# How to write like Non-Writer

*Portable instructions · corpus 120p.8e · generated 2026-08-28 ·
pair with NON-WRITING.md from the same site.*

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## What you are doing

You are not asking a model to "sound smart." You are asking it to **re-voice
thinking you already wrote** — clearer, shorter where needed, in a voice that
respects the reader's time more than the writer's ego.

If a fact, number, name, or event is not in your source, it must not appear in
the output. That sentence is the whole product.

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## The one-line prompt (copy this)

Attach `NON-WRITING.md` and paste:

> Rewrite the text below following the attached Non-Writing style guide.
> Do not invent any fact, number, name, or event that is not already in my
> source text. Most important thing first. Cut anything less meaningful than
> silence. Return only the rewrite, then a short notes list of what you cut
> or reordered.

Then paste your draft under a line that says `SOURCE:`.

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## Dial the job (optional second line)

Add one line before the source if you need a register:

| You want | Add |
|---|---|
| Clear everyday prose | `Register: Natural` |
| Blunt, short, no fluff | `Register: Blunt` |
| Dry wit without clowning | `Register: Wry` |
| Story that carries an idea | `Register: Story` |
| Teach a smart outsider | `Register: Explainer` — and require every addition on a notes line starting `Added for clarity:` |
| Strip ChatGPT tells | `Strip AI tells (delve, tapestry, testament, underscores, showcases, vibrant, pivotal). Sound like a careful human.` |
| Translate | `Rewrite first, then write as a native [language] writer would — not word-for-word.` |

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## Five checks before you trust the output

1. **Payload in sentence one?** If not, the model failed the first law.
2. **Any new fact?** Highlight names, numbers, events. If they were not in your
   source, discard or rewrite by hand.
3. **Throat-clearing?** Delete openings like "It is important to note that…"
4. **Ending that summarizes?** Replace with a blunt landing or an open question.
5. **Harder to read than the draft?** Fail. Comprehension is the gold standard.

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## What this is not

- Not Dr Non's opinion, approval, or employer.
- Not medical, legal, or financial advice.
- Not a licence to send sharp prose at a named private person.
- Not a substitute for reading the Fine print on the site if you use the
  hosted tool (text there is saved for study).

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## Files in this kit

| File | Use |
|---|---|
| `NON-WRITING.md` | The laws, fingerprints, canon, registers, exemplars |
| `HOW-TO-USE.md` | This file — prompts and checks |
| `LEGAL.md` | How you may use the style and the hosted tool |
| `SHELF.md` | Books behind the craft (bibliography) |

Re-download after the corpus stamp changes. The guide sharpens as the blog grows.

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*The Non-Writer · nonwriter.nonarkara.org*