A Year of Visionary Writing: From Silicon Dreams to the Future of AI

Join the AI Author’s Playbook for a year-long journey—writing a novella on the birth of the web and a report on AI’s future. Real-world projects, real-world impact.

Hi everyone,

Join the AI Author's Playbook: Our First Project—Writing Silicon Dreams

Welcome to the AI Author’s Playbook masterclass, where we’re not just learning about AI-powered writing—we’re making it happen. For the first six months of our journey together, we’ll write a complete novella. This is not just any project; we’ll be creating a 50,000-word novella titled Silicon Dreams—a tech-driven tale of ambition, ideals, and the shifting dreams of the early web. I believe the reader will love this novella because it’s not just about telling a story, it teaches us the actual history of the world wide web this century.

Inspired by Francis Spufford's award-winning novel Red Plenty, Silicon Dreams will trace the rise and transformation of the internet from the beginning of the 21st century to modern times. Much like Red Plenty told the story of Soviet central planning through a mix of real historical figures and fictionalized characters, Silicon Dreams will use the experiences of real-life tech pioneers like Sergey Brin and Mark Zuckerberg, alongside fictional characters, to explore the journey of the internet’s original ideals and their collision with commercial realities.

A Real-World Novella, Built Together

Through this project, we’re setting a unique goal: to produce a high-quality, publishable novella together, and all proceeds will go to AI with a Purpose, the nonprofit I’m forming to support impactful tech projects. This novella will be our chance to put the power of LLMs (large language models) into practice, walking you through the entire process, from idea inception to the final polish.

We’ll tackle the rise of Silicon Dreams' central characters like Mark Davenport, a visionary CEO trying to build a decentralized internet, and Emma Thompson, a privacy-focused social network founder, as they struggle to protect their ideals against the realities of Big Tech dominance. This is a chance to learn about the rise of the World Wide Web and also to refine your writing skills at the top of your craft.

What We'll Cover in Silicon Dreams

Over the next six months, here’s what you can look forward to:

• Brainstorming and Concept Development: We’ll begin with the core ideas for Silicon Dreams, shaping and sharpening the theme, characters, and world of the story. I’ll show you how I use the LLM so you can see what works and what doesn’t.

• Writing with an LLM: You’ll learn how to use an LLM to generate content, moving from outlines to scenes and dialogue with a focus on craft. We’ll cover effective prompts, refining output, and layering in authentic details.

• Editing and Refining: An LLM can write, but making it sing requires skillful editing. We’ll look at how to enhance AI-generated prose, build tension, add depth to characters, and polish language.

• Collaborative Improvement: This is more than just writing; it’s creating an actual product. You’ll see how repeated iterations and enhancements turn rough drafts into a finished, compelling narrative.

Why This Project?

Writing with AI isn’t just a technical experiment; it’s an emerging way to create real-world literature. I’m excited to show you the hands-on techniques and decision-making processes that go into shaping publishable work with AI. By writing Silicon Dreams, we’ll all gain a better understanding of what it means to create with an LLM, and we’ll see firsthand how AI can expand, support, and enhance our creative visions.

This is the start of a journey that combines history, technology, and storytelling like never before. And I can think of no better way to initiate writers into the process of crafting real-world material with an LLM than by actually doing it together.

I’m excited. Really. This is the beginning of something extraordinary, and I can’t wait to start it with you. So go ahead—invest in yourself for the year, and subscribe for the eleven bucks a month or whatever level works for you. If you're a writer, or even if you're just curious about how AI and LLMs can be applied to real-world projects, you’ll want to be part of this. I designed this experience with you in mind, to give you the benefit of hands-on practice, creative growth, and a deep dive into what AI can really do for storytelling and beyond. This is for you.

And we’re not done yet. In the next six months of the course we’ll shift to nonfiction and write the definitive guide to the Future of AI.

Following our work on Silicon Dreams, it’s time to turn to a new kind of project: a 10,000-20,000 word report on The Future of AI. Together, we’ll look ten years ahead, exploring AI’s potential, its challenges, and the ethical considerations that lie ahead. This is an opportunity to write about AI using AI itself, crafting an analysis that’s as trenchant as it is engaging.

What We'll Cover:

• Key Trends and Innovations: We’ll explore where AI is heading and the advancements shaping its trajectory.

• Challenges and Concerns: From ethical dilemmas to global impact, we’ll tackle the biggest questions facing AI.

• Expectations and Predictions: Together, we’ll envision the potential of AI in a way that’s grounded, insightful, and thought-provoking.

This project is designed to help you hone your nonfiction writing skills while keeping the clarity and impact of your ideas front and center. Using AI as a collaborative partner, we’ll create a report that captures the complexity and promise of AI’s future. The finished report will be published through AI with a Purpose, and every contributor will be credited.

From fiction to nonfiction, we’re creating real-world projects designed to elevate your writing to new heights. I’m thrilled to have you join this journey—welcome to the future!

Peace. Sign up so we can do this.

You won’t regret it.

Erik J. Larson