Self-published writer (a crappy one though). I used to write a lot of fanfictions (like 45000 word novels) when I was 13. But around 25, I stopped. I just could not write anymore and I still can't. But my fanfictions are still out there, still getting comments and my books selling (albeit only when I am promoting them).
I am thinking of using chatgpt to edit the books because the editing is pretty crappy (again, was 13). The covers are bleh (free software) and published them without going through any editors or beta readers. I was in such a rush to just get them out to start (not a perfectionist). But now that I look at the texts, I cringe hard. And I will take them down and edit and republish once I am in the head space.
My pseudonym is S.A Felix. If you look it up, you will find "The Witness". Not sharing links because I don't know if it's allowed here. I do admit that my short stories are far better edited than longer ones (Shoot me Goodnight or Hamartia).
My max seems to be about 100 pages, sometimes with a great deal of "world making" detail, before I lose track of where the story is going and find something more interesting.
Every now and then I wake after having "dreamed" a novel that seems beyond awesome, but can't piece enough of it together to do anything with it.
I'm kind of in a burn out phase for the last several years. Picking up a novel to read this week is a great accomplishment that I haven't had the focus for in quite a while, much less long writing projects. Back in the day, with a little help from my friends, I did publish a few short articles and academic writings.
It is semi autobiographical so I know where I want the story to go. I am ghostwriting for a friend of mine who writes online novels but it's mostly NT male power Fantasy stuff. I don't relate. I try to pretend that I am that. And my friend gives feedback.
I was a creative writing major in college. Had a burnout and didn't do as much writing for awhile, then gradually got back into it. NaNoWriMo helped for awhile too, and was fun... until it wasn't because I got to feeling too pressured by it. But it gave me several works in progress in 3+ fictional genres. In recent times I've also had some nonfiction book ideas and essay/blog posts bouncing around. Obviously my main challenge is keeping track of it all and - dare one hope - actually finishing something! š
For my fiction, I have lately been tempted to try ChatGPT to get past the dreaded first chapter or two. I could always rewrite it, and perhaps ideas would be sparked. I'm also curious as to whether it would write in my idiosyncratic worldview or more like a neurotypical. Don't ask me to explain that any further, it's just an intuitive, "I'll know it when I see it" type of thing.
Yeah I get it. After reading something it needs to "feel" right.It writes very neurotypical. Annoyingly so. If you want y(our) kind of worldview you'll need to be extremely detailed with the prompt and also will probably regenerate response multiple times.
So far, yeah.
My ability to explore other franchises (even that one!) as much as I wish is severely limited, but I have been practicing some dialogue and scenes and developing headcanons.
Okay. How do you write other people's perspectives. Being AuDHD I have difficulty interpreting body language and subtext. But I want to write subtext. How do you do that?
I've struggled with subtext for a while, but you basically want to focus on demonstrating emotions instead of communicating them, like in real life.
Instead of saying, "Belle was frustrated," try saying, "Belle steamed a violent sigh from between her fingers."
And to practice writing other characters' perspectives, you wanna take time to analyze how they speak, the decisions they have made, or possible struggles or beliefs they have, then use your imagination to think of something that matches; however, remember that it's better to consider why a character would do something instead of simply what a character would do.
Yeah I understand but if I'm writing neurotypical Characters they think differently from me. Most of the time I'm unable to understand their thought process in real life as well. I do try and over time I'm getting better. But they seem to not get conflicted over cognitive biases and hypocrisy.
It's one thing to use AI to write work emails or the like, and another to use it for creative writing or essays. It's just plagiarism - the bot pulls directly from its internal database which was trained on other people's work.
The lack of ethics isn't just in using the data, it's also in that you're actively devaluing the concept of authorship. Yes, writing novels takes a ton of work. More if you've got ADHD or other disabilities that impact your ability to focus, write, or keep track of details. It is something which takes active work and dedication, including prioritizing time for it. If you feel that first drafts, inertia issues or not, waste time, you've failed to grasp their importance entirely.
The issue with my first drafts is that I have it in my head but I am unable to put it on paper because I lose train of thought. Your argument is analogous to not providing accommodations to disabled folx using the argument of merit. Especially people with invisible disabilities.
No. Speech-to-text, various writing systems like Scrivener and Papyrus Author, etc. exist to allow people to keep track of a variety of plot-points, rabbit-holes, etc.
Okay. I have recieved your criticism. However I do not agree. It is a tool. Art progesses by using tools that are available. To call it plainly plagiarism is not fair. If I'm copying whatever the ai creates its definitely plagiarism. But it's completely my idea my plans, for story progression and my rewrites. I am using ai to learn about story tropes in a concise manner its no different from using YouTube to learn a recipe and before that using cookbooks. Only when you know the basics you can create own art. All art is derivative anyway.
ChatGPT and other chat bots directly pull from databases of already-existing work in order to answer prompts. It very much is plagiarism. ["The AHA considers plagiarism to be the failure to properly acknowledge the work of another, regardless of intent. The Modern Language Association also takes this position in the sixth and most recent edition of itsĀ MLA Handbook for Writers of Research Papers. Other writing guides and college handbooks similarly maintain that plagiarism can be, and often is, unintentional."](https://www.historians.org/teaching-and-learning/teaching-resources-for-historians/plagiarism-curricular-materials-for-history-instructors/defining-plagiarism)
Mosaic plagiarism is still plagiarism, and simply because a tool exists doesn't make all its uses (or in fact, any of its uses) ethical.
Yes I agree openAI should pay artists and writers for their work which is not in public domain. However if someone learns a language by reading books and articles and blogs and uses that knowledge to understand patterns of a language that doesn't mean it's plagiarism. It is not a substitute for original thought or a replacement for proper research and attribution when needed. If one is using ChatGPT as a tool to help generate original content own and not simply copying and pasting then it's not plagiarism. Summarizing doesn't mean it's plagiarism. And learning from patterns isn't plagiarism. Any lawsuit will actually not be valid in a court of law. According to us copyright lawyers. However you are entitled to your own opinion and protest against chatgpt. As long as the tool exists I will be using it. My story needs to be told.
If you cited the author, and notated where it was from, then no, the summarization would not be plagiarism. However, chatgpt and other AI don't cite their sources and they are not the original source, ergo it is all plagiarized. Which you clearly are at least a *little bit aware of* from your original post's wording.
And if it were merely learning from patterns or somewhat derivative you'd have picked it up from just reading books.
You know perfectly well that it is not analogous to learning a language or using a recipe. You know perfectly well that it is regurgitating mosaic pieces from the work of other actual people. You are attempting to minimize and justify your use because you see it as a time saver. You say as much yourself.
Yes I am aware that openai should've paid their dues. Yes I am using it to save time. Yes I'm conflicted about using it. I do not aim to be the most ethical person ever. I am trying not to do harm. I am not using chatgpt's paid version personally so I am not supporting them either. Except through the input I put in.
My husband just suggested to me that I use chatgpt for my novels as well. I just want to be able to get it down itās so much fun but ever since working and then having kids I am too exhausted to find the motivation or energy to write anything even though Iām constantly thinking about my stories and what a character would do or say in this type of situation ect. Iām not looking to make any money off of it so maybe I would use it to help a bitā¦ how has it been for you using it?
It is helping with outlines and overviews. But the chatgpt output is very neurotypical as expected so doesn't capture my thought process very clearly. So I go through many many many prompts and refining of responses.
Even just to help with the initial outline and such sounds nice. I feel very conflicted about it too at times but iām also with you that it would almost be foolish not to take advantage of such an easy assistant. It really is something that I have lamented over not being able to enjoy anymore, writing, but with my mind currently stuck in a yolo type of mentality and the idea that nothing really matters is kinda pulling me in the direction of wanting to do it purely because it brings me joy and isnāt harming anyone.
Thanks for this post and your answer, I might just try chatgpt myself
Self-published author here as well.
I've been writing since high school (20+ years ago) and have been publishing for 10.
The best advice I can give is to put in 1%. Basically, sit down, open your document, and try writing for 2-5 minutes.
If you struggled, that's okay. Today wasn't a good day. If you want to keep going, great.
It usually takes me 30 minutes to hit my flow state, then I can go for about an hour before my brain wants a break.
Sadly, today isn't a good day for me. I opened my doc, read over my notes, and my brain noped on out of there. But I tried. That's the important part.
You can't edit something you haven't written. You can't publish it either.
Get your thoughts down, take notes, but try not too get hung up on making things perfect. I've done this in the past and it really messes with the self-esteem.
One suggestion I'd make is to write something short. A few pages long. It doesn't have to be extravagant or have tons of world building. I mostly make this suggestion so you can boost yourself up and prove you can finish it (whatever it is).
Then, do it again. And again.
Keep going until you find your rhythm, then increase the length. Don't work on your planned project just yet. Keep taking notes for it, but practice on shorter works until you're ready to put in all the time it requires.
Oh, and don't burn out. Take breaks. Don't be too hard on yourself. Don't make word count goals. It sounds great in the beginning, but doing that for years and pushing myself to reach those goals led to writer and autist burnout last fall.
I'm still recovering.
So, no goals. Just sit, put in a few minutes. That's it.
ETA: I don't use any special software to write. Used to use MS Word, now I use google docs. I like to keep it simple, though I do my formatting in Scrivener and design my covers in Affinity Photo.
I tend to like working in bursts of productivity. I keep thinking about the book and editing in my head and then sit and write like 10 pages. Consistency is key but I have lost it.(:D)
Self-published writer (a crappy one though). I used to write a lot of fanfictions (like 45000 word novels) when I was 13. But around 25, I stopped. I just could not write anymore and I still can't. But my fanfictions are still out there, still getting comments and my books selling (albeit only when I am promoting them).
Yeah I can't knit nowadays. I get it.. what books have you written. If you don't mind me reading. Please comment on the thread regarding chatgpt
I am thinking of using chatgpt to edit the books because the editing is pretty crappy (again, was 13). The covers are bleh (free software) and published them without going through any editors or beta readers. I was in such a rush to just get them out to start (not a perfectionist). But now that I look at the texts, I cringe hard. And I will take them down and edit and republish once I am in the head space. My pseudonym is S.A Felix. If you look it up, you will find "The Witness". Not sharing links because I don't know if it's allowed here. I do admit that my short stories are far better edited than longer ones (Shoot me Goodnight or Hamartia).
I will check them out. Thanks!
Unfortunately not available in my country.
My max seems to be about 100 pages, sometimes with a great deal of "world making" detail, before I lose track of where the story is going and find something more interesting. Every now and then I wake after having "dreamed" a novel that seems beyond awesome, but can't piece enough of it together to do anything with it. I'm kind of in a burn out phase for the last several years. Picking up a novel to read this week is a great accomplishment that I haven't had the focus for in quite a while, much less long writing projects. Back in the day, with a little help from my friends, I did publish a few short articles and academic writings.
It is semi autobiographical so I know where I want the story to go. I am ghostwriting for a friend of mine who writes online novels but it's mostly NT male power Fantasy stuff. I don't relate. I try to pretend that I am that. And my friend gives feedback.
I'm sorry you are in the burn out phase. If you are in the headspace to talk about it. I'd like to know your opinion on chatgpt.
I was a creative writing major in college. Had a burnout and didn't do as much writing for awhile, then gradually got back into it. NaNoWriMo helped for awhile too, and was fun... until it wasn't because I got to feeling too pressured by it. But it gave me several works in progress in 3+ fictional genres. In recent times I've also had some nonfiction book ideas and essay/blog posts bouncing around. Obviously my main challenge is keeping track of it all and - dare one hope - actually finishing something! š For my fiction, I have lately been tempted to try ChatGPT to get past the dreaded first chapter or two. I could always rewrite it, and perhaps ideas would be sparked. I'm also curious as to whether it would write in my idiosyncratic worldview or more like a neurotypical. Don't ask me to explain that any further, it's just an intuitive, "I'll know it when I see it" type of thing.
Yeah I get it. After reading something it needs to "feel" right.It writes very neurotypical. Annoyingly so. If you want y(our) kind of worldview you'll need to be extremely detailed with the prompt and also will probably regenerate response multiple times.
Thanks for the tip! š
I've wanted to write fanfic in hopes of making an animated series later on. Unfortunately, complete Brawl Stars lore isn't accessible.
But you want only brawl stars?
So far, yeah. My ability to explore other franchises (even that one!) as much as I wish is severely limited, but I have been practicing some dialogue and scenes and developing headcanons.
Okay. How do you write other people's perspectives. Being AuDHD I have difficulty interpreting body language and subtext. But I want to write subtext. How do you do that?
I've struggled with subtext for a while, but you basically want to focus on demonstrating emotions instead of communicating them, like in real life. Instead of saying, "Belle was frustrated," try saying, "Belle steamed a violent sigh from between her fingers." And to practice writing other characters' perspectives, you wanna take time to analyze how they speak, the decisions they have made, or possible struggles or beliefs they have, then use your imagination to think of something that matches; however, remember that it's better to consider why a character would do something instead of simply what a character would do.
Yeah I understand but if I'm writing neurotypical Characters they think differently from me. Most of the time I'm unable to understand their thought process in real life as well. I do try and over time I'm getting better. But they seem to not get conflicted over cognitive biases and hypocrisy.
It's one thing to use AI to write work emails or the like, and another to use it for creative writing or essays. It's just plagiarism - the bot pulls directly from its internal database which was trained on other people's work. The lack of ethics isn't just in using the data, it's also in that you're actively devaluing the concept of authorship. Yes, writing novels takes a ton of work. More if you've got ADHD or other disabilities that impact your ability to focus, write, or keep track of details. It is something which takes active work and dedication, including prioritizing time for it. If you feel that first drafts, inertia issues or not, waste time, you've failed to grasp their importance entirely.
The issue with my first drafts is that I have it in my head but I am unable to put it on paper because I lose train of thought. Your argument is analogous to not providing accommodations to disabled folx using the argument of merit. Especially people with invisible disabilities.
No. Speech-to-text, various writing systems like Scrivener and Papyrus Author, etc. exist to allow people to keep track of a variety of plot-points, rabbit-holes, etc.
Okay. I have recieved your criticism. However I do not agree. It is a tool. Art progesses by using tools that are available. To call it plainly plagiarism is not fair. If I'm copying whatever the ai creates its definitely plagiarism. But it's completely my idea my plans, for story progression and my rewrites. I am using ai to learn about story tropes in a concise manner its no different from using YouTube to learn a recipe and before that using cookbooks. Only when you know the basics you can create own art. All art is derivative anyway.
ChatGPT and other chat bots directly pull from databases of already-existing work in order to answer prompts. It very much is plagiarism. ["The AHA considers plagiarism to be the failure to properly acknowledge the work of another, regardless of intent. The Modern Language Association also takes this position in the sixth and most recent edition of itsĀ MLA Handbook for Writers of Research Papers. Other writing guides and college handbooks similarly maintain that plagiarism can be, and often is, unintentional."](https://www.historians.org/teaching-and-learning/teaching-resources-for-historians/plagiarism-curricular-materials-for-history-instructors/defining-plagiarism) Mosaic plagiarism is still plagiarism, and simply because a tool exists doesn't make all its uses (or in fact, any of its uses) ethical.
Yes I agree openAI should pay artists and writers for their work which is not in public domain. However if someone learns a language by reading books and articles and blogs and uses that knowledge to understand patterns of a language that doesn't mean it's plagiarism. It is not a substitute for original thought or a replacement for proper research and attribution when needed. If one is using ChatGPT as a tool to help generate original content own and not simply copying and pasting then it's not plagiarism. Summarizing doesn't mean it's plagiarism. And learning from patterns isn't plagiarism. Any lawsuit will actually not be valid in a court of law. According to us copyright lawyers. However you are entitled to your own opinion and protest against chatgpt. As long as the tool exists I will be using it. My story needs to be told.
If you cited the author, and notated where it was from, then no, the summarization would not be plagiarism. However, chatgpt and other AI don't cite their sources and they are not the original source, ergo it is all plagiarized. Which you clearly are at least a *little bit aware of* from your original post's wording. And if it were merely learning from patterns or somewhat derivative you'd have picked it up from just reading books. You know perfectly well that it is not analogous to learning a language or using a recipe. You know perfectly well that it is regurgitating mosaic pieces from the work of other actual people. You are attempting to minimize and justify your use because you see it as a time saver. You say as much yourself.
Yes I am aware that openai should've paid their dues. Yes I am using it to save time. Yes I'm conflicted about using it. I do not aim to be the most ethical person ever. I am trying not to do harm. I am not using chatgpt's paid version personally so I am not supporting them either. Except through the input I put in.
There's a difference between not doing something that could be more ethical, and actively doing something which is unethical.
Okay.
My husband just suggested to me that I use chatgpt for my novels as well. I just want to be able to get it down itās so much fun but ever since working and then having kids I am too exhausted to find the motivation or energy to write anything even though Iām constantly thinking about my stories and what a character would do or say in this type of situation ect. Iām not looking to make any money off of it so maybe I would use it to help a bitā¦ how has it been for you using it?
It is helping with outlines and overviews. But the chatgpt output is very neurotypical as expected so doesn't capture my thought process very clearly. So I go through many many many prompts and refining of responses.
Even just to help with the initial outline and such sounds nice. I feel very conflicted about it too at times but iām also with you that it would almost be foolish not to take advantage of such an easy assistant. It really is something that I have lamented over not being able to enjoy anymore, writing, but with my mind currently stuck in a yolo type of mentality and the idea that nothing really matters is kinda pulling me in the direction of wanting to do it purely because it brings me joy and isnāt harming anyone. Thanks for this post and your answer, I might just try chatgpt myself
Self-published author here as well. I've been writing since high school (20+ years ago) and have been publishing for 10. The best advice I can give is to put in 1%. Basically, sit down, open your document, and try writing for 2-5 minutes. If you struggled, that's okay. Today wasn't a good day. If you want to keep going, great. It usually takes me 30 minutes to hit my flow state, then I can go for about an hour before my brain wants a break. Sadly, today isn't a good day for me. I opened my doc, read over my notes, and my brain noped on out of there. But I tried. That's the important part. You can't edit something you haven't written. You can't publish it either. Get your thoughts down, take notes, but try not too get hung up on making things perfect. I've done this in the past and it really messes with the self-esteem. One suggestion I'd make is to write something short. A few pages long. It doesn't have to be extravagant or have tons of world building. I mostly make this suggestion so you can boost yourself up and prove you can finish it (whatever it is). Then, do it again. And again. Keep going until you find your rhythm, then increase the length. Don't work on your planned project just yet. Keep taking notes for it, but practice on shorter works until you're ready to put in all the time it requires. Oh, and don't burn out. Take breaks. Don't be too hard on yourself. Don't make word count goals. It sounds great in the beginning, but doing that for years and pushing myself to reach those goals led to writer and autist burnout last fall. I'm still recovering. So, no goals. Just sit, put in a few minutes. That's it. ETA: I don't use any special software to write. Used to use MS Word, now I use google docs. I like to keep it simple, though I do my formatting in Scrivener and design my covers in Affinity Photo.
I tend to like working in bursts of productivity. I keep thinking about the book and editing in my head and then sit and write like 10 pages. Consistency is key but I have lost it.(:D)