AI-GENERATED FICTION: GENERIC WRITING WITH A LANGUAGE MODEL

What is Wrong with AI-Generated Fiction?

AI-generated fiction is generic, but you can use an AI tool as a writing prompt. Then, you can work on your authentic storytelling by noting unique elements that reflect depth, individuality, and creativity. We do not recommend writing fiction using AI but if you used generic texts generated by an AI tool as your main writing prompt, assess your draft critically using the basic guidelines below. This list is not exhaustive but all are necessary critical points in your crafting.

1. Focus on Character Development

• Create distinct characters with rich backstories, motivations, and flaws.

• Use detailed internal monologues and dialogue to show personality and growth.

• Introduce quirks, habits, and unique worldviews to make them memorable.

2. Develop Unique Settings

• Build immersive worlds with distinct cultural, geographical, or historical details.

• Incorporate sensory descriptions to bring the setting to life.

• Use the setting as an active part of the story, influencing the plot or character decisions.

3. Craft a Strong Narrative Voice

• Use a distinct and consistent tone or style of narration.

• Employ first-person or deep third-person perspectives for intimacy.

• Infuse the narrative with humor, irony, or a poetic touch to set it apart.

4. Add Layers to the Plot

• Introduce subplots that resonate with the main theme or characters.

• Avoid clichéd resolutions; opt for unexpected but meaningful twists.

• Use a nonlinear timeline or multi-perspective storytelling for complexity.

5. Explore Deep Themes

• Address thought-provoking topics like identity, morality, or societal issues.

• Reflect universal truths through specific and personal character experiences.

• Allow ambiguity or open-ended questions to engage readers' imagination.

6. Infuse Real-World Knowledge

• Incorporate niche knowledge or research into the story (e.g., unusual professions, rare historical events, or scientific concepts).

• Use realistic details to ground fantastical or speculative elements.

7. Prioritize Emotional Resonance

• Focus on the emotional stakes and how characters respond to challenges.

• Highlight universal feelings like love, loss, fear, or joy in a nuanced way.

• Create moments of vulnerability or epiphany that connect with readers.

8. Edit for Precision and Style

• Avoid overused phrases and generic descriptions; use fresh, vivid language.

• Remove unnecessary exposition or filler text to keep the story tight.

• Refine sentence structure, rhythm and impact

AI-generated Fiction [the short story below was generated using Chat GPT]

Shadows in Bauan

María Santos hurriedly scrubbed the wooden table, her hands trembling despite the warm morning sun spilling through the open windows of her modest nipa hut in Bauan, Batangas. Outside, the soft rustle of banana leaves and the distant crow of a rooster seemed to mock the tension in her chest. Her husband, Mateo, had been gone for three nights now, his absence stretching like an endless horizon.

Focus on AI-generated Character Development of Maria and Mateo

What information about Maria Santos is relevant in this AI-generated information? In developing emotional resonance, how about recalling the motivation, or reason for deep intimacy with the husband.

Mateo was a rebel. A katipunero fighting against the Americans who had taken the land and pride of their people after the Spaniards left. María had begged him to stay when he announced his decision to join General Malvar’s resistance.

“You have a family to think of!” she cried.

“And that is why I fight,” Mateo replied, his voice firm. “For you. For our son. For a future without masters.”

María knew there was no convincing him, just as she knew that every knock on their door could mean the end.

Many motivations for becoming a katipunero were not purely for revolutionary zeal, but out of sheer anger and a desire for revenge. Others were naïve and were easily recruited because they were available. This was the Philippine-American War and it is noteworthy to include information about massacres happening then, which could be set-up as Mateo’s reason for joining the revolution. Research on the massacres in Bauan, Batangas for example can infuse this tale with real incidents that history can validate. Two things then should be happening in the narrative, a detailing on the historical backdrop and deepening of the individual response.

Develop Unique Settings in the Fictional AI-Narrative

That afternoon, María went to the riverbank to fetch water. The air was thick with heat and tension, and even the sound of the bamboo buckets dipping into the water seemed to carry a heavy weight. Other women stood along the bank, whispering nervously.

“Have you heard? The Americans have arrived in Bauan,” one said, her voice low but urgent.

“They’re rounding up men—anyone suspected of being with the rebels,” added another.

María’s heart sank. Her grip on the bucket tightened as she thought of Mateo. Was he safe? Had he eaten? Was he still alive?

The Philippine countryside is the same everywhere, but in a fictional tale, this particular setting cannot merely be where the story happened. Fetching water from a river should give an idea of this dangerous task, given the threats surrounding the now highly militarized town of Bauan.

Real-World Knowledge is Missing in this AI-generated Context. An interesting historical fact that is good to note in this Philippine-American war story was the zoning applied to the Batangas towns to pressure General Miguel Malvar to surrender. In the AI-generated text, we get only the general context that can be applied to any context of war employed in any narrative.

Add Layers to the Ai-Generated Plot

When María returned home, she found a young boy waiting outside her hut. He was barefoot and dusty, his eyes darting nervously.

“Tía,” he whispered, addressing her with a term of respect. “I have a message from Ka Mateo.”

María’s breath caught. She ushered the boy inside, where he handed her a small, crumpled note.

“Burn this after reading,” he instructed before slipping away like a shadow."

María unfolded the paper with trembling fingers. Mateo’s handwriting was hurried but clear:

"They are closing in. Hide the papers. Hide the rice. Burn what you must. Trust no one. I will return.

The boy's back story woven into the context of the narrative need not be missed here. Using him simply as prop to advance the tale make this character flat and one dimensional, somebody that could be replaced by anyone, or even by something. Instead, create a subplot using this character, and then build the story incorporating the value of his role in this story.

Craft a Strong Narrative Voice in the AI-generated Character

That night, María worked by the dim glow of an oil lamp, her hands moving with practiced urgency. She dug a hole beneath the floorboards and hid Mateo’s papers—maps, letters, and a list of supplies for the rebels. She scattered ashes over the freshly dug earth, hoping to mask the scent from any curious soldiers or their dogs.

The rice was harder to conceal. María divided the grains into small bundles and tucked them into hollow bamboo poles, sealing the ends with wax.

As she worked, she thought of her son, Lucio, only six years old and fast asleep in the corner. Mateo had insisted they send him to live with relatives in a more remote barrio, but María had refused.

“If we lose everything else, I will not lose him,” she had said.

Maria's point of view as AI-generated can be richer with a nuanced character development. At this point in the fictional narrative, her strength should be clear so that she isn’t somebody who merely acts as instructed in the tale but as her character demands, giving it authenticity.

AI-Generated Fiction Must Explore Deep Themes

The knock came just before dawn.

María froze, her heart pounding like a drum. She quickly doused the lamp and pressed her back against the wall, straining to hear.

“Señora Santos!” a voice barked in accented Spanish.

American soldiers.

María took a deep breath and opened the door, feigning grogginess. Three soldiers stood before her, their faces shadowed by the brim of their hats.

“We have reason to believe your husband is aiding the insurgents,” said the tallest one, his tone cold and authoritative.

María met his gaze, her voice steady despite the fear coiling in her belly. “My husband is a fisherman. He has been at sea for days.”

The soldier’s eyes narrowed. “We’ll see about that.”

They pushed past her, their boots heavy on the bamboo floor. María clenched her fists as they tore through her belongings, upending baskets and kicking over pots. One soldier prodded the floor with his rifle butt, his boots inches from the hidden cache.

“Nothing here,” he muttered.

Another soldier grabbed a small woven bag from the corner and opened it. Inside were a few grains of rice. He sneered.

“You’re hiding food. Do you know the penalty for aiding rebels?”

María squared her shoulders, her voice sharp. “A mother hides food for her child, not for soldiers.”

The soldier glared at her but said nothing. Finally, the tall one barked, “Let’s go. She’s just a fisherman’s wife.”

María watched them leave, her knees nearly buckling with relief. But she knew this was only a reprieve.

The soldier’s response can be more nuanced given this ethical question. This soldier can have a flash of introspection [see the short story, A Good Man is Hard to Find], about the justification for his imminent action. AI-generated fiction as a language model, will not show his moral dilemma without the exact prompt. It may capture only the essence of the problem but will miss the deep ethical nuance of the situation.

Prioritize Emotional Resonance in the Fiction by AI

Days later, Mateo returned under the cover of darkness, his body leaner and his face more worn than María remembered. She hugged him tightly, inhaling the scent of sweat and earth.

“They’ve burned the next town,” he said grimly. “They’ll come for Bauan soon."

María’s eyes filled with tears. “And then what? Where does it end?”

Mateo cupped her face in his calloused hands. “It ends when they leave. When our children can live free. I fight for that day, María. Even if I don’t see it.”

As the characters in this AI-generated fiction are developed within a main frame of love amid war, or with an understanding of how deeply their love for each other is now being sacrificed in the name of the revolution, this theme, should, by the end of this story, resonate emotionally on a deeper level, felt and remembered by readers.

Editing for Precision and Style in A Critical Reading of AI-Draft

María nodded, her heart heavy but resolute. She knew the road ahead would be long and fraught with danger. But she also knew that in the shadows of Bauan, amidst the fear and uncertainty, there was strength.

And that strength, born of love and defiance, would carry them through."

Avoid endings like this: The AI-generated fiction ends conveniently and very optimistically. Instead, the ending should be dictated by the organic flow of events in the story and not by the desire of the narrator who is the author trying to give this story a clean wrap-up.

Workshop Wrap

Indeed anybody can write a short story using AI. However, a critical reading will always reveal the weakness of such AI-generated fiction. Your authentic storytelling will be impactful and enigmatic only if you, as the diligent author, understand that writing requires deep engagement, evaluation, and checking of facts and details from careful or exhaustive research, and a deep empathy with real human beings. This is paramount aside from the mastery of the elements of fiction in your study and the application of devices learned from master storytellers.