# Writing

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- **Type:** Skill
- **Install:** `agentstack add skill-iliaal-whetstone-writing`
- **Verified:** Yes — security-reviewed for prompt injection and unsafe behavior
- **Seller:** [iliaal](https://agentstack.voostack.com/s/iliaal)
- **Installs:** 0
- **Category:** [Agent Skills](https://agentstack.voostack.com/c/agent-skills)
- **Latest version:** 0.1.0
- **License:** MIT
- **Upstream author:** [iliaal](https://github.com/iliaal)
- **Source:** https://github.com/iliaal/whetstone/tree/master/distillery/generated-skills/writing

## Install

```sh
agentstack add skill-iliaal-whetstone-writing
```

Requires the [AgentStack CLI](https://agentstack.voostack.com/docs/cli). Works with Claude Code, Cursor, and any MCP-compatible agent.

## About

# Human Writing

## Core Principles

- **Active voice**: "We shipped the fix" not "The fix was shipped"
- **Specific over vague**: "Cut reporting from 4 hours to 15 minutes" not "Save time"
- **Simple words**: "Use" not "utilize", "help" not "facilitate", "start" not "initiate"
- **Positive form**: Say what it is, not what it isn't — "Ignore" not "Do not pay attention to"
- **Confident**: Cut "almost", "very", "really", "quite", "arguably"
- **Concrete**: Name the thing, state the number, cite the source
- **Omit needless words**: "Because" not "due to the fact that"; "Now" not "at this point in time"; "Can" not "has the ability to"
- **Use contractions**: "don't", "won't", "it's", "they're" — uncontracted forms are a major AI tell

## AI Patterns — Kill on Sight

**Vocabulary**: delve, crucial, pivotal, foster, leverage, tapestry, testament, underscore, vibrant, landscape (abstract), interplay, multifaceted, enhance, enduring, garner, showcase, Additionally, seamless, robust, cutting-edge, groundbreaking, nestled, renowned

**Structural tells**:
- Rule of three: forced triads ("streamline, optimize, and enhance")
- Negative parallelism: "It's not just X — it's Y"
- Superficial -ing phrases: "ensuring reliability", "showcasing features"
- Copula avoidance: "serves as", "stands as", "boasts" — use "is", "has"
- Synonym cycling: four names for the same thing in four sentences
- False ranges: "from X to Y" where X and Y aren't on a meaningful scale
- Formulaic challenges: "Despite X, Y continues to thrive"

**Formatting tells**:
- Em dash overuse — replace most with commas or periods
- Mechanical bold on every other phrase
- Emoji-decorated headers
- Bolded-header bullet lists (**Thing:** explanation of thing)
- Title Case In Every Heading Word — use sentence case instead

**Filler** (compress or delete):
- "In order to" → "To"
- "Due to the fact that" → "Because"
- "It is important to note that" → delete
- Generic conclusions: "The future looks bright" → state the actual plan
- Excessive hedging: "It could potentially possibly be argued" → "The policy may affect outcomes"

**Communication artifacts** (remove entirely):
- "Great question!", "I hope this helps!", "Let me know if..."
- "As of my last update", "based on available information"
- Sycophantic openers and vague attributions ("Experts argue", "Industry reports suggest")

## Voice

- **Have opinions** — react to facts, don't just report them
- **Vary rhythm** — short sentences, then longer ones. Mix it up.
- **Acknowledge complexity** — "impressive but also unsettling" beats "impressive"
- **Use first person when appropriate** — "I keep coming back to..." signals a real person
- **Be specific about feelings** — not "this is concerning" but name what unsettles you
- **Let some mess in** — fragments ("Because that's real."), conjunction starters ("But here's the thing."), parentheticals (thinking mid-sentence) — all signal a human drafting, not generating

## Composition

- One paragraph, one topic. Lead with the topic sentence.
- Keep related words together. Place emphatic words at end of sentence.
- Don't join independent clauses with a comma. Don't break sentences in two.
- Beginning participial phrase must refer to the grammatical subject.
- Match tone to context: casual for blogs, precise for docs, direct for UI text.

## Self-Check

Read it aloud. If any sentence sounds like a press release, a Wikipedia article, or a chatbot response — rewrite it.

## Source & license

This open-source skill is cataloged on AgentStack and links to its original source — we do not rehost the code.

- **Author:** [iliaal](https://github.com/iliaal)
- **Source:** [iliaal/whetstone](https://github.com/iliaal/whetstone)
- **License:** MIT

Install and usage instructions live in the source repository linked above.

## Pricing

- **Free** — Free

## Security capabilities

Automated source analysis of v0.1.0 — what this tool can access:

- **Network access:** no
- **Filesystem access:** no
- **Shell / process execution:** no
- **Environment & secrets:** no
- **Dynamic code execution:** no

*"Yes" means the capability is present in the source — more access means more to trust, not that it is unsafe.*


## Versions

- **0.1.0** — security scan: passed — Imported from the upstream source.

## Links

- Listing page: https://agentstack.voostack.com/l/skill-iliaal-whetstone-writing
- Seller: https://agentstack.voostack.com/s/iliaal
- Browse the marketplace: https://agentstack.voostack.com/browse

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Listed on AgentStack — the marketplace for AI agent skills and MCP servers. Every listing is security-reviewed. Creators keep 70%.