It’s Read Around the Rainbow time, and if you aren’t aware of what Read Around the Rainbow is, it’s a blog project I do with a group of other authors on the last Friday of every month. (You’ll find links to their posts below.)
This month we’re dipping our toes into a topic that scares the bejesus out of me.
A.I. vs. Me
If you hang around the writing world, I’m sure you’ve come across a discussion about A.I. at some point. Some think it’s great. A.I. can write our blog posts for us. It can write our emails etc. It will give authors more time to write more books because A.I. will solve all our problems and erase all human interactions. It’s great! *dripping with sarcasm*
But if authors use A.I. to write entire books, has it gone too far? Is this the end of authors? What if I take someone else’s work, feed it into Chat GPT, and tell the awesome robots to tweak it a little? Whose story is it then?
I have to admit that I, to some extent, have succumbed to the ostrich effect when it comes to A.I. I don’t investigate because I don’t want to know. And I’m so glad I’m not teaching anymore, because I fear A.I. already has infiltrated the schools, and I do not envy the teachers of today one bit.
I find this development super scary because while this is the first time I’ve used something like Chat GPT, I think if you do it often enough, and ‘build a relationship’ with your awesome robots, the result can be a lot better than what I accomplished here.
If I was a ghostwriter, I’d fear for my future. I do as an author too, but the one thing we have that is unique for each and every one of us, is our voice. Though if we work with A.I. I’m assuming we would develop a voice together with it.
I’m not sure I want to go down that road, but even I, who am a fast writer, don’t stand a chance against A.I. I publish a story a month, which I think is pretty f*cking awesomely done of me 😂 I struggle to meet those deadlines, had I used A.I. I could’ve had a story in a few minutes. It would’ve been soulless, it wouldn’t be mine, I would feel morally desecrated and so on, but I don’t believe that will stop people from doing it, not for a second.
This month’s assignment was to write a 300-word long story and then ask A.I. to write a similar one. And as I wrote above, if I’d used A.I. a few times, I’m sure I could have got a better result than what I got.
I wrote a fated mate story. A wolf shifter and a bear shifter who meet for the first time on a busy street.
This is my text (It’s 392 words, so I cheated):
Rudi was walking down the busy street outside the office. The May sun was glaring in his eyes, and his skin had shrunk a size or two. Fur wanted to cover his arms. Claws prickled with the need to be let out of the human-shaped prison they’d been forced into.
It had been a long day and a never-ending week, and Rudi couldn’t wait to shed the pretence of being a good little office worker, shift, and run until his legs couldn’t carry him any longer.
He only had to keep it together for a few more minutes, then he could get out of the suffocating scent of exhaust and fill his lungs with clean forest air.
Breathing in deep, he froze. Heat washed over him, and he growled loud enough to make a woman across the street look in his direction.
He scanned his surroundings. Where? Where were they?
His body ignited. Need burned. His mate. Somewhere nearby was his mate.
The woman across the street yelped as a tall man with dark hair and frantically searching eyes ran toward her.
There he was.
Rudi stepped out into the street without so much as glancing at the oncoming traffic. As a car blared its horn, the man’s gaze snapped in his direction. He changed his course, no longer running towards the woman but aiming for Rudi.
He was coming closer and closer. Rudi’s heart beat fast, his hands ached to touch, and he ground to a halt in the middle of the street. The man came to an abrupt stop in front of him. He was breathing hard, his eyes wild.
“Hi.”
Rudi reached for him. “Hi.”
Arms slid around Rudi’s neck, and their lips met in a tentative brush. Fireworks went off behind Rudi’s eyelids, and he wrapped his arms around the man. “Name.” His whisper caressed his lips. “What’s your name?”
“Bjorn Oak of the Hibernator Hollow sleuth.”
Oh fuck, a bear.
“You?” His thumb caressed Rudi’s nape, making him shiver.
“Rudi Oclan of the Moonstone pack.
Bjorn grimaced. “A wolf, huh?” Then he grinned. “Could’ve been worse.”
Rudi shrugged. “Marginally.” But when Bjorn laughed, goosebumps erupted over Rudi’s body, and he pulled Bjorn close for another kiss. He had his mate, but if the fucker in the car honked one more time, he’d soon be without a car.
I wish I’d clocked myself when I wrote it to know how long it took me. I was scrawling down things while eating lunch, then went to the computer and typed it, and then I listened to it. So there was some time invested.
Then I hopped onto Chat GPT and asked it to:
Write a 300 word gay romance story with a wolf shifter named Rudi and a bear shifter named Bjorn, who are fated mates and meet for the first time on a busy street. And it took like 5 seconds.
This is the result (423 words, so it didn’t stick to the 300-word instruction):
In the bustling heart of the city, amidst the cacophony of sounds and flurry of activity, Rudi, a striking wolf shifter with silver fur and piercing amber eyes, traversed the crowded streets. His heightened senses detected the tantalizing scent of pine and earth, a calling that resonated within his soul.
Meanwhile, Bjorn, a hulking bear shifter with a gentle smile and auburn fur, meandered through the sea of people. His deep voice and compassionate nature drew others to him, but his heart yearned for a connection that transcended the mundane.
As fate would have it, their paths converged on this bustling street. Rudi’s heart skipped a beat as his gaze locked with Bjorn’s warm brown eyes. Time stood still as a tingling current passed between them, whispering of an inexplicable bond.
Driven by curiosity, Rudi broke free from the crowd, his agile strides bringing him closer to Bjorn. The world faded into the background as their eyes remained locked, the vibrant city fading away until only they remained.
With bated breath, Rudi approached Bjorn, his silver tail wagging with anticipation. A shy smile played at the corners of Bjorn’s lips, mirroring Rudi’s nervous excitement. They exchanged greetings, their voices harmonizing with the symphony of the city.
In that moment, Rudi and Bjorn understood that they were more than mere strangers; they were fated mates, two halves of a whole. Their connection, woven by the hands of destiny, tugged at their hearts, urging them to explore the depth of their bond.
Days turned into nights, and nights into shared secrets and stolen kisses. Rudi reveled in Bjorn’s quiet strength and unwavering support, while Bjorn found solace and acceptance in Rudi’s playful spirit and fierce loyalty.
Together, they discovered the beauty of their intertwined destinies. They walked hand in paw through vibrant parks, danced under starlit skies, and found solace in each other’s embrace. Their love transcended the boundaries of species, reaffirming that love is love, no matter the form it takes.
In the bustling streets that once felt overwhelming, Rudi and Bjorn forged a sanctuary of love and acceptance. Their story became a beacon of hope, inspiring others to embrace their true selves and seek love in its purest form.
As they navigated the challenges that life threw their way, Rudi and Bjorn held each other’s paws, knowing that together they could weather any storm. Their love, nurtured by fate and fortified by their unwavering commitment, illuminated the busy street, radiating a love story that would forever be whispered in the city’s bustling winds.
It’s eh… A few things, for example, how it talks about Bjorn in his fur and then how his deep voice and compassionate nature draw others to him. It clashes in my brain because bears wearing their fur don’t talk to people 😄 We also have the shy smile on Bjorn’s lips right after Rudi’s wagging tail, how they held each other’s paws etc.
I’m not normally one to harp on about show and tell, but there isn’t any show here, and there isn’t any dialogue. Those things, however, I think you can train your pet robot to do better if you’re willing to invest the time.
I hope we’ll see authors honing their craft instead of turning to A.I. but I honestly fear for the future.
Do I write the blurb before or after the story? After, at the very last minute, when there is nothing else I could do instead. I think this also has to do with being a pantser. I don’t know how my story will end, so to write the blurb before I’ve finished the story would only mean I’ll have to rewrite it, and considering how much I love to write blurbs, I want to avoid that. Imagine having to do two blurbs per story 😳
Holly Day 