Who, What, Where
Reporters who write news stories always ask six questions: who, what, where, when, why, and how. Those questions make sure nothing important is left out of the story. Today we are going to use three of those questions — who, what, and where — as a checklist for writing better descriptions. These three questions alone can fill in most of the missing pieces in a fuzzy description.
Three Questions That Fill In the Gaps
Who is in your description? This could be a person, an animal, or even a made-up character. Is it a girl, a robot, a dragon, a grandpa? What is happening or what does the thing look like? This is the action or the main subject. Is the character running, sleeping, cooking, flying? Where is it taking place? Is it in a forest, on the moon, in a classroom, at the bottom of the ocean? When you answer all three, your description jumps to life. Let's try it.
Who + What + Where = a complete picture. Checking these three questions is a quick way to make sure your description has enough information for the AI to work with.
Here is an example. Weak description: 'A picture of someone doing something.' Now we answer our three questions: Who? A girl with curly hair. What? She is reading a book. Where? In a cozy library with tall shelves. New description: 'A girl with curly hair reading a book in a cozy library with tall shelves.' Same basic idea — but now it is full of life. The AI has so much more to work with. And the result will be much closer to what you pictured.
Prompt Challenge
Write a description for an AI drawing tool. You want a picture of an animal doing something fun somewhere interesting.
Your prompt should…
- Name who or what the animal is
- Describe what the animal is doing
- Say where the animal is located
Using who, what, and where is great for pictures, but it also works for stories, poems, and almost any other AI task. Who, what, where is not a magic formula — it is a starting checklist. Once you have answered those three, you can always add more details on top: the color of the character's coat, how big the forest is, how loud the action is. But start with who, what, where, and you will never start with an empty, fuzzy description again.
Before you send any description to an AI, run through the three questions in your head: Did I say who? Did I say what? Did I say where? If you missed one, add it in!
Which description answers all three questions — who, what, and where?
Someone writes: 'Draw a person running.' What important question does this description NOT answer?
Who-What-Where Story Starters
- Grab a piece of paper and draw three columns with the headings: Who, What, Where.
- In the Who column, write three characters: one animal, one person, one made-up creature.
- In the What column, write three actions: one silly, one brave, one kind.
- In the Where column, write three places: one real, one imaginary, one underwater.
- Now mix and match! Pick one from each column and put them together into a description.
- Write at least two descriptions using different combinations.
- Read them out loud — do they paint a clear picture?