How to write a fanfic with the help of AI
Nowadays, with the advent of ChatGPT and its retinue of AI chatbots, asking AI about anything seems easier compared to doing a web search. Googling produces a lot of noise that hinders you from finding the data you’re looking for. Searching for recipes for me took me a long time. What if I needed a recipe that consists of specific ingredients? ChatGPT solved that problem for me. Recently I’ve relied on ChatGPT on recipes --- give it a prompt like which ingredients you have on hand and which dish. It works like a charm every. Damn. Time. I recommend you try it.
Anyway, one day I was reading two fanfics off the Arashi fandom and had a lightbulb moment. What about contributing another fanfic to the fandom? I actually have a WIP novel that I’ve decided to set aside for the meantime. Now the question is: should I enlist the help of ChatGPT?
Why did I talk to it like a human being? Because I knew it can respond in an almost human-like manner.
So I gave it my idea: I wanted to write something about Nino being the troubled person who witnessed the death of his best friend, Sho. Jun becomes his therapist, and Ohno was Sho’s boyfriend whose aim was to investigate the death of his boyfriend. Aiba is Nino’s other best friend who was also close to Sho from childhood.
A few seconds later, it responded, praising my idea and even offered a working title. But that’s not all...
It also produced a possible synopsis...
...character descriptions...
...and laid down the basic outline of the story, complete with highlights per stage. I was completely impressed with what ChatGPT can do, and I was intrigued with what it can still offer.
I offered a location idea for the story, and it came back with a list of possible areas where the characters hang out or where the story can happen, all within the city of Düsseldorf.
Wow. The list it came up with --- back then you’d pore over maps, do a web search on blogs, or even visit the areas mentioned, but now ChatGPT delivered.
Now with the basic parts laid down, you might be asking: “Did you ask it how to write the actual story?”
The answer is I did ask it to write a sample first chapter.
It looks great from the get-go, but it reads a bit stiff. If you have been reading the fic on AO3, you will notice I made some changes and added a bit of imagery, especially at the end of the chapter.
Now I realised that ChatGPT can, in fact, write a decent chapter. Rule of thumb is never rely on ChatGPT when writing the final draft 100%. So at every chapter that I pitch to it, it writes a sample chapter first, then I proofread and edit on Google Docs, adding embellishments that only human writers can do. Asking ChatGPT to make a portion of a chapter conversational is just as decent; you will still need to rewrite to perfect it.
Whenever I ask a question, it will give me multiple angles to my answer, like this one below:
ChatGPT provides you something to ponder, not just giving answers outright, which helps me as a writer imagine possibilIties and move the story forward.
Throughout the process, ChatGPT is my beta reader: I throw ideas to it and it will give suggestions, hints, and helpful reminders. It being a beta reader works only up to a point, because it changes the voice whenever I asked it to proofread a paragraph. While ChatGPT seems to be a capable and supportive beta reader, you will still need to rewrite and/or make changes to the text to make it read like you envisioned it.
To end this article, I will present its version of the 13th Chapter side by side with the one I wrote.
Here’s ChatGPT’s version:
And the published version, which you can read here.
I understand that there are many people who view AI as an instrument that will soon take over many human jobs, particularly the arts. While the fears and doubts are somewhat valid, I recommend that we all take both opinions and AI with a grain of salt and exercise caution. It is true that AI can definitely be a tool that will help you accomplish your tasks, and it has helped me write my fanfic in ways that I haven’t been able to in many years. Right now it helped me foster my love for writing and improving upon it.
Take all the time you need to think about how AI can help you with everyday tasks. There are tons of first-person accounts on how ChatGPT assisted them in their jobs and everyday life (even ADHD patients swear by it!) and I hope you all keep an open mind on it.
