THE CONFESSION LOG: STARTER LIST
A seeded set of common machine tics to ban. Paste it into your log, then
cut what you would actually say and add what the seeds missed. The point is
to make it YOURS by subtraction, not to keep this list as gospel.


HOW TO USE THIS

This is six drawers with a few common offenders pre-loaded so the page is
not blank. Read each line out loud. If it is something you would genuinely
say across a table to one person, delete it from the banned list. If a tic
is missing, add it the second you catch the machine reaching for it. The log
grows or your prose stays smooth. Those are the only two outcomes.


DRAWER 1 - BANNED VOCABULARY
Words you catch the model reaching for that you would never say out loud.

  - navigate the complexities
  - unpack
  - dive deep / deep dive
  - delve
  - leverage (when you mean use)
  - utilize (when you mean use)
  - elevate
  - seamless / seamlessly
  - robust
  - in today's fast-paced world
  - at the end of the day
  - it's important to note
  - game-changer / game-changing
  - take it to the next level
  - unlock (your potential, the secret, etc.)


DRAWER 2 - BANNED SENTENCE SHAPES
The constructions that read as machine-built on sight. Name the SHAPE so the
model has to scan for the shape, not just the words.

  - "This isn't X. It's Y." (the mirrored antithesis flip)
  - "It's not just X, it's Y."
  - the triple: "fast, confident, forgettable" (rule-of-three on autopilot)
  - "Here's the thing:" as a paragraph opener
  - "And that's okay." as a soft landing
  - rhetorical question followed by a one-word answer. "The reason? Math."
  - "Whether you're a X or a Y, this is for you."


DRAWER 3 - OPENING MOVES YOU NEVER USE
The gambits that announce a robot clearing its throat. If you would never
start a piece this way, write it down so the model never starts one for you.

  - "In a world where..."
  - "Picture this:"
  - "Imagine a..."
  - "We've all been there."
  - "Let's face it,"
  - opening on a dictionary definition. "Webster defines..."
  - opening on a stat with no source and no stakes.


DRAWER 4 - YOUR PROFANITY BUDGET
How much, what kind, where it lands. Set the dial on purpose. Fill this in
yourself. The seed is just the question.

  - Amount: (none / sparse / heavy) ______
  - Kind:   (which words are in, which are off the table) ______
  - Where:  (lands on the hit, never as filler) ______


DRAWER 5 - YOUR TOUCHSTONES
The specific writers whose structural moves you want in the prose. Name the
writer AND the exact move. Not "make it gritty." Fill this in yourself.

  - Writer: ______  Move: ______
  - Writer: ______  Move: ______
  - Writer: ______  Move: ______


DRAWER 6 - YOUR FAILURE LOG
The specific ways your voice has collapsed before. The crutch phrase you lean
on at midnight. The register you slide into when the tank is empty. Built
from your own drafts, nobody else's. Fill this in yourself.

  - Crutch phrase: ______
  - Tired register: ______
  - The tell that shows up when I am rushing: ______


THREE KILLERS TO HUNT FIRST IN YOUR OLD DRAFTS

  CORPORATE SPEAK. Every big word standing in for a small one is a place your
  voice went to hide. "Utilize" for use. "Leverage" for use. Cut them.

  HEDGING. "I think maybe." "It seems to me." The hedge is the sound of a
  voice apologizing for existing. Take a stance.

  FAKE ENTHUSIASM. Not everything is amazing or incredible. Save those for
  the things that earn them.


THE TWO READ-ALOUD TESTS

  1. Read it out loud. If it sounds stiff, rewrite it. Your ear catches what
     your eye strolls past.

  2. Would I say this to a person across a table? If not, rewrite it, and
     write down WHY it failed so the next draft does not fail the same way.