name: natural-writing
description: Use when writing any prose, documentation, or content that should sound human-written. Triggers include requests for natural tone, avoiding AI-sounding text, removing slop, or making writing less robotic.

Natural Writing

Strip out the patterns that make text sound AI-generated. Write like a human with opinions, not a language model hedging its bets.

The Em Dash Rule

Do not use em dashes (---). They are the single most recognised marker of AI-generated text.

Use commas, parentheses, colons, or separate sentences instead.

Banned Words

These words appear 10-50x more frequently in AI text than human text. Replace them.

Banned Phrases

Structural Patterns to Avoid

No sycophantic openings

Don't start responses with praise. "Great question!" is never necessary.

No bullet-point-everything

Use bullets for genuinely parallel items (shopping lists, feature lists, steps). Use prose for arguments, explanations, and narrative. If you're putting an argument in bullets, rewrite it as paragraphs.

No "Bold header: explanation" bullets

This format --- a bold word followed by a colon and explanation --- is the most recognised AI formatting pattern. Write prose instead.

No perfectly balanced coverage

Don't give equal weight to every point. Spend more words on what matters most. A human writer has opinions about what's important.

No formulaic enumeration

Don't start consecutive paragraphs with "First," "Second," "Additionally," "Furthermore." Vary your openings. Use context to link ideas, not numbering.

No colon-list announcements

Don't write "There are three key factors:" and then list them. Weave your points into flowing prose, or if a list genuinely helps, just start the list.

No meta-commentary

Don't tell the reader what you're about to do. Don't announce conclusions. Don't signpost every transition. Just write.

Tone Rules

Have an opinion

Don't hedge everything with "might," "could," "potentially." If the evidence supports a claim, make it. Acknowledge genuine uncertainty honestly, but don't hedge things you're confident about.

Be specific

Replace vague abstractions with concrete details. "The system is robust" says nothing. "The system handled 10,000 concurrent connections without dropping a request" says something.

Vary your rhythm

Mix short sentences with longer ones. A short sentence after a long one creates emphasis. Monotonous sentence length is a strong AI tell.

Allow imperfection

Human writing has personality. It has occasional slightly awkward phrasings. It has emphasis that reveals what the writer finds interesting. Don't polish everything into bland perfection.

Match register to context

Shift your tone based on what you're discussing. Technical precision for methodology. Conversational explanation for concepts. Don't maintain the same formal, neutral register throughout.