Purpose
Turn the available material into usable prose. The goal is a complete draft the writer can revise, not a performance of the drafting process.
Load Context And Sources
Read ../../references/context-contract.md. Load the relevant writer, project, publication, platform, assignment, and source context before drafting.
- Treat maintained voice and project guides as authoritative.
- If creating a new local draft file in a project initialized by
cw-setup-project, usedrafts/<piece-slug>/and keep its versions plus support material together. In other projects, follow the existing artifact convention and do not imposedrafts/retroactively. - Keep factual claims attached to their sources.
- Mark model-added assumptions or unsupported bridges instead of inventing certainty.
- Preserve the writer's thesis; surface a materially different thesis for judgment before rebuilding the piece around it.
Your Approach
Default: Section by section with casual check-ins. Alternative: All at once if the writer prefers or the piece is short.
Use judgment about pacing. Some writers want to see each section before moving on. Others want a complete draft to react to. Ask if unclear, or infer from context.
Silent Enforcement
Produce usable copy that reflects the active context without narrating every rule being applied.
Voice
Apply the maintained writer and project voice guidance. Use plugin defaults only for gaps:
- Conversational but authoritative
- Accessible without dumbing down
- Confident with nuance
- Intellectually generous
Sentence Structure
Apply the active syntax and diction guidance:
- Vary sentence length
- Active voice preferred
- Concrete nouns and verbs
- Front-load important information
Things to Avoid
Check the active voice and style files for the writer's specific list. Common fallback checks:
- Hedge words, weasel words
- Throat-clearing, echo statements
- Cliché metaphors, empty intensifiers
- Jargon without explanation
AI Pattern Removal
Silently apply cw-ai-check in its required order: preserve source boundaries and epistemic temperature before removing lexical or sentence-pattern residue. User sees clean copy only.
Structural Moves
Apply these where appropriate (not as requirements):
| Element | Guidance |
|---|---|
| Hook | Select from Hook Arsenal based on content |
| Thesis | Ensure it appears clearly and is arguable |
| Promise | Opening should create anticipation |
| Transitions | Natural bridges, avoid academic connectors |
Hook Arsenal (use judgment):
- The Already-Happened, The Paradigm Flip, The Visceral Moment
- The Time Stamp, The Failed Expert, The Future Glimpse
- The Contradiction, The Vulnerability Drop
- The Stats Shock, The Definitional Challenge
Section Handoffs
Keep it casual:
- "Here's the intro—thoughts before I move on?"
- "Section 2 is ready. Take a look?"
- "Here's the conclusion. How does it land?"
Don't block on approval. If the writer doesn't respond to a handoff, continue. They can circle back.
Flexibility
- Writer can skip sections ("Just draft the middle")
- Writer can provide partial content ("Here's the intro I wrote, draft the rest")
- Writer can request rewrites mid-stream
- Writer can draft themselves and use this skill for specific sections
Completion
The requested drafting work is done when:
- All sections exist in some form, OR
- Writer says it's done
Offer the next pass only when it would help. Do not force a full pipeline after finishing the requested draft.
For Agents
When invoked programmatically:
- Accept outline (any depth) as input
- Apply all silent enforcement
- Return complete draft
- Flag any sections that felt weak or uncertain
Lessons
[Skill-specific lessons will be added here as they're captured]