# CharacterChat: Supporting the Creation of Fictional Characters through Conversation and Progressive Manifestation with a Chatbot

arXiv: https://arxiv.org/abs/2106.12314 · HTML: https://mlsanity.com/paper/2106.12314/

## Key facts

- Cited by 18 papers in the map (data through 14 Oct 2026).
- Builds on 5 of its 41 references that are in the map.
- First posted on arXiv 23 Jun 2021.

## Builds on (most cited first, 5 of 5)

- [Language Models are Few-Shot Learners](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2005.14165/) (2020)
- [ConceptNet 5.5: An Open Multilingual Graph of General Knowledge](https://mlsanity.com/paper/1612.03975/) (2016)
- [TransferTransfo: A Transfer Learning Approach for Neural Network Based Conversational Agents](https://mlsanity.com/paper/1901.08149/) (2019)
- [An Interaction Framework for Studying Co-Creative AI](https://mlsanity.com/paper/1903.09709/) (2019)
- [Conversations with Documents. An Exploration of Document-Centered Assistance](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2002.00747/) (2020)

## Built on by (most cited first, 18 of 18)

- [Co-Writing Screenplays and Theatre Scripts with Language Models: An Evaluation by Industry Professionals](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2209.14958/) (2022)
- [From Individual to Society: A Survey on Social Simulation Driven by Large Language Model-based Agents](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2412.03563/) (2024)
- [Sparks: Inspiration for Science Writing using Language Models](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2110.07640/) (2021)
- [A Design Space for Intelligent and Interactive Writing Assistants](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2403.14117/) (2024)
- [Designing Creative AI Partners with COFI: A Framework for Modeling Interaction in Human-AI Co-Creative Systems](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2204.07666/) (2022)
- [Beyond Text Generation: Supporting Writers with Continuous Automatic Text Summaries](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2208.09323/) (2022)
- [Writer-Defined AI Personas for On-Demand Feedback Generation](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2309.10433/) (2023)
- [Creativity Support in the Age of Large Language Models: An Empirical Study Involving Emerging Writers](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2309.12570/) (2023)
- [Co-Writing with AI, on Human Terms: Aligning Research with User Demands Across the Writing Process](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2504.12488/) (2025)
- [Where Do I 'Add the Egg'?: Exploring Agency and Ownership in AI Creative Co-Writing Systems](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2509.15440/) (2025)
- [Language Models as Critical Thinking Tools: A Case Study of Philosophers](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2404.04516/) (2024)
- [Inspire creativity with ORIBA: Transform Artists' Original Characters into Chatbots through Large Language Model](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2306.09776/) (2023)
- [Constella: Supporting Storywriters' Interconnected Character Creation through LLM-based Multi-Agents](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2507.05820/) (2025)
- [Narrix: Remixing Narrative Strategies from Examples for Story Writing](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2604.07643/) (2026)
- [A Platform for Interactive AI Character Experiences](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2601.01027/) (2026)
- [ORIBA: Exploring LLM-Driven Role-Play Chatbot as a Creativity Support Tool for Original Character Artists](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2512.12630/) (2025)
- [Beyond Compliance: How AI Could Help Creative Writers by Refusing Them](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2605.16272/) (2026)
- [Towards Cognitive Process-Aware Proactive Writing Support](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2608.30424/) (2026)

## Abstract (arXiv)

We present CharacterChat, a concept and chatbot to support writers in creating fictional characters. Concretely, writers progressively turn the bot into their imagined character through conversation. We iteratively developed CharacterChat in a user-centred approach, starting with a survey on character creation with writers (N=30), followed by two qualitative user studies (N=7 and N=8). Our prototype combines two modes: (1) Guided prompts help writers define character attributes (e.g. User: "Your name is Jane."), including suggestions for attributes (e.g. Bot: "What is my main motivation?") and values, realised as a rule-based system with a concept network. (2) Open conversation with the chatbot helps writers explore their character and get inspiration, realised with a language model that takes into account the defined character attributes. Our user studies reveal benefits particularly for early stages of character creation, and challenges due to limited conversational capabilities. We conclude with lessons learned and ideas for future work.