Write like an LLM

• List key points in bold. A description can go afterwards, but putting the key point to paper first just plain solves writing block. And it’s easier to read, too, at the cost of being repetitive.

  That said, this point can be reserved for the draft. I’m writing this way to make a point, but if you let your words flow you’ll create something beautiful.

• Best-of-N. Instead of getting the wording perfect the first time, lower your bar and write more words. Then pick and choose the ones that work better!

• Give yourself room to make mistakes. Being 100% correct isn’t worth it if you can write two, five, ten times as much at a mere 98% correctness.

  Besides, if nobody calls you on those mistakes, that just means you’ve got to get better at marketing!

That being said, please don’t copy the worst traits of LLM output. Don’t be afraid to shake it up a little. Variety is at the beating heart of creativity, after all.

• Be brief. Don’t repeat yourself, and throw out anything that doesn’t help get your point across.

• Be precise and refutable. Don’t couch your words in qualifiers like “I think” or “I once heard.” You can be wrong about something, you can be right about something, but you can’t just be vaguely unsettling.

  Hearsay, in particular, is irrefutable. The statement “somebody said something” is straightforwardly true, even if that particular something isn’t.

And finally, just like the rest of society, the points made here stand just as tall (if not taller) without AI.

Did you catch that? That last sentence will evoke a different feel in you, depending on the lens you viewed it through. Anyone who’s used AI tools to great benefit will read this (correctly!) as a not-so-subtle jab, feel disinclined to share this, and maybe even distrust me. To the other side, though, this is a signal that I’m of the in-group and therefore clearly trustworthy.

It’s frustratingly vague and wholly irrefutable (without a whole lot of philosophy), and you’re not even sure if I’m just joking! And the worst part? It’ll still work, even with the explanation!

Do not write this way. Instead, something like this flows better and doesn’t include jabs:

All points here stand even without AI! But I really wanted you to click, whether in morbid fascination or genuine curiosity.

See? It’s not that hard.

In conclusion: Write in such a way that your words are either precisely wrong or precisely right. Being a little wrong is better than being nothing at all.