@Anonymous You felt ill? That's not the reaction I was going for.

@[rubbrsome](/user/show/13662) One man's kink is another man's greatest fear

@[Liam](/user/show/10007233) Appreciate the feedback. I’ll definitely keep an eye on the repetition and continuity moving forward. P.S. I’ve fixed the boxer brief bit, thanks for catching that.

@[HypnoSub](/user/show/2185111) Thanks so much for the endorsement! I'll be sticking as closely to the original plot as I can on this one, but inevitably there will be small differences. I've already found something in the next chapter that always bothered me... so I'm fixing it with this revision. I expect the first few chapters to make the biggest gains, since I was using GPT-2 for them originally, and the technology has advanced a *lot* since then.

@[Derek Williams](/user/show/175661) You’re welcome! I’m always happy to support a writer who puts as much effort into their work as you do! And yeah, I bet technology has come a long way in the 3-4(?) years since you first wrote this series. But what I really appreciated about this series is that even though you used AI to help write it, it still felt like it was in your voice and it still read like a classic Derek Williams story. And I’m sure that this newer version is gonna turn out even better!

@[HypnoSub](/user/show/2185111). That’s so nice of you. I’m seriously considering doing some videos of my writing process using AI, because when I use it people say my voice comes through really well, and I know that’s not common. I think it’s possible to produce really good work with it, but you still need: 1. To have a really strong point-of-view as an author. I’d argue that my POV tends to in the realm of “It’s better to be happy than smart”. 2. Know your audience. Mine is full of overachievers who are feeling the strain of being the person who defined themselves around their intelligence. I’m much less ‘that guy’ than I used to be, but I know the feeling intimately. 3. Have a strong sense of story structure and understand how you want things to go. I often outline stories by hand, then work with the AI section by section to produce a fully realized story. You can't just tell the AI 'write me a story about a nerd who transforms into a himbo when he drinks a magic potion' and expect to get something good – you need to tell the AI what you want! 3. One particular thing I've noticed – left to itself, AI leans towards saccharine endings, where everyone learns their lesson and returns to normal with a sense of satisfaction. My stories almost never end with a return to normal, but rather a return to the NEW normal. Sometimes I have to twist the AIs arm to go that direction. 4. Be a ruthless editor. All authors should do this, but it’s easy to look at the AI output and just go with the flow. I read through everything it generates and either ask for edits or make edits manually. Sometimes it’s just a word choice, sometimes it’s a theme I want to insert, sometimes it’s a whole rewrite to focus on a specific moment or feeling. At the end of the day, a writer has to be an editor too, no matter what tools they're using. 5. It helps to have around a million words of non-AI written material to help the AI understand my writing style and quirks. (Sorry, I know you didn't ask for all that, but I'm really into using these new tools to create something good, and I want to talk about *how* to do that so that other authors doing something similar can learn from some of the trial and error I've gone through.)

@[Derek Williams](/user/show/175661) No need to apologize! I love hearing about your writing process and how you’re using AI in an effective way. Even in your comment, it’s clear you know how to use AI as a tool to help your writing instead of just leaning on it to write the story for you. I think that’s the big reason why some AI-assisted stories tend to fall flat, but “A Stranger Comes To Town” still felt like you and your audience still really enjoyed it! As a fan of yours and a fellow writer, I personally would LOVE if you made a video explaining how you use AI (or even a video of your writing process without AI) because clearly you care so much about your work and have a lot to say!

@[HypnoSub](/user/show/2185111) I'm Canadian – we always apologize ;) I'll throw that video on my project list. Not sure when I'll get to it – I'm moving houses right now and it's a pain – but I'd love to do it!

@[Derek Williams](/user/show/175661) You have nothing to apologize “aboot” ;) Good luck moving! Once you’re all settled in, you can film your video in your new space :) We’ll happily wait in the meantime, haha

@Derek Williams - man this is so awesome to hear. I'm loving using AI to help bolster my stories and breath so e difference into my stories. I completely agree, if it's to truly be our story, every line needs scrutinising and there's so much back and forth. I'm regularly writing the plot in my own voice and then asking for it to rewrite my text, keeping my voice, but offering expansion or embellishing. The end result is fuller abd more exciting to read, but the plot abd most of the language us mine, but the tool of the AI is offering new possible versions. It's exciting and great fun to bring to life my fantasies with the AI as a writing friend (I've called him Brad) :)