Ask HN: How do you make AI writing usable?

4 points·david_shi··7 comments

Every time I ask the latest models to write something, it defaults to LLMisms like contrastive negation and long unnecessary lists.

Is there a way to desloppify AI writing, or is this just the new status quo?

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This is a helpful resource your AI can reference, though each model has its own inherent style and preferences: https://tropes.fyi/tropes-md

Ah this is very helpful. I've been pointing out things that the model does, labeling it, and then adding them into a skill.

The models (Opus, etc) are very good at labeling the pattern when I point it out, but if I don't prompt it beforehand it responds like a host from Westworld.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UTZ6Lvh5gL4

Instead of having it do the writing, use it as an assistant (research, sample text) and then pick good parts and write it yourself. Examples of your/good writing are indispensable

Depends on who you are writing for too

Yeah. I'm realizing that the models are strong at drafting the overall shape of the writing but the specific phrases are grating once you've seen it hundreds of time in slop.

There is some advice that goes something like "read more to get better at writing"

Models follow examples far better than instructions. "Write like this:" with examples

Even with the examples, I've found that explicitly pointing out what not to do is moderately helpful if the model is given some time to self-evaluate. I wish this was something that came out of the box though.

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