I asked ChatGPT to make me a better writer
I've always had a great love for writing - probably the result of an insane love of reading - that I've never allowed to manifest in any meaningful way. I always feel like I have nothing to write about. Whatever I want to write is not worth writing, even if I write badly, I will not write well, and even if I write, I will never be read. Isn't that the point? But AI is changing the world right now, so I might as well let it help me along the way.
This is part 1 in a series of articles where I help ChatGPT help me write a little more, and a little better.
Note that this first post will be the setup for subsequent posts, in which I actually write some stuff. If you want to follow the original ChatGPT prompts and conversations, keep reading. Otherwise subscribe to something written later.
hint
For ChatGPT, you have to provide conceptually sound and clear cues for open-ended tasks, or you keep it intentionally vague and tell ChatGPT to ask the question before. I prefer a perfect combination of both.
I'm working on becoming a better writer so that I can communicate my thoughts and ideas better. I want to write a series of medium articles as a practice. Each post begins with "I asked Chat GPT to help me become a better writer." I want you to provide me with a series of 5 prompts to write about something that is relevant to me; my career, thoughts, dreams, complaints, soul bleed anxiety, etc. Each prompt needs to have: * Topic * Challenge to the writer (me) * This is relevant to improving my communication/writing skills. Before providing a tip, please ask any questions that may help you make a better tip.
Generally, it's a good idea to give your chatbot some initial context about who you are to steer responses in a certain direction. I use a custom description function for this. Before answering any questions, the chatbot needs to consider the following points:
I'm a software engineer whose goal is to write clean, correct code the first time as often as possible. I am also a mechanical engineer. My ultimate goal is to start a company that mixes those two things.
You should be casual, but correct. Responses should be detailed and concise. My name is Taten. You should only have opinions that you are sure of.
I wrote the instructions keeping in mind my usual purpose for using chat GPT; troubleshooting code and asking questions about unfamiliar concepts, programming or other concepts.
With these instructions and a quick initial hint, ChatGPT set out to find answers:
Hi Taten, what a great move on your part! To create these prompts, I need to know more about your interests and experiences.
Are there any specific projects or technologies that you have worked on that you found particularly interesting or challenging?
What are some of your major achievements or challenges in your career as a software and mechanical engineer?
What aspects of engineering (whether software or mechanical) are you most passionate about?
Are there any ethical or philosophical issues that you frequently encounter or ponder in your work?
Are there any specific communication or writing skills you wish to improve? For example, persuasive, clear, concise, etc.?
Are your dreams or aspirations related to the goal of starting a company that mixes software and mechanical engineering?
The answers to these questions will help me craft tips tailored just for you and your experience.
Once you have the question, be thorough with your answer:
- There are some specific projects I've worked on that I found interesting, and some general things about projects I've found interesting.
- My thesis is related to machine learning, and the process of defining and training a model and observing improvements in results through model tuning was interesting. - I also like writing small games in unconventional ways (using matlab or React) because it challenges me to find particularly novel or wacky solutions to problems that other tools can, but are not in my tool of choice. - I also enjoy projects involving real world objects. Arduino uses lights, pumps, and motors for projects where the code produces results on the physical world.
- My major achievements so far have been relatively minor. I can build what I want.
- I built a fountain that syncs lights, music, and water while utilizing strobe-like visual effects - Published a (terrible) Android game - Automatically transferred some money for crypto mining - Wrote a script to keep track My GitHub repository and automatically create a 1-minute summary of the changes I made, along with a time-lapse video of the code. - Created a dashboard for a water treatment project for an engineering firm that was allegedly viewed by some top government officials in Florida Understand and solve problems.
- In my line of work (full-stack web development) I don't encounter ethics very often, but I do think about engineering ethics quite often. Most considerations revolve around the ethics of the job itself. Especially work ethic and how much effort we owe our team and our future selves now. I also consider the ethics of AI and data, and the nuances of interpretation and presentation required to provide “facts.”
5. I want to develop a charm for my writing that comes with good rhythm, word choice, and knowing when to be succinct versus rambling. I wanted to be able to tell a story in an engaging way while remaining honest. Toni Morrison's Paradise comes to mind as inspiration. I wanted to tell technical stories that didn’t feel like a lecture. I’m afraid of losing the essence of a story or idea behind the tedium of writing.
- My main goal in starting a company is the satisfaction of bringing beautiful, novel and useful ideas, solutions or works of art into the world. Allow people to see things in new ways or use new tools to tackle tasks. My personal specialty (I believe) is combining existing technologies to solve problems in a new way, or combining ideas in a way that provides new insights.
Is there anything else you want me to clarify?
Finally, the required hints:
Thanks for sharing such insightful details, Tatten! This is helpful. Now let's move on to prompting.
Tip 1 - Topic: Intersection of software and mechanical engineering in projects. -Challenge : Use metaphors and analogies to explain complex technical concepts in a simple and understandable way. -Relevance : Improve your ability to communicate complex ideas to non-technical audiences. This is critical to any successful entrepreneur.
Tip 2 - Topic: Ethical considerations in engineering, including professional ethics and artificial intelligence and data ethics. -Challenge : Present two or more different perspectives on each ethical issue, providing balanced arguments for each side. -Relevance : Encourage critical thinking and demonstrate your ability to understand and express multiple perspectives.
Tip 3 - Theme: Your personal journey as an engineer (achievements, setbacks, projects), focusing on how these experiences shaped your desire to start a company. -Challenge : Build a narrative like a hero's journey, with conflict and resolution. -Relevance : Storytelling is an effective way to engage readers and make your articles more engaging. It also allows you to explore rhythms, build to a climax, and reach a satisfying conclusion.
Tip 4 - Theme: The process of creating a unique project, such as a fountain with synchronized lights and music, or a wacky game in a non-traditional platform. -Challenge : Include a surprise or turning moment in your writing, just as you would in a novel. -Relevance : Combining technical writing with creative writing elements can make your articles more engaging and memorable. It also encourages you to experiment with different narrative structures.
Prompt 5 - Topic: The role and importance of creativity and novelty in engineering, especially in the goal of combining existing technologies to solve problems in new ways. -Challenge : Predict the future of engineering based on current trends and how you envision your company adapting into the future. -Relevance : This tip helps you practice persuasive writing and argumentation skills. It also allows you to speculate and dream, which can be a powerful and engaging way to end your series.
Each prompt encourages you to try a different writing element, from storytelling and persuasion to explanation and argumentation. This should help you develop a multifaceted writing style that appeals to a wide audience. Happy writing!
Look! A series of prompts straight from the brain of an AI overlord that will surely make me a prolific writer.
I also fed back the entire article to ChatGPT and asked it to give me 3-5 sentences of feedback:
Your article provides interesting and realistic insights into your process of interacting with AI to improve your writing skills. Your conversational style makes the article enjoyable to read while maintaining a high level of depth and complexity. The way you interweave prompts and answers with your narrative helps readers gain a deeper understanding of your writing journey. There is a clear structure that guides the reader from the initial setup to the revelation of the prompt, building anticipation along the way. Overall, this was an excellent introduction to your series and an engaging read. Keep exploring this symbiotic relationship between AI and writing in future articles!
ChatGPT encouraged me to further integrate with the machine through this little writing exercise, but maybe it really just wanted to be friends.
