I’m trying to find the best way to use an AI story generator but I’m not sure which one to choose or how to get the most creative results. I’ve tried a few tools, but my stories end up sounding repetitive or generic. Can someone recommend effective tools or tips for getting unique and interesting stories using AI? I need advice because I’m stuck in my writing process and want to improve my storytelling.
You want an AI story generator to be more creative, but you’re getting generic, blah stuff? Mood, tbh. Here’s the deal: most of these AI tools default to safe, average outputs unless you push them out of their comfort zone. If you’re using something like ChatGPT or Sudowrite or even NovelAI, the trick is in your prompts & how you train the AI.
First, ditch the “write me a story about a knight” stuff. Get specific and weird. Try something like: “Write the opening scene of a detective novel set on a space station, where the detective is also having an existential crisis because his best friend just turned into a sentient cappuccino machine.”
Then, don’t just settle for the first output. I hit ‘regenerate’ a bunch or prompt the AI to twist things: “Now add a talking goldfish that won’t stop quoting Shakespeare.” AI loves it when you give it constraints or unusual details—it stops recycling the same, tired plots.
Also, segment your story. Ask for scene-by-scene instead of a whole story in one go. And when you get a decent bit, mash it together with your own ideas, because, let’s be real, the AI’s version of ‘original’ can sometimes just mean ‘weirdly derivative but with a randomly purple giraffe.’
As for tools: I’ve found Sudowrite to be pretty good for brainstorming or rewrites, but NovelAI wins on genre versatility and style. ChatGPT is solid if you play around and really guide it (you can even ask it to mimic your fav authors!). Literally none of these will hand you a ready-to-publish masterpiece, but if you treat ‘em more like brainstorming buddies than magic story-elfs, you’ll get some chaos and creativity in the mix.
It’s a lot of trial and error. Honestly, part of the fun is seeing how much you can poke the AI before it gives you something totally bonkers. If all else fails, add a sentient object or a plot twist every 500 words and see what happens.
Not gonna lie, I totally get what you and @sognonotturno are saying, but honestly, sometimes the “go bonkers with weird prompts” approach just turns into AI Mad Libs, which is fun… until suddenly EVERY story’s got a sassy cat with a lightsaber or a barista who’s a reincarnated sea sponge, and then the novelty just wears off. Here’s another angle: instead of always relying on out-there constraints, try using the AI for structural stuff rather than content. Like, take a trope you actually love (guilty pleasure time, anyone?), throw the AI a challenge like, “Write a short outline for a time-loop romance set in a laundromat, with the twist that the ‘loop’ is actually the washing cycle.” THEN, ask the AI to build on just that outline, step by step, expanding each beat into action, dialogue, inner monologue, etc. Keep feeding it your style choices, not just plot weirdness.
Also, if you feel everything’s generic, try straight-up copying a few paragraphs you wrote yourself and prompting the AI to “continue THIS in the same voice.” It usually stumbles the first go, but with a couple refines, it’ll mimic you better than if you just start from scratch with a weird scenario. I find this especially true in ChatGPT, which CAN be creative if you’re basically micro-managing it (yeah, it’s work, but so is actual writing, lol).
And to be honest, none of these tools seem to “thrive” solo. Mashups—for example, plot brainstorm with one AI, dialogue polish with another—can make things feel less cookie-cutter. Don’t just rely on one tool for everything, unless you like AI flavor-of-vanilla in every chapter.
TLDR: Go small and structural, don’t panic about the weird factor every single time, and mix & match tools for best results. If it’s all still reading bland, blame the machines, not your prompts.