Writing prose — human, opinionated, coherent

Job: Kill default LLM prose. Keep the take sharp and the logic tight.

This is not a celebrity voice pack. For “sound like Evan / Kaue / person X” use writer-style (this install defaults to the evan pack). This skill is the house floor when no persona is loaded.

Lineage: naturalness + deslop + facts-first principles from solanabr/writer-style-skill (MIT, Superteam Brazil / Kaue), adapted for non-persona writing. Full engine: writer-style. Pack credits: ATTRIBUTION.md.

When to load

• “Make this less AI” / “tighter” / “more human”
• Blog, docs, internal essay, changelog, thread without a named voice
• Technical post that must stay correct and readable
• Edit pass after marketing draft still sounds corporate-LLM

Non-negotiables

1. One spine

Before drafting: one sentence thesis or job (“argue X”, “teach how Y works”, “recommend Z because …”).

Every section must earn its keep against that spine. Cut “on the other hand” blocks that never change the recommendation.

Bad LLM opinion: long balanced paragraphs that end in “it depends” with no costed pick.
Good opinion: pick, name the tradeoff, say who should ignore you.

2. Facts first (technical)

Neutral fact-sheet for every number, API, flag, version. Style after freeze. Never invent certainty.

If unverified: say so. Confident wrong is worse than plain uncertain.

3. Naturalness floor (always)

From the writer-style naturalness rules (always-on spirit):

• Uneven rhythm — long calm runs + short punches; punches clump, not metronome
• One human seam per passage — real number from use, named credit, small confession, loose run-on
• Calm ≠ clean — don’t over-tidy; over-smooth is the tell
• One mood per piece — confessional / dry / mentor / builder — don’t sample every register

Seams ≠ catchphrases. Humanity is structure and rhythm, not forced slang.

4. Deslop (subtractive)

Cut clusters of tells (not single innocent words):

• Em-dash decoration piles, “delve / landscape / robust / nuanced / pivotal”
• Fake profundity (“X is the language of trust”) → concrete fact instead
• Restatement loops (“In other words… Essentially… At its core…”)
• Modular paragraphs you could reshuffle with no damage

Preserve: specific hard-to-fake detail, mixed feelings, real asides. Don’t sand those off.

5. Logical coherence

• Each paragraph depends on the last (setup → payoff)
• No treadmill: every block must add information
• Claims have warrants; metaphors don’t replace mechanism
• End with a verdict or next action, not a summary of summaries

6. Length discipline

Default shorter than the model wants. If a section doesn’t change the reader’s action or understanding, delete it.

Workflow

1. Spine sentence + audience + form (post / docs / thread)
2. Fact-sheet if technical (voice OFF)
3. Draft in house prose (spine + seams + unevenness)
4. Reshuffle test + treadmill cut
5. Deslop pass
6. Read aloud; kill press-release lines

Quick checklist

• Thesis in one sentence
• Technical facts frozen / sourced
• Uneven sentences; not all 18 words
• ≥1 real seam (specifics, not filler slang)
• No paragraph reshuffle-safe
• Opinion has a costed pick if the piece argues
• No AI-tell cluster
• Shorter than first draft

Anti-patterns (LLM opinionated style)

Hand off