BitbrainYou can get better writing from GPT-3.5. While I don’t claim that any of the following writing is of the quality of a published novel, I do claim that the final piece of writing is much better than the first piece of writing.
Here is the section of the prompt I will not be changing:
We’re writing a fictional mystery romance.
***”name”: “The Investigation”, “content”: “Julie and Alex begin investigating Julie’s family history, which leads them to discover hidden secrets and lies. They interview Julie’s family members, including her estranged father, and find out that her grandfather was a criminal who stole the key from its original owner, who is now seeking revenge.”,***
— “name”: “Growing Feelings”, “content”: “Julie and Alex grow closer as they spend more time together, and they share intimate moments. Julie starts having feelings for Alex but is confused due to his mysterious past and his reluctance to share information about himself.”,—
The previous event is surrounded by asterisks. The current event is surrounded by dashes.
The first prompt I use is very simple:
Understanding what just happened in the previous event, write what happens next.
Here is the result:
As Julie’s feelings for Alex grow, she becomes more determined to uncover the truth about his past. However, Alex continues to remain tight-lipped about his personal history, leaving Julie feeling frustrated and confused. One day, while they are out investigating a lead, Julie confronts Alex about his reluctance to open up to her.
Alex hesitates for a moment, then finally decides to share his story with Julie. He tells her about his difficult childhood, growing up in foster care and feeling like he never belonged anywhere. He also reveals that he had a troubled past, involving some illegal activities and run-ins with the law. But he assures Julie that he has left that life behind and is now trying to make a positive difference in the world.
Julie listens attentively, feeling grateful that Alex has trusted her with his secrets. As they continue on their investigation, they become even closer, sharing more intimate moments and growing more deeply in love. But the danger of their mission is never far away, and they soon find themselves in grave danger as they get closer to uncovering the truth about Julie’s family and the mysterious key.
Oops. So there’s no dialogue, there’s no description. It really is what happens next.
Next prompt:
Understanding what just happened in the previous event, write the next scene.
Result:
As Julie struggles with her growing feelings for Alex, she can’t help but be drawn deeper into the mystery surrounding her family history. She and Alex continue to interview family members, piecing together the puzzle of her grandfather’s criminal past.
One day, as they sift through old family photos in Julie’s attic, Alex comes across a picture of himself. Julie is stunned. “What are you doing in my family’s photo album?” she asks.
Alex hesitates, then sighs. “I guess it’s time I told you the truth,” he says. “I’m not who you think I am.”
Julie’s heart races as Alex begins to reveal the secrets of his own past. She listens, transfixed, as he tells her about his own family’s connections to organized crime and his decision to turn his back on that world and become a private investigator.
Despite the danger and the uncertainty of their situation, Julie feels a sense of relief knowing that Alex trusts her enough to confide in her. And as they work together to unravel the tangled web of their families’ pasts, their feelings for each other continue to grow stronger.
There’s no detail here. It’s a little better though.
Next!
Understanding what just happened in the previous event, write the next scene. Write from one of the character’s perspectives as if they were really there.
Julie couldn’t stop thinking about the secrets that she and Alex had uncovered about her family’s past. She never would have imagined that her grandfather was involved in criminal activity, let alone stealing a key and angering its rightful owner. The whole situation felt like something out of a mystery novel, and she couldn’t help but feel grateful that Alex was there to help her unravel the truth.
As she spent more time with Alex, Julie found herself growing more and more attracted to him. She loved the way he made her laugh and the easy way they could talk for hours on end. But she couldn’t help feeling confused by his mysterious past and his reluctance to share more about himself. Part of her wanted to push for answers, but she didn’t want to scare him off or ruin the trust they had built.
One day, as they sat together on a park bench, Julie finally worked up the nerve to ask. “Alex, I feel like we’ve gotten so close, but there’s still so much I don’t know about you. Can you tell me more about your past? I want to understand where you’re coming from.”
Alex sighed and looked down at his hands. “Julie, I know I’ve been pretty closed off about my past, and I’m sorry for that. It’s just…complicated. There are things I’ve done that I’m not proud of, things that I’m still trying to make up for.”
Julie reached over and took his hand. “Alex, I don’t care about any of that. I just want to know the real you, the person I’ve grown to care about so much.”
Alex looked up at her, his eyes filled with emotion. “Julie, I care about you too. More than I ever thought I could. And I want to be honest with you, no matter how hard it is. But first, I need to know if you’re ready to hear the truth.”
Honestly, we’re getting somewhere. I feel like this is definitely better. More dialogue, a more interesting perspective. Are you ready?
Prompt: Understanding what just happened in the previous event, write the scene for the current event using appropriate fiction writing techniques: show don’t tell, use dialogue and write the story from the perspective of a character who is actually experiencing it. Write the events as if these were real people with real histories really living this story.
Julie sat across from Alex at the small café, a cappuccino in hand as they discussed their latest findings in the investigation. Her mind was distracted, and she found herself studying Alex’s face instead of listening to his words. She wondered what he was thinking and what his life was like before he met her.
“Are you okay, Julie?” Alex asked, snapping her out of her thoughts.
She cleared her throat and forced a smile. “Yeah, sorry. I’m just a little tired, I guess.”
Alex raised an eyebrow but didn’t push the matter. Instead, he changed the subject. “So, what’s our next step? Do you want to talk to your father?”
Julie’s heart raced at the mention of her father. She hadn’t seen him since she was a child, and the idea of reaching out to him was both exciting and terrifying. “I don’t know. It’s been so long, and I don’t even know where to begin.”
Alex reached across the table and took her hand. “We can do this together, Julie. I’ll be there every step of the way.”
Julie felt a warmth spread through her chest at his words. She looked up at him, meeting his gaze. “Thank you, Alex. I don’t know what I’d do without you.”
Alex smiled, a hint of sadness in his eyes. “You don’t have to worry about that. I’m not going anywhere.”
Julie felt her heart skip a beat at his words. She knew she was falling for him, but his mysterious past and reluctance to share his own secrets made her hesitant to fully trust him.
“I know you’re not,” she said, her voice barely above a whisper.
They sat in silence for a moment, both lost in their own thoughts. Julie wondered what it would be like to kiss him, to feel his arms around her. She shook her head, pushing the thoughts away. She didn’t want to ruin their friendship or make things awkward between them.
As they left the café, Alex turned to her. “Hey, I was thinking. Maybe we could go out tonight? Take a break from all of this and have some fun?”
Julie felt her heart race at the suggestion. “That sounds great. What did you have in mind?”
Alex grinned. “I have a surprise for you. Just trust me.”
Julie smiled back, feeling a flutter in her stomach. She knew she could trust Alex, no matter what secrets he was keeping from her. She took his hand, and they walked down the street together, ready for whatever the night would bring.
Now I really feel like there’s something to work with here. At this point, I would want to try critique-refine.
In fact, to finish this article up, let’s go through that one time.
The prompt would be something like this: Act as a professional fiction editor and critique this scene.
Then paste the scene under it.
Response:
Overall, this scene is well-written and engaging. The dialogue feels natural, and the description of Julie’s feelings and thoughts adds depth to the story. However, there are a few areas that could be improved.
One issue is that there isn’t much tension or conflict in the scene. While it’s important to establish the growing attraction between Julie and Alex, it would be more compelling if there were obstacles or challenges that they had to overcome. For example, if Julie’s father were more resistant to speaking with her, or if Alex’s mysterious past caused more friction between them, it would create more dramatic tension and make the reader more invested in the story.
Another area that could be improved is the pacing. The scene moves quickly from one conversation to the next without much time for reflection or emotional development. It would be helpful to slow down the pace and give more attention to Julie’s internal conflict about her feelings for Alex and her concerns about his secrets. This would make the eventual reveal of Alex’s past more impactful and meaningful.
Finally, there could be more sensory detail in the scene to fully immerse the reader in the setting. The café setting is established, but there isn’t much description of the sights, sounds, and smells around them. Adding more sensory details would make the scene more vivid and engaging.
Overall, this scene has a strong foundation and with a bit more attention to conflict, pacing, and sensory detail, it could become an even more engaging and captivating part of the story.
One useful aspect of this is you can get ideas for your prompt. In this case, the part about sensory immersion is definitely something to experiment with in future prompts.
Now, we’ll ask ChatGPT to refine the scene based on the critique.
Prompt:
Act as a professional fiction author and refine this scene based on this critique:
And paste the scene back in.
Response:
Julie twirled her cappuccino cup between her fingers as Alex talked about their findings in the investigation. She tried to focus on his words, but her mind kept wandering. She found herself staring at his face, studying his features, and wondering what his life was like before he met her.
“Are you okay, Julie?” Alex asked, breaking her train of thought.
She cleared her throat and gave him a smile. “Yeah, sorry. I’m just a little tired, I guess.”
Alex raised an eyebrow but didn’t push the matter. “So, what’s our next step? Do you want to talk to your father?”
Julie’s heart raced at the mention of her father. She hadn’t seen him since she was a child, and the idea of reaching out to him was both exciting and terrifying. “I don’t know. It’s been so long, and I don’t even know where to begin.”
Alex reached across the table and took her hand. “We can do this together, Julie. I’ll be there every step of the way.”
Julie felt a warmth spread through her chest at his words. She looked up at him, meeting his gaze. “Thank you, Alex. I don’t know what I’d do without you.”
Alex smiled, but there was a hint of sadness in his eyes. “You don’t have to worry about that. I’m not going anywhere.”
Julie felt her heart skip a beat at his words. She knew she was falling for him, but his mysterious past and reluctance to share his own secrets made her hesitant to fully trust him.
“I know you’re not,” she said, her voice barely above a whisper.
They sat in silence for a moment, both lost in their own thoughts. Julie’s mind drifted to the thought of kissing him, feeling his arms around her, and what it would be like to be more than just friends. She shook her head, pushing the thoughts away. She didn’t want to ruin their friendship or make things awkward between them.
As they left the café, Alex turned to her. “Hey, I was thinking. Maybe we could go out tonight? Take a break from all of this and have some fun?”
Julie felt her heart race at the suggestion. “That sounds great. What did you have in mind?”
Alex grinned mischievously. “I have a surprise for you. Just trust me.”
Julie smiled back, feeling a flutter in her stomach. She knew she could trust Alex, no matter what secrets he was keeping from her. She took his hand, and they walked down the street together, ready for whatever the night would bring.
I’ll leave it up to you whether that was better or not. I usually run two or three critique-refine cycles on the writing. But you really have to start with your strongest writing prompt first.
I hope I’ve given you some ideas on how to get better writing out of ChatGPT.
