c9f6186b4b
Consolidates ghost-writer/resolve-todos/tldr-this into doc-help, hr-manager/interview into common, and the ckb-*/meeting-notes/meeting-prep/quiz skills into cascade-knowledge-base (renaming the latter three to ckb-meeting-notes, ckb-meeting-prep, ckb-quiz for naming consistency). Updates marketplace.json and README.md to match the new plugin set.
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Good Writing Principles
Reference for the ghost_writer skill. Apply these when rewriting. These are grounded in enduring style principles (Orwell, Strunk & White, Hemingway) and current research on what distinguishes human from AI prose.
Core Principles
1. Clarity First
The reader should understand every sentence on first read. No re-reading required.
- Use precise words over impressive ones
- One idea per sentence when the idea is complex
- Active voice: say who did what
- Short sentences carry weight. Use them for your most important points.
Orwell's rule: "If it is possible to cut a word out, always cut it out."
2. Economy of Words
Every word must earn its place.
| Cut this | Write this |
|---|---|
| in order to | to |
| due to the fact that | because |
| at this point in time | now |
| in the event that | if |
| it is important to note that | (just say it) |
| basic fundamentals | fundamentals |
| end result | result |
| close proximity | near |
Eliminating redundancy doesn't flatten writing — it sharpens it. The meaning comes through faster and hits harder.
3. Voice and Authenticity
Voice is the personality of the writer coming through the text. It can't be faked — it emerges from honest, confident writing.
What creates voice:
- Word choices the author gravitates toward
- Sentence rhythms that feel natural to them
- Opinions delivered without apology
- Specific details only this person would notice
What kills voice:
- Hedging every assertion
- Replacing personality with formality
- Writing "correctly" instead of writing truly
When editing, ask: does this still sound like the author, or does it sound like a textbook?
4. Rhythm and Sentence Variation
Writing without rhythm feels robotic. The goal is a cadence that pulls the reader forward.
Rhythm tactics:
- Mix sentence lengths. A short sentence after a long one lands hard.
- Vary sentence structure. Not every sentence needs subject → verb → object.
- Use a one-sentence paragraph for a point that deserves to stand alone.
- Parallel structures (two or more sentences with the same grammatical shape) create momentum — but only when used intentionally, not by default.
The metronome test: Read the text aloud. If every sentence takes about the same amount of time to speak, the rhythm is broken.
5. Specificity Over Generality
Concrete details create trust. Vague language signals inexperience or distance from the subject.
| Vague (AI) | Specific (Human) |
|---|---|
| "significant improvement" | "reduced errors by 40%" |
| "the experience was positive" | "we spent 3 fewer hours per sprint in review" |
| "it smelled wonderful" | "burnt espresso and old books" |
| "many users prefer this" | "7 of the 10 engineers we interviewed chose it immediately" |
| "recently" | "last Tuesday" / "in Q3" |
| "a well-known study found" | "the 2024 CMU study of 12,000 texts found" |
When specifics aren't available, name the gap: "we haven't measured this yet" is more trustworthy than a vague positive claim.
6. Active Voice
Passive voice hides agents and weakens impact. Use it only when the agent is genuinely unknown or irrelevant.
| Passive | Active |
|---|---|
| "Mistakes were made." | "The team made mistakes." |
| "The report was written by Sarah." | "Sarah wrote the report." |
| "It was decided that..." | "The board decided..." |
| "Questions should be sent to..." | "Send questions to..." |
7. Directness
A direct writer doesn't hide behind jargon or hedged language. They trust that clear, honest prose persuades better than embellishment.
Signs of indirect writing:
- Using formal language to create distance ("leverage synergies")
- Qualifying assertions that the author clearly believes ("it could be argued that this approach is effective")
- Softening criticism to the point of meaninglessness ("while this has some limitations, it also shows promise")
Directness in practice:
- Say the bad thing directly: "This approach failed in three ways."
- Commit to your position: "This is wrong." not "One might argue this is suboptimal."
- Trust the reader to handle direct information.
8. Unpretentious Language
Strunk and White: use words and phrases that come readily to hand. Plain language bridges writer and reader.
The goal is to express, not to impress. Pretentious writing signals the writer is showing off rather than communicating. Readers sense this and disengage.
Practical test: If you'd feel awkward saying it out loud to a colleague, rewrite it.
9. Structure Serves the Reader
Good structure is invisible — the reader moves through the document without noticing the architecture.
Structure principles:
- Lead with the most important information (especially in professional writing)
- Topic sentences that actually commit to a point, not just name a topic
- Transitions that reflect logic, not just sequence ("but" / "because" / "so" rather than "furthermore" / "additionally")
- Endings that land — not a summary of what was just said, but a forward-looking observation or call to action
10. Emotional Honesty
Human writing carries the writer's actual perspective. It can be measured, professional, and still emotionally present.
AI avoids emotional stakes. It describes things at a distance. Human writers who care about their subject write differently than those who don't — and readers feel it.
Ways emotional honesty shows up:
- An opinion delivered without apology
- A specific anecdote from real experience
- Admitting uncertainty without hiding behind vague language
- Enthusiasm (or frustration, or caution) that's proportionate to the subject
The Writer's Test
Before finalizing any rewrite, ask:
- Can I read every sentence aloud without stumbling?
- Does every paragraph move forward — does it add something the previous didn't?
- Is there at least one concrete, specific detail in every major claim?
- Would I be comfortable sending this with my name on it?
- Does it sound like a person, or does it sound like a template?
Grounded in: Strunk & White "The Elements of Style," Orwell "Politics and the English Language," Hemingway's iceberg principle, journalism.university writing principles, naturalwrite.com elements of good writing (2025)