Give it your child's name and age and the things they love, and Hemmingway writes a bedtime story with them as the hero. Their rabbit is in it, by name. So is the digger, and it is the right colour.
The child, the toys and anything from their day come from you. The adventure around them it makes up, as a story has to, and it keeps it gentle: no monsters, nobody lost, and an ending in bed.
What makes a good bedtime story
- Get the small things exactly right. A child will forgive a thin plot. They will not forgive Biscuit being called a bunny if Biscuit is a rabbit.
- Keep the problem small. A missing pancake, a digger stuck in the sand, a moon that needs tucking in. Big danger wakes a child up. A small problem solved kindly settles them.
- Give it a line that comes back. A phrase repeated every page or so lets them say it with you.
- Use today. If something was hard, a first swimming lesson or a wobble at nursery, the hero can meet a small version of it and manage.
An example
Asked for a five-minute story for Noor, who is 5 and loves her stuffed rabbit Biscuit, diggers, the colour yellow and pancakes, an opening along these lines is what to expect:
Once there was a girl called Noor, who had a rabbit called Biscuit and a very yellow digger.
Every night, when the house went quiet, the digger started up, brrm, very softly, so as not to wake anybody.
"Where to tonight?" said Noor. Biscuit pointed one long ear at the moon.
The story goes on from there, slows down, and ends with Noor back in bed.
By age
- Two to three: very short, one idea, lots of repetition, things from their own day.
- Four to six: a small adventure with one problem and a helper, about five minutes aloud.
- Seven and up: longer, with a little mystery. Ask for a story in parts and read one part a night.
For an older child who wants a proper plot, the story generator and the short story generator are the better tools.
Common questions
Is the bedtime story generator free?
Yes. Hemmingway has a free trial with no card needed, and this tool opens it with your answers filled in. You sign up once, and the story is written in the chat.
Can it put my child's name in the story?
Yes. They are the hero, and a brother, a sister or a pet can come along if you add them to the favourite things.
Is the story suitable for a young child?
It is asked to keep things calm, with nothing frightening and an ending in bed. It is still written by an AI, so read it through before you read it aloud, and change anything that does not suit your child.
Is what I type about my child used for training?
No. Hemmingway never trains its models on your chats. The privacy page lists everything that is kept.
Will it sound like AI?
It is built not to. Hemmingway-1, the model behind it, came first on sounding like a person in our own blind test, Human-Likeness. Swap in the words your family uses, and do the voices yourself.