Kate Angelo is a bestselling suspense author, wife, minister, and speaker from Missouri who works alongside her husband to strengthen and encourage marriages and families. As Mom to 5 children, she’s fluent in both sarcasm and eye rolls. With her chihuahua taking up half her desk space and coffee at hand, Kate writes thrilling stories with flawed characters who encounter hope and healing while ducking danger. Learn more at kateangelo.com.

When I was growing up, I had to do my chores before I could do anything else. Like most kids, I rushed through, doing the least amount of work possible so I could finish and go hang out with my friends. Inevitably, I would get hauled right back inside to redo my work properly. Not only that, but I would end up punished and not allowed to go back outside at all. Oh, and since I was stuck inside, I’d get wrangled into doing more chores!

It didn’t take me long to realize that to have more time doing the fun stuff, I had to work efficiently. So, I developed a system to ensure I could do my best work, in the least amount of time. And wouldn’t you know it, by using new strategies and disciplining myself into a routine, I got everything done faster and exceeded expectations thus winning my spot as the favored child over all my siblings.

So, what does that have to do with ChatGPT?

ChatGPT is a system that can help us get our work done faster. Unfortunately, some people use it to do the least amount of work possible. If your teacher or professor is worried about students using ChatGPT, it’s because they know you’re trying to shortcut it. And just like me rushing through chores, ChatGPT does a horrible job and leaves you in a bad situation—possibly punished.

But listen… it’s not ChatGPT’s fault. It’s the user. In the hands of the wrong user, any tool can do damage. In the right hands, a tool can create a work of art. So let me help you use the ChatGPT tool to create your masterpiece in an ethical way.

I’m going to give you 3 ways you can use ChatGPT to help you with writing. I’ll give you example prompts with the output, but each comes with problems. Never trust the output from ChatGPT exclusively.

If you plan to use ChatGPT, always follow this guiding principle: Use the tool to create something that is original and distinct using your original ideas to ensure the output will be uniquely yours. Never copy and paste. Otherwise, you end up with nothing more than an unremarkable copy of plagiarism.

1. Use ChatGPT to help find alternative word choices.

Prompt: Give me 10 alternate ways to say “he looked at her face”

Output:

He turned his gaze toward her countenance.

His eyes met hers, fixing on her features.

He directed his attention to her visage.

His glance focused squarely on her face.

He cast an appraising look upon her countenance.

His gaze shifted, landing on her facial expressions.

He studied the lines and contours of her face.

His eyes sought out the details of her visage.

He glanced in her direction, capturing her face in his view.

His vision lingered on her features, absorbing every nuance.

Do NOT trust ChatGPT with alternative word choices!

If you copied and pasted one of those into your essay or manuscript, your editor would know you’ve used CGPT. Instantly. Without a doubt.

Why?

Because this is 2023, not 1847. We don’t use the word countenance or visage to replace the word “face”. But you see, that’s exactly what ChatGPT does. It can’t think and rationalize for you. It simply replaces word by word. Besides that, ChatGPT doesn’t sound like you. It doesn’t have a consistent voice the way you do. Which means if you copy and paste something from ChatGPT your teacher, professor, or editor will know it isn’t your voice.

So, what do we do?

Use it as inspiration.

Instead of “He turned his gaze toward her countenance” we could say, “His gaze settled on her”. Read each output and then choose a better way.

The other day I was editing a manuscript and working on only 3 hours of sleep. I couldn’t, for the life of me, think of a way to wordsmith a sentence where I’d used an adverb I wanted to delete.

So, I asked ChatGPT to help me.

Look at this craziness.

In case you didn’t know…precisely is also an adverb. I gave up and reworked the whole thing on my own. And think of how much time I wasted. Do you see why I said don’t trust ChatGPT with your word choices? It isn’t smart enough to get it right every time or even half the time.

2. Use ChatGPT to imagine a storyworld.

Prompt: Help me imagine a fictional fantasy world set in medieval times.

Output:

World Name: Eldoria

Geography:

Eldoria is a sprawling, mystical realm where towering, ancient forests of silver-leafed trees called the “Aurum Woods” dominate the landscape. These enchanted woods are home to luminous creatures, including sentient fireflies that light up the night and ethereal will-o’-the-wisps that guide travelers through the darkness. To the west lies the “Emerald Highlands,” a range of majestic, mist-covered mountains that are home to skilled dwarven blacksmiths and treasure hunters. In the east, there’s the “Crystal Sea,” a vast, pristine body of water teeming with sea serpents and mythical creatures. In the heart of Eldoria, you’ll find the “Elverian Glades,” where the elven city of Lysander thrives amidst sprawling treetop canopies.

Magic:

Magic permeates every aspect of life in Eldoria. Wizards and sorcerers are revered for their mastery of the arcane arts. Magic crystals called “Auragems” are mined from deep within the Emerald Highlands and used to power everything from simple charms to grand spells. Each region of Eldoria is known for its unique magical properties, with the Aurum Woods known for their healing properties and the Crystal Sea hiding ancient sea witch covens.

Societies:

Eldoria is divided into several distinct societies. The elven city of Lysander is a center of culture, art, and diplomacy, where the Council of Elders leads with wisdom and grace. The dwarven clans of the Emerald Highlands are renowned for their craftsmanship and are the keepers of legendary weapons and armor. The coastal city of Siren’s Haven is a bustling hub of trade, known for its merfolk merchants and underwater enchantments. Far to the north, the nomadic tribes of the Snowshroud Plains ride tamed griffins and live in harmony with the powerful ice magic of the region.

Conflict:

Eldoria is not without its conflicts. The Shadowmancers, practitioners of forbidden dark magic, threaten to plunge the realm into eternal night from their hidden citadel in the Obsidian Abyss. Meanwhile, the Firebrand Orcs from the blazing deserts of the southern Badlands are on a quest for conquest, seeking to harness the power of Eldoria’s magic for themselves. As these threats loom, a band of unlikely heroes from different corners of the realm must unite to protect Eldoria and maintain the delicate balance of magic and nature.

Legends:

Eldoria is filled with legends and prophecies. One speaks of the “Sovereign Star,” a celestial body said to grant immense power to whoever can find it. Another tells of the “Ancient Grove,” a mythical place deep within the Aurum Woods where the secrets of life and death are said to be hidden. The “Harmony Crystal,” a lost relic, is believed to have the power to bring everlasting peace to Eldoria if it can be retrieved.

This fictional fantasy world of Eldoria combines natural beauty, magical wonder, and epic conflicts, making it a place where heroes are born and legends are forged.

Do NOT trust ChatGPT to imagine your entire storyworld!

I’m no fantasy writer, but that all sounds pretty good to me. But did you know the same prompt will deliver the same storyworld or something very similar each time? And is it just me or does Legend and Conflict sound a bit like The Inheritance Cycle?

What I’m saying is, if you prompt ChatGPT enough, you’ll get the same story. You can’t rely on it to come up with a story on its own, at least not yet, because it’s pulling from a catalog of other stories. Like The Inheritance Cycle.

So, what do we do?

Let’s take our own imagination and creativity and inject it into our prompts and ask ChatGPT to help us hone our ideas.

Take your fresh new concept and work with the tool to craft a better story. Instead of a general question about building a storyworld, ask it to come up with a storyworld based on your own imagination.

For example, try this prompt:

Help me imagine a fictional fantasy world with a conflict of good humans vs. evil humans where there is no magic except one child who holds the ability to bend time and space but has yet to control it.

Once you have the output, spend some time tweaking it using your imagination. What if the story was set in the future? Or in Biblical times? What themes can you inject besides good vs. evil?

In this way, ChatGPT become more like a brainstorming partner helping you with ideas rather than you stealing a story idea from a computer.

3. Use ChatGPT to imagine emotions.

Prompt: How would a character feel if they were second-guessing themselves?

Output:

A character who is second-guessing themselves might feel a combination of anxiety, uncertainty, doubt, and a lack of confidence in their decisions or actions. They could also experience inner turmoil, hesitation, or a sense of internal conflict as they grapple with their choices.

Do NOT trust ChatGPT to imagine emotions correctly!

When we’re writing, we want to show emotions, not tell the reader what the character is feeling. But if you haven’t lived many years on this earth, you may not experience emotions the same way as a much older person would. Or, if you’re like me, you experience emotions deeply but can’t quite articulate them and all you can say is something lame like, I’m… um…sad?

You can use ChatGPT to help you zero in on your emotions, but you need to know your character. Your character will experience emotions different than someone else.

With the output above, I would think about my character and ask myself more questions. Does my character lean toward anxiety or lack of confidence? Anxiety seems over the top, but if my character is naturally skittish and worrisome, anxiety could fit well. So how would she act? Does she hesitate, or run headfirst into danger even though internally she’s hesitant? Ask yourself what’s going on inside her head and then tell your reader.

But remember, don’t trust ChatGPT. There have been times when it gave me the wrong description for emotions or couldn’t articulate them well. Again, it’s not ChatGPT’s fault. It is, after all, a computer.

When in doubt, dig deeper.

One more thing before I go…

Remember that ChatGPT is a powerful tool in your toolbox, but if you want to wield such a tool, you must do it responsibly. Never trust it with the answers because it’s proven to be wrong about 50% of the time when asked complex questions. You’ll still need to do the hard work. There are no shortcuts, but there are tools to help you do the job.

The whole point of writing is to express your own thoughts, ideas, creativity, and voice. If you rely on a computer to do that for you, you’ll always miss the mark.

If you’re interested in learning more about ChatGPT and other technology I encourage you to head to my website https://kateangelo.com and click on Writers. I’m in the beginning stages of creating an area called Author’s Arsenal where I share actionable productivity tips, practical writing advice, tech for writers, and the finest insights from across the web, directly to your inbox. When you subscribe, I’ll send you my free ChatGPT template with step-by-step prompts to help you brainstorm and outline your next novel.

Have you experimented with ChatGPT? What are your thoughts? Share in the comments.