Teaching a 14B Model to Talk Like otisabi: An SFT Style Transfer Experiment
I wanted to fine-tune a small LLM to write like a specific person. Not a generic “write in a funny tone” — I wanted it to mimic a real writer’s voice. I picked otisabi, a veteran writer on ekşi sözlük with nearly 14,000 entries and a distinctive style. For those unfamiliar: ekşi sözlük is Turkey’s iconic collaborative dictionary, founded in 1999 — years before Urban Dictionary or Reddit existed. Think of it as a mix of both, but with a culture of sharp wit, irony, and strong personal voices. Writers build followings based on their style, and the best ones are instantly recognizable from a single entry. ...