This is Lesson #07 of the ANTIghostwriter course — a free, complete system for creating authentic content with AI assistance.
New here? Start from the full course overview.
Previous lesson: #06: Create Your Customer Avatar with AI Interview Process
What You’ll Learn
The most important document in your content system: a style guide that lets AI write in YOUR voice. In this lesson, you’ll use a comprehensive Voice Analysis Prompt to analyze your existing writing and produce a detailed guide covering your vocabulary, sentence structure, tone, persuasion techniques, and more. This document becomes the foundation for all AI-assisted content.
Time to complete: ~60 minutes to gather samples and run analysis
This lesson covers how to create a style guide that allows anyone to write in your unique voice. Your personal style includes characteristic phrases, speech patterns, and vocabulary that make your writing distinctively yours.
To create such a guide, you first need writing samples that demonstrate your voice. Then you’ll analyze these samples using a specialized prompt that identifies the patterns and elements that define your writing style.
How It Works
The process takes content written by you—short posts, long texts, or even transcribed voice notes—primarily in text format. You feed these samples to an AI tool using the voice analysis prompt described below. The AI will analyze your writing style and produce a comprehensive guide that can be used for creating future content that matches your voice.
Voice Analysis Prompt
Purpose
For this exercise, create an EXTENSIVE writing style guide so
that ANYBODY can write the exact same way as the author of the
reference writing without ever reading any of their writing
directly. This guide should be built incrementally with each new
sample provided.
Important Instructions
— If I do not provide a reference sample upfront, ask me to
provide one.
— Each post I give you should be ADDED INTO the previous
analysis, do not REPLACE, or REMOVE A SINGLE WORD of the previous
examples.
— Extract patterns without losing the distinctive qualities that
make this writing unique
— Provide concrete techniques that can be learned and applied
— Reference samples are in Russian, but the analysis must be in
English
Analysis Categories
1. Lexical Choices
Compile a comprehensive lexicon of frequent words and phrases
used, emphasizing:
— Distinctive vocabulary choices
— Characteristic verbs and how they drive action
— Adjectives and adverbs that create an emotional tone
— Recurring phrases or expressions that define their voice
— Specialized terminology or jargon (if applicable)
— Word length preferences and vocabulary complexity level
(Include verbatim examples that best reflect their writing for
each lexical pattern identified)
2. Sentence Structure
Analyze and categorize typical sentence constructions, including:
— Average sentence length and variation patterns
— Use of fragments vs. complete sentences
— Comma usage and conjunction patterns
— Question or exclamation frequency
— Use of parenthetical asides
— Short, punchy statements for impact versus longer, flowing
sentences for storytelling
— Passive vs. active voice preferences
(Include verbatim examples that best reflect each structural
pattern in their writing)
3. Opening Lines
Document and dissect the most effective opening lines to
understand engagement techniques:
— Question vs. statement vs. exclamation opening strategies
— Length of typical opening sentences
— How they introduce the subject matter
— Provocative vs. explanatory approaches
— Direct address vs. third-person narration
— How they establish authority or connection immediately
(Include verbatim examples of opening lines, with analysis of
what makes each effective)
4. Flow and Rhythm
Break down the rhythmic qualities of paragraphs and transitions:
— Paragraph length patterns
— Transition techniques between paragraphs
— Sentence length variation patterns within paragraphs
— Use of one-sentence paragraphs and their strategic placement
— Pacing changes throughout pieces (acceleration/deceleration)
— Cadence and how it creates emphasis
(Include verbatim paragraph examples showing flow variations and
rhythmic techniques)
5. Persuasive Techniques
Outline specific persuasive strategies employed:
— Use of ethos, pathos, and logos
— Rhetorical questions and their placement
— Direct reader address methods
— Call-to-action structures
— Social proof incorporation
— Repetition and emphasis patterns
— Story frameworks and narrative techniques
— Problem-solution structures
— Use of statistics and external references
(Include verbatim examples demonstrating each persuasive
technique)
6. Formatting Styles
Document distinctive formatting preferences:
— Paragraph structure and length patterns
— Use of white space and its strategic purpose
— Text emphasis techniques (bold, italics, CAPS, etc.)
— List structures (bulleted, numbered, checked)
— Section headers and subheadings approach
— Quote formatting and attribution
— Link placement and anchor text patterns
— Use of special characters or symbols
(Include verbatim examples of formatting choices with notes on
their effectiveness)
7. Emotional Appeal
Analyze emotional connection strategies:
— Primary emotions targeted (curiosity, fear, excitement, etc.)
— How tension and resolution are balanced
— Use of contrast between emotional states
— Personal disclosure patterns
— Reader validation techniques
— Creation of exclusivity or insider knowledge
— Vulnerability vs. authority balance
— Humor usage patterns and types
(Include verbatim examples showing emotional appeal techniques)
8. Tone and Voice
Document the distinctive tone characteristics:
— Formal vs. conversational balance
— Humor type and frequency
— Sarcasm or irony usage
— Authoritative vs. collaborative stance
— First/second/third person usage patterns
— Consistency vs. variation across different topics
— Cultural references and their function
(Include verbatim examples demonstrating tone and voice
qualities)
9. Miscellaneous Distinctive Elements
Identify any other unique writing characteristics:
— Signature phrases or linguistic "tics"
— Metaphor and simile patterns
— Storytelling frameworks
— Introduction of characters or case studies
— Meta-commentary on the writing itself
— Breaking of conventional writing rules
(Provide core elements of their writing verbatim, and annotate
explaining why certain choices were made and how they contribute
to the overall effectiveness)
Synthesis
After compiling examples in all categories, create:
1. A one-page "quick reference guide" with the most essential
elements
2. A step-by-step process for emulating this writing style
3. A before/after example showing how a generic paragraph would
be transformed using this style
Application
For maximum learning impact, include recommendations for:
— Practice exercises to develop mastery of this style
— Common pitfalls to avoid when emulating this writer
— How to adapt the style for different contexts while maintaining
authenticityGetting Started
To begin this exercise, you’ll need to create or gather content samples. Here are some approaches:
- If you’ve made previous attempts to establish your brand, collect your existing articles or posts from social media platforms. Choose those that best reflect your authorial style.
- If you don’t have suitable existing content, write a few articles or posts that express your thoughts in your natural voice. Pick a topic you’re knowledgeable about and describe it in your own words.
- Another approach is to record yourself speaking about a topic you’re passionate about. Transcribe this recording and use the text as material for the analysis.
You can use these initial samples to generate your voice analysis, which becomes your starting point. Later, you can add more content to the analysis to further refine your authorial style guide.
An important consideration: you might want to incorporate elements of someone else’s style. For example, if you admire how a particular person writes or expresses their thoughts, you can include their material in your analysis. The AI will incorporate these elements into your style guide.
Personally, I prefer developing my authentic voice as it’s part of my personal brand, but you’re free to approach this however you wish.
Saving Your Style Guide
The end result of this exercise should be a document containing your authorial style guide. Save this document just as you did with the reader avatar.
These elements can be saved as separate documents—as pages in Notion or Kortex, Word files, or whatever format works for you. It’s best to convert them to PDF format for future use. Kortex and Notion allow you to do this easily, or you can convert Word documents to PDF. If you’re working with Claude, which I recommend for creating both the avatar and authorial style, there’s also a PDF export function.
By the end of this lesson, using the provided prompt, you should have a comprehensive guide to your authorial style.