It’s All About The Prompt
Artificial Intelligence (AI) is becoming a big part of our daily lives, and people often have mixed feelings about it.
On one hand, there are real concerns about how AI might affect jobs, fairness, and privacy. On the other hand, AI also offers exciting opportunities to make our lives easier, boost creativity, and solve some of the world’s toughest problems.
That’s why I’m teaching myself how to write better prompts; so that I can embrace AI as a useful tool and make the most of what it has to offer.
I decided to use AI to write a short story about writing prompts and how important the detail needs to be get the best possible response.
When Alex first opened an AI chat app, he wasn’t sure what to type.
The screen blinked at him like a blank page. “Write me something interesting,” he typed.
The AI replied with a short paragraph about random facts. It wasn’t bad, but it wasn’t what Alex had hoped for.
He frowned. “Why didn’t it give me something amazing?”
Later that day, Alex saw a blog post about prompting. It explained that AI is a bit like a helpful friend. You need to be specific if you want good help. If you just say, “Cook dinner,” your friend won’t know if you want pasta, curry, or a sandwich. But if you say, “Cook me a vegetarian pasta with tomato and basil,” they’ll know exactly what to do.
“That makes sense,” Alex thought. “I need to guide the AI properly.”
The next time he opened the chat, he tried again. Instead of “Write me something interesting,” he typed:
“Write me a short story about a cat who wants to learn to fly. Keep it funny, light-hearted, and under 300 words.”
The result made him laugh out loud. It was quirky, playful, and exactly what he wanted.
Alex realised something important: the AI wasn’t broken. He just hadn’t told it clearly enough what he wanted.
Over the next week, Alex started experimenting.
When he asked, “Explain photosynthesis,” the AI gave him a very technical answer.
But when he tried, “Explain photosynthesis like I’m 10 years old, using a fun example,” the AI compared plants to solar-powered snack factories. Suddenly, it clicked.
He saw that prompts were a bit like giving directions.
If you say, “Take me somewhere nice,” a taxi driver might take you to the park… or maybe a busy shopping street! But if you say, “Take me to the café on Market Street with the blue door,” you’ll arrive exactly where you want to be.
Alex decided to push further. He wanted to write a poem. At first, he just typed: “Write me a poem.”
The AI responded with a generic rhyme about the sun and the moon. Not bad, but nothing special.
So Alex tried again:
“Write me a short poem about Manchester on a rainy day. Make it sound cozy, as if the rain is a friend rather than a problem.”
This time, the poem painted a warm picture of rain tapping on windows while people sipped tea inside. It felt personal, almost magical.
“Wow,” Alex whispered. “The clearer I am, the better the results.”
By the end of the month, Alex felt more confident. He understood that learning to write prompts wasn’t about being perfect—it was about practicing, experimenting, and refining.
He wrote down some lessons for himself:
Be specific: The more detail you give, the closer the AI gets to your vision.
Set the style: Funny, serious, simple, or professional—the AI can match your tone if you tell it.
Give examples: If you explain what you like, the AI has a guide to follow.
Experiment: Try different phrasings. Sometimes even a small tweak makes a huge difference.
One evening, Alex smiled at his screen. Writing prompts no longer felt like a mystery. It felt like a conversation with a very clever assistant—one that listened best when he was clear, thoughtful, and creative.
He didn’t just learn how to use AI. He learned how to ask better questions.
And that, he realised, was the real superpower.
This article was written using the following prompt, with a few amendments made once generated:
Write me a 500 word story about learning to write prompts using ai. I am a beginner, so the story needs to be understandable by newbies. Explain how clear prompts will give better results.