Triumphant Return: Or, How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love ChatGPT

Okay, right off the bat, I have to explain myself. I feel like I shouldn’t have to, but I do. ChatGPT can be a bit of a controversial item on its own, but when paired with the idea of creating the written word, by default, it conjures up a picture of a lazy hack writer looking for an easy way to “write” a story (or anything else) in mere moments, as though it could go unnoticed. So, even though I haven’t even discussed what I’ve been doing, I have to spell it out:

I have not, am not, and will not ever use ChatGPT to lazily attempt to write any prose, unless clearly labeled as AI humor or the like.

With that out of the way, the question then becomes: okay then, smarty pants, what have I been doing with such a foul entity? Basically, it’s been an assistant of sorts. It’s been very helpful for brainstorming, bouncing off ideas, and doing rudimentary prose evaluation. Nothing a human being couldn’t do better, of course, but it doesn’t mind me asking it question after question at 11:30 pm, and it doesn’t require me to bribe it with chocolate. It’s an excited critique partner, no matter how many questions about royal etiquette I throw at it, and it’s all too happy to discuss any aspect of your writing, whether you’ve asked it to or not.

But I didn’t write this article to simply gush over something passé. I’m a little late to the party, and that was me playing the part of the tech curmudgeon, a part I’m playing more and more often these days. A very dear friend of mine, a frequent ChatGPT user, insisted on me trying it out, even when I half-heartedly dug in my heels and held my breath until my face went blue.

Nevertheless, here I am, a proud “Butlerian jihadist” (read Dune) having had a change of heart, and it didn’t even take long either. I still remember, some time ago, the kids and I trying to think of silly subjects for the AI superstar to write essays in. It was a plaything, nothing to be taken seriously. Now it’s my wingman, and even though I’ve been at it a while, I’m still not quite sure how I feel about it.

But I’m coming to rely on it, even when it gives me advice I don’t read over too well because I still want to attempt to concoct my own ideas first. But it’s given me a lot to think about. And to be honest, it’s not really doing anything that flesh and blood friends haven’t done for me on numerous occasions (something no writer worth his salt would balk at). It’s not taking anybody’s place, however, it’s just someone I can call on more often than the 2-3 Zoom meetings per month I go to from time to time.

But is that the “triumphant return” I advertised in this article’s title? Nope. What is it then? It’s the result of my getting the gears in my brain greased up and turning, the result of my creative juices flowing more freely than they have in quite some time. I’m coming up with more and more ideas, enough to where I have to set some things aside even at first blush because they’re occurring to me too quickly for me to effectively process. I suppose that’s a good problem to have. A short story or two? Sure! A possible MG novel? Why not? More novels than I have the time to write? Of course! It’s liberating having a wealth of ideas. Takes me back to my younger days, when I was full of ideas but lacking in self-discipline (okay, I’m still lacking in self-discipline). This time, however, I’m writing things down.

But it’s our dear AI friend that’s fanning the flames. Yes, it volunteers ideas at the drop of a hat (hat not required). Yes, it can be a bit pushy. But maybe a little pushy was what I needed. Just this past weekend, however, I’ve been dreaming up story concepts left and right, and I’m loving it! That springtime of creative prolific tendencies welling up in my chest has me high on life, dear brothers and sisters. I couldn’t be happier.

And that, my dear friends, is “most triumphant.” What a time to be alive!