3T Writing Tidbit - How Predictable (aka boring) Is Your Story?

 I've been struggling with the last book in the Pull of the Moon series. At first, it was because I didn't like the hero. Fixed that, but then I didn't find the heroine compelling. But everything I thought of to make her interesting seemed even flatter.

What to do? How do I know what's boring and what isn't?

Well, how predictable is it? 

Here's where the newest type of AI may come in handy. GPT (as in ChatGPT) stands for Generative Pre-training Transformer.  Basically, the way it works is the AI has learned, after combing through a sheer sheiss-ton of data, what most likely comes next.

Example: Ask ChatGPT 'What comes next after "Five foot two, eyes of".'

Reply:

It depends on where you're going with it! If you're referencing the classic 1925 song "Five Foot Two, Eyes of Blue," the next words are:

"blue, but oh what those five foot could do!"

Or were you setting up something different? Maybe a fun twist for a character description? 😏

So how can that help me de-dull my heroine? Come with me on an experiment. Let's see what ChatGPT thinks.

Here's the basic starting point.

Witch princess and seer Ari Blue uses her talents to assist surly, annoyingly sexy police detective Name Tobedetermined, when suddenly a magic-world-changing prophecy puts her in the driver's seat -- a seat which gets very hot when she finds Evil Badguy Wizard has escaped from prison and is after the same thing she is -- the key to magic iteself.  

I asked ChatGPT to give me the most obvious internal and external goals.

Here's ChatGPT's reply:

Ari’s goals can be broken down like this:

External Goal (What she thinks she wants):

Ari wants to find the key to magic before Evil Badguy Wizard does, protecting it (and the world) from his clutches. She’s also navigating her reluctant partnership with the detective, using her talents to solve magical crimes while resisting (or maybe not resisting) their mutual attraction.

Internal Goal (What she actually needs):

Ari needs to step into her power—both as a seer and a princess—owning her leadership role instead of avoiding it. She must overcome self-doubt, accept responsibility for shaping the future, and realize that destiny isn’t just something that happens to her; it’s something she can take control of.

If you want to add layers, you could give her a personal stake—like a fear of becoming like her ancestors, a past prophecy gone wrong, or a deep-seated belief that she’s not fit to lead. That would make her growth even juicier! 😏

Then I asked ChatGPT to take the same premise but give me the least obvious internal and external goals. Here's the reply:

Ooh, I love this challenge! Here’s a deeper, less obvious take on Ari’s goals:

Least Obvious External Goal (What she doesn't realize she’s pursuing):

Ari isn't just after the key to magic—she's trying to break the entire system that created it. Maybe magic itself has been controlled or manipulated by an elite few (possibly even her own ancestors), and she begins to question who should have the power to wield it. At first, she thinks she’s just preventing Evil Badguy Wizard from getting it, but her real journey is about deciding what to do with it once she has it.

Least Obvious Internal Goal (The subconscious drive she doesn't recognize at first):

Ari is searching for true autonomy. As a princess and a seer, her whole life has been dictated by bloodlines and fate—who she is, what she should do, and even what she sees coming. Deep down, she craves the ability to make choices that aren’t predestined. Her real struggle isn’t just stopping the villain; it’s figuring out whether she wants to follow the prophecy or burn it all down and rewrite her own future.

This approach adds some delicious tension: Does she really want the key to magic, or does she want to destroy it? And if she does… does that make her a hero or something else entirely? 😏

So I have to admit I was thinking in terms of the first one. Now I can see that, yes, it's obvious (and therefore boring). Plus I can see there are soo many better directions!

 

IMHO using generative AI responses out of the box is akin to plagiarism (exception: like quoting an authority, when you're quoting it, as above). 

 

But to use it as a script partner, to spark new ideas?

 

Well, what do you think?