A Glimmer in the Gaslight

This is a writing exercise and was entirely inspired by a recent Top Story from the wonderful Vocal creator Lana Lynx. Lana's story stemmed from her wondering what it would be like if dead authors, particularly dead Russian authors, posted their story ideas and WIPs on Facebook. Please check out the truly amazing and amusing results.

I thought it was such a brilliant idea that I immediately wanted to try something like this myself. I was also astonished to discover from reading Lana's story that she reads Tolstoy, War and Peace, every few years. I have never dipped into Tolstoy's seminal work, but I did start to read Anna Karenina (one of Lana's favourites) as a young man. I must learn to read Russian to see if there is anything I have missed in translation. Please take a look at Lana's highly entertaining (and much more succinct than Leo T) story:

For my version of this exercise, I thought I would try something similar but decided on a single living author, rather than a bunch of dead guys. This approach provides the additional excitement that the chosen author might want to sue me for... well whatever authors sue other authors for when they think they are poking fun at them and/or messing with their IP rights. Others might also object to the way I have used 'artificial intelligence' (so called, despite not being in the least bit intelligent) for the exercise. In my defence ("Your Honour") I do so because I find it interesting learning how generative applications can be put to practical use. If you think AI is the work of the Devil, please feel free to stop reading at this point.

For the purpose of this exercise, I have chosen the author Sarah Waters. She has written such wonderful novels as Tipping the Velvet, which is, if you don't recognise the allusion, a Victorian euphemism for cunnilingus. In this case, a specifically girl-girl sexual act. Waters is one of my favourite living authors, having read three or four of her novels. I thought it would be fun to see what my 'AI' friend Gemini would come up with if I fed in a request to generate something in the style of Ms Waters. Here is the actual string input I used to generate the piece:

generate a 300 word to 500 word length extract from a new novel written in the style of Sarah Waters

The following text was generated by Google Gemini based on the above text string prompt. It is reproduced verbatim (but with my formatting) in the interest of greater understanding of the so-called 'AI' ability to generate natural language narrative. If you choose to read this, please do so critically. You might like to form an opinion based on the questions I have posed at the conclusion of the extract.

The rain, when it came, was less a shower and more a damp, persistent sigh against the windowpanes. From my perch in the parlour, I watched it bead and stream, distorting the already blurred outline of the Hackney houses opposite. The gaslight, newly lit and buzzing faintly, cast a sallow, tremulous glow across the worn floral carpet, doing little to dispel the gloom that clung to the corners of the room like cobwebs. It was a gloom, I often thought, that had settled into the very fabric of the house since my aunt’s passing, thickening with each passing week until even the brightest afternoon felt shadowed.

I picked up the needlework again, though my fingers, stiff with a chill I couldn't seem to shake, fumbled with the delicate silk thread. It was a tedious affair, this tapestry, a gaudy floral arrangement that my aunt had begun and left unfinished. Each stitch felt like a tiny act of burial, drawing the bright colours into the sombre background. My mind, however, strayed from the monotonous rhythm of the needle. It drifted, as it always did in these quiet, rain-soaked evenings, to the letter tucked beneath the chipped ceramic inkwell on the mantelpiece.

It had arrived that morning, tucked amongst the usual bills and circulars, its envelope thick and creamy, addressed in an elegant, unfamiliar hand. The seal, a curious crest of intertwined thistles and roses, had pricked my curiosity sharper than any needle. Inside, the words were precise, formal, yet carried an undertone that sent a faint tremor through me. A summons, of sorts. An invitation to a world I’d only glimpsed in hushed whispers and scandalous newspaper articles. Lady Sybil, the letter declared, required a companion. A discreet, educated young woman to assist with her correspondence, her formidable library, and her — the word was carefully chosen — ‘social engagements’.

I glanced at my reflection in the polished surface of the mahogany table, seeing a pale, unremarkable face framed by hair too sensible for any real adventure. What could Lady Sybil possibly see in me? And yet, the very absurdity of the invitation was its chief allure. Beyond these rain-streaked windows, beyond the suffocating familiarity of Hackney, a different life beckoned. A dangerous glimmer in the gaslight.

End of AI-generated text

What did you think? If you are familiar with the writings of Sarah Walker, did it capture her style, her subject matter? Was the writing lucid, interesting and readable. Did it spark any kind of curiosity and perhaps make you want to continue to read the story? Did you worry that the wicked AI might have stolen these words from the author or perhaps cobbled together sentences from some of her existing works?

If your answer to the final question was 'yes', you might like to consider the following text which was also generated by Gemini to "Show thinking" as some computer programmer put it, when writing the algorithms that produced this apparently new feature.

Here's an extract from a new novel, written in the style of Sarah Waters, to get you started.

A Glimmer in the Gaslight

Aug 15, 11:16 AM

Open [the story text document]

This draft is written to evoke the characteristic atmosphere, subtle tension, and period detail often found in Sarah Waters' novels, and is suitable for a 9th-10th grade reading level.

Let me know if you'd like to explore this character further, perhaps delve into the specific details of Lady Sybil's invitation, or focus on a different aspect of the setting!

You can see from the above narrative that the title of this story (as posted by me on Vocal) was provided as part of the generative response to my text string prompt. I initially gave the piece a different title but quite liked 'A Glimmer in the Gaslight' so went with that as my final title.

Look carefully at the paragraph starting "This draft..." If you are not familiar with Waters's work, let me tell you that this reads like a very astute summary of the flavour of many a Waters novel. I particularly like the description of 'subtle tension,' which is a hallmark of her writing.

Back to the exercise. I did say that this was a writing exercise, didn't I? The exercise is to use your favourite generative 'AI' application to produce a fragment of a story that you would want to continue to write. Alternatively please feel free to use the above extract as a starting point. As far as I can establish, there is currently no jurisdiction in the world that has enforced an application to protect copyright, or any other intellectual property right, in text output generated by a generative AI application.

The idea is that you then continue the story, with or without the original AI narrative. You could include the narrative verbatim, as I have. You could paraphrase the ideas as part of your own narrative, adjusting as required, or you could start your writing where the AI program left off. Entirely up to you whether, or how much, you use anything generated. For the purposes of this exercise, please make a note of any text used that is AI-generated, so that we know that everything else is your own work.

If you complete this exercise and publish the results, do please link your story here, in comments. If I like it, I might well send a $5 tip.

WINNER UPDATE

Congratulations to Matthew Fromm for his humorous take on how AI can rewrite history, earning him a coveted $5 tip:

Thanks for reading