Ko Nakamura, 44, and Eiichi Nakata, 35, wondered if it was possible to design a computer software program that could help its users write fiction and expand the possibilities for their stories. Nakamura is known as the author of the novel "Hyakkai Nakukoto" ("Cried Over It 100 Times"), which sold 850,000 copies.
Using a narrative developed by "Monogatari Soft," a story-writing assistance system that the two were involved in developing, the two writers coauthored a novel titled "Boku wa Shosetsu ga Kakenai" ("I Can't Write a Novel"). It will be published at the end of October by Kadokawa Corp.
In early 2012, Nakamura proposed a joint software development project to the Shibaura Institute of Technology, his alma mater, and Nakata later joined the project. Students at the institute designed the software in accordance with Nakamura and Nakada's ideas.
The software can be used to create a specific plot and characters.
If users answer 11 questions such as "What event sets the story in motion?" or "What challenge is created by that event?" the software will automatically draft a plot.
Answer 30 questions about the protagonist, and the software will create an appropriate character based on the answers.
The program also has a help function. If users click on the help button in the story-starting event section, for example, the software will display various phrases, such as "One day, all of a sudden," "became involved in ... ," and so on to help users expand their ideas.
Nakamura and Nakata started developing the plot using the software at the beginning of 2013, and then began writing the novel in turns.
It took more than a year for them to complete the entire book, which tells the story of a high school student who has a troubled relationship with his stepfather and finds a place for himself by learning how to write a novel through his school's literature club.
The software is still undergoing development and is not yet scheduled to be released to the public.
"The program is still not at a stage where it can completely facilitate the writing process," Nakamura said.
"But it meant a lot for me to realize that I can make a novel more interesting if I consciously do what I used to do unconsciously before."
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