How AI Works in Generating Stories (Working & Examples)
Generative AI is quite the buzz going around these days. But, how does it perform with generating stories? While people might think of using ChatGPT or Microsoft Copilot, they fall a bit flat when it comes to generating stories.
Why is that and how does it work? We'll provide examples and explore why ChatGPT and others like it aren't exactly ideal for generating stories. We'll also explore a better alternative, and see how AI works in generating stories. So, let's begin.
How AI Generates Stories: The Basics and What We'll Need
One of the first things you have to do is pick the right tool to generate stories. There are quite a few Generative AI tools that can help with this. However, it's important to pick the right option. For instance, let's analyze these three tools and their abilities:
So, here's how each one responds to the query/prompt: “A boy going to school, witnessing the beauty of nature on his way there.”
ChatGPT:
ChatGPT does the usual generic stuff and doesn't really put any effort into making it a story. Instead, it sounds like a generic narration of casual events.
Bing/Copilot:
Copilot is a bit better here, as it focuses on developing the character and helps you imagine, instead of telling you. However, there are still story-building elements lacking here.
EditPad AI Story Generator: EditPad AI Story Generator:
EditPad's AI Story Generator clearly wins here, as it doesn't only follow the “show, don't tell” approach, but also builds the story quite well. It took our prompt seriously and focused on creating a story, instead of describing the events right away. So, we'll be using this as our prime example moving forward.
How Long Can AI Write Stories to Be
The length of novels and other story types truly depends on the writer. There are some stories that stretch well over 500 words, such as J.R.R. Tolkien's Lord of The Rings trilogy, which is over 1200 pages. However, each book is usually around 400 pages or so, which is still quite a lot.
However, AI is not yet capable of writing books that long, and that's why it generates short stories only. Here's an example of EditPad's AI Story Generator creating stories at various lengths:
Short:
This short story is quite detailed, following the same prompt that we used earlier. However, it barely passes the 350-word mark. And it might be ideal for those who are looking to generate around 300-400-word stories.
Medium:
The medium length generated by this tool stretches past 500 words. Now, writers can use these stories generated by the tool for outlines. So, they can extend upon these stories themselves in the future.
However, there are also Long and Extensive versions available in the tool, but unfortunately, they are paid-only:
The point is, AI is quite capable and it can generate short and long stories, depending on the writer's preference.
Type of Stories AI Can Write
One of the major reasons any stories generated by tools like ChatGPT or Bing AI may not work is that they are supposed to be chatbots. Yes, they use the same GPT model as other AI tools, but their job is to answer questions, not create stories.
That's when tools made to generate stories stand out, such as EditPad's AI Story Generator. Tools made for this purpose have various options, including the type of stories the writer wants. Now, this particular tool has various options and we tried a few of them, here's what each looks like:
Default:
The default mode is quite plain and simple and doesn't make an effort to make it story-esque. Instead, it focuses on narration that we similarly experienced with ChatGPT. But then again, it won't be a bad idea to use for those who want a formal essay story.
Original:
The original mode, assuming the name, is supposed to write something creative and original. So, here we can feel a whiff of creativity over this particular narration. And compared to the earlier version, it does feel more like a story.
Classic:
The classic mode here is not only using story-esque words but describing the pictures in detail. Besides, it's descriptive yet brief. In other words, it is defining quite a lot in a few words—just in the classic manner of novels.
Humor:
The humor mode forbodes some sort of tomfoolery awaiting the subject of our story at school. Now, the rest of the content generated in this mode is quite ridiculous. But, that means it does generate humorous stories to get a chuckle out of the reader.
Sci-Fi:
The Sci-Fi mode turns everything upside down and changes the narration on its head. Instead of the beauty of nature, it's now focused on man-made marvels in the futuristic, Blade Runner or Cyberpunk-like environment.
However, other than this, there are quite a few other things a tool like this can do, and generate types/genres of stories, such as:
- Romance
- Thriller
- Horror
- Realism
Are AI Stories Creative?
The thing with any sort of AI-generated content is that it's taken from some sort of text that already exists. So, there are chances of similarities or even duplicity. The best course is to let the AI generate the stories, and then make extensive edits and changes to make it your own.
That being said, some tools, like the one we have used throughout this article, provide various creative measures to ensure originality. One such element in this tool is the creativity option:
There are various options, and we tried a few of them. Here are the results:
Standard:
The standard options in this tool aren't very creative or outstanding. And that's why, we don't see many changes from ChatGPT and other standard generative AI programs. It's quite generic and straightforward.
Innovative:
The innovative tone is quite impressive and takes more story-telling elements into consideration. It uses creative words and describes the situation in detail—despite taking fewer words than the default.
Conservative:
Conservative is quite detailed, and there are lots of “show, don't tell” elements in this. So, conservatism is quite an interesting option for those who want to provide more exposition in their stories.
Conclusion
These are some of the examples of how AI can help with generating stories. While programs like ChatGPT, Bing's AI, and Grok (Twitter/XAI) are quite capable, tools made for generating stories, such as EditPad's AI Story Generator are the better choice. They can provide more depth, better creativity options, and various story styles.