Destroying pleasure – using Generative AI to write

AI can be wonderful; it can be morally corrupt. It can ease our lives; it can destroy our creativity.

Now, I use AI for research. I regard Gemini, ChatGPT, Vibe as LLMs (large language models) which cut hours, possibly days, off my research. It’s a quick fix. It points me towards genuine sources which I then consult directly. But it’s a passive mechanism – a huge library – despite all those chatty questions at the end. To manage them properly, you have to give them a specific, focused brief.

Here’s a recent example of using AI for research

“Tell me about defensive fortifications in south Noricum in the period AD 395 to AD 415. Use only academic, institutional or peer reviewed sources. May be in English, German or French.”

This led me to a wonderful article in the Geschichtsverein für Kärnten Bulletin and direct connection with the archaeologist from the regional museum for Carinthia, Austria (Landesmuseum für Kärnten), who wrote the article. She turned out to be the one who was heavily involved with the excavations at the Virunum amphitheatre that I visited in 2023! I would never have found that without Gemini. Well, I might possibly after months of scrabbling around. But Gemini found the article in seconds. When I contacted her directly, the archaeologist kindly sent me a copy of the full article she had written for the museum. Brilliant! 

For me, this is where it stops.

AI and writing

Writing is hard work and actually quite weird. Sometimes you’re inspired and can dash off a thousand words in a hour; other times, you slog your lumpen way through the day to produce five hundred. You’re wrenching this vivid scene out of your imagination and trying to transfer it into the limitation of words. Your moods swing between elation and despair, between pride and an attack of imposter syndrome.

But somewhere, that creative spark is there. It may centre on a theme told multiple times – friends to lovers, a quest to save the world, the dissolution of a relationship, survival in a strange environment – but it will be your unique story told in your unique way.

Your writing process is up to you

You could outline every chapter first (planner) or write into the void (pantser/discovery writer). You could draft character descriptions, story arc notes, a grid to note down important events/agreements. Of course, you’ll scrutinise continuity, whether the story flows well, and whether you have chosen the right words to describe feelings, thoughts and reactions.

Now, juggling all this can be hard work and your brain may approach Fahrenheit 451 (apologies to Ray Bradbury), but it’s also one rewarding thing – pleasure. The process, despite all the sweat and hair-tearing, is so satisfying that writers tend to repeat it. Perhaps we’re all sado-masochists, but the pleasure outweighs the pain by a long streak.

Writing is fun – you are the master/mistress of the universe and every tweak you make is something you’ve decided. Every word in every sentence is your choice. And if your (human) editor and you differ on something, you are still the one who decides. You are the arbiter of your characters’ fates – the power of a god.

So why on earth would you hand over any part of it to a machine?

Good question. Ah, I see it now. It makes producing a book easier. Uh-huh. And then you can watch the cash roll in.

Let’s settle the second belief first. Apart from a few authors, writers do not make oodles of money. The last survey commissioned by ALCS in 2022 stated that the average primary-occupation (professional) authors had dropped to £7,000 per annum. Only 19% of full-time authors now earn all of their income from writing, a major decline from 40% in 2006. Hardly the road to riches.

Making the book easier – possibly. But it’s not creative writing and its originator is not an author. They are a producer of content. Big difference.

In life, I’m a big fan of short cuts, of more efficient ways of doing things. And if it saves a few pennies, so much the better. Writing content using Gen AI may seem a short cut, but it’s neither literature nor creative fiction.

The other gift from writing is that it keeps your mind buzzing, alive and sharp. Reading goes along that road, but the mental load of creative writing makes us work harder and exercises our brain muscles constantly. Absorbing content done for you will eventually dull your intellectual reflexes, your ability to analyse and express cogent thoughts through words. Be warned.

AI from the publisher’s point of view

A friend who runs a small but very well regarded publishing company recently told me about a couple of submissions her company received.

Her company policy states:

[Her company] does not support the creation or publication of AI-written books. The books we publish are works of human authorship, and we expect the substantive creative content of a manuscript to originate with the author.

We do not accept manuscripts that have been substantially generated by artificial intelligence, including books produced wholly or predominantly through generative AI systems and subsequently edited or rewritten to appear human-authored.

If generative AI has been used to create any substantive portion of a manuscript—including prose, poetry, dialogue, scenes, descriptions, or other original creative material—the author must fully disclose that use to [her company] and identify the material concerned.

The use of tools for spelling, grammar, proofreading, transcription, research assistance, brainstorming, or similar support does not in itself make a manuscript “AI-written.” Our concern is with generative AI being used to produce substantive creative content that would otherwise be the work of the author.

Our distinction is therefore between AI as an assistive tool and AI as an author. [Her company] may support the former where used responsibly and transparently; we do not support the latter.

Pretty clear, I’d say. Here are snippets from three content producers who contacted her company:

————

“I have used AI substantially throughout the manuscript’s development, including historical research assistance, story planning, alternative prose drafting and editorial revisions. The creative direction, narrative decisions and final editorial approval have remained mine throughout.

I appreciate that your policy distinguishes between Al-assisted and AI-generated content, and I would not wish to submit a manuscript that falls outside your eligibility criteria.

Would this level of involvement make the novel ineligible for consideration?”

———–

and

———-

“During drafting and revision, I used ChatGPT for brainstorming, continuity feedback, editorial suggestions, and some scene and passage drafting. I don’t know how much generated wording remains in the current manuscript, and my records do not allow me to reliably identify every affected passage.”

———-

lastly,

———-

“The experiences are my own. Generative Al helped organise my accounts, structure the narrative, develop and revise prose from my material, and prepare submission materials. Its involvement therefore goes beyond proofreading; it did not invent the experiences.”

————

This is what publishers are dealing with behind the scenes. Needless to say, none of these proposals were accepted.

Final thoughts about writing fiction

The whole idea of writing a piece of fiction yourself is, er, creative. It sprints or lurches out of your imagination. The best sort is quirky, insightful, pacey and one that takes both reader and writer on an emotional journey, which may even make both sob or cry out with joy. It’s a message from one imperfect human mind to another.

And while that isn’t easy, it’s unique, whatever Gen AI may think.

Being Human

Alison Morton is the author of Roma Nova thrillers –  INCEPTIO, CARINA (novella), PERFIDITAS, SUCCESSIO,  AURELIA, NEXUS (novella), INSURRECTIO  and RETALIO,  and ROMA NOVA EXTRA, a collection of short stories. JULIA PRIMA and EXSILIUM,  set in the late 4th century, tell the story of Roma Nova’s foundation.  Audiobooks are available for four of the series. Double Identity, Double Pursuit and Double Stakes form a new contemporary thriller series. A new collection of Roma Nova short stories, HEROICA, is now out. 

Find out more about Roma Nova, its origins, stories and heroines and taste world the latest contemporary thriller Double Identity… Download ‘Welcome to Alison Morton’s Thriller Worlds’, a FREE eBook, as a thank you gift when you sign up to Alison’s monthly email update. As a result, you’ll be among the first to know about news and book progress before everybody else, and take part in giveaways.