My Brief Thoughts On AI
I am brand new to AI and know almost nothing when it comes to AI in writing. If you want to deep dive into that, check out JF Penn’s podcast. She covers this topic A LOT. Here are a few good ones to start:
https://youtu.be/lytrybLiu-w?si=c1Ryd3mi9MWrNU5z (Using AI in Book Covers)
https://youtu.be/bveKmBGVcy0?si=r5UkKLb26bKE17zR (Why AI Tools Are Useful For Authors With Disabilities And Health Issues)
https://youtu.be/QdULzM1obnA?si=3u9te2kqaS2k3YpS (Generative AI And The Indie Author Community)
https://youtu.be/cyzqRgSFDSM?si=8pEcMGWpwgRu4nFz (Misinformation, Hallucinations, And Responsible Use Of AI)
https://youtu.be/LMPxe9eKaCU?si=cHUXMAfZfpEK9SJL (Intentionality, Beauty, and Authorship. Co-Writing With AI With Stephen Marche)
My limited use of AI has been for my job at the animal shelter. I also used AI to help with the graphics on this new website. For the shelter, I use https://willy.freewill.com/. It is a free site that generates emails, newsletters, thank you letters, and more. I am the sole writer for the shelter I work at. I write all of the thank you letters, the blog posts, newsletters, and specialty letters for specific campaigns. Using AI to help generate those things has been a game changer! I put in the information, it doesn’t have to be in complete sentences, and Willy pulls from the shelter’s website to help fill in any gaps. It has saved me so much time! I still alter/edit what is generated, but it has made such a difference in how quickly I can complete these daily/weekly/monthly tasks.
I am all about working smarter, haha. I don’t shy away from tools that can help me. I know the big argument is whether or not this is “writing” but the ideas are still mine. Similarly, when I use talk to text - the ideas are still mine. If I’m not typing them, are they somehow “less?” No, that’s silly. I won’t lie, I am still on the fence about books that are entirely AI generated. But, I think if it’s known then it’s okay. I’d only feel wrong about it if it was hidden from readers.
Like I said, I have very little experience with AI but I already know that it’s important to be very specific when using AI. It took me a ton of tries to get Selexah from Soul Jumper AI generated in a way that I loved. It was SO worth it though to visually see a character from my head. To me, this is one of the most incredible things to use AI for. As writers we fall in love with the characters we create and AI is a way to bring them to life. Seeing Selexah’s face on my screen was both exciting and emotional. I created her and love her and she’s so many pieces of me so the ability to visually create the character that was before only a creation of my descriptions was wonderful.
ChatGBT is an AI resource I’ve seen mentioned a lot and I have played with it some. Again, you have to be specific and know what you’re wanting before telling the system what to produce. I’ve asked ChatGBT to write scenes I have already written just to see what it came up with compared to what I wrote. I am also using ChatGBT to help with the back of the book blurbs for the Grand Mesa Men series. I hate, like most authors I know, writing blurbs. ChatGBT is giving me a great starting point with these blurbs that I can then manipulate as needed.
I definitely see myself using AI as a place to start when I’m drawing a blank. I don’t see myself, at this time, taking something AI generated and pasting it “as is” into one of my books. However, using AI to help formulate and organize the ideas I have or to write smaller aspects like social media posts, blurbs, and newsletters will be extremely helpful. I don’t think AI will “replace” writers. I think it will push writers and writing to be better. I think it will help authors fully flesh out ideas. For me, AI has the potential to quickly show me my ideas play out in a variety of ways without me having to spend the time to type out every scenario.
AI also has the ability to take an idea and give you a perspective you may not have considered. I love that. People in support of AI often describe it as a tool and compare it to a calculator for math. It is a tool. It’s actually a really neat way to bounce ideas off of “someone” without ever having to speak to another person. You can share an idea and get feedback long before you’re ready to share your idea with another person.
I am excited to see how AI evolves and how that evolution influences the author world.
Have you ever used AI? Let me know at shalanabattles@gmail.com
