How to Train Your Stephen King Beta
Creating a reusable ChatGPT beta reader modeled on Stephen King
“The road to hell is paved with adverbs.” — Stephen King, On Writing
Prolific horror writer Stephen King’s guide to writing/memoir, On Writing, appears on many a list of “The Best Writing Craft Books,” and it’s one of my personal favorites for its stories behind the stories, drug-addict anecdotes, and solid writing advice.
So, since I’m currently editing a dystopian, psychedelic, climate-horror, holiday story—Acid Christmas (forthcoming this year), I decided to put ChatGPT to the test to see if I could create an Ai beta reader modeled after Stephen King to provide me with editorial feedback on scenes from my novel.
This process is currently free and very easy to do. I did it in nine steps and it took around 30 minutes.
You can use this process to create a beta reader from anyone you want, so long as the person has given many public talks on writing, or has published books on writing craft.
I’m sure this would also work for other types of pursuits and feedback. For example, you could have Seth Godin critique your marketing strategy, or get Sting to offer suggestions on your new song’s chord structure, etc.
I also attempted to make ai images combining Stephen King with characters from cartoons, as I thought this would be funny, but they aren’t perfect, kind of like my Beta Stephen King…
The Beta Stephen King (BSK for short), however, provided some useful feedback, so I’ll explain how I made it in case you want to use the technique yourself.
And if you don’t, and you prefer to interact with real writers, I also cohost a free, weekly Zoom writers’ support group every Thursday at 8 PM EST with author Lainey Cameron. Request to join the group here. Learn more about the group here.
After you do this beta creation process once, you will not need to repeat it because ChatGPT will save your chat and you can resume using your tool. It will remember the discussion and training.
Another bonus: it works faster than a human.
But wait, shouldn’t you use a human to beta read?
Yes, a beta reader is usually a wonderful human who reads your novel/essay/short story before it’s published and gives you feedback on the characters, plot, pacing, etc.
Now, I love humans, there is no substitute for the human mind, but sometimes you want feedback fast, and maybe it’s 2 am, or maybe your favorite beta reader is busy having a baby. Every tool has its use, and extra eyes on the manuscript can sometimes help you get unstuck, even if they are Ai eyes. If ChatGPT can approximate a regular human beta reader, well, I’ll take it when needed, and if it can imitate Stephen King's feedback… Whoo hoo.
Only you can decide, but let’s try.
How to Train Your Beta King in Nine Steps:
Start a new chat
Establish mutual understanding
State your intentions
Name your beta
Ask it to beta-read your Text
Seek clarification on anything vague
Correct errors
Exhaust it
Save your beta for future use
Let’s go through the nine steps in detail:
1. Open and login to ChatGPT
Click: https://chat.openai.com/
Login, then start a chat.
2. Establish mutual understanding of what a beta reader is.
3. Tell ChatGPT that you’re trying to make a beta reader.
Prompt: I would like you to beta read in the style of Stephen King using the writing advice he's given publicly over the years. Is that something you could do?
ChatGPT: I can certainly provide you with writing advice in the style of Stephen King based on his publicly available advice over the years. If you have any specific questions or concerns about your writing, feel free to ask and I'll do my best to help!
4. Name your Beta so you don’t have to keep repeating yourself.
Prompt: Ok, I would like to create a shorthand prompt for this activity. Instead of typing out, "Please provide feedback on the following text in the style of how Stephen King would teach a writing class based on his book On Writing and other public talks he's given on the craft of writing, I will just say "BSK" the following text:
ChatGPT: Ah, I see! That makes sense. Go ahead and provide the text you would like me to provide feedback on, and when you're ready, you can simply say "BSK" and I'll do my best to offer writing advice in the style of Stephen King.
5. Ask it to BSK and Paste Your Text
The shorter the scene, the better ChatGPT will perform.
Prompt: BSK: (paste your text.)
**(The rough draft of the scene I was editing is pasted below as an example. This was a first draft, so don’t judge me!)
Vybes kept his body close to hers as they moved through the airport and Gretchen grinned over her good luck. Of all the guys in this hotel, despite her plus size, she’d bagged a hot one. I should never be insecure about my body, she thought; everyone has their own taste. Lots of guys like bigger girls. They were definitely going to smash. She could tell. No way he would be getting so close otherwise, practically undressing her with his eyes, and he kept looking at her chest and even her crotch. Hey, why not? Everyone in the hotel was probably horny from being cooped up, and not like she had a girlfriend anymore. They were both as single as a slice of pie.
“Like I said, I don’t know where this tunnel exactly is.” She showed him the image she’d snapped during the mayor’s power point of the airport property, including an outline of the tunnel beyond the south fence of the property, but no indication of the entry point.
“I’ll follow you. Lead the way.” And he did, like a tall, gigantically-tal puppy. Since she’d been forced to move in with a Portuguese family with kids who didn’t speak any English, she spent most of her time wandering the airport anyway, but she had yet to find the tunnel. They needed to look in new places and unfortunately most places were restricted, off limits. She directed them to the adjacent terminal which she hadn’t explored as much. Everytime she looked at the young man he grinned. What a happy guy, she thought, what luck. She never landed guys this hot. He was maybe the cutest guy she was ever going to bang. But where? Not her room, and he had two roommates too. Plus, the way his white chick friend eyed her earlier, with jealousy or suspicion, that girl probably had the hots for him too. Maybe a bathroom would have to do… The tunnel search served as the perfect excuse to scour the building for a private spot.
She led him down the escalator to the lowest floor. In the dim light, reduced-wattage light, with all the windows completely packed in with snow, a spooky liminal atmosphere cloaked the baggage claim. Her breath caught in her throat and she halted. “Is it me or it’s fucking creepy down here?”
“I wish we could go outside,” he said.
“Oh it’s way too cold.”
“I know,” He put his arm around her, “Don’t be scared.”
Had she appeared scared? Wow, he was really perceptive. Her lady parts switched on and she turned her body to face him, sliding her arms around his waist. This was going to be so, so good. They stood positioned like two kids at a middle school dance, eyes on eyes, hands on hips and shoulders. Their heights differed by at least a foot. She licked her lips and inhaled. Was he going to kiss her?
But he didn’t, not yet.
“The tunnel,” she said.
Beta Stephen King: Sure, I'd be happy to offer feedback on this text in the style of Stephen King's writing advice. Firstly, Stephen King often emphasizes the importance of concise and clear writing. In the second sentence, the phrase "despite her plus size" could be rephrased to something like "with her plus-sized figure" to make it clearer and more concise.
Additionally, the sentence "No way he would be getting so close otherwise, practically undressing her with his eyes, and he kept looking at her chest and even her crotch. Hey, why not?" This feels a bit disjointed and could be revised for better flow.
In terms of characterization, it's important to show the reader the character's motivations and desires, rather than telling them outright. For example, instead of stating "Her lady parts switched on," it might be more effective to show Gretchen's physical reactions through her body language and actions. This can help the reader connect more deeply with the character and understand their emotions more fully.
Finally, Stephen King often advises writers to trust their instincts and write what feels true to them, even if it's uncomfortable or controversial. While this text contains some potentially controversial or sensitive topics, such as body image and sexual encounters, it's important to approach these themes with sensitivity and care, while still staying true to the character and the story.
Overall, with some revisions to improve clarity, characterization, and sensitivity, this text has the potential to be an engaging and compelling read.
6. Seek clarification on anything vague
Prompt: How would I improve clarity?
Beta Stephen King: To improve clarity in your writing, you can start by focusing on your sentence structure and word choice. In the given text, there are a few areas where the sentence structure could be simplified to make the meaning more clear.
Some of the descriptive phrases in the text could be toned down to avoid unnecessary distractions. For instance, in the sentence "Since she’d been forced to move in with a Portuguese family with kids who didn’t speak any English, she spent most of her time wandering the airport anyway," the phrase "with kids who didn't speak any English" feels like an unnecessary detail that doesn't add much to the story.
By simplifying your sentence structure and focusing on the most important details, you can improve the clarity of your writing and make it more engaging for your readers.
7. Ask it to correct errors
A beta reader normally wouldn’t do this, but I say, why not!
Prompt: Do you see any grammatical errors in the scene?
Beta Stephen King: Yes, there are several grammatical errors in the scene. Here are a few examples:
"practically undressing her with his eyes" - This phrase could be rewritten to "practically undressed her with his eyes" to improve the grammar.
"what luck. She never landed guys this hot." - This sentence is missing a conjunction, such as "and" or "but." A possible fix would be: "what luck, and she had never landed guys this hot."
"Their heights differed by at least a foot." - This sentence could be more grammatically correct if written as "Their heights differed by at least a foot from each other."
Overall, I would recommend reviewing the text for other potential grammatical errors and clarifying any ambiguous phrases.
8. Ask for more until you exhaust it
Prompt: Is that all the errors? Please list every error.
Beta Stephen King: Sure, I'd be happy to provide a more comprehensive list of grammatical errors in the text. Here they are:
"despite her plus size" - The phrase "plus size" should be hyphenated as "plus-sized."
"I should never be insecure" - This phrase could be rephrased to "I should never feel insecure" to improve the grammar.
"Lots of guys like bigger girls" - The word "bigger" could be replaced with "curvier" to make the sentence more clear.
"They were both as single as a slice of pie." - This metaphor could be improved by using a simile instead, such as "They were both as single as a person living on a deserted island."
"like a tall, gigantically-tal puppy" - This phrase has a redundant adverb and should be rewritten to "like a gigantically tall puppy."
"since she’d been forced to move in with a Portuguese family with kids" - This sentence could be improved by adding a comma after "family" to separate the two independent clauses.
"Everytime she looked at the young man he grinned." - The word "Everytime" should be spelled as two separate words, "Every time."
"He was maybe the cutest guy she was ever going to bang." - This sentence could be more grammatically correct if written as "He was perhaps the cutest guy she would ever bang."
"But where?" - This sentence could be improved by adding a comma after "But" to separate it from the previous sentence.
"Not her room, and he had two roommates too." - This sentence could be improved by adding a conjunction, such as "and," to make it a complete sentence.
"Plus, the way his white chick friend eyed her earlier" - This sentence could be improved by adding a comma after "Plus" to separate it from the previous sentence.
"Maybe a bathroom would have to do" - This sentence could be improved by adding a comma after "Maybe" to separate it from the previous sentence.
"In the dim light, reduced-wattage light" - This phrase repeats "light" unnecessarily and could be rewritten to "In the dim, reduced-wattage light."
"Her breath caught in her throat and she halted." - This sentence could be improved by adding a comma after "throat" to separate it from the previous clause.
"he put his arm around her" - The pronoun "he" should be capitalized as "He."
"her lady parts switched on" - This phrase is awkward and could be rewritten to "she felt aroused" to improve the clarity.
"Was he going to kiss her?" - This sentence could be improved by adding a comma after "her" to separate it from the previous clause.
I hope this helps!
9. Save your beta
ChatGPT automatically saves your chat history and generates a name for it. Either keep the auto-generated name or use the pencil icon to edit the name to something easy to remember.
The next time you need Stephen King to beta read work, just click the chat to return to this conversation and BSK your new text.
Conclusion
Beta Stephen King’s suggestions weren’t all great, but some were useful. BSK also missed some, for example, “undressed her with his eyes,” is kind of cliché and I think Stephen King would suggest rewriting that.
There are also serious limitations to the system in terms of length. The free version of ChatGPT cannot analyze your whole novel like a human can; it’s currently too much text for the system. It can only read sentences, paragraphs, scenes, or short chapters. Even with longer chapters, the system falls apart.
So, unlike a human beta reader, it can’t offer feedback on things like story arc, character development, or novel pacing, key Beta Reader tasks, as these require reading the entire book.
BSK is much better at line editing than story analyses.
Still, I used some of the suggestions to rewrite my first paragraph:
Vybes kept his body close to hers as they moved through the airport, and Gretchen grinned over her good luck. Of all the guys in this fiasco, despite her plus-size figure, she’d bagged a hot one. I should never be insecure about my body, she thought; everyone has their own taste. Lots of guys like bigger girls. They were definitely going to smash. She could tell. When they spoke, his gaze lingered on her curves, tracing the contours of her body with an intensity that made her feel both seen and stimulated. And hey, why not? It wasn’t like she had a girlfriend anymore. They were both single as a slice of pie.
I was kind of “stuck” on this scene, so this activity also helped me gain momentum to finish it and move on.
Is this method copyright infringement? I don’t think so because the writing it references is publicly available. If I tried to sell this as an app to people and called it “Stephen King Beta,” or something, then I’d probably need to license his name, but for personal use, I think this tool is fine to make.
In fact, there are applications that do similar things to this, like Autocrit, but this method I’ve presented is free. Autocrit is currently $30 per month.
In the future, I’ll try training a Kurt Vonnegut beta reader, which was suggested by
and also Toni Morrison and Margaret Atwood beta readers.Now You
Will you test this process?
How do you feel about using Ai" in your creative work?
Who is your dream beta reader?
Great idea, and a fun way to use Chat GPT. I'm also a shameless fan of the AI images. All around fun read here!
Pretty neat!