How I used ChatGPT to co-write the story “Crispin is amazing”

The limiting factor in writing a story should be the idea, not the specific writing skills. Here is a step-by-step guide to how I used ChatGPT to co-write the story “Crispin is amazing”.

Step 1 — I asked ChatGPT to draft the story from a rough outline

I started with a rough script that I fed to ChatGPT, typos and all.

ChatGPT then wrote a remarkable draft of the story, with quite a few details despite the skimpy pointers I provided. It also ignored some perhaps ambiguous points like the reference to CRISPR.

Step 2 — I used ChatGPT as a sounding board to devise the moral of the story

Next, although I had a good idea of the moral of the story, I wanted to get input from ChatGPT. This was the exchange.

The response was as good as I would have had from a trusted collaborator and covered my original idea of turning the sorry episode into a fun memory. I could have probably prompted ChatGPT to explore that aspect further, but I felt I had enough material to proceed with the concluding paragraph.

Step 3 — I used ChatGPT to fill in specific details

Finally, I used ChatGPT to fill in the details about the Zocalo, Diego Rivera murals at Palácio Nacional, avocados, Mexican cuisine, CRISPR etc. It provided me with articulate writings on these topics that became tangential educational side stories. This is an example.

Be aware that ChatGPT regularly makes factual errors and can act anywhere from a confused student to an overconfident Professor. Always verify the information.

Closing remarks

Et voila! In just a few steps, I saved much time and effort in getting from a story concept to a written piece. These are the take home messages:

• ChatGPT is an astonishing productivity tool when you use it as a co-writer and as a sounding board for ideas.
• Because ChatGPT has a tendency to give you multiple options and different perspectives, it makes it easier to judge your own perspective from a wider context and formulate the take home message you want to convey to readers.
• Always fact-check the information.
• Writers should disclose when they sought the assistance of ChatGPT. If this were a human contributor, they would unquestionably deserve to be mentioned as a co-author and would undoubtedly object if they weren’t.
• Finally, I also used DALL-E 2 to generate the art associated with the story. Here is another one for this post.

A Mexican waiter serving tequila shots in the style of a Diego Rivera mural by DALL-E 2