Writing and editing with AI
The strongest writing workflow keeps the pen in your hand: draft, then critique, then your own rewrite. Learn to ask for a diagnosis instead of a replacement, and to give the assistant a sample of your voice.
THE LOOP
Draft, critique, rewrite
Three passes, and two of them are yours. Draft: get something on the page, written by you or roughed out by the assistant. Critique: ask what is weak and why, not for a better version. Rewrite: you make the changes you agree with. Almost all the value sits in the middle pass, because a criticism you accept also improves the next thing you write.
"Make this better" skips the middle. You get a new text and no idea what was wrong with the old one, so next month you write it the same way again.
Below is a 200-word section of my article. Do NOT rewrite it. Instead:
1. Name the 3 weakest sentences and say what is wrong with each.
2. Tell me the one point a reader would not follow.
3. Ask me the question this section leaves open.
[my draft]1. Weakest sentences:
- "There are many benefits to this approach." It promises benefits and names none, so a reader skips it.
- "As mentioned earlier..." You didn't mention it earlier.
- The last sentence repeats the first one in different words.
2. A reader won't follow the jump from the cost figure to your conclusion. The step in between is missing.
3. Open question: who pays for the first year?Your own sentences are still in front of you. You can accept the first note, disagree with the second, and answer the third yourself.
Check yourself
Nima wrote his own cover letter. It's honest but it reads flat, and he wants it to still sound like him. What should he ask for?
- "Point out the three flattest sentences and say what makes each one flat. Don't rewrite them."
- "Rewrite this cover letter so it sounds better."
- "Act as a professional copywriter and rewrite this."
- "Make this cover letter more engaging, more professional and more memorable for a hiring manager."
Show the answer
"Point out the three flattest sentences and say what makes each one flat. Don't rewrite them."
Yes. A critique hands the problem back to him with a reason attached, so the fix is still written in his words.
YOUR VOICE
Give it a sample of you
Lesson 5 said an example beats an adjective. Your own writing is the best example there is. Paste two or three things you wrote and liked, and say: match this voice, not the topic. With no sample, the assistant writes in its default register, which is the average of an enormous amount of published text.
Good samples: an email you were happy with, a message to a colleague, a paragraph from something you posted. Three short ones work better than one long one.
Below are two short things I wrote. Study how I write: sentence length, how direct I am, what I never say.
Sample 1: [...]
Sample 2: [...]
Now draft a message telling my team Thursday's meeting is cancelled and why. Match my voice, not the topic. Then list the 3 choices you made to sound like me.Draft: Thursday's meeting is off. The client moved our call into the same slot and I'd rather not cut the afternoon in two. I'll write up what we would have covered and send it tonight.
Three choices: short sentences; the reason comes before the apology; no "Hi team" opening, because neither sample has one.Asking what it copied is a check. If those three choices don't sound like you, your samples were too few or too similar to each other.
Check yourself
Two paragraphs of your own writing, pasted in, do more for "write in my voice" than any description of your style.
Show the answer
True
Your instructions are short and functional, nothing like the writing you do for a real reader, so they give it nothing to copy. A real sample shows your sentence length, how direct you are and what you never say, all at once.
An editing pass that keeps the writing yours
- Write the bad draft first
Get it all down without stopping. A bad complete draft is far easier to fix than a blank page, and it's already in your voice.
- Ask for a diagnosis, not a cure
"What's unclear? Where does the argument jump? Which sentence would a tired reader skip?" Ask for the reason every time.
- Argue with it
Some notes will be wrong. You know your reader and it doesn't. Keep what you agree with and leave the rest alone.
- Rewrite in your own words
Fix the problems yourself. If you do ask for one sample sentence, retype it your way instead of pasting it.
- Last: the mechanical jobs
Now hand over what doesn't carry your voice: typos, one term used consistently, a shorter title, five alternative subject lines to choose from.
Check yourself
Sara is writing a post for her shop's page. Which jobs can she hand over, and which should stay hers?
- Ten title options to choose from
- The opinion the post is arguing for
- Spotting which paragraph repeats itself
- The story about her first customer
- Turning her rough notes into an outline
- The final wording she publishes
Show the answer
Hand it over: Ten title options to choose from, Spotting which paragraph repeats itself, Turning her rough notes into an outline
Keep it yours: The opinion the post is arguing for, The story about her first customer, The final wording she publishes
Two ways to use it on the same draft
Hand over the pen
"Rewrite my report's introduction."
You get a polished paragraph that reads like a thousand others. You can't defend a single sentence of it in a meeting, and your next introduction will be just as weak.
Keep the pen
"My introduction is below. What would be unclear to someone who has never seen this project? Which sentence carries the least weight? Don't rewrite it."
You fix three things yourself in ten minutes, you can defend every line, and you learned something about your own introductions.
Check yourself
Match each writing problem to the request that helps most
Show the answer
- You can't get started at all → "Ask me 5 questions about this piece, then turn my answers into an outline."
- It's too long and you can't see what to cut → "Mark every sentence that could go without losing meaning."
- It doesn't sound like you → "Here are two things I wrote. Match this voice, not the topic."
- You suspect a reader will get lost → "Read this as someone new to the project and tell me where you got lost."
The rules of thumb
- Ask for a critique before you ask for a rewrite. A reason you accept improves your next draft as well as this one.
- When the voice matters, paste your own writing as the sample.
- Hand over the mechanical jobs and the option lists. Keep the opinions, the stories and the final wording.
- Read it out loud before you send it. Anything you would never say, change.
Check yourself
Reza wants to thank a supplier who got him out of a very bad week. His draft is clumsy but honest. What is the best use of an assistant here?
- Ask it to rewrite the note in a warm, professional tone that a supplier would appreciate
- Ask for ten versions and pick the one that sounds most sincere
- Paste the note and ask it to make the language more sophisticated
- Ask which sentence is unclear and whether anything reads as insincere, then fix those himself
Show the answer
Ask which sentence is unclear and whether anything reads as insincere, then fix those himself
Right. A thank-you works because it sounds like the person who owes the thanks. Clumsy and honest beats smooth and borrowed; he only needs the unclear parts pointed out.
Lesson recap
- Work in three passes: draft, critique, your own rewrite. The critique pass carries the value.
- Ask what is weak and why. A replacement text teaches you nothing and sounds like everyone else.
- Paste two or three samples of your own writing and say "match this voice, not the topic".
- Hand over the mechanical work, keep the opinions and the final wording, and read it out loud before you send.