AI Prompts for Claude for Writing

Before we write anything, I want to brief this piece properly. Format: [FORMAT]. Audience: [AUDIENCE]. Goal: [GOAL]. Tone: [DESCRIBE]. Single main point: [MAIN POINT]. Key ideas to include: [LIST]. Things to avoid: [LIST]. Approximate length: [LENGTH]. Confirm you understand and ask any questions that would help you produce a better draft.

I am going to paste three examples of my writing. Read them carefully and then describe my voice: my typical sentence length, vocabulary range, how I structure arguments, my relationship with the reader, and any habits or phrases that recur. After your analysis, confirm you can write in this voice for the rest of our conversation: [PASTE EXAMPLES].

There are already a lot of pieces about [TOPIC]. Before we write, help me find the specific angle that makes this one worth reading. What does this audience already know and expect? What would genuinely surprise them? What counterintuitive or underexplored perspective could we take?

Propose three different structural approaches for this piece: [DESCRIBE PIECE]. For each structure, give me the opening move, the logical progression through the body, and how it ends. Be specific about where the argument turns or where tension builds. I will choose one before we write.

For this piece I need you to follow these constraints absolutely: (1) do not use these words or phrases: [LIST], (2) every paragraph must be under [NUMBER] sentences, (3) the reading level should be [LEVEL], (4) no passive voice, (5) [ANY OTHER CONSTRAINTS]. Confirm these constraints before we begin.

Write only the opening section of this piece. Stop after [THE HOOK / THE FIRST 200 WORDS / THE FIRST PARAGRAPH]. Use [DESCRIBE OPENING TECHNIQUE, e.g. a specific scene / a counterintuitive claim / a direct statement of the problem]. Do not continue past the opening. I will give feedback before we move on.

Write five completely different opening hooks for this piece about [TOPIC]. Each should use a different technique: (1) a specific scene, (2) a striking statistic or fact, (3) a direct challenge to a widely held belief, (4) a question the reader genuinely wants answered, (5) a short anecdote. Stop after the hook for each; do not develop them further.

Write the [SECTION NAME] section only. This section needs to accomplish: [DESCRIBE]. It follows the previous section which covered [BRIEF SUMMARY]. Length: approximately [WORD COUNT]. Stay in the voice established in the earlier sections. Stop at the end of this section.

Here is a precise brief for each section of this piece: [PASTE YOUR SECTION-BY-SECTION BRIEF]. Draft the full piece following this brief exactly. Do not add sections, change the order, or expand beyond what the brief specifies. Flag any places where you deviated and why.

Here is my draft so far: [PASTE]. Continue from exactly where I stopped. Match my voice precisely: sentence length, vocabulary level, paragraph rhythm, and register. Write the next [WORD COUNT / SECTION] and then pause.

Edit this draft to be exactly [TARGET LENGTH] or as close as possible. Cut filler sentences, redundant qualifiers, throat-clearing preambles, and repetition. Do not change the ideas or the structure. Show me what you cut by including a note of the removed sections rather than silently omitting them: [PASTE DRAFT].

Read this draft and identify every paragraph or sentence that feels off-voice compared to this writing example: [PASTE EXAMPLE]. For each passage that drifts, explain why it sounds different and rewrite it to match the target voice: [PASTE DRAFT].

Read this draft and identify the two or three places where the argument is weakest: where I make a claim without evidence, where the logic has a gap, or where the reader would have the strongest objection. For each weak spot, suggest what evidence, example, or additional reasoning would shore it up: [PASTE DRAFT].

This draft has flat sentence rhythm. Edit it to vary the sentence structure: mix short punchy sentences with longer complex ones, vary the sentence opening structures, and break up any sequences of three or more sentences with the same structure. Keep the meaning identical: [PASTE DRAFT].

This draft is too abstract and general. Go through it and replace: vague nouns with specific ones, general claims with specific examples, abstract descriptions with concrete sensory details, weak verbs with active specific ones. Show me the before and after for each change: [PASTE DRAFT].

Write twelve headline options for this piece. Include: four that lead with numbers, four that make a specific claim or promise, two that are under six words, and two that address the reader directly with "you". Rank the top three and explain your reasoning: [PASTE PIECE OR DESCRIBE IT].

Write four meta description options for this piece. Each should be under 155 characters, include the primary keyword [KEYWORD] naturally, and give the reader a compelling reason to click. The best meta description implies the value of reading without giving everything away: [PASTE PIECE OR SUMMARY].

Rewrite this piece for a completely different audience: [DESCRIBE NEW AUDIENCE]. Keep the core argument identical but change: the vocabulary level, the examples and references used, the assumed context, and the opening hook to match what this new audience cares about: [PASTE ORIGINAL PIECE].

Turn this piece into a [PLATFORM] thread. For Twitter/X: each post under 280 characters, numbered, with the main insight as post one. For LinkedIn: a narrative thread with each post building on the last, ending with a question or call to action. Do not just quote from the piece; adapt the ideas for the format: [PASTE PIECE].

Based on this piece: [PASTE OR DESCRIBE], what are the three best follow-up pieces I could write that would build on it naturally? For each, give me: the specific angle, why it is a logical next step for readers of the first piece, and the key argument or central question it would address.