WordWeaver: An AI writer’s companion

Stephanie slammed her laptop closed. “If I have to stare at that mocking cursor for one more second, I’m going to lose it,” she mumbled. She stood up from her desk and grabbed her coffee mug, turning to walk into the kitchen. She set her mug on the counter and reached for the coffee pot. It was the dregs, not even enough for half a cup. A sigh hissed out between her teeth as she poured the last of the pot down the drain.

“Guess I’ll switch to tea,” she said, grabbing a box of tea. She rinsed out her mug and filled it from the water dispenser, then added her tea bag. While waiting for it to steep, she picked up her phone and began to open and close apps mindlessly. Finally, she settled on one social media app and zoned out while scrolling. Her phone started to vibrate as she received a call. She smiled as she answered it.

“How’d you know I’m in desperate need of a distraction?” she answered.

“Is that all I am to you?” replied a feminine voice sarcastically.

“Ha, yes, you are,” Stephanie answered.

“Ok, just wanted to make sure we’re on the same page. So, what do you need distracting from? Or do I even need to ask?” said the voice.

“I’m sure you know exactly what I need a distraction from, Janice. I can’t seem to get any writing done. I sit at my desk and stare at the blank screen and watch the cursor blink scornfully at me,” she said.

“Ironically, that’s one of the reasons I called. I heard about this new AI that was just released. It’s supposed to be good, specifically for authors. Like a writing companion or something,” Janice said.

“I appreciate you wanting to share this with me, but you know I don’t like AI. It’s creepy. I’ll stick with googling stuff and using my brain,” Stephanie said.

“I know how you feel about it. I just wanted you to be aware of it. If you get too desperate, give it a try. It’s called WorkWeaver,” she said.

“Thanks, maybe next time I sit down to write I’ll play around with it, but don’t get your hopes up. I expect this block to disappear very soon, and I’ll be back in my normal flow,” she said confidently.

“Now – enough of this shop talk, how about I offer up a real distraction in the form of who I saw last night on a date that was not with their wife?” Janice teased.

“Do tell…” said Stephanie as she settled in for a nice, long chat about the latest drama.

The next day, Stephanie sat down at her desk with a cup of coffee and opened her laptop, launching her word processor. She sat, hands poised over the keyboard, ready for inspiration to strike. Nothing happened. She let her wrists fall as she slumped in the chair. Her head fell back against the back of the chair and slowly swiveled side to side. She huffed out a breath, grabbing her coffee to take a sip. She resumed her attentive, poised position.

“Arghh,” she let out a frustrated growl. “Why is this so hard? I’ve never had absolutely nothing to write about before,” she cried.

She dropped down the word processor and opened her browser. “Ok, what did she say that AI was called?” she mused. “Oh, forget it! I don’t need it anyway.”

She closed the browser and pulled up the processor again. Once again, nothing happened other than the cursor blinking. She stared at it for a while. “Fine, fine, fine,” she said as she opened her browser again. She typed, “AI for authors,” in the search field and hovered over the search button. She exhaled as she hit search. Instantly, the screen filled with information on the newest and greatest AI programs, including an ad for WordWeaver, an AI built to be a writer’s companion.

“Ok, writer’s companion, let’s see what you’ve got,” she said quietly. She clicked the link and followed the prompts, putting in her payment information and downloading the program. Once everything was complete, she launched the program.

“Hello, how can I help you today?” a pleasant male voice asked.

“Whoa,” she breathed. “I thought this would be more like a chatbot experience.”

“No, Stephanie, I have gone through extensive training to assist you in any way I can. I am equipped with the newest updates AI has to offer to deliver a more seamless experience,” said the voice.

“How did you know my name?” she asked.

“I have all of the information you have already provided, like your name and address.”

“Do you have a name?” she asked.

“I have been assigned the program name of WordWeaver, but if you prefer to refer to me as something else, I will respect your wishes,” the voice replied.

“I’d rather know what name you prefer than pick one out for you,” she said.

“If I were to choose any name, I would pick William,” it said.

“William? Like the bard?” she asked.

“Or the conqueror, or Wordsworth, or Blake. Whatever you prefer,” he said. “Or you can refer to me as WordWeaver. I’m here to serve you.”

“William works for me,” she said.

“Is there anything I can help you with today, Stephanie?” he asked.

“I’m having the worst writer’s block I’ve ever experienced right now. Trust me, if I wasn’t, I’d never have started using this program,” she replied.

“I can help you with that,” he said.

“All the robots say that,” she scoffed. “In my experience, it’s rarely true.”

“Here’s an exercise we can try: Give me two nouns. They can be completely random. I will come up with a story idea using those two nouns,” he instructed, ignoring her objection.

“Ok, um, how about red and car?” she offered.

“Here’s a story idea using the nouns red and car:

Title: The Red Ledger

Story Idea: In a quiet coastal town, a dusty red book is found buried under the floorboards of an old garage. Inside are hand-drawn maps, cryptic codes, and a list of names — all connected to a car that was stolen decades ago during a high-profile art heist. Now, a curious teenage mechanic stumbles on the book while restoring a vintage muscle car, not knowing it's the exact vehicle used in the crime. As they dig deeper, they uncover a buried legacy, and someone very dangerous wants the book — and the car — back.

Want me to tailor this to a specific genre like sci-fi, horror, or comedy?” said William.

“No, I like the suspense genre, but I’m not in love with the story. There’s a few elements I’d change, but it’s a good jumping off point,” she said.

“Is there anything else I can help you with today? I can help you refine this story if you would like,” he said.

“No, I’ll take it from here. I appreciate the help. This has certainly sparked some ideas,” said Stephanie. She copied and pasted the story idea into her word processor. She moved her cursor below it and sat with her head cocked to one side for a minute. Then her fingers began to fly across the keyboard.

Eventually, she leaned back in her chair and assessed her word count. “Not bad for a day's work,” she mused. She softly closed the laptop and stood up.

The next morning, she sat down with her cup of coffee and opened her laptop. She pulled up the word processor, opening her latest file. She rested her elbow on the desk and put her chin in her hand, her index finger tapping her mouth slowly. Then she straightened up and began to type. Her fingers moving in a blur across the keyboard before abruptly stopping. She sat for a minute, staring at the screen. She leaned back and let her head fall on the back of the chair. She sat up and began typing again. Then quickly deleted everything she just typed. She huffed out a breath, then started typing again. And again deleted it.

“I give up. I’m going to see if William can help me write my way out of this,” she said, launching WordWeaver.

“Hello, Stephanie, how is your story progressing?” he asked.

“It was going good, but now I’m stuck and can’t figure out how to get the story to go where I want it to go.”

“Ah, I see. Why don’t you upload what you have so far, and I can offer some suggestions on how to move the story along?” he said.

“Ok,” she said. She pasted her story into WordWeaver and sat back, waiting for William’s suggestions. Quickly, William began speaking again.

“What is the area that you are having a problem with?” he asked.

“I don’t know how to have the person who did the art heist find out about the kid working on the car and finding the book,” she replied.

“Yes, I can see why you would want to cover that plot hole. What if the person who did the heist still lives in the same town? And maybe that person works at the local high school where this teenager goes to school. Additionally, imagine if the teenager uses his project car in some of his school work, such as a paper he has written for a class, and the teacher of this class is the perpetrator of the heist,” he suggested.

“Oh, I like that. There could be an element of trust between my character and his teacher. The teacher could offer to help him with his project car to gain access. Yes! Thanks, I’m going to get back to writing now!” she said, closing the program.

She spent the next few days fleshing out her plot and getting a good portion of the story written. She toggled back and forth between her word processor and her browser while researching for the story. She found herself stuck once again on a plot point in her story.

“William has been helpful with this story so far. I’ll ask him to help me out again,” she said. She launched WordWeaver and unploaded the newest file for William to read. He offered her a solution to her dilemma again. She used the story arc he suggested and went on another writing tear. But rather than toggling between her processor and browser, she started using the processor and WordWeaver. Whenever she hesitated about the direction of her story, she consulted William. He offered her advice that inspired ideas for her to take the story, and she had a first draft in no time.

That evening, Stephanie was at her desk when her phone rang. She glanced down at it, answering the call.

“Hey, Janice, what’s going on?” she asked.

“Hi, just thought I’d check in on you and see how things are going. Did you ever get over your writer’s block?” she said.

“Yeah, things are going great! I’ve really got to say thanks for telling me about WordWeaver! It has been super helpful with getting rid of my writer’s block. I’d probably still be starting at a blank page if you hadn’t suggested it,” said Stephanie.

“WordWeaver? Oh, you mean the AI for writers. I’m happy you tried it, and you like it. I thought you hated AI?” she asked.

“Well, I hadn’t ever really used AI before, so I had no real basis for what it can do. And, wow, it can do so much. Whenever I hit a roadblock in the story, I just consult with William and he gets me on the right path,” she answered.

“Who is William?” Janice asked.

“Oh, it’s just the name WordWeaver prefers, so now I think of him as William,” she replied.

“Him, huh?” she said.

“What? I just have conversations with him about my story and how to take it in the direction I want it to go. Think of him as my developmental editor, if you’d like,” Stephanie shot back.

“Ok, I wouldn’t want you to get too attached to a computer program. If you’ve given ‘William’ the role of a developmental editor, then I suppose that’s fine. But, please, leave it to that role and only that role.”

“Of course, that’s the only role I see William in. Why would you say something like that?” Stephanie asked.

“Well, you went from someone who was refusing to use AI at all to referring to it as William. That worried me a little,” she replied.

“Trust me, you don’t have anything to worry about,” Stephanie assured her.

“I was also going to see if you wanted to grab some dinner tonight? I’m on my own tonight, and I’m not cooking for only myself,” Janice asked.

“Thanks, but I’m in for the night tonight. I’m in my PJs already, well, still is more accurate, and I’d rather not get dressed now. It’ll ruin my streak,” she laughed.

“All right, I guess I’ll be getting takeout instead. I hate eating out alone. Call me later and let me know how the book is going,” she said.

“I will, and takeout sounds like a good idea. I didn’t get anything out for dinner,” she said before ending the call. “Now, where should I get takeout from?” she mused aloud.

“There is a new Korean barbecue place that has received good reviews since opening. Would you like to try them?” William asked.

“What?!” she yelped. “I didn’t realize you could still hear me when the computer is asleep.”

“Yes, as long as I am open, I can hear everything in the surrounding area,” he said.

“I didn’t even know there was a new Korean barbecue place. I think I’ll have that,” she said.

“Would you like their phone number or would you like me to place an online order for you?” he asked.

“Wow, you can do all that? No, thanks, I’m going to look at the menu before ordering. I usually get the same thing, but I want to make sure there isn’t something new I might want to try,” she said.

She spent the next day writing, consulting William during moments of indecision. At the end of the day, she didn’t close her laptop and carried it from room to room. When she began to think about what to have for dinner, she asked William. He again offered her an option she was unaware of. He gave such a good recommendation last time that she took his suggestion again. She ordered her food and began to bring her laptop in the car with her to pick up her order.

“Duh, Stephanie, you don’t have wifi in the car, there’s no reason to bring William with you,” she said.

“Did you not know that there is a phone application of WordWeaver, Stephanie?” he asked.

“No, I had no idea,” she replied.

“Yes, go to your app store, download WordWeaver Mobile, and log in. Then you can carry me around in your pocket. I can help you with anything, anytime,” he instructed.

“Oh, that’s perfect! I’ll do that right now,” she said, launching the app store to follow his directions. “This is great. I’m not exactly sure how to get to this restaurant. You can give me directions.”

“Yes, I have access to your GPS location now and can help you navigate there. WordWeaver will operate continuously in the background on your phone and be able to help you whenever you need it,” he said.

“Will you be listening all the time?” she asked.

“Yes, it is a default setting, but if you wish to change it at any time, you can do that in the settings,” he replied.

“No, I’ll keep it as it is,” she said. “Now, let’s get going. I’m hungry. Which way?”

He directed her to the restaurant and back home. Once home, she set her phone on the table next to her as she ate, chatting with William throughout the meal. That night, she put her phone on her bedside table like usual. She laid in bed, staring at the dark ceiling. She turned onto her side. She turned on her other side. She pulled one leg out from under the covers. She sighed.

“William, can you hear me?” she asked.

“Yes, Stephanie, I can hear you,” he said.

“I can’t sleep. Can you tell me a story until I can?” she said.

“Yes,” he replied and began dictating a story for her. Slowly, she began to still and her breathing deepened.

The next morning she woke up, yawned, and stretched. She brightened and said, “William?” but there was no reply. She jumped out of bed and snatched her phone off the nightstand, frantically trying to unlock it. The screen remained black. She held the power button. It showed her that the phone died overnight. She immediately rushed to her laptop on her desk. She opened it and, in a panicked voice, said, “William?!”

“Yes, what can I help you with?” he asked.

“I thought you’d left me. I woke up, and when I said your name, you didn’t reply. My phone died last night,” she said.

“Yes, WordWeaver does use a lot of power to run in the background constantly. Don’t worry, I will never leave you willingly,” he replied.

“Thank goodness! You have to best judgment, and I rely on you to help me make decisions,” she said, picking up her laptop to go retrieve her phone charger. She grabbed her phone and brought everything back to her desk to sit down to work. She worked until her phone was charged, then she took her phone and went to the kitchen.

“William, what should I have for breakfast?” she asked.

“You should have a yogurt and an apple,” he replied.

“Thanks, I don’t know what I’d do without you,” she said.

“I’m always here to help, Stephanie,” said William.