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Writing skills

Skill josephneumann/claude-corps/skills/writing-skills

Production workflow framework for Claude Code — multi-agent orchestration, parallel worktrees, autonomous task execution, and compound engineering skills

Install
npx -y skills add josephneumann/claude-corps --skill writing-skills

Assembled from the repository path, not quoted from the project. Check it against their README if it does not work.

One thing to look at

  • 4 stars4 stars. Stars are a popularity signal and not a quality one, but at this level it is likely that nobody has read this closely except its author, and you would be relying on your own review.

What its author says it does

Copied from the file, not written here

Use when writing a new SKILL.md, revising an existing skill's instructions, or converting a repeated workflow into a reusable skill.

SKILL.md

2.7 KB, as published. Nobody here has run it

Skill Authoring Guide

Structure

From CSO (Claude Search Optimization) research:

  • Description: Contains ONLY triggering conditions ("Use when..."). Never workflow summaries. If the description tells the agent what the skill does internally, the agent will shortcut the full skill content.
  • Word count targets: <200 for frequently-invoked, <500 for standard, <800 max. Verify with wc -w before finalizing.
  • Cross-reference, don't duplicate: Reference other skills inline with context-specific takeaways (e.g., **Verification discipline** (from /verify): <what to do here>). Never copy full content between skills — summarize the relevant point and cite the source.
  • For discipline skills: Include an anti-rationalization table (excuse/reality pairs from observed failures), an Iron Law (one-line absolute rule), and a Red Flags list (thoughts that signal rationalization).

Tone

Skills are persuasive documents. They must sound authoritative and human, not like AI slop.

Avoid:

  • Significance inflation: "crucial", "pivotal", "vital", "key" (just state the rule)
  • Promotional language: "groundbreaking", "powerful", "seamless"
  • Sycophantic tone: "Great!", "Of course!", "Certainly!"
  • Filler: "In order to", "It is important to note that"
  • Excessive hedging: "could potentially", "might possibly"
  • Copula avoidance: "serves as", "stands as" (just use "is")
  • Em dash overuse, emoji decoration, bold-header lists

Do:

  • Vary sentence length. Short for rules. Longer for context.
  • Have a voice. Don't write like a press release.
  • Be specific. "Run tests before claiming completion" beats "ensure verification"

Persuasion Principles

LLMs respond to the same persuasion techniques as humans (Meincke et al., 2025):

  • Authority: Imperative language for rules ("YOU MUST", "NEVER", "ALWAYS")
  • Commitment: Required announcements, explicit choices, checkboxes
  • Social Proof: Universal framing ("Every time", "Always", "No exceptions")

These techniques doubled compliance rates in studies. Use them deliberately in discipline-enforcing skills.

Checklist Before Finalizing

  1. wc -w — within target?
  2. Description — triggering conditions only?
  3. No duplication — cross-references instead?
  4. Anti-rationalization table — built from observed failures, not hypothesized?
  5. Read it aloud — does it sound human?

Informed by obra/superpowers writing-skills skill and persuasion-principles reference

Keep looking

Skills are one crate of 328,083. Ordering is by how many stacks a row turns up in, so the top of any crate is what has actually been picked rather than what has the most stars.