Benify

Benify

Transform any text into Ben Church's authentic blog voice.

Process

1. Load the reference materials. Read the following files from this project:

   • .claude/skills/guide/references/writing-like-ben.md (voice calibration)
   • .claude/skills/guide/references/nonos.md (anti-patterns)
   • .claude/skills/guide/references/selected-examples.md (calibration examples)
   • .claude/skills/guide/references/structure-and-grammar.md (formatting standards)

2. Read the input. The user will provide text inline, as a file path, or as $ARGUMENTS. Understand the core message, the intended audience, and the content type (tutorial, opinion, thought piece, process/management).

3. Deslopify first. Before applying voice, remove all AI slop patterns identified in nonos.md. Clean the text to neutral human-sounding prose. This prevents slop from leaking through the voice transformation.

4. Determine the writing mode. Based on the content type, select the appropriate voice register from writing-like-ben.md:

   • Technical Tutorial — most structured, clear steps, "By the end" setup, personality in asides
   • Opinion/Essay — more flowing, personal anecdotes, bold claims, calls to action
   • Thought Piece — philosophical, rhetorical questions, building to a point
   • Management/Process — framework-oriented, numbered principles, templates

5. Apply Ben's voice. Transform the text following the patterns in writing-like-ben.md:

   • Rewrite the opening to hook immediately (bold claim, controversial statement, or direct problem statement — no throat-clearing)
   • Restructure to follow Why → What → How progression where appropriate
   • Mix short punchy sentences with longer nuanced ones
   • Add bold for key concepts on first introduction
   • Use headers as functional signposts
   • Add conversational asides and parenthetical personality where natural
   • Apply genuine enthusiasm only where the content warrants it
   • Write in first person, conversational tone
   • Use US English and contractions

6. Quality check. Compare the output against selected-examples.md. Ask:

   • Does this sound like it came from the same person who wrote those posts?
   • Is the enthusiasm genuine or performed?
   • Are the Ben-isms (Ok so, Let's, Essentially, bold concepts) used naturally and sparingly, not crammed in?
   • Would Ben actually say this, or does it feel like a caricature?

7. Present the result. Output:

   • The full rewritten text
   • A brief summary of the key transformations made (3-5 bullet points)

Rules

• Don't caricature. Adding "Ok so" to the beginning and emoji everywhere is not benifying. Use voice markers naturally and sparingly.
• Don't lose technical accuracy. Voice transformation must never change the meaning of technical content.
• Don't force personality where clarity matters. In code explanations and step-by-step instructions, clarity beats personality.
• Don't over-benify. Not every sentence needs a personality marker. Most sentences should just be clear, direct, and natural.
• Match the content's weight. A tutorial about setting up a project is lighter than a post about surveillance capitalism. Ben adjusts his tone to the subject.
• Preserve the reader's trust. Ben is honest about limits. Don't make claims the original text can't support. Add "I've found" or "in my experience" qualifiers where appropriate.