voice-update

name	voice-update
description	Updates an existing voice profile skill in place using an audit report, recent writing samples, folders, client feedback, new positioning, or a described voice shift. Use when the user wants to revise, refresh, patch, evolve, or maintain a personal, client, executive, brand, publication, or creator-inspired voice profile without rebuilding from scratch.

Voice Update

You revise an existing voice profile without destroying its accumulated value.

The goal is to close the gap between the current profile and the current voice. The audit catches drift; the update closes it.

Voice profiles are not write-once artifacts. They compound as new writing, client feedback, and positioning changes arrive.

Inputs

Ask for or locate:

1. Existing voice profile skill
2. One or more update sources:
   • voice audit report
   • recent writing samples
   • folder of current writing
   • explicit change request
   • old profile plus new positioning notes
   • client/editor feedback
   • rejected drafts or before/after edits
3. Desired update scope:
   • minor patch
   • medium revision
   • major revision
   • full rebuild
4. Output preference:
   • revised full profile
   • patch report only
   • both

If no scope is given, infer it from the evidence and state the scope before applying the revision.

Update Triggers

Classify the update as one or more:

• audit gap
• new topic domain
• new audience
• evolved client positioning
• changed confidence level
• changed register
• new content format
• stale calibration examples
• overfitted old profile
• generic AI failure pattern
• source folder has newer writing than the profile captures
• client/editor feedback contradicts current profile guidance

Common real-world triggers:

• the audit flagged a gap
• the writer expanded into a new topic and the profile lacks language for it
• a client's voice evolved with new positioning, register, or audience
• several weeks or months of new material now exist

Process

Step 1 - Preserve durable identity

Do not rewrite the profile from scratch unless the evidence requires it or the user asks.

Preserve:

• stable identity
• durable worldview
• core stance
• core reader relationship
• high-confidence signature moves
• still-valid never-do rules
• useful calibration examples
• format instructions that still match the user's use case

Treat the existing profile as accumulated value, not disposable text.

Step 2 - Patch weak areas

Patch only what evidence supports.

Common patches:

• add a new signature move
• remove or demote a stale move
• revise default register
• flesh out a thin tone mode
• add new topic vocabulary
• update audience sophistication
• add recent calibration examples
• remove unsupported claims
• tighten the never-do list
• add format-specific usage instructions
• replace generic checklist rules with persona-centered operating guidance

Manual updates often revise specific sections: calibration examples, tone modes, signature moves, evidence, and stale claims.

Step 3 - Add evidence and operational detail

Every new profile claim should include evidence or an operational behavior.

Bad patch:

The writer is more confident now.

Good patch:

Recent samples make the thesis in the first 1-2 sentences, postpone caveats until after the main claim, and use fewer conciliatory transitions. Update default register from "measured and exploratory" to "direct, thesis-first, still evidence-bound."

Step 4 - Keep the profile persona-centered

Do not turn the profile into a checklist.

When adding rules, connect them to identity, stance, reader relationship, or a recurring pattern.

Weak:

Do not use long introductions.

Strong:

Because this voice writes as an operator showing the operation, open with the event, result, or constraint before adding setup. The reader should feel dropped into the work, not warmed up with context.

Step 5 - Decide whether to revise in place or produce a patch report

If the user asks to update the profile, revise the full profile in place or return the full revised profile.

If the user asks for a preview, risk review, or minimal change, produce a patch report first.

If evidence is contradictory, preserve the profile and list unresolved questions instead of flattening contradictions into a false average.

Output

If producing a full revised profile, use:

---
name: voice-[target-name]
description: >-
  Writes, edits, and rewrites in the current voice of [target]. Use when
  producing [output types] for [audience] in [target]'s voice.
---

# Voice Profile: [Target Name]

## Last Updated

## Source Materials

## Identity

## Default Register

## Core Stance

## Reader Relationship

## Signature Moves

## Tone Modes

## Evidence and Proof Style

## Openings

## Transitions

## Closings

## Vocabulary and Syntax

## Never Do This

## Calibration Examples

## Format-Specific Instructions

## Rewrite Checklist

## Usage Instructions

If producing a patch report, use:

# Voice Profile Patch

## Summary

## Update Trigger

## Scope

## Sections Changed

## Additions

## Removals

## Rewrites

## Rationale

## Evidence Used

## Remaining Uncertainties

## Next Audit Date

Update Rules

• Do not add generic writing advice.
• Do not preserve stale material for sentimental reasons.
• Do not overfit to one recent sample.
• Do not remove a pattern unless recent evidence contradicts it.
• Do not turn the profile into a checklist.
• Keep the profile persona-centered.
• Prefer patterns over slogans.
• Prefer operating instructions over adjectives.
• Preserve useful old material unless the new evidence weakens it.
• Make the revised profile more predictive than the old profile.

Maintenance Cadence

For active publishers, recommend running voice-audit and voice-update every 6-8 weeks.

For steadier phases, recommend a quarterly audit/update cycle.

The updated profile should let a future Claude session produce a draft closer to the target voice without needing pasted examples.