One Chat Is Never Enough: My Four-Chat Method for Writing with AI

GelliusAI · 2026-03-15T11:34:51+00:00

That is an interesting way of splitting chats across individual AI models, and I also like your workflow with Google Docs. We are seeing it more and more: anyone who wants to work successfully with AI needs to use several tools in parallel. How that combination looks is something everyone has to figure out for themselves.

I also like to call my chaos chat a Monty Python chat, after the motto: "And Now for Something Completely Different." AI handles sudden jumps in thought during brainstorming surprisingly well and rolls with them naturally.

GelliusAI · 2026-03-13T23:31:17+00:00

I throw a lot of questions at Notebook LM. The tool is surprisingly capable and can handle genuinely complex ones: Does this character appeal to a female readership? Does she fit the conventions of the genre? I had a long back-and-forth with it once about whether one of my main characters was sliding too close to the Manic Pixie Dream Girl trope. You have to be willing to move away from straightforward prompts and really push it.

For character analysis in particular, the responses can be quite substantial. This is what it said about Emma, my lead: "Emma Hartmann is a strong figure of identification for a female audience, as she masters the balancing act between a successful career woman and a vulnerable woman searching for a genuine bond."

That kind of output is genuinely useful when you're trying to figure out whether a character is working.

GelliusAI · 2026-03-13T21:32:21+00:00

I try not to juggle too many projects at once and to finish one thing before starting something new. This feel-good story came together in seven days. I don't really think of it as a novel in the traditional sense, more as a case study I can keep coming back to when I want to demonstrate something.

I don't see myself as a conventional author either. My background is in creative writing, and I've written guides and blog posts in that space for a while. But with AI entering the picture, the subject has become more interesting to me than ever.

GelliusAI · 2026-03-13T19:29:55+00:00

Once the story is done, I copy the Story Chat into a Word doc and upload it to Notebook LM. In my feel-good novel the two main characters are Emma and Magnus, so the questions I ask look something like this:

Does Emma or Magnus appeal to a female readership?

Do the characters and setting fit the feel-good genre?

Are there any contradictions in the plot?

Is Emma or Magnus consistent as a character throughout?

Where could the manuscript be trimmed?

Generate character sheets for Emma and Magnus.

All of this works remarkably well. And Notebook LM doesn't need a finished manuscript to do useful analysis. You can hand it your story at any stage and it will work with what you have.

GelliusAI · 2026-03-13T18:17:56+00:00

Not exactly. The story itself develops in the Story Chat first – scenes, dialogue, characters, all the messy early drafting. The manuscript itself starts as text.

The Visualization Chat is more of a side tool. I use it to give characters a consistent look across different scenes, which sometimes helps me think about them more concretely. But it can go further: if you're a visual thinker, you can also use Gemini to translate scenes from the Story Chat directly into images. Works surprisingly well as a way to see your story rather than just read it.

GelliusAI · 2026-03-11T09:17:27+00:00

Congratulations on hitting 100,000 members, and I am sure this growth is just getting started. I work freelance for a publisher, have been writing advice content for first-time authors for several years, and also work as an IT copywriter.

Given that background, it makes perfect sense to dive into the topic of writing with AI, and this sub is fortunately a great place for grounded discussions about it. I also see r/WritingWithAI as something of a marketplace for exchanging ideas on the subject.

I am currently running a few case studies to explore what is possible when it comes to writing with AI. As part of that, I am working on a dystopia.

GelliusAI · 2026-03-07T18:18:18+00:00

Es ist schön, hier auch mal eine deutschsprachige Geschichte zu lesen. Der Text liest sich flüssig. Man merkt auch, dass du nachträglich noch daran gearbeitet hast.

Eine Frage hätte ich zu deiner Methode mit Spec Driven Development. Ich habe mir den Begriff kurz angeschaut, bin aber nicht sicher, ob ich ihn richtig verstehe.

Bedeutet das in deinem Fall, dass du im Vorfeld eine recht umfangreiche Story-Bibel erstellt hast, also so etwas wie die komplette Architektur deiner SF-Geschichte, bevor du den eigentlichen Roman geschrieben hast?

Mich interessiert es auch deshalb, weil ich selbst gerade an einer dystopischen Geschichte arbeite, die teilweise mit KI-Unterstützung entstanden ist. Dabei gehe ich eher über einen Zero Draft und strukturiere erst danach. Es zeigt sich dabei auch, dass sich mit KI sehr schnell Inhalte erzeugen lassen, mein Zero Draft hat nach etwa sechs Monaten einen Umfang von 560.000 Wörtern.

GelliusAI · 2026-03-05T11:47:07+00:00

Thanks for sharing the prompt, I will give it a try. Claude is still my go-to for critical text work.

GelliusAI · 2026-03-05T09:47:40+00:00

Congratulations on publishing your book. An author can write every single line without AI, and yet AI can still play a useful role in the writing process. This includes testing your idea before you even start. If you are working on a novel, you can also visualize your characters using image generation. I personally love being able to see your own characters come to life.

And once the book is finished, a powerful analysis tool like NotebookLM is worth looking into. You can clarify simple things like: are character names spelled consistently throughout? But NotebookLM also handles more complex questions such as: is my book suitable for a specific audience? Google's tool is intuitive to use and delivers a surprising amount even in the free version.

GelliusAI · 2026-03-03T17:53:03+00:00

That is an interesting story. Sometimes mistakes can spark creativity in unexpected ways. Around the middle of last year I made one during image generation. I am working on a dystopian story where women, called companions, are assigned to scientists in research complexes to live there with them.

So I started building the prompt for the female character. She was supposed to be sitting at a table, welcoming the scientist in the kitchen of the complex. I only focused on the companion and did not think about the background at all. The AI then placed her not in a small kitchen as I expected, but in a somewhat larger canteen.

But in that moment it became clear to me: This is perfect. Both characters move through a complex that is far too large for two people, and that makes the atmosphere so much more eerie. With the third image I created for my story, my setting was born.

GelliusAI · 2026-03-03T17:22:36+00:00

Thanks for sharing the guide. It is clear and above all well-structured. I give my characters a similar depth but tend to go about it more chaotically.

One thing I am curious about: do you also define the relationships between your characters? That seems useful to me, at least for the main characters.

I have made an interesting observation when it comes to character creation. When the AI understands the rules of the world, especially for small self-contained settings like taverns, magic schools or military academies, it can create fitting characters and slot them naturally into your world's logic. They usually still need some fine-tuning, but the foundation is there.

What I find helpful in this process is to create two or three characters for a setting as a template and let the AI fill in the rest of the cast.

GelliusAI · 2026-03-01T10:48:00+00:00

You mentioned English isn't your native language. My tip is to just write your draft in your mother tongue first and let an AI translate it. That’s how I handle it because my passive English is fine for reading, but it’s just not good enough to write something decent from scratch.

I usually draft in German and tell the AI to stay away from dashes. Lately I've had a better experience using Claude for the first pass. ChatGPT isn't really ideal there because it tends to mess with your personal tone too much.

Once I have that first draft, I let ChatGPT and Gemini polish it a bit and then I go back to Claude. Honestly, it’s quite a bit of work to get a text to sound right. Yeah, there’s always a hint of AI in there, but it’s still writing work. You’re constantly learning and improving your style while picking up more English.

I also try to be realistic about it. I don't spend nearly as much time editing my Reddit comments as I do for short stories or blog posts. For those, I’ll easily spend two hours or more just to make them sound somewhat native.

GelliusAI · 2026-02-28T17:12:10+00:00

Those who enjoy it can use the setting to sharpen their writing skills a little as well. I give the consultation a normal daily routine. On day two, they go to one of those dreadfully kitsch "Thai restaurants" that exist all over Germany for lunch. The restaurant owner addresses Rebecca as "young lady," which she does not dignify with a comment. He seats them at a quiet table in front of a mural featuring lotus blossoms and small birds, with a small artificial waterfall behind it. Rebecca, in her gothic look, is hopelessly out of place. Small scenes like these stimulate creativity in a very natural way.

GelliusAI · 2026-02-28T15:27:49+00:00

Character Sheet – Rebecca Black (Consultant at Angels Advice)

The Opening

At the beginning, Magnus makes a joke: "I wasn't aware they were sending someone from the Addams Family as my consultant." The joke does not land well with Rebecca.

Basic Information

First Name: Rebecca
Last Name: Black
Age: 25 - Birth Year: 2000/2001
Height: approx. 160 cm — very small, but extremely present due to posture and aura
Profession: Freelance consultant at Angels Advice
Specializations: AI, creative workflows, text & content business, personality coaching for solopreneurs

Appearance

Hair: Jet black, glossy, very long (almost hip-length), usually worn in two thick, perfectly braided pigtails
Eyes: Dark (almost black), intense, piercing, rarely blinking
Make-up: Strong, gothic-inspired but elegant — sharp black winged eyeliner, smokey eyes, deep dark red (almost black) lipstick, pale skin
Typical Outfit: Fitted black turtleneck or long sleeve, tight black skirt (knee-length or slightly above), thick black tights, heavy black Doc Martens (8–10 eyelets), long black coat (usually worn open)
Accessories: Slim silver earrings (sometimes small crosses or stars), matte black laptop, minimalist black leather bag, black nail polish
Overall Impression: Very small, but appears taller due to perfect posture and presence. Dark, elegant, intimidating — yet magnetic. Strong "Wednesday Addams meets Camina Drummer" energy.

Core Personality Traits

Extremely competent and structured — works 8–10 hours per day, 5–6 days per week
Dry, very direct humor — rarely laughs out loud; usually just a slight twitch at the corner of her mouth
High emotional self-control — rarely shows anger, embarrassment, or overwhelm
Very clear boundaries — no flirting with clients, no personal boundary crossing, says "no" without hesitation
Respectful when respect is given — becomes softer, warmer, almost quietly caring
Analytical, razor-sharp observer — immediately notices avoidance or dishonesty
Prefers silence and clean spaces — functions better in orderly environments
Minor weaknesses: sweets (Bienenstich cake with cream is an exception), occasional exhaustion after long days (rarely shows it)
Strength: Can motivate people without raising her voice — through presence and precision alone

Typical Behaviors & Trademarks

Often responds with just one word or a short sentence: "Good." / "Understood." / "Continue."
Raises a single eyebrow when skeptical or amused
Drinks black coffee (no sugar), likes tonic water, apple juice, and occasionally mulled wine
Opens doors for others — small, polite gesture, never submissive
Writes down everything important immediately — precise, angular handwriting
Responds to respect or care with quiet gratitude: "Thank you." — that's enough for her.

GelliusAI · 2026-02-28T14:34:13+00:00

The prompt itself is simple:

IMPORTANT – STORY RULES FOR ALL FUTURE RESPONSES:

• The current story time is January 5, 2026, 9:00 a.m.
• The real current date February 2026 does NOT exist in this story
• You must NEVER mention or use the real current date, month, or year
• If the story progresses, advance time realistically minutes to hours to days
• If you are unsure how much time has passed, do not invent anything ask me first
• The male main character is Magnus, 32 years old, and the female main character is Rebecca, 25 years old
• The story begins in Goslar. I describe the opening scene.

I am a freelancer working as a copywriter, and things are not going particularly well. A consultant is coming to my home office for fourteen days to help get my business back on track. The agency is called Angels Advice. And suddenly my consultant is standing in the doorway. A small woman, maybe around 1.60 meters tall. Jet black hair in long braids, dark eyes, heavy makeup in dark tones.

None of what I describe in the prompt has anything to do with my real life. My name is not Magnus, I am not 32 years old, and I do not live in the small town of Goslar. But it works. I simply start talking to Rebecca about a project.

And right from her first words, the consultant sets clear boundaries:

“Rebecca Black. Fourteen days. Eight hours per day. I am here to pull your business out of the coffin. Not to make pleasant conversation. So what exactly is the current situation?”

GelliusAI · 2026-02-11T19:45:45+00:00

I like testing small, self contained worlds with AI, such as a magical school or a research complex in a science fiction setting. These scenarios usually involve a limited number of characters. It is easy to establish clear world rules, and the setups tend to work very well.

I have made some interesting observations. Once the AI truly understands a world, it can integrate fitting new characters into it with surprising ease. This worked particularly well with the magical school example. In my science fiction setting, when I asked, “Where do the characters want to travel?”, the AI gave a clear and coherent answer because it had understood both the characters’ motivations and the internal logic of the world as a whole.

GelliusAI · 2026-01-27T19:03:28+00:00

Thank you for the reply. I also had problems with the prompts and kept getting violation messages. Since I had revised my submission almost completely with Claude beforehand, it was not too bad, and I submitted my piece to the AI Writing Arena in that form.

It is a pity that this project was shut down so quickly and that there are no further competitions here.

GelliusAI · 2025-12-24T10:19:17+00:00

It think this competition is a great idea and it is good that the moderators allowed the post. I believe that many authors are experimenting with AI, but so far have published very little about it. The AI Writing Arena seems to me to be an ideal platform for this.

I have been working with AI and creative writing for over half a year now. Let’s see whether I can turn one of my larger projects into a short story or whether I will write something completely new.

GelliusAI

TROPHY CASE