long-form

name	long-form
description	Produces a LONG-FORM.md (a blog/article/landing/case-study/tutorial declaring content type, audience, goal, hook, outline, CTA) written outline-first with no padding and substantiated claims; primes the editorial + accessibility gates. Use to write a long-form piece from the brief.

long-form

The long-form producer of the content domain — it writes a LONG-FORM.md: a blog post, article, landing page, case study, or tutorial, declaring its content type, audience, goal, the hook, the outline, and the CTA. The bar is the three ways long-form fails: padding (a section with no nameable purpose), unsubstantiated claims, and AI-isms. So it is written outline-first, every section earns its place, every claim is cited or flagged, and the prose carries the anti-slop discipline. It binds the pack's long-form sub_target and verifies by Review (judged against the brief) plus Audit for any factual claim. It writes the piece; it does not set the brand voice (content-brief).

What this does / does not do

Does: resolve the long-form sub_target, write a LONG-FORM.md (content type + audience + goal + hook + outline + CTA + the prose, claims sourced), grounded in the brief, and a receipt. Does not: set the brand voice/audience/structure (that is content-brief), write UI microcopy (copy), write campaign/positioning copy (marketing-copy), write reference docs (documentation), or issue the gate verdict (the editorial/accessibility/compliance gates do — this primes them).

When NOT to use

• The work is deciding the brand voice / audience / structure — that is content-brief (this consumes it).
• The work is short in-product UI text — that is copy (microcopy), not a long-form piece.
• The work is campaign/positioning copy — that is marketing-copy; long-form is the article, not the ad.
• The work is task-oriented reference documentation (diataxis) — that is documentation.
• A current LONG-FORM.md still fits and nothing changed — edit it; do not rewrite a published piece.

Reference Routing

Situation	Reference
The LONG-FORM.md contract template	references/long-form-template.md
Per-sub_target must-declares · overlay · vocabulary	../acceptance/sub-targets.md · ../acceptance/overlay.md · ../vocabulary.md
The upstream content contract (voice / audience / structure)	BRIEF.md / STYLE-GUIDE.md / VOICE.md

Inputs

• The content type (blog/article/landing/case-study/tutorial) + the topic, and the goal the piece serves.
• BRIEF.md / STYLE-GUIDE.md / VOICE.md if present — the audience, voice, and structure.
• The sources for any factual/market claim the piece will make.
• The content domain pack (../vocabulary.md, ../acceptance/) + state/intake.json.

How to do it

1. Declare the frame: content type, audience, goal, and the CTA the piece drives toward. The goal is the one thing the reader should do or believe after reading.
2. Write the hook: the opening that earns the next paragraph — a tension, a question, concrete stakes. A hook that could open any article is not a hook.
3. Outline before prose: the section structure, each section with a nameable purpose tied to the goal. Outline-first is the content ordering rule; a section you cannot name the purpose of is cut.
4. Draft to the outline: write each section to its stated purpose, leading with the point. Key message before supporting detail; facts and sources before claims.
5. Substantiate claims: every factual or market claim is cited or sourced; an unsourced claim is flagged as opinion/assumption, not stated as fact. A regulated claim routes through the compliance gate + Audit.
6. Strip the AI-isms: no "delve / tapestry / robust / leverage / comprehensive", no hedging preambles, no "not X but Y" reversal padding, no em-dash as a tic. Say it once, plainly (the editorial gate).
7. Write LONG-FORM.md from references/long-form-template.md; verify reading level + structure (accessibility).

Gate (before marking complete)

• Content type + audience + goal + hook + outline + CTA are declared (outline before prose).
• Every section has a nameable purpose tied to the goal; no padding.
• Every claim is cited/sourced or flagged as opinion; regulated claims routed to compliance + Audit.
• The anti-AI-slop pass is applied (no buzzwords, no hedging, no reversal padding).
• Plain language at the audience's reading level; scannable structure; inclusive language (accessibility).

A gate failure is fixed before lock, not waived — these mirror the editorial/accessibility/compliance gates.

Output

• LONG-FORM.md at the product root (or content/LONG-FORM.md; rename to the piece) — persistence: Spec-Anchored. Frontmatter (content type · audience · goal · hook · CTA) · the outline (nameable purposes) · the prose · sources for claims.
• receipt (<workspace>/receipts/long-form-receipt-<ts>.json): base schema + sub_target, content_type, audience, goal, sections, claims_sourced, long_form_path, gate_checks. persistence: Spec-Anchored.

Proactive Triggers

• A section with no nameable purpose: cut it or give it one — padding is the long-form failure mode the editorial gate catches.
• An unsourced factual claim: cite it or flag it as opinion; a stated-as-fact claim with no source fails the Audit.
• AI-isms in the draft ("delve", "tapestry", "it's not just X, it's Y"): rewrite plainly; the anti-slop pass is part of the editorial bar, not optional.
• A generic hook: replace it with one specific to this piece's tension — a hook that fits any article earns nothing.

Completion Criteria

Done when: a LONG-FORM.md exists with its frame declared (type/audience/goal/hook/outline/CTA), every section purposeful, every claim sourced or flagged, the anti-slop pass applied, at the audience's reading level; a long-form receipt records the gate checks. Verified by Review (+ Audit for claims).

Not done if: the outline came after the prose; a section has no purpose; a claim is stated as fact unsourced; AI-isms remain; or the reading level/structure misses the audience.

Next step: the editorial + accessibility gates judge the piece (Review); claims are Audited; the piece ships / localizes (localization); content-brief is the upstream voice contract.

Related Skills

• content-brief: sets the audience, goal, voice, and structure the piece is written to. content-brief decides; long-form writes the piece. Run content-brief first when the frame is the gap.
• copy: short in-product UI microcopy. long-form is the article; copy is the button label — different lengths, different jobs.
• marketing-copy: campaign/positioning copy. long-form is editorial (the article); marketing-copy is the funnel — route the ad there.