Tag: Writing with AI

Posted in AI Experiments

Flash Fiction Generator

Posted on by Mike

I love listening to AI podcasts. Recently there has been a lot of discussion about Claude’s (Anthropic) growing expertise in creating code. Some experts were suggesting that by the end of the year AI will be writing 90% of all code.

Now, I know absolutely nothing about coding but I am forever curious. So, I asked Claude, “Can you write a piece of code that can generate pieces of flash fiction?” I was expecting a simple answer, instead it replied, “Absolutely. Given your flash fiction expertise, I’ll build something with the kinds of constraints and parameters you’d actually use – genre, word count limits, tone, specific prompts or themes.”

Continue reading “Flash Fiction Generator” →
A wide, orderly interior of a modern workplace with people standing at identical workstations on marked floor positions. Large digital screens display instructions, schedules, and productivity messages. Overhead lighting is uniform and impersonal, and no individual faces stand out. The scene feels controlled, repetitive, and quietly automated.
Posted in AI and Creativity

A Prompt to Prompt a Prompt…

Posted on by Mike

For this experiment I thought I would begin by asking AI, in this case ChatGPT, to give me a prompt. ‘Write a prompt in the form of a dystopian monologue.’ I did not say what I was going to do with the prompt, but notice how it has decided it is going to be a story. This is what I got…

I am required to explain what you will produce.

You will call it a story, though that word is no longer used officially. It must be short. Length beyond necessity is considered inefficient and may be interpreted as avoidance.

You will describe a world that resembles this one closely enough to be recognisable, but not so closely that responsibility can be assigned. Characters may exist, but they should function rather than desire. Motivation is optional. Compliance is preferred.

If something troubling occurs, present it calmly. Raised voices suggest instability. Questions are permitted only if they resolve themselves quickly.

You may end the piece without closure. In fact, that is encouraged. Endings tend to invite reflection, and reflection has a habit of spreading.

Remember: this is not a warning. It is a demonstration. Begin when ready.

This prompt is giving ChatGPT some very clear guidance as to how the story should be written. I wondered what would happen if I then simply pasted this prompt into ChatGPT? Here is the resulting story…

Continue reading “A Prompt to Prompt a Prompt…” →
A corridor shot where the doorframe is central but the door itself is only partly visible. Light falling across the floor.
Posted in AI and Creativity

What Happens When the Door Tells the Story

Posted on by Mike

This experiment began with a simple question: what changes when the centre of a story is shifted away from the people in it?

Rather than asking AI to invent a character with feelings, motivations, or a backstory, I asked it to write from the perspective of a door. Not a symbolic door. Not a magical one. Just a door that opens, closes, and stays where it is. The constraint was not technical. It was perceptual. The door can only know what passes directly in front of it.

That immediately removes some of the usual narrative shortcuts. The door cannot explain why someone hesitates. It cannot interpret an argument, a departure, or a return. It can only register patterns. Who arrives at the same time each morning. Who lingers. Who does not come back. Meaning has to emerge indirectly, through repetition and absence, rather than through insight or emotion.

Continue reading “What Happens When the Door Tells the Story” →
A humorous, Tim Burton-style blue monster with tentacle-like hair, uneven eyes, sharp teeth, and long fingers. It stands on two legs and looks directly at the viewer while a speech bubble says “Give me a caption.”
Posted in AI and Creativity

Caption This AI Image #5 – Still Thinking

Posted on by Mike

There are moments when an AI image feels less like a clever experiment and more like a quiet cry for help. This was one of those moments.

A small, ginger cat sits at a desk that looks suspiciously like it belongs to a weary Victorian clerk. The lighting is moody. The atmosphere is heavy with unspoken disappointment. The cat is wearing goggles. Actual goggles. And holding its head in the universal pose of someone who has just read the words, “I’m sorry, I can’t do that,” for the seventh time.

Continue reading “Caption This AI Image #5 – Still Thinking” →
A friendly-but-weird AI robot made of letters and punctuation holding a tiny 100-word story.
Posted in The AI Drabble Challenge

The AI Drabble Challenge – Week #11: The Vending Machine

Posted on by Mike

Welcome to This Week’s AI Drabble Challenge

Welcome back to our weekly playground for curious humans and equally curious machines. Every Wednesday I share a new prompt, and together we explore what happens when we let AI join in the storytelling.

A Drabble is simply a story told in 100 words exactly, short enough to be playful, long enough to surprise us. You’re welcome to use any AI tool you like: ChatGPT, Claude, Gemini, Grok, NotebookLM… whatever you’re comfortable with. How you collaborate is up to you. Maybe the AI drafts the first version, or writes the whole thing, maybe you co-write, or maybe you use it to spark ideas. What matters is the process, and sharing it.

There’s no pressure, no “right way,” and definitely no grading. The goal is curiosity, collaboration, and seeing what strange or wonderful things the machines produce when we give them a nudge.

This Week’s Prompt

This week I thought I would continue with the theme of trying something different. I’m always intrigued as to how AI copes when asked unusual questions (have a read of The Prompt Experiment to see an example of this).

So, today’s prompt is to write a Drabble based on ‘The Voices in the Vending Machine‘

A vending machine starts giving out items the protagonist didn’t select, a child’s shoe, a house key that fits nothing, a handwritten list of fears. Each item seems to know them a little too well.

Feel free to interpret the prompt literally, loosely, mischievously, or in a way that makes your AI scratch its synthetic head. If it surprises you, it counts.

Example Drabble – ‘The Vending Machine’

I used ChatGPT 5.2 and the prompt was – “Write a 100 word story where a vending machine starts giving out items the protagonist didn’t select, a child’s shoe, a house key that fits nothing, a handwritten list of fears. Each item seems to know them a little too well.“

The Vending Machine

The vending machine whined like it recognised me. I pressed for crisps; it dropped a small child’s shoe, warm. Next, a house key clattered out, teeth worn smooth by doors I’d never owned. A handwritten list followed, folded tight, ink smudged with my fears: drowning, failing, being forgotten. The glass reflected my face, older than yesterday. Coins rattled inside, laughing. I tried cancel. The machine hummed my name. One last item slid free: a receipt dated tomorrow, itemised with choices I hadn’t made yet. I walked away lighter, missing something essential. Behind me, the lights blinked approval without asking permission.

How to Take Part

Joining in is wonderfully simple:

  1. Choose any AI tool you like.
  2. Ask it to write a 100-word Drabble using this week’s prompt.
  3. Edit it if you want… or don’t. Imperfect is perfect.
  4. Post your Drabble in the comments or publish it on your own blog and send a pingback.

If you’d like to share:

  • which AI you used
  • the prompt you gave it
  • or a bit about your process

…that’s always appreciated and often helpful to others.

Community & Highlights

Each week I read every entry and spotlight a few that stood out, for cleverness, unexpected emotion, inventive prompting, or pure joyful weirdness. This isn’t a competition. It’s a conversation between humans, machines, and the imagination that connects us.

A Closing Thought

AI can generate the words, but only you bring the spark. So… how will you and your AI partner interpret the prompt this week?

Your Turn!

Now it’s over to you, can you craft your own 100-word Drabble inspired by this week’s prompt.

Post your story in the comments below or link to your own blog, I love seeing the imaginative twists readers come up with. So don’t be shy, join in and show us what your AI + Your Imagination can do!

New to the challenge? Visit The AI Drabbles Challenge Page for all the details and past prompts.