Writing Story Prompts

The key to success with My Spicy Vanilla lies in finding the right balance between providing enough detail to inspire the AI and leaving room for its creative interpretation. If your prompt exceeds 150–250 words, consider shortening it or splitting the plot into two chapters. Forcing an overly long prompt into a single 1,000–1,500 word story may cause the AI to simply retell the prompt without much originality, reducing the richness of the narrative. By allowing the AI some creative freedom and approaching your storytelling step-by-step, you'll achieve results that feel more organic and inspired, turning your initial ideas into engaging, memorable stories.

Whether you're creating a single scene or a full series, these tips will help you work around the AI’s limitations while maximizing its strengths:

1. Keep Your Prompts Focused

While the AI is powerful, it has a limit to how much information it can process effectively. Overloading your prompt with excessive details can lead to inconsistent or illogical outputs.

Recommendations:

Limit the Number of Elements: Try to include no more than 5 key elements, such as characters, locations, or plot points.
Prioritize Key Details: Focus on the most essential aspects of your story setup or scene.
Avoid Overloading: Save additional ideas for later chapters or scenes.

💡 Tip: For character and location fields, aim for 1–2 sentences max. This helps the AI stay focused.

2. Replace Negative Prompts with Positive Ones

AI doesn’t handle negative instructions well. Saying “don’t mention X” or “avoid doing Y” can actually make it more likely to include those things. Instead, guide the AI with clear, positive instructions.

Instead of saying:

“Don’t use this phrase.”
“Don’t include cheating.”

Try saying:

“Use creative, emotionally nuanced dialogue.”
“Keep it supportive and emotionally safe.”
“Focus on trust, monogamy, and intimacy.”
“Characters should express affection in vivid, unique ways.”

These types of prompts work much better and help you avoid frustrating, contradictory results.

3. Setting Boundaries Positively

If you have personal or thematic boundaries in your story, frame them using affirmative language.

❌ "Don’t mention cheating or open relationships."
✅ "Prioritize emotional safety, trust, and monogamy."

❌ "Avoid violence or degradation."
✅ "Keep the tone respectful, tender, and romantic."

This approach reduces the chance of the AI misinterpreting your request.

4. Summarize Essential Actions and Events

A good prompt isn’t just vibes — it should contain a clear summary of what actually happens in the chapter.

Do:

Write what the characters do, feel, say, or experience.
Set the emotional tone or arc of the scene.
Mention the order or pacing of events if relevant.

Avoid:

Using vague or overly abstract prompts.
Relying only on stylistic cues without specifying what happens.

📌 Think of the prompt as a scene outline: a map the AI can follow, not a poem.

5. Move Repeated Instructions to Plugins

If you find yourself repeating the same instructions across multiple stories — like writing style, tone, character dynamics, or preferences — it’s much more efficient to move those into Plugins. They receive more attention from the AI and keep your prompts cleaner.

📖 Learn how to use them here: How to Use Plugins

6. Define Relationships Clearly

You can enhance storytelling quality by defining relationships explicitly. This helps the AI understand how characters are supposed to behave toward one another.

How to do it:

Use the Relationship Visualizer to draw clear bonds, tensions, rivalries, or connections.
In the character profile, mention roles: “Jade is Alex’s ex-girlfriend who still harbors feelings.”

💡 Defined relationships make scenes more emotionally grounded and help reduce random interactions.

7. Set a Narrative Arc

Stories feel stronger when they have direction. Use the Narrative Arc system to guide the journey across one or more chapters.

Examples:

"Overcoming fear of vulnerability"
"Falling back in love after betrayal"
"Exploring a new side of intimacy"

You can specify arcs on the Writing Pack level or per story. Keeping it consistent ensures the AI builds progression, not just disconnected scenes.

8. Structure Your Prompt for Clarity

A clear structure helps the AI deliver a coherent story. Think of your prompt as having 3 parts:

Example Structure:

Setup/Introduction: "A summer thunderstorm rolls over the countryside as two strangers meet at an old inn."
Character Details: "Lena is a shy florist with a secret; Jonah is a rugged traveler hiding from his past."
Plot Direction: "They are forced to share a room overnight, leading to unexpected vulnerability and slow-building intimacy."

9. Balancing Complexity

Complex prompts with too many elements can lead to errors, such as skipped details or broken logic. Keep things simple and add complexity slowly.

Best Practices:

Break down big ideas into smaller steps.
Focus on one or two key character dynamics or twists per chapter.
Test the output, then iterate.

10. Maintaining Consistency During Regeneration

Regenerating the same prompt often leads to inconsistencies. If you don’t like an output:

Try slight rewording rather than using "regenerate" repeatedly.
Move key info into the prompt body if it keeps being ignored.
Save good outputs as a base and refine them.

11. Troubleshooting Common Issues

We’ve prepared a full Troubleshooting Guide for you, but here are quick fixes for common problems:

Problem: The AI ignores part of my prompt.

Fix: Simplify or restructure the ignored section.

Problem: Output includes unrelated content.

Fix: Narrow the focus of your prompt.

Problem: Story lacks emotion or creativity.

Fix: Use positive directives like "build romantic tension" or "make the dialogue emotionally revealing."

Examples of Well-Phrased Prompts

Example 1:

"After a long day of work, Adrian surprises Maisie with dinner plans. She’s instructed to wear a slinky blue dress and prepare discreetly with a few hidden toys beneath. The evening unfolds with a mix of tension, teasing, and growing desire in public, ending with whispered promises back at home."

Example 2:

"Lina and Camille meet in a remote mountain cabin after years apart. The storm traps them overnight. As they rekindle their friendship over wine, they gradually open up about old desires, and a night of emotional and physical connection follows."

Example 3:

"The story begins at a masquerade ball. Ava, in disguise, spots her former lover across the room. They dance, flirt with anonymity, and test whether their connection still burns. Unmasking comes with a surprise twist."

By keeping your prompts clear, structured, and positively framed, you’ll have more control over the results — and better stories. And don’t forget: Plugins and the Troubleshooting Guide are your best friends for getting even more from the generator!