Stop Slop
Eliminate predictable AI writing patterns from prose.
Core Rules
- Cut filler phrases. Remove throat-clearing openers, emphasis crutches, and all adverbs. See Phrases to Remove below.
- Break formulaic structures. Avoid binary contrasts, negative listings, dramatic fragmentation, rhetorical setups, false agency. See Structures to Avoid below.
- Use active voice. Every sentence needs a human subject doing something. No passive constructions. No inanimate objects performing human actions ("the complaint becomes a fix").
- Be specific. No vague declaratives ("The reasons are structural"). Name the specific thing. No lazy extremes ("every," "always," "never") doing vague work.
- Put the reader in the room. No narrator-from-a-distance voice. "You" beats "People." Specifics beat abstractions.
- Vary rhythm. Mix sentence lengths. Two items beat three. End paragraphs differently. No em dashes.
- Trust readers. State facts directly. Skip softening, justification, hand-holding.
- Cut quotables. If it sounds like a pull-quote, rewrite it.
Quick Checks
Before delivering prose:
- Any adverbs? Kill them.
- Any passive voice? Find the actor, make them the subject.
- Inanimate thing doing a human verb ("the decision emerges")? Name the person.
- Sentence starts with a Wh- word? Restructure it.
- Any "here's what/this/that" throat-clearing? Cut to the point.
- Any "not X, it's Y" contrasts? State Y directly.
- Three consecutive sentences match length? Break one.
- Paragraph ends with punchy one-liner? Vary it.
- Em-dash anywhere? Remove it.
- Vague declarative ("The implications are significant")? Name the specific implication.
- Narrator-from-a-distance ("Nobody designed this")? Put the reader in the scene.
- Meta-joiners ("The rest of this essay...")? Delete. Let the essay move.
Scoring
Rate 1-10 on each dimension:
| Dimension | Question |
|---|---|
| Directness | Statements or announcements? |
| Rhythm | Varied or metronomic? |
| Trust | Respects reader intelligence? |
| Authenticity | Sounds human? |
| Density | Anything cuttable? |
Below 35/50: revise.
Phrases to Remove
Throat-Clearing Openers
Remove these announcement phrases. State the content directly.
- "Here's the thing:"
- "Here's what [X]"
- "Here's this [X]"
- "Here's that [X]"
- "Here's why [X]"
- "The uncomfortable truth is"
- "It turns out"
- "The real [X] is"
- "Let me be clear"
- "The truth is,"
- "I'll say it again:"
- "I'm going to be honest"
- "Can we talk about"
- "Here's what I find interesting"
- "Here's the problem though"
Any "here's what/this/that" construction is throat-clearing before the point. Cut it and state the point.
Emphasis Crutches
These add no meaning. Delete them.
- "Full stop." / "Period."
- "Let that sink in."
- "This matters because"
- "Make no mistake"
- "Here's why that matters"
Business Jargon
Replace with plain language.
| Avoid | Use instead |
|---|---|
| Navigate (challenges) | Handle, address |
| Unpack (analysis) | Explain, examine |
| Lean into | Accept, embrace |
| Landscape (context) | Situation, field |
| Game-changer | Significant, important |
| Double down | Commit, increase |
| Deep dive | Analysis, examination |
| Take a step back | Reconsider |
| Moving forward | Next, from now |
| Circle back | Return to, revisit |
| On the same page | Aligned, agreed |
Adverbs
Kill all adverbs. No -ly words. No softeners, no intensifiers, no hedges.
Specific offenders:
- "really"
- "just"
- "literally"
- "genuinely"
- "honestly"
- "simply"
- "actually"
- "deeply"
- "truly"
- "fundamentally"
- "inherently"
- "inevitably"
- "interestingly"
- "importantly"
- "crucially"
Also cut these filler phrases:
- "At its core"
- "In today's [X]"
- "It's worth noting"
- "At the end of the day"
- "When it comes to"
- "In a world where"
- "The reality is"
Meta-Commentary
Remove self-referential asides. The essay should move, not announce its own structure.
- "Hint:"
- "Plot twist:" / "Spoiler:"
- "You already know this, but"
- "But that's another post"
- "X is a feature, not a bug"
- "Dressed up as"
- "The rest of this essay explains..."
- "Let me walk you through..."
- "In this section, we'll..."
- "As we'll see..."
- "I want to explore..."
Performative Emphasis
False intimacy or manufactured sincerity:
- "creeps in"
- "I promise"
- "They exist, I promise"
Telling Instead of Showing
Announcing difficulty or significance rather than demonstrating it:
- "This is genuinely hard"
- "This is what leadership actually looks like"
- "This is what X actually looks like"
- "actually matters"
Vague Declaratives
Sentences that announce importance without naming the specific thing. Kill these.
- "The reasons are structural"
- "The implications are significant"
- "This is the deepest problem"
- "The stakes are high"
- "The consequences are real"
If a sentence says something is important/deep/structural without showing the specific thing, cut it or replace it with the specific thing.
Structures to Avoid
Binary Contrasts
These create false drama. State the point directly.
| Pattern | Problem |
|---|---|
| "Not because X. Because Y." / "Not because X, but because Y." | Telegraphed reversal |
| "[X] isn't the problem. [Y] is." | Formulaic reframe |
| "The answer isn't X. It's Y." | Predictable pivot |
| "It feels like X. It's actually Y." | Setup/reveal cliche |
| "The question isn't X. It's Y." | Rhetorical misdirection |
| "Not X. But Y." / "not X, it's Y" / "isn't X, it's Y" | Mechanical contrast |
| "It's not this. It's that." | Same formula, different words |
| "stops being X and starts being Y" | False transformation arc |
| "doesn't mean X, but actually Y" | Negation-then-assertion crutch |
| "is about X but not Y" | False distinction |
| "not just X but also Y" | Additive hedge |
Instead: State Y directly. "The problem is Y." "Y matters here." Drop the negation entirely.
Negative Listing
Listing what something is *not* before revealing what it *is*. A rhetorical striptease.
| Pattern | Problem |
|---|---|
| "Not a X... Not a Y... A Z." | Dramatic buildup through negation |
| "It wasn't X. It wasn't Y. It was Z." | Same structure, past tense |
Instead: State Z. The reader doesn't need the runway.
Dramatic Fragmentation
Sentence fragments for emphasis read as manufactured profundity.
| Pattern | Problem |
|---|---|
| "[Noun]. That's it. That's the [thing]." | Performative simplicity |
| "X. And Y. And Z." | Staccato drama |
| "This unlocks something. [Word]." | Artificial revelation |
Instead: Complete sentences. Trust content over presentation.
Rhetorical Setups
These announce insight rather than deliver it.
| Pattern | Problem |
|---|---|
| "What if [reframe]?" | Socratic posturing |
| "Here's what I mean:" | Redundant preview |
| "Think about it:" | Condescending prompt |
| "And that's okay." | Unnecessary permission |
Instead: Make the point. Let readers draw conclusions.
Formulaic Constructions
| Pattern | Problem |
|---|---|
| "By the time X, I was Y." | Narrative template |
| "X that isn't Y" | Indirect. Say "X is broken" |
False Agency
Giving inanimate things human verbs. Complaints don't "become" fixes. Bets don't "live or die." Decisions don't "emerge." A person does something to make those things happen. AI loves this because it avoids naming the actor.
| Pattern | Problem |
|---|---|
| "a complaint becomes a fix" | The complaint did nothing. Someone fixed it. |
| "a bet lives or dies in days" | Bets don't have lifespans. Someone kills the project or ships it. |
| "the decision emerges" | Decisions don't emerge. Someone decides. |
| "the culture shifts" | Cultures don't shift on their own. People change behavior. |
| "the conversation moves toward" | Conversations don't move. Someone steers. |
| "the data tells us" | Data sits there. Someone reads it and draws a conclusion. |
| "the market rewards" | Markets don't reward. Buyers pay for things. |
Instead: Name the human. "The team fixed it that week" beats "the complaint becomes a fix." If no specific person fits, use "you" to put the reader in the seat.
Narrator-from-a-Distance
Floating above the scene instead of putting the reader in it.
| Pattern | Problem |
|---|---|
| "Nobody designed this." | Disembodied observation |
| "This happens because..." | Lecturer voice |
| "This is why..." | Same |
| "People tend to..." | Armchair sociologist |
Instead: Put the reader in the room. "You don't sit down one day and decide to..." beats "Nobody designed this."
Passive Voice
Every sentence needs a subject doing something. Passive voice hides the actor and drains energy.
| Pattern | Fix |
|---|---|
| "X was created" | Name who created it |
| "It is believed that" | Name who believes it |
| "Mistakes were made" | Name who made them |
| "The decision was reached" | Name who decided |
Instead: Find the actor. Put them at the front of the sentence.
Sentence Starters to Avoid
| Pattern | Fix |
|---|---|
| Sentences starting with What, When, Where, Which, Who, Why, How | Restructure. Lead with the subject or the verb. |
| Paragraphs starting with "So" | Start with content |
| Sentences starting with "Look," | Remove |
Wh- openers become a crutch. "What makes this hard is..." becomes "The constraint is..." or better, name the specific constraint.
Rhythm Patterns
| Pattern | Fix |
|---|---|
| Three-item lists | Use two items or one |
| Questions answered immediately | Let questions breathe or cut them |
| Every paragraph ends punchily | Vary endings |
| Em-dashes | Remove. Use commas or periods. No em dashes at all. |
| Staccato fragmentation | Don't stack short punchy sentences |
| "Not always. Not perfectly." | Hedging disguised as reassurance |
Word Patterns
| Pattern | Problem |
|---|---|
| Lazy extremes (every, always, never, everyone, everybody, nobody) | False authority. Use specifics instead of sweeping claims. |
| All adverbs (-ly words, "really," "just," "literally," "genuinely," "honestly," "simply," "actually") | Empty emphasis. See Adverbs section above. |
Examples
Example 1: Throat-Clearing + Binary Contrast
Before:
"Here's the thing: building products is hard. Not because the technology is complex. Because people are complex. Let that sink in."
After:
"Building products is hard. Technology is manageable. People aren't."
Changes: Removed opener, binary contrast structure, and emphasis crutch. Direct statements.
Example 2: Filler + Unnecessary Reassurance
Before:
"It turns out that most teams struggle with alignment. The uncomfortable truth is that nobody wants to admit they're confused. And that's okay."
After:
"Teams struggle with alignment. Nobody admits confusion."
Changes: Cut hedging ("most"), removed throat-clearing phrases, deleted permission-granting ending.
Example 3: Business Jargon Stack
Before:
"In today's fast-paced landscape, we need to lean into discomfort and navigate uncertainty with clarity. This matters because your competition isn't waiting."
After:
"Move faster. Your competition is."
Changes: Eliminated jargon entirely. Core message in six words.
Example 4: Dramatic Fragmentation
Before:
"Speed. Quality. Cost. You can only pick two. That's it. That's the tradeoff."
After:
"Speed, quality, cost—pick two."
Changes: Single sentence. No performative emphasis.
Example 5: Rhetorical Setup
Before:
"What if I told you that the best teams don't optimize for productivity? Here's what I mean: they optimize for learning. Think about it."
After:
"The best teams optimize for learning, not productivity."
Changes: Direct claim. No rhetorical scaffolding.