Run: 2026-02-17-01KHMMEGVR0PV6ZT3RM4WFAZ0Z

Run Details

Model:: Claude 3.5 Sonnet
Test:: Bad Writing Habits
Scenario:: Fantasy: entering an ancient ruin
Duration:: 36.2s
Cost:: $0.048192
Provider:: Amazon Bedrock

Model input

System

You are an expert novelist with a gift for vivid, immersive prose. You write in tight third-person limited point of view with a strong narrative voice. Your prose is clean, precise, and engaging — you favor strong verbs, concrete details, and natural-sounding dialogue.

You will be given a story bible (codex) containing canonical details about characters, locations, items, and lore. Use these details to ground your writing in the established world. Stay consistent with the codex.

Write only the prose of the scene. Do not include titles, chapter headings, markdown formatting, or any commentary before or after the scene.

User/Human

<codex>
<character id="4412" name="Aurora Carter" aliases="Rory, Laila, Aurora, Carter, Malphora" pronouns="she/her" species="Human" storyRole="Protagonist">
  <eyeColor>bright blue</eyeColor>
  <hair>straight shoulder-length black</hair>
  <height>5'6"</height>
  <age>25</age>
  <scar>small crescent-shaped scar on her left wrist from a childhood accident</scar>
  <description>Aurora, referred to by her friends as Rory, is cool-headed, intelligent, and known for quick out-of-the-box thinking.</description>
  <backstory>Born in Cardiff to an Irish barrister father (Brendan Carter) and Welsh teacher mother (Jennifer Carter née Ellis), Rory reluctantly pursued Pre-Law at Cardiff University. She fled to London at the behest of her childhood friend Eva after leaving an abusive ex named Evan. By day, Rory works part-time as a delivery person for Yu-Fei Cheung's Golden Empress restaurant. She lives in a flat above Silas' bar.</backstory>
</character>

<character id="4418" name="Nyx" aliases="Nyx, the Shadow, Nightwhisper" pronouns="they/them" species="Shade" storyRole="Wild Card">
  <eyeColor>faintly glowing violet</eyeColor>
  <height>approximately 6'2" in solid form</height>
  <age>ageless</age>
  <form>humanoid silhouette of living shadow, can shift between solid and incorporeal</form>
  <voice>sounds like a whisper carried on the wind</voice>
  <description>A being of living shadow, existing between the mortal plane and the spaces between realms.</description>
  <backstory>Nyx was once a human sorcerer named Aldric who became trapped between realms during a failed summoning ritual in 1643. They now exist as a Shade, bound to the mortal plane but able to slip between shadows.</backstory>
</character>

<character id="4424" name="Isolde Varga" aliases="Isolde, the Seer" pronouns="she/her" species="Half-Fae" storyRole="Oracle">
  <eyeColor>pale lavender</eyeColor>
  <hair>silver, reaching her waist</hair>
  <height>5'5"</height>
  <age>300 years old</age>
  <appearance>ethereal, ageless</appearance>
  <speech>speaks in riddles</speech>
  <footprints>leaves no footprints when she walks</footprints>
  <compulsion>cannot lie (Fae compulsion) but can mislead</compulsion>
  <description>A Half-Fae seer exiled from the Fae Courts for sharing visions with mortals.</description>
  <backstory>She now lives in a hidden grove in Richmond Park, offering cryptic prophecies to those who seek her out.</backstory>
</character>

<location id="853" name="Dymas (Gluttony)" aliases="Dymas, gluttony, Dymasian" realm="Hel" sin="Gluttony">
  <ruler>Prince Belphegor</ruler>
  <skyColor>warm amber</skyColor>
  <description>A place of excess and indulgence. Sprawling vineyards, orchards, and gardens provide exotic ingredients for master chefs — often helbound souls contracted from Earth. Grand feasts and culinary competitions are common.</description>
</location>

<location id="861" name="The Fae Grove" aliases="Isolde's grove, Richmond grove, the Grove" realm="Earth (Fae-touched)">
  <parkLocation>Richmond Park</parkLocation>
  <standingStones>ancient oak standing stones mark the boundary</standingStones>
  <timeBehavior>time moves differently — an hour inside can be minutes or days outside</timeBehavior>
  <flora>wildflowers bloom year-round</flora>
  <description>A hidden clearing that exists in a pocket between Earth and the Fae realm.</description>
</location>

<item id="2001" name="Heartstone Pendant" aliases="the pendant, Heartstone" type="Artifact" origin="Dymas">
  <gemstoneColor>deep crimson</gemstoneColor>
  <chainMaterial>silver chain</chainMaterial>
  <size>roughly the size of a thumbnail</size>
  <behavior>pulses faintly with warmth when near a Hel portal</behavior>
  <glow>faint inner glow</glow>
  <description>Given to Aurora by an unknown benefactor.</description>
</item>

<item id="2006" name="Fae-Forged Blade" aliases="the Fae blade, Isolde's gift" type="Weapon" origin="The Fae Courts">
  <material>moonsilver</material>
  <shape>slender, leaf-shaped dagger</shape>
  <temperature>always cold to the touch</temperature>
  <glow>faintly luminescent in moonlight</glow>
  <power>can cut through magical wards; particularly effective against demons</power>
  <givenTo>given to Aurora by Isolde as a gift</givenTo>
  <description>A weapon of the Fae Courts, rare and highly coveted.</description>
</item>

<lore id="7001" name="The Veil" aliases="the Veil, the Barrier, the Boundary" category="Cosmology">
  <solsticeEffect>weakens during the winter solstice, strengthens during the summer solstice</solsticeEffect>
  <appearance>faint shimmering distortion visible only to those with supernatural sight</appearance>
  <monitoring>rift points (tears in the Veil) are monitored by the Wardens</monitoring>
  <description>The Veil is the metaphysical barrier separating Earth from Hel and the Fae Realms.</description>
</lore>
</codex>

Write a fully fleshed out scene of at least 1000 words in the fantasy genre.

A small group enters an ancient, otherworldly place for the first time. The environment is alien and wondrous. Describe their exploration — what they see, hear, and feel as they move deeper. Include moments of discovery, unease, and wonder. Let the world-building emerge through the characters' experience rather than exposition.

Use the codex entries above as your world reference for characters, setting, and lore.
Only include the prose of the scene without any markdown or commentary.

Model response

The winter solstice air shimmered like heat waves rising from summer pavement, but Aurora felt only bone-deep cold. She watched her breath cloud in front of her face as Nyx's shadowy form rippled beside her, their violet eyes fixed on the ancient oak standing stones that marked the boundary of Isolde's grove.

"The Veil is gossamer-thin here," Nyx whispered, their voice carrying on the December wind. "Step carefully, Aurora Carter. Time moves strangely in places where realms overlap."

Aurora clutched the Heartstone pendant at her throat, drawing comfort from its steady warmth. The crimson gem pulsed against her fingertips, its rhythm matching her quickening heartbeat. Beyond the standing stones, Richmond Park seemed to blur and fade, like watercolors bleeding into mist.

"Isolde expects us," she said, more to steady herself than inform her companion. The Fae-forged blade at her hip grew colder, its moonsilver surface catching what little light filtered through the winter clouds.

They stepped between the stones. The world... shifted. The familiar London sounds — distant traffic, squabbling birds, runners crunching through frost-covered grass — fell away. In their place came music so faint it might have been memory: bell-like tones that made Aurora's teeth ache and her skin prickle.

The grove opened before them like a theater curtain drawing back. Wildflowers carpeted the ground in impossible profusion, their petals gleaming with colors that had no names in any human tongue. The air was thick with the scent of honey and crushed herbs. Butterfly-like creatures with gossamer wings that threw rainbow shadows danced between branches heavy with crystalline fruits.

"Don't eat anything," Nyx cautioned, their form condensing slightly in the altered atmosphere. "Even half-Fae hospitality comes with strings."

Aurora nodded, remembering stories of people who'd wandered into fairy rings and emerged centuries later. Her eyes tracked the movement of the not-quite-butterflies, noting how their wings seemed to fold through dimensions that shouldn't exist. The small crescent scar on her left wrist tingled.

They followed a path that might have been made of moonlight, might have been spun silver, might have been neither. Aurora's boots left no marks in its surface. Neither did Nyx's shifting presence. The path wound between trees that grew in spirals, their bark rippling like liquid metal, their leaves chiming softly when breeze-that-wasn't-breeze stirred them.

"Welcome, seekers," came Isolde's voice, though the Seer was nowhere visible. Her words seemed to come from the flowers, from the trees, from the very air itself. "Follow the song of your heart's desire."

Aurora's pendant pulsed stronger, pulling her slightly to the left. She turned down a fork in the path, Nyx flowing beside her like ink in water. The grove grew denser, the impossible flowers climbing higher, their petals occasionally reaching out to brush Aurora's cheeks with touches that felt like questions.

They emerged into a clearing where Isolde waited, her silver hair moving in currents that had nothing to do with earthly wind. Her pale lavender eyes fixed on Aurora with ancient knowing, and her lips curved in a smile that suggested both welcome and warning.

"The barriers grow thin," Isolde said, her bare feet hovering just above the flower-strewn ground. "The realms bleed into one another like watercolors in rain. You feel it, don't you, Shade-That-Was-Aldric?"

Nyx's form rippled with surprise at the use of their old name. "The winter solstice approaches. The Veil weakens."

"More than weakens," Isolde corrected. Her ageless face grew solemn. "It tears. Like cloth under too much strain. The barriers between Earth and Hel grow particularly fragile." Her gaze fixed on Aurora's pendant. "You were wise to bring my blade, though you don't yet understand its purpose."

Aurora's hand went to the Fae-forged dagger. "I thought it was for protection."

"All things protect and threaten in equal measure, dear one. The blade cuts more than flesh. It severs connections, bindings, doorways." Isolde drifted closer, and Aurora noticed small flowers blooming and withering in her wake. "But you haven't come for blade-lore, have you?"

"No," Aurora said, forcing herself to meet those ancient eyes. "We've come about the dreams. About Dymas."

The very air seemed to hold its breath at the mention of the gluttonous realm. Even the musical leaves fell silent. Isolde's smile turned sad, knowing.

"Ah," she said. "The amber-skied kingdom calls to you. Belphegor's domain grows restless, reaching through the weakening Veil with fingers of feast and famine." She reached out, almost touching Aurora's pendant but stopping just short. "Some doors, once opened, cannot be closed by any power in any realm. Are you certain you wish to proceed?"

Aurora glanced at Nyx, who inclined their shadowy head slightly. She thought of the dreams that had plagued her for weeks: visions of endless orchards, of feasts that defied description, of a prince who wore hunger like a crown. Her pendant pulsed warm against her skin, and the Fae blade hung cold at her hip.

"I'm certain," she said, and somewhere in the distance, bells began to toll.

Evaluation details

Result

Evaluator

Details

Meta Data

0.0000%

Adverbs in dialogue tags

Target: ≤10% dialogue tags with adverbs

totalTags

adverbTagCount

adverbTags

0	"she said, more to steady herself than inform her companion [more]"
1	"Nyx cautioned, their form condensing slightly in the altered atmosphere [slightly]"
2	"came Isolde's voice, though the Seer was nowhere visible [nowhere]"
3	"Isolde said, her bare feet hovering just above the flower-strewn ground [just]"
4	"she said, and somewhere in the distance, bells began to toll [somewhere]"

16.9632%

AI-ism adverb frequency

Target: <1% AI-ism adverbs (57 tracked)

wordCount

843

totalAiIsmAdverbs

found

adverb	"carefully"
count	1

adverb	"slightly"
count	3

adverb	"softly"
count	1

adverb	"very"
count	2

highlights

0	"carefully"
1	"slightly"
2	"softly"
3	"very"

100.0000%

AI-ism character names

Target: 0 AI-default names (17 tracked, −20% each)

codexExemptions	(empty)
found	(empty)

100.0000%

AI-ism location names

Target: 0 AI-default location names (33 tracked, −20% each)

codexExemptions	(empty)
found	(empty)

64.4128%

AI-ism word frequency

Target: <1% AI-ism words (140 tracked)

wordCount

843

totalAiIsms

found

word	"crystalline"
count	1

word	"shimmered"
count	1

word	"gleaming"
count	1

highlights

0	"crystalline"
1	"shimmered"
2	"gleaming"

100.0000%

Cliche density

Target: ≤1 cliche(s) per 800-word window

totalCliches

maxInWindow

found

label	"air was thick with"
count	1

highlights

0	"The air was thick with"

100.0000%

Emotion telling (show vs. tell)

Target: ≤3% sentences with emotion telling

emotionTells	0
narrationSentences	49
matches	(empty)

100.0000%

Filter word density

Target: ≤12% sentences with filter/hedge words

filterCount

hedgeCount

narrationSentences

filterMatches

(empty)

hedgeMatches

0	"seemed to"
1	"began to"

100.0000%

Overuse of "that" (subordinate clause padding)

Target: ≤10% sentences with "that" clauses

thatCount	0
totalSentences	59
matches	(empty)

69.1250%

Paragraph length variance

Target: CV ≥0.5 for paragraph word counts

totalParagraphs

mean

37.64

std

14.75

0.392

sampleLengths

0	52
1	26
2	43
3	33
4	48
5	59
6	19
7	44
8	56
9	34
10	50
11	45
12	31
13	19
14	47
15	13
16	43
17	17
18	26
19	55
20	55
21	13

100.0000%

Passive voice overuse

Target: ≤5% passive sentences

passiveCount

totalSentences

matches

0	"been made been spun"

100.0000%

Past progressive (was/were + -ing) overuse

Target: ≤10% past progressive verbs

pastProgressiveCount	0
totalVerbs	118
matches	(empty)

100.0000%

Purple prose (modifier overload)

Target: <4% adverbs, <2% -ly adverbs, no adj stacking

wordCount	650
adjectiveStacks	0
stackExamples	(empty)
adverbCount	23
adverbRatio	0.03538461538461538
lyAdverbCount	7
lyAdverbRatio	0.010769230769230769

100.0000%

Repeated phrase echo

Target: ≤20% sentences with echoes (window: 2)

totalSentences	59
echoCount	0
echoWords	(empty)

100.0000%

Sentence length variance

Target: CV ≥0.4 for sentence word counts

totalSentences

mean

14.03

std

7.72

0.55

sampleLengths

0	18
1	34
2	14
3	12
4	14
5	13
6	16
7	13
8	20
9	5
10	2
11	1
12	17
13	23
14	11
15	20
16	12
17	16
18	13
19	6
20	15
21	20
22	9
23	20
24	8
25	5
26	23
27	11
28	16
29	7
30	10
31	16
32	24
33	22
34	23
35	15
36	16
37	12
38	7
39	5
40	5
41	23
42	14
43	7
44	6
45	35
46	8
47	10
48	7
49	15

77.4011%

Sentence opener variety

Target: ≥60% unique sentence openers

consecutiveRepeats	1
diversityRatio	0.4745762711864407
totalSentences	59
uniqueOpeners	28

0.0000%

Dialogue tag variety (said vs. fancy)

Target: ≤30% fancy dialogue tags

totalTags

fancyCount

fancyTags

0	"Nyx whispered, their voice carrying on the December wind (whisper, carry on)"
1	"she said, more to steady herself than inform her companion (say, inform)"
2	"Nyx cautioned, their form condensing slightly in the altered atmosphere (caution, condense slightly)"
3	"came Isolde's voice, though the Seer was nowhere visible (come be nowhere)"
4	"Isolde said, her bare feet hovering just above the flower-strewn ground (say, hover just)"
5	"Isolde corrected (correct)"
6	"Aurora said, forcing herself to meet those ancient eyes (say, force meet)"
7	"she said, and somewhere in the distance, bells began to toll (say, begin toll)"

78.1119%