I Wanted a Writing Process I Could See

ISSUE 28 · ME+MACHINE

Despite all my best efforts to use AI to improve my writing, these articles still take me a really, really long time to write. I often get lost in the details of a sentence and forget how it fits into the bigger picture. Especially when I'm also trying to remember all the “best practices” to incorporate at the same time.

You probably have your own versions of this too. Maybe a weekly report that makes you copy the same fields between files. Or a folder full of vaguely named downloads you have to open one by one to find a receipt. After doing it enough times, you start treating the hassle as part of the job. You can ask AI to help you change the routine or build a tool that makes the task easier.

After a few hours of reading and writing, eventually all the words blur together. I kept thinking, I wish I could just see the article… And then it clicked.

So I asked my AI to help me see my article. I wanted it to show me my drafts with different colors for different types of words or sentences. Like the Hemingway Editor, but with my own checks and rules applied to it. This way, I could visualize the structure of my article at a glance, and find places where the text didn't follow the rules I set.

The AI also helped me understand the purpose of each sentence. Was it explaining something, giving an example, or repeating information? I used a different color scheme for each check, so I could switch between views of the same article. It’s like switching between satellite, terrain, and street views on a map. Each makes different details visible and helps me understand where I am in relation to everything around me.

For example, AI-generated text has a tendency to repeat the same point in several paragraphs, or give every section an introduction and a neat little conclusion. The color views help me see those patterns across the draft. I can spot ideas I’ve already explained and places where the writing keeps stopping to summarize itself, then decide what to cut.

Walk your AI through the last time you were frustrated with a task. Be specific. “I open this file, copy these numbers, check them over here, then do it all again” is a lot more helpful than “Help me be more productive.”

Include what’s working and what you need to keep. Maybe the report has to stay in the same format, or maybe you need to use a tool you already know. Ask AI to summarize the problem back to you, so you can correct anything it has misunderstood before it heads in the wrong direction.

You can use this prompt to get started.

For a weekly report, you might have the AI create a spreadsheet so the report takes its numbers from a table you already fill in. Or you could ask for a small program that transfers the fields between separate files. For the receipts, you might try a consistent way to name new files, then ask the AI to rename a few existing ones.

If the attempt falls short, tell the AI where it went wrong. “This still makes me copy the numbers by hand” is useful feedback. So is “These filenames all look alike when I'm scanning the folder.” Ask it to make a change and try that part again.

Now I have a map to help me find my place when I get lost in a draft. I think this is my best effort yet.

me+machine.