Last Updated on February 22, 2023 by Alex Birkett
Writing a novel or screenplay can be daunting, especially if you’ve never done it before. Fortunately, advances in artificial intelligence (AI) have made it easier than ever to write stories.
AI story writing tools provide writers with insights into characters and plot points, structure their stories, and give them feedback on their writing style.
What is an AI Story Writer?
An AI story writer is a computer program that is designed to help writers create compelling stories using artificial intelligence.
AI story writing tools use Natural Language Processing (NLP) technology to analyze text and generate meaningful outputs such as characters, settings, plot points, and dialogue.
Some AI story generator tools help you with writing stories from scratch; others help you outline, come up with story ideas, and rephrase your content and improve your writing skills.
In most cases, these refer to AI text generators (although AI image generators can also be helpful, particularly for short stories and children’s books).
I did a quick check on what other bloggers are recommending for AI story writer tools, and they’re mostly BS. Tools like AI Dungeon are actually video games. Other tools recommended, like StoryLab, are great products, but aren’t AI content generators.
I’ve used and explored all the tools on this list to write short stories, poems, and other creative works (I haven’t written a novel…yet).
I can vouch for these as being truly effective AI writing assistants for novelists, screenwriters, poets, and any other creative writer
Editor’s note: I’m going to use some affiliate links when possible to try to earn some revenue from my content. These don’t change the opinions espoused in the content nor the style in which they are written. If I think a product sucks, I’m not going to say otherwise. This is just a bonus and a way to fund the whole operation. Anyway, enjoy the article!
The 7 Best AI Story Writer Tools in 2023
- Jasper
- GrowthBar
- Copy AI
- Writesonic
- Copysmith
- ChatGPT
- NovelAI
1. Jasper
Jasper is an all-purpose AI writing assistant.
It’s my favorite of the AI writing tools that have risen to prominence in the last few years.
It’s just so powerful and flexible.
They offer tons of templates to help refine your story plot, create more engaging stories, and get your creative juices flowing.
Take, for example, their “creative story” template. My prompt isn’t great, but it’s a great story generation feature:
The real strength of the platform, however, is the free form content editor. This is where you can use commands and write a complete story using Jasper as an assistant to throw out interesting ideas when you get stuck.
It’s my favorite tool for long form content. In fact, I use it to help me write most of my blog posts nowadays.
They also have an AI image generator that I find useful for visualizing characters and settings in creative writing.
Finally, they just purchased Outwrite and launched a Chrome extension, meaning you can generate copy anywhere you work.
Pricing: the basic plans starts at $24/mo, but you really want to get the Boss Mode Plan (this includes the long form and command tools). This one starts at $49/mo for up to 50,000 words generated.
G2 Score: 4.8/5
2. GrowthBar
GrowthBar is mainly used as an SEO tool, but their AI writing assistant can effectively be used as a story generator tool as well.
The big strength they have here, outside of the impressive performance of their AI, is that they offer a Chrome extension. That means you can write in Google Docs or wherever you usually write.
Though I haven’t used this one as much for writing fiction, I’ve found it to be a solid tool for generating fresh and interesting ideas as well as generally getting my creative juices flowing.
Really, just a good general purpose writing tool with strong SEO features for keyword research, competitive analysis, etc.
Pricing: Starts at $48 /Month (they offer a 5 day free trial)
G2 Score: 4.9/5
3. Copy AI
Copy AI is another phenomenal AI writer. I discovered this one around the same time that I discovered Jasper, and though I prefer Jasper, I think Copy AI has its unique strengths as well.
The big difference for me, outside of the price (Copy AI is a bit more affordable), is Copy AI seems to be much easier for AI story tool newbies to get started with.
That’s due to their preponderance of templates.
To be honest, they don’t have a ton of templates for fiction writers. They do, however, have some great idea generation templates and tools to help you write for your website (and generally reduce writer’s block).
This one probably isn’t going to generate captivating stories for you, but it will help you work around the edges and reduce a lot of the time you spend on non creative writing.
Pricing: they have a free plan for up to 2,000 words, and then $49/mo for unlimited word generation
G2 Score: 4.8/5
4. Writesonic
Writesonic is a phenomenal AI writer that went through Y Combinator a few years ago.
To me, they’re a perfect blending of Jasper and Copy AI.
They also have a preponderance of templates, but they do also give you access to their free form AI writing tool (though it’s not as powerful as Jasper’s, as I talked about in this comparison review).
Some of their templates include “stories,” which is an amazing tool to, well…generate stories.
The stories generated require great prompt inputs, but it’s a good starting point.
They also have several templates to help improve your writing skills, including “content rephrase,” “passive to active voice,” and “tone changer.”
Great product.
They also offer an AI art tool called “Photosonic.”
Pricing: free plan for up to 6,250 words and then plans vary based on word count and quality. For long form content, $12.67/month will get you up to 47,500 words of “good” quality content.
G2 Score: 4.8/5
5. Copysmith
Copysmith is a really cool AI story generator and writing tool.
This one really focuses on copywriting, though they have many templates to help you generate ideas to bypass writer’s block.
They’ve also got some great templates to improve the quality of your writing, like the Content Enhancer feature:
While they do lack some of the features to write a fiction story or write longer stories, they’re one of the more affordable AI tools on this list.
Pricing: $19/mo
G2 Score: 4.3/5
6. ChatGPT
ChatGPT is a general purpose AI tool. But it can definitely be used to write a creative story.
This thing is powerful. It’s new. It’s only going to get better.
While it can’t write long form stories, it can pull together a ton of story ideas if you give it good prompts. Check this out:
It only gets better as you add more details. Let’s ask the AI story writer to create a character and background:
Damn, the story is getting good. Let’s ask it to continue:
Now that’s an engaging story. It might not be up to par with the top fiction writers of all time, but it’s not bad. And it definitely helped me pick up new ideas for story plots.
Again, this tool is new and only getting better.
Pricing: free
G2 Score: N/A
7. NovelAI
Finally, we have NovelAI.
This one is also built on top of GPT-3 but was built specifically for fiction writers.
You can create all kinds of unique stories, from romances to thrillers to short stories, children’s books, and more.
They’ve got inclusive pricing packages, too, so you can get started for free or at low scale for only $10/month.
This one also includes an image generator so you can visualize the amazing world you’re creating with your words.
Pricing: free trial and then $10/month.
G2 Score: N/A
Conclusion
I hope this article gave you some insight into the best AI story generators.
Each one has strengths, and while none of them can completely replace a professional writer, they’re great for generating ideas, setting up stories, and even getting rid of writer’s block.
My pick? Jasper. But each of these has a nice free version or free trial, so you can try them all out and see which works best. I think ChatGPT holds a lot of promise for those willing to invest in creating great inputs as well.
Also remember that AI generated stories won’t take the place of human writers; you still have to work to create interesting and engaging stories. But using an AI story writing tool can definitely help speed up the process.
So if you’re looking for AI story generators for your next project, give them a try and see if they work for you.