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Keep a scene inside one character’s viewpoint
Rewrite a scene without revealing thoughts the viewpoint character cannot know.
Illustrative resourceNot tool-testedAnyone starting a personal creative project
What you’re working towards
Rewrite a scene without revealing thoughts the viewpoint character cannot know. The worked result was written for this guide; it is not a recording of an AI run.
Your choice also saves this guide’s current worked-example checkmarks. Only this browser; no account or sync. View saved guides
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Make a start
One step at a time.
3 steps
Start with the synthetic worked example or other non-sensitive inputs. Run one prompt at a time in your chosen AI tool. Replace any bracketed placeholders with the requested material, check each reply, and supply the source or earlier outputs that step needs. Paste them again if the tool lacks that context.
Start with the synthetic example, then adapt each prompt to your task.
01
Open a text assistant and try the example
For a concrete starter route, open https://chatgpt.com and choose New chat. Sign in if that service requires it for your access. You can also use another text assistant you already have. Copy the entire prompt below (the instructions to paste), including the sample input, into its message box and send it. No upload or image generation is needed. Expect a revised scene plus a repair list. The wording may differ from the example; the constraints should not. If it only explains the task, ask it to produce the finished result using the supplied input.
Your starting prompt
Rewrite the source in close third person limited to Leena: describe only what she can perceive, remember or think. Keep all visible actions. Turn claims about Oren’s mind into observable behavior or Leena’s explicitly uncertain interpretation. Return the scene and a short list of repairs.
Use this complete made-up practice input:
Source: Leena waited by the locked greenhouse. Oren came down the path, secretly delighted that she had forgotten her key. He wanted her to ask for help. Leena watched him turn a silver key between his fingers. He was remembering their argument from yesterday. “Looking for this?” he said. Leena held out her hand. Oren was disappointed, but gave her the key. She unlocked the door.
Known to Leena: She forgot her key. Yesterday she and Oren argued over who should lock the greenhouse. She can see his hands and face and hear him.
Unknown to Leena: Oren's feelings, intentions and private memories.
Tone: Mild tension. Do not establish that Oren is malicious. Do not change the ending.
Return the finished result. Keep it fictional and do not add claims about real people, products or events.
02
Check, correct and save
Read the response beside the original input. Check every statement about Oren against what Leena can observe or know. Find the key turning, spoken question, outstretched hand, handover and unlocked door. Confirm uncertain interpretations are marked as uncertain. If a check fails, paste the correction prompt below in the same conversation. Check the revised result yourself, then copy the version you want into your own notes or document.
Your starting prompt
Check your previous result against this original input:
Source: Leena waited by the locked greenhouse. Oren came down the path, secretly delighted that she had forgotten her key. He wanted her to ask for help. Leena watched him turn a silver key between his fingers. He was remembering their argument from yesterday. “Looking for this?” he said. Leena held out her hand. Oren was disappointed, but gave her the key. She unlocked the door.
Known to Leena: She forgot her key. Yesterday she and Oren argued over who should lock the greenhouse. She can see his hands and face and hear him.
Unknown to Leena: Oren's feelings, intentions and private memories.
Tone: Mild tension. Do not establish that Oren is malicious. Do not change the ending.
Check these requirements one by one:
- Check every statement about Oren against what Leena can observe or know.
- Find the key turning, spoken question, outstretched hand, handover and unlocked door.
- Confirm uncertain interpretations are marked as uncertain.
Quote each problem, explain the smallest repair, and return a complete corrected version. If there is no problem, say which checks you applied. Do not claim that your own review proves quality or audience response.
03
Optional: use your own material
Open a new chat. Copy the prompt below and replace [PASTE YOUR INPUT HERE] with source scene, chosen viewpoint character and facts they can know. Use material you own or may use and leave out private details. The output limits written in this prompt stay in force; change a limit here too if you want a different one. Send the whole message. Expect the same kind of written result with your new material. Check it against this new input and these limits, not the sample’s names or numbers. If it differs, describe the exact mismatch and ask for a complete correction before saving.
Your starting prompt
Rewrite my fictional scene in close third person limited to the viewpoint character I name below: describe only what they can perceive, remember or think. Preserve visible actions. Replace unsupported claims about another mind with observable behavior or explicitly uncertain interpretation. Return the scene and a short repair list.
If an essential detail is missing or two requirements conflict, ask me before filling the gap.
MY INPUT
[PASTE YOUR INPUT HERE]
Optional: improve the result
Try a more distant narrator
Compare narrative distance while preserving the same information boundary. Keep the first version so you can compare the change. This extension uses the worked example. Return to that example chat, or paste its input and your checked example answer into a new chat first. Do not apply its sample values unchanged to your own input.
Advanced prompt
Rewrite the revised scene in a more externally observed style: remove Leena’s internal questions and use only visible actions and dialogue. Then explain what emotional information becomes less explicit. Keep the ending unchanged.
Use the original input and result in this conversation. If either is missing, ask me to paste it before continuing.
Show, then try
See the shape of the result.
This input is synthetic. The output is a written illustration of the intended result, not a verified AI-tool run.
01 / The starting point
Synthetic input
Made-up example for practice. All people, places and events are invented.
Source: Leena waited by the locked greenhouse. Oren came down the path, secretly delighted that she had forgotten her key. He wanted her to ask for help. Leena watched him turn a silver key between his fingers. He was remembering their argument from yesterday. “Looking for this?” he said. Leena held out her hand. Oren was disappointed, but gave her the key. She unlocked the door.
Known to Leena: She forgot her key. Yesterday she and Oren argued over who should lock the greenhouse. She can see his hands and face and hear him.
Unknown to Leena: Oren's feelings, intentions and private memories.
Tone: Mild tension. Do not establish that Oren is malicious. Do not change the ending.
Copies text only. For image or file tasks, use the source files named in the steps too.
Worked example written for this guide; it is not a recording of an AI run.
Leena waited by the locked greenhouse, checking her empty pocket once more. Oren came down the path with a silver key turning between his fingers.
She watched it catch the light. Yesterday they had argued over who should lock the greenhouse; now she was the one standing outside it. Was he waiting for her to ask?
“Looking for this?” he said.
Leena held out her hand. Oren stopped turning the key. For a moment he kept it against his palm, then placed it in hers. She could not tell whether the pause meant anything.
She unlocked the door.
Repairs:
- Removed the claim that Oren was secretly delighted.
- Made his intention a question in Leena's mind, not a fact.
- Recalled yesterday's argument through Leena's memory.
- Replaced his supposed disappointment with a visible pause whose meaning remains uncertain.
These checks use the worked example and its particular facts. With your own material, check your actual names, numbers, sources and rules; do not reuse the sample’s values as the answer.
Unsaved checks stay in this tab and reset when you reload. If you choose Save guide, its current example checkmarks are kept in this browser when storage is available.
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A few things to watch for.
Words such as “wanted,” “knew” and “remembered” can slip into another character’s mind. Inspect who owns each mental verb.
Visible behavior is still ambiguous. Do not automatically translate a pause into a proven feeling.