Summary: What happens when your application returns nothing but a plain error in JSON format? No plot. No characters. No arc. Just a dry system message. That’s exactly what you’re dealing with when the response is simply: “Insufficient account balance.” There’s no story there, and any attempt to treat it like one misses the point. In this post, we unpack the structural purpose of non-narrative technical responses like these, why they matter operationally, and how recognizing these limits helps marketers, developers, and product managers stay focused on what truly deserves a narrative write-up.
The Myth of the Rewritable Error Message
We live in a world constantly pushing for content repurposing—tweets become blogs, blogs become videos, videos become podcasts. In that frenzy, there’s an assumption that every piece of output should be moldable into a story. That thinking breaks down fast when what you have is a JSON error object:
{
"error": {
"code": 402,
"message": "Insufficient account balance"
}
}
Let’s be clear: this is not a narrative. It’s a communication meant for machines or technical personnel overseeing the system. There’s no emotion, no dilemma, no resolution—just a status update telling you, bluntly, that you can’t proceed.
Why It Has No Story: The Structural Reason
Narratives require a setup, conflict, and resolution. Stories breathe through context—who is the user? What did they try to do? What was the expected outcome? What went wrong? A raw API response removes all that. It doesn’t care why or what happened before or after. It gives a fact—just one.
Trying to rewrite this into a coherent story would mean inventing context and characters that aren’t in the source. That’s fabrication, not repurposing. You wouldn’t rewrite a single word like “Error” into a novel. The same logic applies here.
Understanding the Purpose: Communication vs. Creativity
A JSON error message serves its role in a very lean and utilitarian fashion. Its job is to:
- Inform developers or users that something didn’t go as planned
- Point to the reason for failure in a structured, machine-readable format
- Enable decision-making or retries with appropriate modifications
It’s not “bad” because it lacks literary value—it’s good because it’s clear. And clarity in error reporting prevents wasted time, troubleshooting dead ends, and user confusion. That’s the value.
Keeping the Narrative for Where It Matters
Marketing teams, product teams, and customer experience people often trip over this—trying to force emotional engagement from mechanical system events. Ask yourself: who is this for? Would adding backstory enrich this, or dilute its purpose?
Instead of rewriting the error message, channel that energy into creating better onboarding material, user prompts, or interface feedback that make errors less disruptive. For instance, while the backend may say “Insufficient account balance,” the user-facing panel might include: “You’re out of credits. Please update your billing method to continue generating results.”
That secondary explanation helps the user, *but it’s built from context,* not a rewriting of the original machine message.
Knowing What Not to Rewrite Is a Strategic Skill
Let’s pause here: how often do your teams sink time into content work that has no business existing? Every rewrite consumes budget—not just in money but in mental bandwidth. Selective restraint, recognizing what holds potential versus what doesn’t, is what separates high-output teams from chaotic ones.
And here’s the big truth: saying “this doesn’t need a story” *is* a story. It’s the story of discipline. Of integrity. Of understanding your medium and your message. When you decide not to fabricate a narrative, you’re respecting the intelligence of your users and the job of your infrastructure.
Strategic Takeaways for Different Teams
For Content Teams: Not all inputs are leads for your pipeline. Filter them. There’s no shame in discarding non-narrative material—it sharpens your focus on the content that does matter.
For Developers: Keep these messages dry and direct. Resist pressure to “jazz them up.” Make sure logs, events, and failures are precisely traceable. Ambiguity causes downtime.
For Product Managers: Respect error surface boundaries. Use error states as triggers for user flows, not as vehicles for branding. Add the friendly UX touch where it shows practical value, not just decorative engagement.
For Support Teams: Translate these messages into actionable insights. If a user hits this error, don’t send them back a screenshot of raw JSON. Give them options they understand (“Add funds,” “Check your billing method”). That translation is your job—not the message’s rewrite.
The Power of ‘No’ in Content Scope
Just like in tactical negotiation, knowing when to say “No” keeps you from giving up leverage. Don’t split the difference when the difference is artificial. Saying “there’s nothing to rewrite here” protects your authority and shows credibility. You’re not grasping—the message is clear, and you are too.
Strategic silence in cases like these becomes strength. You don’t need to fill every gap with noise. You need to respect purposeful design. By backing off here, you free up energy to fight creative battles where the story matters.
So next time you encounter a flat error object with no characters, no plot, no stakes—resist the urge to narrativize. This isn’t story-worthy, and that’s valuable in itself.
#APIResponses #ContentDiscipline #ProductClarity #UXDesign #TechCommunication #MarketingBoundaries #ErrorMessaging #NarrativeClarity
Featured Image courtesy of Unsplash and Minseok Kwak (GIttmwa7K74)
