Paris Revisited: A Journey of Inspiration and Insight
From Montmartre to Manuscripts
So, here we are, right in the middle of Paris, specifically in the middle of Montmartre. We’ve rented a little Airbnb with a small garden, which is unusual for the center of the city of lights.
This is what life’s all about. Take time out from the day-to-day stresses, worries, or how you will meet your next deadlines. Perhaps you’re despairing of having something to write about for your next article?
Over the last few newsletters, I’ve touched on the perceived difficulties of finding something inspiring to write about. This weekend is a perfect illustration of why it’s pointless to worry.
Enjoying life that’s the most important thing.
My AI assistant suggests outlines, topics, or subtleties I hadn’t considered. The actual writing is all human me. The assistant also advises me when I’m being boring if I choose to listen.
Memories of Paris - Returning to My Second Home
I used to live in Paris a long time ago, and every time I come here, it feels like I’m coming home. My then-partner and I had a small single-story house in La Garenne Colombes, about a fifteen-minute walk from La Defense. So, it was not technically in the city, more like the suburbs or Banlieue.
I remember taking a ten-minute drive on Sunday mornings, parking on the Avenue de la Grand Armée, strolling along the Champs-Elysées, and enjoying the cosmopolitan feel of the city of lights.
I lived there for six years until 2001 when we broke up. I then moved to The Netherlands, where I met my wife.
I’ve no idea how many times my wife and I have visited Paris in the last twenty-plus years. This time, we’re taking our niece, her husband, and her mother-in-law, all visiting from Thailand.
Apart from our niece, this is their first time in Europe, so we’re squeezing in as much as possible into their ten-day vacation.
We arrived in the middle of Saturday afternoon. Despite the late-ish hour, we still managed to see the Basilica of the Sacré-Cœur, the Trocadero with its wonderful view of the Eiffel Tower, and the Notre Dame Cathedral.
Sunday will be less hectic, hopefully. One of their wishes is to see the Galeries Lafayette, the world-famous department store near the Opéra. Before that, a visit to the Champs-Elysees and then the Louvre. A more relaxed schedule today.
Chasing Inspiration in the City of Lights
Anyway, a subject change to what I wanted to write about today. This city has been an inspiration to many artists over the years. Living in the Netherlands is not much help, however. I needed something more.
I’ve been struggling to find the creative zone, or muse, for my current fiction project. I’ve tried complete silence, which helped sometimes. Then, I tried several different music genres to get my mind working. Nothing helped, at least not consistently.
What to try next?
I’ve been a patron of Joanna Penn, that’s Penn with a double N, for a while. I learned about this part of her fiction writing process by listening to Joanna‘s podcast, The Creative Penn Podcast For Writers. Joanna likes to go to a café and wear noise-canceling headphones, playing thunderstorms and rainstorms continuously while writing her fiction.
I decided to try it myself. You know what? It works.
I was able to focus 100% on my writing. The words flowed, and over one thousand words of creative writing later, I decided to call it a day. I have a subscription to Apple Music, and a simple search for “Rain and Thunderstorms” did the job.
Maybe it was just an exception that helped me last week; I will see after the weekend in Paris.
Soundtrack to Creativity
The first half of this week’s article was written on the go in Paris, mostly on my iPhone, although I wrote directly in Ulysses. So, everything awaited me when I finally found the time to sit in the usual spot and continue.
I’m playing the Thunder and Rain album again. It’s still early days, but it does seem to be helping. If it does help in the long term, it’s another piece of the puzzle for further developing the writing process.
Extra note: listening to Edit Piaf or Yves Montand transports me back to my life in Paris, but it doesn’t help with the creative muse.
I had thought to use it only when working on my long-form fiction project, but it seems just as helpful for short-form writing. As I said, time will tell.
Artisan Authorship and AI
I promised to share my progress last week in the ‘next month or so.’ Surprise, I’m writing about it again this week, albeit briefly.
I think Joanna Penn coined the term ‘AI Assisted Artisan Author’; if she didn’t, then I first heard the term from her. I can’t yet call myself an author; I haven’t published a single book. But this is the approach that seems to me to be a no-brainer.
Generative AI (GenAI) tools such as GPT-4 and Claude 3 are just that: tools. It’s how you use them that matters most. It must be done ethically; otherwise, what’s the point?
But what is the ethical use of AI tools? In my humble opinion, it’s using them as editorial assistants, giving constructive criticism and feedback on my human-generated text.
I have a custom GPT for these articles (note to self: I must upload the latest articles/newsletters). It’s trained on the body of my scribblings over the last year or so. It knows my writing style and suggests ways to improve a piece. I’ll implement some of the suggestions, but not everything (maybe I should listen to it more?).
This seems to work well enough for the weekly newsletter but not at all for fiction.
Chapter Challenges - Reinventing the Beginning
The king of creative writing assistance is currently Claude 3. It just feels right somehow where GPT-4 gives off a more business-like vibe. Unfortunately, Claude 3 isn’t directly available in the Netherlands, which is a bit short-sighted on the part of Anthropic. I have to access via Poe.com, which seems to work at least; a bit of a pain in the ass, though.
Over the weekend, it occurred to me that I need a more impactful first chapter. It needs to be upbeat and engaging to encourage readers to continue reading. The first chapter must hook the reader immediately and is the make-or-break point of any story.
If a reader’s attention isn’t high-jacked by chapter one, then you may as well forget it.
I have a couple of variations already written for the scene, which is currently chapter two of the project, but I’m struggling to get it right. Maybe I’m just a crap writer, or perhaps I need a kick in the behind.
I don’t have anyone to brainstorm with; none of my family are native English speakers, which is a problem. Worse still, the genre of the story is not their cup of tea.
Here is where GenAI helps enormously. I know it’s not the same as having a human sounding board, but it’s better than nothing.
I’ll let you know how it’s going soon, promise.
Final Thoughts
Paris continues to inspire and ignite the creative spark, whether it's finding the right soundtrack to write to or immersing oneself in the city's timeless beauty.
Oh, bollocks. I asked Claude 3 to write a Final Thoughts section, total over-the-top crap. I ditch everything apart from the first sentence of the nearly two hundred words generated.
See what I mean? GenAI without human input is either flat and lifeless or flowery bullshit. Take your pick.
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