Blog Write

Target: pivoshenko.dev, posts at site/content/posts/*.mdx.

Goal = bespoke content. The post must contain things only the author could write - numbers, failures, decisions, opinions. Anything the first Google result could say -> delete. Padding is where generic prose comes from.

Modes

• Write - idea/notes -> published MDX. Full flow (1-6)
• Edit - existing draft -> improved. Map its headings into sections (step 3), confirm, then 4-6. Present per-section changes; never silently restructure

Flow

1. Interrogate - Raw Material Before Prose

Never draft from a one-line idea. Mine the author first:

• What happened - the incident, the build, the decision
• Specifics - numbers, commands, configs, error messages, dates
• The failure - what broke, what was tried and abandoned, what it cost
• The opinion - what they believe that others don't, and why

Source order: user > vault (06 WRITING draft, project/source notes) > repo. Never invent. Vault path unknown -> ask the user for it; no vault -> the user's own message is the only source. No raw material for a section -> ask targeted questions, don't pad.

2. Thesis

One sentence the post defends. Reader finishes -> can repeat it back. No thesis -> no post, only notes. Say so and help find one.

3. Outline as Dependency Graph

Information = DAG. A section may only use concepts established by earlier sections.

• List sections; for each write the main point (a claim, not a heading)
• Mark dependencies: section C leans on B's claim -> B comes first
• Every section needs an edge to the thesis; no edge -> cut
• Check: read points in order, circle any term/claim not yet introduced -> reorder or add setup

Confirm the outline with the user before drafting. Outline is cheap, drafts are not.

4. Draft, Section by Section

Voice non-negotiables:

• Paragraphs 1-3 lines, never more; a paragraph that grows -> split
• Rhythm: claim, claim, claim, beat
• First person singular; lowercase brand/tool names; posts never articles

One section at a time. Each section carries >=1 author-only artifact (number, error, config, decision + why). Section has none -> back to step 1 for that section, not into generalities.

5. Edit Passes - Separate, in Order

1. Structure - DAG still holds after drafting drift; every section still earns its edge to the thesis
2. Anti-slop - run references/anti-slop.md: kill throat-clearing intro, summary outro, rule-of-three padding, hedge stacks, "it's not X - it's Y"
3. Voice - smell test: notebook entry not pitch; survives chopping in half; loses nothing if adjectives deleted
4. Facts - every number/command/claim traces to user, vault, or repo. Untraceable -> cut or ask

6. Ship

• File: site/content/posts/<kebab-slug>.mdx
• Frontmatter: title, date (today, YYYY-MM-DD), description (1-2 plain sentences, no hype), tags (lowercase kebab-case, single word preferred)
• just check from the pivoshenko.dev root must pass
• Draft lives in the vault -> set status: published + published_url on that note; leave the rest of the note alone

Rules

• Steps 1-3 are not skippable. A full draft delivered straight from a one-line idea is the failure mode this skill exists to prevent
• Never invent metrics, dates, quotes, features
• The author's opinion stays the author's. Don't sand off a strong position into "it depends"