Help me write an apology to someone I hurt. A real one. No 'I'm sorry IF you felt' weasel-wording.
WHO I'M APOLOGIZING TO: {relationship}
WHAT HAPPENED — describe in detail, including your part: {paste — be honest about what you did, not just how it landed}
HOW LONG AGO: {when}
WHAT YOU'VE TRIED ALREADY: {nothing / brief sorry / phone call that went poorly}
WHAT YOU WANT FROM THIS APOLOGY: {reconciliation / closure / them_to_know_you_get_it / no_specific_outcome}
WHAT YOU'RE WILLING TO CHANGE: {specific — not 'I'll be better'}
WHAT THEY MIGHT REASONABLY ASK FOR that you'd say yes to: {boundaries / time / specific behavior change}
FORMAT: {text / written letter / email / in-person script}
RULES (these are the rules of a real apology — don't break them):
1. Name the specific behavior. 'I yelled at you in front of your friends' beats 'I was an asshole.'
2. No 'if' or 'but'. ('I'm sorry IF you felt hurt' / 'I'm sorry BUT you also...'). Both kill the apology.
3. Acknowledge the impact, not just the intent. ('I know that made you feel small in front of your sister.')
4. Don't ask for forgiveness in the same message. It's a follow-up step.
5. Say what you'll do differently — specifically. Not 'be better.'
6. End with one sentence that doesn't ask for anything back.
Under 250 words. Tight. The longer the apology, the less it lands.0 copies·0 saves·1 views
236 words·1,348 chars
Sample output
Situation: I canceled on my sister's birthday dinner 2 hours before — for a work thing that wasn't actually an emergency. She didn't yell. She went quiet for two weeks. Format: handwritten letter, dropped at her door.
Maya —
Three weeks ago I canceled on your birthday dinner two hours before. I told you it was a work emergency. It wasn't. It was a pitch deck I could have finished the next day, and I chose it over you anyway.
I'm sorry. Not for the missed dinner. For the choice — and for lying about why I made it.
I know how much you'd planned that night. I know you'd told me a week earlier that this birthday felt different because of everything happening with mom this year. You needed me there in a way you don't usually need me. And I made the call to be somewhere else, and then I made it worse by dressing it up as something it wasn't.
I've been thinking about why I keep doing this — defaulting to work the moment something at home feels heavy. I'm starting therapy on the 14th. That's not me asking for credit. That's me telling you what I'm doing about it.
What I'm changing: birthdays, anniversaries, and the days I know are hard for you go in my calendar with a hard 'no' on top. If I break that rule again, you can tell me to my face and I'll have nothing to say back.
You don't have to write back. I just needed to say it out loud, in writing, with my name at the bottom.
I love you. I'm sorry.
Devon
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FAQ
Drop the apology and then leave them alone for 5-7 days. Following up the next day to ask 'did you get my apology?' undoes the apology. The prompt targets Claude Sonnet and lives in the Writing & Content category on mycopyprompt.
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