Mastering the Art of Writing with AI: A Structured Approach

The blog discusses a structured approach to writing with AI, emphasizing the importance of effective prompts and the writing stages: building a foundation of ideas, creating a motivated outline, refining the outline, and finally writing the content. It highlights the role of AI as a supportive tool, encourages iterative refinement, and stresses the need for human input to ensure quality in the final product.

Aug 28, 2024

Mastering the Art of Writing with AI: A Structured Approach


In today's digital age, AI-powered chatbots like ChatGPT are revolutionizing the writing process, but they should be viewed as tools—more like interns rather than deities. Understanding the principles of writing with AI can greatly enhance the quality of your work. This blog will walk you through the stages of writing, using AI as a supportive tool, and offer insights into how you can leverage its strengths to improve your writing process.

The Power of a Good Prompt

Prompts are the instructions given to a chatbot, guiding it on what to generate. The effectiveness of a prompt depends on its structure. Think of a prompt as a recipe for your writing task. It should include:
  • Role: Define the role of the AI. For example,
    • "As an experienced copywriter."
  • Task: Specify the task. For instance,
    • "...write a report."
  • Format: State the desired format. For example,
    • "...as bullet points."
  • Tone: Indicate the tone, such as
    • "In a professional tone."
  • Audience: Identify the target audience, e.g.,
    • "Write for board members."
  • Scope: Outline the scope, such as
    • "...limit it to..."
  • Steps to Include: List specific steps or elements to include, like
    • "...make sure you include..."
Remember, no prompt or response will be perfect, and that's okay. Writing is an iterative process, and conversation with AI can refine the output further. While AI is good at producing quantity, the human touch is essential for quality. Therefore, always ask for options, review, and select the best outcome. Also, look for useful text formats that can make your writing more effective.
It’s important to note that ChatGPT can make mistakes, so always check important information. Conversations are more powerful than prompts, so don't hesitate to engage with the AI to fine-tune your writing.

Writing Stages: Building Your Text Like a Body

Writing is akin to building a body—starting with a solid foundation and gradually adding layers of detail. Here's a breakdown of how to structure your writing process:

1. The Skeleton: Building a Foundation of Ideas

The skeleton is the foundation of your writing, much like bones provide structure to the body. It’s where your ideas take shape, forming the basis of your content. Aristotle’s “Modes of Persuasion” offers a useful framework:
  • Head (Logos): Appeal to reason and intellect with data and logic.
  • Heart (Pathos): Engage emotions and empathy to connect with your audience.
  • Behavior (Ethos): Establish credibility and trust by demonstrating good character and expertise.
Mind Mapping is an effective tool at this stage. It helps you visually organize your thoughts and ideas, allowing you to see the connections and flow between different concepts. With your skeleton of ideas in place, you can move on to the next stage.

2. Muscles: Creating a Motivated Outline

Now that you have the skeleton, it’s time to add the muscles—the details that give your writing strength and depth. This stage involves creating a motivated outline.
  • Use the Amanuensis Technique: This involves dictating your thoughts, converting them into text using AI transcription tools, and then refining the text into a structured outline. By reading your mind map aloud and recording it, AI can assist in converting your spoken ideas into a written outline. This method not only saves time but also ensures that your voice and style are preserved in the writing.
    • Example: Make an audio recording of your thoughts, then create a transcription (Android recorder/Whisper tool/Other), and get ChatGPT to make an outline by using the prompt,
      "Create an outline for the following: ...[paste transcript]."
  • Expand and Refine: Collaborate with AI to expand on key points, add relevant details, and ensure that your outline is coherent and logical. The outline serves as a roadmap, guiding the development of your full text.

3. Trim the Fat: Refining Your Outline

Quality is paramount at this stage. The outline you've created is now subject to a rigorous review process. Think of it as trimming the fat from your writing—removing unnecessary content and sharpening your message.
  • Two-Step Approach:
      1. Check Length: Ensure that each section of your outline is concise—no longer than 10 minutes of reading or 4-5 pages.
      1. Triage: Review each element of your outline:
          • OK: Keep it as is.
          • Out: Remove any content that doesn't add value.
          • Demote: Move non-essential content to an appendix or make it available as a supplemental resource.
This process helps you focus on what’s most important, ensuring that your final piece is lean, direct, and impactful. As a tip, it’s often best to refine the outline yourself rather than rely on ChatGPT for this stage.

4. Skin: The Write-Up

Finally, it’s time to add the skin—the final write-up or presentation of your content. This is where your outline transforms into fully fleshed-out paragraphs and sections.
  • Tent-Pole Sentences: Start with key sentences that serve as the main points or "tent-poles" of your argument. Copy these sentences and use AI to expand them into full paragraphs.
    • Example: You might create a list of points you want to make (tent-pole sentences) and then ask ChatGPT to write them as paragraphs. A prompt like
      "Rewrite each of the following sentences as paragraphs..." can be effective.
  • Graphical Representation: If your writing involves complex ideas or processes, consider creating diagrams using tools like Graphviz. Visual elements can enhance understanding and engagement, making your content more accessible to readers.

Conclusion

By treating writing as a structured process—building from a skeleton of ideas to a fully fleshed-out piece—you can create more effective, polished content. AI can be a powerful ally in this journey, helping you organize, refine, and expand your ideas. However, remember that while AI excels at generating quantity, the quality of your final product depends on your input, review, and editing. Use AI as a tool, not a crutch, and you'll find that your writing can reach new heights of clarity and impact.

References

  1. Griffiths, D. (August 2024). ChatGPT to Improve Your Writing. Available at: TinyURL link.
  1. Example outline resource: TinyURL link.
  1. Whisper transcription tool: GitHub link.
  1. Exercise video resource: YouTube link.
  1. Exercise transcription resource: TinyURL link.