Writing Tips (Sometimes): Let's Talk About Midjourney

This is a continuation of my series about AI. You can read the rest of the series here: 

• Let's Talk About AI

• Let's Talk About Google AI Audio Narration

• Let's Talk About ChapGPT (and other text-generative AI)

Today we are going to talk about Midjourney!

Much of the widespread, non-techie buzz surrounding AI started with MidJourney, at least the way I remember it. Last September, when I started using it, the images it was producing were quite good, not to mention, it was fun to play with. But the advances the technology has made since then are no less than astounding.

You probably know that MidJourney is not the only image generator out there. There are also tools such as Stable Diffusion and Dall-E, and companies like Adobe have begun to build in AI art tools as part of their platforms. I expect to see these built-in tools become more and more prevalent over the next few years, unless a court case brings the whole AI system down (which is unlikely).

Regardless of all that, AI art is here, and it's here to stay. So how do you use these tools? Naturally, each one is a little different, and accessing them is going to vary. But today I’m going to talk about Midjourney.

Step 1: Get Discord.

To use Midjourney, you first need an account on Discord, which is a chat platform somewhat like Slack, if you’re familiar with that. Discord is free to use, and it has a desktop version, a browser version, and a phone app.

Click here to set up an account.

It is a group-based platform, which means you need to be invited to join what are called “servers.” Luckily for you, I run two! That just means you don't have to go digging for a place to get started.

Click here to join Write All The Words, where we discuss all things writing and indie publishing.

Click here to join AI Curious, an AI-positive space where we discuss all things AI.

I’m not going to spend a ton of time going over how it works, but here is a quick-and-dirty tutorial:

This is the AI Curious server.

To the left, you’ll find servers. These are the groups you are in. Beside that, you’ll see channels. These are message threads, typically organized by topic. You can see here I have admin categories, AI categories, and there are more if you scroll down.

In the center is the message history. You type your message in the box at the bottom, hit enter, and your comment will appear right above. Conversations show up with the speaker’s name and profile picture.

All the way to the right, you’ll see the people who are in the server with you, in addition to any automated services that the admin has installed. You can see I have added AI Bot, Midjourney, and Pronoun Picker, all bots with various uses.

Different groups have different preferences and requirements, but typically you will see a channel labeled “admin” or “rules” or something to that effect, where you can check out the basic guidelines for how the server functions.

Remember, it’s just normal, carbon-based human people on discord. I promise. Completely human. Cross my heart. Anyway, we’re all winging it.

Hot tip: you can mute specific channels or entire servers! If you are getting too many notifications, discord offers lots of notification customization options, so I recommend taking advantage of them.

Step 2: Get a Midjourney subscription.

The next step is to purchase Midjourney. Click here to set up your account.

A few months ago, they eliminated the free trial because so many people were abusing it. It now costs $10+ per month, depending on how many images you want to generate. It is not a locked-in contract, so you can simply pay $10 and then cancel your subscription, if you just want to play around with it.

Once you have your subscription, there are three ways to use Midjourney. The first is to join the main Midjourney discord server. You can do that from their website. I don’t recommend it, however; it’s sheer chaos and very overwhelming, especially to a new discord user. The second way is to join another server that has Midjourney installed. AI Curious (my AI server) has Midjourney, so you’re welcome to join and test it out there (you can also make your own private server and invite Midjourney to it). The third way is through direct messaging on the discord app. Once you’re subscribed, the Midjourney bot will send you a message. Once you accept, then you can simply send your commands directly to it.

Step 3: Learn the commands.

If this sounds scary, don’t worry, it isn’t.

All you do is go to the channel in the server where you want to use Midjourney, and type: /imagine

That’s it. A little box will pop up, and you can select it or hit enter.

(You can see I am doing this in the channel labeled "midjourney-2" as in this server, I have specific spaces set aside exclusively for using Midjourney.)

Once you've typed /imagine and selected the prompt, a little box that says “prompt” will appear next to where you typed /imagine.

Here is where you type whatever you want to ask Midjourney to create for you and hit enter. A message will pop up—a reply from Midjourney telling you that it's working on it.

After a moment, you’ll see some vague, blobby images show up; then they will form into less blobby shapes…

...until you get four images that are crisp, clear, and complete:

Underneath the images, you will see 9 buttons. U means “Upgrade” and V means “Version” and the number corresponds to each image, left to right, top to bottom. The recycle button simply tells it redo the prompt.

If you click one, you’ll get another message from Midjourney with the new version. This means it’s clearer and has higher DPI.

I picked U2 and got this happy guy:

(note the little kid in the background with three arms lol)

Below this image, you can see a whole bunch of new options, including zooming features and variation features. I’ll let you play with these on your own.

You can also use additional commands. So for example, you can ask Midjourney to create an image with specific dimensions, or with an older version of Midjourney.

Here is a dictionary of commands: https://docs.midjourney.com/docs/command-list

The five images below are five iterations of the same prompt, "woman standing below a tree," but with an added modifier for each previous version of Midjourney. V3 was what the images looked like last October, v4 was what they upgraded to in January, and now, the images are even better than version 5 (which we upgraded to in May). The tech is improving incomprehensibly fast.

Here is what I get if I redo my robot on the beach prompt with version 5.2 and a 3:2 aspect ratio:

Step 4: Learn the nuances.

It’s important to remember that AI art tools are just software. They don’t “understand” things like humans do. They don’t get nuances or understand context. So if you can’t get the image you want, try playing around with verbs, adjectives, or style indicators.

For example, if you want a woman with a sword, you may have to ask it for “a woman holding a sword” or “a woman wielding a sword” or “a woman fighting with a sword” or "swordswoman" before you narrow in on what you want. Be specific. Don’t be afraid to include as many details as you want. Don’t be afraid to specify race, hair color, posture, or any defining features you want. You can zoom out “an aerial view” or zoom in “a close up.”

You can ask for people, animals, scenes, objects, imaginary things, or vague concepts. I like to ask for random math concepts when I'm bored:

"/imagine [the golden ratio in space]" or "/imagine [Pythagoras theory in watercolor]"

You can also ask for things like “watercolor” or “painting” or “photograph” or “linotype,” in order to get a certain stylized look. Or you can add in eras, ie “1950s-style.” There are tons of AI prompt dictionaries online to help you get started.

Be aware that you may encounter biases in the images as you work. Racial and gender biases are quite common, and it’s quite rare to get a disabled person in an image unless you specifically ask for it. Midjourney has done a lot of work to mitigate these issues, but they still do crop up.

Midjourney is a fun tool to play around with, and has more possibilities than you can fathom. The options are limited only by your imagination and its training data.

Here is my robot on the beach in watercolor:

Using the Art Midjourney Generates

Art AI generation is less relevant to writers than something like ChatGPT, but there are still many ways to use art as part of the creative process.

I’m particularly a fan of asking for images that describe specific scenes I’m working on. The images give me ideas for details I can include in my descriptions, and help me better visualize the scene. I sometimes ask for characters as well, which is both fun and very useful for world building. I’ve asked it to create monsters, landscapes, maps, and even symbols and blueprints.

Here is a recent one I created to help me better describe an old winery that was recently unearthed by some curious fantasy characters:

There are mixed opinions on whether these types of images should be used for cover design or on social media, but I’ll leave those decisions up to you.

Regardless, Midjourney is a really incredible tool that has great potential to help you with your writing and brainstorming process, and it’s getting better every day.

Note: If you have concerns about copyright and what uses for AI-generated images are okay, I recommend you consult a copyright lawyer.

P.S. Below find just a few more Midjourney images of different subjects and in different styles!

On Incremental Growth

You may remember that roughly a million years ago, I wrote an essay about my chives plant, in which I noted that I'd had my chives plant for fifteen years, which at that point, was almost half my life. The chives did finally die from bugs, alas, but I went back to their parent plant and got another chunk, so at least my current chives are genetically related to the old ones.

For a long time, though, I kept plants around mostly for aesthetic reasons. It didn't much matter if they died because I could always go out and get more. I could grow new ones. After all, even plants in the wild die all the time.

But lately, my perspective has changed. Weirdly enough, it was because I had to repot my aloe plant. It had been in a plastic pot, but it had gotten so big and heavy, that the pot had the tendency to try to capsize, and I had to prop it up with a rock. So I bought a heavier clay pot, and when I pulled out the roots, I discovered that the aloe had actually become rootbound. And it occurred to me, that although I'd killed many other plants in my life, clearly I was doing something right with this aloe.

And then I thought to myself, maybe we're friends. Not just general friends, like I am with all the trees, but real friends. Close friends. And then I looked around at all my other plants, and realized all of them were happy. Not just alive, or hanging on by a thread, but like they weren't just an aesthetic anymore. They were happy to be here, and I was happy to have them.

So I decided they all deserved names. It took me several days, but please let me introduce to you my plants:

From left to right:

Spiderplant, Cornel; ponytail palm, Eleanor; alacasia, Weil; begonia, Jean-Paul; chives, Jeanu; bonsai, Søren; aloe, Simone; lamb's ear, Albert; inch plant, Tahani; begonia in a jar, Michael; philodendron, Chidi.

The only plant I have yet to name is my jasmine plant, who currently is living her best life in full bloom outdoors.

I think sometimes I forget or am unable to see the value in the small things. It can be easy to overlook how incremental actions add up over time. How brushing my teeth everyday means I still have teeth, and will for the duration of my life. How playing piano for only a few minutes here and there has grown my skill immeasurably. How each word I write plays a role in improving my skill as a writer. How putting a single dish in the dishwasher makes my house just a little bit cleaner.

Each action on its own feels like it means nothing. It is a single choice, a forgettable action, something that just happens, sometimes with intention and sometimes without. But when viewed over time, these little actions add up, and together become a much larger thing. A clean house, a new skill, a relationship.

Taking time to water my plants every few days means they survive and grow and thrive. It's a habit. A thing I do because I'm supposed to, because I chose to have plants. But then suddenly, I realize they've been my friends for years. Years which, if those plants were to die, would take that same number of years to replace.

Incremental growth is still growth. Incremental change is still change. Even if it's hard to see while it's still happening.

July Cat News: Meet Freya!

Our new cat is named Freya. Her story is the kind of story that might make you angry, so if you don't feel like being annoyed at humankind, skip ahead. 

We found her in the neighborhood across the street from our house. She was yowling bloody murder at the back door of a house that had recently been listed for sale. It was night, and there are coyotes here, and we knew the house had been mostly empty for months, so we snagged her and took her home. The next morning, I contacted the realtor on the listing, told him we'd found the cat, and asked if she belonged to the owners of the house, thinking that perhaps the cat had been upset by the packing and escaped.

While we awaited his reply, we did some digging. One of the other neighbors said that the family had gone through a messy divorce, which is why the property had been mostly empty for months. The cat had appeared roughly around the time the house went up for sale, and the neighbor had been feeding her outside. The cat was very sweet and cuddly, and we quickly discovered she was declawed. We had her checked for a microchip (none) and checked all the local Facebook groups & SPCA pages for any missing cat posts (also none).

When the realtor got back to us, he reported that the family said the cat was a stray they had been feeding and had suggested we take her to the SPCA. The cat was left alone, outside, declawed, trying to get back into a very specific house—we deduced that the most likely story is that the family abandoned her when they left. And then they had the gall to tell us to take her to the SPCA, which they could have easily just done themselves.

Long story short, we have a new cat. She's sweet and gentle, loves humans, likes Blueberry, although, is uncertain about the other cats. And given the personalities of the rest of the crew, I don't blame her lol.

Blueberry has been having a grand old time this summer. There is a lake near us with no houses on it, part of a state park, so we have been taking evening trips over to wade in the water and schniff all the schnoffs. He's very popular and gets many hugs from children, meets lots of friend-shaped frendos, and occasionally rolls in something dead. It's close by, so an easy adventure, plus there is nothing quite like an evening stroll along a lakeshore as a way to relax for the whole family.

The cats are a little less pleased, what with Freya's arrival. Buck is very confused about what exactly is going on and spends most of his time glaring suspiciously at empty rooms and hissing at nothing; Wilfred is trying to befriend everyone despite their resistance; and Rowan just wants to be left alone—she spends most of her days outdoors. The good news is that the vet says everyone is adapting as well as can be expected, everyone is healthy, and Rowan is one of the healthiest 18-year-old cats he's ever seen.

Writing Tips (Sometimes): Ariele's Hot Take On Writing To Market

This is part of my series of essays for writers. Get them delivered to your inbox by signing up here!

Family photo! Me, Blueberry, and Josh last winter <3

You’ve probably heard the phrase, “write to market” bandied around the indie author community quite a bit. It’s a popular phrase, and while there’s a bit of fuzziness in how it’s defined, it generally means: understanding the currently popular genres and tropes, and then writing books that reflect the currently popular genres and tropes.

Essentially, you’re analyzing market trends and trying to guess what direction readers want to go in, and then producing a product that aligns with your analysis. Do they want more fantasy romance with enemies-to-lovers tropes and lovable characters? Or do they want more gritty fantasy romance with love triangle tropes and dark themes?

Writing to market is a difficult and challenging endeavor, and the authors who do it well tend to have a solid, excited, devoted audience of readers who are always looking for the next best thing.

Despite many well-known author-influencers in the industry swearing by this method and technique, it definitely doesn’t work for everyone. I’ve met many an excellent writer who has done in-depth analyses of the market, written books that align with the most popular tropes and themes, and still not been a huge success.

Recently, I was watching a Master Class with Bob Iger, who is the CEO of Disney, and he said something that really stuck out to me. In his segment on anticipating what your audience wants, he said, “One of the most interesting and perhaps challenging aspects of creative storytelling is that you’re often giving consumers what they want before they actually know they want it, and certainly before they express the fact that they want it. That takes a lot of instinct; it also takes a lot of courage, because you’re telling a story to an audience hoping that they want it, but not knowing going in whether they do or not.”

He followed this up by saying that while there’s real value in understanding a marketplace, collecting that information in order to decide what story to tell is a waste of time. “I don’t think you ever learn enough from data about what a marketplace would want in terms of story, or how a marketplace would even react to a story. That decision needs to be based more on a gut instinct and on a confidence you have in the creative entity that’s telling the story.” [Any quotation errors are mine; I scribbled it out in pencil.]

In his case, the “creative entity that’s telling the story” might be Pixar or Marvel or whomever. But in our case, that’s us. We are the creative entity that’s telling the story.

So sure, doing market research is great. Read books in your genre. Read books out of your genre. Read books that haven’t been printed in a hundred years. Read stories that only exist in digital form, on Wattpad or Tumblr or whatever. Watch TV, watch movies, play video games.

But I truly do not believe that writing to market is the key to success. Writing something that’s amazingly unique and new and never-before-seen is also not the key to success.

The key to success is learning to trust in your gut and to have confidence in the entity that’s telling the story (that’s you).

If you look back through history at the writers and authors who were most lauded for their time, the writers who are considered literary geniuses, the writers who have made a ton of money, the writers who are still read by kids in school today—even the writers who aren’t read in school, but made a steady, reliable income from their work. They read a lot, and they wrote a lot (for the most part)—but most of all, they focused on being the best writer they could, and staying authentic to their own voice and their own art.

Is that a guaranteed path to success? Nah.

But there isn’t a guaranteed path to success as an author. We work in a speculative industry. So that’s what we have to do: speculate.

So if you think that writing to market sounds like the best thing ever—do it. And if it sounds awful and miserable and like you’d rather jump off a bridge in the middle of winter in Antarctica, then forget about it.

And for me: I plan to continue leaning into writing things that I love, and focusing my creative energies on producing work that makes me happy. And I’ll hope that one day, eventually, I’ll write something that will make a lot of other people happy too.

Blueberry with his favorite toy of all time: an old shoe with treats stuck inside it.