My Journey Coauthoring a Novel With ChatGPT (Part 1)

I was having dinner with some friends last night when I told them about my new project. I have started writing a novel with the help of ChatGPT. I call it coauthoring. My friend was telling me about this artist who had won a prize for an art piece he created with Dall-e.

There were of course the critics that said: “AI generated this, not him”. But were the critics right?

“A workman is known by his tools”

I think AI-aided editing is just a new tool that technology has put in the hands of creative minds. Just like the chisel replaced the oral transmission of stories, to be replaced by ink and paper, then the typewriter, and finally the word processor.

Authors nowadays use these editing tools with autocorrect, autocomplete, and autoformatting so that they can focus on the story.

I’ve been doing software development for a long long time. (My son still asks me how was it to live in the time of the dinosaurs.) I remember that character-based Borland Turbo Pascal editor with its green letters and blinking prompt.

When I compare this to my current IDE which allows me at the press of a button to deploy the newest version of my software to servers located thousands of kilometers away, and to be instantly used by my users, I am flabbergasted at the progress of the tools of my trade.

During dinner last night, we discussed how the modern author using ChatGPT as a sidekick will have to hone the art of the prompt.

Just like that artist that used Dall-e to create a masterpiece had to know what to ask the system for, an author will have to tinker with the prompt until it gets a text that can be used. Let’s look at it with one example.

I am trying to get ChatGPT to create an initial paragraph for my novel. The story starts when Peter, who is a crypto investor, needs help from Anna, a cyber specialist, to recover the keys to his wallet.

My first prompt was:

You are a writer. Create a paragraph where Peter who is a crypto investor is asking for help from Ana who is a security specialist asking for help recovering the keys to his digital wallet

And the result I got was:

“Hey Ana, I hope you’re doing well. I’m reaching out because I need some help. I’m a crypto investor and I’ve lost the keys to my digital wallet. I know this might sound ridiculous, but I’ve been going through some tough times and I think I might have misplaced them. I was wondering if you could help me recover them. You’re a security specialist and I know you have the skills to help me out. I would really appreciate any assistance you could provide. Thanks in advance.”

The answer is on topic, but not in the style I need it. I do not need dialogue; I am looking for an introduction, so I try again:

Write the initial paragraph in a story where Peter who is a crypto investor is asking for help from Ana who is a security specialist asking for help recovering the keys to his digital wallet

This second try is getting closer to what I need:

Peter, a crypto investor, sat nervously at Ana’s kitchen table, fidgeting with his hands as he explained his predicament. “I’ve lost the keys to my digital wallet,” he said, “and I have no idea how to recover them. Can you help me?” Ana, a security specialist, listened attentively and reassured Peter that she would do her best to help him regain access to his funds. She knew that time was of the essence in these situations, and set to work immediately.

Now, let’s see if my new sidekick can keep context:

Continuing the previous story, Anna asks Peter what exactly happened to the digital keys to his wallet. Peter answers that his hard disk crashed and that when he tried to recover the contents the sector where the keys were stored could only be restored partially

And the context was somehow kept:

“Okay, let’s start from the beginning,” Ana said, taking notes on a pad of paper. “What exactly happened to the digital keys to your wallet?”

Peter took a deep breath and explained. “My hard drive crashed, and when I tried to recover the contents, the sector where the keys were stored could only be restored partially. I’ve tried everything I know, but I can’t seem to get the keys back.”

Ana nodded, understanding the gravity of the situation. “Ok, let’s see if we can recover the missing pieces. Can you show me the partially restored sector and the recovery software you’ve been using?”

Peter handed over his laptop and the recovery software he had been using. Ana quickly scanned through the software and the recovered sector, looking for any clues that could help her piece together the missing information. She knew that in cases like this, even a small fragment of data could be crucial in unlocking the keys to the wallet.

After a few minutes of examination, Ana had an idea. “I think I might have a solution,” she said, “ but we’ll need to try a few things, and it may take some time. Can you leave your laptop and the recovery software with me? I’ll work on it and keep you updated.”

Peter nodded, feeling a glimmer of hope. “Thank you, Ana. I really appreciate it.”

Right now, I feel transported in time, remembering the first time that I was able to single step on my code with a proper debugger eons ago. It is a bit of a “Holy macaroni” moment (Yes, I am showing my age). And like a kid with a new toy, I can not wait to keep playing with it.

So, I have embarked on a new side project, coauthoring with ChatGPT a novel based on an idea I had a long time ago. The first chapter is written, and I will keep posting about my findings.

To read the first chapter follow this link:

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