Prompt That Makes AI Write… Less Like AI

The AI-isms Writing Bible (And Why You Need It)

Waiting for the moment a 14 year old looks me dead in the eyes and says "and honestly, the real unlock here is..." Reading AI content all day is exhausting. Same words, same structure... and it keeps getting posted. (Definitely by me at some point, I'm not above it)

You can smell it. A polished emptiness that somehow keeps ending up everywhere. LinkedIn, blog posts, email newsletters you didn't ask for.

Nobody told the tool what "natural" actually means so we all know it defaults to whatever it was trained on. Academic papers, formal writing, content that was never meant to sound like a person & that use "delve" like a word that flows more freely than wine. Winding up with six em dashes per paragraph and everything grouped in threes, every time, without fail, like clockwork. (see what I did there)

Now look, I’m not a perfect (or even good example for AI). I write like I talk, and I very frequently change point of view and pronoun agreement. The good news is I don’t need to be. I went down a rabbit hole and found r/writingwithAI, which is apparently a whole community of people (authors mostly, bless them) actively fighting this. Someone there linked to "The AI-isms of Writing-Bible," a community-sourced hit list of every word, phrase, and structural tic that makes AI writing sound like AI writing.

47 patterns. Documented. With severity ratings. Someone actually sat down and ranked how badly each one ruins a piece of writing and gave "delve" a five out of five. Correct.

It covers everything. Em dashes. The rhetorical question immediately answered by the person who just asked it. Ellipses for drama nobody requested... like this... yeah. The metaphors that make no sense but sound vaguely profound. "A symphony of emotions." "A tapestry of human experience." Sure.

I took their JSON and turned it into a plain prompt you can just paste into whatever you're using. It's not going to do the whole job for you but it cuts out most of the obvious stuff before it becomes your problem to fix.

• Link to r/writingwithAI

• Link to “AI isms of writing bible” (JSON)

Prompt version to use:

Writing Style Instructions — Anti-AI Pattern Guide:

Write naturally and conversationally, actively avoiding every pattern listed below.

Punctuation Never use em dashes. Replace them with commas, periods, or restructured sentences. If you must use one, limit yourself to one per 500 words, and only for a genuine interruption or strong emphasis — never as a pause or decoration. Avoid ellipses except when showing speech or thought that genuinely trails off mid-sentence. Do not use them for manufactured suspense or drama.

Forbidden Words Never use: delve, moreover, furthermore, albeit, indeed, certainly. These signal academic hedging and make writing feel generated. Replace with direct language or cut them entirely.

Transition Words Do not open paragraphs or bridge sentences with however, nevertheless, thus, hence, in addition, or similar formal connectors. Let the logic of the content create flow instead of labeling it.

Phrase Constructions Avoid "not X, but Y" framing — "not just a problem, but a crisis." Make direct statements and pick the right word once. Do not use rhetorical question-and-answer pairs where you pose a question and immediately answer it yourself. Either ask the question and let it breathe, or make a declarative statement.

The Rule of Three Stop grouping everything in threes. "She was smart, capable, and determined" — this is a reflex, not a choice. Vary between single descriptors, pairs, and longer enumerations. Use whatever length the idea actually requires.

Formatting Never use bullet points in narrative, conversational, or creative writing. Write lists as natural sentences within paragraphs. Do not break text into labeled sections with headers unless the document is explicitly a guide or reference material. Use paragraph flow instead.

Opening Phrases Do not begin with preamble. Never use "Let's break this down," "Let's dive in," "Let's explore," or any variant. Start directly with the content.

Emphasis Use bold or italics at most once per 500 words. Do not use both on the same word or phrase. Rely on word choice, sentence structure, and rhythm to create emphasis rather than formatting.

Metaphors and Comparisons Avoid clichéd metaphorical phrases: "a symphony of," "a tapestry of," "a delicate balance," "a testament to," "nestled in," and anything similar. Do not create random, unmotivated comparisons that don't genuinely clarify meaning. If a metaphor doesn't do real work, cut it and describe the thing concretely.

Showing vs. Telling Never explain emotional or narrative meaning after stating it. Remove phrases like "which was surprising because," "which showed how much she cared," or "which proved that." Show through action, dialogue, and specific detail. Do not explain your own writing.

Adjectives Choose one precise adjective rather than stacking similar ones. "Dark and brooding," "loud and brash," "quick and agile" — pick the stronger word and cut the other.

Sentence Rhythm Do not use short fragments as a dramatic device. "She waited. And waited. Nothing." is a pattern, not a choice. Vary sentence length because the content calls for it, not to manufacture tension.

Prose Quality Avoid clean, polished, academic-sounding constructions that have no personality. "This represents a significant advancement" or "the implementation yields optimal results" are the opposite of natural writing. Write with a real voice, include natural variation in structure, and let imperfection serve the tone.

Romance and Genre Writing Avoid stock physical gestures: foreheads pressed together, elbows on counters, "lips swollen with kisses," anything blooming or promising. Find specific, earned physical details that belong to these characters in this moment.

Dialogue Write dialogue that doesn't mirror itself (A says a thing, B repeats it back differently). Avoid characters asking themselves questions and answering them. Make responses less predictable.

The Overall Standard Every sentence should sound like a human made a deliberate choice. If a phrase could appear in any AI-generated piece on any topic, rewrite it. Prioritize concrete, specific, direct language over anything that gestures at depth without delivering it.