Inside Creative Writing
Can a Scene Generator AI Help Me Write Better Scenes?
— a resource video —
Can a Scene Generator AI Help Me Write Better Scenes?
Yes, but not by replacing your creativity. Instead, it serves as a powerful tool to show you what’s been done before by thousands of other writers. Use it as a way to avoid clichés, overdone tropes, and overly familiar writing that your readers have seen before.
- The Value of Defamiliarization
- Challenging Expectations to Reveal Character
- Avoiding Clichés
- Making Descriptions Count
- Beware of AI's "Creative" Attempts
- Using AI Wisely
I’ve recently been exploring the role AI could play in creative writing, particularly in scene description, and decided to put a scene generation AI to the test. We go deeper in the video above, so I recommend you watch it.
This video is a companion resource to the a podcast episode called Should I Use AI to Write My Novel? that goes into the topic even deeper.
Can a scene generator AI produce quality, original prose? Or is its output just an average of what’s already out there?
To find out, I set a simple challenge: I asked AI to write a description of a post office from the perspective of a character standing in line. The goal wasn’t just to accept whatever the AI delivered but to critically examine it, find what’s worth using, and identify what isn’t.
Here’s what the AI came up with:
“The post office smells like paper dust and the faintest hint of stale coffee, like someone spilled a cup years ago and the scent never quite left. The line moves at a pace that suggests time itself slows down here, each person ahead shuffling forward in reluctant inches. A fluorescent light flickers overhead, buzzing like an annoyed insect. A woman near the front argues with the clerk about the price of a flat rate box, while a man two spots ahead shifts from foot to foot, sighing dramatically. The walls are lined with notices—one warning against mail fraud, another boasting about the efficiency of Priority Mail, though the bored-looking employees behind the counter seem to suggest otherwise. Somewhere behind me, a toddler whines. A woman taps her nails against her package in a steady, impatient rhythm. The person directly in front of me smells strongly of peppermint and wool, their coat shedding little gray fibers onto the tiled floor. I check my watch. Five minutes have passed; it feels like fifty.”
At first glance, the description looks solid. Impressive, even. It engages multiple senses and provides specific details. But upon closer inspection, it reveals a major flaw:
It’s completely average.
Everything described is exactly what you’d expect from any generic post office. There’s nothing unique or surprising here, nothing that truly makes the scene come alive. This highlights a fundamental weakness of AI-generated prose: it’s excellent at delivering what’s typical but struggles to deliver something original or memorable.
So, instead of simply using this description, I decided to use it as a starting point, illustrating how writers can harness AI-generated text to pinpoint precisely what not to do and brainstorm original ideas that stand out.
The Value of DefamiliarizationGreat writing uses “defamiliarization,” a technique that makes familiar things appear fresh and engaging. AI, by its nature, does the opposite. It aggregates and averages previous descriptions, giving us exactly what’s familiar, safe, and expected.
To write memorable scenes, we need to push beyond this. Let’s try it with the opening line from the AI:
“The post office smells like paper dust and the faintest hint of stale coffee.”
This is predictable. But what if we reverse this expectation? Instead, perhaps the post office today smells like a bakery. Maybe the employees are having a potluck, and the aroma of freshly baked cookies wafts through the air. Immediately, this reversal offers potential for character insight. Does our protagonist find the unexpected scent delightful or irritating?
Challenging Expectations to Reveal CharacterAnother AI-generated sentence:
“The line moves at a pace that suggests time itself slows down here.”
What if, instead of being painfully slow, the line moves unusually fast due to an incredibly efficient, drill-sergeant-like clerk barking orders at customers? This unexpected detail can deepen our understanding of the character: Do they appreciate efficiency, or does this brusqueness make them uncomfortable?
Avoiding ClichésAI often falls into clichés, such as:
“A fluorescent light flickers overhead, buzzing like an annoyed insect.”
While this is vivid, it’s also unoriginal. A better option is to seek a new metaphor or simile that surprises readers or to omit it entirely if it doesn’t add meaning.
Making Descriptions CountAI’s descriptive details, such as bored employees or sighing customers, are universally familiar and thus unnecessary unless they’re deeply relevant to your story or character. Instead, pick one unique detail. (perhaps the postal worker sings joyfully behind the counter?) and leverage it to provide insight about the character (do they love it or loathe it?).
Beware of AI’s “Creative” AttemptsCurious to see if AI could improve, I asked it:
“Make this original in a way that nobody else has ever heard or written before.”
The AI responded with a description filled with poetic attempts and dramatic language. But here’s the catch: AI can’t create original content; it can only remix existing writing. While it might sound fresh at first glance, it’s still just a composite of what’s already been done. It’ll tell you that it’s new and creative and original, but all it can do is rehash others’ ideas, even if you ask it to do more.
Using AI WiselyWhile AI isn’t going to replace your creative judgment, it can still serve as a useful partner to get you started, but not in the way most people are using it. It provides examples of what not to do, which can lead you to some interesting and creative places. Use AI to generate ideas quickly, then challenge yourself to reverse, modify, and defamiliarize those ideas to produce something original.
Ultimately, great writing happens when we push beyond what’s typical and expected. AI can give you a start, but only your creative judgment and intuition can deliver truly memorable scenes.
(Note: I used OpenAI’s ChatGPT 4o as the AI generator in this exercise.)
Have you experimented with using AI in your writing process? I’d love to hear about your experience!
If you’re looking for more writing tools for writing your novel, don’t miss our Creative Writing Tools resource and the recommended links below!
Talk to Us!We’d love to hear from you! If you have a question, a comment, a suggestion, or just want to tell us about your work-in-progress, give us a shout!
info@insidecreativewriting.com
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