How To Write With An LLM

Blog · Watch/Read · (gathered 2026-09-23)

• The core argument, drawing from Thomas Ptacek, is that LLMs should be used strictly as copyeditors and tools for refinement, not as primary writing assistants that generate original content.
• This approach is encapsulated by Thomas Ptacek’s “Rule Number One: You may not use a single word an LLM suggests to you,” which Simon Willison endorses as “intellectual personal protective equipment” to avoid the “weird smell” of AI-generated text.
• Practical applications include using LLMs for fact-checking, spelling, grammar, and as a thesaurus (referencing Simon’s “proofreading prompt”), and readers are encouraged to build their own LLM copyediting tools using prompts shared by Ptacek.