Val Neil

Dark Fantasy Author

word craft

AI Author Survey Results: Who is writing with AI?

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ChatGPT AI computer program on PC screen. ChatGPT is a Artificial intelligence chatbot

There’s a lot of misinformation and vitriol surrounding the idea of using AI in writing. A quick scan of Twitter would have you believe that no authors want it, and that the only people who’ll use AI to write are hacks that want to make a quick buck by putting out “soulless” books, or nonauthors who will press a button to have AI spit out a fully-fledged novel filled with plagiarized material – a laughable concept to anyone who’s actually played around with AI and understands how it works, including its limitations.

I’ve already talked about how I use ChatGPT in my own process and how it helped my autistic son get words on the page. The fact is, many authors do enjoy AI and are happily using it on their projects, but given the potential for backlash, many are afraid to discuss AI openly. We congregate in AI-friendly groups to share our excitement and discuss the best ways to utilize these tools.

I wanted to see if there was anything to the argument that only newbie writers or unpublished hacks were using AI, so I posed a survey. While the response wasn’t huge, it showed that all kinds of authors are using this technology.

As you can see, there are a lot of different authors using AI. No one who responded only had a single book and most had been publishing for years. So which tools are authors using?

When it came to tools, the top three were Claude, ChatGPT, and Sudowrite (which incorporates both of the former). As of this writing (5/29/2023), Claude is free. Sudowrite and ChatGPT4 are not, and a lot of people were using them. Many of us use all three. My original list didn’t even include ProWritingAid or Word, which both incorporate AI.

What about the argument that AI allows authors to completely disengage from the process?

Contrary to what many people think, authors are still very much involved in the writing process with AI. Good prompts will give you better text, but you still have to do a lot of work behind the scenes.

So what are authors using AI for, if not to write a whole book?

Many authors responded that AI makes the process faster, easier, and most notably – more fun.

And yet many of us want more from AI – better consistency, the ability to have it write in our own voice, better quality control (AI has a tendency to make up facts when stuck, something known as “hallucinating”), and write longer passages.

The application of AI in writing is not a compromise of art but an enhancement of the creative process. It mitigates physical limitations, accelerates writing speed, shatters the barrier of writer’s block, and fosters a sense of collaboration. The usage of AI in writing transcends mere convenience, it infuses creativity, stimulates fresh perspectives, and nurtures a newfound joy in the craft. AI in writing is not about replacing the human touch, but about empowering authors to navigate their storytelling journey with increased ease, efficiency, and excitement.

If you’re an author who uses AI for writing, I’ve created arevised version of the survey, which you can take here.

How To: Beta Readers

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What are they?

People who read your polished manuscript (do not send them your shitty first draft) and give you feedback. Ideally they should be readers, NOT other writers, though that can be harder to come by.

How many do you need?

Depends on where you are in your writer journey. If you’re a newbie, you’re going to need more, and likely several different rounds. Make sure you’re using critique partners first to get your errors under control.

Don’t Use People You Know

While it’s tempting to use friends or family, these people are generally not your target audience. They may also be reluctant to give you critical feedback. You want people who read in your genre.

Where to find them:

A call for betas should always include the genre, word count, and a hook/blurb. Use this as an opportunity to work on your ad copy. You want betas? You better have an interesting hook and blurb, especially if they aren’t writers. If you’re using Betareader.io, a mock cover (which you can make free on Canva) will help draw the eye.

If you’re looking in writer groups, it’s easier to find people willing to swap. You read theirs and they’ll read yours.

Always do a test chapter. This is to see if you’re a good fit. Sometimes they’ll never get back to you. Sometimes they’re just not giving you the kind of feedback you need. You don’t need to be sending your entire MS to every rando on the internet who asks. Test chapter first!

Finding betas that will read through the entire manuscript is the hardest part. Most will flake. Accept it. Also take it as a learning experience. If your story isn’t gripping them, especially if everyone quits reading at a certain point, that’s a red flag.

Also look for critique partners. Ideally you would do this prior to betas, but I’ve found that some critique partners, especially those who aren’t good at prose or grammar, are outstanding with emotion and story structure, making them great betas.

Working with Betas

This really depends on your style. If you’re not very good at self-organization, I recommend using a service like BetaReader.io, BetaBooks.co, or StoryOrigin. You absolutely don’t need to use these, but they do help collate all the information you receive.

If you’re working with other writers, Google docs is the way to go. You post your chapters and they comment (this is also how I work with critique partners). This way even if they don’t finish, you’ll see what progress they’ve made until that point. If you’re emailing them Word docs, you may never know where you lost them.

I try to keep my betas separate, because I don’t want one reader’s opinion to influence another’s. This means separate document files for each beta. Is it more work? Hell yes, but that’s how I roll.

If they’re readers, not writers, they may balk at reading a google or word doc. For some, a PDF or ereader file may be preferable, though you probably won’t get in-line comments back.

Asking Beta Reader Questions

You can google a bunch of lists on what specifically to ask betas. Make sure you tailor them to your own needs, and also keep in mind that you’re going to have diminishing returns if you ask too many questions. Keep it concise.

I like to check in with specific questions, like after a pivotal moment or after act 1, 2, or 3 because each of these will have a different feel. If you wait until the very end of the book to ask all your questions, people may not remember how they felt at the end of the first chapter, or the end of act 1.

Your questions at the beginning of the book can focus a lot on how the reader feels about the main character, setting, and if they’re engaged enough to continue. Your questions at the end can focus on whether they felt satisfied with the ending, whether they felt hooked for the sequel (if there is one), and whether anything was left unresolved.

If you’re new, I strongly recommend having multiple rounds of betas. Sometimes the issues in your book are so big that that’s all people will see. Fixing stuff and then asking for new input will allow betas to focus on different things. For instance, in my first round of betas I wanted to know how people felt about my characters. In later drafts, I already knew how they felt, so I dropped the questions relating to character and focused on other issues.

Evaluating the Feedback

  • If one person says something, it may just be their opinion. If three people say it, you need to take a serious look.
  • Look for places where people stopped reading or slowed down. They may have gotten busy, but they may have gotten bored. My earlier drafts of my first book lost a lot of people in the middle. Turns out my throughline sucked.
  • Does this person read your genre? (Ideally, yes. If not, take their advice with a grain of salt.)
  • If you get praise, screenshot that shit and save it somewhere in a file for when you need a pick-me-up.
  • It is NOT the job of betas to offer suggestions on how to fix something. That’s your job.
  • It’s not the job of betas to hunt for typos (though some will). This is what critique partners, editors, and proofreaders are for.
  • If a beta doesn’t give much feedback, feel free not to use them again, especially if you’re doing a swap. Quality feedback matters. If someone does nothing but sing your praises, they’re a shitty beta. You want someone who can point out the good and the bad. The object is to improve your work, not get validation.

Copyright © 2020 Val Neil. All rights reserved.

Finding Your Flow State

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Finding Your Flow State

What is a flow state?

Do you ever get into the groove when you’re writing? Your fingers fly, words pour out of you like magic, and before you know it, an hour has passed. That’s the flow state—a particular mindset when the words come without hesitation.

How do you get into the flow state?

Getting into the flow state can take some time, but a few tricks can help you get there quicker. Some professional writers do warm up techniques before they sit down to actually write—they meditate, read their notes from the previous scene, free write, or read aloud a test sample if they’re dictating. This can be intimidating if you only have twenty minutes to sit down and write and it takes you fifteen minutes just to get into a good flow.

Pay Attention to When you Write Best

One of the nice features about the new NaNoWriMo website is that it allows you to enter not just your word count, but where you wrote and for how long. This allows you to track where and when you are getting the most words down. It’s not always when you think.

A lot of people will say “I’m a night person” and assume they do their best writing in the evenings. Studies have shown that creativity is usually at its peak right after you get up in the morning (obviously, if you work the night shift, your “morning” will be different than for most people). The reason for this is that your brain has had a chance to rest and process things overnight. You may wake up with solutions to problems you had the day before. Your brain also hasn’t been taxed by a billion other things throughout the day. Even if you’re a night person, if your brain has been working all day and it probably won’t be in its best form when you sit down to write after the kids are in bed.

If you want to know for certain, write down your word count after various sessions for a week or two, then analyze your output. You may be surprised that your best writing times are not when you thought they’d be.

Train Your Brain

Have you ever gone to the restroom and as soon as you crossed the threshold, your body desperately tried to unleash itself before you reached the toilet? That’s the power of classical conditioning. Thankfully, you can use it to your advantage.

Create a consistent set of conditions under which you write. For instance, I decided last year that my home PC is a terrible place to work. It’s in a high-traffic area, and even with noise-cancelling headphones, I get interrupted a lot. The PC also has dual monitors, which makes it way too convenient to have Scrivener open on one and a browser on the other. I decided that since my laptop was already being used to write in cafés that I would use it as my writing machine. I made a desk upstairs out of a folding table and I write on my laptop.

If you don’t have multiple machines, that’s fine. You can still create consistent conditions. Maybe you always write in the same chair or listen to the same playlist. Maybe you always have a cup of coffee or burning candle. Whatever you do, try to be consistent to train your brain that those conditions mean you’re going to be writing. This should help reduce the amount of time it takes for you to achieve the flow state.

Copyright © 2019 Val Neil. All rights reserved.

My Drafting Process

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There are a few different ways I write scenes. The method here is when inspiration strikes, not when I’m specifically sitting down to craft a scene.

Crafting

When I’m inspiration writing, I tend to start with straight dialogue. Some people struggle with dialogue, but for me, the character interactions are what make the scene. I have a movie playing in my head of the characters talking, so I just write that down.

If I’m super busy, sometimes I’ll dictate to my notepad on my phone and email it to myself. This means I’ll have snippets of dialogue, often with no quotation marks or indications of who is speaking (though from the voices, it’s usually very clear), let alone setting. The scene building is generally done later, unless I’m writing in order and starting a scene “from scratch.”

Below will be some excerpts from book 2 that I’m working on. Please be advised that they contain major spoilers from book 1, and minor spoilers for book 2.

SPOILERS AHEAD!

[Read more…] about My Drafting Process

The Importance of Accountability

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Writing a book is a horrible, exhausting struggle, like a long bout with some painful illness. One would never undertake such a thing if one were not driven on by some demon whom one can neither resist nor understand. – George Orwell

Writing is hard. It’s one of the hardest things I’ve ever done. As with all things difficult, where one is tempted to give up and run screaming through the streets when you just can’t take it anymore, it’s good to regularly check in with others who are on the same journey as you. Here are some of the ways I keep myself on target.

In-Person Writer Groups

I’m lucky enough to have a pretty active writing community nearby. My town even has a writer’s guild. Search online and see if you can find other authors nearby. Shut Up & Write is a great organization for this. They host regular meet ups where everyone introduces themselves, checking in on current projects, then writes uninterrupted for one hour (or longer). It’s a great way to meet a variety of people who all have a passion for writing.

Facebook Groups (WITH GOALS)

The key here is ACCOUNTABILITY. While there are plenty of Facebook groups dedicated to writing, very few have weekly check-ins. Sacha Black runs a group called 13 Steps to Evil – Villain Masters, which has a regular check-in on Mondays.

Accountability Buddies

Pick a writer, any writer, and agree to check-in with one another a couple of times a week. I had a buddy after NaNoWriMo last year. We communicated via Facebook and entered our word counts every day in Google sheets. The only problem was that it got harder once I started editing and he fell off the writer bandwagon. If I had to do it over again, I’d probably use a different tracking mechanism and add a few more people for increased accountability.

Word Count Trackers

If you’re not stuck editing, I highly recommend a joint word count tracker like I mentioned above. If someone has nothing input for a few days, you can send them a PM asking what’s up.

Critique Groups/Alpha Readers

If your writing is relatively solid, you may choose to share your manuscript as it’s being written. I personally wait until I at least have a complete draft, but I know several people who use critique and alpha readers very early in the process. It works because you have someone breathing down your neck (hopefully) waiting for the next chapter.

For myself, I found this gives me a much-needed boost during the editing process. Editing is rough, and seeing your story land with people is a real incentive to keep going.

Copyright © 2019 Val Neil. All rights reserved.

New Rule

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Me two days ago: I made it work! That sounds terrible to say, like if I had to “make” it work, then it shouldn’t have been there in the first place.

Me today: New rule. If you have to force it to fit the plotline, it doesn’t belong there.

Did I make some of my tricky scenes fit? Hell yes I did. Do they belong? Eh…

Here’s the issue. My manuscript is currently sitting at around 123k words. That’s after cutting 5300 words yesterday. But it’s fantasy! Fantasy is supposed to be long (I tell myself). Well yes, but the beginning of my book swelled from five brief chapters to nine based on reader feedback. I was moving too fast, not bothering to immerse the reader or even really explain the magic system because I was in a rush to get to what I thought of as the meat of the story.

Now that my beginning itself is meatier, the bulky subplots make the rest of the text seem bloated. I mean I could pull a George R.R. Martin and do almost 300k words right out of the gate, but this isn’t high/epic fantasy and I really need to do a good job of capturing readers with this first book, which means pacing is extremely important. Readers going into book 2 should be more invested in the characters and I’m probably safe to meander a bit, though that didn’t help with Holy Sister, which did so much treading water that I moved on to something else despite my love of Nona.

So I’m going to cut out the whole telepathy plotline and a lot of other minor training sequences, for several reasons:

  • The first subplot I cut played heavily into this other subplot, and left gaping holes upon its exit.
  • These two plotlines really work better if kept together.
  • These subplots are so large that they’re taking time away from the core conflict, which is not only killing tension, it’s causing me to briefly mention things in narrative that really need their own scenes.

cuts2

Combined with the scenes I’ve already trimmed, if I cut these I’ll have roughly 28k of cool stuff going into the next novel, which makes me feel a lot better honestly. It also gives me wiggle room if I want to add Medea’s POV

Copyright © 2019 Val Neil. All rights reserved.