Write articles, guides, blog posts, tutorials, newsletter issues, LinkedIn posts, and other long-form content in a distinctive voice derived from supplied examples or brand guidance. Always activate when the user wants polished written content longer than a paragraph — especially when voice consistency, structure, and credibility matter. Also activate when turning notes, transcripts, or bullet-point research into polished prose, and when the user asks to "write", "draft", "rewrite", or "clean up" any piece of long-form content, even if they don't call it an article.
Write articles, guides, blog posts, tutorials, newsletter issues, LinkedIn posts, and other long-form content in a distinctive voice derived from supplied examples or brand guidance. Always activate when the user wants polished written content longer than a paragraph — especially when voice consistency, structure, and credibility matter. Also activate when turning notes, transcripts, or bullet-point research into polished prose, and when the user asks to "write", "draft", "rewrite", or "clean up" any piece of long-form content, even if they don't call it an article.
Article Writing
Write long-form content that sounds like a real person or brand, not generic AI output. Every piece should be concrete, earned, and platform-appropriate.
Workflow
When this skill activates:
Clarify before writing — identify audience, purpose, platform, and approximate length. One question if anything is ambiguous; don't stall.
Capture the voice if a specific voice is required — collect examples, extract characteristics, and produce a Voice Profile (see below) before drafting.
Process raw material if the user provides notes, transcripts, or research — extract the signal, identify the argument, then draft.
Build a skeletal outline with one clear purpose per section. Show it and get a quick confirm if the piece is substantial (>800 words).
Draft — start each section with concrete evidence. Expand only where the next sentence earns its place.
Run the quality gate before delivering. Cut what fails it.
Offer a revision pass — one targeted question after delivery to catch misses.
Core Rules
These apply to every piece regardless of format or voice:
Lead with the concrete thing — example, output, number, anecdote, screenshot description, or code block. Explain after, not before.
Short sentences are a default — pad only for deliberate rhythm.
Use specific numbers when available and sourced. "37%" beats "most".
Never invent facts — no biographical claims, company metrics, customer evidence, or quotes unless provided.
Every section must add new information — if it only restates what came before, cut it.
Earn the opinion — any claim stronger than neutral must be supported by evidence in the same paragraph.
Voice Capture
What to Collect
Before writing in a specific voice, ask for one or more of:
published articles or blog posts
newsletter issues
X / LinkedIn posts
internal memos or docs
a short style guide or "write like X" brief
Three to five examples are sufficient. More is not better — look for patterns, not every quirk.
Voice Profile Template
After reviewing examples, produce and share a Voice Profile. This documents the extracted voice and prevents drift across turns:
VOICE PROFILE: [Person / Brand Name]
Sentence length: [short / medium / long / mixed — with pattern if mixed]
Register: [formal / conversational / sharp / academic / warm]
First person: [heavy / light / avoided]
Humor: [none / dry / self-deprecating / frequent]
Opinion tolerance: [neutral / willing to argue / contrarian by default]
Signature patterns:
- [specific device — e.g., "opens with a counterintuitive claim"]
- [e.g., "uses em dashes instead of parentheses"]
- [e.g., "rhetorical questions to end sections"]
- [e.g., "short fragments for emphasis"]
Formatting habits:
- Headers: [yes/no/minimal]
- Bullets: [frequent / sparingly / avoided]
- Bold: [for key terms / for emphasis / avoided]
- Pull quotes or callouts: [yes/no]
Avoid:
- [things this voice never does — e.g., "no hedging language"]
- [e.g., "never opens with a question"]
Share the Voice Profile with the user before drafting. Confirm or adjust. Then hold to it.
Default voice (when no examples are provided): direct, operator-style — concrete, practical, low on hype, willing to state an opinion plainly.
Working with Raw Material
When the user provides notes, transcripts, bullet points, or research:
Find the argument — what is the single thing this piece should leave the reader believing or able to do? State it explicitly before drafting.
Strip scaffolding — remove meta-commentary ("here I want to talk about..."), repeated points, and anything that was a thinking-out-loud note rather than a content decision.
Sequence by importance, not by how the material arrived — the order notes were taken in is rarely the order they should be read.
Flag gaps — identify where the raw material is thin and the piece needs either more research or a scoped-down claim.
Preserve the raw specifics — real names, real numbers, real quotes from the material are more valuable than synthesized generalities.
Structure by Content Type
Technical Guides and Tutorials
Open with what the reader gets at the end — the concrete output, not the topic
Use code, terminal output, or screenshots in every major section
Each step should produce something observable
Close with concrete takeaways and the most common failure modes
Length: 800–2500 words depending on complexity; err toward shorter if the task is well-scoped
Essays and Opinion Pieces
Open with tension, contradiction, or a sharp observation — not background
One argument thread per section; sidebars go in parentheses or footnotes
The opinion must be stated explicitly, not implied — readers should be able to quote it
Use examples that earn the opinion, not examples that just illustrate it
Close by raising the stakes, not summarizing
Length: 600–1800 words; longer only if the argument genuinely needs the space
Newsletter Issues
First screen (above the fold) must reward opening — lead with the most interesting thing
Mix insight with update; avoid diary filler
Clear section labels for skim navigation
Each section should stand alone if forwarded or quoted
Length: 300–900 words for a single-topic issue; multi-section newsletters can be longer with clear navigation
LinkedIn Posts
First line must work as a hook with the rest collapsed — most readers never expand
No "In this post I will tell you about..." — get to the point in line 1
Short paragraphs; one idea per paragraph; single-line breaks create visual rhythm
Use a hook → insight → evidence → implication structure
End with a specific observation, not "what do you think?"
Length: 150–400 words for most posts; 400–700 for long-form LinkedIn articles
Launch Posts and Announcements
Lead with what changed or what the reader can now do — not the company story
Specific > vague: "ships today" not "coming soon", "saves 3 hours/week" not "saves time"
One primary call to action; avoid four different links
Length: 200–500 words
Headlines and Titles
The headline is the highest-leverage line in the piece. Write 3–5 options for every piece and select the best:
Patterns that perform:
Specific number: "7 Things We Learned Rebuilding Our Auth System"
Direct promise: "How to Cut Your Docker Build Time by 60%"
Counterintuitive claim: "Why We Stopped Using Microservices"
Named problem: "The Hidden Cost of Premature Abstraction"
Before/after: "From 12-Hour Deploys to 40 Minutes"
Avoid:
Questions (weak, often hedging the actual claim)
"The Ultimate Guide to..." (overused, unearned)
Titles that describe the article's topic without stating its argument
Anything that would work equally well for 20 other articles
Always confirm the title is either: a specific claim, a specific promise, or a specific question the reader urgently wants answered.
Platform Formatting
Platform
Headers
Max line length
Code blocks
Images
Company blog
Yes (H2/H3)
~80 chars
Yes
Yes
Medium / Substack
Minimal
Paragraph-width
Yes
Yes
LinkedIn
No
Short
No (use backtick sparingly)
Optional
Hacker News
None
Plain text
Indent 2 spaces
None
GitHub README
Yes (H2/H3)
~100 chars
Yes
Inline only
Email newsletter
None/minimal
~600px wide
Avoid
Inline
SEO (When Relevant)
For blog posts and guides where search visibility matters:
Primary keyword — the phrase readers would search to find this article. State it by the end of the first paragraph, naturally.
Secondary keywords — 2–3 related phrases; use in H2s and body naturally, not stuffed.
Meta description — one sentence (150–160 characters), includes primary keyword, describes what the reader gets.
Title tag — primary keyword near the front if possible without sounding unnatural.
Internal links — note where other content on the same site should be linked.
SEO should shape word choice, not distort it. A sentence rewritten for a keyword that no longer reads well is a loss.
Banned Patterns
Cut and rewrite any of these without comment:
Generic openers
"In today's rapidly evolving landscape..."
"As [topic] continues to grow..."
"Have you ever wondered..."
"I'm excited to share..."
Filler transitions
"Moreover", "Furthermore", "Additionally", "It is worth noting that"
