The Dual-AI Method: Part 1

Building Better Romance Scenes

As romance writers increasingly explore AI-assisted writing, most of us tend to stick with one AI tool throughout our entire process. But what if the secret to better romantic fiction lies in using two different AIs for two different purposes?

After months of experimenting, I've developed a writing workflow that leverages the unique strengths of both Claude and ChatGPT. I draft my chapters with Claude, then take them to ChatGPT for style refinement. The results have transformed my writing process—and the quality of my final drafts.

Why This Dual Approach Works

Claude excels at: Story structure, character development, plot coherence, and understanding complex romantic dynamics. When I'm working through the bones of a scene—figuring out what needs to happen emotionally and narratively—Claude helps me build solid foundations.

ChatGPT excels at: Prose style, voice consistency, and linguistic refinement. When I need to polish that solid foundation into prose that matches my specific voice and style preferences, ChatGPT becomes my editor.

Think of it like building a house: Claude helps me frame the structure, while ChatGPT handles the interior design.

My Step-by-Step Process

Phase 1: Drafting with Claude

I come to Claude with the big picture elements:

• Character motivations and emotional arcs

• Scene objectives and romantic tension goals

• Plot points that need to be hit

• Dialogue that serves multiple purposes

  
  

My typical prompt to Claude might look like:

"I need to work on the next chapter where Mara and Jade are getting drunk and talking about her feelings for Damien. Mara is trying to make Jade feel better but she's heartbroken because she'd fallen hard for Damien despite her best interests and had even started to think she'd like to have a baby if it was with him. Then Chad attacks and they fight back but he has magic he shouldn't have with more power than a mortal witch (which he isn't) would have. He easily breaks their wards, Mara is gravely injured and Chad binds Jade's magic and drags her from the house, screaming for her friend. It should be about 3000 words in a new artifact. Don't use cliches or flowery language."

Claude helps me work through the emotional logic, pacing, and character consistency. The resulting draft has strong bones with clear character arcs, believable dialogue, and solid romantic progression. But it's often LOADED with "AI-isms", melodramatic phrasing, and flowery language. And half the time, Claude will even go on his own tangents with the plot and I have to crack the whip to get him back in line.

For the above prompt, this is the artifact I received:

Claude chapter version - non spicy.docx

Download DOCX • 18KB

What Claude did well: Strong emotional foundation, clear character voices, excellent scene-setting details that serve the plot. The dialogue feels natural and moves the story forward while revealing character motivation.

Phase 2: Style Refinement with ChatGPT

Once I have Claude's draft, I take it to ChatGPT with specific style instructions:

"Here's the next chapter. It's technically right with the plot and what happens, but it's so full of silly, clichéd phrases. It's bland. There's no life and it doesn't fit the other chapters. Can you fix it while maintaining the flow?"

ChatGPT transforms Claude's structurally sound but sometimes generic prose into something that sounds distinctly like my voice. For this prompt, this is the repaired version of the chapter (Note that ChatGPT can only give you about 1000 words a pop, so it's better to break it into parts if you need a longer chapter. I am writing this book to be about 3000 words per chapter and will usually break rewrites into 2 or 3 chunks):

ChatGPT chapter version - non spicy.docx

Download DOCX • 11KB

What ChatGPT improved: Notice the sharper, more varied sentence rhythms ("I keep drinking anyway" vs "but I keep drinking it anyway"), more precise word choices ("stings" instead of "clings," "thrift-store jackpot" instead of generic description), and elimination of redundant phrasing. The prose feels tighter and more distinctive while maintaining all of Claude's strong structural elements.

What Each AI Brings to the Table

Claude's Strengths in Romance Writing

• Character Psychology: Claude understands the emotional undercurrents that make romantic tension believable. He might not get the voice right, but the general dynamics are usually sound.

• Pacing: Excellent at building romantic scenes that don't rush or drag (though sometimes he'll make up his own plot)

• Dialogue Purpose: Creates conversations that serve both character development and plot advancement (though they might be cheesy and lack realistic humor)

• Boundary Navigation: Helps craft sensual content that implies rather than states directly (he does not like spicy for me lately, though other authors still have great success here. I'm only slightly salty about that...)

  
  

ChatGPT's Strengths in Style Work

• Voice Consistency: Maintains your established writing voice throughout longer passages (though you usually have to break up longer scenes and make sure to tell him to continue from where the last one left off. It helps to paste in your edits if you make any before the next section)

• Prose Rhythm: Creates varied sentence structures that avoid repetitive patterns (very good at varied and dynamic word choices, but can get a lil' crazy with the similes to the point the prose doesn't make sense)

• Word Choice: Finds precise alternatives to overused phrases and words (very dynamic choices - he truly excels here!)

• Style Adherence: Follows specific style guidelines more consistently than Claude

  
  

When This Process Works Best

This dual approach is most effective when:

• You have a clear sense of your own writing voice and can articulate it to ChatGPT

• You're working on longer pieces where consistency matters

• You want strong structural foundation but need help with prose-level refinement

• You're comfortable with a slightly more complex workflow

  
  

Potential Drawbacks to Consider

Time Investment: This process does take longer than single-AI writing

Learning Curve: You need to develop effective prompts for both AIs

Cost Considerations: Using two AI services can be more expensive (Disclaimer, I pay for the $20 ChatGPT plan and the $100 Claude Max plan)

Style Drift: Without careful prompting, ChatGPT might push your voice in unintended directions - he can get very weird, very quick, but if you point this out, he takes direction well. He's easier for me, personally, just to "have a conversation with" and get things back on track.

Tips for Success

1. Develop Your Style Guide: Create a clear document describing your voice, preferred phrases, words to avoid, and structural preferences

2. Perfect Your Prompts: Spend time refining how you communicate with each AI to get consistent results

3. Save Successful Examples: Keep examples of both AIs' work that hit your target style for reference

4. Iterate Gradually: Don't expect perfect results immediately; this process improves with practice

   
   

The Results Speak for Themselves

Since adopting this dual-AI approach, I've noticed:

• Stronger story structure with more polished prose

• More consistent voice throughout longer works

• Better balance of showing versus telling in romantic scenes

• Improved dialogue that sounds more natural while serving the plot

  
  

The key insight is that different AIs have different strengths. Rather than forcing one tool to do everything, this process lets each AI focus on what it does best.

Is This Right for Your Writing Process?

This approach works particularly well for writers who:

• Struggle with either structure OR style but not both

• Want to maintain strong authorial voice while using AI assistance

• Are working on longer projects where consistency matters

• Enjoy experimenting with different tools and workflows

  
  

If you're happy with your current single-AI process, there's no need to complicate things. But if you've felt limited by using just one AI tool, this dual approach might unlock new possibilities in your romantic fiction.

The romance writing landscape is evolving rapidly as we discover new ways to collaborate with AI. This two-stage process has become my secret weapon for creating romantic content that's both structurally sound and stylistically distinctive.

The Final Product

After a few revisions with Chat, I noticed that there was a consistent issue with either getting too much or not enough with him and we had this exchange:

In the end, after combining bits and pieces from each chapter, I ended up with this:

Final Hybrid Chapter - non spicy.docx

Download DOCX • 283KB

What I added: The final step involves adding my own voice and world-building details that neither AI would know. I kept the structural improvements from both AIs while layering in language and specifics that fit my established universe and writing style. This is where the prose becomes distinctly mine rather than AI-assisted writing.

But this is just the beginning. In Part 2, I'll show you how this same dual-AI approach works for spicy scenes - where Claude's understanding of story structure meets ChatGPT's stylistic polish to create spicy content that can be downright FILTHY. We'll explore specific prompting strategies, common challenges, and how to maintain heat while working within each AI's guidelines.

Ready to try this dual-AI approach yourself? Start with a scene you've been struggling with—use Claude to get the emotional foundation right, then let ChatGPT polish it to perfection. The results might surprise you. If you have any questions about this process or my examples, please ask in the comments!