Article settings
Writing styles
Teach Byword to write exactly how you want it to
Byword offers two powerful approaches to customize the writing style of your generated content:
- Basic writing styles - Define your style with simple descriptors
- Custom writing styles - Train Byword to mimic specific writing samples
Basic writing styles
By default, all Byword accounts use basic writing styles. This simple approach lets you describe how you want your content to read.How to use basic styles
Enter adjectives that describe your desired writing style in the text field. For example:- professional
- casual and humorous
- academic
- conversational
- technical
Keep your style descriptions clear and concise. One or two adjectives typically work best.
Best practices for basic styles
- Do use adjectives: “professional”, “humorous”, “academic”
- Don’t use instructions: “you are writing to professionals”, “make jokes”, “you are an academic expert”
- Keep it focused: Style descriptions should only define tone, not formatting or structure
Custom writing styles
For more precise control, Byword’s custom writing styles allow you to provide actual samples of writing that you want to emulate.Creating a custom style
- Click “Switch to custom writing styles” on your settings page
- Select “Create custom style” or “Add a new custom writing style”
- Enter a name for your style (for your reference only)
- Choose how many samples to provide (1-3)
- Copy and paste examples of writing you want to emulate
- Click “Save Custom Style”
Creating a custom style takes 60-90 seconds as Byword analyzes your samples.
Sample selection tips
For best results when selecting writing samples:- Choose content that clearly represents your desired style
- Provide at least 1,000 words total across all samples
- Use actual published content that exemplifies your target style
- Select samples with similar tones if using multiple examples
When to use multiple samples
When to use multiple samples
Multiple samples are beneficial when:
- You don’t have a single sample that’s long enough (aim for 1,000+ words total)
- You want to blend elements from different writing styles
- It already contains all the stylistic elements you want
- It’s substantial in length (over 1,000 words)
- You want to precisely match a specific voice
Managing custom styles
After creating styles, you can:- Enable/disable styles: Only one style can be active at a time
- Edit styles: Update samples or rename your styles
- Delete styles: Remove styles you no longer need
- Switch back to basic: Return to the simple adjective-based approach
Using your styles
Once configured, your selected writing style (either basic or custom) will be applied to all articles you generate with Byword.If you’re in custom style mode but have no specific style enabled, Byword will use a default style.
When to use each approach
| Basic writing styles | Custom writing styles |
|---|---|
| Quick setup | More precise control |
| Simple needs | Brand voice matching |
| General tone adjustment | Replicating specific authors |
| Trying different styles quickly | Consistency across large content sets |