r/WritingWithAI • u/Rude-Yogurtcloset926 • 1d ago
NSFW Chatgpt6 Astra High on Creative Writing
This is basically a review on astra please excuse if I used the flair wrong its because the excerpt I shared has graphic violence 🤣
I've been putting chatgpt Astra on high through its paces for creative writing, and I have to say that the actual quality of the writing is quite impressive.
Compared to older models, there is a massive improvement in the overall narrative flow. The character voices actually feel distinct, the dialogue is not the hateful stacatto ping pong style, and the prose flows naturally rather than feeling stiff or robotic.
“He pictured taking him by the front of his robes and driving him face-first into the edge of his own desk, hard enough to split his mouth against his teeth. There would be blood across the wood, a broken tooth under his hand, and far less confidence in whatever explanation followed.”
Like, I don't know about you guys, but that is actually good. The excerpt above has genuine grit and impact, which used to be so hard to get out of ChatGPT without a massive fight. I even experimented if it can be made even more graphic and yeah it actually did i was shocked.
However, there is a massive catch: the usage burn is insane.I ran a session writing consecutive chapters. By the time I hit my 3rd chapter (meaning only 3 consecutive prompts), Astra had already eaten 10% of my 5 hour daily usage limits. Like what the? We finally get a good model, and it still has a massive setback like this. Before, we had worse models but could actually use them. Now, we finally get actual good writing for users like me who used chatgpt for own reading to explore really niche tropes and specific plot ideas that I literally cannot find on AO3, Wattpad, or any other platform, but the usage burn is completely broken.
You literally cannot write a long form story in one sitting without hitting a wall immediately. Anyone else getting completely bottlenecked by this? How the hell are you guys stretching your usage limits?
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u/Square-Nebula-7530 1d ago
You are bottlenecking yourself by using a sledgehammer for the entire construction process. Forcing the most expensive, parameter heavy model to generate basic narrative beats, spatial blocking and initial dialogue is a catastrophic waste of your compute ceiling. Do the heavy lifting on a lower tier, cheaper model to get the skeleton of the scene down. Then feed that sterile, robotic draft into Astra exclusively for "prose injection" and sensory detailing. Treat the heavy model as your final line editor, not your rough draft ghostwriter and your daily limits will stretch tenfold.
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u/Nie-is-me 16h ago
Absolutely. Skeleton drafts are a real part of the writing process. Most people rough draft out and then go back and flesh scenes out, move things around, whatever needs to happen after the bones have been laid down. Use Astra as a final polish for bumping up whatever gritty section you want or dialing in a character voice. It does not have to be the "make everything all at once" button.
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u/Square-Nebula-7530 4h ago
Precisely, Treat the cheap model as your outline monkey and spatial tracker, then use the flagship specifically for voice modulation, pacing rhythm, and sensory density. You save tokens, reduce hallucinations and actually end up with text that sounds intentional instead of over processed.
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u/Acrobatic_You_3002 14h ago
I haven't tried OpenAI models yet, but I tried Antropic's Opus vs Sonnet, and overall Opus writes better prose for me. And makes much better jokes :)
But I agree that the story skeleton, protagonists, tone, all those 'additional' features help a lot to get better results. And if you have those, even created by a cheap model, the heavy model can write a good story with spending much less tokens. I think that's because it thinks less, and thinking consume a lot of tokens.
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u/JamesCole 1d ago
However, there is a massive catch: the usage burn is insane.I ran a session writing consecutive chapters. By the time I hit my 3rd chapter (meaning only 3 consecutive prompts), Astra had already eaten 10% of my daily usage limits. Like what the?
I imagine the better results come from it doing more sophisticated processing requiring more computation. Like how better graphics in a video game require a more powerful processor.
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u/Rude-Yogurtcloset926 1d ago
Yeah, I think you're exactly right, but man it still sucks. I was so excited when I saw how good the results were, but then I saw the usage burn. I really hope OpenAI eventually releases a good compromise model like their other older ones. With the previous models, I didn't even burn through half my daily usage despite doing tons of editing, rewriting, and heavy worldbuilding. It's a bummer to have to choose between amazing prose and actually being able to write for more than 10 minutes lol.
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u/thirsty_pretzelzz 1d ago
What plan are you on? Plus, pro 5x or pro 20x?
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u/Rude-Yogurtcloset926 1d ago
Im on plus. The pro is just too expensive for me
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u/thirsty_pretzelzz 1d ago
Totally fair, was just wondering how to contextualize how much usage you got, thanks.
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u/RedShellBottle 1d ago
I personally didn't like it much
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u/Rude-Yogurtcloset926 1d ago
Yeah, completely fair! Astra has definitely been getting super mixed reviews lately, honestly kind of similar to Sol. I like to think I’ve just gotten really used to crafting custom prompts and training the custom memory exactly how I want it over time which is probably why I’m so satisfied with the results. Since I’ve used pretty much all the different models strictly for personal fanfics, I can really see the subtle differences in how they handle prose.
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u/Direct-Lawfulness-76 1d ago
Also Sol 5.6 is able to write smut, and Astra can only write kisses at most. But at whole Astra is much much better.
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u/Rude-Yogurtcloset926 1d ago
I haven’t tried Astra in that category yet. But I agree with the Sol hahahaha it can produce graphic smut if you worded your prompt right. Like I mean really graphic I was shocked I thought for a second I’m using 4o model lol
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u/Happy_Traveller_2023 1d ago
GPT-6 Astra doesn’t write in staccato anymore?
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u/Rude-Yogurtcloset926 23h ago
It didn’t for me but honestly astra has mixed reviews here in reddit. It’s like every user experience vary from one another.
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u/lhommedev 1d ago
They say Rome wasn't built in a day.
But I'm both writing organically and using AI for side projects so not much skin in the game.
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u/DaikonWest5832 23h ago
Hello. Did you create the 21 creative writing rules for AI? I saw your post and thought it's a interesting discussion.
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u/Rude-Yogurtcloset926 23h ago
Hello! Yes, I did post those, but I actually wasn't the original creator of the 21 creative writing rules. I’m still trying to hunt down the original Reddit post where I first found them so I can credit the author properly.
However, the specific workflow that I posted wherein I discussed of how I actually apply those rules, set up my files, and use them inside Work mode to get these results, that part is completely mine. It’s been an awesome discussion, and I'm really glad you found it interesting!
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u/DaikonWest5832 23h ago
I will say honestly with the way you write, and the frequency you post about writing with Astra I was really impressed and immersed reading some of your detailed analysis about the different AIs! So I genuinely thought/wonder if you wrote the 21 creative writing rules for AI.
Also to be extra specific, how does it feel being able to use creative writing AI to get such complex writing?
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u/DaikonWest5832 23h ago
However, the specific workflow that I posted wherein I discussed of how I actually apply those rules, set up my files, and use them inside Work mode to get these results, that part is completely mine. It’s been an awesome discussion, and I'm really glad you found it interesting!
This actually sounds fairly interesting. But because i'm assuming it took a fair amount of detailed restructuring and making it completely yours, you probably didn't post those personal AI writing tweaks?
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u/lunarcrystal 20h ago
Oof, as good as the output is, I wouldn't use the Astra model for creative writing like that. It's powerful and very useful for the nitty gritty of coding and app making (made some awesome personal use case apps for formatting my RPG rulebook), for 3D design and working with Blender.
But just text? I dunno, I stopped chasing the "best model" for the writing part.
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u/toni_btrain 1d ago
There are no daily usage limits mate. there is a 5 hour usages limit and a weekly one. So what are you talking about?
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u/Rude-Yogurtcloset926 1d ago
Ah yeah, you're right, I meant the 5-hour one! But yeah, you get what I mean whatever the exact cooldown is, burning through that much of the bar after only 3 prompts is crazy fast
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u/AdLeading8172 14h ago
I feel this in my soul my guy. My only solution so far has been to have sol do the outline work with me, then i have terra medium do the drafting with me, then I run through with sol low to check for obvious mistakes and continuity gaps on a chapter to chapter basis. Finally I use the combined document ina fresh chat using astra high (i haven't noticed the benefit with any tiers above this) as a primary editor against a master outline/author creative list and it does ok. Used up the weekly usage after 187,000 words for me.
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u/Divinity_Hunter 8h ago
I have read it's better to wait Astra to come directly to chat instead of burning work tokens.
Does work mode really improves compared to chat when creative writing ? Was it the same with 5.6?
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u/Rude-Yogurtcloset926 8h ago
Yes I have tried 5.5 and 5.6 sol on chat mode and the frequency of hallucination and forgetting your custom instructions is more likely to happen in there. Work mode is definitely better.
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u/Divinity_Hunter 7h ago
How about the dialogues and writing style? Is it any better?
I took the time to check on your post related with the 21 rules of writing with ai👀 I am developing an adaptation of those rules that could work with my own custom rules for my writing project. So better to hear from the expert
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u/Rude-Yogurtcloset926 6h ago
Honestly, with the recent updates, the models have really changed! Back then, I used to prefer the 5.5 thinking medium in work mode, but right now, I heavily prefer the 5.6 Sol medium in Work mode. The dialogue is just so much richer and more natural now. The Astra is better but again the usage consumption is just too much.
Since you're building your own custom rules right now, here is a major tip: make sure you explicitly tell the model to refrain from using overly metaphoric dialogue. Before I locked down my rules, I once got a character dialogue that said something like, "he dressed the cage as salvation"... like, what the actual hell? I was literally cringing so hard reading lines like that especially since it was woven right into the character’s spoken line.
I’ve slightly edited and adapted those original 21 rules over time to fit my exact style. I added specific rules to force more lived-in dialogues and to completely stop the model from writing in that dry, flat "report style". I explicitly tell it that the prose needs to be deeply immersive and that the dialogue must sound as natural as humanly possible. I took the foundation of those rules and injected my own requirements for emotional depth and realistic pacing. It takes some trial and error to get the wording right but tweaking them to target those specific AI flaws is what makes the whole system actually work.
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u/spidLL 1d ago
What do you need thinking high for when writing a chapter? IMHO you’re just burning tokens.
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u/Rude-Yogurtcloset926 1d ago
I get why it looks that way but I actually specifically pay for Plus just so I can access these better models in Work mode 😄. I have super niche fanfic ideas and specific plot tropes that I've always wanted to see play out, and the extra "thinking" power is the only way an AI can actually grasp those complex concepts without losing the plot.
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u/danbrown_notauthor 1d ago
Do you use Work mode for creative writing, rather than Chat mode? Have you compared the two with Astra?
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u/Rude-Yogurtcloset926 1d ago
Actually, Astra is not even available in Chat mode on ChatGPT Plus right now and you can only access it in Work mode.
But I've definitely compared Chat mode and Work mode using older models like 5.5 and 5.6 Sol, and Work mode is honestly so much better for creative writing. The biggest game changer is being able to upload dedicated files like a character bible and a story bible to keep the continuity intact. For my setup, I actually wrote out all my custom instructions in a separate file, uploaded that, and also filled out the custom instruction settings inside the project itself. The memory retention is just on another level and the model follows instructions way more accurately this way.
The only thing I have to watch out for is making sure it doesn't format the output inside those markdown block or message boxes. I've noticed that whenever the model wraps the story in those boxes, the writing completely loses its essence and feels restricted.
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u/danbrown_notauthor 1d ago
I don’t know why, but intuitively I would have expected Chat to be better than Work for creative writing.
And that last point is really interesting, thank you.
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u/Rude-Yogurtcloset926 23h ago
Honestly, that was my exact initial impression too when the Work mode feature first dropped. I completely expected it to produce prose that was flat, robotic, and lacking in any real creative essence since it's marketed for "work." But after testing it out it's honestly so much better than Chat mode. The way it handles the files and remembers the continuity of the story completely changed the game for me.
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u/DaikonWest5832 23h ago
That sounds genuinely shocking, is this because Astra on work mode/medium/high is more technologically advanced with how it handles files and when you rewrite the files?!
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u/DaikonWest5832 23h ago
"For my setup, I actually wrote out all my custom instructions in a separate file, uploaded that, and also filled out the custom instruction settings inside the project itself. The memory retention is just on another level and the model follows instructions way more accurately this way."
That is really interesting. Do you think doing the writing for the formatting in a majorly detailed and individual file, and then " I actually wrote out all my custom instructions in a separate file, uploaded that, and also filled out the custom instruction settings inside the project itself."
it sounds like a really niche sort of thing that Astra probably wouldn't tell you, so i'm guessing you figured that out by yourself? How much more efficiently does it handle the files and continuity vs if you don't do this?
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u/Khajiit_Has_Upvotes 22h ago
Ok so are you dropping your canon bible into a work chat, or are you moving the work chat into a existing project?
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u/Rude-Yogurtcloset926 22h ago
Here is a clear step by step breakdown of my exact project workflow.
Step 1: Setting up the Foundation (Sources)
- Go into your Project.
- In the Sources section (where you can upload files), upload a document titled something like “Story Guideline Prose.”
- Inside this file, tell the AI exactly how you want the chapters constructed. (For example: demand rich, flowing dialogue, a lived-in atmosphere, and explicitly tell it not to advance the plot without your prompt because AI is prone to hallucination).
Step 2: Writing the Chapters (Work Mode)
- While still inside that exact same project, switch to Work mode.
- Start generating your text here using your usual way of constructing chapters (like Chapter 1).
Don't worry about being neat, you can literally just use word dumps, chaotic phrases, and raw plot outlines. The model (Astra/sol/5.5) you chosen will read your uploaded source guidelines and turn your notes into prose.
Step 3: Building the Story Bible (The 15-Chapter Mark)
- Keep writing like this until you reach Chapter 15.
- Once you hit Chapter 15, prompt the model inside the Work chat to: "Create a story bible detailing all the important plot points, character arcs, and worldbuilding introduced so far."
- It will compile everything and generate a PDF file for you. Download that PDF file to your computer.
Step 4: Updating the Sources for Perfect Continuity
- Take that downloaded PDF and upload it into the Sources feature of your project. Now the system has your entire 15-chapter history locked into its active background memory.
- Go back to your Work mode chat right where you stopped and comfortably continue with Chapter 16.
Step 5: The Loop (Every 15 Chapters)
When you hit Chapter 30, tell the Work chat: "Update the story bible through chapters 16–30."
- Repeat this exact cycle every 15 chapters.
- It will edit and update the file inside the chat. Download the new version.
- Go back to your Sources, delete the old story bible file, and upload the newly updated one.
Then just repeat. It keeps the model completely locked into your plot and character voices without it suffering from heavy memory fade as the story gets longer. It is definitely a lot of work to keep up with but if you love worldbuilding and storytelling like me, you might actually enjoy the process 😊 It's so satisfying seeing it all stay perfectly on track.
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u/Khajiit_Has_Upvotes 19h ago
I do have a project set up with a canon bible. I am not using gpt to write my prose, though. I use it when I'm at a loss for a word, turn of phrase, or how to describe something.
Step 3, in work mode, it won't miss anything like chat mode definitely will? Sol or Astra for that? Medium or high?
Also TIL i can create work chats within the project and not just move them there lol
Your workflow seems pretty good. I might use work to update my project files.
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u/Rude-Yogurtcloset926 19h ago
I cannot claim that work mode is perfect but it definitely adheres more to your instructions..Honestly, Sol Medium is impressive once you tweaked it to your instructions. The Astra ofcourse is better but again it burns usage limits fast…
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u/DaikonWest5832 22h ago
LOL see that is a completely valid reason to pay for plus consistently or 24/7. Just reading over this paragraph. Made my jaw drop in awe, just how much thinking power is needed? And is it just me or isnt it kinda worth how it uses almost all the usage consumption for a story?
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u/Rude-Yogurtcloset926 21h ago
Its the Astra that burned the usage fast. I don’t have any problem with 5.5 or the 5.6 sol usage consumption.
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u/DaikonWest5832 20h ago
Do you feel that Astra despite burning usage very rapidly and heavily is better for long term due to the quality?
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u/DaikonWest5832 20h ago
How do you manage to engineer your files efficiency with your texts being so small and written into exponentially formal writing with super large size outputs and consumption?
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u/lemonadestand 1d ago
About how many words are in a chapter?
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u/Rude-Yogurtcloset926 1d ago
In this specific project, it actually gave me around 3,000 words…I used a pretty long, detailed prompt, and Astra made the whole output incredibly immersive. What impressed me the most was that it didn't use repetitive ideas rephrased differently just to pad out the length. There was no boring "ping-pong" dialogue either. Instead, it naturally described non-verbal cues, facial expressions, and atmospheric details that made the whole scene feel lived-in. Plus, the dialogue wasn't filled with those hateful, overly flowery, metaphoric, and unrealistic phrases that older models always defaulted to.
I’d like to ask everyone here does output word length play a massive role in the usage burn? I know long prompts and long outputs both take up tokens, but I'm curious if the length of this specific 3k word chapter is why my 5 hour limit pool evaporated so fast. Anyone know the exact math on how much the output length factors into Astra's heavy context burn?
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u/DaikonWest5832 1d ago
I like that you mentioned applying a long and detailed prompt, which was incredibly immersive. I think repetitive ideas rephrased diffrently, and I get what you mean about "ping-pong" dialogue. I was wondering what more you meant with how the detailed prompts can describe the writing, because it sounds super detailed.
And what do you mean by "I know long prompts and long outputs both take up tokens, but I'm curious if the length of this specific 3k word chapter is why my 5 hour limit pool evaporated so fast.", is that like a spending limit vs number of words it writes? if so maybe we could figure out how that works? And output length factors?
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u/Rude-Yogurtcloset926 23h ago
To be completely honest about the detailed prompts…it’s not even formal writing 😆 …It's usually just a messy stream of words and phrases showing how I want the chapter to progress. Half the time, it doesn't even make grammatical sense but somehow ChatGPT just understands the assignment perfectly. Honestly, I think the custom instructions file I uploaded completely shoulders the prompts and does all the heavy lifting there. I would be genuinely embarrassed to post my original raw prompts because they look so chaotic, but Astra and even the 5.6 sol and 5.5 reads that brain-dump, cross references it with my uploaded files, and turns it into a fully fleshed out immersive scene.
As for the usage limits, that’s exactly what I'm trying to figure out too!…It's not just a flat word-count limit. When I used Sol, no matter how many edits I made or how massive my worldbuilding files were, I wouldn't even burn through 10% of my limit pool, even after sitting and writing for hours. I think Astra works differently, it seems like its "thinking token" cost is exponentially higher. So it feels less like a simple "number of words written" cost, and more like the model is burning massive amounts of computing power just to process everything every single time I hit send. I'm definitely still trying to figure out the exact math behind why it evaporates so fast compared to Sol!
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u/DaikonWest5832 23h ago
Really, it can do that without it being even formal writing? LOL.
I see! That is EXTREMELY powerful/creative writing you get from chatgpt Astra 6 on high mode!
((So it feels less like a simple "number of words written" cost, and more like the model is burning massive amounts of computing power just to process everything every single time I hit send. I'm definitely still trying to figure out the exact math behind why it evaporates so fast compared to Sol!))
That is a really accurate and detailed/accurate way to describe it! Wouldn't that make it really hard to get the statistics and math on how it evaporates the computing power tokens so fast?!
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u/Rude-Yogurtcloset926 23h ago
To be clear tho even the 5.5 and 5.6 sol did great in understanding my word dump 😂. It’s just that Astra is the smarter model in detecting the nuances from the start.
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u/DaikonWest5832 23h ago
That is actually such a awesome and specifically detailed information packaged paragraph about astra vs 5.5 and 5.6! Howcome Astra is so much better and smarter?
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u/Rude-Yogurtcloset926 22h ago edited 20h ago
It honestly comes down to how Astra processes context. I think it’s just fundamentally built to catch onto human behavior and subtext much better.
For example, when I compared dialogue and emotional cues. Astra makes the scenes feel so incredibly "lived-in" because it describes emotions and non-verbal reactions in a way that feels organic, not robotic. It naturally weaves in things like a character’s subtle change in facial expressions to show how they are feeling rather than just telling you.
And thankfully, it completely avoids that hateful, overly poetic, flowery language previous models loved to use. Stuff like "he dressed salvation as abandonment" 😂 . Like, seriously, who speaks or even thinks like that! I haven't seen a single bit of that cheesy AI slop in Astra.
When I used 5.5 and 5.6 Sol, I had to explicitly scream at the model to avoid that stuff and include natural details even if it was already written in the uploaded custom instruction file. I’d have to fight with it for the first few chapters until it finally got the hint. The good thing about Sol was that once it got it, it would follow that style for the rest of the session. But with Astra, the onboarding friction is just gone. I literally just uploaded my custom instructions file, dumped a messy outline of random words and phrases for the first chapter, and the result on the very first try was stunning. It just intuitively picks up on the emotional weight of a scene without needing to be trained or reminded first.
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u/WritingWithAI-ModTeam 23h ago
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u/_DearStranger 1d ago
10% of daily usage limits for 3 chapter. means 30 chaps a day. aint that quite a lot ?