Once upon a time, in a far-off kingdom, a ferocious dragon was wreaking havoc on the land. The people were living in constant fear, and no knight dared to face the beast.
But then, a wise professor named Jordan Peterson arrived in the kingdom. He had studied the 12 Rules for Life and knew that they could help him defeat the dragon and save the princess.
He donned his armor and sword, stood up straight with his shoulders back, and approached the dragon’s lair. As he faced the dragon, he spoke with a calm and composed voice.
“Hello there, dragon,” he said. “I understand that you have some grievances with the people of this kingdom. I’m here to listen to you and see if we can find a peaceful solution.”
The dragon snorted and breathed fire, but Jordan Peterson remained undaunted.
“I’m not here to fight you,” he continued. “I’m here to find a way for us to coexist peacefully. I know that there must be some common ground we can find.”
The dragon was surprised by Jordan Peterson’s words. No one had ever spoken to it in such a respectful manner before.
“What do you propose?” the dragon asked, its voice deep and rumbling.
“I propose that we make a deal,” Jordan Peterson replied. “I will help you to set your lair in perfect order, and in exchange, you will leave this kingdom in peace.”
The dragon considered this for a moment before nodding its massive head. “Very well,” it said. “We have a deal.”
As Jordan Peterson set to work helping the dragon to clean its lair, he told the dragon about his 4th rule: Compare yourself to who you were yesterday, not to who someone else is today. He knew that the dragon needed to focus on improving itself, rather than comparing itself to others.
He also remembered his 8th rule: Tell the truth, or at least don’t lie. He knew that he needed to be honest with the dragon, and so he shared some of his own experiences with the dragon as they worked together.
“You know, I’ve had my own struggles in life,” Jordan Peterson said, wiping the sweat from his brow. “But I’ve learned that it’s important to take responsibility for your own actions and do what you can to make things right.”
The dragon listened intently, and Jordan Peterson could sense a growing respect between them.
After several hours of hard work, the lair was clean and orderly, as per Jordan Peterson’s agreement with the dragon. As he prepared to leave, he remembered his 6th rule: Set your house in perfect order before you criticize the world.
“Thank you for working with me,” he said to the dragon. “I hope that this new arrangement will work out for all of us.”
The dragon nodded and flew away, leaving Jordan Peterson to rescue the princess.
As he freed her from her bonds, he spoke to her with kindness and understanding.
“Are you okay?” he asked. “What did the dragon do to you?”
The princess looked up at him with tears in her eyes. “Thank you for rescuing me,” she said. “I thought I was going to die.”
Jordan Peterson smiled warmly at her. “You’re safe now,” he said. “Let’s get you back to the kingdom where you belong.”
On their way back to the kingdom, Jordan Peterson remembered his 7th rule: Pursue what is meaningful, not what is expedient. He knew that he needed to help the princess find meaning in her life, rather than just rescuing her and sending her on her way.
“Tell me, princess,” he said. “What are your goals in life? What do you want to achieve?”
The princess looked thoughtful for a moment before responding.
“Well, I’ve always been interested in art and music,” she said. “But I’ve never been allowed to pursue those passions because of my duties as a princess.”
Jordan Peterson nodded thoughtfully. “I understand,” he said. “But remember, it’s important to pursue what is meaningful, even if it’s difficult or goes against what others expect of you.”
As they arrived back at the kingdom, Jordan Peterson remembered his 9th rule: Assume that the person you are listening to might know something you don’t. He knew that he needed to listen to the people in the kingdom to fully understand the situation.
He spoke with the king and queen, and together they came up with a plan to allow the princess to pursue her passions while still fulfilling her duties as a princess.
Jordan Peterson left the kingdom, knowing that he had not only defeated the dragon and saved the princess but also helped the people of the kingdom find a way to live together peacefully.
As he journeyed back to his own land, he remembered his 12th rule: Pet a cat when you encounter one on the street. He smiled to himself, thinking of the small cat he had encountered on the way to the kingdom, and how it had brought him a moment of joy.
He knew that life was full of challenges, but by living according to his 12 Rules for Life, he had the tools to face them with courage, wisdom, and kindness.
Written and visualized with ChatGPT and Sudowrite.
Just so you know—and I’m writing this for other readers who may be afraid to say so as well—I’ve seen a few of these, and I like your stories much better than the ones you have ChatGPT write. I could tell the difference even before I saw the name ChatGPT. If you’re no longer writing your own, then I consider that a huge loss. You’re one of the few writers who aren’t woke, I’d hate to lose that.
Thanks for your feedback, Josh. I hope you’ll reserve judgment until you read the AI-assisted novel I’m working on, then tell me what you honestly think about it.
All of the short fiction I’ve published so far has been more experimental as I iron out the creative process, which is why I’ve included them as bonus stories instead of publishing them outright. “The Princess and the Professor” was the first one where I passed it through what I call the “human filter” (basically, rewriting the whole thing in a new document based loosely on the generated text), and it was more of a silly one-off. Everything else has been copy-pasted from ChatGPT, which I agree is not the right way to go with these tools.
I do think you’ll enjoy The Riches of Xulthar, though, and I plan to publish each chapter on my blog, with the 60/40 AI-generated text prior to passing it through the human filter, and the final text, which is a 100% human-produced derivative version of that text. After getting feedback from several sources, including a couple of personalized rejections from the traditional short story markets, I think this is the best way to tell these stories in my voice and keep them more original.
You don’t need to worry about “losing” me to ChatGPT. In fact, I’ve found that ChatGPT is not particularly useful as an AI-assisted writing tool, and have moved on to other AI tools. I’m still here, and I’m still writing my own stories, just playing with some new writing tools and testing out some experimental writing methods. I’m sure that when the first word processors came out, there were typewriter purists who railed against writing with computers—in fact, I know there were, because I’ve encountered some of them. It will likely be the same with AI-assisted writing, after this new technology shakes out.