1667 - Terminal UI for writing fiction with language models
Show HN: 1667, a terminal UI for writing fiction with language models
1667 is a terminal-based writing tool that integrates language models to help authors draft fiction. It generates the next paragraph on demand, keeps every alternative take in a navigable tree, and stores stories as plain text files on your machine. With no account, no telemetry, and full control over your API endpoint, it offers a private, focused writing environment. Ideal for writers who want AI assistance without leaving the keyboard, 1667 supports multiple providers and runs on macOS, Linux, and Windows.
Every take you generate stays on the tree, and d is the only thing that removes one.
- bubblegumcrisis
This is so depressing for me. The drip will be everywhere.
- DC-3
Why would you want to write fiction with language models? Serious question.
What you would become, in effect, is the fictional Soviet 'writer' from Sam Kriss' 2011 short story 'The Machine'.
https://samkriss.com/2011/10/01/the-machine/
I do not think there is anything to aspire to in that.
- thegagne
Hm, I want something like this, except it doesn't write for you at all, instead it helps you build out your storyline, gives you writing prompts and feedback, maybe sometimes suggests ideas if you feel stuck, helps keep your character/story bible in order and text aligned with it, and gives you encouragement and visual feedback as you go along.|
Maybe add in some different "AI reviewer" type things, one to read broadly for enjoyment and give feedback, another as an editor to fine-tune particular sections. Even with these it should provide feedback, not re-written sections.
But I love the TUI approach and keeping things simple and organized for you, so you don't have to bother with all that. Bonus if it had some nice LaTeX / epub / PDF / html reader output.
- dbspin
So... You don't write with language models... You have a language model write for you... You can spend all the time you like developing structure and ideas, but if you don't actually do the writing you haven't written it.
This is spectacularly wrong headed. If you want a book with your name on it for adulation or career reasons, but lack the interest, time or talent to produce one - hire a ghost writer. Writers are affordable and plentiful.
Similarly if you have a hyperspecific interest, kink or genre preference - use your position as a presumably well remunerated tech person to hire a writer to cater to it. Trust me, we need the patronage.
If you're looking for the pleasure of writing, you will unfortunately have to undergo, as all writers have through history, the process of suffering and discovery that we call writing.
- drivingmenuts
https://www.keranews.org/news/2026-08-13/generative-artifici...
The article describes a much more practical reason to avoid using LLMs for writing fiction - you could lose a book deal if you do (and you have a desire to publish for money). There are probably ways to achieve the same end result without going through a publishing house, but I imagine they aren't quite as lucrative nor able to provide the funds up front like a publisher can.