Prompting Is Just Writing (and That's Good News)

When people ask me how to get better results from AI tools, they're usually hoping for a secret: a magic phrase, a hidden setting, a template that unlocks a smarter mode.

I don't have one. What I have is less exciting and more useful: good prompts are just good writing. If you can write a clear brief for a colleague, you can write a great prompt.

Why tricks don't last

A year ago, the internet was full of prompt hacks. Pretend it's an expert. Offer it a tip. Tell it your career depends on it. Some of these nudged results a little, for a while. Most of them stopped mattering as models improved.

What never stopped mattering was clarity. A model can't read your mind any better than a person can. If the request is vague, the answer will be generic.

The four things I always include

1. Context

What's the situation? Who's the audience? What's already been tried?

I'm writing a blog post for people who are new to self-hosting. They're comfortable with a terminal but have never configured a server.

That one paragraph changes the answer more than any clever phrasing.

2. Intent

What do I actually want to do with the output? "Write about DNS" is a topic. "Explain DNS so a reader can confidently point their domain to a new server" is a goal.

3. Constraints

Length, tone, format, what to avoid. Constraints are the most underused part of a prompt.

• Keep it under 300 words
• Use plain language, no jargon without explanation
• Don't use bullet points; write in paragraphs
• Don't recommend paid tools

4. An example

Nothing communicates "this is what I mean" like showing it. One example of the tone or format I want beats a paragraph of description.

A before-and-after

Here's a real prompt I used for a project description, before and after.

Before:

Write a description for my app.

After:

I built a free web tool that counts how many days you've spent in a country, to help travelers stay within visa limits. Write a two-sentence description for its homepage. Audience: digital nomads who are tired of spreadsheets. Tone: friendly, practical, slightly wry. Avoid words like "revolutionary" or "seamless." Here's a description I like from another tool, for reference: "Track your sleep without a smartwatch. Just tap when you go to bed."

The second prompt took me ninety seconds longer to write. The first answer needed three rounds of revisions. The second was usable immediately.

The good news

Here's why I find this encouraging: the skill of prompting isn't a new, technical, rapidly-expiring trick. It's the old, durable skill of explaining what you want clearly.

Getting better at prompting will make you better at writing emails, briefs, bug reports, and documentation. And getting better at those will make you better at prompting. It's the same muscle.

So skip the "100 prompt templates" lists. Practice writing one clear paragraph that says what you need, who it's for, and what good looks like. That's the whole secret.