How to Write a Book With AI — Writers Quake In Their Boots

Would you read a book written by an AI? We did. And it wasn’t just text prediction. It was story. Pacing. Theme. Character arcs. No human prompts, no edits, no intervention. But what does that mean for art, culture, copyright law and IP?

Brian Naughton asked Claude 3.5 Sonnet to write a novel from scratch. What he got back was The Echo Chamber, the first full-length novel written, planned, and revised entirely by AI. The result raises real questions. Can a machine tell a story that moves you? Does authorship still matter when intent disappears?

This week on Thinking on Paper, Mark and Jeremy sit down with Brian to talk about the process, the limits, and what this might mean for writing, meaning, and the future of art.

Please enjoy the show. And share with a curious friend.

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Links:

Thinking On Paper: ⁠www.thinkingonpaper.xyz

⁠Read The Echo Chamber: ⁠https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0F8N4S64Q/⁠

Read the Echo Chamber Github: ⁠https://github.com/brian-naughton/the-echo-chamber⁠

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(00:00) Introduction to AI-Authored Literature

(00:46) The Role of AI in Creative Writing

(02:41) The Echo Chamber: The First AI Written Book

(06:06) Managing the Writing Process with AI

(09:30) AI Master Prompts

(10:51) Character Development and AI's Choices

(13:51) The Human Element in AI Writing

(17:03) Reflections on the Writing Experience

(20:24) The Future of AI in Literature

(24:12) AI Art: What Happens Next?