Asking AI well: prompts for writers
With a writing assistant, the quality of the answer almost always comes down to the request. Not its length: its precision. Here are the few habits that change the result most.
Say what it should do, not just the topic
"What do you think of this scene?" gets a generic comment. "Flag the three points where the tension drops and tell me why" gets something usable. The verb matters: flag, list, compare, rewrite only, give three versions.
Set constraints
An AI with no constraints tends to change more than needed. Tell it what has to stay put:
- "keep these two sentences identical";
- "don't change the tense";
- "stay under four lines";
- "don't introduce new characters".
Constraints don't limit the answer: they focus it.
Ask for options, not a verdict
"Write the chapter opening" puts a finished thing in front of you to accept or reject. "Give me three different ways to open this chapter, two lines each" leaves you the role of the one who chooses. For an author it's almost always the better request: the creative work stays yours, the AI widens the range.
One thing at a time
A request that asks for consistency, rhythm, word choice and structure all at once gets an answer that handles all of them badly. Split it: consistency first, then rhythm. Short, targeted exchanges give more than a single list-message.
In NovLore: don't repeat the context, pick the thread
NovLore's chat adds part of the context itself — the story bible, the card you select, the open chapter. Pasting that information again sends it twice and wastes credits.
What matters instead is choosing the right thread: plot, characters, world or general. The active thread goes into the system prompt and steers the answers; a question about a character's motive asked in the characters thread starts ahead.
Weak prompts and useful prompts
| Weak | Useful |
|---|---|
| "Improve this dialogue" | "Make this exchange tenser without lengthening it, keeping the last line" |
| "Does this character work?" | "List three inconsistencies between this scene and the character card" |
| "Give me ideas for chapter 8" | "Propose three events that raise the stakes after chapter 7, one line each" |
| "Write the description of the city" | "Give me five sensory details of this city that a resident would notice" |
Frequently asked questions
Do I need to be polite or formal with the AI?
No: it doesn't change the quality of the answer. Precision does. Better to spend your words on constraints and action verbs than on courtesies.
If the answer misses, do I rephrase or push back?
Rephrase. Repeating "no, better than that" often has the AI circling the same spot. Go back to the request, add the constraint that was missing ("too long: three lines max") and send again.