Writing Experiment: “Seed & Continue”

Written By Rachel Blumenthal

Writing Experiment: “Seed and Continue” 

inspired by Vauhini Vara’s “Ghosts”


Try using Perplexity/Claude for this exercise. You will “seed” AI with your own sentences, prompting it to “continue” the narrative. You will keep “seeding” AI with more and more sentences, marvelling at, and perhaps rejecting, the various directions AI attempts to take with each iteration.

Prompt 1:

I'm going to write a sentence, and then you can finish the piece. Here's my sentence: When I think about the play Othello in relation to my own life, I start to wonder more about the character of _____.

Read the AI output, and meditate on it for a few moments. Then, shake it off. Your goal is to add your own details, find your creativity, and “bring to life” your story. Add another sentence, like this:

Prompt 2: 

Now I'll give you two sentences, and you can finish the piece. When I think about the play Othello in relation to my own life, I start to wonder more about the character of ____. She/he/they reminds me of.. [insert some detail or event or person in your own life. Make it personal!] 


Read the AI output, and meditate on it for a few moments. Then, shake it off. Remember, you don’t have to “use” what AI offers. You can and should go in a different direction! Now, Add another sentence, like this:

Prompt 3: 

Now I'll give you some more sentences, and you can finish the piece. When I think about the play Othello in relation to my own life, I start to wonder more about the character of Bianca. She reminds me of…[Continue writing fresh sentences that interweave your personal life and experience with thoughts you have about the play.]

Read the AI output, and meditate on it for a few moments. Then, shake it off, and, and continue the pattern.

Reflect:

  • Learn a bit about author Vauhini Vara, and her part GPT-authored piece, “Ghosts.”

  • Discuss: What did you observe or feel while trying this exercise? What surprised you? What disappointed you? What strategies did you find yourself using to tell a story that felt true to you? What AI outputs felt “predictable,” and why?

  • Move to the side of the room that reflects your thinking: Yes, I would try this technique again. No, I would not try this technique again.

Rachel Blumenthal
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