
The opening act to your blockbuster writing adventure. Here's a brief overview of what you will learn in this course.
Download the evolving workbook. Check back here when new content is added to the course, as the workbook will also be updated.
Where AI becomes your magic wand for spellbinding story ideas.
In this introductory lesson, you will harness the power of artificial intelligence to enhance your fiction writing skills. Specifically, you will explore the capabilities of ChatGPT, which has proven to be a formidable tool for crafting compelling fiction narratives. This lesson will guide you through the use of ChatGPT, from creating an account to mastering the interface. For those committed to delving deep into AI-assisted writing, the option to upgrade to GPT-4 for advanced functionality will be available. Expect to engage in hands-on activities, including crafting poems and stories, as you learn to command the AI to produce creative content that might surprise even seasoned writers.
Where your AI gets into character, and your stories get into shape.
5 Reasons to assign a role in ChatGPT
Here, you'll learn to give ChatGPT specific roles, such as a professional writer, editor, or enthusiastic reader, to shape its responses to your needs. This technique enables ChatGPT to delve into its extensive knowledge base and offer tailored advice for your novel or fiction project. By understanding how to set the scene for AI, you will receive relevant guidance on creating worlds as vivid and intricate as those found in stories like Harry Potter, complete with rich themes and characters. As you progress, the course will cover more advanced topics like plot and character development, equipping you to leverage AI for crafting compelling fiction narratives.
Brewing a cauldron of captivating story ideas with a dash of AI.
You'll dive into the exciting process of novel creation, even if you're starting without any ideas. You'll learn how to utilize AI to brainstorm and develop story concepts, mainly focusing on crafting a Western novel. By assigning specific roles to AI, like that of a professional writer specialized in action-packed Westerns, you can generate and refine ideas that bring the Wild West to life. Expect to explore the creation of characters like daring outlaws and fearless lawmen and weave tales of adventure and survival in the untamed American landscape of the 1800s.
Your existing story ideas take center stage. In this lesson, you'll learn how to utilize ChatGPT to enhance your storytelling by plotting out your story structure and developing your characters. You'll find tools to refine your narrative, craft intricate character arcs, and weave compelling themes. We'll use an example involving gothic horror and vampires, delving into the psychological and emotional depths of your characters. By the end, you'll have a clearer vision of your protagonist and antagonist and a solidified plot to enrich your writing journey.
Embark on an exploratory journey through Joseph Campbell's concept of the Hero's Journey, a storytelling framework that has profoundly influenced narratives across various media. You'll learn about Campbell's revolutionary idea of the Monomyth and how it presents a universal, one-size-fits-all template for storytelling that resonates across cultures and times. Additionally, the lesson will cover Christopher Vogler's adaptation of Campbell's theory for modern writers and screenwriters, providing a distilled version of the Hero's Journey into 12 stages. This lesson aims to enhance your understanding of storytelling's universal language and its components like heroes, villains, and transformative adventure, drawing parallels between epic stories and our life experiences.
Explore the 24-chapter plot structure devised by Derek Murphy. This structure is a composite of various narrative frameworks, such as the Hero's Journey and the three-act structure, designed to streamline the novel-writing process. You will discover how to effectively divide a narrative into 24 purposeful chapters, ensuring each one contributes to making the story compelling. The lesson will dissect the structure into three acts, using a fictional character, Regina, to demonstrate the journey from an ordinary world to embracing a heroic destiny, facing trials, and achieving self-realization. This engaging framework balances the creative freedom of storytelling and the strategic placement of plot points, aiming to equip you with a tool to transform their writing into an enthralling experience for readers.
Harness the power of artificial intelligence to create a compelling novel outline. You'll learn to guide ChatGPT in generating a 24-chapter novel structure tailored to blend action and romance in a Wild West setting. We'll explore how to seed ChatGPT with creative prompts, manage the continuity of your storyline, and fine-tune the generated outlines to your vision. By the end of this session, you'll be adept at using AI as a co-author, shaping raw ideas into the blueprint of an engaging narrative.
We'll organize our chapters in Google Docs. You'll learn how to efficiently transfer your text without formatting issues and the importance of manual editing to ensure a clean, numbered list of chapters. We'll also explore how to use Plottr—a specialized tool for managing your book's plot. You'll gain skills in downloading templates, uploading chapters, and detailing plot points for each chapter. Expect to dive into the subtleties of defining plot steps and learn how to use software to manage subplots effectively. This is a hands-on lesson, preparing you for the next stage of crafting engaging scenes for your readers1.
Delve into the art of crafting subplots within your stories. You will learn the significance of subplots in adding depth and complexity to your narratives. Through examining chapter outlines and identifying challenging moments in storytelling, the lesson will guide you in reverse engineering the journey toward a climactic event. Specifically, the lesson will focus on creating a believable and engaging subplot around a 'secret weapon' revealed in the narrative's climax. We will develop the origin of such an element, its integration into the story, and the logical progression leading to its reveal. By the end of this lesson, you should be able to seamlessly weave subplots into your stories, enhancing the overall richness and engagement of your writing.
You will uncover the core of storytelling: characters. You'll see why we remember characters more vividly than plots and how they connect us with the human experience. You will learn about character archetypes from Christopher Vogler's perspective, understanding that your story can include a variety of characters. As you dive into character design, you will focus on key figures like the hero, who is central to your story; the mentor, who guides the hero; the threshold guardian, who tests the hero; and the herald, who sets the hero's journey in motion.
Welcome to the AI Character Lab! You're about to step into a creative kitchen where, instead of food, characters are on the menu. You'll begin by outlining your character's traits, like fears, dreams, and quirks. With ChatGPT as your sous-chef, you'll add layers to their backstory, crafting dialogue that brings out their unique voice. You'll challenge your characters, pushing them into scenarios that test their mettle and reveal their depth. Throughout this course, you'll ensure your hero remains consistent yet complex. Get ready to meet your hero and create a character as real as any living person. Let's start with the basics in the next lesson.
This lesson will guide you through a three-part psychological profiling method inspired by the CIA to craft characters that resonate deeply with your readers. From backgrounds that shape destinies to personalities that define interactions and logic types that dictate decision-making processes, you'll uncover what makes each character tick. Dive into understanding their past to forecast their future actions and prepare to answer critical questions about their motivations and potential. Prepare to transform your character sketches into full-fledged beings ready to leap off the page.
Populate your story with compelling characters that fit established archetypes. You'll discover how to utilize AI, like ChatGPT, to brainstorm and develop characters that align with your narrative. We'll also look at how characters can embody multiple archetypes and serve dynamic roles within your plot. Specifically, you'll learn to integrate these archetypes to enrich your protagonist and other key players in your story. By the end of this lesson, you'll have a set of characters that are tailored to enhance the plot you've created.
Delve into the Enneagram personality system—a tool older than time, shrouded in the mystique of ancient traditions, yet refined for contemporary understanding. You'll learn to categorize your characters into one of nine distinct personality types, each with their motivations, fears, and desires, giving you a robust framework for character development. By applying the Enneagram, you'll give life to characters as complex and unpredictable as real people. Don't just craft a character—unravel their psyche and predict their every move. Take the test as your character, and let the results guide you in creating a persona that jumps off the page.
Learn to craft unique fantasy characters for your novel by integrating elements from role-playing games and artificial intelligence. You'll discover how to use RPG systems like Dungeons & Dragons or Pathfinder as templates to define your characters' traits and abilities. Whether your story unfolds in medieval times or a futuristic setting, these resources provide a wealth of inspiration. We will also cover how to adapt these elements to fit your original world if you're not using a familiar fantasy setting. Importantly, you'll learn how to use these systems as a guide without infringing on copyrighted material, creating characters that are both original and richly detailed. This process will help you save time while ensuring your characters are well-rounded and engaging, ready to face the adventures in your novel.
Before writing dialogue, you need a plotline that shows the relationship between two characters. We can call this a “romantic subplot”, but it doesn’t always have to be romantic…it just needs to show how a relationship develops over the course of the story.
Learn the craft of writing compelling dialogue that differentiates between amateur and award-winning authors. You'll discover how to utilize ChatGPT or other AI tools to enhance your dialogue writing skills. The lesson will emphasize the importance of character psychology, scene specifics, and individual character desires in crafting believable and distinct dialogue. You'll practice creating character profiles and setting up scenes and then use these elements to guide your dialogue creation process. By the end of the lesson, you'll understand how to give each character a unique voice and use dialogue to advance the plot and develop relationships.
In this lesson, you'll dive into scene building, a crucial aspect of the craft of writing. Before starting a scene, you'll learn the significance of fully fleshed-out characters and a solid plot. You'll practice the dialogue-first approach—a structured, layered method of writing scenes for a novel. Key pointers include arriving late and leaving early in a scene to maintain interest, adding character descriptions, setting the mood, and incorporating character actions and internal thoughts. This lesson will guide you in structuring a scene around dialogue, ensuring that your writing is engaging and dynamic. By the end, you should be able to craft scenes that captivate readers with authentic dialogue and compelling narrative flow.
Build on your knowledge of scene construction, focusing on how AI, specifically ChatGPT, can assist you at each step. You'll learn to generate dialogue, craft detailed character descriptions, and create engaging settings. You'll also explore how to weave in sensory details and choreograph character movements within a scene. Additionally, you'll discover techniques for articulating internal character thoughts and refining your scene through revision. By the end of this lesson, you'll be equipped to use AI to enhance the depth and dynamism of your scenes.
In this lesson, students will explore the exciting process of creating their own customized ChatGPT robot or chatbot, tailored specifically to their novel-writing project. This customized bot will be intimately familiar with the student’s story and any additional information they choose to feed it, such as plot structure or character psychology models.
Key Learning Outcomes:
Understanding the Benefits of a Custom Chatbot: Students will learn why creating a custom chatbot is advantageous, particularly how it ensures the bot is well-versed in the specifics of their novel, thereby facilitating more relevant and accurate assistance.
Customizing ChatGPT: The lesson will guide students through the process of creating and customizing their chatbot in ChatGPT, including naming and giving it a distinct profile picture.
Uploading and Utilizing Custom Files: Students will discover how to upload essential files related to their story, such as plot synopses, character profiles, and specific research materials, to train their bot more effectively.
Interacting with the Custom Bot: The lesson will demonstrate how to interact with the custom bot for various aspects of novel writing, including story development, character building, and dialogue crafting, without the need to repeatedly input the story's context.
Efficient Use of ChatGPT for Story Development: Students will learn how to use their custom bot to develop specific elements of their novel, like character backgrounds or plot outlines, based on the information provided in the uploaded files.
Practical Application and Testing: The course will also cover how to test and refine the bot's understanding of the story and other uploaded materials for optimal performance in assisting with the novel-writing process.
By the end of this lesson, students will have a deeper understanding of how to leverage AI technology, specifically ChatGPT, to enhance their creative writing process, making it more efficient and tailored to their specific needs.
Start here before watching any of the workshops.
Welcome to our interactive storytelling workshop, where you'll dive into the world of action thrillers with the innovative assistance of ChatGPT-4. In this course, you'll step into the shoes of a fiction editor, tasked with sculpting a gripping narrative. Your challenge will be to craft a tale about a war-weary sniper turned hitman for a clandestine organization. Throughout the lessons, you will learn how to develop intricate plotlines, explore your protagonist's internal conflicts such as morality, trust issues, and PTSD, and blend elements of action, suspense, and romance. By the end of this course, you'll have the tools to create an action-packed story that thrills and resonates with readers.
Lesson Overview: In this lesson, we dive into the art of writing compelling action scenes using a custom chatbot named "Action Jackson." The focus is on enhancing your storytelling by integrating action elements seamlessly into your narrative.
What You Will Learn:
Creating a Custom Chatbot for Writing: Learn how to create a custom chatbot, tailored with specific documents and story outlines, to assist in writing action scenes.
Essential Ingredients for an Action Scene: Discover how to define and use crucial elements like character traits, setting, and specific action details to construct an engaging action scene.
Incorporating Psychological Profiles in Writing: Understand how to use tools like Myers-Briggs (ENTJ in this case) to add depth to characters through inner dialogues and thoughts during action sequences.
Enhancing Narrative with Descriptive Details: Learn how to enrich action scenes with detailed descriptions of characters and settings, creating a vivid and immersive experience for readers.
Iterative Writing Process with AI: Explore the process of developing and refining action scenes using AI, including how to adjust character dialogues and incorporate elements like sarcasm and personality traits.
Outcome: By the end of this lesson, you will have a solid foundation for starting and enhancing action scenes in your writing projects, leveraging AI tools to bring your narrative to life with dynamic and engaging action sequences.
In this lesson, you're going to pick up a couple of cool skills for making your stories come alive with AI, all while working on a thrilling fantasy adventure where two characters are sneaking into a savage gorilla encampment.
Using GPT on Your Phone: First off, I'll show you how to get the hang of GPT tools on your mobile. You'll learn to navigate the app, put in your story ideas, and see how the AI can offer different twists and turns for your adventure. It's all about making sure you can weave AI into your storytelling on the go.
Breaking Down Scenes with ChatGPT: Next, we'll dive into how to break a scene down into bite-sized pieces using ChatGPT. You'll map out settings, character actions, and dialogues right from our fantasy scenario. I'll guide you through crafting prompts that get you the best creative outputs from the AI, helping you flesh out your scenes with rich details.
These tools are here to boost your storytelling game, letting you partner up with AI to spin some really captivating tales.
Learn to craft dynamic and detailed combat scenes using AI tools like ChatGPT and Claude AI. Transform your fight sequences with randomized elements inspired by role-playing games for more engaging storytelling.
What You'll Learn
Prepare and use character profiles and RPG worksheets.
Generate and refine combat scenarios with AI.
Add authentic dialogue to your combat sequences.
Personalize AI-generated content to match your writing style.
Lesson Description
Writing compelling combat scenes can be tricky. You have the vision, but the details can be daunting—who swings the sword, who blocks the blow? This lesson will show you how to use AI to make your fight scenes come to life.
Getting Ready
Think of this step like prepping ingredients before cooking. You'll need character profiles, which can be kept in a Google Doc, detailing things like age, background, abilities, and speech style. Also, creating RPG worksheets for your characters (using systems like Dungeons & Dragons) adds structure and depth to your scenes.
Using AI for Combat
We'll use two AI tools: ChatGPT and Claude AI. ChatGPT helps create the initial combat scenario based on your characters and their enemies. For instance, if your characters are fighting a giant troll, ChatGPT generates a detailed RPG-style monster worksheet.
Next, input these details into ChatGPT to simulate the combat. By "rolling the dice," you introduce randomness, making each round of combat dynamic and exciting.
Personalizing Your Scene
Once you have the basic combat sequence, prompt ChatGPT to rewrite it in a narrative format suitable for your audience, like young adult readers. Ensure it’s thrilling and descriptive.
Adding Authentic Dialogue
Great combat scenes need engaging dialogue. This is where Claude AI shines. Provide Claude with the combat sequence and character profiles, and it will generate dialogue that fits your characters' personalities. For example, you can add a flirtatious conversation during the fight.
Final Touches
Review and refine the AI-generated content to ensure it matches your voice. AI provides a strong foundation, but your personal touch will make the combat sequence uniquely yours. Check out the attached PDF for a sample combat sequence between Rohan and Lavora against a giant troll.
By the end of this lesson, you'll know how to create detailed, exciting combat scenes that enhance your storytelling. Using AI saves time and introduces new ideas and elements. Let AI be your co-writer and take your fight scenes to the next level!
Ready to write like your favorite author? Learn how to create your own custom GPT that acts like a personal writing coach.
Dive into hands-on exercises where AI guides you step-by-step in mastering the style of legendary writers—all while keeping it 100% original and plagiarism-free.
Discover how to blend your unique voice with the flair of your favorite authors—without ever copying.
Get daily lessons and tailored feedback from your AI mentor to supercharge your storytelling skills and break through writer’s block.
In this lesson, you will learn how to create a workflow that helps you manage complex story elements with ease. Using a mind map, you'll organize your ideas into a structured format, allowing you to break down intricate plots, subplots, and character details step by step. You’ll also discover how to export your mind map back to ChatGPT, giving you a powerful tool to maintain continuity and keep your story elements accessible for future reference.
What if your biggest fan and toughest editor were the same person — and they never slept? In this lesson, you’ll learn how to train ChatGPT to become your ultimate reader: one who feels your story and thinks deeply about it.
You’ll be able to:
Hear emotional, real-time reactions to your writing (like having a fan club in your earbuds)
Get smart, constructive feedback on themes, symbolism, and pacing
Customize your AI reader’s personality and tone — funny, serious, poetic, or brutally honest
Build your own personal “feedback podcast” so you can literally listen to your story’s impact
By the end, you’ll have an AI reader who cheers, critiques, and helps you rewrite like a pro — all while keeping you inspired to finish that novel.
Revolutionize Your Writing with the Power of AI
Say goodbye to writer’s block and hello to unlimited creativity.
This course teaches you how to plan, draft, and polish your novel with cutting-edge AI tools — all while keeping your unique voice at the heart of every story.
What You’ll Learn
Defeat Writer’s Block: Generate ideas, plotlines, and dialogue instantly with AI that understands tone and emotion.
Master Story Structure: Apply frameworks like the Hero’s Journey and 24-Chapter Blueprint — built for AI collaboration.
Create Real, Relatable Characters: Use prompt engineering to deepen backstories, flaws, and motivations.
Write Dialogue That Pops: Blend your style with AI insights to make every conversation shine.
Build Your Custom Writing Partner: Design a no-code Custom GPT that knows your world, your lore, and your writing style.
New for 2026
While this course focuses on ChatGPT-5, every workflow and storytelling technique also applies seamlessly to other advanced models like Claude, Grok, and future large language models.
Includes downloadable Workbook
Use AI memory to maintain character consistency and long-form storytelling continuity.
Learn multi-AI workflows — combining tools for plotting, editing, and polishing dialogue.
Why Students Love This Course
Hands-on projects — write while you learn
Downloadable AI prompt templates and workbook
Lifetime updates for new AI tools
Supportive author community
Who This Course Is For
Fiction writers, novelists, and screenwriters eager to modernize their creative process
Educators, editors, and storytellers exploring how AI can elevate storytelling
Anyone who wants to write smarter, faster, and more confidently
Meet Your Instructor
Michael Wood, MEd, MS
Author, educator, and Army veteran with a passion for storytelling. Michael bridges years of teaching experience with hands-on mastery of AI tools to help you unlock your creative potential — one story at a time.
Join “AI-Powered Fiction with ChatGPT-5: Co-Create Your Novel
Learn to harness ChatGPT-5, Claude, or Grok as your creative co-author — and make 2026 the year your novel finally takes flight.