Serenity Lewis Author

The Creative Process and AI

When I started writing, my tools were simple: Google Docs and Google Search. As I continued writing, I quickly discovered both the benefits and limitations of those tools. I moved my manuscripts into Microsoft Word while continuing to use Google as a starting point for researching the subjects that found their way into my books.

By the time I wrote The Tranquility Witch Trials, my process had evolved again. Scrivener became my primary writing software because it allowed me to keep my manuscript, character information, notes, and research together in one place.

Marketing presented a different challenge.

I’ve been fortunate to work with an amazing artist who designed my logo and has created photography for my author brand. But promoting books on social media requires a tremendous amount of visual content- far more than one artist could reasonably be expected to create within the time and budget available to me.

When I decided to write Dancing in the Shadows artificial intelligence had become increasingly accessible and I decided I was willing to learn how this new technology could support my creative process. I quickly discovered how much AI could do, but I also decided that responsible use and transparency were most consistent with my values.

As I became familiar with ChatGPT, I even gave my creative assistant an identity.

I’m pleased to introduce Sage!

Sage helps me proofread for spelling and grammar, provides another set of eyes during the editorial process, and saves me considerable time when I’m exploring potential character names, settings and starting points for research. AI-assisted image generation has also given me the ability to create the volume of visual material needed to support an ongoing social media marketing campaign and to experiment with visual concepts as my stories develop.

AI has become another tool in a creative process that has evolved from Google Dos, to Word, to Scrivener, and now to something I couldn’t have imagined when I published my first book.

I believe technology can be incredibly useful. But the characters, the stories, the experiences behind them, and the final creative decisions are my own.

So, in true Serenity fashion, I asked Sage to create an image of herself and this is what she gave me…