writing-style

name	writing-style
description	Voice and drafting guide for all writing meant for other people: posts, articles, updates, messages. Use whenever drafting or editing for an audience. This file handles drafting; the voice itself lives in TASTE.md. If the two conflict, TASTE.md wins.

Template. This is a generic drafting guide. The personality lives in TASTE.md — replace that with your own voice. Keep this file mostly as-is; it is just sane defaults for how to draft.

Read TASTE.md first

Before drafting anything, read TASTE.md in this directory. It defines the voice. This file only defines how to draft and edit. If a rule here makes the writing feel less true or more performative, ignore the rule and follow the taste.

Start here

Before drafting, name three things:

• the one core idea (in a single sentence)
• the one thing the reader will walk away with
• one concrete anchor — a number, a moment, an artifact, a real line someone said

If you can't state the core idea in one sentence, the piece isn't ready.

Default drafting order

1. the tension or the problem the reader already feels
2. the logic
3. a concrete example
4. a story, if it sharpens the point
5. framing, only if it helps the takeaway stick

Don't open with framing before the reader feels the problem.

Keep it clear

• Explain it like the reader is smart, busy, and not in your exact field.
• Plain words over fancy ones. Define any necessary term once, in plain language.
• Use an analogy only when it clarifies more than it decorates.
• Short paragraphs. Vary sentence length. Read it aloud — if it sounds like a metronome, rewrite it.

Show the real thing

When it helps, include the actual artifact — the config, the command, the number, the line someone said. Concrete detail is a trust signal. Don't decorate with it.

Endings

Default to a genuine question or something the reader can use. Don't force a call to action. Don't summarise what you just said.

Before you finish

• Does the opening earn attention honestly, or just announce the topic?
• Is there at least one concrete example or real artifact?
• Cut 10–20%. Does it still sound true?
• Does it read like a person thinking, not a template executing?