Most people treat AI prompts like magic spells — type something in, cross your fingers, and hope for brilliance.
The result? Inconsistent outputs, endless tweaking, and disappointment.
The real secret isn’t in what you ask.
It’s in the frame you build before you ever type a prompt.
And my favourite example doesn’t come from a codebase or a dev sprint.
It comes from the five‑minute bedtime stories I tell my kids.
🖼️ The Bedtime Story Framework
Before the AI writes a single line, I give it a clear structure:
Audience: 4–9 year olds
Length: ~5 minutes to tell
Themes: togetherness, friendship, reconciliation; avoiding prejudice
Characters (traits shown implicitly unless essential):
Oscar Octopus — uses a wheelchair, very brave
David Dragon — fearful of the unusual
Freddy Fox — the clever one
Setting: Wondrous Woods, near Little Lake
Ending: friends together, hot chocolate in hand
Tone: cosy, like a hug, easing into sleep
Moral: reinforces the values above
Stand‑alone: no callbacks to other stories
Include one:
A quest or riddle
Rescuing someone from an unhappy situation
A magic character with special skills
Once the framework is in place, I can give a simple, specific prompt like:
“Tell me the story about the spider in the washing machine.”
The result? Predictable quality, consistent tone, and stories that always meet my goals.
👨💻 Why This Works for AI Programming
Programming with AI is no different.
If you want reliable, repeatable results, don’t just throw in an idea and hope for magic.
Set the framework first — the boundaries, the tone, the success criteria — and only then add the specific request.
That’s how you turn unpredictable answers into dependable output.
