Appendix: Prompting techniques and tools for writing with AI

🧰 Prompting Patterns That Matter

These prompting techniques help you offload more effectively, maintain creative control, and co-create something you’re proud of:

• Chain of Thought Prompting: Break big tasks into small, logical steps. Ask the AI to list emotional beats, then write dialogue for each, then combine it. It keeps scenes focused and rich.
• Role-Playing Prompts: Make the AI act as an expert (editor, coach, bestselling author). This tunes its output to match tone or perspective. Great for scene writing, critiques, or guidance.
• Socratic Q&A Prompting: Ask the AI to question you about plot, character, and conflict. You’ll uncover deeper story logic by answering.
• Structure-Based Prompts: Reference the “Hero’s Journey,” “Save the Cat,” or “Romancing the Beat.” The AI will match the story shape, helping with pacing and reader expectations.
• Iterative Refinement: AI doesn’t always get it right first try. Ask it to regenerate, tweak for more emotion, remove clichés, or add a surprise twist.
• Simulated Dialogue: Use AI as your characters in chat-like scenarios. Capture raw, authentic dialogue and emotional beats.
• In-Style Drafting: Provide a paragraph you wrote and ask AI to continue in that tone. Helps preserve your voice.
• Context-Rich Prompts: Always give character backstory or prior scene details. The more specific your prompt, the better the output.
• Continuity Checks: Ask AI to list all characters, places, or events in a draft. Use it to catch plot holes or inconsistencies.
• Blurb + Marketing Copy: After the draft, use AI to generate book blurbs, social media pitches, or title options.

🧰 Additional Prompting Patterns from Research

These prompting techniques extend what we’ve already covered — giving you even more tools to write, reflect, and refine your novel with AI. Think of these as “mid-process” accelerators that can be used anywhere across your workflow.

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🗣️ Simulated Dialogue

Used for:

• Generating raw character conversations
• Discovering personality traits through improvisation
• Capturing natural-sounding emotional beats

Prompt:

“Roleplay as Maeve and Cormac. They’re sitting on the pier. Cormac just said he’s leaving. Write their unscripted chat as if they’re texting or speaking, with real emotion.”

Why it works:
You get dialogue that feels alive. Instead of scripting each line, you let characters talk. You can polish it later, but this helps find the truth of a scene.

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✍️ In-Style Drafting

Used for:

• Maintaining your authorial voice
• Having AI continue your writing seamlessly

Prompt:

“Here’s a paragraph I wrote. Continue the scene in the same tone and rhythm.”

Why it works:
AI can mirror your sentence length, emotion, or pacing. Great for extending your writing without losing its soul.

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🧠 Context-Rich Prompting

Used for:

• Ensuring accurate, relevant scene generation
• Helping the AI stay on track in long stories

Prompt:

“[Backstory: Maeve is dealing with her mum’s illness and Cormac’s departure. They’ve known each other since childhood.] Now write a quiet scene where they avoid talking about it directly — but everything is in the subtext.”

Why it works:
The more you give, the more you get. A well-fed prompt leads to stronger results. Always provide context when switching scenes or moods.

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🔍 Continuity Checks

Used for:

• Tracking character traits, settings, timelines
• Finding plot holes or logic gaps

Prompt:

“Scan this chapter and list every major event, character trait, and timeline reference. Point out any inconsistencies or loose ends.”

Why it works:
The AI remembers better than we do. Let it be your continuity assistant, especially in long or multi-POV novels.

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🧲 Blurb + Marketing Copy

Used for:

• Writing your book’s back cover
• Generating titles, hooks, social media blurbs

Prompt:

“Write a one-paragraph blurb for this novel in a way that hooks a romance reader. Highlight the emotional stakes, but don’t give away the ending.”

Why it works:
You’ve just spent 100k words telling a story. Let the AI help condense it. It’s great at summarizing themes, stakes, and genre tones in short form.