knew she had to be careful and earn Aridan’s trust before revealing her true intentions.
One night, as they made camp, Aurora finally revealed herself to Aridan. Aridan was wary of her at first, but Aurora explained that she had been following him to protect the ancient artifact he carried around his neck.
Aridan was still suspicious of her motives, but he knew the artifact was too powerful to be left in the wrong hands. He reluctantly allowed Aurora to join their journey, but he kept a close eye on her, not fully trusting her yet.
As they continued their journey, Aurora proved to be a valuable ally. Her combat skills were unmatched, and her knowledge of ancient magic was indispensable. She helped them overcome many obstacles, and Aridan began to warm up to her.
But despite Aurora’s efforts to earn his trust, Aridan couldn’t shake off the feeling that she was hiding something from him. He noticed her sneaking off at night, and he became increasingly suspicious of her motives.
One day, as they were traveling through a forest, they stumbled upon a group of trolls. The trolls were fierce and outnumbered them, and it seemed like they were about to be defeated. But Aurora suddenly stepped forward, her glaive glowing with a bright light as she unleashed a powerful spell that decimated the trolls.
Aridan was impressed by Aurora’s power, but he couldn’t help feeling uneasy about her sudden burst of magic. He knew that the power of the artifact had already corrupted many, and he feared that Aurora might fall victim to its influence.
Despite his growing distrust, Aridan and the white werewolf continued to travel with Aurora, and they faced many challenges together. They battled against dragons, demons, and other mystical creatures, their weapons clashing in a blur of steel and fury. Aridan relied on his wolf form, and the white werewolf fought alongside him, protecting each other in battle.
As they traveled, Aridan’s suspicions grew stronger, and he began to question Aurora’s true intentions. He confronted her about her past and the artifact, but Aurora remained evasive, telling him only what he needed to know.
One night, as they made camp, Aurora suddenly disappeared, leaving behind only a cryptic message. Aridan and the white werewolf searched for her, but they found no trace of her.
Days turned into weeks, and Aridan and the white werewolf continued their journey alone. Aridan couldn’t help feeling that he had made a mistake by trusting Aurora, but he knew that he had to keep going, for the safety of the artifact and those he cared for.
the verdict
No human writes like this.
While working on this, I couldn’t escape the feeling that this reads like a story I wrote when I was 10. It was about a man that became invincibly powerful after a mine accident, and proceeded to do impossible things – sort of like Superman. The way I described things, the way I wrote generally was much like this AI. Bland, short, no pacing, mechanical, boring with zero flow to any story elements at all. I was basically just playing a linear board game and moving through the steps one by one, without any regards of what each step was beyond a number.
It is in no way ready to currently write an interesting story, or even come up with one. Even when given a good start with a twist – it quickly devolves its writing into what you’ve seen above.
Due to how unstable it is, it is also pretty useless when you have to make changes to what it generated previously, as it seems to often either forget the previous input/output or just does not understand that it should take it into account. I had a bit more luck by telling it “keep the whole of our previous conversation in mind and rewrite the story…” etc. etc. But even so, the result was not great.
The future: Where do I see this in 5 years?
Honestly, I don’t think it will be able to generate fictional writing of the same quality as a good writer. It can definitely learn how to be better, but in the end every good writer draws from something deep inside them – often their own experience – that they don’t quite understand, and uses that as fuel. Even without the skill, it stands out. And I’m not talking about a descriptive experience like “I asked someone and got rejected”, it’s not about what happened so much as it is about how it affected the person, and often there’s no formulae on how you can translate that into writing; it’s instinctual.
I cannot see an AI writer being able to create something like that without having the same experience – which by default – it simply cannot have, barring some Detroit: Become Human level of advancement.
The Handmaid’s Tale, The Sandman, The Graveyard Book, Bag of Bones, Lord of the Rings, Harry Potter. These are just a few of the works that have been created from experiences and the depths of their authors’ souls.
Perhaps if and when an AI reaches the equivalent of having a soul and emotions, we can discuss it again.
