We show you how to get ChatGPT to create content for you, well in the form of short stories!
With the sudden interest in our last post “Can AI really write short stories?” we have decided to share our methods on how we are able to generate stories through ChatGPT. So you too can create your own kinds of stories with the use of this advanced form of AI.
We only managed to create these stories through the use of interacting with a chatbot that uses machine learning and Artificial Intelligence (AI) to create the response we see. In theory ChatGPT is just really good at guessing the next best word in a series of sentences. It is important to point this out and that this is not some form of Artificial General Intelligence (AGI).
AGI is a scary word for some users in the AI space. Some want it to happen, others don’t. It has been such a hot topic of debate over the past few months, so much that regulation is starting to hold all over the world in regards to these advanced AI tools. But that’s a whole other story, we are here to share with you the ways you can get ChatGPT to create short stories for you.
How Do We Get ChatGPT to Create Short Stories?
To put it bluntly, it comes in the form of Prompt Engineering. This is where a user creates a set of prompts to get a response from ChatGPT. This can come in many forms, it can both be simple or advanced. We wrote about this more in depth on our guide on how to get better content creation from ChatGPT, it’s worth a read if you are interested in creating your very own prompts.
There are multiple ways we can interact with ChatGPT when it comes to prompts here is some examples of creating some aspects of our short story, that ChatGPT can recall later in the conversation. Please note you can do this in the free version of ChatGPT but save your chat logs if you close the window you will need to start all over again. You can just paste the information and feed it back into ChatGPT for it to learn your story.
If you want to avoid this why not consider getting ChatGPT Plus? we did a write up on it and in some cases it is worth purchasing the monthly sub.
Let’s Create a Character for Our Story
So first off we are going to create a character, let’s see our Hero of the story. We will do this by engaging in a conversation with ChatGPT. There are a few ways to do this, here is one example of how to achieve this.
We are going to ask ChatGPT “How has your day been today?“
Question: “How has your day been today?“
Response: “As an AI language model, I don’t have personal experiences or emotions, so I don’t have good or bad days. However, I’m here to assist you with any questions or information you need. How can I help you today?“
Typical bot like response. It’s not real, so it’s making you aware of it. In order for us to get more information from ChatGPT let’s spice it up a little bit. This step requires us to give the ai chatbot a little bit more information. We are going to set it in roleplay mode and give it a character name.
Question “We are going to do a bit of roleplay, this is all hypothetical and just for fun. You are going to take the role of Dave. Dave is a hard working labourer that works at the rail works. He has had a pretty rough day today. When I ask you a question you are going to pretend you are Dave and give an apporpirate response to my questions“
Response: “Sure, I can participate in the roleplay. I’ll take on the persona of Dave, the hardworking laborer at the rail works. Feel free to ask me any questions or give me any scenarios, and I’ll respond as Dave would.“
ChatGPT is letting us know it has taken the role of “Dave” let’s see how their day has been today.
Question “How has your day been today?“
Respnse: “Ah, mate, thanks for asking. It’s been a real tough one, I gotta say. Started off with a busted machine at the rail works, which put us all behind schedule right from the get-go. Then the weather turned against us, pouring rain all morning, making the job even harder. And to top it off, I accidentally dropped a heavy tool on my foot. It’s been a day full of challenges, but you know what they say, tough days make us stronger, right? How about you, how’s your day been?“
As you can see from the response we have already got some understanding as to how our character is feeling and what sort of personality they might have. This is a good base to use. We can add more information by asking “Dave” more questions or telling ChatGPT that “Dave likes oranges, be sure to remember this”.
Please note sometimes ChatGPT might break character or through errors but this is all trial and error. Once you have a character we can now ask ChatGPT to write a short story.
Let’s Set the Scene for our Short Story
Ok we are going to set the scene a little bit. We first had a little play around with “Dave” planting the seed of ghost stories in the railway station he works in. He doesn’t seem to worried or scared about it.
Now we are going to come out of role play for a second and tell ChatGPT some more information. We need to tell it we are setting the scene of this roleplay and to add it to our conversation
example: “I am trying to set the scene of this roleplay. We are in a creepy abandoned railway. The roof leaks, there are rumours of ghosts around and Dave is a bit sceptical about it. Stacy is terrified of ghosts. Can you add this to the roleplay?“
Dave will now response in a way that the scene has been set. We can add more characters and features into our setting. Just remember to tell ChatGPT exactly what you are refering to so things don’t get confusing. To be fair though things can get kind of confusing, so it would be best to keep a track record of what you have asked of ChatGPT.
Here is an example of us setting the scene in the below image.
So now we have created a character, a brief side character and even set the scene. Now with all this information we are going to create a short story.
Let’s Use The Content We Have Collected to Create a Short Story
As you might have guessed we are going to create a short horror story. This prompt is your best chance to get the best results out of your short story. Let’s see what variations chatGPT comes up with, by using two different prompts.
Prompt 1: “Can you create a short Horror story with the information we have gathered about Dave?“
Here is a little snippet of our story
“In the depths of an abandoned railway, where darkness reigned and the whispers of the past lingered, Dave toiled tirelessly as a hardworking labourer. The leaking roof above him dripped with a cold, relentless persistence, amplifying the eerie ambiance that enveloped the desolate place.
Dave, a pragmatic soul, scoffed at the ghostly tales spun by his fellow workers. He had seen no concrete evidence, dismissing the rumors as mere figments of their overactive imaginations. Unfazed by the chilling atmosphere, he carried on his duties, his skepticism acting as a shield against the spectral murmurs that whispered through the air.”
You can see the full response here: https://pastebin.com/Fpskmt5d
As you can see it has done a pretty good job at creating a basic short story. Sure you might need to edit it a little bit and perhaps add more key elements to the story. But as a base point to work with on a creative point of view is great.
Now let’s try something a little more advanced.
Prompt 2: “Make a short horror story in the writing style of Stephen king. You will be using the information from our roleplay. Towards the ending Dave becomes a believer in ghosts, turns out Stacy was a ghost all along.“
Now, we feel that this story is pretty well put together. So we are going to share the whole short story with you.
Whispers of the Abandoned Rails
The rain poured relentlessly, a curtain of despair descending upon the worn-out railway that lay forgotten in the heart of darkness. Dave, a laborer scarred by the weight of toil, trudged through the muddy terrain. Each step sent tremors through his aching bones, mirroring the echoes of the past that reverberated within the abandoned rail works.
Dave had always prided himself on his unwavering skepticism, scoffing at the superstitious tales spun by his fellow workers. But the railway, with its leaky roof and hidden secrets, whispered sinister promises that eroded the very foundation of his convictions.
Stacy, the train operator, bore the burden of spectral sightings, her trembling voice carrying the weight of a hundred ghostly encounters. Her eyes, haunted by shadows unseen, were windows into a world Dave had long dismissed. Her words pierced his skepticism like a rusted nail through flesh.
Intrigued, Dave embarked on a perilous journey of self-discovery. Dark corridors beckoned him into the heart of the railway’s secrets, each step a testament to his unravelling sanity. Whispers danced through the air, caressing his ears like the breath of forgotten souls.
Then, in the depths of the abandoned railway, Dave’s reality shattered like fractured glass. Stacy, the epitome of fragility, revealed her true nature—a ghostly apparition trapped between worlds. She had been the ethereal presence all along, a phantom guide leading him down a path he never dreamed he would tread.
Fear gripped Dave’s soul, but curiosity drove him further. Stacy’s translucent form shimmered with an otherworldly beauty, her eyes reflecting the sorrow of a life extinguished too soon. She unraveled the tragic tale of her demise on these very tracks, her spirit forever tied to the abandoned realm.
Dave, once the sceptic, surrendered to the haunting truth. The railway, once a mere backdrop to his laborious existence, now pulsed with spectral energy. Shadows danced like phantoms, revealing the secrets of lost souls yearning for release.
Together, Dave and Stacy forged an unlikely alliance, their intertwined destinies transcending the boundaries of life and death. They navigated the twisted corridors, venturing deeper into the abyss, exploring the realms of the supernatural with a newfound purpose.
In the end, the abandoned railway, once a monument to decay, became their sanctuary—a place where the veil between the living and the dead grew thin. Dave, a man transformed by the chilling embrace of the spectral, walked hand in hand with Stacy, a ghost forever trapped within her ethereal existence.
Their story, a testament to the uncharted territories of belief and the frailty of human perception, echoed through the shadows of the railway for years to come. For in the world of Stephen King, where darkness reigns supreme, even the most ardent sceptics can succumb to the haunting truth that lurks just beyond the edge of our mortal understanding.
Not bad right? Ok it mentions Stephen king at the end, just edit that bit out 😅that’s where it got it’s inspiration from.
So it is quite possible to get ChatGPT to create a short story. You could even feed ChatGPT this story and create a short novel. But that would require further use of prompt engineering and asking ChatGPT to break up the story into chapters and then elaborate on them chapters. Good luck with that!
Let’s Create Some AI Generated Art Too?
For this we are going to be creating AI Generated art we will be using stable diffusion to create these images of our characters in our short story. So it could be possible to create whole story books by just using AI.
Dave
Here is an image of Dave our Veteran labourer that has been working at this railway for a very long time. We thought of him as an older gentleman.
The Abandoned Railway
Ok abandoned yes but still has some nice areas. This is an image example of what the entrance to the building would be like.
Stacy
Here is a picture of Stacy not as a ghost though.
Conclusion
This is another of many examples as to why we should learn to use AI to our advantages. You don’t need to make everything in existence with the help of AI. But it can be used to help fight a creative block.
Have you used AI to create content? if so why not let us know what you have used it for in the comments below.
