Learn to Use AI as a Writing Assistant
(26 chapters - approximately 6 hours)

In this section, I introduce the sample story that I will use throughout the course. We will take this original starting point and develop it step by step into a fuller novel concept, including its characters, structure, scenes, continuity, and revisions.

The sample story intentionally includes grammar mistakes, punctuation problems, timeline errors, weak details, and other issues that can appear in an early draft. I will use those mistakes to demonstrate practical ways AI can help authors identify problems, ask better questions, and support the revision process.

The purpose is not to show how to type a few prompts and receive a bestseller. You, as the author, must bring the story idea, make the creative decisions, write the material, and decide what belongs in the final book. AI is used as an assistant to help develop, expand, organize, test, and strengthen the story you are creating.

Chapter length: 23.22 minutes

Before we begin developing the book, we need to give AI six important pieces of information so it can assist us effectively and stay aligned with our objective. Two of the most important are identifying the target audience and defining the book’s genre.

Some of these answers may already be clear to you, while others may require research before you can make an informed decision. In this video, I will walk through the full process in detail, including how to research and define the information AI needs before we move forward with the book.

Chapter length: 5.30 min.

In this section, I show how to use AI to turn a short story idea and your initial book-planning notes into a workable first-pass novel structure. Before writing the first draft, AI can provide eleven types of important structural information to help you examine the story’s direction, character arcs, pacing, major turning points, possible weaknesses, and chapter-level flow.

For example, AI can help you create a clean one-to two-paragraph summary of the story and identify its core message. It can then help you examine the remaining structural areas needed to build a stronger foundation before drafting begins.

The goal is not to let AI invent the book for you. The goal is to give it your story, audience, genre, message, and objectives so it can help you organize the material, identify questions, and strengthen the structure of the novel you are creating.

Chapter length: 10.50 min.

In this section, I show you how to work with the output AI gives you after the initial book-structure stage. Step by step, we will review the material, make corrections, improve the story direction, identify what needs further development, and tell AI how specific parts of the story should evolve.

This section reinforces a central principle of the course: AI does not take control of the story. The author remains in the driver’s seat. You make the creative decisions, determine what belongs in the book, correct what is wrong, and direct the development of the novel. AI is there to assist you with analysis, organization, suggestions, and revision, not to produce a complete story from a few prompts.

Chapter length: 35.34 min.

We review the corrections, modifications, and suggestions AI provides after we revise the story. The purpose is to show that every time we make changes and send the material back to AI for another review, we must carefully examine the response rather than accept it automatically.

As authors, we remain in the driver’s seat. AI may provide polished suggestions, but we still need to check whether those suggestions preserve our characters, story direction, tone, and overall objective. The final decision always belongs to the author.

Chapter length: 8.02 min.

After uploading our comments, questions, modifications, and revisions, we ask AI to review the material and provide suggestions on approximately 150 different points.

This is the second major pass of the process, focused on moving the story closer to the right direction for its structure, character development, timeline, and overall flow. You will see both the strengths and limitations of AI: it can provide valuable observations that help improve the story, but it can also return polished answers that sound convincing while not fully fitting the author’s vision.

Every suggestion must be reviewed carefully. AI helps us examine the work more closely, but the author remains responsible for deciding which changes strengthen the story and which ideas should be corrected, rejected, or developed further.

Chapter length: 26.42 min.

After completing the third iteration, we review the results point by point and confirm which corrections and modifications are now working for the story. At this stage, we tell AI that we are satisfied with the final revised direction and are ready to move from correction into chapter planning.

The next step is to ask AI for a proposed chapter structure, story flow, and scene beats. This gives us a stronger foundation for designing the book’s chapters, organizing the progression of the story, and preparing for the actual drafting process.

Chapter length: 18.11 min.

After the chapters are determined, we move into the preparation stage before drafting Chapter 1. This process includes eight important steps that help organize the book, clarify the story flow, and prepare the material the author will need before writing the first draft.

Two of the most important parts of this stage are the book bible and the character bios. These documents help keep the story consistent, track important details, and guide the writing process. They can also be used beyond the manuscript itself, including social media content, marketing material, book descriptions, visual planning, and cover design.

Chapter length: 18.58 min.

Now that we have the proposed expanded chapters, the next step is to review them carefully and make our own corrections, modifications, and notes. Once those changes are complete, we submit the revised material back to AI for another review.

The purpose of this stage is to use AI as a second layer of support. AI can help us identify weak areas, suggest improvements, point out possible story problems, and recommend ways to strengthen the structure, characters, pacing, and flow. However, the author still reviews every recommendation and decides which suggestions should be accepted, adjusted, or rejected.

Chapter length: 21.17 min.

After several iterations, once the final chapter structure and book flow are grounded, we are ready to give the completed chapter plan back to AI and ask for proposed character bios.

This is an important step in the book-writing process because character bios help us understand who the characters are, what they want, how they change, and how they fit into the larger story. We will review the bios carefully, make corrections, and ensure that each character supports the story we are trying to tell. As always, AI provides the draft and suggestions, but the author makes the final decisions.

Chapter length: 6.59 min.

We carefully review the proposed character bios to make sure they match the story, the chapter structure, and the author’s intended direction. If the bios are acceptable, we move forward to the next major planning document: the book bible.

If the bios need more work, we revise them and send the updated version back to AI for another review. AI can then assist us with suggestions, recommendations, and possible improvements, but the author remains responsible for deciding whether each character bio is accurate, useful, and aligned with the story.

Chapter length: 8.56 min.

We take the book bible generated by AI and review it in detail to determine whether any corrections, revisions, or clarifications are needed. If something does not match our story, characters, timeline, world, tone, or intended direction, we revise it and continue working through additional iterations until the book bible reaches a level we are satisfied with.

Once the book bible is acceptable, we move to the next step: asking AI to create the proposed chapter-by-chapter scene beats. This helps us prepare for the drafting stage by breaking the story into more specific scene-level moments, while still keeping the author in control of the final structure and direction.

Chapter length: 9.53 min.

Once the character bios, book bible, and final chapter structure are complete, we move into the final preparation stage before drafting. At this point, we ask AI to help us complete the book structure by creating the proposed chapter-by-chapter scene beats.

These scene beats give us a clearer roadmap for each chapter, including what happens, which characters are involved, what the emotional purpose is, and how each scene moves the story forward. This helps us prepare for the first draft with a stronger structure, better flow, and a clearer understanding of what each chapter needs to accomplish.

Chapter length: 9.45 min.

This section introduces the basic skills authors need before using ChatGPT as a writing assistant. It explains how prompts work, how ChatGPT responds, and how authors can give clearer instructions to get more useful results.

This is a beginner-friendly foundation for authors who are new to ChatGPT. The goal is to help them understand how to communicate with AI, how to guide the output, and how to begin using ChatGPT as part of their book-writing process without losing control of their own work.

Chapter length: 14.36 min.

This recap reviews the full process covered so far, from developing a short story summary to building a stronger foundation for the book. We revisit the major steps, including the story structure, chapter development, character bios, book bible, and chapter-by-chapter scene beats.

The purpose is to help authors see how each step connects to the next and how AI can assist throughout the planning process without taking control away from the author. By the end of this recap, you should have a clear view of how the early story idea becomes an organized structure that is ready for drafting.

Chapter length: 9.42 min.

We draft the first chapter by keeping two things in focus: the target word count and the scene beats created during the chapter-by-chapter planning stage. For Chapter 1, the structure includes four scenes, and we use those scenes as a guide to keep the draft aligned with the book structure we already designed.

After completing the Chapter 1 draft, we upload it to AI and ask for feedback. The purpose is to identify where the chapter may need expansion, correction, clarification, or modification before moving on to Chapter 2. This helps us improve the draft while keeping the story controlled, structured, and moving in the intended direction.

Chapter length: 24.09 min.

After uploading the Chapter 1 draft and asking AI for feedback, we review the suggestions it provides, including grammar corrections, small improvements, and a few broader recommendations.

This section shows how AI can help strengthen a draft by pointing out issues the author may have missed. At the same time, it also shows why authors must be careful. Not every suggestion should be accepted automatically. The author still needs to review each recommendation, protect the story’s direction, and decide which changes truly improve the chapter.

Chapter length: 11.45 min.

After reviewing AI’s recommendations, we make revisions to Chapter 1 and upload the updated version back to AI for another check. This allows us to see whether there are any remaining issues, additional suggestions, or areas that still need clarification before the chapter is finalized.

We also ask AI to help expand the chapter so it better matches our target word count. The purpose is not to add unnecessary filler, but to strengthen the scenes, deepen the details, improve the flow, and make sure the chapter supports the structure we created before moving on to the next part of the book.

Chapter length: 5.45 min.

We review the expanded version of Chapter 1 to make sure it meets the technical requirements we set for the story, including the target word count. To verify this, we check the chapter length using an online word-count tool and confirm that the draft stays within the criteria we established for the book.

We also complete another review pass with AI to see whether there are any remaining recommendations, corrections, or improvements to consider. This step helps us double-check the chapter before moving forward, while still keeping the author in control of which suggestions are accepted and which are rejected.

Chapter length: 7.08 min.

Chapter 1 is moved into Microsoft Word so we can add our own comments, notes, and final revision requests directly into the document. These comments help us clearly communicate to AI what we want checked, corrected, or reconsidered before the chapter is finalized.

This is the final review stage for Chapter 1 before moving on to Chapter 2. We use AI as an assistant for one last check, but the author still controls the revisions, confirms the direction of the story, and decides when the chapter is ready.

Chapter length: 19.37 min.

With Chapter 1 complete, we prepare for the upcoming chapters by uploading the necessary files into ChatGPT’s project folder. This helps keep the story’s continuity on solid ground as we move forward.

By keeping the finalized chapter, book structure, character bios, book bible, and scene beats available in the project folder, AI can reference the established material more effectively. This helps us maintain consistency in character details, timeline, tone, story logic, and chapter flow as we begin working on Chapter 2 and the chapters that follow.

Chapter length: 9.59 min.

Before uploading the Chapter 2 draft and repeating the same review process we used for Chapter 1, we first set up the correct workflow for continuing the book. This includes deciding what to do with the previous completed chapter, which files AI should reference, and how to preserve continuity as the story moves forward.

This section also explains the prompt structure needed for Chapter 2 and the remaining chapters. From this point on, each new chapter should be developed with awareness of the earlier chapters, the book bible, character bios, scene beats, and established story direction. The goal is to make sure every new draft builds on what has already been approved instead of accidentally contradicting it.

Chapter length: 13.16 min.

We use a slightly different approach for reviewing Chapter 2 with AI. Instead of only asking for a general review, we focus on communicating with ChatGPT more directly so it can help us identify specific recommendations, corrections, and possible improvements.

This lesson focuses on how to strengthen a chapter when only a few revisions are needed. You will see how to ask better questions, guide AI’s feedback, review its suggestions carefully, and make targeted changes while keeping the chapter aligned with the story’s structure, continuity, and direction.

Chapter length: 14.14 min.

This lesson shows how AI may provide different types of chapter feedback, including minor wording changes, tone adjustments, sentence-level improvements, and small revision suggestions.

The purpose is to demonstrate that AI feedback is not something authors should accept automatically. The author remains in control of the story, the voice, and the final direction. Some suggestions may improve the chapter, while others may not fit the intended tone or purpose. The author decides what to accept, what to reject, and how to guide the story forward.

Chapter length: 6.06 min.

Chapter 2 is now complete after our editing and review process. Before moving forward, we follow the same continuity procedure to make sure the finished chapter is properly saved, organized, and aligned with the rest of the book structure.

At this point, you should have a clear working process for continuing your book chapter by chapter with AI assistance. You will understand how to draft, review, revise, check continuity, and prepare each chapter before moving to the next one. Additional lessons may be added in the future to expand this workflow and help strengthen your writing process even further.

Chapter length: 9.55 min.