11 min · Intermediate
How to Avoid Generic AI Writing
Learn the tells of generic AI prose, then force a voice sample, a ban list, and a specificity quota so the published piece still sounds like you.
Learning objectives
- Spot balanced nothing-statements, fake intimacy, missing detail, and identical rhythm in a draft.
- Brief Gemini with a 150-word voice sample and a ban list before it writes.
- Apply a specificity quota and keep yourself as the author of record.
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Why this matters
Generic drafts waste the reader's time and your name. Models average the web, so they reach for safe phrases, even rhythm, and opinions that offend nobody. If you publish that voice, people stop trusting the piece even when the facts are fine. This lesson gives you a way to keep the speed and drop the fog.
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Concept
Generic AI writing has a few tells you can learn. A balanced nothing-statement praises both sides and lands nowhere. The phrase in today's fast-paced world delays the point. Fake intimacy claims we all struggle, with no scene you lived. There is no specific detail from your notes, such as a street, a tool, or a number. Identical rhythm is the last tell: medium sentences and a soft lift at the end of each paragraph.
Humanize — your pass for lived detail, a real opinion, and a cut — is not a tone button. Add a scene you were in and a choice you would defend in public. Delete one paragraph that only repeats the intro. You are the author of record — the person whose name and judgment the piece carries. Gemini can propose lines. It cannot own the claim, the memory, or the decision to publish.
Start with a voice sample — about 150 words of your own past writing, not a wish about brand voice. Paste it above the task so rhythm and word choice are visible. Then add a ban list — phrases the draft must not use — inside the prompt. Include empty openers, fake intimacy, and any slogan you refuse to sign. Tell the model to mark a line if breaking a ban was the only way to finish it.
Set a specificity quota — one concrete noun per paragraph, taken from your notes, not invented by the model. A noun counts when you could point to it: a tool, a street, a price you charge, a mistake you made on a named date. If the model lacks a noun, it should leave a blank like [from my notes] instead of guessing. When you edit, replace each blank yourself. A paragraph you cannot fill is a paragraph you should cut.
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Real-world example
The aisle tag Priya would sign
Priya edits safety manuals for a warehouse firm. She asked for a short post about her work. The first draft opened with a fast-paced world and claimed we all struggle to communicate. She pasted 150 words from an old email to a supervisor, banned that opener and the word journey, and set a quota of one concrete noun per paragraph from her notes. The notes said a Tuesday drill used a red tag on aisle C, and two pickers missed it because the tag sat below eye level. The revision kept that aisle, her opinion that tag height mattered more than a new slogan, and a cut of the closing pep talk. She signed the post. The model proposed lines. Priya stayed the author of record.
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Gemini demonstration
A realistic exchange. Open Gemini beside this page and try a version with your own facts.
You
Voice sample from my email: The red tag on aisle C was below eye level, so two pickers walked past it in Tuesday's drill. I want the tag moved, not a new slogan. Ban list: in today's fast-paced world, we all struggle, journey, unlock, at the end of the day. Specificity quota: one noun from my notes per paragraph, or a blank. Do not invent a date, a color, or a headcount. Here is the bad draft to diagnose, not to polish: In today's fast-paced world, we all struggle to communicate, and this journey will unlock a safer future for everyone.
Gemini
The paragraph fails the tells test before it fails the facts. It opens with a wide claim about a fast-paced world, which names no warehouse, no day, and no person. The next line uses fake intimacy, the we all struggle move, without a scene. Rhythm is even: three sentences of similar length, each ending on a soft lift. Nothing here is wildly false. It is empty. Under your ban list I would strike the opener, the word journey, and the closing cheer. For the specificity quota I would leave a blank, written as from your notes, rather than invent an aisle or a date. Your voice sample is shorter and more direct. I would mirror that, and I would not add a moral you did not write.
You
Use only these notes: Tuesday drill, red tag, aisle C, below eye level, two pickers missed it. My opinion: tag height matters more than a new slogan. Cut any pep talk about becoming a leader. Keep my short email rhythm.
Gemini
Here is a tighter paragraph that stays inside what you just confirmed. On Tuesday the red tag on aisle C sat below eye level, and two pickers missed it during the drill. The height of that tag matters more than a new slogan, because the people doing the work should see the signal without hunting. I cut the pep talk about becoming a communication leader. That line was not in your email sample, and you said you would not sign it. You remain the author of record. Check the tag color, the day, and the count of pickers against your notes before this goes anywhere public. If a noun is off, replace it. Do not let a later pass smooth this back into a general lesson about safety culture.
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Prompt breakdown
The prompt
Role: editor who may not invent facts. Voice sample: paste about 150 words of my writing above this line. Ban list: in today's fast-paced world; we all know; journey; unlock; delve; tapestry. Task: rewrite the draft below in my rhythm. Constraints: specificity quota of one concrete noun from my notes in every paragraph; if you lack a noun, write [from my notes] and do not guess. Add one place where a real opinion is required and mark it [my opinion]. Cut one paragraph that only repeats the opening. Output: the revision, then a note of what you refused to invent. I am the author of record and I will check every noun.
- The voice sample is pasted first so rhythm is evidence, not a mood word like professional.
- The ban list sits inside the prompt, which stops empty openers before they reach the draft.
- The specificity quota and the blank stop the model from inventing aisles, dates, or counts.
- The cut and the opinion marker force a humanize pass, and the last line keeps you as author of record.
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Common mistakes
Usually
Make this sound human, warm, and engaging.
Better
Here are 150 words I wrote. Ban these phrases. Use one noun from my notes per paragraph or leave a blank.
Usually
Add a personal touch about how we all feel burned out.
Better
Use only the Tuesday drill I described. If you need a feeling I did not state, ask me.
Usually
You are the author. Publish your best version.
Better
Propose lines only. I will sign, cut, and correct every concrete noun before this is published.
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Practice exercise
Rebuild one paragraph you would sign
Done when: The piece contains no banned opener, every noun traces to a note you can point to, and you could put your name under it.
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Challenge
A bio that cannot be swapped
Take a generic 120-word bio that could belong to anyone in your field. Paste 150 words of your real writing above the task. Add a ban list of at least five phrases, including one empty opener. Require one concrete noun from your notes in each paragraph, and tell the model to leave a blank instead of guessing. Then do the human pass yourself: add one opinion you would say in a meeting, and cut one paragraph. You are done when the piece could not be swapped onto a stranger and when every noun traces to a note you can point to.
Hint: If a sentence still works after you change your job title, it is still generic. Replace it with a tool, a place, or a mistake from your notes.
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Key takeaways
- Generic tells include balanced nothing-statements, fake intimacy, missing detail, and identical rhythm.
- A voice sample and a ban list belong inside the prompt, not in a wish after the draft.
- A specificity quota uses your nouns, and blanks are better than guesses.
- You are the author of record: you add the opinion, make the cut, and sign the piece.
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