Revisiting The Shadow's Quarry

A Journey of Writing and Discovery

Have you ever embarked on a creative endeavor, only to find yourself trapped in the quicksand of writer's block? This is the story of The Shadow's Quarry - a tale that began years ago, faltered, and then was reborn through an unexpected partnership with AI technology.

Arun's Unfinished Story

Many years ago, I created Rumern, a character whose story had always felt unfinished. Like many of my favorite works, his story seemed to jump out of my usually jumbled mind onto the page almost as though the story was coming alive through me. Writing it felt effortless and was so intense for me, that I was sitting at my computer crying over the fate of the beautiful Eugaila even as I wrote the words. It was as though Rumern himself was showing me his story and I was simply the messenger trying to translate the vivid imagery and emotions into words on a page.

But the current ending of the story is not the one that I initially wrote back then. In fact, the original story ended with the destruction of Arun and the deep mystery of what had become of the two characters that had survived until that point. But this was not because it was the point at which I wanted to end the story. Instead, it was because I didn't know how to end the story and could not determine what exactly had happened after that suspenseful scene at the gates.

Battling Writer's Block

There's a unique kind of frustration that comes with leaving a story incomplete. It's like pausing a movie right before the climax - it nags at you and ultimately casts a shadow over your creative process. The same was true for Rumern's story. I was stuck, unable to see the path forward, and for years, I stayed stuck there.

From time to time, I would try to revisit the story in whatever location it had come to rest on external hard drives or laptops over the years. Always, I would think I had a plan for how to end the story, or I would have come up with a more grand idea. Maybe Rumern's story was part of a bigger story. Maybe it was the first chapter or an introduction to a novel. I felt so connected to this piece, that I always wanted it to have a greater fate than just being a short story that I finished and forgot about and maybe it was that pressure that made it more difficult for me to figure out how to move forward with it.

Turning to AI for Assistance

Enter artificial intelligence, a tool I turned to in my quest to untangle the web of Rumern's destiny. I had minimal experience delving into the world of AI as a software engineer at Amazon previously and was in an experimental phase where I was testing out the implications and uses of tools like ChatGPT for creative endeavors when the idea struck me. Why not see if ChatGPT had any ideas for how I could rescue Rumern from his decades-long purgatory?

I started by providing a sample of the story to ChatGPT and asking it to sum up my writing style. I figured this would be a good first step to help me understand what it meant for me to keep the ending of the story consistent with the parts that I had written years prior.

Much to my surprise (and yes, delight) ChatGPT quickly analyzed the passage and informed me that my writing style was characterized by:

* Intense Atmosphere

* Detailed Scene Setting

* Emotional Depth

* Character-Centric Focus

* Suspenseful Buildup

* Dialogue Dynamics

* Symbolic Elements

* Twists and Irony

* Shift in Tone

* Cinematic Writing

Having never had anything more than a few poems published in the past but having always been a hobbyist writer, this was the first time I had ever had such in-depth feedback about my writing style. But mostly, this helped me to understand what readers would expect for an ending to this piece and why everything else I had tried so far in my writing process hadn't seemed to fit the existing story.

What Didn't Work For the Story

Next, I wanted to see what the capabilities of ChatGPT were in this case. I gave it some information about the world that I had envisioned this story to take place in including things that I thought should be implied or even concealed from the reader entirely and then prompted it to suggest an ending to the story.

The response was honestly underwhelming, and this was how I realized that ChatGPT has a major limitation. Even though it could analyze my writing and even store information about my specific style, it could not emulate it at all. This will, of course, to the people who fear the rise of the machines and a full iRobot-style revolution, be a relief to hear. All jokes aside, it is a little comforting as an artist to be able to recognize the human element that AI cannot replicate. The passage that ChatGPT suggested was entirely devoid of imagery, emotion, or character and read like a complete exposition from a children's fantasy story.

But all hope was not lost...

The Spark I Needed

Although the passage that ChatGPT suggested didn't appeal to me at all as a writer, it was while reading it that I finally got the spark that had alluded me for years. In an instant, I knew how the story needed to end. I prompted ChatGPT to forget its most recent suggestion and to consider the new idea I had instead and asked it if it could give me an idea of how this new ending I wanted might look written out. Again, ChatGPT deviated from my style and tastes too much, but the opening sentence and descriptions of the cave gave me just enough of a visual kickstart to finally put me back into something like a flow state.

I immediately could see Rumern in the aftermath of the original story and I could feel again what he was going through and the words poured out onto the page the way they had years ago.

The important thing is that although AI didn't help me in the way I thought it would, I learned that as a writer, what you need sometimes is just inspiration and AI can absolutely provide that if you prompt it the right way. As a result, Rumern is no longer sitting in limbo taking up disk space on my laptop and in my head.

Conclusion

Interested in knowing more or seeing how the harrowing adventure of Rumern plays out? I invite you to delve into The Shadow's Quarry, one of several short stories connected to the land of Iridis. You can find them on my Substack linked below and stay tuned for information about any news on my published work. Also, check out my AI art and other creative works on my website AltNerdNoir.com! Feel free to share your thoughts on this collaborative writing experiment and join the discussion on overcoming obstacles through innovative means.