Using ChatGPT to rewrite my last blog post in the style of Samuel Beckett, Raymond Carver and Dr. Seuss
Earlier this week I wrote this blog post about my experience using a plethora of AI tools to rejig and revamp this website. I dropped in a jokey throwaway closing line that I would ask ChatGPT to rewrite the post in the style of Samuel Beckett. Then I had a lightbulb moment and thought that actually might be a fun thing to try. And then I thought, why not also try rewriting the blog post in a few other styles and see what it comes up with. And while I was at it, why not generate some cartoonish images to go along with the posts. The results are hilarious and , honestly, not bad at all! Here’s how they turned out.
In the style of: Samuel Beckett
AI and the Abyss
(A dimly lit room. A single, flickering bulb overhead. A worn-out desk with a computer. The Creator sits hunched, staring at the screen. There’s a sense of weariness.)
THE CREATOR: (Murmurs to himself) Dive into the unknown, they said. AI, the future. The saviour for my site. But what is the use if one can’t understand?
(A pause. The sound of the computer humming.)
THE CREATOR: The code. The infernal code. WordPress whispered secrets I couldn’t grasp. PHP, a language alien to my tongue. One click, and darkness. An error, a void.
(He rests his head in his hands, then slowly lifts it.)
THE CREATOR: Where is the guide in this vast emptiness? The original architect, silent as the grave. The AI, ChatGPT, beckoning. But its riddles only deepen the abyss. A dance of questions, answers, more questions.
(He chuckles, a dry sound.)
THE CREATOR: And yet, in that dance, a glimmer. Code, a lifeline. But where to place it? How to use it? A labyrinth of FTP, of sections, of modifications. And at its end, light. The PHP, fixed. A small victory in the vast void.
(He rises, pacing slowly.)
THE CREATOR: The facade, the mask. The blog, hidden beneath layers. ChatGPT, my unlikely muse, offers another glimmer. The header, gone. The blog, revealed. Elation, fleeting.
(He paces more quickly.)
THE CREATOR: Visuals. Designs. Elementor’s magic, Canva’s canvas. AI, again, the silent helper. Images conjured, banners formed. A semblance of beauty amidst chaos.
(He stops, looking directly at the audience.)
THE CREATOR: But the end is never truly the end. Imperfections, inconsistencies. Excerpts, images, a mosaic of the past. Elementor’s AI, a tool, a guide, but imperfect. The voice, not mine.
(He fixes his gaze on the floor.)
THE CREATOR: Images, designs, the final touches. DALL-E’s creations, ChatGPT’s insights. Tools, all of them. Extensions of the hand, the mind. Yet, only as good as the hand that wields them.
(He sits back down, weary.)
THE CREATOR: What have I learned? AI, a marvel, a mystery. But in the end, just tools. The climb, steep. The journey, endless. The destination, uncertain.
(A pause. The computer screen flickers.)
THE CREATOR: Perhaps, one more experiment. ChatGPT, rewrite this tale, in your voice. And if you fail, fail better.
(The lights dim to black.)
In the style of: Raymond Carver
The Tinkering Webmaster
I never really understood tech. Most days, my computer and I stared at each other across the room, a mutual distrust hanging between us. But when my website started feeling like an old Polaroid, yellowed and out of place, I thought I’d see what these newfangled AI tools had to offer.
It began with the guts of the site. The backend, they call it. WordPress was my choice, a tool I thought I’d mastered. But when I clicked some link to update my PHP (don’t ask), it all fell apart. The screen glared back, an error message its only greeting. It felt like trying to cook a meal and setting the kitchen on fire.
The WordPress theme manual was no help. It had cost me a pretty penny, but its creator was silent as a grave. I turned to ChatGPT, an AI that’s supposed to have answers. Like talking to a mechanic who first needs to know everything about your car, it demanded specifics. After a long dance of questions and code, it gave me something that looked like a solution.
The next challenge was the face of the site. The front end. I’d put heart and soul into my blog, but it felt buried, hidden away from visitors. My AI pal whipped up a bit of code magic, and suddenly it stood tall, right where it should be. The thrill of it reminded me of those early days, typing away on my first typewriter, the world opening up before me.
Design was next. I crafted and shaped with modern tools for an old-school guy like me. It felt like progress, a step toward the future.
The final stretch was about polishing. Making everything shine. The posts, the images, the words. AI lent a hand, suggesting, editing, refining. Yet, in the end, it was my touch, my voice, that made it all come together.
What did I learn? AI is a tool, like a wrench or a hammer. But you’ve got to wield it right. It won’t replace the craftsman, but it sure can help him out. As for the future, who knows? But I’ll be there, tools in hand, eager to see where they lead. And maybe, just maybe, I’ll ask ChatGPT to turn this tale into something from a Beckett play. If it stumbles, well, there’s beauty in the attempt.
In the style of: Dr. Seuss
Bits, Bytes, and Bouncy Artificial Delights
In the digital land of who-knows-where,
I took on a challenge, I did indeed dare!
With AI tools and gadgets galore,
I wanted to make my website soar
From artsy endeavours, to practical quests,
Into the AI ocean, I plunged with jest.
No coding I knew, not a line or a byte,
But I was on a mission to make my site right.
Chorus:
From byte to bit, with a digital song,
With AI by our side, we can’t go wrong!
Phase One, dear friends, was quite a trip,
A code-breaking saga, with many a blip.
WordPress secrets and theme-filled quests,
And my PHP troubles put me to tests.
With ChatGPT’s wisdom and a bit of luck,
I navigated the chaos, without getting stuck.
Through codes and commands, and digital dance,
My website was back and given a chance.
Chorus:
From byte to bit, with a digital song,
With AI by our side, we can’t go wrong!
Phase Two, ahoy, the shaping spree,
Designs and layouts, as fun as can be.
The blog was jumbled, a topsy-turvy sight,
But with AI’s magic, it became just right.
Elementor’s charm, and Canva’s flair,
Together they made a most wonderful pair.
With colors and banners, and AI’s touch,
My website sparkled, oh so much!
Chorus:
From byte to bit, with a digital song,
With AI by our side, we can’t go wrong!
Phase Three was the finale, the curtain call,
With headlines and images, big and small.
Old posts transformed, with AI’s grace,
And my Services page found its rightful place.
With tools and tricks, and AI’s might,
My website journey became pure delight.
And as the story comes to an end,
Remember well, on AI you can depend!
Chorus:
From byte to bit, with a digital song,
With AI by our side, we can’t go wrong!
Final Thoughts
What a fun little project this was. Overall the texts above are pretty much what ChatGPT shared directly with me, although I did have to tweak my prompts a bit, and occasionally I made a few copy edits to make them flow a bit better. For the Dr. Seuss one I originally tried to do a poem in the style of Mary Oliver, but try as I might I could not ChatGPT to stop rhyming, so after fruitless efforts to turn it into free verse, I fully embraced the rhymes and went for the outlandish rhyming style of Dr. Seuss.
I also created the accompanying images in ChatGPT (using the DALL-E 3 plug in) but it eventually put me in a timeout as I had reached the cap of 50 prompts in 3 hours (Easy Tiger!), so I created the pink rabbit using an AI art generator called Neural Love.
I’m really enjoying the possibilities with these AI tools, so I will have to do a post soon again. Perhaps for the next one I can find an AI tool to make me a Kalle Ryan logo. Stay tuned…
