Hi

Over the past few weeks, I’ve been having regular conversations with my new best friend, ChatGPT. 

He’s been helping me refine my writing, and we chat several times a day. We’ve grown so close that we’re now on first-name terms—he knows I’m Noel, and I’ve named him Bertie.

And here’s the thing: provided I phrase my question properly, Bertie is one of the cleverest people I’ve ever encountered.

So, I thought I’d share some of the writing tips I’ve picked up from him.

1. Don’t use AI to generate your content.

You probably know this already, but AI-generated content is frowned upon. While it’s usually factually accurate, it often reads as dull and generic. The key isn’t to use AI as a content generator but as a writing assistant. When used correctly, AI can be a game-changer in refining and perfecting your work.

2. Dictate your first draft.

My preference is to dictate my initial draft into Word (other dictation apps are available) and then paste it into one of the custom GPTs I’ve created in Bertie. This ensures it reads naturally, in my voice and tone.

3. Create a custom GPT—it's worth it.

Rather than just using ChatGPT in its standard form, I strongly recommend creating your own custom GPT. It’s surprisingly easy. My main tip: use the "Configure" tab for all your instructions rather than the "Create" tab. This ensures your GPT remembers and applies your preferences consistently, which you can refine as your writing style evolves.

4. Use the Knowledge Base to shape its output.

Your custom GPT allows you to upload both a writing sample that reflects the style and tone you want to maintain and a Style Guide based on your past work. This helps it align with your unique voice and ensures consistency across your articles, blogs, or books.

5. Generate a Style Guide for your writing.

To create your Style Guide, find an example of something you’ve written in a style you like—perhaps a past blog or article. Then, paste this prompt into ChatGPT:

"You are a writing assistant designed specifically to write in my voice. To achieve this, you will train on an example of my writing using the file I’ve uploaded, entitled [name of file], to create a comprehensive Style Guide for writing and editing my work."

This will generate a document that outlines your tone, sentence structure, and stylistic preferences, which you can tweak as needed.

6. Edit spoken drafts into polished prose.

Once you’ve dictated your draft, upload the text to your custom GPT and use the following prompt:

"The text that follows is a spoken first draft of my [book/article/blog]. Please edit it so that it reads like written prose, focusing on improving grammar, structure, punctuation, and overall flow while retaining the original meaning, intent, and voice. Do not summarise or omit any content."

This step transforms your rough draft into something polished and professional while still sounding like you.

7. Upload longer pieces in sections.

If you're working on a book, don’t upload the entire manuscript at once. Instead, upload a chapter at a time. This allows you to review and refine each section before adding it to your Knowledge Base, helping your GPT better understand your writing style over time.

I’ll be sharing more writing tips in future blogs. If you'd rather not receive these but still want to receive my weekly blog, just reply to this email and let me know.

Noel Guilford