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Skillswriting-setup

writing-setup

Writing & research

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Updated 10-15 21:37

About this skill

Writing Setup

Create the project foundation: PRECIS.md (thesis, audience, claims), OUTLINE.md (document structure), and ACTIVE_WORKFLOW.md (state tracking).

Prerequisites: Brainstorm and lit review complete. User has confirmed topic, angle, and audience. Sources materialized in references/ (PDFs + markdown).

Session Resume Detection

Before starting, check for an existing handoff:

  1. Check if .planning/HANDOFF.md exists
  2. If found: Read it and present to user:
    • Show the phase, section in progress, and Next Action
    • Ask: "Resume from handoff, or start fresh?"
    • If resume: skip to the recorded step
    • If fresh: proceed normally
  3. If not found: Proceed normally

Shared Enforcement

Auto-load all constraints matching applies-to: writing-setup:

!uv run python3 ${CLAUDE_SKILL_DIR}/../../scripts/load-constraints.py writing-setup

You MUST have these constraints loaded before proceeding. No claiming you "remember" them.

Setup Flowchart (This IS the Spec)

START (brainstorm confirmed)
  │
  ├─ Step 1: Create project directories
  │  └─ mkdir outlines/ drafts/ references/ scratch/ .planning/
  │
  ├─ Step 2: Interview → Create PRECIS.md
  │  ├─ Ask thesis question
  │  ├─ Ask counterargument question
  │  └─ Write .planning/PRECIS.md (thesis, claims, audience, scope)
  │
  ├─ Step 2b: PRECIS Review Gate
  │  └─ Dispatch writing-precis-reviewer subagent
  │     ├─ APPROVED → proceed to Step 3
  │     └─ ISSUES_FOUND → fix PRECIS.md → re-dispatch (max 5)
  │
  ├─ Step 3: Create OUTLINE.md
  │  └─ Map sections → claims from PRECIS
  │     Each section has: Goal, Claim, Key Points, Transition
  │
  ├─ Step 4: Detect domain (legal/econ/general)
  │
  ├─ Step 5: Create ACTIVE_WORKFLOW.md
  │
  └─ GATE: All 3 files exist with required content?
     ├─ NO → Report missing content, fix before proceeding
     └─ YES → IMMEDIATELY load writing-outline (no pause)

If text and flowchart disagree, the flowchart wins.

NO OUTLINE WITHOUT PRECIS. NO DRAFTING WITHOUT OUTLINE. This is not negotiable.

The levels are:

  1. PRECIS.md (thesis, claims, audience)
  2. OUTLINE.md (structure mapped to claims)
  3. Section outlines in outlines/ (detailed per-section)
  4. Prose drafts in drafts/ (expanded from outlines)

Skipping levels produces incoherent documents. Each level expands the previous.

Step 1: Create Project Structure

mkdir -p outlines drafts references scratch .planning
echo "scratch/" >> .gitignore
touch references/sources.bib
# Seed the append-only decision log (standard state file — see writing-learnings-log.md)
[ -f .planning/LEARNINGS.md ] || printf '# Learnings — decision log\n\nAppend-only. One terse dated bullet per notable decision (angle, rejected framings, R4 restructurings, accepted gaps). Never rewrite.\n\n' > .planning/LEARNINGS.md

After writing PRECIS.md, append the scope decisions (claims cut, In/Out boundary) to .planning/LEARNINGS.md — these are the choices a resuming session cannot reconstruct from PRECIS alone.

The references/sources.bib file is the single source of truth for every citation. Drafts use pandoc cite-keys ([@authorYEAR]) and pandoc-citeproc renders them in Bluebook style (via the CSL configured in ACTIVE_WORKFLOW.md). Populate the .bib during brainstorm/research — see sources_md_to_bib.py in this skill's scripts/ directory if you have an existing sources.md to convert.

Step 2: Create PRECIS.md

Interview for PRECIS

Use AskUserQuestion to gather remaining details:

AskUserQuestion(questions=[
  {
    "question": "What is your thesis in one sentence?",
    "header": "Thesis",
    "options": [
      {"label": "I have a thesis", "description": "I will type it"},
      {"label": "Help me find it", "description": "Synthesize from sources"},
      {"label": "Critique: X is wrong", "description": "Argue against existing view"},
      {"label": "Propose: X should change", "description": "Recommend reform"}
    ],
    "multiSelect": false
  },
  {
    "question": "What is the strongest objection to your thesis?",
    "header": "Counter",
    "options": [
      {"label": "I know it", "description": "I will describe the objection"},
      {"label": "Find from sources", "description": "What do critics say?"},
      {"label": "Steel-man for me", "description": "Generate the best counter"}
    ],
    "multiSelect": false
  }
])

PRECIS.md Template

Write to .planning/PRECIS.md:

# Precis: [Working Title]

## Thesis
[One sentence - the core argument]

## Audience
[From earlier interview - who is reading, what they know/believe]

## Purpose
[What reader should think/do/believe after reading]

## Hook
[Concrete problem, controversy, or question that opens the piece - draft or TBD]

## Key Claims
- **CLAIM-01**: [Claim 1] → supports thesis by...
- **CLAIM-02**: [Claim 2] → supports thesis by...
- **CLAIM-03**: [Claim 3] → supports thesis by...

## Counterarguments to Address
1. **[Objection]**: [description]
   - Response: [how we will address it]
   - Section: [where it appears]

## Scope
### In
- [What we cover]

### Out
- [What we explicitly exclude and why]

## Domain
[legal | econ | general] → determines which writing skill to use

Step 2b: PRECIS Review Gate

After writing PRECIS.md, dispatch the precis reviewer BEFORE creating the outline. Do NOT skip this step.

Read ${CLAUDE_SKILL_DIR}/../../skills/writing-precis-reviewer/SKILL.md and follow its instructions.

Follow the reviewer skill instructions: dispatch the subagent, handle APPROVED/ISSUES_FOUND, fix and re-review up to 5 times. Only proceed to Step 3 when the reviewer returns APPROVED.

Step 3: Create OUTLINE.md

Structure the argument with sections mapped to claims from PRECIS.md.

OUTLINE.md Template

# Outline: [Title from PRECIS]

## Structure

### I. Introduction
- **Goal**: Hook reader, state thesis, roadmap
- **Hook**: [from PRECIS or TBD]
- **Thesis**: [from PRECIS]
- **Claims preview**: [list from PRECIS]

### II. [Section Name]
- **Goal**: [what this section accomplishes]
- **Implements**: [CLAIM-01, CLAIM-02, etc. from PRECIS]
- **Key points**:
  - Point A (sources: ...)
  - Point B (sources: ...)
- **Transition to next**: [how it leads to Section III]

### III. [Section Name]
- **Goal**: [what this section accomplishes]
- **Implements**: [CLAIM-XX from PRECIS]
- **Key points**:
  - [points with sources]

### IV. Counterarguments
- **Goal**: Address objections from PRECIS
- **Objection 1**: [from PRECIS] → Response
- **Objection 2**: [from PRECIS] → Response

### V. Conclusion
- **Goal**: Restate thesis with earned authority
- **Implications**: What follows from this argument
- **Future questions**: What remains unresolved

## Key Sources
[Deduplicated from search phase]

## Open Questions
[Gaps to address before drafting]

Step 4: Domain Detection

Detect domain from sources and topic:

Domain Indicators Style Skill
Legal cases, statutes, law reviews, constitutional legal writing-legal
Economics, markets, policy, data, empirical econ writing-econ
General/other general writing-general

Step 5: Create ACTIVE_WORKFLOW.md

Create .planning/ACTIVE_WORKFLOW.md to track workflow state:

---
workflow: writing
style: [legal|econ|general]
phase: outline
project_root: [current directory]
bibliography: references/sources.bib
precis: .planning/PRECIS.md
outline: .planning/OUTLINE.md
current_part: [if multi-part document]
edits_since_verify: 0
verify_threshold: 10
skill_stack:
  - writing
  - writing-[domain]
# Optional — set if the project has an NLM notebook populated with source PDFs
# titled by their bibkeys. Enables the cite-fidelity pipeline.
nlm_notebook: [UUID or omit if no notebook]
nlm_url: [https://notebooklm.google.com/notebook/UUID or omit]
---

Step 5b: Source Inventory (if NLM notebook is set)

If nlm_notebook is populated and the notebook already contains the project sources titled by their bibkeys, build the source inventory now so drafting can disambiguate same-author works:

uv run ${CLAUDE_SKILL_DIR}/../../scripts/cite-fidelity/nlm_source_inventory.py

This writes references/source_summaries.md — a per-bibkey thesis, supports, and does-not-support summary keyed by NLM LAST UPDATED timestamp. The script is idempotent and safe to re-run after any source update. See references/constraints/cite-fidelity-source-inventory.md for when to run it and when to skip.

Skip this step if: the project has no NLM notebook, or the notebook is empty / sources aren't yet titled by bibkey.

Step 6: Announce Handoff

Writing project initialized.

Project: [directory name]
Style: [legal/econ/general]
Phase: outline

Files created:
- .planning/PRECIS.md (thesis, audience, claims)
- .planning/OUTLINE.md (structure)
- .planning/ACTIVE_WORKFLOW.md (workflow state)

Next: Create detailed section outlines.

Gate: Exit Setup

Before proceeding to outline phase (see constraints/gate-function-standard.md for the full 6-step gate including SUMMARY):

  1. IDENTIFY: What proves setup is complete?
    • .planning/PRECIS.md exists with thesis, claims, audience
    • .planning/OUTLINE.md exists with sections mapped to claims
    • .planning/ACTIVE_WORKFLOW.md exists with style and phase
  2. RUN: Read each file
  3. READ: Check content
    • PRECIS has non-empty Thesis, Key Claims, Audience, Domain
    • OUTLINE has sections with Goals and Claim references
    • ACTIVE_WORKFLOW has workflow: writing and valid style:
  4. VERIFY: All three files exist and contain required content
  5. CLAIM: Only if steps 1-4 pass, proceed to outline phase. Gate type: human-verify — auto-advance to writing-outline.
  6. SUMMARY: Append phase summary to .planning/PHASE_SUMMARY.md (see constraints/phase-summary-frontmatter.md):
    • phase: setup
    • artifacts_produced: [PRECIS.md, OUTLINE.md, ACTIVE_WORKFLOW.md, PRECIS_REVIEWED.md]
    • provides: [.planning/PRECIS.md, .planning/OUTLINE.md, .planning/ACTIVE_WORKFLOW.md]
    • Include substantive one-liner (NOT "Setup complete")

Skipping PRECIS verification is NOT HELPFUL — the user builds an entire document on a vague thesis that collapses under scrutiny. A vague thesis is not a thesis. Placeholder claims are not claims.

Red Flags

  • About to create OUTLINE.md before PRECIS.md → STOP. Structure without a thesis is incoherent; write the PRECIS first.
  • About to skip the thesis interview → STOP. That produces a document without an argument; ask the thesis questions.
  • About to set the domain without checking source indicators → STOP. Wrong domain means wrong style rules loaded for every later phase; check the domain detection table.
  • About to create ACTIVE_WORKFLOW.md without PRECIS and OUTLINE → STOP. Workflow state without its foundation artifacts is meaningless; create them first.
  • About to rush PRECIS to get to drafting → STOP. A thin PRECIS yields a thin argument and high rework; invest the time now.

Next Phase

After setup is complete, IMMEDIATELY proceed to the outline phase. Do NOT pause to ask the user. Do NOT summarize what you just created. Load the next skill and continue:

Read ${CLAUDE_SKILL_DIR}/../../skills/writing-outline/SKILL.md and follow its instructions.

Then follow its instructions immediately to create detailed section outlines.