I’m a new user of Google Gemini Advanced and have been testing out what this format can do to help me with my writing. I’m not on board yet that the Gemini bot can write creative fiction as well as most authors, but I thought I would test its capabilities as an editor.

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My Process

The process as an author when writing a new children’s picture book manuscript is, first I get the idea and sleep on it. I then spend a few days brainstorming the plot, character, and rhythm of the piece as I write in rhyme. After writing the piece, I put it aside for around three months. I glance at it a few times and make minor changes, but I don’t do a full-blown edit until the three months are up.

Then comes the next step, which is a developmental edit. A developmental edit focuses on a manuscript’s structure, content, and style. In the past, with my other books, I have paid a developmental editor who specializes in children’s picture books to do this part. Normally it could take up to two weeks to get back her suggestions and so far, I have considered all of her suggestions as good ones. I have made the changes she recommended and believe that the work is better from her input.

This is where I thought I would give Gemini a go. How well did it do? I will let you be the judge.

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The Result

I instructed Gemini to do a developmental edit on my children’s picture book manuscript. Remember that Gemini is a program and it cannot understand human emotions or understand what we are trying to achieve. Editing a piece of manuscript, which is basically a verse or poem, is especially difficult due to:

1. The short line or sentence length

2. The low word count for the piece

3. No pictures or illustration notes to embellish the words

4. Very little grammar

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I entered my piece into the bot and let it do its best.

After a quite short amount of time, it came back to me with three suggestions.

Here is the first 2 stanzas of my original work. Remember, this is unedited.

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Who Dirtied The Tub?

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On Monday, mum was in a hullabaloo.

The tub had a ring, and it was blue.

“Who had a bath and didn’t clean the tub?”

“Was it you Cindy Lou who had a scrub?”

 

“It wasn’t me, mum. I didn’t leave the mark.”

“Maybe it was a blue aardvark?”

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Okay, you get the idea.

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This is the first draft of Gemini’s developmental edit.

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Draft 1

Gemini wrote:

Absolutely! Here is a developmental edit of “Who Dirtied the Tub?” I aimed to enhance the poem’s rhythm, tighten some of the word choices, and create a slightly stronger sense of mystery:

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On Monday, Mum let out a shout, A blue ring in the tub, no doubt! “Who made this mess, before they flee?” “Cindy Lou, could it be thee?”

“Not me, Mum, “ Cindy Lou did swear, “My hands are clean, I truly care!” “Could it have been…a big blue whale?” Mum wondered, eyebrows raised in travail.

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Draft 2

Gemini wrote:

Here’s a developmental edit of “Who Dirtied the Tub?”, aimed at making it tighter, funnier, and with a stronger surprise finish:

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Mum gasped on Monday, a sight so blue, “Whose bath left this ring? Cindy Lou, was it you?”

“Not me!” cried Cindy, “My hands are clean!” “Then a sneaky aardvark must have been!”

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Draft 3

Gemini wrote:

Absolutely! Here’s a developmental edit of “Who Dirtied The Tub?” focusing on tightening the rhymes and creating stronger imagery.

 

On Monday, Mum gave quite a shout, A blue ring in the tub, no doubt!” “Who forgot to give it a sweep? Was it you, Cindy Lou, after a muddy creep?”

“Not me, dear Mum,” said Cindy Lou, “An aardvark came by, all bathed in blue?”

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Please note that in my instructions, I didn’t tell Gemini what age group the work was for. I didn’t say that it was a poem or verse, just that it was a children’s picture book manuscript. I have typed in this article exactly how Gemini gave me the results for the first two stanzas.

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What I thought

Honestly, Developmental Editors of Children’s Picture Books don’t have to worry about AI taking their jobs.

I sent the full drafts to my beta reading group and they all agree with me Gemini did a lousy job.

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Now vs. the future

Yes, I was unhappy about how Gemini thought that my work could have been improved by completely changing it, and not for the better. But, as we know, AI is a work in progress. There is data all the time, and as AI programs learn, they will surely get significantly better. Will they ever be as good as humans? Well, in writing creative fiction, I’m not sure about that. Gemini may have given back better results if I had put more information into my instructions. However, when we send our work to human developmental editors, we don’t send instructions or illustration notes.

So, next week I’ll send my work to my Developmental Editor and consider her feedback. Bet it is not a full rewrite.

This article was written with the 'help' of AI.