Make Claude interview you before it writes anything
One extra sentence in your prompt stops generic first drafts. Claude asks you the questions it would otherwise guess at.
The prompt
I need a short announcement for my pickleball club about a new Thursday session. Before you write anything, ask me up to five questions that would change what you write. Wait for my answers.
What Claude gave back
Quick questions first: 1. Is Thursday for beginners, mixed ability, or both? 2. What time and how long? 3. Is it free for members, or is there a charge? 4. Do people need to book, and how? 5. Should the tone be chatty or fairly formal?
Worth the extra minute. The questions were the ones I would have been asked by a human editor, and the draft that followed needed no rewrite.
Most weak first drafts come from missing facts, not weak writing. Claude fills the gaps with plausible guesses, and you spend the next ten minutes correcting them.
Asking it to interview you first moves the guessing to where it belongs: your answers. Cap the number of questions so you do not get a questionnaire.