AI loves adverbs the way debut novels love prologues—it feels sophisticated until it isn't. A useful revision prompt does not ask for "stronger prose." It asks for evidence: what physical action proves the adverb true?
Prompt 1: Adverb ledger
List every adverb in the passage. For each, either (a) delete and show the action that implies it, or (b) keep with a one-word justification. Target: remove 70%. Preserve rhythm—vary sentence length after cuts. PASSAGE: [Paste 200–400 words]
Prompt 2: Dialogue tag diet
Replace all dialogue tags except "said" and "asked." If emotion is clear from words, use action beat instead of tag. Ban: exclaimed, murmured, retorted, queried. Output revised scene + count of tags removed. SCENE: [Paste]
Prompt 3: Verb upgrade with a ceiling
Models swap "walked" for "strode" everywhere. Cap the upgrades.
Find 5 weak verbs (was/were, went, got, had, looked). Replace max 3 with specific verbs. The other 2 must be fixed by deleting surrounding words instead. No verb may be longer than 8 letters. TEXT: [Paste]
Prompt 4: Read-aloud friction
Mark every sentence that would make a reader breathless or confused when read aloud. Split or merge sentences to fix rhythm. Flag clichés; replace with plain Anglo-Saxon nouns. Do not add new images. PASSAGE: [Paste]
When to ignore the model
Keep an adverb when it modifies something unexpected ("gently brutal") or compresses irony AI cannot see. Revision prompts are scalpels—you still choose what bleeds.
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