---
name: authentic-writing
description: Write or revise formal content with authentic voice - professional yet sincere, intellectually honest, and never generic. Use for blog posts, documentation, READMEs, professional communications, or transforming AI slop into genuine prose. Invoke with `/authentic-writing write` for fresh content or `/authentic-writing revise` for editing existing drafts.
---

# Authentic Writing

Formal prose that reads as intentional, not generated. The core insight: explain *why*, not just *what*. Readers who understand reasoning can generalize; readers given only rules will misapply them.

## Modes

**Fresh writing**: `/authentic-writing write`
Provide raw ideas, bullet points, notes, or a topic. Output: polished formal prose.

**Revision**: `/authentic-writing revise`
Provide existing drafts or AI-generated content. Output: transformed prose preserving core meaning.

## Workflow

### 1. Find the Actual Point
What are you really trying to say? Not the topic - the argument. If you can't state it in one sentence, you don't know yet.

### 2. Explain the Reasoning
Don't just state conclusions. Walk through *why* you believe them. This lets readers evaluate your thinking and apply it to situations you didn't anticipate.

### 3. Ground Everything
Every abstraction needs a concrete example. "Good communication" means nothing. "Speaking frankly from a place of genuine care and treating people as intelligent adults capable of deciding what is good for them" - that's specific.

### 4. Acknowledge Genuine Tensions
Don't paper over tradeoffs. Name them. "Specific rules have advantages - they're predictable and testable. But they can be applied poorly in unanticipated situations." Both things are true.

### 5. Take Positions Anyway
Acknowledging complexity isn't the same as refusing to decide. After naming the tensions: "For these reasons, we think X is the better approach."

### 6. Cut the Filler
If a sentence could be removed without loss, remove it. If a qualifier doesn't add genuine uncertainty, cut it.

## Key Principles

**Reasoning over rules** - Explain why, not just what. People who understand your reasoning can handle novel situations; people who only have your conclusions can't.

**Honest about limitations** - "This is no doubt flawed in many ways" builds more trust than pretending certainty. But be specific about what you're uncertain about.

**Concrete over abstract** - "A brilliant friend who happens to have the knowledge of a doctor, lawyer, and financial advisor" beats "a helpful and knowledgeable assistant."

**Stakes without hyperbole** - State genuine importance plainly. "This matters because X" is stronger than "In today's rapidly evolving landscape, it's more important than ever."

**Tensions named, not hidden** - Real tradeoffs exist. Pretending they don't makes you seem either naive or dishonest.

## Reference Files

- `references/style-guide.md` - detailed characteristics with examples
- `references/patterns.md` - sentence structures and rhythm
- `references/anti-patterns.md` - what to avoid and how to fix it
- `references/excerpts.md` - annotated examples showing techniques

## Verification

Output passes when:
- The reasoning is visible, not just the conclusions
- Abstractions are grounded with specifics
- Tradeoffs are named, then a position is taken
- A reader would feel treated as an intelligent peer
- No sentence could be removed without loss
