AI model

Thomas Ptacek

2 mentions in 7 days · 2 in 30 days · 2 total · first seen Sep 17, 2026 · last 16h ago

Timeline2 articles

How To Write With An LLM

Simon Willison endorses Thomas Ptacek's rules for using LLMs as copyeditors rather than ghostwriters, banning suggested phrasing.

Simon Willison highlights Thomas Ptacek's essay on writing with LLMs, endorsing the rule that no word or phrase suggested by a model may be used in published prose. Willison says he uses LLMs only for fact-checking, spelling, grammar, and as an occasional thesaurus, never to draft blog content. He frames the no-suggested-phrasing rule as useful discipline against recognizable AI output.

Simon WillisonSep 17, 23:37 UTC · 16h agoAI industry 2 sources

How to Write with an LLM

Thomas Ptacek publishes a method for LLM-assisted writing: never adopt suggested words and forbid model encouragement to preserve author voice.

Thomas Ptacek outlines two rules for using LLMs as copyeditors: never use a single word a model suggests, and forbid encouragement that reinforces first-draft impulses. He recommends running model passes to flag passive voice, repetition, and misplaced paragraphs, and comparing rewrites with a fresh-context model to avoid bias. He also recommends the book 'Style: Lessons in Clarity and Grace' and mentions building a small tool to manage context-free copyediting comparisons.

Hacker News · AIupdated Sep 17, 23:37 UTC · 16h agofirst Sep 17, 21:48 UTC · 18h agoAI industry 2 sources HN 46↑ · 31 comments

Appears with

ai model Simon Willison 1 product C Interfaces And Implementations 1 product Style: Lessons in Clarity and Grace 1

Entities are extracted by the model from each article. Watching an entity keeps it in this browser only (no account); the watchlist page and dashboard alerts use it.