Using Artificial Intelligence
Writing often bogs down in unexciting chores that have to be done. Editing and revision are two examples. Then there are the times when the writer is stymied as to what to write next. Another painful experience is to get stuck in the middle of a scene. Your hero is in big trouble and you can’t figure a way to drag her out the mess.
I’ve
faced all of these issues in the past, but now I use an Artificial Intelligence
app to help me speed through the roadblocks.
In short AI allows me to spend more time on creative activities and less
on mundane chores.
I
use Perplexity.AI as my writing buddy.
The trick with using an AI app is how you write the query that gives the
AI app its instructions. If you write a generic query, the AI will respond with
a generic reply. To get a useful
response you have to write a detailed query.
That
last paragraph may be a bit puzzling to those who aren’t
familiar with using AI so I’ll provide a list of AI queries that have
been tested (by me) to provide useful output. These queries can be used in a
variety of AI apps such as Perplexity, ChatGPT, Notebook LM or even the AI
feature built into apps like Craft or Fabric or Notion.
Research
and brainstorming queries:
Research
query: Show me a list of websites that have information on
{topic}
Outline query: Provide an outline for the
{book/research paper/website} {insert description}
Brainstorming
query: Brainstorm the following {insert topic} and give me a list of six
ideas for an {article/story/project}
Editing
and revision queries:
Editing
query: Edit the following piece and highlight your changes:
{paste text here}
Editing
and Show-Don’t-Tell
query: Edit the following piece, highlight your changes and
point out examples where show-don’t-tell can be used {paste text here}
Rewrite
query: Rewrite this {insert text} two different ways: one in a
light-hearted tone, one in a pompous tone.
(yes, you can tell the AI what tone to use!)
Stuck
Query: My character is {describe situation}. Tell me {number}
of ways he {describe solution}
I
don’t restrict my AI usage to writing and
research. I also use it for marketing
activities. Here are a few typical
queries. In these cases, I use a
storyline or short synopsis as part of the detailed query. This gives the AI the background information
it needs to respond properly.
One
important comment about these responses.
I consider them to be first drafts and revise them, sometimes quite
extensively. Still, having a first draft
to work on saves a lot of time, effort and creativity.
Marketing
queries:
Targeting
query: My novel is a {insert genre} story. How can I reach
{enter genre} readers rather than the general population
Social
media posts: {Insert storyline} write 5 social media
posts for {insert social media platform} Use keywords where appropriate.
Blog
posts: {insert storyline} write {insert length} blog post. Use
keywords where appropriate
Hashtags query: {insert storyline}
Generate list of appropriate hashtags
These
queries are taken from my book, The
Author’s AI Toolkit.
——————————
Website:
hankquenseauthor.com
Posts
