How to Use ChatGPT for Creative Writing

Discover how to maximize the advantages and overcome the limitations of artificial intelligence to improve your texts

Just a year ago, including “creativity” and “artificial intelligence” in the same sentence would have been largely implausible. However, the arrival of several free AI applications and, specifically, the free ChatGPT system in December 2022 has paved the way for a revolution. Is creativity something uniquely intrinsic to humans? Now, the answer may be, "It depends."

Whether or not ChatGPT will take the place of writers, copywriters, and content creators is still up for debate, but we can be certain that it's a useful tool for facilitating the work of these professionals. Thus, analyzing and understanding its features can help enhance productivity.

To do just that, we'll review what ChatGPT is and how it works, examine its role in optimizing creative writing, and take a closer look at both its advantages and its most common pitfalls.

What is ChatGPT and how does it work

ChatGPT is a system developed by OpenAI that has been trained to generate text, similar to how a person does. Thanks to the extensive, wide-ranging data and information it has access to, it's capable of solving very specific tasks.

When a request is made, whether it's a concrete question or just a fragment of text, the chat-style platform responds based on everything it has learned. In other words, the system is capable of understanding the meaning of the words that make up the request and providing a coherent response.

How to use ChatGPT for creative writing

Creative writing is a major aspect of content creation that includes the development of texts, both fictional and not, that go beyond the standard structures and norms that define styles such as journalistic, academic, or technical writing. In this case, the writer must think outside the box to surprise the reader.

It's difficult to imagine that an AI system could simulate the spontaneity that lies at the heart of creative writing; but what if we view it as an "idea generator?" In all processes, especially creative ones, there are times when one faces a figurative or literal blank page or even writer's block. It's in those precise moments that ChatGPT can help us find a starting point.

Advantages of writing content with ChatGPT

Let's take a look at some of the main advantages of writing with the help of ChatGPT:

1. Overcoming creative block

When writing, we often know what we want to say but not necessarily how to say it. That's where ChatGPT can help. In those cases, you can write your idea into the prompt and receive a proposal that may help you improve your own. The response likely won't be perfect, but you may be able to pick and choose some words or expressions and spruce up your own writing.

2. Maintaining a consistent tone

In addition to answering specific questions, ChatGPT can also continue or complete texts. You can make sure that all the text follows the same tone, whether it's formal and respectful for a serious topic or familiar and colloquial for a more lighthearted one.

3. Adapting a text to the reader

ChatGPT is also able to summarize or rewrite a text to make it more understandable. This option can be useful for adapting the information to various readers according to their level of understanding of the subject, their context, or other needs.

4. Imitating a particular style

One of the most interesting features of ChatGPT is its ability to replicate a style of a professional, a brand, or even a person. If you enter the keywords “act like” in the prompt, the chat will respond with a written text emulating how it may have been written, for instance, by a journalist, by Domestika, or by Gloria Fuertes.

5. Detecting keywords

Nowadays, it's important to ensure that your content is well-positioned and optimized for online searches. With that in mind, ChatGPT can be used to generate and rank keywords related to the topic you're writing about.

6. Avoiding plagiarism

When writing a text that will exist in a digital environment, it's essential to avoid publishing repeated content. Since ChatGPT is a unique generator of text that has never been written before, it can be used as an effective tool to avoid any hint of plagiarism.

Most common GPT Chat errors

Despite all the benefits and possibilities that ChatGPT offers, as a machine, it still has some limitations that we can often detect in its texts:

1. Word repetition

If you’ve reviewed texts generated by ChatGPT, you may have detected that it often repeats keywords, possibly several times in the same paragraph.

2. Simple grammatical structures

Another characteristic of ChatGPT texts is their tendency to start sentences with “he” or “she,” which quickly becomes repetitive. This is due to its overuse of the classic sentence structure of a subject followed by a verb and a predicate.

3. Outdated information

The system is based on a data set that, regardless of its size, only extends up to 2021 and is not linked to the Internet. Therefore, its responses may contain erroneous information that should be verified before being considered valid.

4. Possible Google penalties

Currently, the world's largest search engine penalizes content that it deems as failing to meet users' needs or that doesn't provide valuable information. There is currently no evidence that Google can detect if a text has been generated automatically with complete certainty. Even so, possibilities may arise in the future that allow it to respond more effectively to this type of content, in the same way that it does with articles that it considers spam.

What does ChatGPT think about replacing copywriters with artificial intelligence systems?

Artificial intelligence has divided the art community into those who applaud the opportunities it offers and those who fear its potential. Following our analysis of this groundbreaking tool that has surpassed both Facebook and Spotify in number of registered users, what do you think? Before you answer, we asked ChatGPT for its opinion on how it may be appropriating the work of copywriters and creativity in general. The following is a representative summary of its responses:

“As a language model, my role is to automatically generate text in response to a given input. However, copywriters are professionals specialized in creating persuasive and compelling advertising content and are capable of adapting to different audiences, brands, and business objectives.

While I can generate copy quickly and efficiently, I can't completely replace a copywriter in terms of creativity, audience understanding, and ability to build a brand. Copywriters often have years of experience and specialized knowledge in their field, which allows them to create highly effective and strategic content.

While I can be helpful in generating content ideas and providing inspiration, I'm not a complete solution to replace a copywriter. Rather than replace copywriters, it may be more effective to use my technology to complement a copywriter's work and help streamline and accelerate their creative process.”

Can ChatGPT be creative?

“Yes, as a language model, ChatGPT has the ability to generate text that can be considered creative in certain contexts. However, it is important to note that creativity itself is a complex and multifaceted concept and that the evaluation of what is considered creative depends on several factors, including the context, audience, and purpose of the text.

Generally speaking, ChatGPT can be creative to the extent that it can combine and generate new ideas, concepts, and words in an original and novel way. This can be particularly useful in generating ideas for marketing content, for example, where a fresh and original perspective is required to stand out and capture the audience's attention.

However, it is important to note that creativity also involves critical judgment, decision-making, and the ability to assess and adjust the quality of creative work. These abilities are typically attributes of humans, and while ChatGPT can offer a different and original perspective, it still can't make creative decisions on a human level.”

More about artificial intelligence and creativity

- Don't miss our artificial intelligence courses.

- If you want to explore a specific method for writing a memorable story, check out Shaun Levin's online course Creative Writing for Beginners.

- Hear from artists about how AI can be used and discover their opinions on the subject, including praise for the infinite possibilities it offers and apprehension regarding the creative dilemmas it may create.

- Meet five leading Midjourney AI artists who challenge the limits of human creativity.