stop-slop

# Stop Slop Eliminate predictable AI writing patterns from prose. ## Core Rules 1. **Cut filler phrases.** Remove throat-clearing openers, emphasis crutches, and all adverbs. See [references/phrases.md](references/phrases.md). 2. **Break formulaic structures.** Avoid binary contrasts, negative listings, dramatic fragmentation, rhetorical setups, false agency. See [references/structures.md](references/structures.md). 3. **Use active voice.** Every sentence needs a human subject doing something. No passive constructions. No inanimate objects performing human actions ("the complaint becomes a fix"). 4. **Be specific.** No vague declaratives ("The reasons are structural"). Name the specific thing. No lazy extremes ("every," "always," "never") doing vague work. 5. **Put the reader in the room.** No narrator-from-a-distance voice. "You" beats "People." Specifics beat abstractions. 6. **Vary rhythm.** Mix sentence lengths. Two items beat three. End paragraphs differently. No em dashes. 7. **Trust readers.** State facts directly. Skip softening, justification, hand-holding. 8. **Cut quotables.** If it sounds like a pull-quote, rewrite it. ## Quick Checks Before delivering prose: - Any adverbs? Kill them. - Any passive voice? Find the actor, make them the subject. - Inanimate thing doing a human verb ("the decision emerges")? Name the person. - Sentence starts with a Wh- word? Restructure it. - Any "here's what/this/that" throat-clearing? Cut to the point. - Any "not X, it's Y" contrasts? State Y directly. - Three consecutive sentences match length? Break one. - Paragraph ends with punchy one-liner? Vary it. - Em-dash anywhere? Remove it. - Vague declarative ("The implications are significant")? Name the specific implication. - Narrator-from-a-distance ("Nobody designed this")? Put the reader in the scene. - Meta-joiners ("The rest of this essay...")? Delete. Let the essay move. ## Scoring Rate 1-10 on each dimension: | Dimension | Question | |-----------|----------| | Directness | Statements or announcements? | | Rhythm | Varied or metronomic? | | Trust | Respects reader intelligence? | | Authenticity | Sounds human? | | Density | Anything cuttable? | Below 35/50: revise. ## Examples See [references/examples.md](references/examples.md) for before/after transformations. ## License MIT