Outside writing communities like ours, many people still assume prompting involves merely learning a bunch of clever tricks, shortcuts, or hacks. I think that is one of the biggest misunderstandings around AI today. There is no magical template that suddenly makes ChatGPT, Claude, Gemini, or any other AI tool produce brilliant writing. That's because good prompting ultimately has little to do with the capabilities of your particular machine. It has almost everything to do with the quality of your editorial direction. As I’ve said several times before on this platform, prompting is best seen as an emerging craft. Indeed, in the coming years, I believe that prompting will be increasingly recognised as one of the most important communication skills of the century. Why? Because the world is already waking up to the realisation that good prompting depends on an understanding of good writing. That gives those of us who have spent years studying writing craft a distinct advantage over people who are, in effect, prompting in the dark. Now, in recognising prompting as a craft rooted in writing mastery, I am in no way diminishing AI's extraordinary capabilities. AI can ably assist with activities like brainstorming, planning, structuring, first-drafting, editing, and proofreading. In other words, used wisely, it can become an extraordinary thinking and writing partner. But rather than handing over authorship to these machines, the challenge is to learn when, and how, to collaborate with AI in ways that genuinely strengthen our writing. The difference, ultimately, is between delegation and collaboration. When AI is treated as a convenience or shortcut, it frequently produces generic, unmemorable content. But when prompting is treated as a craft, it becomes grounded in the very qualities that have always defined outstanding writing: vision, style, and judgement. It is no coincidence that these are the very qualities that have always separated exceptional writers from merely competent ones.

I've been reflecting more and more on the disruption AI is causing in our field. And what’s becoming increasingly clear is that this boat cannot be turned back. AI is here to stay. But that doesn’t mean writers must feel compelled to use it, though there are clear benefits for those who do. It does mean, at least in my view, that we have a responsibility to ensure it is used well. As I mentioned in a previous post, I would like to see writers lead this shift rather than stand aside and watch it unfold. But to do that, we need a proper understanding of both the capabilities and the limitations of these machines. While building my new course on AI writing mastery, which I'll tell you more about soon, I found myself returning to a simple idea: prompting is fast becoming a professional skill in its own right. Writers, more than anyone, are well placed to teach it. Across industries, people are already using tools like ChatGPT to draft emails, reports, and strategies. What began as experimentation has settled into daily workflow. Once a tool is embedded at that level within an organisation, it becomes part of the infrastructure. The question, then, is how well it will be used. This is where prompting, treated as a craft, separates itself from casual usage. What matters are literary vision, artistic sensibility, and editorial judgment. That is why writers are uniquely positioned at this moment. The core competencies we have always valued — clarity, structure, tone, proportion — map directly onto effective prompting. When those elements are absent, AI produces something merely competent. When they are present, the output becomes sharper, more purposeful, and often genuinely impressive. We are already seeing early signs of this divide. Two people can use the same tool, yet one consistently produces better work. The difference lies in how they think, frame, and articulate, grounded in writing craft. That gap will only widen. As more of the world’s writing becomes mediated through AI, the ability to guide that process with editorial discernment will become a decisive advantage. Not everyone will develop it, but those who do will shape the standards others follow.

Wish you a very happy birthday @Shani Raja Have a lovely day and beautiful years ahead. Wish you good health, more success, grace, and prosperity. Thank you for everything. Have a good one! :)

Do you have a favourite?

Amazed! Completed the colon and semi-colon modules just this afternoon, and now appears a para that uses both symbols with such elegance. Shani might be smiling with approval 🙂