The Author Revolution® Podcast

5 Things I Had to Unlearn to Embrace AI and Supercharge My Series Planning

• Carissa Andrews • Season 1 • Episode 255

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Imagine enhancing your creativity while cutting down your writing time drastically. What if AI could be your secret weapon for planning an entire book series? Join me, Carissa Andrews, as I reveal five crucial mindset shifts that have dramatically transformed my writing process by leveraging AI tools like ChatGPT. Say goodbye to the myth of the solitary writer and discover how an AI brainstorming partner can revolutionize your workflow, making it more enjoyable and productive.

Modern technology isn't just a luxury; it's a game-changer. Learn how breaking down the writing process into more manageable chunks with ChatGPT can boost your creativity and reduce overwhelm. From plot structure to character development and world-building, I’ll show you how to tackle each element separately. Plus, I'll share how AI can free you from the burdens of social media content creation and marketing strategies, allowing you to focus on what you love most—writing.

Many writers resist AI, fearing it might stifle their creativity. I'll debunk this myth and show you how AI enhances your creative potential, offering new ways to brainstorm, outline, and develop your stories. 

Get ready to embrace change with the "4 Books 5 Days Challenge," where we’ll plot an entire book series using AI, starting October 7th. This episode is packed with valuable insights on how AI and rapid releasing strategies can supercharge your planning and creative output. Let’s embark on this transformative journey and start your author revolution today!

Are you an author at a crossroads, feeling stuck & unfulfilled in your author career? Do you know deep down it's time for a change, but you’re unsure of the next step?

The High Vibe Author is the only transformational membership designed specifically for authors like you—those who are ready to break free from limitations & step into the abundant life they deserve. Click here to learn more.

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Go forth and start your author revolution!

Carissa Andrews:

Welcome to the Author Revolution podcast, where change is not just embraced, it's celebrated. I'm Carissa Andrews, international bestselling author, indie author coach and your navigator through the ever-evolving landscape of authorship. Are you ready to harness the power of your mind and the latest innovations in technology for your writing journey? If you're passionate about manifesting your dreams and pioneering new writing frontiers, then you're in the perfect place. Here we merge the mystical woo of writing with the exciting advancements of the modern world. We dive into the realms of mindset, manifestation and the transformative magic that occurs when you believe in the impossible. We also venture into the world of futuristic technologies and strategies, preparing you for the next chapter in your author career. Every week, we explore new ways to revolutionize your writing and publishing experience, from AI to breakthrough thinking. This podcast is your gateway to a world where creativity meets innovation. Whether you're penning your first novel or expanding your literary empire, whether you're a devotee of the pen or a digital storyteller, this podcast is where your author revolution gains momentum. So join me in this journey to continue growth and transformation. It's time to redefine what it means to be an author in today's dynamic world. This is the Author Revolution Podcast, and your author revolution starts now. Well, hey there guys.

Carissa Andrews:

Welcome to another episode of the Author Revolution Podcast. This is gonna be a fun one, because this is my first solo episode in what feels like forever. I've been interviewing so many amazing people this year that it kind of got away from me, and I've learned so much. I've taken on so much information, onboarded so much. It's been fabulous. But now we've got something new to talk about, and if you're anything like me, you've probably been taught to plan your books a certain way Pen to paper, hours of outlining and grinding through the whole plot holes the hard way. Now, if you know me, you know that I love testing out new technologies. You know that I love trying new things. And what if I told you that the biggest thing holding me back wasn't actually the writing process, but it was the mindset I was stuck in? So today I'm going to walk you through five things I had to unlearn in order to fully embrace AI as a tool and completely transform the way that I plan my series. Now, trust me, once you make these shifts, your writing process will never be the same, and by the end of this episode, you'll understand how to supercharge your series planning using AI and the exact mindset shifts I made to get there.

Carissa Andrews:

So, number one the first thing I had to unlearn was the solo writer myth, right? So writers are often taught that this process should be solitary. In fact, I just had a conversation on TikTok with an author who is very much an anti-AI. Brainstorming is everything that they should do on their own, and if you're utilizing ChatGPT, then you're not really a whatever. But this is just nonsense, right? It's not us or them, it's not just you and your imagination. Ai is actually becoming an incredible tool as a writing partner.

Carissa Andrews:

Now, think of AI as like your brainstorming buddy, helping you refine ideas, offering suggestions and catching things that you might miss. It's been one of the most revolutionary tools for me to feel less alone. Now I'm a solopreneur, right? Not only am I writing rom-com and I'm writing urban fantasy, and I'm writing rom-com and I'm writing urban fantasy and I'm writing nonfiction and I'm doing author revolution. I'm talking to you in this podcast, but it's all, for the most part, done in my home by myself. I mean, my husband, colin's here too, but he's usually running around or, you know, breaking walls or cursing because he's hit his finger with a hammer again. I don't know. He does a lot of things, but the point is like we are so solitary and then we've got so many things on our shoulders that AI is just kind of like a breath of fresh air. I have been writing for over a decade and I have been a solo writer for over a decade, and so having a tool like ChatGPT help me to bounce ideas from and understand something from a new perspective, or even learn how characters can speak, talk, walk, think differently than myself Totally, totally a game changer. So, for example, you can even use AI to brainstorm plot twists or develop character arcs, and I just did a class for Plot Geek Academy for Troy Lambert, on how to use AI to be able to supercharge your character design. It's so, so freaking good. I love it so much.

Carissa Andrews:

Okay, so there's just the solo myth that you have to be by yourself doing the thing and you know, slaving away for your words. Now there is a catharsis there. There is something that gets released when you're doing it on your own. But if you're doing this as a career and you've been doing it for a long time, or if you're feeling stuck, there is no shame in utilizing a tool to help you brainstorm, and not everyone has high strategic in their strengths, right, not everyone is high achiever, not everyone is high maximizer. Strategic isn't always a strong suit, and there should be no shame in utilizing a tool that helps you to be more strategic or more creative, because sometimes, when you have these conversations, you're able to brainstorm in new ways. I love it. I love it, and so don't let other people tell you how you can create or that you're not a true creator, just because you're utilizing another tool like ChatGPT, like Claude, to be able to understand your story better.

Carissa Andrews:

Okay, so mindset shift number two I had to unlearn the old school writing process. Now, what do I mean by that? We're conditioned to think that writing takes a long time. Right, especially the planning part. And if you're in the indie circles, if you're, you know, have been in the space for a long time maybe you're on the rapid release train, maybe you know that you can write and plan and publish faster, but for the majority of authors, we're taught that good writing comes from hours of grueling work. Am I right? I know I'm right. I've been here a while.

Carissa Andrews:

Right, but using AI, you can quickly generate outlines, tweak your world building and solve plot inconsistencies without wasting so much time, weeks and lots and lots and lots of effort. It doesn't have to be like that. So for me, when I'm trying to solve like tricky plot holes, I can literally tell ChachiPT what I'm looking for, how I'm planning out my series, what type of series it is. I'll typically start with letting it know the genre I'm trying to aim for. So what type of series it is. I'll typically start with letting it know the genre I'm trying to aim for, so that we can get really clear on reader expectations, so that we can get clear on tropes, that we can understand what it is that we're going to try to uncover. And we always start from those big boulders. Now I taught this in the plan.

Carissa Andrews:

Your series challenge as well that the big boulders are the most important things that we have to talk about first. So if you know what your big boulders are, aka the most important pivotal moments in your story, everything else can kind of fall around it, and so you don't have to go as detailed into an outline as possible if you at least know your big boulders right. But chat gpt can help you to rough out ideas, give you some more plot twist, concepts, things that you're not necessarily going to think about. Now, let's just say your character is an Enneagram 2 and you're an Enneagram 9. The two of you are going to think very differently about how to solve a problem. And if you have that mapped out with ChatGPT, you could talk to chat and say, hey, chat, my character's an Enneagram 2, and this is the scenario that's unfolding. How can I write a situation, or what type of situation would they put themselves in? How would they solve this problem as an Enneagram 2? And what you're going to find is that maybe they're going to problem solve it in a completely different way from what you would normally do it as. And now, all of a sudden, the story is going to feel more genuine. The characters', actions and motivations, the way that they handle things or say things, are going to be more consistent with who they are versus who you are. You see what I'm saying. It's so good.

Carissa Andrews:

And so my mentality when I was shifting into AI, when I was thinking about, like, how does this get to work for us? For me, obviously, the testing part of it was never an issue. I never had unlearned that, because that was something I wasn't afraid of. But learning how to understand, like the, the writings process and let go of some of the old ways, definitely was All right. So, number three I had to unlearn the fear of losing creativity. This is a big myth. Right, ai is going to replace creativity or water it down. Now, here's the thing. Here's the thing. Listen up, clean your balls out.

Carissa Andrews:

Ai amplifies creativity by removing the busy work and helping you to think bigger. Let me repeat that it amplifies your creativity by removing all the extraneous BS and helping you to think bigger. Now, energy flows where attention goes, yeah, and so the more energy you're putting on the bigger things, the bigger creativity, and less that you're having to focus on like the little things, the better. So I found that AI lets me focus on, like, the fun parts of writing. Right, so we're developing intricate characters, we're creating twisting plot lines and big emotional moments, and it handles repetitive tasks like scene details, things that you know if I'm trying to figure out, like where could this be set? What type of mood am I trying to bring in? What would make sense to make these, the readers, really engaged here? Okay, and it just having that concept.

Carissa Andrews:

I think this is another thing that a lot of people talk about too, where ai is a crutch, and that that could definitely be the case. Now here's. Here's a little caveat. If you're burnt out and you're feeling like you just don't know what the heck you're doing, ai can be a crutch because you're leaning too much into its knowledge versus you using your own creativity because you're so freaking fried. Or if you're brand new and you're not quite sure what you're trying to do, ai could also be a crutch because you're not learning to develop your skill. However, if you understand story structure, if you understand what your book's trying to become, if you understand what you're trying to say and you're utilizing it for planning and brainstorming, that's a completely different animal than having it write it for you. Okay, and there's nothing like to me.

Carissa Andrews:

Guys, there's no shame in utilizing a tool like AI to help you write your book If it's making you feel empowered empowered is the key. If you're feeling defeated, if you're feeling like you are trying to pull the wool over people's eyes, if you feel like you are getting away with something, these are all things that maybe should be red flags that you're utilizing AI in a way that is not so creative or not so like in tune with who you really are. However, we've embraced new tools throughout the dawn of time. This is just one more new tool that we're adding to our toolkit to do our jobs, to be more creative, to feel more in flow. Since I'll give you a little hint or a little side note.

Carissa Andrews:

Since I started using ChatGPT to help me brainstorm and plot out my books, I've had readers talk to me Like I've always considered myself a pretty good planner, right, and I am high strategic. It's my number two strength. But even since utilizing chat to create and understand my outlines better, I have been able to get reviews and testimonials from readers saying oh my gosh, these books just keep getting better and better. Her writing is getting better and better. And that's the power of taking off, like your brain, the things that aren't as important and allowing you to kind of just flow into the creativity of whatever's happening. It's so good guys, so good, all right. Thing.

Carissa Andrews:

Number four unlearn the need to do it all at once. Unlearn the need to do it all at once. What does that mean? Many writers, I think, feel this need to sit down and map out everything at once, or it's not real.

Carissa Andrews:

Planning Now, while I teach this, in four books, five days, that you can plan out your series of four books in five days. Technically, you could do it in less. It's just that I string it out so that you can plan out your series of four books in five days. Technically, you could do it in less. It's just that I string it out so that you're not getting overwhelmed with all the details that ChatGPT is going to throw at you. But AI lets you break the planning into digestible pieces and really focus on one element at a time.

Carissa Andrews:

You don't need to plan your entire series in one sitting because you can chunk it down and just like do a plot structure here today, character development tomorrow, world building after that, and especially if you're using a custom GPT that is dedicated to everything that you're building out, where it understands the plot, it understands your characters, it understands what your process is going to be Like. Once it has that information in the back end of the custom GPT, it will help you to continue to refine and build even more into it. And it's just, it's been so fabulous in keeping, like the world knowledge. It's almost like that, that world building Bible right, the book Bible that everybody talks about, series Bible and it keeps it all there to help you to be consistent, to help you have a tone, and then, once your stories are finished, oh my God, the things that you can do with it after that. When the books are done and it understands what you've written now, all of a sudden you have tools to be able to ask, like okay, we're going to have a sale on this series. What great tone should I bring out in my social media to be able to talk about all the cool things that are going on in this series? Or, like, how can I use certain hooks to be able to entice readers who love paranormal fantasy to engage with this particular series like the? The way you can engage chat gpt is really honestly endless and it helps you to do so much of the stuff that we're doing so much faster, takes, like I said, it takes so much of the brain power off of you and puts it on to chat so that you're able to focus on what you really like. You know how authors are always talking about, how, like writing their newsletter or doing their social media is not their fun suit, right, it's not their fun thing. Writing is. Well, now you can use ChatGPT to help you do those other things that are still important. It still helps you get the word out about your books, but you get to focus on the writing. See how good that is. It's awesome, all right.

Carissa Andrews:

So thing number five unlearn the resistance to change. Now, this is not typically a big one for me, right? I'm pretty malleable, I guess, when it comes to change. I like to see change, I like to lean into, but there's always that moment. There's always that moment where you're like do I have to, though? But when I feel the resistance to change, or that a new technology is coming, or I don't know that I want to try this yet I lean into that, because I typically find that on the other side of it, there's something really cool, right?

Carissa Andrews:

So the hardest shift for a lot of people, it's letting go of what has been a thing for them. What they've been told has to be like the way it's always been, and I used to think, you know, honestly, like way back in the beginning, I guess I didn't think that writers needed any real fancy tech. I thought they just needed to write. But then, you know, the first thing I did was go oh my god, I hate writing in Word. I hate it because it's all like one big flow and I can't find the things I want. And I want to go back and understand what I was doing. And then came Scrivener. Oh, scrivener was amazing, but then I can't do my layouts with Scrivener very well. So I, oh gosh, look at this vellum. Vellum's awesome, okay, great. And so I'm utilizing tools, I'm adding new tools as I realize certain things are necessary or that I need to be able to change.

Carissa Andrews:

And when I started using AI, I realized that I wasn't giving up control. I was actually regaining control of my time and energy and, interestingly enough, I realized just how burned out I was before that happened, before AI came in, because it's freed up so much time. And it's not that I don't want to brainstorm my series on my own, it has nothing to do with that. It's that I actually honestly feel more creative when brainstorming with a chat bot, because AI is like guys. There's another myth here that I need to dispel.

Carissa Andrews:

Ai is not stealing your content. Ai is not like trying to plagiarize everything you've written. If you feed your information into ChatGPT, it's not going to rewrite it for someone else. And now, all of a sudden, there's a copyright infringement. This is like you reading books, you reading books, they go into your brain. Yeah, once they're in your brain, they're jumbled up with all of the knowledge, all of the books, all of the words, all of the story structures you have ever incorporated into your brain, except AI generative AI does this on a much bigger scale and its level of understanding of story structure, of character, development of tropes, of how to get readers excited, of how to hit market trends, like all the things, is going to vastly outweigh the knowledge you currently have. But when it's doing that, when it's talking to you about how to plan your series, when it's talking to you about all the ways to be able to organize your thoughts, all of that stuff it's jumbled together.

Carissa Andrews:

It's not trying to pick one thing or the other, unless you're telling it specifically like I want to write this book and I want to use the same exact tone as Sarah J Moss. Now, whether or not it'll actually do that at this point is questionable, because I know that there are certain things that will flag in ChatGPT. It might not do it. It might be like oh, we can do something that's similar, but at the same time, you have to find your own voice right and you're not going to do that by saying completely mimic or copy someone else, and they're not. When it says copying, it's not going to be like oh, I'm going to rewrite a book that is exactly the same thing that they've already written. It's going to be in the same type of style, the same type of tone and that's.

Carissa Andrews:

You know, it's got its own hangups, it's got its own. You know pluses and minuses there. But for you, you have to. You have to learn how to incorporate the evolution of writing tools and learn to be okay with it. Just like Scrivener, just like Google Docs, just like Vellum, just like the typewriter and the computer, like all these things are ways that we were bringing ourself from one phase of writing to another. And AI is going to be a tool that is going to help so many of us continue to grow our creativity, continue to grow our knowledge, continue to be better at what we do.

Carissa Andrews:

And the people who are the naysayers, like this woman who is talking to me on TikTok these are the people who are set in their ways and that's fine, there's nothing wrong with it. But to assume that I'm not a writer, I'm not a creative, because I'm utilizing a tool that they're too afraid to try. No, no, I'm sorry, that's not how this works. What it is is that there are two modalities and both are right. There's not one right, not one wrong, and so whatever you find when it comes to AI, however you're feeling about it, however you're wanting to test it, it's the right way, right. If you only want to test it, as in I'm going to see what it's capable of in terms of writing a I don't know a recipe and not even touch your books, hey, more power to you, but at least you're understanding how it works. If you're willing to brainstorm and that's all you're willing to do with it, that's fine too. If you're willing to outline, or if you're willing to create characters, if you're willing to help, let it help you create your setting or your setup for your chapter. Whatever the amount of utilization is okay, it is right for you, and don't let anyone else tell you otherwise.

Carissa Andrews:

Don't be scared of these people who have pitchforks out there trying to tell you how to live your author life. This, obviously, is a much bigger thing. It's kind of the way that I feel about all things in general, because you're not going to tell me I have this little bit of a rebel thing. Maybe that's why it's not going to tell me I have this little bit of a rebel thing. Maybe that's why it's called author revolution, like I have a little bit of rebel in me where I'm like, no, you're not going to tell me how I'm going to create my author career, you're not going to tell me how I'm going to test out new ideas, test out new things and figure out what works best in my particular life and situation, and so I'm not going to do that to you. Either I'm not going to tell you you must do it this way or you're going to fail. Okay, I've never been that kind of person, and so you'll always see me rooting for the people who are willing to dip their toe into something new and make a potential change, look at transformation, see how they can be better or shift their perspective or try something that maybe they're too scared to try, because that's how we grow, it's how we evolve, and if these people are too scared to try, well then that's fine. Maybe they're growing in different ways, maybe they're reading different books, maybe they are going to different classes. They're still going to be learning in their own way, in their own capacity, right, all right.

Carissa Andrews:

So, to recap, here are the five things I had to unlearn and I think many authors have to unlearn when it comes to AI. Number one the solo writer myth. Number two, the old school writing process. Number three, the fear of losing creativity. Number four, the need to do it all at once. And number five, the resistance to change. So now that you know the mindset shifts, it's time to put them into practice. So if you're ready to embrace AI and make a massive leap forward in your series planning, I'm going to give you the opportunity, if you so choose.

Carissa Andrews:

If you want to join me in the four books five days challenge. We're going to be going through step-by-step as I show you exactly how to plot an entire series of four books in less than a week using ChatGPT. Now, I launched this last year, last October, and this year we're doing it again. In fact, I'm reclaiming October as Plottober instead of Preptober. I know there's a lot of people who are up in arms with NaNoWriMo. It's fine.

Carissa Andrews:

I personally have always liked the six-week writing sprint anyway, and so, while NaNo was my springboard, I never really utilized their platform in the way that a lot of other people do or have in the past. And so for me, it's time to embrace our bigger destiny, our bigger why? Our bigger? Like end of the year, let's get this stuff done, mentality ultimately right. And so, if you missed out on four books, five days, we're doing a live cohort. It's going to be freaking amazing.

Carissa Andrews:

We're starting next Monday, october 7th, and running through the 12th, so the five days technically is Monday through Friday. We're gonna have a mindset day on Sunday that opens up on Sunday, the 6th, and then on the 12th we're gonna have our live call where you can bring your questions about AI, about series planning, about writing your books, anything you wanna bring. Bring it that day. Now. Remember, if you keep doing things the same way, you're going to get the same results. It's time for a lot of us to try something new and I promise once you make these mindset shifts, you'll never want to go back to the old way of writing. You'll never want to go back to the old way of writing. It has like that old way has burned up. It doesn't exist in my brain anymore because of how revolutionary ChatGPT has been in my process, in the way that I'm going to be doing things into all that I am.

Carissa Andrews:

So if you want to get signed up, if you want to join the cohort this year maybe you missed it last year head over to authorrevolutionorg forward slash plotober. That's P-L-O-T-O-B-E-R, and it will send you right to the signup page there. Make sure that you use promo code plotober24. So P-L-O-T-O-B-E-R 24. And then you'll save on that process. It'll only be $88 instead of 150. So you're saving. I think it's like 41%, guys. So make sure you make sure you use that coupon code.

Carissa Andrews:

But I want you to know there's so much more coming. This month we're going to talk a lot about AI tools. We're going to talk about rapid releasing and what that looks like for me this year and going forward. There's so many good nuggets that we're going to be talking rapid releasing and what that looks like for me this year and going forward. There's so many good nuggets that we're going to be talking about in Plotober and I can't wait to share them with you. So, guys, thanks for listening. I can't wait to see what you create this Plotober or whenever with your newly supercharged planning skills. Head over to authorevolutionorg forward slash 255. If you want to be able to check out the links or download the transcript, all of it will be there as well.

Carissa Andrews:

I hope you're excited to try new things. I hope you're excited to think about how AI can really enrich your process for planning for growing. It's going to be amazing and you're going to love every step of the way. It is not the big scary thing so many people are making it out to be. It really isn be amazing and you're going to love every step of the way. It is not the big scary thing so many people are making it out to be. It really isn't, and you're going to enjoy it so much. All right, you know what to do. Then go forth and start your author revolution. Thank you.

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