creative-writing · claude-3-5-sonnet · writing · 90% confidence

Creative writing with Claude 3.5 Sonnet — optimized prompt

A Claude 3.5 Sonnet creative-writing prompt with a rich <style> block, a <avoid> list of clichés, and an instruction to commit to one specific narrator voice.

90% confidenceUpdated 9/7/2026creative-writing · claude-3-5-sonnet · writing

Original prompt

Hey Claude, write a short story about a lighthouse keeper, make it good.

Optimized prompt

Write the piece described below. Commit fully to one narrator with a distinct voice — do not hedge toward a neutral register.

<brief>
Form: [short story / scene / monologue], ~[N] words.
Situation: [one or two lines]
</brief>

<style>
Voice: [e.g. "a tired, precise first-person narrator who understates everything"]
Rhythm: [e.g. "short sentences; let one long one land per paragraph"]
Register: [formal / plain / vernacular]
</style>

<avoid>
- Opening with weather or waking up.
- Stock phrases: "little did they know", "heart pounding", "breath they didn't know they were holding".
- Explaining the emotion after showing it.
</avoid>

Output only the piece.

Why this Claude 3.5 Sonnet prompt works

Tuned for Claude 3.5 Sonnet: a rich <style> block for voice and rhythm, an <avoid> list of specific clichés, and an instruction to commit to one narrator. Voice control is Claude’s strength, and naming the exact phrases to avoid works better than ‘don’t be generic’.

What to check in the output

The story introduces a magical cat named Whiskers.
The setting is clearly a steampunk-inspired city.
The plot includes a specific conflict related to a clock tower and a temporal anomaly.