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Make a start
One step at a time.
3 steps
Start with the synthetic worked example or other non-sensitive inputs. Run one prompt at a time in your chosen AI tool. Replace any bracketed placeholders with the requested material, check each reply, and supply the source or earlier outputs that step needs. Paste them again if the tool lacks that context.
Start with the synthetic example, then adapt each prompt to your task.
01
Open a text assistant and try the example
For a concrete starter route, open https://chatgpt.com and choose New chat. Sign in if that service requires it for your access. You can also use another text assistant you already have. Copy the entire prompt below (the instructions to paste), including the sample input, into its message box and send it. No upload or image generation is needed. Expect one short scene and three clue explanations. The wording may differ from the example; the constraints should not. If it only explains the task, ask it to produce the finished result using the supplied input.
Your starting prompt
Write a 120–170-word scene followed by a three-row clue explanation. Include all three clues before the reveal, do not state the answer early, and do not add a secret fact at the reveal.
Use this complete made-up practice input:
Setup: Adult character Ivo receives a note saying “Your old partner is waiting in the rehearsal room.” He assumes it means another musician.
Reveal: His “old partner” is his repaired wooden metronome, a device that clicks steadily to keep musical time.
Three required clues: The note refers to “keeping time together.” A narrow parcel is on the piano. There is a faint regular ticking from inside the room.
Who arranged it: His friend Tess, named in the note; she is not present in the scene.
Tone: Affectionate surprise. No deception with serious consequences. No additional hidden person in the room.
Return the finished result. Keep it fictional and do not add claims about real people, products or events.
02
Check, correct and save
Read the response beside the original input. Find all three clues before the paper is removed. Count 120–170 scene words, excluding the clue explanation. Check that the reveal is the repaired wooden metronome and Tess remains absent. If a check fails, paste the correction prompt below in the same conversation. Check the revised result yourself, then copy the version you want into your own notes or document.
Your starting prompt
Check your previous result against this original input:
Setup: Adult character Ivo receives a note saying “Your old partner is waiting in the rehearsal room.” He assumes it means another musician.
Reveal: His “old partner” is his repaired wooden metronome, a device that clicks steadily to keep musical time.
Three required clues: The note refers to “keeping time together.” A narrow parcel is on the piano. There is a faint regular ticking from inside the room.
Who arranged it: His friend Tess, named in the note; she is not present in the scene.
Tone: Affectionate surprise. No deception with serious consequences. No additional hidden person in the room.
Check these requirements one by one:
- Find all three clues before the paper is removed.
- Count 120–170 scene words, excluding the clue explanation.
- Check that the reveal is the repaired wooden metronome and Tess remains absent.
Quote each problem, explain the smallest repair, and return a complete corrected version. If there is no problem, say which checks you applied. Do not claim that your own review proves quality or audience response.
03
Optional: use your own material
Open a new chat. Copy the prompt below and replace [PASTE YOUR INPUT HERE] with setup, reveal, three clues and forbidden explanations. Use material you own or may use and leave out private details. The output limits written in this prompt stay in force; change a limit here too if you want a different one. Send the whole message. Expect the same kind of written result with your new material. Check it against this new input and these limits, not the sample’s names or numbers. If it differs, describe the exact mismatch and ask for a complete correction before saving.
Your starting prompt
Write a 120–170-word fictional scene and a three-row clue explanation from my new input. Place all three supplied clues before the reveal, do not state the answer early, and do not introduce a secret new fact at the reveal.
If an essential detail is missing or two requirements conflict, ask me before filling the gap.
MY INPUT
[PASTE YOUR INPUT HERE]
Optional: improve the result
Test a subtler reveal
Make the clues visible without repeating the reveal’s key noun early. Keep the first version so you can compare the change. This extension uses the worked example. Return to that example chat, or paste its input and your checked example answer into a new chat first. Do not apply its sample values unchanged to your own input.
Advanced prompt
Write an alternate version with the same three clues but no explicit description of Ivo assuming another musician. Let his behavior imply it. Preserve the word range and reveal, and explain whether the scene is still understandable.
Use the original input and result in this conversation. If either is missing, ask me to paste it before continuing.
Show, then try
See the shape of the result.
This input is synthetic. The output is a written illustration of the intended result, not a verified AI-tool run.
01 / The starting point
Synthetic input
Made-up example for practice. All people, places and events are invented.
Setup: Adult character Ivo receives a note saying “Your old partner is waiting in the rehearsal room.” He assumes it means another musician.
Reveal: His “old partner” is his repaired wooden metronome, a device that clicks steadily to keep musical time.
Three required clues: The note refers to “keeping time together.” A narrow parcel is on the piano. There is a faint regular ticking from inside the room.
Who arranged it: His friend Tess, named in the note; she is not present in the scene.
Tone: Affectionate surprise. No deception with serious consequences. No additional hidden person in the room.
Copies text only. For image or file tasks, use the source files named in the steps too.
Worked example written for this guide; it is not a recording of an AI run.
Ivo read Tess's note twice. “Your old partner is waiting in the rehearsal room. Perhaps it's time you tried keeping time together again.”
He had not played a duet for months. As he climbed the stairs, he rehearsed an apology for the missed practice sessions and then decided an apology would be a poor opening.
A faint, regular ticking reached him through the door. Someone was already warming up, he thought, though he could hear no instrument.
The room was empty. A narrow parcel stood on the piano, wrapped loosely enough that one wooden corner showed.
Ivo pulled the paper aside. His old metronome rocked its small arm from side to side, its split case neatly repaired. Tess had left the key beside it.
He sat down, let four clicks pass, and began at the next one.
Clue explanation:
- “Keeping time together”: first suggests a musical partnership; afterward describes the metronome's job.
- Narrow parcel: first leaves the gift uncertain; afterward fits the object that is revealed.
- Regular ticking: first is misread by Ivo as preparation; afterward is the audible metronome.
These checks use the worked example and its particular facts. With your own material, check your actual names, numbers, sources and rules; do not reuse the sample’s values as the answer.
Unsaved checks stay in this tab and reset when you reload. If you choose Save guide, its current example checkmarks are kept in this browser when storage is available.
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A few things to watch for.
A narrator who falsely states that a person is present cheats the reader. Keep the mistaken assumption inside Ivo’s interpretation.
The explanation cannot repair a missing clue. Every listed clue must already appear in the scene.