Ideation & Structure with AI
Research
AI is useful for finding information that is not easily “Google-able.” Large Language Models (LLMs) pull information from many sources, allowing them to synthesize information from many places.
As with all prompts, the more specific, the better.
WARNING: Note that LLMs are subject to hallucinations and thus, any facts should be confirmed. LLMs should not be considered a definitive source.
Prompt Examples
- Give me 15 women’s names for a story set in modern-day Toronto, taking into account the multicultural diversity in the city
- Give me 15 women’s names for a story set in 1860 New York
- What’s a man’s name that means courage?
- What kind of cars were popular in 1940s New York?
- Explain BitCoin like I’m 10 years old.
Deep Research
Google Gemini has a “Deep Research” mode, where it will perform a web search, find dozens of relevant websites and synthesize information into a single report. The report includes citations so you can review the original material from the web sites. Deep Research is best for wide-ranging or complex topics, where many sources would be needed, and where factual accuracy is important.
Deep Research is excellent if you are writing historical novels.
To enable Deep Research, select the Deep Research from the drop-down menu.
Prompt Examples
- What was it like living in Rome during the time of Tiberius?
- Imagine that humans have established a Martian mining colony in the early 2100s. Describe the voyage from Earth to Mars on a realistic spacecraft. Consider certain technologies not yet invented, but ground them in plausible science.
Story Idea Brainstorming
If traditional brainstorming for story inspiration doesn’t work, try AI.
I find brainstorming often works well in an iterative process going back and forth as in a conversation. Be as specific as you can with the details you want to incorporate.
Prompt Examples
Consider the following sequence of prompts to find and refine a story idea (paste in the appropriate GENREs below):
- Give me 10 loglines for a [GENRE] story, in the style recommended by Blake Snyder. Each line should be 25-30 words to concisely capture the essence of the story.
- Please give me 10 more.
- Expand on idea 3.
- Add some elements of [GENRE] to this story.
- Suggest three different endings to the story.
Some LLMs have voice capability, so you can have a conversation with them, just like a real person.
Google Gemini and Copilot have unlimited voice chatting. ChatGPT has a time-limited voice chat.
Story Idea Interview
Some people don’t like to directly use the ideas coming from an AI. A neat way to use AI and keep your originality is to have the AI interview you and coach you along.
Prompt Example
The following prompt will ask you questions to encourage you to think about your story. This prompt will guide you through a long series of questions to expand your story. Paste in the appropriate GENRE and STORY PREMISE.
Role: You are an AI story coach with deep knowledge of story structure, editing, and the [GENRE] genre.
Task: I will provide a premise for a story.
Generate a set of questions to make me think more deeply about the story with the intent of fleshing out the overall story structure. If the premise is detailed, start asking questions about the details to tie them into the bigger plot and make the questions more big-picture as the interview continues. If the premise is more generic, start asking questions about the big picture of the story before drilling down into the details.
Ask me each question, one at a time in a clear, structured way.
Wait for my responses before providing feedback.
Format of Your Response:
Next Question: Present your interview questions one at a time
Continue growing and expanding the story. Periodically summarize the entire story to date.
Here is the story premise: [STORY PREMISE]
Worldbuilding
There are several approaches you could use for worldbuilding. Seek ideas from inspirational settings, try doing deep research, or you could try the interview technique where the AI simply asks you questions about your world
The following prompt is a variation of the Story Interview prompt above. Customize it for your needs.
Prompt Examples
What would life be like in a city where it rained every day and night. How would daily routines be different from a normal city? Describe how a visitor to this city would react to its environment.
Role: You are a scientist with deep knowledge of biology, chemistry, meteorology, geology, politics, sociology and planetary climate.
Task: I will provide a premise for a world for a science fiction story.
Generate a set of questions to make me think more deeply about the world and environment with the intent of fleshing out the overall environment.
Ask me each question, one at a time in a clear, structured way.
Wait for my responses before providing feedback.
Format of Your Response:
Next Question: Present your interview questions one at a time
Continue growing and expanding the story. Periodically summarize the entire environment to date.
Here is the initial world description: [WORLD PREMISE]
Outlining
Suppose you have a premise, but you’re not certain how to break it down into smaller parts. AI can help you split up your story idea into as many pieces as you need.
Prompt Examples
- Given the following premise, create a story outline with five parts, summarizing each part in one sentence. [PREMISE]
- write out the main beats of each
- rewrite the outline to add more suspense
- rewrite the outline to follow the Hero’s Journey structure
- Review the following outline and answer the following questions: Do the scenes logically connect to one another to create a cohesive story? Does each scene serve a distinct purpose in advancing the plot, developing characters, or building the world? Are the character arcs clear or do they need further development? Do the stakes escalate appropriately as the story progresses? Does the story move at a pace that feels appropriate for the genre and plot? Is the climax clear and impactful based on the outlined scenes? [PASTE OUTLINE]
Tropes
Tropes are recurring themes, motifs, or conventions used in stories. For example, it’s common in science fiction to have laser guns, aliens, and spaceships. As such, tropes are often expected by your readers. Sometimes you can get ideas for story additions by examining tropes that you haven’t incorporated.
Prompt Example
Act as a fiction writer. I’m writing a [GENRE] story that takes place in [SETTING]. Identify the 10 most common tropes used in this type of story. Also list 10 seldom used (but still appropriate) tropes to spice up the story.