From outline to first draft

It's tempting to ask for everything at once: "Write me a thousand-word article on urban gardening." The result will be long, clean and generic. To stay in control, you move in four stages, and the AI plays a different part at each one.

1. Brainstorming: opening things up

Start by emptying your head: your ideas, your memories, what you want to say, in no particular order. Then ask the AI to broaden it.

"Here are my rough notes on my topic. Suggest ten possible angles, three of them unexpected. One sentence for each. Don't write anything else."

Pick an angle, or combine two. That's an author's choice: don't delegate it.

2. The outline: the framework

Ask for an outline, then discuss it as you would with a colleague.

"Based on this angle and my notes, suggest an outline of five parts at most, with, for each part, the main idea and the example I gave that illustrates it. Flag the parts where I don't have any example yet."

That last sentence is precious: it shows you where your own experience is missing, instead of letting the AI fill the gaps with generalities.

3. The first draft: section by section

Two methods, depending on how comfortable you are:

• You write, it unblocks: you write each part yourself, and only call on it when you get stuck. "I can't get from part 2 to part 3. Suggest three transition sentences, in my style."
• It drafts, you rewrite: it writes one part at a time, from your outline and your style sheet. Never the whole text at once: one part, you read it, you rework it, then the next.

4. Rewriting: becoming the author again

Whichever method you use, go over the whole text in your own words. Replace every generic example with one of your real ones. Cut what you wouldn't say out loud. Add the detail only you know. A good test: read a paragraph aloud. If you don't recognise yourself, rewrite it.