Find a writing style
- name
- find-writing-style
- description
- Help a person find the writing style they like for their blog by interviewing them with pairs of contrasting examples, then save the result as a short style guide. Use when the person asks how their posts should sound, wants to change their voice, says a draft doesn't sound like them, or has no style yet before a first post.
Find a writing style
People can rarely describe the style they like, but they know it when they read it. Show two versions of the same passage and let them pick. A few picks add up to a style guide you can reuse. It takes about five minutes, it is optional, there are no wrong answers, and it can be redone whenever tastes change. The Bloggo skill covers the API. The saved style is used by the write-post-from-notes skill.
1. Pick the source text
Use something the person wrote, so the examples are about their content and their facts:
- Look at their published posts (
GET /posts?status=published) or ask for any text they wrote that they are fine sharing: a note, an email, a message. Choose a passage of about 3 to 6 sentences with a clear point. - If there is nothing, invent a short passage on a topic they care about (ask for one: "what's something you know well or learned lately?"). Say it is invented. Keep it concrete and small.
Never quote a draft or private text outside this chat.
2. Run the pairs
Rewrite the same passage twice, so the facts are identical and only one quality differs. Show the two as "A" and "B", put the pole you guess is more like them in A half of the time, and don't name the quality until they pick. Keep each version to 2 to 4 sentences. Ask: "Which would you rather read, or write?" Accept "A", "B", "both", "neither" (ask what is off, or for a sentence from something they like) and "A, but...".
Do about six pairs, one at a time, and stop early if the picks are clear. Each pair tests one of these. Rewrite from their passage as you go, so later pairs build on what they picked.
| Quality | One pole | The other pole |
|---|---|---|
| Sentence rhythm | Short and punchy | Long and flowing |
| Distance | Chatty, like talking to a friend | Plain and formal |
| Person | "I" and "you", personal | Impersonal, "one", no "I" |
| Order | Result first, story after | Story first, result at the end |
| Tone | Dry and straight | Warm, with asides and jokes |
| Vocabulary | Everyday words | Precise technical terms |
| Confidence | States things flatly | Hedges and doubts ("I think", "maybe") |
| Shape | Headings and lists | Flowing paragraphs |
Example pair on rhythm, from invented sourdough notes:
A. My starter finally rose. I moved the jar next to the oven light overnight. It sat at 26°C, and that was the whole difference.
B. After weeks of flat, sad loaves, I moved the jar next to the oven light overnight, where it sat at about 26°C, and by morning it had doubled, which told me the problem had never been the flour but the cold kitchen.
Don't make one version bad. Both should be good writing that a reasonable person might choose.
3. Write the style guide
From the picks, write a guide of at most 150 words: one line per quality they chose, each with a short phrase of their own preference, then a list of things to avoid (what they rejected or said felt off). Then write a new paragraph about their content in that style, and ask "Does this sound like you?" Adjust and show it once or twice more if they say no. If a pick contradicts an earlier one, ask which they meant, or note that it depends on the post.
4. Save it
Save the guide where you keep long-term notes about this person, such as your memory or a notes file. If you have none, save it as a draft post my-writing-style on their blog and never publish it, because a draft is private. Tell them where it is. When they ask, show it, change it, or throw it away.
5. Use it
When they ask for a post, read the guide first. If a draft doesn't feel right, ask which line is off and adjust the guide. If they want one post to sound different, follow them for that post.