By James M. Jackson
We’ve been dealing with “Artificial Intelligence” for years.
The term was created in 1956 at the Dartmouth Conference.[i]
Ten years later, ELIZA, created by Joseph Weizenbaum at MIT, used an early
natural language processing program (aka chatbot) to simulate a Rogerian
psychotherapist![ii]
In the 1970s and 1980s, we all started pressing our phones to indicate 1 for
sales, 2 for service, etc. I started using a spellchecker in the mid 1980s.
The good old days.
Now, with massive and inexpensive computing power, AI is engaging
in a much wider set of tasks. The software program ProWritingAid, which I have
used for years, uses AI to check spelling and grammar. It also checks for a
large variety of writing “issues” including writing style, sentence length and
variety, readability grade, use of passive voice, adverb use, emotional tells,
acronym use and consistency, paragraph complexity, and much more.
It not only spots “errors,” it suggests how to correct the
“problem.” I use quotation marks because it is not always right. Often its
software becomes confused by complexity, and misidentifies things like dialogue
tags, doesn’t realize that a word like goin’ uses an apostrophe to signify the
missing g rather than claiming my writing is flawed because I ended a quotation
without starting it.
Although not perfect, it is very useful. So, when the
ProWritingAid team introduced a Manuscript Analysis feature, I was interested
to see how it would do. I recently finished Draft 3 of Niki Undercover (Niki
Undercover #2) and knew it still had a few structural problems. Before I
tackled those, I asked the Manuscript Analysis to do its thing.
Its report was comprehensive, covering 37 pages. It began by
telling me Niki Unleashed is a Thriller (Political Thriller) and
provided a story overview and plot outline. The story overview (see below) is
accurate, if not inspired. The plot outline caught the chief points but missed
the subtlety.
With that start, I was skeptical about how helpful this
would be.
But I changed my mind after reading the narrative elements
section. It accurately reported three themes and motifs. Fortunately, there was
more of this kind of analysis later in the report.
Then it stumbled with its analysis of potential readers that
I did not find enlightening. Its “Similar Books” section explained the rationale
for its choices, although I did not find the three choices compelling.
It listed characters, their role, character type, story
presence, and offered for the top three a similar fictional character. The
comparisons were not ones I would have made, but the explanations made sense. A
table of contents section that listed narrative person and POV had no value to
me.
The real value came in the next two sections.
It uncovered five Narrative Themes and concluded I had used two
effectively. The other three themes were underdeveloped. It provided text
references for its comments, and for the three “underdeveloped” themes provided
suggestions to strengthen them. Two of the underdeveloped themes are
underdeveloped because I do not consider them to be major themes. The third, Betrayal
and Trust, does play a significant role in the story. Here is its suggestion:
Broad brush, but an accurate assessment and something I can
improve in draft 4.
The Plot & Structure section is where ProWritingAid’s
AI shined. It discussed seventeen areas in significant detail. Maybe it was
trying to sugar-coat the pill, but it reported several things it thought I did
well (a compelling premise, clever use of red herrings and suspense in the
murder investigation, and fast-paced and action-packed narrative in the second
half).
The greatest value was in the things it considered issues.
Several involved inconsistencies it found. While not all of
them were actual inconsistencies, the fact it considered them problems means
they are things I must clean up.
It was concerned about three plot points it didn’t think I
had resolved or had not provided sufficient motivation to justify. (It was
right).
Recall that it praised my pacing in the second half of the
novel. Issues it highlighted in the first half were an overuse of internal
monologue and lengthy explanations of procedures and technical details. Those
issues slow the pace.
It also worried about “unclear and inconsistent states and
threat levels” and “inconsistent tone and use of humor.” These are two facets
of the same issue. One subplot has a different level of threat (personal
relations and financial well-being) than the main plot (her life is on the
line). While I don’t agree with its suggested solutions, it spotlighted a
potential problem I will ask beta readers to express their opinions on.
On characters, it gave me positive marks for a complex and
multifaceted protagonist, strong voice and authentic dialogue by the
protagonist, and a realistic portrayal of the protagonist’s internal struggles
and emotional journey.
It highlighted unclear motivations for two of the other
characters—fair assessments, I think.
It also dinged me for “underdeveloped relationships and
missing backstory of supporting characters.” This is book two of the series
focused on the protagonist. The AI tool hasn’t read book 1, and it wanted more
character development for supporting characters. Maybe I should include a few
more snippets of backstory, but this isn’t a novel where everyone shares the
spotlight and needs to change.
Setting: It praised the use of setting to create
tension, but it wanted (depending on the criticism) both more and less detail.
It faulted some of the legal procedures I used, as well as some of the FBI/ATF
procedures. This isn’t a procedural, so I need to cut corners, but it is an interesting
observation that I will think about.
This first use came free of additional cost with my
ProWritingAid license. Each future use costs $50. It doesn’t replace a human
editor, but I think I received $50 worth of value. My next draft will be
stronger based on its findings.
Next month, I’ll talk about how I use ChatGPT to augment
this ProWritingAid Manuscript Analysis.
Authors: what are your thoughts on using AI to help improve
your stories?
Readers: Do you enjoy learning the behind-the-screen aspects
of how we create our novels?
