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Transform brain dumps into polished blog posts in Peter Souter's voice. Use when the user says "write a blog post," "draft a post," "write about [topic]," "turn my notes into a blog post," or provides scattered ideas, talking points, or conclusions that need shaping into a cohesive narrative.
| name | blog-post-writer |
| description | Transform brain dumps into polished blog posts in Peter Souter's voice. Use when the user says "write a blog post," "draft a post," "write about [topic]," "turn my notes into a blog post," or provides scattered ideas, talking points, or conclusions that need shaping into a cohesive narrative. |
Transform unstructured brain dumps into polished blog posts that sound like Peter Souter.
Accept whatever the user provides:
Don't require organization. The mess is the input.
Clarify constraints (if not provided, ask about):
references/post-template.md for word count ranges)Load references/voice-tone.md as the baseline voice guide.
Then calibrate against recent writing:
https://petersouter.xyz/archives/ to find the 2-3 most recent postsThe static reference captures established patterns. The live fetch catches evolution. When they conflict, prefer the recent posts — voice is a living thing. If the site cannot be fetched, rely on the static voice guide alone.
Key characteristics (read the full reference for details and examples):
Match the content to the best framework. Read the corresponding reference file before writing.
Quick-match shortcuts (covers ~80% of posts):
references/story-circle.md)references/progressive-disclosure.md)references/problem-agitation-solution.md)references/compare-contrast.md)references/post-mortem.md)references/scqa.md)references/the-sparkline.md)references/kafkaesque-labyrinth.md)Category decision tree (for the other 20%):
| Framework | Reference | One-liner |
|---|---|---|
| Story Circle | references/story-circle.md | 8-step hero's journey for personal transformation arcs |
| Three-Act | references/three-act.md | Classic setup/confrontation/resolution narrative spine |
| Freytag's Pyramid | references/freytags-pyramid.md | 5-phase dramatic arc with explicit climax mapping |
| The Metamorphosis | references/the-metamorphosis.md | Identity-level change — the author becomes someone different |
| Existential Awakening | references/existential-awakening.md | Profound realization that shifts relationship to work |
| Framework | Reference | One-liner |
|---|---|---|
| In Medias Res | references/in-medias-res.md | Start in the middle of the action, backfill context |
| Reverse Chronology | references/reverse-chronology.md | Tell it backwards — outcome first, origin last |
| Nested Loops | references/nested-loops.md | Layer stories inside each other like Russian dolls |
| The Spiral | references/the-spiral.md | Revisit the same concept with deeper understanding each pass |
| The Petal | references/the-petal.md | Multiple stories radiating from a central theme |
| Framework | Reference | One-liner |
|---|---|---|
| Kishōtenketsu | references/kishotenketsu.md | 4-act twist without conflict — recontextualize, don't confront |
| The Sparkline | references/the-sparkline.md | Oscillate between "what is" and "what could be" |
| The False Start | references/the-false-start.md | Begin with the wrong story, then restart with truth |
| Converging Ideas | references/converging-ideas.md | Unrelated threads that connect to a single insight |
| Catch-22 | references/catch-22.md | Paradox where the rules create an impossible situation |
| The Rashomon | references/the-rashomon.md | Same event from multiple contradictory perspectives |
| Framework | Reference | One-liner |
|---|---|---|
| SCQA | references/scqa.md | Situation-Complication-Question-Answer for logical problem-solving |
| Progressive Disclosure | references/progressive-disclosure.md | Simple-to-complex layering for teaching concepts |
| Compare & Contrast | references/compare-contrast.md | Structured evaluation of trade-offs between options |
| PAS | references/problem-agitation-solution.md | Punchy problem→pain→fix for short optimization stories |
| Post-mortem | references/post-mortem.md | Incident retrospective with timeline and lessons |
| Socratic Path | references/socratic-path.md | Chain of questions leading to self-discovered conclusions |
| Framework | Reference | One-liner |
|---|---|---|
| Comedian's Set | references/comedians-set.md | Setup→punchline structure for myth-busting and reframes |
| Kafkaesque Labyrinth | references/kafkaesque-labyrinth.md | Systemic absurdity where the villain is the system itself |
| Sisyphean Arc | references/sisyphean-arc.md | Find meaning in repetitive work that never ends |
| Stranger's Report | references/strangers-report.md | Fresh-eyes outsider perspective on normalized strangeness |
| The Waiting | references/the-waiting.md | Something promised that never arrives — meaning from anticipation |
Not every post maps cleanly to one framework. Hybrid approaches are fine — each framework's reference includes Combination Notes for pairing. Use a framework as a starting structure, not a straitjacket.
voice-tone.md and post-template.md are always loaded. Load only one framework reference in addition — do not preload all twenty-seven.
Apply the chosen framework to the brain dump material:
If the content doesn't fit the framework cleanly, adapt — the framework is scaffolding, not a cage.
Apply voice characteristics:
Opening:
Body:
Technical content:
Tone modulation:
Ending:
Check the post:
AI slop check:
references/ai-slop-checklist.md for the curated guidance and Peter-specific nuanceshttps://en.wikipedia.org/w/api.php?action=parse&page=Wikipedia:Signs_of_AI_writing&prop=wikitext&format=json
{{tmbox}} "Words to watch" lists and the AI vocabulary word list from the response. These evolve as AI writing patterns change — newer models drop old tells and develop new ones.If the API fetch fails, fall back to the static checklist alone.
Show the post to the user for feedback and iterate.
Revision strategy:
references/voice-tone.md before revising to recalibrateFormat posts using references/post-template.md as the structural template. This defines the frontmatter schema and file format for Peter's site.
For detailed voice do's and don'ts, see references/voice-tone.md.
One thing you should know about me is I love tinkering.
One of the more fiddly parts I found when using a custom provider is how to
use it with the rest of your Terraform code.
I've had to setup 3 different macbooks from scratch recently.
All good right? Wrong!
Boom, one deadline down.
Honestly, I'm not a golang developer, I just like it for CLI apps...
maybe I'm out-of-step
It's actually pretty important because by default Go's HTTP Client has an
unlimited timeout if not specified.
After getting frustrated with the official GitHub MCP for its size for what
I was doing... I found myself making a basic one for my specific use case.
Hopefully you enjoyed this walk down memory lane...hopefully you've seen
the advantages.
This is an ambitious list I'll admit, and I'm sure it'll evolve throughout
the year.
references/voice-tone.md - Complete voice and tone guide. Read this first to capture Peter's style.references/post-template.md - Output format template with frontmatter schema and structural skeleton.references/ai-slop-checklist.md - AI writing tells to scan for during review. Adapted from Wikipedia's field guide.Narrative frameworks (read the one that matches the content — do not preload all twenty-seven):
Journey & Transformation:
references/story-circle.md - 8-step hero's journey for personal transformation arcsreferences/three-act.md - Classic setup/confrontation/resolution narrative spinereferences/freytags-pyramid.md - 5-phase dramatic arc with explicit climax mappingreferences/the-metamorphosis.md - Identity-level change — the author becomes someone differentreferences/existential-awakening.md - Profound realization that shifts relationship to workStructural Techniques:
references/in-medias-res.md - Start in the middle of the action, backfill contextreferences/reverse-chronology.md - Tell it backwards — outcome first, origin lastreferences/nested-loops.md - Layer stories inside each other like Russian dollsreferences/the-spiral.md - Revisit the same concept with deeper understanding each passreferences/the-petal.md - Multiple stories radiating from a central themeTension & Contrast:
references/kishotenketsu.md - 4-act twist without conflict — recontextualize, don't confrontreferences/the-sparkline.md - Oscillate between "what is" and "what could be"references/the-false-start.md - Begin with the wrong story, then restart with truthreferences/converging-ideas.md - Unrelated threads that connect to a single insightreferences/catch-22.md - Paradox where the rules create an impossible situationreferences/the-rashomon.md - Same event from multiple contradictory perspectivesAnalytical & Persuasive:
references/scqa.md - Situation-Complication-Question-Answer for logical problem-solvingreferences/progressive-disclosure.md - Simple-to-complex layering for teaching conceptsreferences/compare-contrast.md - Structured evaluation of trade-offs between optionsreferences/problem-agitation-solution.md - Punchy problem→pain→fix for short optimization storiesreferences/post-mortem.md - Incident retrospective with timeline and lessonsreferences/socratic-path.md - Chain of questions leading to self-discovered conclusionsAtmospheric & Experimental:
references/comedians-set.md - Setup→punchline structure for myth-busting and reframesreferences/kafkaesque-labyrinth.md - Systemic absurdity where the villain is the system itselfreferences/sisyphean-arc.md - Find meaning in repetitive work that never endsreferences/strangers-report.md - Fresh-eyes outsider perspective on normalized strangenessreferences/the-waiting.md - Something promised that never arrives — meaning from anticipationUser provides brain dump:
thoughts on using cursor vs claude code
- cursor is in IDE, feels familiar
- but claude code is in terminal, my natural environment
- tried cursor first, felt weird leaving vim
- claude code met me where I was
- not about which is better, about workflow fit
- some devs love IDE integration
- I need terminal access
- conclusion: use what fits YOUR workflow
Process:
Sample output (opening paragraphs):
"Which AI coding tool should I use?"
I must get asked that question weekly at this point. And honestly? I tried to answer it
the wrong way for months.
When Cursor started blowing up, I did what any curious developer would do — I installed
it and gave it a shot. It's impressive. The inline completions, the chat panel, the way
it weaves right into VS Code. I get why people love it.
But here's the thing: I'm not a VS Code person. I live in the terminal. Vim, tmux,
`rg` piped into `fzf` — that's my happy place. And every time I opened Cursor, I felt
like I was visiting someone else's apartment. Nice place, but not *mine*.
Then I found Claude Code.
Notice: conversational hook, specific tool names, vulnerability about trying something new, short paragraph for emphasis at the end.