Why Every Writer Needs a Prompt Design Plan

How prompts shape everyone's writing ecology ... even yours

Cicero prompting AI. Generated with Dall-E.

Imagine trying to navigate a city where roads are constantly changing, obstacles randomly come and go, and actually … you are not really sure where you are going.

That’s what its like using AI as a writer without a prompt design plan.

“Oh, I don’t use AI to write or create content,” you say.

Doesn't matter. You are still stuck in this constantly changing city.

Whether you like it or not, AI is now a part of the networks you write inside. Even when you choose not to use AI, you are making a choice influenced by this technology.

Every writer needs to know prompt design.

What are Writing Ecologies?

What I am describing in this introduction is called a writing ecology.

Most of us think of writing as a solo, isolated activity. Just you and your favorite writing app … or maybe just a notebook.

The muse strikes … and the magic happens

But your writing isn't just influenced by your solitary thoughts and ideas. It's part of a larger, interconnected system that is influenced by your day-to-day activities, interactions with others, and the technologies you use.

This is what scholars often call writing ecologies. Understanding this can help you better navigate these influences and use them to enhance your writing.

How many times have you come up with your best idea when you are not writing. In the shower. Walking the dog. Talking with colleagues in the coffee room.

Had you not done these activities, that idea and the content it inhabits may not have existed, at very least not in the same way.

That’s just a simple example. Now think about how most of your other writing happens. Physical and digital locations. People that interact with your content on multiple levels. And yes, technologies that are constantly shaping what or how you write, usually without us thinking about it.

That grammar checker you use not only shapes your writing but influences how you continue to write. Just like that teacher whose voice follows you around wherever your write.

That linear word processor encourages you to write in straight lines and think in terms of pages. How you think changes when you move your composing into a note app or choose to write directly in your Content Management System (CMS).

Soon AI will be in all of these places. Sometimes visible. More often invisible.

That’s why you need to know prompt design.

Wait … what is a prompt?

For those who don’t know, a prompt is simply a statement or question designed to elicit a response or inspire an idea. Let’s not make this complicated

It can be a narrative starter, a single word, an image, a problem statement, or even a computational challenge.

In classical rhetoric, the 'canon of invention' refers to the process that occurs before you actually begin to write or speak, where you search for arguments or ideas.

The use of prompts directly ties into this canon. They serve a similar function as they help generate and organize ideas before writing, leading you to pinpoint a direction for your content.

In the context of writing, a 'prompt' doesn't always have to be a formal written statement or question. It's anything that incites a response or an action. It serves as a catalyst for our thoughts, guiding or initiating our creative process.

In the digital age, it's also a key tool for AI-assisted writing.

You see … you are already prompting and being prompted. Up until now, that’s mostly been humans or the physical world around you. Now this also includes AI.

As one of my students once said, “It is about prompting AI to prompt me.”

So there is no reason to be shy or intimidated by AI prompts. It has nothing to do with “engineering.” You already prompt yourself and other people. You are prompted everyday by way more than just AI.

Prompt design is just about bringing that knowledge and experience to tools like ChatGPT.

Prompts exist in various forms: from an intriguing headline that sparks an idea for a blog post, to a passing comment from a friend that develops into a story, or even a striking view that inspires a poem.

Consider a scenario where you're a solo writer working on a piece about climate change. A news article you read could serve as a prompt for a section of your piece, a conversation with a colleague could prompt a different perspective, and a related documentary might prompt further exploration of a sub-topic.

These prompts, together with your reactions to them, help shape your overall content.

Even educators rely on prompts regularly. Assigning essay topics, asking leading questions, or posing hypothetical scenarios to students - all these are forms of prompts used to stimulate thought and discussion.

So what is prompt design?

So, when we talk about prompt design, we aren't introducing a foreign concept. We're bringing intentionality and strategic planning to a process that's already integral to your writing ecology.

Perhaps you're wondering: 'Why should I care?' Especially if you're not actively working with AI, you might be unsure of its relevance to your work as a writer, creator, or educator.

Prompt design is not just about AI, but about maximizing all the potential resources around us, both human and technological.

It doesn't matter what tools you use for writing or how you get inspiration for your content, whether it's from a conversation with colleagues, a walk in the park, or even a dream.

What matters is how you harness these ideas and convert them into something meaningful and engaging.

Designing prompts is more than managing the AI prompts in the writing process, but also the people, processes, and technologies that interact with these prompts.

Maybe you are not into AI prompts?

Then someone else is probably doing the prompting for you. Someone else is shaping your writing using AI. Someone else is controlling your writing ecology.

Prompt design is about shaping the technologies that shape you … even if that means saying no to AI or being aware of how someone else is using prompts in your writing ecology.

Keeping it simple.

You may have heard me use a fancier term to talk about prompt management … prompt operations. That’s sounds more complicated than it really is.

Imagine being a content creator tasked with generating engaging blog posts consistently. With a prompt design plan, you can curate a collection of prompts specifically designed to spark your imagination.

Whether it's an intriguing headline, an inspiring image, or a thought-provoking question, these prompts become the fuel that propels your content creation process.

That’s a prompt operations plan at its most basic level.

Now, picture yourself as an educator seeking to provoke critical thinking and lively discussion among your students. Utilizing a prompt design plan, you can develop a repertoire of prompts that stimulate intellectual curiosity.

Whether it's assigning thought-provoking essay topics, posing challenging hypothetical scenarios, or sharing relevant news articles, these prompts become the catalysts for engaging classroom interactions.

By organizing and categorizing these prompts, you can easily access and tailor them to specific lesson plans, fostering a dynamic and enriching learning environment.

You don’t need AI to do this, but AI can be a powerful collaborator in any of these writing and “prompting processes.”

Let’s prompt each other to prompt AI!

Whether you're an individual writer, content creator, or an educator, having a prompt design plan can enhance the way you generate and shape your ideas.

With such a strategy, you'll have a reservoir of prompts to stimulate your creativity or spark dialogue, and generate quality content.

While AI can be a powerful tool in this process, remember that the key is understanding and mastering your own prompting practices.

So prompt operations might sound fancy, but really is just about taking control of how the ecologies around us shape our writing.

Writing and creating content is never just about you.

That’s why I’ve been building a course to help teams and writers develop a prompt design plan.

If you are a tech writer and want to take a deep dive into prompt operations, check out my course with Firehead, otherwise stay tuned for more on prompt design, right here on Cyborg’s Writing.