This is my first writing project with a writing partner that’s an AI engine. I visited the Creative Help tool from the USC Institute for Creative Technologies and wrote the first sentence, then prompted the AI to contribute. From then on, we traded sentences for awhile, creating the opening of a story about Andrew, somewhere out there in the fog.
It’s a fine day in the village, or so we assume, each huddled in our huts and tents, peering out into the thick fog that moved in last month and has refused to leave. I have an idea: somewhere else we’ve been, I’ve got to work out something about Andrew and I can’t wait to see what it is. It’s a simple matter of wiggling into wetgear, donning respirators, protecting our eyes with simple wards draw with spit and ash, and then we’re out in the fog, sliding our feet carefully along the uneven ground to avoid hidden obstacles. The shadow is gone. The sun is gone. The clouds are streaming down the sides of the road and I’m sure they’ll be there before they’re ready to go. Somewhere out in the clover field is Andrew, pinned to crossed beams and acting as this season’s scarecrow: a great honor! I am a little drunk, my breath is going out and my hair is falling back and forth.