Which Patterns Commonly Make Prose Feel AI-Written?
The problem usually appears when a cluster of expressions repeatedly performs the same lazy function. No single word proves that a passage is AI-written. Context, density, and character voice determine whether it needs revision.
| Clue | Check |
|---|---|
| Repeated hedges such as “as if,” “somehow,” and “in a way” | What it often does for the author: Blurs a perception that could be stated precisely. Diagnostic question: What did the character actually see or conclude? |
| Generalizations such as “a complex wave of emotion rose within her” | What it often does for the author: Skips the resulting choice and response. Diagnostic question: Which action does this emotion change? |
| Abstract closing words such as “meaning,” “fate,” or “growth” | What it often does for the author: Forces a moral onto the scene. Diagnostic question: Which existing result can end the scene instead? |
| A constant layer of “slowly,” “slightly,” and “involuntarily” | What it often does for the author: Gives ordinary actions one uniform filter. Diagnostic question: Does speed or degree affect information, tone or rhythm? |
| Quotation marks around ordinary nouns | What it often does for the author: Manufactures a special meaning that has not been earned. Diagnostic question: Is this an exact quotation, proper term, or deliberate irony? |
| Identical turns and parallel phrasing in every paragraph | What it often does for the author: Makes every character sound like the same commentator. Diagnostic question: Would this person actually think or speak this way? |
Diagnose the function before choosing to remove, preserve, or rewrite. That prevents ordinary, useful language from becoming a prohibited-word list.
How to Decide Whether to Cut, Keep, or Rewrite
Apply three checks to each occurrence.
- Removal: compare fact, tone, relationship, rhythm and experience after deleting it. Cut genuine repetition only when these lose nothing, rather than checking plot alone.
- Evidence: for vague emotion, assess existing choices, objects, dialogue and consequences. Adding a new action requires permission beyond expression editing.
- Voice: preserve stable speech habits, quotations or a chosen register when appropriate; assess repetitive density afterward.
“She froze slightly as complicated feelings rose inside her” may lack specificity, but replacing it with “She took back the key” invents an event unless that action exists in the draft. Cut duplicated commentary, rewrite within established facts or flag the missing response for the author. A direct admission such as “I’m afraid” may work without adding bitten lips or clenched fists.
Original Example: The Compensation Form at a Repair Shop
Original version:
Zhou Lan slowly raised her head, something complicated passing through her eyes. The compensation form on the counter listed 320 yuan. After reading it, she pushed it back and pointed out that the shop had also removed the nameplate her father left behind. The manager reached for a calculator. She held the form down and demanded that they find the nameplate before discussing money. Only then did she realize that this small compensation form represented not merely money, but long-delayed respect.
First diagnose the work each phrase performs. “Something complicated” lacks a concrete referent. This version does not emphasize the speed of raising her head, so it removes “slowly” while preserving the movement. “Not merely... but...” states a theme for the reader. “Long-delayed respect” has no evidence in the scene.
Rewritten version:
The compensation form listed 320 yuan. Zhou Lan raised her head, then pushed the form back after reading the amount. “One item is missing. You also removed the nameplate my father left behind.” The manager reached for a calculator. She pinned the paper beneath her hand. “Find the nameplate first. Then we can discuss money.”
The revision preserves raising her head, the amount, the missing object, the manager reaching for a calculator, her holding the form and her choice. Readers understand the nameplate’s importance from her refusal to discuss money alone; the author does not need to elevate it for them. If the chosen style uses the slow movement to create waiting or rhythm, “slowly” can remain. Speed need not alter the plot outcome to have a function. This original example demonstrates one optional revision, not a universal verdict on a word.
When a Commonly Flagged Expression Should Stay
Keep an expression when it has a specific job:
- Character dialogue needs quotation marks; filenames, titles, and proper terms follow their normal conventions.
- A hedge such as “apparently” belongs when the character genuinely cannot confirm an observation.
- “Slowly” matters when speed conveys threat, waiting, narrative rhythm or whether someone can interrupt the action.
- Direct emotion words work when precision matters: “I’m afraid to go home.”
- Parallel phrasing can express a character’s education, professional habits, or loss of control in the moment.
Then reread adjacent paragraphs. Even a useful construction flattens character voice when copied continuously.
Common Misguided Revisions and Better Fixes
| Misguided revision | Better fix |
|---|---|
| Deleting every word found on a checklist | Decide which fact, tone, or uncertainty each occurrence conveys |
| Replacing a common word with a rarer synonym | Rewrite the information and action carried by the sentence |
| Turning every sentence into a short sentence | Use short sentences for impact and longer ones to connect a process |
| Replacing every emotion word with bitten lips and clenched fists | Prefer choices, dialogue, strategy, and cost |
| Adding typos and catchphrases to sound natural | Build naturalness through stable character voice and specific circumstances |
| Chasing an AI-detection score | Return to readability, character consistency, and scene causality |
FAQ
Should every ‘not this, but that’ construction be deleted?
No. The construction is useful when the scene genuinely corrects an earlier judgment. If no earlier belief is being revised, stating the action and consequence directly is usually clearer.
How do I find repetitive wording in my own draft?
Mark passages by function while rereading: hedging, summarized emotion, stock gesture, forced moral, and empty emphasis. Revise a function when it repeats across neighboring paragraphs. Keep an occasional expression when it is precise and useful.
Do it with the skill
In Claude Code, say: “Use /story-deslop to diagnose explanatory narration, vague emotion, and stock gestures in this passage. For each instance, explain why it should be cut, kept, or rewritten. Preserve the character’s voice and do not replace words mechanically from a blacklist.” In Codex, use $story-deslop.
Read the method: Creative intent and minimal changes · Author style and expression boundaries