I did it!
Setting the AI a grammar test and finishing the first draft - can it get better than this?
Can AI write my newsletter for me?
After my research breakthrough with AI a couple of months ago, I've been experimenting with different tasks it can help me with. Finding comp (comparable) titles to novels I believe are similar to mine: yes. Finding novels with similar themes to mine: mixed results — the AI turned judgmental on me, telling me off for using the word "infidelity" and refusing to co-operate. The differences between the Welsh spoken in North Wales and that spoken in South Wales: not really (what it gave me was confused and confusing).
So how about writing - the new task that tech companies are claiming AI can do. Can it help me write this newsletter? I asked Copy.ai to help me. Let's find out how well it did...
How easy is it to generate newsletter content using AI? A lot of people are skeptical about AI, especially when it comes to something as personal as creating content for their business. They’re afraid that it won’t be good enough, or that it will make them look unprofessional.
However, the truth is that AI can help you create amazing content for your newsletters. All you need to do is give it the right instructions and let it do its job – which is exactly what we’ll show you how to do in this article.
The answer is, it depends on what you need. If you’re trying to create a newsletter that contains only specific types of content, then AI can be an asset. But if you want to create newsletters with a more general focus, then AI may not be the best option for you.
So far, so generic. So what about if I ask it to write me something on a specific topic?
I chose commas. Because that should be easy enough, surely?
There are many things that we take for granted in English, and the comma is one of them. It can be easy to forget that there are different rules when writing in British English compared to American English.
A common mistake that many people make is using a comma to separate two independent clauses. This is not correct in British English, although it may be acceptable in American English.
This is a big problem because the comma can make or break your sentence. It can change the meaning of what you’re saying and make it incorrect, which will confuse your readers.
The most common mistake I see with commas is when people use them incorrectly.
I love cookies, and I love pizza.
I love cookies, but I don’t like cake.
I love cookies however they are made.
Here’s a tip: if you can remove the comma and the sentence still makes sense, then don’t use it. For example, “I love cookies but I don’t like cake” is fine without the second comma because you can remove it without changing the meaning of what you said.
Use an Oxford comma when the sentence is about two or more items and the list is open. For example: “I went to the store and bought apples, oranges, bananas and kiwis. [Kat: But it isn’t even using an Oxford comma in its own example.]
Note: If you’re using commas to separate items in a list, then use a comma after every item. Otherwise someone might think that you forgot one of the things! [Kat: I have no idea what it means with this second sentence.]
You can also use a comma to separate two independent clauses. An independent clause is one that could stand alone as its own sentence, like so: “I love cookies, but I don’t like cake”. You can also use commas to separate lists of things (like “apples and bananas” or “one, two, three”).
If you want to add emphasis, try putting a comma at the end of the sentence. For example: I love cookies, but I don’t like cake.
I don't know about you, but I find this incredibly confusing, especially that last statement about creating emphasis by using a comma at the end of a sentence. In fact, the only thing I can safely say after reading this content through is that this AI appears to like cookies. A lot. But not cake.
I think I'll stick to writing my own newsletters for some time to come. I couldn't possibly hand my newsletter content over to anyone or anything that did not like cake.
(And if you’re interested in how to use commas properly — and not like an AI — ProWritingAid has a great article running through 12 rules for commas.)
What I've been up to recently
I. Have. Finished. My. First. Draft.
Yes, finally.
It turns out that a strong talking-to and sticking up those orange Post-It notes on the wall was what I needed to get the words down on the page.
And now I am trying to follow all that advice that says that I absolutely should not be working on it and should instead allow it to marinate for a while.
In his excellent book, Refuse To Be Done: How to Write and Rewrite a Novel in Three Drafts, Matt Bell suggests giving yourself space of at least a month in which your novel finally leaves your daily thoughts. He calls this "lived time" and it allows you time away so when you return to your novel, you'll do so fresh.
It's proving challenging for me, though. I've been working on it for two-and-a-half years; leaving it untouched for even a few days is difficult, let alone for a month or two.
I'm trying to let the words of Hilary Mantel guide me:
"I have to take a deep breath before I start the first full revision. I used to hate myself for procrastinating , but now I see it might be wise. You need to pause in holy fear at what you've done, and make sure you don't wreck it in panic."
Matt Bell also suggests writing something else during this "lived time, preferably in a different voice or a new perspective.
As part of my attempt to follow his advice, I'm going to enter the HWA/Dorothy Dunnett Short Story Competition — 3,500 words set at least 35 years in the past.
I have a couple of ideas already floating around in my head. And neither of them is set during the Second World War. Talk about pushing myself out of my comfort zone.
What I've been reading and watching recently
I Have Some Questions For You - Rebecca Makkai: Set in 2018 and 1995, this is the story of a film professor and podcaster returning to her boarding school to teach for a semester and perhaps also to investigate the murder of her former roommate. I say perhaps, because Bodie spends the first few chapters making it clear just how much she isn't interested in doing that. And we quickly understand just how much this has consumed her for the past few decades. I adored this novel. Rebecca Makkai's writing is engaging and appealing and spiky - a combination I cannot resist.
Joan - Katherine J. Chen: A retelling of the life of Joan of Arc that I liked but did not love. Katherine Chen's writing is delicious, but I just wasn't grabbed by the story, unfortunately.
These Days - Lucy Caldwell: Set over four days during the Blitz that hit Belfast in 1941 (I bet you were getting concerned there about the lack of Second World War books, weren't you?), this short novel follows two sisters, dipping into their lives and those around them. I dog-eared so many pages of this novel and then went back and underlined passages. I wasn't surprised when I learned, halfway through reading this, that Lucy Caldwell is also a writer of short stories. Each chapter could almost be read as a standalone story, and yet she has still woven them all together so intricately that it works as a novel. This is one I will be returning to.
Stranger In The House: Women's Stories of Men Returning from the Second World War - Juliet Summers: Fascinating tales of the women at home and how they dealt with the return of their menfolk from the war. Fascinating, inspiring, tragic, heartwarming - this non-fiction book covered the gamut of emotions.
On the screen, I’ve rewatched Darkest Hour, the story behind Winston Churchill’s first months as Prime Minister in the spring and early summer of 1940. We even persuaded the oldest boy to watch along with us. His verdict? “Quite interesting.” And from him, that’s glowing praise.
I also gave A Small Light a go. This series retells the story of Miep Gies, a Dutch woman who risked her life to hide the family of Anne Frank during the war. I only made it halfway through the first episode, though. I just found it too modern in some places, but not in the knowing, tongue-in-cheek manner of a series like The Great (which has such fun when playing with the past). Instead, A Small Light seemed to be modern in dialogue and in some sensibilities (but not all) and yet still clung to the past rigidly in other ways. For me, the balance was off.
Until the next time,
If you like this newsletter, you can buy me a virtual coffee - coffee always keeps me going ☕