How to Use AI as a Writer: Building Your Creative Toolkit

Starting a story can be difficult. It requires a range of skills. You need to have a developed idea and the ability to convey that idea in an effective manner. But there are numerous ways to refine the creative skills and vocabulary needed to write a story, some of which you can  enhance using AI tools such as ChatGPT. 

As a writer, I was initially cautious of using AI in the creative process, particularly regarding idea generation. However, through various exercises, I have realized how much AI can help my creativity flourish. While the techniques discussed in this blog are especially useful for fiction writers, they can benefit anyone working on any genre of writing!

Fostering Creativity: AI Brainstorming Exercises

Instead of using AI to generate ideas for you, you can use it to further your own creative capabilities. For example, you can ask ChatGPT to generate three random words. Then, based on those words, you can come up with a concept for a story. You can adjust this activity as you see fit—such as to focus on a specific genre or topic you're interested in. For example, if you wanted to write a short horror story, your prompt may look something like:

This is a very basic outline of the exercise, and there are many ways you can modify it. Once you come up with the story idea, for instance, you may want to put it back into ChatGPT and ask for feedback on it. Or, you might want to ask the AI to rank your story idea on a scale of 10 for originality (I recently wrote more about this idea here). 

You can also time yourself and see what ideas you can come up with in a short period of time (e.g. around 10 minutes).

Using AI to Identify Effective Word Choices

Once you have the basic idea for a story, you have to put a lot of work and intention into the way you tell it. AI can assist you in this process.

You can use AI to build an effective vocabulary for your story by prompting AI for words that effectively communicate the emotions and experiences you want to depict. Returning to the idea of a horror story, you could prompt the AI as follows:

When I put that prompt into ChatGPT, it responded with:

1. Physical Reactions to Fear

• Shiver / Tremble / Quiver

• Goosebumps / Chill / Cold sweat

• Heart pounding / Heartbeat racing

• Tightness / Constriction (in chest, throat)

• Nausea / Sickening

• Creeped out / Unsettled / Horrified

• Faint / Dizzy / Weak at the knees

• Jolt / Flinch / Jump

2. Descriptive Words for Atmosphere

• Dark / Gloomy / Shadowed / Dim

• Eerie / Haunting / Unnatural

• Bleak / Desolate / Abandoned

• Chilling / Cold / Icy

• Oppressive / Heavy / Suffocating

• Tense / Unbearable

• Creaking / Groaning (of floorboards, doors, etc.)

• Whispering / Muttering (voices)

• Faint / Distant / Echoing (sounds)

3. Words for Danger or Threat

• Menacing / Sinister

• Predatory / Lurking / Stalking

• Grotesque / Twisted / Monstrous

• Murderous / Bloodthirsty / Vicious

• Malevolent / Malicious

• Vile / Wicked / Evil

• Unholy / Cursed

• Ravenous / Hungry

4. Verbs to Convey Horror

• Crawl / Slither / Stagger

• Lunge / Pounce / Claw / Grab

• Tear / Rip / Shred

• Scream / Yell / Shriek / Howl

• Breathe heavily / Pant / Gasp

• Writhe / Squirm

• Freeze / Paralyze

• Glare / Stare / Pierce (eyes)

5. Words for Sounds

• Screech / Screaming / Wailing

• Thud / Thump / Crash / Bang

• Rustle / Rattle / Clink

• Whisper / Murmur / Hiss

• Howl / Moan / Groan

• Drip / Splash / Pitter-patter

• Throbbing (heartbeat, pain)

6. General Fear-related Descriptions

• Unseen / Invisible / Shifting

• Lingering / Relentless

• Unknowable / Unfathomable

• Distorted / Warped

• Unsettling / Disorienting / Baffling

• Grim / Dreadful

• Nightmarish / Surreal

• Terror / Panic / Horror

7. Phrases to Create Suspense

• Something’s wrong / Something’s off

• A feeling of impending doom

• Eyes watching / A presence nearby

• The silence was broken / The silence was deafening

• Suddenly, everything went still / Everything felt wrong

• The walls seemed to close in

• No escape / Trapped

• Whispers in the dark / Footsteps behind

8. Imagery

• Darkened corners / Empty rooms

• Broken glass / Splintering wood

• Crawling shadows / Moving shapes

• Eyes in the darkness

• The stench of decay / Rotting

• Bloodstained / Gore-soaked

• Unblinking eyes / Cold, dead stare (ChatGPT, OpenAI, 2024).
  

You don’t have to use this list just once, either. You could transfer this list into a table and store it for future reference. Once again, feel free to play around with the prompting strategy. You may want to incorporate the idea for your story into the prompt to give the AI more context. You could also ask for more detail, like asking ChatGPT to create a table that includes the words; whether they’re nouns, adjectives, or verbs; what they mean; and the effect they have on the reader.

You can continue to change and alter these prompts and exercises as you see fit. Whether you’re seeking to improve your creativity or hoping to identify the words that best fit your story, AI tools like ChatGPT can be extremely useful when it comes to building your writing toolkit!