{
  "id": 8130330,
  "title": "How To Write With An LLM",
  "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/09/17/how-to-write-with-an-llm-8130330",
  "topic": "ai",
  "section": "AI",
  "published": "2026-09-17T23:37:27.000Z",
  "source": {
    "name": "Simon Willison",
    "slug": "simon-willison",
    "url": "https://simonwillison.net/2026/Sep/17/how-to-write-with-an-llm/"
  },
  "original_language": "en",
  "account": "Thomas Ptacek's guide on utilizing Large Language Models (LLMs) as copyeditors rather than writing assistants presents a crucial rule: you must refrain from incorporating any single word an LLM proposes. This principle serves as intellectual personal protective equipment, maintaining discipline and a discernible quality in the content. Though Thomas himself does not permit LLMs to craft content for his blog, he employs these models for fact-checking, spelling correction, grammar improvement, and occasionally as a thesaurus tool. This approach results in text that carries a unique \"smell,\" reinforcing the importance of adhering to the rule to stay disciplined. In this piece, Thomas showcases a screenshot of his personal LLM copyediting tool, along with a prompt to initiate the creation of one’s own. The article, a link post by Simon Willison, was published on the 17th of September, 2026. The author invites support on a $10/month basis, promising a monthly digest featuring the most significant LLM developments.",
  "summary": "How To Write With An LLM Thomas Ptacek on using LLMs as copyeditors, not as writing assistants: Rule Number One: You may not use a single word an LLM suggests to you. [...] I think that as a form of intellectual personal protective equipment you should adopt the rule that any specific turn of phrase an LLM suggests is off limits. Be strict about the rule! I won't let LLMs write content for my…",
  "key_points": [],
  "editors_take": null,
  "illustration": null,
  "coverage": {
    "outlets": 2,
    "also_reported_by": [
      {
        "outlet": "Hacker News",
        "title": "How to Write with an LLM",
        "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/09/17/how-to-write-with-an-llm",
        "published": "2026-09-17T21:48:38.000Z"
      }
    ]
  },
  "ai_generated": true,
  "disclaimer": "Summaries, key points and the editor’s take are written by software from other outlets’ reporting and may contain errors — always check the linked original."
}