Rules & guards.
Prompts are wishes; rules are enforcement. Say a rule once and it holds on every future draft, in every tool, no matter which model is writing.
- 1State it
Say the rule once.
Every rule gets a tier: style yields to intentional craft (a banned word inside a quote doesn't fail), policy never yields. Rules can be scoped — only headlines, never inside quotes, only long-form.
Copy this prompt“Add a rule to my Newsletter profile: never use em-dashes.”
A policy rule“Hard compliance rule: we never promise returns. That one can never be excepted.”
The em-dash ban matches the — glyph itself, not the word “em-dash” — the most-requested rule, done right.
- 2Arm the guards
Five defenses, one ask each.
- Anti-slop pack — the curated AI-ism lexicon (“delve”, “seamless”…), flagged and auto-removable.
- Voice band — drafts that drift off your rhythm get flagged, per channel.
- Opener signature — your opening/closing pattern, enforced.
- Diction band — synonyms you never use, swapped for your word.
- Quote & attribution integrity — quotes must exist in your sources; figures need attribution. Policy tier.
Copy this prompt“Arm the anti-slop pack and the opener signature on my Newsletter profile.”
- 3House terms
Terminology that corrects itself.
Glossary entries bind deprecated variants to the sanctioned term — fixed by replacement, never deletion, applied automatically with a redline.
Copy this prompt“Glossary: we say 'sign in', never 'log on' or 'login' as a verb.”
- 4Stay fair
Dismiss false positives — keep the rule.
When a good ban flags a legitimate use, don't delete the rule — teach the exception. The same usage never nags again; a different usage still fails. Approving a passage teaches its exceptions automatically.
Copy this prompt“That 'delve' is inside the professor's quote — allow this usage.”
Policy rules can't be excepted — by design.
- 5Positions
Teach it what you believe.
Voice is also stance. Declare positions and lenses; relevant ones reach the brief, and checks add an advisory note when a draft touches one — a reminder, never a violation.
Copy this prompt“Position for my Column profile: I read every platform story through the incentive-structure lens.”
Next: Craft in your tools.