Summarizing long Reddit threads with Claude

Often I want to understand a thread (reddit, facebook, stackoverflow ...) but don't want to read it all so I use Claude to summarize it. Today a reddit songwriting said he liked his songs at first but then later did not and he asked for advice. I gave Claude the following prompt followed by the text of the entire thread...

Claude Prompt: Summarize the advice in this thread and count how many times each piece of advice was given. Put the advice in descending sorted order by this count...<PASTED TEXT FROM THREAD>

(Note this prompt would also work in ChatGPT, Gemini, Perplexity, CoPilot,...)

Claude Results:

SUMMARY: The key message is that creators should avoid over-analyzing their work and trust their initial instincts. Taking breaks and maintaining perspective are crucial for objective evaluation.

Here's the advice sorted by frequency of mention:

  1. Take breaks and come back with fresh perspective/let it rest (5 mentions)
    1. - Multiple commenters suggested stepping away from the work for days or weeks
    2. - Some recommended listening in different environments
    3. - Coming back after time helps clear vision
  2. Stop comparing to other artists/bands (4 mentions)
    1. - Comparing to professional work is unfair due to production differences
    2. - Each artist has their own unique style
    3. - Focus on your own sound rather than replication
  3. Trust your initial feeling/instincts (3 mentions)
    1. - If it feels right while creating, that's important
    2. - Initial inspiration often leads to the best results
    3. - Trust your gut reaction when first writing
  4. Work faster and make more music (3 mentions)
    1. - Don't get stuck on one piece
    2. - Focus on quantity over perfection
    3. - Keep moving forward to new projects
  5. Consider production quality differences (2 mentions)
    1. - Professional tracks have multiple people involved
    2. - Consider mixing, mastering, and production value
  6. Get external feedback (2 mentions)
    1. - Have others listen
    2. - Find trusted ears for objective opinions
  7. Single mentions:
    1. - Put it in a playlist with favorite songs to compare
    2. - Focus on if you want to keep listening to it
    3. - Accept that art is never truly finished
    4. - Judge based on personal enjoyment while playing
    5. - Make notes during listening sessions
    6. - Focus on if it matches what you hear in your head