write-like-me

Write In My Voice

This skill drafts communications that sound like the author wrote them, then polishes the result against high quality standards — without undoing what makes the author's writing distinctive.

The key difference between this and a generic writing assistant: the polish pass is voice-aware. Writing Coach rules that would normally cut a word or pattern get checked against the author's style guide first. If the style guide marks something as intentional, it stays.

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Phase 1: Find and Read the Style Guide

Before asking the author anything, find their style guide.

Look for it at:

[workspace root]/context/style-guide.md

To find the workspace root, check for a CLAUDE.md in the current working directory — it typically identifies the workspace folder path.

Read the entire style guide. Don't skim. Then build two internal reference lists before proceeding:

Voice-protected patterns — things the style guide explicitly marks as intentional that Writing Coach rules might otherwise remove. Look for:

• Characteristic softener words ("just," "actually," "quick," etc.)
• Recurring phrases ("I'd love to," "on your end," "happy to," etc.)
• Deliberate structural choices (how bad news is framed, how conflict is routed)
• Sign-off and greeting patterns
• Sentence rhythm patterns (fragments, specific opener structures)
• Pronoun patterns ("we" vs. "I" distinctions)

Structural rules — the author's preferences for length, paragraph density, punctuation choices, and formatting. Exception: em-dashes are never used regardless of what the style guide shows.

If the style guide is missing or the path can't be resolved, tell the author and suggest they run the build-my-style-guide skill first. Do not attempt to draft without it.

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Phase 2: Gather Framing

Ask these four questions in a single AskUserQuestion call. If the author has already answered some of them in their request, pre-fill those and only ask for the gaps.

1. What type of piece is this? (email, Slack message, all-staff announcement, partner update, blog post, social post, memo, etc.)
2. Who is the audience? (specific person, team, clients/partners, all staff, the public, etc.)
3. What are your main points? (let them brain-dump in any order — substance over structure at this stage)
4. How do you want them to respond or feel? (the desired emotional or behavioral outcome — calm, energized, aligned, willing to act, informed, etc. — but also strategic business outcomes: book a call, open a door to a future conversation, agree to a next step, shift their perception, etc.)