Use These Storytelling Techniques to Counter Vapid AI Content

The shape and elements of an Unpromptable Story

Image generated with DallE

What’s your favorite story of all time?

Go on. Take a minute.

Gun to my head, I’d probably say The Name of the Wind by Patrick Rothfuss. I’m a sucker for beautiful prose and high fantasy.

Yours is likely different. It doesn’t have to be a novel. Maybe it’s a personal life experience. Maybe it's the story of how your mom and your dad first met.

Whatever it is, it’s something that stuck to you throughout all this time.

Now, ask yourself why. What makes the story stand out from all the other stories you’ve read? You’ve probably read hundreds, if not thousands. What makes this one particular story unique?

This, this element that welds a story to our soul, is the same thing that makes something Unpromptable.

Now, I won’t claim to be an expert. Far greater minds have theorized about what makes stories stick.

However, in this edition, I want to discuss storytelling in relation to a cruel trend sweeping the internet: AI content.

The Shape of a Good Story

AI can write stories. Of that, we have no doubt.

In fact, it’s so good at writing, experts theorize that 90% of all internet content will be AI-generated in the next 2 - 3 years.

But, just like most human writing is bad, most AI content will also be terrible. And if you’ve tried writing a story with AI off the cuff, you’ll know that what they create is just not good. It’s shallow, empty, vapid.

Countering this is not just good for your personal brand and writing practice. It’s a mantle we must all take to counter the rise of poorly made content.

We need to write our own.

So, what makes a good, unpromptable story? Frankly, this is like asking about the meaning of life. It’s too broad.

Fortunately, we stand on the shoulders of giants. We don’t have to figure out the mechanics of human imagination ourselves. Since the dawn of time, people have been telling stories. And most importantly, great thinkers have theorized all about it.

They called a good story the Hero’s Journey, or the Monomyth. And it’s relevant, even in the age of AI.

The Hero’s Journey

This is a storytelling framework that describes the universal path of a hero in all great stories.

It was popularized by professor and mythologist Joseph Campbell in his book The Hero with a Thousand Faces, based on the idea that stories across cultures follow similar patterns because they mirror human experiences.

Campbell’s logic comes from comparative mythology. He studied myths across the globe, from different times and places, and found that all heroes go through roughly the same stages:

1. The Call to Adventure

2. Refusal of the Call

3. Supernatural Aid

4. The Crossing of the First Threshold

5. Belly of the Whale

6. The Road of Trials

7. The Meeting with the Goddess

8. Woman as the Temptress

9. Atonement with the Father

10. Apotheosis (the change)

11. The Ultimate Boon

12. Refusal of the Return

13. The Magic Flight

14. Rescue from Without

15. The Crossing of the Return Threshold

16. Master of the Two Worlds

17. Freedom to Live

Whew, what a list, huh? But, recent globally acclaimed stories like Harry Potter, The Lord of the Rings, and The Lion King follow this structure. Compare these to old Greek myths, such as The Odyssey or Theseus and the Minotaur, and you’ll see the same journey.

Campbell was on to something for sure.

The Condensed Hero’s Journey (Better for Everyday Writing)

But let’s get real. You won’t use that structure in a blog post about organic insecticide. Maybe not even in your newsletter about your life.

That structure is a good guide — long-form stories like novels and movies can bring out the true beauty of The Hero’s Journey, but it’s too detailed for most everyday writing.

Instead, I tend to condense the journey into three phases:

• The everyday. The status quo, this sets the scene before the transformation. This is also where the underlying problems are introduced. While it shows the “normal” and validates the upcoming changes.

• The struggle. Everyday life is suddenly overturned by a Big Problem. This is when things get real — the issue boils over, unignorable, calling the character into a great struggle.

• The resolution. The struggle is over, and things end. Lessons are learned, clarity is gained, and the new normal starts to be lived — for better, or for worse. Whatever happens, it is here the loop is closed.

Unpromptable Elements

The Hero’s Journey is a powerful storytelling framework.

But, this alone won’t make your story Unpromptable.

With enough data, AI can even mimic how you tell the story: tone, style, word choices, and all.

AI can replicate it because it’s a formula.

So, what makes an Unpromptable Story? The answer lies in elements that reflect your unique humanity — not just your writing style. These include:

• Relevance. A story must be meaningful to both the writer and the audience. When you write from this place, your personal relationship with your reader shines through.

• Connection. This is how you mirror your readers in your work. This happens when your core beliefs, ideas, and values naturally align with your audience’s. Writing deeply connected stories requires an understanding of people, a way of understanding how to make them feel seen.

• Creativity. AI can imitate creative elements, sure. But it’s still worth mentioning. Your imagery, voice, and twists + the two other elements above create something deeply personal. These show how you interpret life, giving your story a unique essence AI can’t fully imitate.

All these together make something Unpromptable, because it goes beyond the surface (writing style, voice, etc.), and connects directly with what makes you human.

The worst-case scenario? Even if a story like this is, improbably, created by AI, readers won’t care. Because either way, it reaffirms their humanity. From novels to blogs to bite-sized social media posts, having these three elements will make it shine.

Where Does AI Come In?

This is a technology-friendly publication, after all. Just because we’re writing something Unpromptable doesn’t mean we can’t leverage AI.

After all, you probably have better things to do than spend an entire day crafting a story. Plus, using AI properly can make your storytelling faster, better, and more human. How? Here are some ways, off the top of my head:

• Talk to AI to brainstorm or refine your story

• Use AI to create visual assets (scene depictions, book covers, etc.)

• Plug your story to look for plot holes, weak narratives, and loose ends

• Ask it for ideas for hypotheticals, impactful real-life events, experiments, other stories, etc

That’s about all I can think of for now. Maybe you can suggest more?

Final Thoughts

In the age of AI, your Unpromptable Voice is your best asset.

This goes beyond your style. It’s the ideas you repeat, your firm beliefs, your advocacy. It’s the kind of stories you tell; it’s the way they connect to your readers.

Any AI can write a story. Maybe even a good one.

But only you can write your story, in a way that deeply resonates with your readers. So, it becomes your responsibility.

That’s all for this edition. What do you think?