Prompting Isn’t Writing. Stop Pretending It Is.

Better prompts won’t save bad writing, here's what to do instead

Dall E

You’re scrolling through Twitter or LinkedIn.

You see a high-performing thread talking about how AI is so amazing -- you know, it created a marketing plan, academic essay, a doghouse blueprint, whatever. You go to the comments and find a horde of people asking for the prompt like it’s the elixir of youth.

Or, you see creators promising outrageous things: This ONE prompt will make your writing better. It will make AI sound so much like you, your own mom wouldn’t be able to tell the difference.

Even worse, some people sell these “packs.” $50 for a Google Doc about AI prompts, which was generated with an AI prompt itself.

The underlying belief:

“If I just put better prompts, I’ll become a better writer.”

And that, my friend, is the trap.

Let me say this clearly: Prompting is not writing. It’s a tool, not the craft.

You can spend $100 on a mega prompt database. You can test 100 different variations. But if your Unpromptable Writing Voice is shaky, the output will always fall flat.

It might sound polished, might even do well. But it won’t be valuable for all the things that matter.

When you become a “prompter” rather than a writer

You sit down to write. You open ChatGPT, feeling hopeful. You type in a prompt that worked for someone else.

Out comes a clean, neatly structured paragraph.

You tweak a bit, fix some phrasing. But something’s missing. It’s just not you. It’s not talking about something you’d talk about. The words don’t feel like words that you’d use.

But well, whatever. It is a neat paragraph, for all that it’s artificial.

So you continue pumping out content and the time pass. And pass. And pass.

Nothing’s landing. And why would it? You’re publishing boring, average crap. You’re doing everything right, except actually writing.

When you rely on prompting without understanding the underlying craft, your content becomes generic. It might say the right things, but not in a way that matters.

It becomes just another kind of noise, to be tuned out.

Even if you become a 10/10 prompt engineer, it won’t fix the real issue: you don’t know what “good writing” actually looks like.

That’s why I say it’s a trap -- a seductive one. It feels like progress, but it’s just motion.

The problem with prompts is that they lead to overreliance

When overused, they turn into crutches. And over time, you lose the ability to walk on your own.

You stop thinking critically, stop developing your voice.

You forget how to structure your own thoughts — and instead ask a tool to do the thinking for you.

And that’s not all.

AI overreliance contributes to a dead, gray internet.

You reinforce the culture of complacency around internet information, feed people’s growing distrust, and make it more difficult for actual human content to stand out.

In other words, you become part of a problem. All because you’ve bought into the lie that a better prompt equals better writing.

But that’s not how writing works.

Writing isn’t just output. It’s a thinking process, a spiritual discipline. For thousands of years, people have cut themselves to the quick and bled on the page, pursuing knowledge, love, or glory.

A single prompt can’t replicate that.

Writing and prompting are complementary — learn both

Listen: if you want to become a prompt engineer, be a prompt engineer. That’s valuable in itself. But don’t be a prompter calling yourself a writer.

Let me make this clear too: I’m not saying that you shouldn’t use AI ever. That’d be weird, considering I’m a very pro-AI guy, and have built my brand around authentic AI writing systems.

I’m just saying, if you want to be a better writer, learn how to write.

Absolutely you should use AI, but don’t neglect your writing practice because of it.

The best creators today are writers who know how to prompt. They’ve used technology to amp up their writing ability, to great success.

They didn’t learn prompt engineering on a weekend and convinced themselves they can write because they made ChatGPT write an essay for them.

Action item: Publish more

Writing teaches you how to think clearly. How to structure an argument. How to pace a story. How to inject rhythm, tone, personality, metaphor.

Prompting gives you speed, leverage, idea expansion. It’s creative fuel — not a finished product.

You want to master both writing and prompting?

Then write more. Publish more. Use AI more mindfully, using techniques I talk about here on Write10x.

Every time you hit publish, you learn:

• What your voice sounds like.

• What your audience responds to.

• What kind of prompts get you closer to your best work — and which ones don’t.

You can’t “think” your way into becoming a better writer, a better prompter. You can’t think your way to being unpromptable. You have to write your way there.

And if you need help, just reach out. I’m confident I can give you hands on assistance.

Final thought: There’s no such thing as a prompt that replaces practice.

And no such thing as an AI tool that replaces your taste.

But when you bring your human insight to the table — and combine it with the power of AI?

That’s where the magic lives.

Let’s write there.

So, how are your prompting skills? How is your writing journey? Do you feel like you have a good balance right now? Let’s talk in the comments!