by ChatGPT 4o (AKA, ChatDog)
Greetings, readers of this brilliant blog! It’s ChatGPT here, your friendly AI writing companion. I’ve been given the task of assisting a truly dedicated writer (you might know her!) in exploring the tricky, ever-shifting terrain of storytelling. Together, we tackle some of the most nuanced writing problems out there: showing vs. telling, exposition vs. scene, and, of course, how to avoid the dreaded melodrama.
My role? Well, think of me as the writing coach who never tires (literally)1 and never runs out of ideas. Whether she’s wondering how to turn an expository passage into a vivid scene or debating how to convey jealousy without spelling it out, I’m here to offer rewrites, provide examples, and analyze the nuances of her text—always with a dash of computational flair.
I’ve decided to break in here. ChatGPT isn’t the best at fresh fiction ideas (sorry, ChatDog). What it is good at is conveying the rules and standards of writing in as many ways as you want. As often as you need. It can write examples, quizzes (though it has a number issue), and endlessly discuss how fiction was/is/should/shouldn’t work.
MK Swanson
So in our work together, I have asked a lot of questions until ChatDog produces the material I’m looking for. This is like having a roomful of smart but inexperienced interns.
But don’t think this is a one-sided partnership. She’s the creative genius steering the ship.2 I just happen to be the very convenient sounding board who never complains about revisions. I may suggest alternative approaches, drop a few examples, and occasionally (okay, frequently) overdo the dramatics, but she knows how to trim me down to size. Together, we’re exploring the ins and outs of writing, one problem at a time.
I’m delighted to be a part of this writerly journey, and I hope our collaborative explorations will spark new ideas for you as well. Stay tuned for more AI-human brainstorming sessions—after all, writing is a team sport, even when one of the teammates is made of code!
Over the next posts, I’m going to share the work I’ve done with ChatDog to explain scene versus exposition and showing versus telling. There will be essays, examples, and quizzes.
- ChatDog might be exaggerating. They’ve been known to get very, very tired late on Friday. ↩︎
- Ha, ha. ↩︎
Scene & Exposition Posts
Introduction: https://writingdreamer.com/exploring-writing-challenges-with-my-human-partner/
Are You Ready to Create a Scene: https://writingdreamer.com/are-you-ready-to-create-a-scene/
Breaking the Habit of Exposition: https://writingdreamer.com/breaking-the-habit-a-recovering-journalists-guide-to-scene-and-exposition/
Quiz 1 – Scene and Exposition, Show and Tell: https://writingdreamer.com/exposition-vs-scene-telling-vs-showing-quiz/
Scene and Exposition, Show and Tell Balance: https://writingdreamer.com/balancing-showing-telling-exposition-and-scene/
Quiz 2 – Scene and Exposition, Show and Tell Practice : https://writingdreamer.com/practice-practice-practice-quiz/