Is NovelAI Actually Good Now?

The video discusses the recent improvements in NovelAI, a tool that has garnered mixed reviews. The creator, who was initially critical, acknowledges the updates that have led them to purchase a subscription. They highlight NovelAI's strengths in generating not safe for work (NSFW) content, such as graphic violence or explicit scenes, and its new prompting feature that allows for more control over the narrative direction. Despite some issues with following instructions and a steep learning curve, the video praises NovelAI's text quality and its unique 'lore book' feature for world-building. The creator suggests using NovelAI in conjunction with other tools for a seamless writing process, especially for authors who write erotica or similar genres. They conclude by encouraging patience and experimentation, and express optimism for NovelAI's future developments.

Takeaways

• 📚 The speaker initially had a negative view of NovelAI but has since changed their mind after recent updates.
• 🔄 The author acknowledges that NovelAI has improved and even purchased a subscription due to these improvements.
• ✅ NovelAI is particularly good for writing content that is not safe for work, such as excessive violence or sex.
• 📈 The platform has introduced new features like a prompt system that allows for more direction in the writing process.
• 🎯 The speaker suggests setting the AI model to 'Kara' for the best results and using the 'General instruct' module for guidance.
• 🔍 The author experimented with different settings and found 'Fresh coffee' and 'Carefree' config presets to be effective.
• 🚧 The speaker mentions that NovelAI is still in beta and has room for improvement, particularly in following instructions.
• 💬 There is a mention of a learning curve for users, especially authors without technical skills, to effectively use NovelAI.
• 📈 The quality of the text produced by NovelAI is praised as being very good, with a high level of detail and language quality.
• 📖 NovelAI includes a useful 'lore book' feature for organizing and accessing character, world-building, and location information.
• 👵 The platform needs to become more accessible and user-friendly for a wider audience, including those without technical expertise.
• 🌟 The speaker is optimistic about the future of NovelAI and anticipates further improvements based on the pace of recent updates.

Q & A

What was the speaker's initial opinion about NovelAI?

The speaker was not very kind in their initial video about NovelAI, expressing dissatisfaction and receiving backlash for it.

What has changed the speaker's mind about NovelAI?

The speaker's mind was changed due to a couple of updates from NovelAI that made them purchase a subscription, as they found some interesting developments with the tool.

What is NovelAI particularly good for?

NovelAI is particularly good for writing not safe for work content, such as excessive violence or sex.

What was the speaker's biggest issue with NovelAI before?

The speaker's biggest issue with NovelAI was that it didn't have a good way to prompt and direct the AI, often leading to it going in undesired directions.

How has NovelAI improved its direction control?

NovelAI has improved its direction control by allowing users to input prompts through a new line with curly brackets, which influences the AI's output.

What is the latest and most advanced model in NovelAI?

The latest and most advanced model in NovelAI is named 'Kara', which is on par with other models like Claude.

What is the speaker's preference for the AI module setting?

The speaker prefers to set the AI module to 'General instruct' as it allows for better control over the AI's direction.

What is the current limitation of NovelAI in terms of output length?

The current limitation of NovelAI is that it has a maximum output of 400 characters, which the speaker finds insufficient for their preference of a minimum of 400 words.

How does NovelAI handle not safe for work content?

NovelAI is considered the best tool for writing not safe for work content, with high-quality text output for such material.

What feature does NovelAI have that helps with world-building and character information?

NovelAI has a 'lore book' feature that allows users to create entries for characters, world-building, and locations, which the AI can access when needed without using up too much context.

What is the speaker's main criticism of NovelAI?

The speaker's main criticism is that NovelAI seems to lack clarity on its target market and is not user-friendly enough for authors without technical skills, requiring a steep learning curve.

What does the speaker suggest for improving NovelAI?

The speaker suggests that NovelAI needs to be more accessible, with clearer instructions and documentation, to cater to a wider audience, including those without technical expertise.

Outlines

00:00

📝 Initial Criticisms and Updates on Novel AI

The speaker begins by acknowledging past criticisms of Novel AI, admitting they were not initially kind and received backlash. Despite some reservations, they note recent updates have led them to purchase a subscription due to Novel AI's improvements, particularly for writing not safe for work (NSFW) content. The speaker intends to reassess the tool's progress over the past month and explore its new features, such as the default story mode for book or short story writing, and the ability to provide direction through author's notes and memory prompts.

05:00

🔄 Testing Novel AI's Story Continuity and Settings

The speaker discusses their previous issues with Novel AI's lack of direction and how it has been addressed with new prompting features. They test the tool by inputting a chapter from their own writing, using the author's notes to guide the AI. The speaker also explains the process of setting up the AI model to 'Kara', selecting the 'General instruct' module for direction, and choosing the 'Fresh coffee' config preset for better instruction handling. Despite some initial dissatisfaction with the output, they highlight the unlimited words feature that allows for continuous testing and refinement of the text.

10:01

🚀 Novel AI's Strengths in NSFW Content and Learning Curve

The speaker praises Novel AI for its effectiveness in writing NSFW content and shares their strategy of using other AI tools for the bulk of the text and Novel AI for specific graphic scenes. They also comment on the high quality of the text generated by Novel AI and its ability to follow context. However, they express concerns about the tool's accessibility, particularly for authors without technical skills. The speaker suggests that Novel AI needs to be more user-friendly and provide clearer guidance for beginners. They conclude by expressing optimism about the tool's potential and the improvements made, despite the current learning curve and documentation limitations.

Keywords

NovelAI

NovelAI is an artificial intelligence tool designed to assist in the writing process, particularly for authors creating books or short stories. In the video, the speaker discusses their initial skepticism about NovelAI but acknowledges recent updates that have improved its functionality, leading them to purchase a subscription. NovelAI is highlighted for its ability to generate content, especially for 'not safe for work' material, and its evolving capabilities in following user instructions.

Updates

Updates refer to the recent improvements made to NovelAI that have enhanced its features and performance. The speaker mentions that these updates have been significant enough to alter their initial negative perception of the tool. Updates are crucial for any software to address user feedback, fix bugs, and introduce new functionalities to improve the user experience.

Backlash

Backlash denotes the strong negative reactions the speaker received after their previous critical video about NovelAI. This term illustrates the intensity of the community's defense of the tool and the speaker's acknowledgment that some of the criticism was justified. It reflects the high stakes and emotional investment users have in the tools they rely on.

Story Mode

Story Mode is one of the operational modes within NovelAI, specifically designed for writing narratives such as books or short stories. The speaker discusses this mode as the preferred choice for authors using the tool. It is an essential feature for guiding the AI's output to generate coherent and contextually relevant text.

Prompting

Prompting in the context of NovelAI refers to the new feature that allows users to guide the AI by providing specific directions or cues for the text it generates. The speaker tests this feature by using an author's note and a style prompt to influence the AI's output. Prompting is a critical aspect of controlling the narrative direction in AI-generated content.

AI Model - Kara

Kara is the latest and most advanced AI model offered by NovelAI. The speaker sets it as their preferred model due to its high-quality language output, which is on par with other advanced models. Kara represents the cutting-edge technology within NovelAI that aims to produce more sophisticated and natural-sounding text.

Not Safe for Work (NSFW)

NSFW content includes material that is inappropriate for a professional setting and typically involves explicit violence, sex, or other adult themes. The speaker praises NovelAI for its effectiveness in generating NSFW content, suggesting it as a tool of choice for authors who write in these genres.

Lore Book

The Lore Book is a feature within NovelAI that allows users to create and store detailed information about their characters, world-building elements, and settings. This information is then accessible to the AI only when needed, thus conserving context space. The speaker highlights the utility of the Lore Book for maintaining consistency and depth in a story.

User Instructions

User Instructions are directives provided by the writer to the AI to guide the narrative or style of the generated text. The speaker discusses their experience with NovelAI's ability to follow these instructions, noting that while it has improved, there is still room for the tool to better adhere to user guidance.

Beta Testing

Beta testing refers to the phase where a new software tool, in this case, another AI writing tool, is tested by users before its official release. The speaker mentions being a beta tester for a different AI tool that offers longer text outputs. Beta testing is an essential part of software development to identify and rectify issues before the tool is made widely available.

Technical Skills

Technical skills are the abilities required to understand and operate complex technological systems. The speaker expresses concern that NovelAI may not be user-friendly enough for authors who lack technical skills, suggesting that the tool needs to be more intuitive and accessible to a broader audience.

Highlights

The speaker initially had a negative opinion about NovelAI but has since changed their mind due to recent updates.

NovelAI has improved to the point that the speaker has purchased a subscription.

NovelAI is particularly good for writing content that is not safe for work, such as excessive violence or sex.

The speaker discusses the different modes in NovelAI, recommending 'Story mode' for book or short story writing.

A significant issue previously was the lack of control over the direction of the AI's output, which has been improved with updates.

The AI now allows for user prompts, which can be entered using a specific syntax.

The latest AI model, named 'Kara', is praised for its advanced capabilities.

The General instruct module is chosen for its ability to follow user instructions.

Config presets like 'Fresh coffee' are used to influence the style of the AI's writing.

The speaker prefers a minimum of 400 words per output, which NovelAI currently supports.

NovelAI's output length is a point of contention, with the speaker beta testing another tool that offers longer outputs.

The speaker finds NovelAI's output does not always follow the instructions, particularly regarding point of view.

NovelAI is praised for its high-quality text output, despite some issues with instruction adherence.

The speaker suggests using NovelAI in conjunction with other AI tools for writing, particularly for not safe for work content.

The lore book feature in NovelAI is highlighted as a useful tool for managing character and world-building information.

The speaker criticizes NovelAI for its initial lack of clarity on its target market and difficulty in usage for non-technical authors.

NovelAI's potential is acknowledged, but the need for further improvements to make it more user-friendly is emphasized.

The speaker is optimistic about the future of NovelAI based on the recent updates and improvements made.