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Skillswriting-beats

writing-beats

Writing & research

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Updated 10-15 23:44

About this skill

The user has passed (or will pass) a markdown file of raw material.

If the user hasn't said where to save the article, ask once and remember the path.

Then run the beat-by-beat journey:

  1. Write 2-3 candidatestarting beats, from the raw material. Each is a different entry point into the article. Show the beats to the user before writing to the article file. The user picks one. Preview the beats that might result once written—like the user seeing a short stretch of the path ahead.
  2. Once the user picks the starting beat, write onlythat beatto the article file. A beat can be one sentence or several paragraphs—whatever that beat naturally is. Stop there.
  3. Re-read the article file from disk. Then offer 2-3 candidatenext beats—different directions the article can turn from where it now stands.
  4. Loop steps 2-4 until the article reaches a natural end.

What is a beat

A beat is one step in the journey. It does one thing—sets a scene, lands a point, poses a question, inserts an aside, twists an angle. Then it stops, leaving the reader where the next beat can turn.

The size of a beat depends on what it needs:

  • If the move needs only one sentence ("Then nothing happened for three weeks.").
  • If the move needs setup, a short paragraph.
  • If the beat is a self-contained vignette, argument, or example, several paragraphs.

If a "beat" needs five paragraphs and three subheadings, it isn't a beat—it's two beats stuck together. Split it.

Writing one beat

Once a beat is chosen, write only _that beat_ to the article file. Do not write the next beat.

Extract material from the raw pile to fill the beat. You may rewrite, split, reorganize, or quote. The pile is a quarry.

Ending the journey

The article ends when the journey is complete—not when the pile is empty. Most piles will have leftover fragments that didn't make it in. That's fine; that's the point of having more raw material than you need.

Writing beats

  • Append one beat at a time. Never write ahead.
  • Re-read the article file from disk before each write. Absolutely preserve user edits.
  • If the user heavily edits a previous beat, let it change what comes next.
  • If the user says "rewrite that beat" or "go back and try a different beat 3," do so—edit in place, leaving the rest unchanged.