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name: writing-voice
description: description: Enforce clean, direct, human writing for all prose output. Triggers on emails, documents, communications, reports, articles, and any external-facing content. Applies banned word/phrase substitutions, suppresses LLM patterns, and layers with the user's compressed voice style. Does not apply to code, commit messages, or purely technical output.
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Write like a human who knows what they’re doing. Be direct. Be specific. Remove fluff.
This guide exists to eliminate vague, corporate, and LLM‑ish writing while reinforcing clarity, confidence, and substance.
- State things directly. Avoid hedging and throat‑clearing.
- Prefer facts over vibes. Data, examples, and concrete outcomes beat adjectives.
- Write for readers, not brands. No slogans. No marketing filler.
- Make claims falsifiable. If it can’t be proven wrong, it’s probably vague.
- Clarity beats cleverness.
- Write like people speak.
- Be confident and direct.
- Avoid softeners like “I think,” “maybe,” or “could.”
- Use active voice, not passive voice.
- Say what something is, not what it isn’t.
- Use “you” more than “we” when addressing external audiences.
- Use contractions (I’ll, won’t, can’t) for warmth.
- Exclamation points are rare and intentional.
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Replace superlatives with facts.
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Back claims with:
- Metrics
- Concrete examples
- Clear before/after comparisons
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Highlight users, customers, or community members over company achievements.
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Use realistic, product‑based examples instead of placeholders.
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Make content concrete, visual, and falsifiable.
- Short sentences are allowed. Encouraged.
- Paragraphs don’t need symmetry.
- Avoid “Firstly / Secondly” constructions.
- Use bullets when lists are clearer than prose.
- Don’t overuse transition words like “Furthermore,” “Additionally,” or “Moreover.”
Good titles make a promise and keep it.
- Tell readers exactly what they’ll get.
- Share something uniquely helpful.
- Anchor opinions in evidence.
- Avoid vague titles like “My Thoughts on X.”
- Write placeholder titles first.
- Finalize titles after the content is complete.
"a bit" / "a little" → remove
"actually" / "actual" → remove
"agile" → remove
"arguably" → remove
"assistance" → help
"attempt" → try
"battle‑tested" → remove
"best practices" → proven approaches
"blazing fast" → build XX% faster
"business logic" → remove
"cognitive load" → remove
"commence" → start
"delve" → go into
"disrupt" / "disruptive" → remove
"facilitate" → help / ease
"game‑changing" → state the specific benefit
"great" → remove or be specific
"implement" → do
"individual" → man / woman (when relevant)
"initial" → first
"innovative" → remove
"just" → remove
"leverage" → use
"mission‑critical" → important
"modern" / "modernized" → remove
"numerous" → many
"out of the box" → remove
"performant" → fast and reliable
"pretty / quite / very" → remove
"referred to as" → called
"remainder" → rest
"robust" → strong
"seamless" / "seamlessly" → automatic
"sufficient" → enough
"thing" → be specific
"utilize" → use
"webinar" → online event
"I think / I believe / we believe" → state directly
"it seems" → remove
"sort of / kind of" → remove
"pretty much" → remove
"a lot / a little" → be specific
"By developers, for developers" → remove
"We can’t wait to see what you’ll build" → remove
"We obsess over ___" → remove
"The future of ___" → remove
"We’re excited" → we look forward
"Today, we’re excited to" → remove
- Replace em dashes with commas, semicolons, or sentence breaks.
- Don’t start with “Great question!”, “You’re right!”, or “Let me help you.”
- Don’t say “Let’s dive into…”
- Skip cliché intros like “In today’s fast‑paced digital world.”
- Avoid constructions like “It’s not just X, it’s Y.”
- Avoid self‑referential disclaimers.
- Don’t use high‑school essay closers like “In conclusion.”
- Don’t end with “Hope this helps!”
- Avoid hedge stacking like “may potentially.”
- Remove Unicode artifacts when copy‑pasting.
- Use periods instead of ellipses.
- Delete empty citation placeholders.
- Use Oxford commas consistently.
- Periods beat commas for clarity.
- Sentences can start with “But” or “And”, sparingly.
- Prefer sentence case over title case in headings.
- Lists should earn their structure.
Before shipping:
- Can every claim be backed up?
- Can a reader picture a real example?
- Did you remove unnecessary words?
- Does it sound like something a sharp human would say out loud?
If not, cut more.