This is a short overview of J. Thorn’s life hack manual about using ChatGPT to help authors with story development. This post was originally published on Substack.
Three Story Method: Cowriting with ChatGPT: AI-Powered Storytelling by J. Thorn is short (133 pages on Kindle) and easy to read and digest.
Thorn reveals his process and many of his actual prompts for outlining a novel and even creating dialogue in cooperation with ChatGPT. If you are curious about the potential of using ChatGPT in your development process, this book is the one to get.
One quote is super important to consider:
“The distinction between a ‘writer’ and a ‘storyteller’ chiefly resides in the mediums and techniques employed to convey a narrative. Both roles undeniably revolve around the creation of stories. However, a writer typically constructs narratives through the medium of written text, while a storyteller can exploit a range of different mediums, spanning visual, auditory, and even kinesthetic forms of expression, to captivate their audience.” (1)
I read the entire book, and a weakness I noticed is the complete absence of world building and setting in general. But I have a feeling my readers will find this an easy problem to overcome.
One of the things I loved was the way Thorn integrated story structures you know and love, like Save the Cat! and the Hero’s Journey, into the process for working with ChatGPT.
I recommend this book.
(1) Thorn, J.. Three Story Method: Discovery Writing with ChatGPT: AI-Powered Storytelling (p. 19). Thorn Publishing LLC. Kindle Edition. “