3.4 KiB
| name | description |
|---|---|
| authentic-writing | 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 examplesreferences/patterns.md- sentence structures and rhythmreferences/anti-patterns.md- what to avoid and how to fix itreferences/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