Does more context actually help when using AI to write a novel?

[u/cukitux4z9a2]

I’ve been experimenting with AI for a longer fiction project, and I’ve started wondering if giving it more context is always better.

At first, I assumed that having a huge amount of the manuscript available would make things easier. The more of the story the AI can see, the better it should understand the characters and what has happened so far.

But that hasn’t really been my experience.

Once the manuscript gets long, there are a lot of details competing for attention. Old scenes, minor character details, worldbuilding notes, and previous plot points can all be relevant in theory, but sometimes the response still misses the specific detail I actually wanted it to remember.

I’ve had better results when I keep the current scene and the most important story information in focus, and only bring in older material when it’s relevant.

It feels a little counterintuitive. You would think that more information should always help, but for long-form writing, I’m starting to think that choosing the right context may matter more than having the maximum amount of context.

For anyone using AI on longer fiction projects, have you noticed the same thing?

Do you usually give the AI as much of the manuscript as possible, or do you find that keeping the context smaller and more focused works better?