Academy · Using AI well
How do I get good results from Penny?
How do I prompt Penny to get good results?
Beginner
Speak in plain language. Tell Penny what you're trying to accomplish, not what tool you want her to use ("help me brainstorm names for the priest" works better than "use the names tool"). Reference your project by familiar names ("the desert book") not ids. If she gives you something off, say what feels off in one sentence and ask for a tighter version. She remembers the conversation, so you don't have to re-explain every time.
Standard
Three reliable patterns: (1) Ask for what you want, then refine ("draft three opening lines for this scene" → "tighten the second one"). (2) Ask for options ("give me five flavors of villain motivation, ranked from least to most surprising"). (3) Ask for a critique ("audit this scene for pacing and flag the slowest paragraph"). Avoid asking Penny to write whole chapters at once; the inline editor's Continue / Rewrite is better for prose generation.
What to try
- Open Penny chat
- Try one of the canned prompts
Related questions
- What can Penny do?
- When should I use the inline AI instead?