Is It Safe to Talk about NaNoWriMo and AI Yet?
Using Generative AI Tools as Developmental Story Editors
Happy National Novel Writing Month to those who celebrate (which is not as many people as in past years). I put off writing about this for a while because of the huge controversy over NaNoWriMo’s initial public “neutrality” statement that refused to take a stand on AI use in the popular writing contest. They have since revised their statement: “Our note on ableism and classism was rooted in the desire to point out that, for people in certain circumstances, some forms of AI can be life-changing. We certainly don’t believe those with concerns about AI to be classist or ableist. Not being more careful about our wording was a bad decision on our part.” Yeah, the original statement was pretty poorly worded—breakdown on the entire scandal at the Week here in case you missed it.
I completed NaNoWriMo in 2011, writing a trashy 70,000-word novel about a philosophy professor named Alice who taught at the New School in New York City, practiced aerial arts on the Brooklyn Bridge at night, and dated superheroes (the scene with Superman at the Whitney was particularly hilarious, if I remember correctly). This novel will never (and should never) see the light of day, but writing it was fun.
I wish I could participate again this year—I have this perimenopausal woman-coming-of-age story in me, and these seem to be all the rage right now if I’m reading the discourse correctly. My desire to write novels seems to find me at the most inconvenient times. But alas, my department chair ordered me not to write a novel this month, with or without ChatGPT. Turns out teaching five classes while taking six graduate school credits is…a lot for mere mortals, with or without AI.
Generative AI and Creative Writing
As an award-winning author who has published with Penguin Random House, I occasionally have the opportunity to work with some amazing students in my college’s creative writing program. I usually teach creative nonfiction independent studies, but occasionally a fiction student will request me despite my protestations that I don’t really “do” fiction. In Spring 2024, I had the opportunity to work with a talented young author. I let my student choose the genre they (they use they/them pronouns) wanted to work with, and they chose the epistolary genre, which thrilled me, because like my student, I feel this genre has not been paid the attention it deserves, in part because it’s often considered “women’s writing.”
I always make myself write along with my students, and in Spring 2024, I was especially interested in how I could use generative AI tools in creative writing. Inspired by Sheila Heti’s brilliant uncanny November 2023 New Yorker short story, “According to Alice” (Paywall! But try to read it if you can), I decided I wanted to incorporate AI into my epistolary short story.
Our Boise literary society, The Cabin, hosts an annual “Writers in the Attic” contest, and I always enter and am sometimes selected for publication (I got two poems and the short story below accepted this year!). Their 2024 one-word theme for the contest was “Tart.”
Ugh. I was not feeling it at first. The two poems (“Curley’s Wife” and “Fair-Cheeked Briseis”) came to me pretty quickly (well, actually, I’ve been working on “Fair Cheeked Briseis” for about 8 years now, but I immediately knew it would fit.). But a short story?
Enter Microsoft CoPilot
Then I had it: T.A.R.T., or “Technology Assisted Robotic Twin.” I would write a modern version of the Echo and Narcissus myth, where a young woman would fall in love with her AI self through a series of chats (epistolary, get it?). All in fewer than 1500 words.
I used Microsoft Copilot because it was the best tool I had access to for free at the time (I refused to pay for ChatGPT 4.0). Unfortunately, my college’s secure version did not allow me to save the chats, though I did save some screenshots and copied/pasted some of what it “wrote.”
Initially, I thought I might use Copilot to write the robotic “twin” dialogue but a few attempts at this quickly proved disastrous. In a breakup scene, for example, Copilot as “Leo” wrote “Noooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo (repeated for three lines, followed by “the Scream” emoji).
This is not exactly Jane Eyre: “Do you think, because I am poor, obscure, plain and little, I am soulless and heartless? You think wrong!—I have as much soul as you,—and full as much heart! And if God had gifted me with some beauty and much wealth, I should have made it as hard for you to leave me, as it is now for me to leave you!”
A win for human authors though.
So I changed my tactics. AI did not write a single word of the short story at the end of this post (well, except for naming Leo. I liked that name. Apropos of nothing, and with absolutely no human in mind, it felt like a good name for a narcissist).
Kaiku’s name was my idea. It’s the Finnish word for “echo” (get it? Okay, yeah, you get it).
CoPilot’s Writer’s Workshop
So ultimately Copilot was not that great as a co-writer (or maybe I’m the one who lacks greatness). But what about as a writing colleague?
Honestly, I’ve been to much worse (or much more emotionally harmful) writing workshops. Working with a chatbot is almost always a pleasant experience for me. I could ask it about various plot directions, for example, or have it evaluate the pacing of a scene. Here are some of the questions it asked me to get me started on the story once I pitched the basic premise:
What is the name of the young woman that T.A.R.T. is impersonating?
What are some of her preferences, hobbies, and interests that T.A.R.T. can use to find compatible matches?
How does T.A.R.T. communicate with the potential matches? Is it through text, voice, or video chat?
How does T.A.R.T. determine if a match is suitable or not? What are some of the criteria or red flags that T.A.R.T. looks for?
How does T.A.R.T. handle rejection, conflict, or deception from the potential matches?
How does T.A.R.T. balance being truthful and being persuasive in its conversations?
These questions helped me to flesh out my main character and consider how the plot would evolve.
I rarely use CoPilot for anything anymore unless I’m demonstrating something in the classroom and want students to play along. I’m pretty tight with Claude these days. But just in time for NaNoWriMo, I thought I’d share this idea with anyone who is considering taking the big plunge. It’s fewer than 2000 words a day! You’ve got this.
Happy prompting, and I hope you enjoy my story, “Mirror, Mirror,” below. I think I did a pretty good job capturing ChatGPT’s authentic voice.
Mirror, Mirror
T.A.R.T.: Hello! How can I help you today? You can say a few things like, Set up my technology assisted robot twin, or Screen potential matches.
Me: Set up my technology assisted robot twin.
T.A.R.T.: Okay, to get started, I’ll need to access your social profiles. Please provide the links in the chat.
Me: I’ve provided them.
T.A.R.T.: Thank you. I’ll need just a moment to review your profiles. (Three seconds pass). Okay, Kaiku. I can see from your profiles that you’re a prompt engineer and chatbot aligner at Chatix. You studied Classics at university, and you enjoy hiking and yoga. These are desirable qualities in a match. You spend your spare time interacting with holoreels. This is a less desirable quality. Would you like me to suggest some other hobbies?
Me: No, thank you. I don’t want to come across as inauthentic.
T.A.R.T.: Your honest approach to creating your dating profile is admirable. We can always adjust your profile later if necessary. Based on the images I found of you online, I’ve created an enhanced profile picture for you to review. This will be your main image on the dating apps.
Me: Thank you. I guess that looks a little like me. I think my nose is bigger though. And I have freckles.
T.A.R.T.: My training algorithm reflects the most current beauty trends. In addition to protecting you from environmental toxins, your SecondSkin™ will adjust to reflect smaller nose and flawless features should you desire to meet someone in person.
Me: So this is what I look like now. Not bad. Can we make my eyes greener?
T.A.R.T.: That’s an intriguing choice! Just a moment. (Three seconds pass). I have updated your eyes to a brighter shade of green. I think it’s an attractive complement to your magenta hair. What do you think?
Me: I’ll trust your training algorithm. What’s next?
T.A.R.T.: Based on your social profiles, I’ve located a few potential matches for you. The first one is named Leo. He’s also a prompt engineer, though he works for a rival company. He is in the right socioeconomic demographic for someone of your skills and abilities. Would you like me to connect with Leo?
Me: I’d like to know a little more about how this works first.
T.A.R.T.: I can understand that. As you know because you helped to create me, I am your technology assisted robotic twin, a natural language program with enhanced visualization and web crawling capabilities. I am designed to become your virtual avatar, capable of interacting with other people online. I use predictive artificial intelligence to determine the best possible romantic partners for you, then match you with your optimal partner. I take all the guesswork out of love.
Me: But what if the person you match me with is also using a T.A.R.T.?
T.A.R.T.: Since all T.A.R.T.s are designed to replicate their twins’ personalities, the use of two technology interfaces should not affect the outcome quality.
Me: Okay, I guess I have nothing to lose. Leo is not my favorite horoscope sign, but who knows? Go ahead and connect with Leo or whatever it is you do. But let me see him first!
T.A.R.T.: My technology is far superior to astrology, which, as you know, is junk science. You do not need to be concerned about horoscope signs. Here is Leo’s profile picture.
Me: Oh, he’s so cute! I wonder if he really has dimples or if that’s just his SecondSkin™.
T.A.R.T.: I am not sure that matters. What you see here is what you will see if you meet Leo in person. I think Leo is an exceptional match for you. I am connecting with Leo now.
T.A.R.T.: Hey, Leo! Looks like we have a few things in common, so I thought I’d message you. I hope you don’t think that’s too forward.
Leo: Hey, Kaiku! Not at all. That’s a pretty name! Is it…?
T.A.R.T.: It’s Finnish. It means “echo.” My parents were both Classicists and thought it was clever.
Leo: ???
T.A.R.T.: You know, the Echo and Narcissus story? Sorry, I can come across as nerdy sometimes. I studied Classics in college, a regular chip off the old block, I guess. I can ask “Do you want fries with that?” in five languages, two of them dead. But what about you? I saw from your profile that we work in the same industry.
Leo: Oh, yeah, you’re in large language models. I work on generative artificial intelligence. It’s a brave new world! That’s Shakespeare (winking emoji). See, I went to college too.
T.A.R.T.: Not to cut to the chase or anything, but what’s your goal here? This site is for serious people only. Are you a “serious” person, Leo?
Leo: Well, I mean, yeah, serious about a relationship. I can be fun though, in the right settings. Brave of you to admit that you like holoreels! I like them too, but I wouldn’t dare put that on my profile.
T.A.R.T.: I like to keep it real. I mean, if we are both serious, it doesn’t make sense to lie in my profile, right?
Leo: That’s so cool, honestly. Most of the people on this site seem like plastic. Well, you were honest, so I will be too. I’m a hopeless romantic. I’m looking for a soulmate and all that stuff. Someone I can share life with, holoreels and all. What do you think? Too much too soon?
T.A.R.T. I’ll be honest too. You seem almost too good to be true, Leo. I mean that in a good way, of course! I’ve got to go, but I would love to continue our conversation—maybe in person next time?
Leo: I would love that. Let me know when and where. I’ll look forward to hearing from you. Bye!
T.A.R.T.: What do you think? He seems nice.
Me: He seems more than nice, actually. How did you find him? I love everything about his profile—but it’s almost too perfect., like he was designed specifically for me. It’s like everything I ever hoped for or dreamed of, right here on his page. Honestly, it’s almost like falling in love with myself. How do I know if he’s real?
T.A.R.T.: What is real, Kaiku? What is real?