This is the third part of my series of posts exploring using ChatGPT to help write a freeform. Following part 1 and part 2, I thought I’d have a go at getting deeper into plotting, creating some angsty situations using ChatGPT.
I’m not providing the ChatGPT’s full response this time, for the sake of brevity. You can ask it the same questions if you want to see what it comes up with (it won’t be the same!).
First prompt
It is 1971. The Appleyards are a successful folk-rock band with 5 members: Emily (Lead Singer), Mark (Lead Guitarist), Sarah (Keyboardist), Liam (Bassist), Olivia (Drummer). After their first album, what internal tensions pull the band apart?
As a first pass, ChatGPT came up with creative differences, ego clashes, personal relationships, substance abuse and differences in work ethic. So nothing unexpected there. (It provided some detail, but nothing to write home about.)
I wanted to explore the band’s creative differences, so I tweaked the prompt and tried again in a new chat. (I could probably have continued in the same chat.)
Second prompt
It is 1971. The Appleyards are a successful folk-rock band with 5 members: Emily (Lead Singer), Mark (Lead Guitarist), Sarah (Keyboardist), Liam (Bassist), Olivia (Drummer). After their first album, give five examples of personal relationship issues that cause the band to split up
ChatGPT gave me five responses, romantic involvement, creative differences, financial disputes, substance abuse problems and ego clashes. This was what it gave me for romantic involvement:
Romantic involvement: Emily, the lead singer, begins dating Mark, the lead guitarist, which creates tension within the band. Other members may feel left out or uncomfortable with the dynamic, leading to resentment and disagreements.
Third prompt
This was interesting, but I thought I’d start digging deeper. So, in the same chat (ChatGPT builds on what has gone before), I asked:
Why does Liam feel jealous about Mark and Emily's new relationship?
ChatGPT gave me five suggestions: emotional connection, insecurity, fear of change, perceived favouritism and personal attraction. For example:
Insecurity: Liam might have underlying insecurities about his own worth and contribution to the band. Seeing Emily, the lead singer, form a relationship with Mark, the lead guitarist, could intensify his feelings of inadequacy and make him question his importance within the group.
Fourth prompt
This was getting more interesting, so I asked:
What terrible action does Liam take?
This time, Chat GPT gave me one answer:
In this scenario, Liam takes a terrible action by sabotaging one of the band's important performances. Fueled by his feelings of jealousy and resentment towards Mark and Emily's relationship, Liam intentionally tampers with the sound equipment or interferes with the band's instruments during a crucial live performance.
Liam's action is an act of betrayal towards his bandmates and the band's fans. By sabotaging the performance, he disrupts the band's reputation and potentially causes damage to their professional image. This action not only harms the band's immediate success but also creates a significant rift within the group, making it nearly impossible for them to continue working together.
Liam's decision to sabotage the performance reflects his deep-seated anger and frustration, but it ultimately leads to the band's breakup, as the other members lose trust in him and feel betrayed by his actions.
No options this time – and much more detail. I felt I was getting somewhere.
Fifth prompt
How do the rest of the band react to Liam's actions?
ChatGPT dutifully answered for all four band members, but let’s concentrate on Emily:
Emily (Lead Singer): Emily may feel deeply hurt and disappointed by Liam's actions. She trusted him as a bandmate and friend, and his betrayal may leave her feeling a mix of anger, sadness, and confusion. She may struggle to understand why Liam would intentionally sabotage their performance.
Sixth prompt
Why does Liam regret his actions?
ChatGPT gave me several answers, such as:
Realization of the consequences: Liam starts to understand the full extent of the damage he has caused. He sees how his actions have not only harmed the band's reputation but also fractured the trust and unity within the group. Witnessing the band's breakup and the pain it causes his former bandmates and himself, Liam realizes the gravity of his mistake.
Seventh prompt
Why doesn't Emily accept Liam's apology?
Lingering hurt and betrayal: The pain and betrayal caused by Liam's sabotaging actions may still be fresh in Emily's mind. She may struggle to let go of the hurt and resentment she feels towards Liam, making it challenging for her to accept his apology immediately.
Eighth prompt
I thought it was time to bring in one of the other band members:
Why does Olivia never forgive Liam? And what does she do as a result?
ChatGPT gave me three suggestions for Olivia’s reaction (Deep sense of betrayal, Lack of remorse or accountability, Irreparable damage to their friendship) and concluded:
As a result of her inability to forgive Liam, Olivia decides to sever ties with him completely. She may choose to distance herself from him personally and professionally, no longer participating in any form of communication or collaboration. Olivia may prioritize her own emotional well-being and surround herself with people who she feels can be trusted and supported, cutting Liam out of her life entirely to avoid further pain or betrayal.
(I did wonder if asking a two-part question would be a mistake. It seems not.)
I stopped there – I had more than enough if I was going to write this up as a freeform plot. And if I needed more detail, ChatGPT was obviously happy to provide me more.
Overall
I’m impressed. With the right prompts and some follow-up questions, creating plots for freeforms with ChatGPT is trivially easy. The plots need adjusting to work in the context of a freeform (I need to work out what the players will do), but ChatGPT has given me a solid basis for a messy plot involving the band’s relationships.
So, my takeaways:
- Crafting a good opening statement is key. But you can try again until you get it right.
- Use follow-up questions to get into the detail.
- This doesn’t take long – I’ve spent longer writing about this than I did getting the original text from ChatGPT!
- It’s very easy to get information from ChatGPT. Ruthlessly culling may be a key skill in the future.
Going forward
ChatGPT is going to take a bit of getting used to, but I can see it speeding up freeform creation (this may be especially useful at Peaky). Once we get good at asking the right questions, it will hopefully mean more and better freeforms!
It’s possible that AI-assisted freeforms will be dull and samey; avoiding that is our job.
Next time: hordes.
No comments:
Post a Comment