Storytelling_101 with ChatGPT assist: Power, Pitfalls, and Possibility

ChatGPT is revolutionizing the way we write, explore, and think. Whether you’re a seasoned storyteller or someone who’s always wanted to write but didn’t know where to start, this tool can be a game-changer. It can help you break through writer’s block, brainstorm fresh ideas, and even refine grammar and structure. It can also help you quickly produce a bunch of plagiarized crap. Again, it is a tool, not a replacement. So how do you use it effectively? Start with your relationship to it. And you do have one, whether you’ve used it or not. 

Click the image (created by ChatGPT) to sign up.

Your thoughts, feelings, and assumptions about ChatGPT will color your prompts - that’s what you give to ChatGPT. Those prompts are a great predictor of what you’ll receive in reply from ChatGPT. By the way, that’s what ChatGPT does - it predicts. It doesn’t think. It doesn’t have a personality nor an opinion. It predicts. It performs like a brilliant improviser: listening and immediately yes, anding what’s next. “Yes” is the acceptance of the offer (or prompt), “and” is what’s added. Therefore, your first job is to determine what it will react to. 

Make no mistake, ChatGPT is blindingly fast. It’s wildly impressive. You can type prompts like you’re talking to it. It listens very well. It’s also reductive. The more garbage you put in, the more garbage will come out. The inverse is true, too: the more greatness you put in, and a lot of said "greatness" comes down to specificity and setting clear parameters, the more will come out. In other words, like any tool, you have to learn how to use it in order to be effective with it. 

One major concern—especially in creative spaces—is plagiarism. It’s tempting to copy and paste what appears to be a beautifully written paragraph and call it your own. Bottom line: Don’t. Using AI ethically means creating, exploring, understanding, and owning your voice. What ChatGPT says is not what you should say; it can, however, lead you to a step, or even several steps, in the right direction. Since all good writing is rewriting, if you create something with ChatGPT, treat it as a first (or as we often say, vomit) draft. Rewrite. Get feedback from a human. Rewrite again. Repeat. 

ChatGPT can help you find, refine, and even fake your voice. At the end of the page, you choose what you put out. Make sure it is, in fact, yours by rewriting. 

Our weekly online workshop explores the line between inspiration and imitation. We’ll show you how to build prompts that can help you question and develop your unique perspective. This is more than a writing class—it’s a creative lab. It's open to everyone. We have fun. We ask questions and challenge assumptions. It’s a place to play, grow, and reimagine what’s possible when we use AI as a tool, rather than a replacement.

Curious? Excited? Concerned? Join us.

Storytelling_101 with ChatGPT Assist. Fridays at 12noon pacific. Fun, practical, and refreshingly human. Register by clicking here.