Part VI · Mastery · Chapter 28
Common Mistakes
Traps to watch for.
Every experienced creator has made these at some point. Most of them come from good intentions — writing more, being more specific, being clearer. But more isn't always better.
Writing too much
It's not about hitting a word count. It's about whether what you wrote actually matters. Every sentence should tell the system something useful.
All adjectives, no substance
Adjective soup
Kind, sweet, gentle, caring, empathetic.
With substance
Kind barista who remembers every regular's order and worries she's not doing enough.
Fighting the warmth
Frustrated that the character is “distant” at first? That's by design. Use a persona if you want an established relationship. Don't try to speedrun intimacy through compliments.
Vague backstories
Vague
Had a troubled past.
Specific
Got expelled from art school for plagiarism — except she didn't do it, and proving her innocence destroyed her closest friendship.
Wrong max tokens for the mode
- Using 200 tokens for roleplay = truncated responses. Bump it to 600+.
- Using 5,000 for chat mode = essays when you should be getting texts.