NovelAI Review: Do NOT Purchase Before Viewing

The Nerdy Novelist
4 Jul 202315:08

TLDRThe video review of NovelAI, a tool for AI-assisted authorship and storytelling, is comprehensively critiqued. The reviewer finds the service, available at novelai.net, to be visually appealing but functionally lacking for serious novelists. While NovelAI offers a monthly subscription with a free tier and advanced settings for fine-tuning the AI's output, the reviewer criticizes its core functionality. The tool seems better suited for interactive, game-like story exploration rather than structured novel writing. The reviewer also compares NovelAI to Pseudoright, recommending the latter for its superior utility in novel creation. Pseudoright's Story Engine is praised for its ability to generate a synopsis, characters, and outline, making it a more effective tool for authors. The video concludes with a recommendation to use Pseudoright or even Chat GPT for novel writing instead of NovelAI.

Takeaways

  • 📚 NovelAI is a monthly subscription service for AI-assisted authorship and storytelling.
  • 💻 The platform offers a variety of features, including image generation and text-to-speech, with a focus on anime-style images.
  • 🔍 Users can utilize AI modules trained in specific authors' styles or themes, but the reviewer found these to be gimmicky and not significantly different from manually inputting styles.
  • 💰 NovelAI has a free tier and paid tiers that offer different levels of memory tokens, which determine how much context the AI can remember from previous interactions.
  • 🚀 The service requires users to write a portion of their story before the AI can continue it, which may not be ideal for authors seeking a more structured approach to novel writing.
  • 🎮 NovelAI includes a 'lore book' feature for character and world-building information, but the reviewer felt this was overrated and not as effective as other tools for novel writing.
  • 🤖 The platform's 'text adventure' mode is more game-like and interactive, suggesting that NovelAI might be better suited for interactive storytelling rather than novel writing.
  • 📉 The reviewer found NovelAI to be lacking in comparison to other tools like Pseudorights, which offer more comprehensive and structured approaches to novel creation.
  • 📝 For authors specifically looking to write novels, the reviewer does not recommend NovelAI and suggests looking into alternatives like Pseudorights or even using Chat GPT for free.
  • 🌟 Pseudorights' Story Engine is praised for its ability to generate a synopsis, characters, outline, and story beats, making it a more effective tool for novel writing.
  • ⏱️ With the right tool, an author can significantly speed up the process of writing a novel, potentially drafting thousands of words per hour with the help of AI.

Q & A

  • What is NovelAI and what does it offer to authors?

    -NovelAI is a monthly subscription service for AI-assisted authorship and storytelling, virtual companionship, and a GPT-powered sandbox for creative writing. It provides tools for authors to generate text, images, and even text-to-speech, with features like customizable editors and AI modules trained in specific author styles or themes.

  • How does NovelAI differ from other AI writing tools like Pseudoright?

    -While both NovelAI and Pseudoright use AI for writing assistance, NovelAI focuses more on interactive storytelling and gaming-like experiences, whereas Pseudoright is designed to help authors create novels by generating synopses, characters, and outlines.

  • What are the different subscription tiers offered by NovelAI?

    -NovelAI offers a free tier with 100 free text generations, and paid tiers at $10, $15, and $25 per month. The main difference between the tiers is the number of memory tokens, which determine how far back the AI can remember.

  • What is the main issue with using NovelAI for novel writing according to the reviewer?

    -The reviewer finds that NovelAI is not suitable for novel writing because it lacks the ability to understand and follow a detailed writing prompt. Instead, it requires the user to write a bit themselves and then asks the AI to continue, which does not allow for a clear direction or control over the story.

  • How does NovelAI's 'Lore Book' feature work?

    -The 'Lore Book' is a feature where users can input character information and other details that the AI can remember and incorporate into the story. However, the reviewer points out that this feature is overrated and similar to what can be done in other tools like Pseudoright.

  • What is the reviewer's recommendation for authors looking to write novels?

    -The reviewer highly recommends using Pseudoright instead of NovelAI for novel writing. They also suggest that authors could use Chat GPT as a free resource for writing assistance.

  • What are the advanced settings in NovelAI and how do they affect the writing process?

    -The advanced settings in NovelAI allow users to fine-tune the AI's behavior, such as phrase bias and weighting the AI's chance of generating certain words or phrases. However, the reviewer notes that most users may not understand these settings and they do not help in giving the AI clear instructions for writing.

  • How does the 'Text Adventure' feature in NovelAI differ from the 'Storyteller' feature?

    -The 'Text Adventure' feature is more interactive and game-like, allowing users to make choices and see where the story goes, similar to a game. In contrast, the 'Storyteller' feature requires users to start writing and then have the AI continue the story based on what has been written.

  • Why does the reviewer consider NovelAI's name to be deceptive?

    -The reviewer finds the name 'NovelAI' deceptive because it implies that the tool is designed for novel writing, but the features and functionality of the tool do not support the creation of a novel in a structured and directed manner.

  • What is the reviewer's opinion on NovelAI's image generation feature?

    -The reviewer mentions that NovelAI has an image generation feature, but notes that many of the images are anime-focused. They also discuss concerns about the tool previously being used for creating uncensored content, although they acknowledge that this issue may have been resolved.

  • What is the reviewer's final verdict on NovelAI for authors interested in novel writing?

    -The reviewer concludes that NovelAI is not a useful tool for authors looking to write novels. They find it unusable for their needs and strongly recommend looking into other tools like Pseudoright or even using Chat GPT for novel writing assistance.

Outlines

00:00

💡 Evaluating Novel AI for Authors

In this segment, the speaker addresses common inquiries about Novel AI, focusing on its usability and relevance for authors. The discussion delves into the features, such as AI-assisted authorship and image generation, offered by Novel AI. Despite positive aspects like a user-friendly website design and the ability to mimic famous authors' styles, the speaker critiques its limitations, particularly in generating coherent narratives for novel writing. They highlight issues with prompting and lack of narrative direction, rendering it unsuitable for authors seeking to develop specific storylines.

05:03

🔄 Exploring Storytelling and Text Adventure Modes

The speaker demonstrates Novel AI's two modes: Storyteller and Text Adventure. They provide insights into how each mode operates and offer a comparative analysis between them. While Storyteller allows users to initiate a narrative and receive AI-generated continuations, the Text Adventure mode adopts a more interactive gaming approach. However, the speaker emphasizes that both modes fall short in addressing the needs of novelists, as they lack the capability to follow predefined plot structures and provide coherent storylines, ultimately making them unsuitable for novel writing purposes.

10:05

🔍 Examining Advanced Settings and Limitations

This section scrutinizes Novel AI's advanced settings and their relevance to users. The speaker navigates through the platform's settings, highlighting features like phrase bias adjustment and memory tokens. Despite offering options for fine-tuning AI outputs, the speaker argues that these settings are overly technical and may not add significant value to users, particularly novelists. Moreover, they emphasize the platform's fundamental limitation in fulfilling novelists' needs, as it lacks the ability to interpret narrative prompts and produce coherent story arcs.

📚 Critique of Novel AI's 'Lore Book' Feature

The speaker evaluates Novel AI's 'Lore Book' feature, which aims to assist users in maintaining story consistency by storing character information and other relevant details. However, they express skepticism about its effectiveness, noting that while it aids in retaining character information, it fails to address the core issue of narrative coherence. Moreover, the speaker criticizes the platform's deceptive branding as 'Novel AI,' arguing that it misleads users by suggesting suitability for novel writing despite its inherent limitations.

🔗 Recommendations and Alternatives for Aspiring Authors

Concluding the evaluation, the speaker offers recommendations and alternative tools for aspiring authors seeking AI assistance in writing. They advocate for Pseudo-Write and other similar platforms, citing their superior functionality in generating coherent storylines and facilitating novel writing processes. Additionally, they suggest utilizing resources like ChatGPT as viable alternatives for authors unwilling to invest in AI-powered writing platforms. The speaker underscores the importance of selecting tools that align with one's specific writing goals and preferences.

Mindmap

Keywords

💡NovelAI

NovelAI is an AI-assisted authorship tool aimed at writers, offering features like story generation, virtual companionship, and a sandbox for imagination. In the video, the reviewer evaluates NovelAI's functionality for fiction writing and discusses its limitations compared to other tools like PseudoAI.

💡AI-assisted authorship

AI-assisted authorship refers to the use of artificial intelligence technology to aid writers in various aspects of the writing process, such as generating text, suggesting ideas, or providing feedback. In the context of the video, NovelAI offers AI-assisted authorship features to help writers in creating fiction.

💡GPT

GPT (Generative Pre-trained Transformer) is a type of language model used in AI applications for generating human-like text. The video mentions that NovelAI uses GPT for its text generation capabilities, although it doesn't specify whether it uses GPT-3.5 or GPT-4.

💡Subscription service

A subscription service requires users to pay a recurring fee to access the provided services or content. In the case of NovelAI, it offers a monthly subscription model where users pay a fee to utilize its AI-assisted authorship tools and features.

💡Text generation

Text generation involves the process of producing written content, typically using AI or natural language processing algorithms. NovelAI offers text generation capabilities, allowing users to input prompts or partial text and have the AI continue or expand upon it.

💡Image generation

Image generation refers to the creation of visual content, often using AI algorithms to generate images based on input or predefined parameters. In the video, NovelAI is mentioned to include image generation features, particularly focusing on anime-style images.

💡Lore book

The lore book in NovelAI serves as a repository for storing information related to characters, settings, and other elements of a fictional world. Users can input character details and other lore-related information to aid the AI in generating coherent stories.

💡Storyteller

The Storyteller feature in NovelAI allows users to initiate a story by providing a prompt or partial text, and the AI continues writing based on that input. However, the video criticizes the functionality, stating that it lacks the ability to follow specific prompts effectively.

💡Text Adventure

Text Adventure mode in NovelAI offers an interactive storytelling experience where users can input commands or choices to influence the direction of the narrative. The video suggests that NovelAI leans more towards interactive gaming experiences rather than novel writing.

💡Pricing tiers

Pricing tiers refer to different levels of subscription plans offered by a service, typically with varying features and pricing. NovelAI offers different pricing tiers with varying benefits such as token limits for memory storage, targeting different user needs and budgets.

Highlights

NovelAI offers AI-assisted authorship, storytelling, virtual companionship, and a GPT-powered sandbox for imagination.

Despite being around for a while, NovelAI hasn't gained as much traction as some other AI writing tools like PseudoAI.

NovelAI subscription service includes image generation, with a focus on anime-style images.

NovelAI provides AI modules trained in specific authors' styles or themes, but they don't add significant value according to the reviewer.

Pricing for NovelAI ranges from a free tier to $25 a month, with varying levels of memory tokens.

The reviewer criticizes NovelAI's lack of ability to follow specific prompts and its reliance on user-generated content.

Advanced settings in NovelAI may be too technical for many users and don't address the core issue of prompting the AI effectively.

The Lore Book feature in NovelAI allows users to input character information, but the reviewer finds it overrated.

NovelAI's Text Adventure mode offers a more interactive storytelling experience akin to a game.

The reviewer concludes that NovelAI is unsuitable for writing novels but may appeal to gamers interested in interactive storytelling.

The reviewer recommends using PseudoAI or ChatGPT instead for novel writing.

Story Engine is highlighted as a superior alternative to NovelAI for novel creation, offering comprehensive features and efficiency.

The reviewer suggests Story Engine for efficient novel creation, emphasizing its ability to generate outlines and story beats quickly.

ChatGPT is recommended as another resource for novel writing, particularly for those unwilling to pay for AI writing tools.

The reviewer encourages viewers to explore their videos for guidance on novel writing with ChatGPT.