Using Claude AI’s projects for revisions

This is Part 3 in my series on Artists, Writers and AI—my musings on how artists and writers can use AI without losing what makes their art uniquely theirs and distinctly human.

If you are new to Claude AI, I recommend to start with Part 2 Using Claude, the AI Chatbot by Anthropic, as a Line Editor and Critique Group

I’m currently using the online chat interface rather than letting Claude roam freely on my computer. But Claude doesn’t retain knowledge between individual chats, and long chats can reach usage limits quickly, making it hard to work on revisions for novel-length manuscripts. You have to repeat instructions, resulting in fragmented feedback lacking coherence. This is where Claude’s projects come in.

Claude’s Projects

Projects allow you to define a goal, formulate instructions, and upload ‘project knowledge’. After describing the project and expectations in the project’s instructions, I begin an ongoing dialogue, sharing scenes in order of the narration—Prologue 1, Prologue 2, Chapter 1. I split the chapter into epigraphs and scenes, asking Claude for feedback based on the instructions. If I am stuck or do not agree with suggestions, I ask for very specific feedback on a sentence or a paragraph.

Remember, this is feedback—it is supposed to trigger new ideas, not decide what makes it into the final draft.

Let me give you an example: while working on Chapter 5, I came to the paint/painting pair in this sentence:

"Water stains marked where pipes had leaked through the vaulted ceiling, peeling the paint from a painted summer sky."

Claude suggested alternatives:

"Water stains [...], peeling away the mural of a summer sky."
"Water stains [...], stripping colour from the summer sky above."
"Water stains [...], erasing fragments of the summer sky fresco."
"Water stains [...], washing away the rendered summer sky."

None quite captured the right rhythm or tone, but gave me the idea for the final version:

"Water stains marked where pipes had leaked through the vaulted ceiling, bleaching colour from a painted summer sky." 

Claude agreed:

“The word “bleaching” also connects thematically with other descriptions in the scene about fading and loss of colour, like the “faded blues and greens” of the tiles. It suggests both the physical process of water damage and the metaphorical erosion of time, which fits perfectly with the mood you’re establishing.”

Growing the Project’s Knowledge

Once I am happy with a chapter, I add it to the project’s knowledge section, and I start with the next one in a new chat within the project. You can also refine instructions at any time—I added my preference for single quotation marks in dialogue, as well as a reminder that the manuscript is British English, after Claude suggested double quotation marks and American spelling. Once added to the instructions, Claude will remember.

Summary

1 – Setting a specific goal and writing a set of specific instructions

You can ask for structural analysis, focusing on:

• Character consistency and development across scenes.
• Plot hole identification and timeline coherence.
• Pacing analysis and suggestions for improvement.
• Dialogue authenticity and effectiveness.
• Setting descriptions and world-building consistency.
• Point of view consistency.
• Theme development and resonance.

The flow within the narration:

• Scene and chapter transitions.
• Story arc progression.
• Character arc development.
• Subplots integration.
• Opening and closing effectiveness.

You can ask for editing help with:

• Overused words or phrases.
• Passive voice usage.
• Show vs tell balance.
• Sentence variety and rhythm.
• Clarity and concision of prose.
• Grammar and spelling.

2 – Working in layers

I enjoyed working with an editor on the manuscript for ‘The Fragments’ and learned a lot. If I have the time and the money, I’d love to do so again for ‘The House’. For now, I enjoy the workflow with Claude, its suggestions and insights. It’s a machine, but that is not always bad—I disagree and argue and dismiss feedback all I want, it won’t mind.

Until it takes over the world and eats us all, of course.