Computer-aided constrained writing

How can computers aid human creative processes without impinging on human creativity? I enjoy writing poetry, and I do not want to be made obsolete by an artificial poet. But what if computers could help rather than replace me? I want creative control over my work. All the creative decisions are to be mine, but creative choices alone do not make a poem. Choices must also be implemented. In this thesis I shall explore the role of computer-aids within a creative workflow, specifically when employing writing constraints, such as those defined by the Ouvroir de Littérature Potentielle (OuLiPo). I am approaching this topic both as a creative writer and a computer scientist. I shall investigate the how of constrained writing and the what of computer-aids through practical experimentation and observation. From these foundations I shall argue that computers need not impinge on human creativity and that a human:computer partnership may take advantage of the strengths of each while mitigating the weaknesses of the other. I shall discuss what must be considered when designing such computer-aids and explore how this could be implemented within a software application.