Building in public
Creating with Claude Blog
Tutorials, project walkthroughs, tool announcements, and the real story behind building with AI.
The question nobody asks before starting an AI project
"What should I build?" isn't the right first question. The real one shapes every decision that follows — and most people skip it entirely.
Read more →AI made me a better writer — not the way you think
AI didn't make my writing faster. It made my thinking sharper. Having a collaborator who challenges every assumption changed how I approach the craft.
Read more →What happens after the first win
Your first successful AI project is intoxicating. The second one is where most people stall. The momentum problem nobody warns you about.
Read more →Why the best AI creators will never call themselves prompt engineers
Prompt engineering matters. But the people building remarkable things with AI bring something prompts can't teach — domain expertise and taste.
Read more →Three conversations that changed how I use Claude
Not tips or techniques — three moments where I realized I'd been thinking about AI collaboration wrong. Each shifted something fundamental.
Read more →Context is the skill. Prompting is just the syntax.
The internet is full of prompt templates. Most produce mediocre output. The real skill isn't in the prompt — it's in the context you bring.
Read more →I wrote a book with AI without letting AI write the book
Claude didn't write my book for the same reason a table saw doesn't build a cabinet. The tool does work. The craftsman makes decisions.
Read more →The 80% problem
AI gets you to 80% terrifyingly fast. The last 20% is where all the value lives — and where most people stop.
Read more →AI doesn't replace expertise. It amplifies it.
The people getting the best results from AI aren't prompt engineers. They're domain experts who learned to bring what they know to the conversation.
Read more →Your first AI project should scare you a little
The safe first project is the dangerous one. If your first build doesn't make you uncomfortable, you've picked the wrong project.
Read more →Most people use AI like a search engine
The gap between asking AI questions and building things with AI is enormous. Most people never cross it — and never discover what's on the other side.
Read more →The moment I stopped prompting and started building
Most people use AI to ask questions. The real shift happens when you stop researching and start building — and it changes everything.
Read more →"What Should I Build?" — A Generator for Your First AI Project
The hardest part of building with AI isn't the building. It's picking a first project small enough to finish and useful enough to matter. This tool picks it with you.
Read more →Trust, But Verify — The Checklist That Keeps AI Honest
AI is confident whether it's right or wrong. After 30 years in cybersecurity, I have a habit for that. Here's the verification checklist I use on every output that matters.
Read more →Are You Ready to Build With AI? Score Yourself Honestly
Before you build anything with AI, it helps to know where you're starting from. A short self-assessment that tells you exactly where to begin.
Read more →Teach Your AI Who You Are — Once
Custom instructions are the highest-leverage five minutes in AI. Most people never set them up. This worksheet builds yours step by step.
Read more →Anthropic Redesigned the App Eleven Days Before My Book Launch
A book about working with Claude, broken by Claude changing — with the files already built and the launch date set. Here's what the fix looked like, and what it taught me about writing about software in print.
Read more →Stop Writing Prompts From Scratch — Start a Prompt Library
The difference between people who get great results from AI and everyone else usually isn't skill. It's that they stopped starting over. Here's the starter kit.
Read more →The Real Math of Self-Publishing (and the Calculator That Does It For You)
POD or print run? KDP royalties or unit economics? I built a calculator that answers the question every first-time author asks — what will this actually cost me?
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