ChatGPT can be a writer’s friend.
ChatGPT is already my friend as a software developer. I do use it to help me write code just about every day. I’ve described it as a crappy intern. But as I’ve gotten better at managing it (i.e., prompt engineering), it’s gotten better at helping me.
But here’s the thing — I’m an expert software developer. As such, I know the terminology to use, the technologies involved, I can spot flaws early, and I know the thought process required to start with nothing and end up with something you want. If you know nothing about writing software, ChatGPT can’t help you write software. At least not today.
I’ve also used ChatGPT to help me write. Again, if you know how to use it, and are already an expert writer, I imagine you could get it to work pretty good. Not so much for me, but as with code, I’m getting better.
Here’s what I’ve found most useful:
- I feed it my article, and it helps me edit.
- I can ask it for synonyms and antonyms.
- I can ask it to give me some surprising or non-obvious conclusions of what I’ve written.
- I can ask it for historical examples and analogies.
I don’t always use it, and I don’t always use what it gives me, but it’s definitely useful. I will continue to use it and try to get better.
More to come…
