Among the questions Amazon asked when I uploaded Touching Grass to Kindle, was about the use of AI. Was the book written by AI? Were sections written by AI?
As I mention in the book’s front matter, I used MetaAI for one passage. At the beginning of “Incident at the Waffle House” the narrator Kevin says:
Last night I asked my favorite LLM, “How do I get the girl of my dreams to like me?” This was the response.
“Well, that’s a tough one. Have you tried being charming, witty, and ridiculously handsome? No? Just kidding, those things are overrated. Try being genuine, respectful, and not creepy. That might work.
“The girl of your dreams, huh? First, make sure she’s not a figment of your imagination. If she’s real, ensure she’s not already married to her cat.
“Transform into Ryan Gosling circa The Notebook, develop a British accent, and learn to play the guitar. If none of that works just be nice, listen actively, and don’t stalk her – that’s just creepy.
“Need more?
“Step 1: Don’t ask a Large Language Model for dating advice.
“Step 2: Be yourself.
“Step 3: If all else fails, consider joining a monastery or taking up extreme knitting.”
This was my prompt to MetaAI: “In a story I’m writing, a shy young man asks his favorite LLM how to get the girl of his dreams to like him. How would you respond to that question? Humor or sarcasm would be great.”
I liked the response. It worked.
I look at the current AI tools as just that: Tools. If they can supplement my work in some way, I’ll give them a try. Here are the ones I have found helpful while writing my story collection.
Text-to-Speech
Text-To-Speech can be very helpful while editing. I am capable of missing typos after reading a passage a dozen times. I catch them right away, when I hear the words spoken. TTS is also helpful in catching repetitions or sentence structure that could be improved.
Search
About the time I started writing the stories, Google became extra annoying to use. The first several responses would be ads or favored sites that might not be the best match for my queries. Lately, the situation has improved somewhat. But since this coincided with the time period that I was playing around with the various AI tools, I soon found this to be good alternative. Once more I turned to MetaAI. For my purposes, it was the easiest to use.
The Songs
While Suno.AI had nothing to do with my writing, I thoroughly enjoyed playing around with the music creator. While I love many types of music, I have absolutely no musical abilities. I can’t sing. I can’t play an instrument. I can’t even whistle! As I reason it, there needs to be some music lovers content to listen and clap. That much I can do. I always put together a playlist for each writing project. Now having the ability to create songs connected to the stories was entertaining, and helped to bring characters to life.
No doubt anyone with even a little musical ability could have done far better. Knowing my starting point, I was pleased with the results.
Soulmates Ever After – While writing the story of the same name, I needed some lyrics I could freely use. I wrote the lyrics, such as they are, and then let Suno do its thing with the music. Having my lyrics set to music brought the song to life, so that I could really hear it playing in the background at Tai’s Alterations.
Eye of the Storm – I asked MetaAI to help me with a song about two cousins from Florida who enjoyed storm chasing. The song became a great accompaniment to “Phantom in the Wind.” With my brief prompt, the results were right on target.
The Calico Sisters – For “Fight or Flight” I asked MetaAI to help me with a song about three calico sisters. I went with a playful children’s song style on Suno.
The Ballad of Maine Man Gone Wrong – For a song about a man from Maine who earns a Florida Man headline, I wasn’t explicit enough with my prompt. Never mind. I liked the results, and the country ballad style from Suno.
Patterns – To accompany “Cardboard Dollhouses” I used a combination of lyrics by MetaAI and some by me. I had a lot of fun playing with various musical styles on Suno.
Hidden Heart – Kevin’s song, with lyrics by MetaAI.
Cooper’s Guidance – I wrote the lyrics based on various bits of Cooper’s Hawk symbolism.
Touching Grass – For the entire collection.
Could I have done better if I had written all the lyrics for the songs? I doubt it, and I’m sure I wouldn’t have spent the time trying it. I could never have created the music anyway.
NotebookLM
Tools such as Google’s NotebookLM can be useful for writers. At this point in development it does better with some tasks than others. It does pretty well at analyzing texts and picking out main themes and notable quotes. On the other hand, it can get confused with minor plot points, and becomes fixated with details that most human readers would not find very important. With the current speed of development, however, I suspect these issues will improve soon enough.
Here is NotebookLM’s briefing Doc for Touching Grass. I removed a few lines that gave away spoilers.
Briefing Doc: Touching Grass in Seven Stories by Sarah Mankowski
Main Themes:
- Small Town Life: The stories are deeply rooted in the dynamics of Grapefruit Grove, a small Florida town where everyone knows everyone and gossip spreads like wildfire. The characters grapple with the limitations and comforts of this environment, exploring themes of belonging, reputation, and the desire for something more.
- The Power of Women: The collection showcases strong, independent female characters who challenge expectations, pursue their passions, and ultimately shape the future of their community. From Destiny’s resilience in finding her place to Nia’s entrepreneurial spirit and Ella’s environmental advocacy, the stories celebrate female agency.
- The Importance of Connection: Throughout the narratives, characters navigate complex relationships, grappling with friendship, family ties, and romantic love. The stories explore the challenges of communication, the need for understanding, and the strength found in genuine connection.
- The Unexplained and the Supernatural: Mankowski weaves elements of the unexplained into the fabric of Grapefruit Grove, from ghostly encounters to the suggestion of alien-like invasive species. These elements add an intriguing layer to the stories, blurring the line between reality and the supernatural, and contributing to the unique atmosphere of the town.
Most Important Ideas/Facts:
- Destiny’s Journey: The collection opens with Destiny, a young woman who arrives in Grapefruit Grove seeking a fresh start. Her journey highlights the challenges of finding belonging in a new place, the importance of self-reliance, and the unexpected connections that can reshape one’s life. Her encounter with the ghosts of Ray’s ancestors introduces the supernatural element that persists throughout the collection.
- Invasive Species as a Metaphor: Morgan’s struggles with invasive species act as a powerful metaphor for the challenges facing Grapefruit Grove. The insatiable, destructive nature of these creatures reflects the potential threats to the town’s identity and way of life as external forces seek to exploit its resources.
- The Everly Family Legacy: The Everly family’s influence looms large over Grapefruit Grove. Their history, marked by both responsibility and recklessness, shapes the town’s present and future. Ella’s struggle to protect her family’s land from exploitation reflects a growing awareness of the need for environmental stewardship.
- Nia’s Rise as a Leader: Nia’s transformation from a quiet observer to a powerful force in Grapefruit Grove demonstrates the potential for personal growth and leadership within a small community.
Notable Quotes:
- “It’s Grapefruit Grove, Natalie. Nothing interesting ever happens around here.” – Kevin’s repeated statement highlights the perceived normalcy of the town, contrasting with the strange and unsettling events that unfold.
- “They are the Burmese python, the Cuban tree frog, and the cane toad. They are the wild boar, brown rat, walking catfish and lionfish…They are just one more invasive species waiting to build their numbers sufficiently to reshape Florida.” – Morgan’s description of the invasive species serves as a metaphor for the external forces threatening to overwhelm the town.
- “My instruments can measure wind speed and pressure, but I’m not naïve enough to believe that we understand everything about the atmosphere, or that we won’t invent tools to tell us surprising things about our world. Ghosts seem unlikely, but some people think we’re living in a giant computer simulation. If that were true, why shouldn’t there be ghosts? All I’m saying, I know enough to know that I don’t know everything.” – Kim’s statement encapsulates the collection’s exploration of the unknown and the limitations of scientific understanding.
- “If your ancestors go back far enough in Florida, your kind is pretty much every kind.” – Nia’s reflection on the interconnectedness of the town’s inhabitants challenges narrow-minded perspectives and celebrates the state’s diverse heritage.
- “We may be small-town girls, but we dream big. We know what matters to us. We have an opportunity to impact the future of Grapefruit Grove.” – Nia’s declaration embodies the collection’s message of female empowerment and the potential for change within seemingly ordinary communities.
My Comments: I cannot argue with the selection of Notable quotes. Interesting, when I fed the manuscript to NotebookLM I had already selected Nia’s line, “We may be small-town girls, but we dream big,” as the tagline for the collection.
In Most Important Ideas/Facts it highlights The Everly Family Legacy. I think there is a broader point about how the lives of the various families are woven together. The Everlys are a longtime citrus growing family. In selling their land, they are making room for more development. They are repeating a trend that Floridians have witnessed repeatedly over the past few decades. If I had seen NotebookLM’s comments beforehand, I might have asked Professor Foley to comment on this development.
While NotebookLM is programmed to be enthusiastic about whatever it analyses, the responses may still be helpful in suggesting areas where more explanation is needed. No doubt many more tools will appear online during the coming year. As a writer, even if you reject the use of AI completely, I think it is helpful to spend a little time learning how they work.
Wishful Thinking
I wish I had found a tool that would allow me to create a map of Grapefruit Grove, easily. I made a very crude text-only map, which was helpful, but nowhere good enough to include in the book. Each story flushed out the town a little better. By the time I finished the collection, I knew it quite well.
