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Programmers Share 188 Computer-Generated Novels On GitHub (thenewstack.io)

Posted by samzenpus on from the read-all-about-it dept.

An anonymous reader writes: Last month 188 entries turned up on GitHub in an event challenging programmers to write computer code to generate 50,000-word novels. "The 'novel' is defined however you want," wrote the organizer for National Novel-Generating Month. "It could be 50,000 repetitions of the word 'meow.' It could literally grab a random novel from Project Gutenberg. It doesn't matter, as long as it's 50k+ words." Novels were submitted as Issues on the event's GitHub repository, and this year saw intriguing titles like "The Hero with Arbitrarily-Many Faces," "THE CYBERWHALE – a cyberpunk version of Moby Dick," and "Terms and Conditions – a Legal Thriller."

24 of 49 comments (clear)

  1. Next a movie by ls671 · · Score: 2

    Next let's make a movie, it might beat some actual movies too.

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    Everything I write is lies, read between the lines.
    1. Re: Next a movie by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1, Insightful

      Lucas has already done it. Didn't you see the prequel trilogy?

    2. Re: Next a movie by malditaenvidia · · Score: 1

      Jar Jar makes BB-8 look like fucking Shaft.

  2. Duh by JustAnotherOldGuy · · Score: 2

    If the only requirement is that it has to be "at least 50,000 words long", why not just submit a copy of the dictionary and call it done?

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    1. Re:Duh by MightyYar · · Score: 1

      That'll get the creative juices flowing!

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    2. Re:Duh by John+Allsup · · Score: 1

      To those brought up on the 'meet the requirements, then you're done' ethos, it probably doesn't make sense. I guess here the aim is for the programmers to challenge themselves, and each other. By having a ridiculously low bar, you can ensure you produce at least one thing which 'qualifies' with ease. Thus there is no risk of not being able to produce anything good enough: the negative feedback one gets from fear of failure can be a real obstacle to learning and creativity sometimes.

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      John_Chalisque
    3. Re:Duh by KGIII · · Score: 1

      SYNTAX ERROR LINE 10

      You might as well make it count 'em while you're there. It has been a long time but... Hmm... LET A = "DUH" IF A 50000 GOTO {line number} ELSE GOT {line number} then PRINT A and a line for END.

      Meh, something like that. It has been a *very* long time.

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      "So long and thanks for all the fish."
  3. Hairy proposal by Tablizer · · Score: 1

    How about a bunch of Trump quotes. The book would be huuuuuge!

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    Table-ized A.I.
    1. Re:Hairy proposal by Zaowulf · · Score: 1

      China! https://youtu.be/RDrfE9I8_hs

    2. Re:Hairy proposal by jebtang · · Score: 1

      Nice, laugh for 5 mins HAHAHAHAHAHA

  4. the point by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1

    The point would be an interesting solution that fulfills the requirement. Especially something that a human could read without clawing out their eyes. Plus you have to share the computer code that you used to generate the novel. (Copy file "novel.txt." into "compunovel.txt" -or- while i ++ 50,001; book+=" meow";

    You could submit that, and some people may, but you're not going to receive much attention for doing so.

  5. Any non-borrowed texts worth reading? by Black+Parrot · · Score: 1

    \subject

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    Sheesh, evil *and* a jerk. -- Jade
  6. This is stupid by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1

    Any monkey can write a novel. But it takes creativity to write a good novel.

    Better challenge would be to write good mad libs. Something like that would be NP complete. You know, something for the day when holodeck fantasy simulation becomes good enough to be interesting.

    1. Re:This is stupid by rsborg · · Score: 1

      Any monkey can write a novel. But it takes creativity to write a good novel.

      Better challenge would be to write good mad libs. Something like that would be NP complete. You know, something for the day when holodeck fantasy simulation becomes good enough to be interesting.

      Ah, but the good ideas could be focus-group tested with editors as your focus group.

      Kimosabe, you're not thinking like a megacorp or VC-funded startup! Just imagine when the script editor role is outsourced to many people - you run dozens of scripts by many editors, and choose the winner(s) to be sent to another focus group of consumers^Wfilm watchers. Then you pick the ones that win and spend money on them.

      Or better yet, you can splice them together to make an even better movie! Just think of the profits!

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  7. Spoiler by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1

    Markov chain generator, seeded from whatever Project Gutenberg books you can find. Makes a nice Pride & Prejudice and Tale of Two Cities crossover, where everyone is in the same room doing trying to figure out how to marry, while observing Jaques killing the same person twice. ...

    Okay, just picked a random "novel", and it reads more like a CRPG combat output log rather than an actual story. So instead of announcing that the contest is over and the books can be read, it's probably better to show which ones are technically the best so that we can focus on how they can be further improved if desired.

  8. Computer generated? by penguinoid · · Score: 1

    printf(" [insert text of your favorite novel here] ");

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    1. Re:Computer generated? by Zero__Kelvin · · Score: 1

      That would never work. The first time there was a quote in the text it would be game over; the code wouldn't even compile.

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      Guns don't kill people; Physics kills people! - John Lithgow as Dick Solomon on Third Rock From The Sun
  9. Chicken by umafuckit · · Score: 1

    It's not a novel and it's not exactly "computer generated" but I do love the chicken paper and it's later presentation at a meeting

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  10. 186 by Hognoxious · · Score: 3, Funny

    186 of them were by APK.

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  11. comma space chapter 12 by Impy+the+Impiuos+Imp · · Score: 1

    Novels were submitted as Issues on the event's GitHub repository, and this year saw intriguing titles like "The Hero with Arbitrarily-Many Faces," "THE CYBERWHALE – a cyberpunk version of Moby Dick," and "Terms and Conditions – a Legal Thriller."

    Wake me up when it generates "Lorelai and Rory: When The Love Goes A Little Too Far".

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  12. Check out the Tom Clancy Plog Generator. by jimbob6 · · Score: 1

    Maddox http://www.thebestpageintheuni...

    1. Re:Check out the Tom Clancy Plog Generator. by jimbob6 · · Score: 1

      Plog? Dumb-ass!

  13. Re:Hodor. A novel by Hodor. by OolimPhon · · Score: 1

    Buffalo!

  14. Re:One way to do this by david_thornley · · Score: 1

    How did you get enough text on your CP/M machine? Did you have single- or double-density floppies?

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    "When you have eliminated the unacceptable, whatever is left, however improbable, must be the truthiness" - Holmes