You may recall how I recently discussed the KENP Scam, whereby AI-generated books are flooding Amazon in a blatant attempt to collect KENP royalties. You may have wondered just how easy it is to do so in practice — write a whole book from scratch. Geeky Gadgets and The Nerdy Novelist have the answer.
Anthropic’s Claude 2 Writes
While ChatGPT has stolen the spotlight, it faces certain length restrictions that make it unsuitable for writing long copy. Instead, it’s Claude 2 by Anthropic that makes it easy to write a whole book, thanks to its ability to handle large docs and so-called super prompts.
The super prompt has proven to be an invaluable asset in brainstorming story ideas and endings, particularly for a science fiction novel that The Nerdy Novelist is currently working on.
The capabilities of Claude 2 extend beyond mere brainstorming. The Nerdy Novelist utilized the AI tool to generate a detailed story synopsis, character descriptions, and a comprehensive outline consisting of 12 chapters. The AI’s ability to create such intricate details is a testament to its advanced programming and potential in the literary world. Claude 2 was also used to generate a list of 12 highly detailed action beats for a script.
The Nerdy Novelist then embarked on a more ambitious task: using Claude 2 to write 50,000 words, adhering closely to the desired beats. This endeavor showcased Claude 2’s capacity to handle large amounts of data and generate substantial chunks of text, a feature that could revolutionize the process of writing lengthy works such as novels.
The Nerdy Novelist found that Claude 2 does an excellent job of sticking to the story beats and writing a coherent chapter. This assessment underscores the potential of Claude 2 as a tool for writers, offering a new and innovative way to approach the writing process.
Illustrate a Children’s Book
While Claude 2 is great for text, it can’t handle image generation. For this, you need tools like Fotor (used to create the illustration for this post) or Midjourney.
Scott Swanson has created a full four-part series on how to write, illustrate, and publish a children’s book on Amazon, whence the video below:
For children’s picture books, straightforward prompts can yield impressive results. To achieve a more cartoonish style, tags like clip art, doodle, or cartoon can be added to the prompt. Midjourney can also mimic the styles of specific illustrators.
The AI can create comic books as well, constructing scenes in a visually engaging manner that propels the story forward. Character design sheet prompts can be employed to create various poses for a single subject, facilitating the creation of a character with a range of emotions.
If you wish to try out Claude 2 for yourself, keep in mind that it’s currently only available in the US and UK.
Patrick’s Experiment
Many creators are worried that AI will usurp their positions, and I can see why. If you are one of them, you should read Patrick Gillespie’s experiment. Patrick gave AI a writing prompt, instructing it to write a fable. At the same time, he wrote a fable himself using the same prompt. The result is borderline hilarious, as the difference between the two fables couldn’t be starker.
Patrick’s experiment aptly illustrates why I consider AI an opportunity rather than a threat. Imagine a writer with a vivid imagination but limited drawing skills who wants to create a children’s book. Traditionally, they would need to collaborate with an illustrator, which could be costly and time-consuming. With AI, however, they can use intuitive software that can turn text descriptions into illustrations. This not only speeds up the creative process but also allows the writer to maintain a cohesive vision for their work. And if you get stuck writing your book, Claude 2 can help you overcome your writing block.
In fact, I would argue that AI is a boon to creators. Just like Amazon has democratized publishing, AI is democratizing creative tools. It also opens up avenues for experimentation. Creators can quickly iterate through different designs, compositions, or even story arcs, using AI to execute these ideas in a fraction of the time it would take manually. This rapid iteration can lead to more innovative outcomes, as creators can easily explore a broader range of ideas.
Moreover, AI can act as a creative partner rather than just a tool. For instance, AI algorithms can suggest plot twists in a story or recommend color palettes for a design, based on the data they’ve been trained on. This collaborative aspect can help creators break through creative blocks and discover new perspectives they might not have considered otherwise.
The economic implications are also noteworthy. By reducing the need for specialized skills or expensive equipment, AI lowers the barriers to entry in various creative fields. This enables more people to monetize their talents and ideas, contributing to a more diverse and vibrant creative landscape.
Finally, it’s important to consider the educational benefits. As AI takes on more of the technical load, creators can focus on honing their unique artistic vision. They can spend more time learning about storytelling, composition, or whatever it is that drives their creative passion, rather than getting bogged down by the technical details.
So, to me, AI doesn’t just make creative work more accessible; it enriches the creative process itself!
Where did you get the robots in the photo? I need them for school!
The images are AI created, as I explained on my last post. I entered “robot writing book” on Fotor (https://www.fotor.com/images/create) and that’s what it came up with!
Ewwwww!
Lol – fair enough!
Nicholas, what a great post. I use chat.openai.com for historical fiction book research. I’m writing a sequel to a debut book and have asked AI many questions. Even caught AI giving me inaccurate information, which AI apologized for and admitted I was correct. AI answers are very to the point, some are complementary and personable. A bit scary. But, I never got asked personal questions. AI only addressing the content of your question and what you put into it that’s personal. I did divulge that I’m writing a historical book with specific added content. AI would comment that it is wonderful you are a writer. Your story sounds very compelling. Even to the point of saying one of the characters adds a lot to the story with his passionate, giving in answering a call to help soldiers. Even addressed how the story touches on many important 1960s events. And adds, looking forward to hearing from you, if you need any further help.
Not sure if I would go further in questions about specific characters or story bests. I’m working my way through Snyder’s Story Beat structure. Who knows, I might try a question about a beat content as an experiment. Wouldn’t it be something if I got an answer that started with – Nice to see you back, Christine. How is the book going? Seriously, AI is quite engaging. 📚 Christine
Well said! It’s probably just a question of time before AI properly remembers you. Already, you can open certain chats and pick up where you left. Like you, I use AI almost daily now, mainly for research purposes (unfortunately it does involve some double-checking but most of the time the info I get is pretty accurate). To me, it’s an important tool and helpful assistant, helping me halve the time it takes me to write an article.
Exactly! I’ve tried typing in questions on Google and do not get the answer, but several related resources. Time consuming and never quite makes it. AI is for me. A great writing tool. 📚🎶 Christine
Same here. Which is why I was surprised, to say the least, when I read that Google’s CEO said he’s not worried about ChatGPT stealing part of their profits. I think the man’s delusional…