When ChatGPT Tried to Write a Story in the Style of Natasha Lester 😂
This is so bad it's priceless! I think my job is safe for a while yet – either that or my "style" is much worse than I knew!! (And a bonus deleted scene from Alix St Pierre for paid subscribers)
What happens when you ask ChatGPT to write a story in the style of Natasha Lester? You discover that ChatGPT probably needs to learn a few writing fundamentals such as:
dialogue is good. Stories with no dialogue are not good.
“show don’t tell” might be an overused writing mantra but stories that just tell, tell, tell make the reader sleep, sleep, sleep
a story generally needs more than one character to make it interesting
a kid with a dream doesn’t usually achieve their dream just because the day finally comes when they turn 18
ChatGPT’s idea of “style” is like a three-year old’s idea of sharing – twisted
I was recently in Brisbane to speak at GenreCon and I chatted to a few aspiring authors who expressed concern that writers, who are already undervalued and often poorly paid, might find themselves out of a job due to ChatGPT taking over the role of author. While I have no doubt there will come a day when there are articles all over the internet that delight in ridiculing a publisher for unknowingly accepting a novel written by AI, and authors will be told to give up, that day is not yet upon us, based on my experiment.
I asked ChatGPT to write a story in the style of Natasha Lester. It took about ten seconds to think (to trawl through its connections and find pieces of Natasha-Lester-style from all over the internet) and then it began to write.
What it produced was so bad that I thought maybe I’d been unfair. I needed to give it some more parameters. So I asked it to try again and this time, to write a story in the style of Natasha Lester set during WWII and with a fashion theme.
It took another ten seconds to think and then it began to tell me a story set in Paris. The main character was a seamstress.
Wait. Didn’t I already write a book called The Paris Seamstress?
Yes, I did. But they say imitation is the sincerest form of flattery so I let ChatGPT continue, rather than telling it to try a little harder. At this point I was fairly sure it was doing its best and its best was, well – bad.
But I’ll let you be the judge. Here’s the first story it wrote, before I gave it the WWII and fashion parameters.
Emily the Pilot by ChatGPT, in the style of Natasha Lester (apparently)
As a young girl, Emily had always dreamed of becoming a pilot. Her father, a World War II veteran, had instilled in her a love of planes from an early age, and she spent every spare moment studying aviation and dreaming of soaring through the skies.
But in the 1950s, women were still largely relegated to traditional roles. Emily's mother had always encouraged her to pursue a more "ladylike" profession, and her teachers had tried to dissuade her from pursuing her dreams of flight.
Despite the obstacles, Emily persevered. She spent long hours at the library, devouring books on aerodynamics and navigation, and took every opportunity to learn from the pilots who flew in and out of her small town.
Finally, at the age of 18, Emily was given the chance to prove herself. A local airshow was looking for a female pilot to perform a solo flight, and Emily jumped at the chance. She spent weeks practicing her routine, perfecting her maneuvers, and building her confidence.
On the day of the airshow, Emily was nervous but determined. As she climbed into the cockpit of her plane, she could feel her heart pounding in her chest. But as she taxied onto the runway, she felt a sense of calm wash over her. She knew that this was what she was meant to do.
As she took off, the wind rushing through her hair and the sun beating down on her face, Emily felt like she was truly alive for the first time in her life. She looped and soared through the air, performing stunts that left the crowd gasping in amazement.
And when she finally touched down, the crowd erupted into thunderous applause. Emily had proven that women could be just as skilled and daring as any male pilot, and she had shown the world that anything was possible with hard work, determination, and a little bit of courage.
Thoughts?
If only it was that simple. To want to be a pilot in a world where women are still “relegated to traditional roles” – and all you have to do is turn 18. Then you’re magically able to, after reading a few books and then finding a plane from somewhere (where?), loop the loop like you were born a bird.
Okay, so it has a pilot in it like Skye from The Paris Secret. But I’m pretty sure that’s where all resemblance to my style ends. You can see why I wanted to give ChatGPT another chance to prove itself, this time with those extra parameters of WWII and fashion. So how did it go the second time? Let’s take a look!
Simone the Seamstress, by ChatGPT, in the style of Natasha Lester
As a young girl growing up in Paris, Simone had always been fascinated by fashion. Her mother had been a seamstress, and Simone had spent countless hours watching her work, marveling at the intricate designs and the attention to detail that went into each piece.
But in the early days of World War II, fashion seemed like the last thing on anyone's mind. Paris was a city under siege, and Simone and her family were struggling to survive. Food was scarce, and the constant drone of German planes overhead made it hard to think of anything other than the constant threat of bombing raids.
But even in the darkest of times, Simone couldn't shake her love of fashion. She spent hours sketching designs, dreaming of a world where people could once again dress in beautiful, luxurious clothes.
One day, as Simone was walking through the city, she saw a group of women gathered outside a small boutique. They were dressed in tattered clothing, their hair unkempt, and their faces lined with worry. But as Simone drew closer, she saw that they were staring at the storefront window, where a beautiful dress was on display.
It was a simple design, but the fabric was like nothing Simone had ever seen before. It shimmered in the light, catching every eye that passed by. And as Simone watched, she saw the women begin to smile and laugh, as if the dress had brought a little bit of joy into their lives.
Simone knew that she had to have that dress. It represented everything that she loved about fashion, and it was a symbol of hope in a world that was filled with despair.
And so, she set out to make it her own. She scrounged together what little money she had, and with the help of a local seamstress, she began to create her own version of the dress. It wasn't as luxurious as the one in the storefront window, but it was beautiful in its own way.
As Simone walked through the streets of Paris wearing her new dress, she felt a sense of pride and joy that she had never felt before. The war may have been raging on, but she knew that fashion would always have a place in the world. And as she looked around at the other women on the street, she saw that they too were taking inspiration from her, dreaming of a world where beauty and creativity could once again flourish.
Thoughts on this one?
I’ll start by adding, yes – those are the titles ChatGPT chose for each of its stories. And I guess that’s all I need to say. It sets the tone for its writing ability right from the outset. Although, taking a look at some of my one star reviews on Goodreads, some readers may well think that ChatGPT writes a much better story than I do!
I think what it comes down to is its rather immature, or perhaps incomplete, understanding of style.
To me, an author’s style is made up of the rhythm and cadence of their sentences, their diction and word choices, their magic – their ability to put words and sentences together in new and surprising ways. We read as much for this as we do for the connection to characters and ideas. But ChatGPT considers style to be a repetition of a few story fundamentals, and it considers story to be a dry recounting of a few chronological events.
As far as I’m concerned, I’m happy for it to keep thinking that way. It means my job is safe for a while yet. Or maybe it means I’m a much worse writer than I think I am – and that my style truly is that terrible!
For a few more insights into ChatGPT, I recommend this article from Counter Craft, which highlights the problem of publishers being inundated with work generated by AI. This is an issue because publishers’ slush piles are already almost insurmountable, and if those slush piles grow ever higher, the chance of a fabulous debut novel being discovered diminishes rapidly, and we are all much the poorer.
And as this article from the New Yorker points out, ChatGPT admits to not being able to feel – which is why it’s such a terrible fiction author. If you can’t feel, how can you write characters that do? I can’t even imagine what my books would be like if they were peopled by characters who simply act, but never experience a single emotion.
Looking forward to your comments …
What makes you love a book and want to keep reading? Do you enjoy a writer’s “style” – the particular way they write sentences and bring scenes alive and make you feel for characters? Or are you more interested in a propulsive plot that keeps you turning the pages? What do you think ChatGPT is missing that draws you to certain books? Please let me know what you think in the comments – just click the button below!