blog-seed-expander

name	blog-seed-expander
description	Turn one-line blog ideas into structured draft outlines. Lowers the barrier to start writing.

Blog Seed Expander

Transform one-line ideas into structured blog draft outlines, making it easier to start writing.

Configuration

Setting	Value
Output Path	_drafts/seeds/
Style Guide	blog-helper.md
Status	seed (distinguishes from developed drafts)

Commands

expand <idea>

Expand a single one-liner into a draft outline.

Example:

expand: NixOS for homelab, macos, and WSL

expand-list

Expand multiple ideas at once (inline or from file).

Examples:

expand these ideas:
- Idea one
- Idea two
- Idea three

expand ideas from ~/obsidian/blog-seeds.md

Process

For each one-liner:

1. Infer topic type:

   • Technical project → Problem, Solution, Architecture, Lessons
   • Personal reflection → Observation, Why It Matters, My Experience, Takeaway
   • Journey/evolution → Before, The Change, After, What's Next
   • Opinion/hot take → The Claim, Why People Disagree, My Evidence, Nuance

2. Generate contextual hook ideas (2-3 options):

   • Technical: "The moment I realized X was broken..."
   • Reflection: "I've been thinking about X lately..."
   • Journey: "Three years ago, I would have laughed at..."
   • Opinion: "Unpopular opinion: X is actually..."

3. Create section outline with 3-4 sections:

   • Section title
   • 2-3 bullets of what to cover
   • Questions to answer

4. Suggest conclusion direction

5. Infer categories and tags from keywords

Output Format

Filename: _drafts/seeds/YYYY-MM-DD-slugified-title.md

---
layout: post
title: "Best-guess Title from Idea"
date: YYYY-MM-DD
excerpt: ""
categories: [inferred-category]
tags: [inferred, tags, here]
status: seed
---

## Hook Ideas
- [Possible opening angle 1]
- [Possible opening angle 2]
- [Possible opening angle 3]

## Outline

### Section 1: [Title]
- What to cover here
- Key point or question to answer
- Specific example to include

### Section 2: [Title]
- What to cover here
- Key point or question to answer

### Section 3: [Title]
- What to cover here
- Key point or question to answer

### Section 4: [Title] (optional)
- What to cover here

## Conclusion Direction
- [How this post might wrap up]
- [The takeaway or call to action]

## Notes
- [Topic type: technical/reflection/journey/opinion]
- [Any context worth preserving from the original idea]
- [Potential connections to other posts]

Topic Type Patterns

Technical Project

### The Problem
- What wasn't working
- Why existing solutions fell short

### The Solution
- What you built/configured
- Key technical decisions

### How It Works
- Architecture or setup details
- Code snippets or diagrams to include

### Lessons Learned
- What surprised you
- What you'd do differently

Personal Reflection

### The Observation
- What triggered this thought
- Specific moment or example

### Why It Matters
- Broader implications
- Who else might feel this way

### My Experience
- Personal stories
- What you've tried

### The Takeaway
- What you've concluded
- Open questions remaining

Journey/Evolution

### Where I Started
- The "before" state
- What I believed/used/did

### The Catalyst
- What changed
- Why you reconsidered

### The Transition
- How you made the switch
- Challenges along the way

### Where I Am Now
- Current state
- What's next

Opinion/Hot Take

### The Claim
- State the opinion clearly
- Why it might be controversial

### The Counterargument
- What most people think
- Why they think that way

### My Evidence
- Why you believe differently
- Specific examples

### The Nuance
- Where you might be wrong
- When the opposite is true

Style Reference

From blog-helper.md:

• Personal & conversational ("I" statements)
• Honest about uncertainty
• Specific anecdotes over abstractions
• Hook → Context → Journey → Insights → Future

Example Transformations

Input: "Pride in what you do"

Inferred type: Personal reflection

Output sections:

• Hook Ideas: The contractor who stayed late, why I refactor "working" code
• The Observation: Examples of pride vs. indifference
• Why It Matters: Quality compounds, reputation in details
• The Hard Part: Caring vs. shipping, perfectionism trap
• My Take: Where I draw the line

---

Input: "NixOS for homelab, macos, and WSL"

Inferred type: Technical project (journey flavor)

Output sections:

• Hook Ideas: "Works on my machine" finally being true
• The Problem: Config drift, dependency hell across machines
• The Journey: Homelab first, then macOS, then WSL
• How It Works: Flakes, home-manager, key patterns
• What I Learned: Steep curve, worth it, what still sucks