Iteration · 2026-08-17

When the output fails, cut — don't add

Over-density has signatures: motions smear into wobble, characters blend or vanish, colors average toward grey, silk and bronze render generic. The instinct is to add more instruction to fix it. The cure is the opposite: find the single most important element of the beat and trim everything that doesn't serve it.

The failing prompt is almost never underwritten. It's overcrowded.