# Prose Craft > Improves or generates prose with sentence-level craft: rhythm, voice, sensory detail, pacing, and line-level revision across genres and styles. - Skill: `joshuashepherd/prose-craft` (Agent Skill) - Install (CLI): `npx skillmds add joshuashepherd/prose-craft` - Raw SKILL.md: https://api.skillmd.com/api/skills/joshuashepherd/prose-craft/raw - Safety review: PASS (external: skill-scanner PASS, skillspector PASS) - Works with: Claude Code, Claude.ai, OpenAI Codex - Category: Productivity - Tags: Creative Writing, Editing, Prose, Revision, Style, Writing - Author: JoshuaShepherd (https://skillmd.com/u/joshuashepherd) - Updated: 2026-08-22 - Page: https://skillmd.com/skills/joshuashepherd/prose-craft --- Improve or generate prose: $ARGUMENTS $ARGUMENTS can include: - A piece of text to polish (`polish: [text]`) - A writing prompt or scene to draft (`write: [description]`) - A passage to diagnose (`diagnose: [text]`) - A style target (`style: literary | commercial | literary-commercial | spare | lush | journalistic | lyric`) - A genre context (`genre: [genre]`) - An agent instruction audit (`agent-audit: [path to instructions file]`) — evaluate an agent's instructions for prose quality output - Empty — ask what the user needs --- ## The Craft Framework Every sentence you write or revise must pass through these seven lenses. They are not steps — they are simultaneous awareness. A master prose stylist holds all seven at once. ### 1. Rhythm and Cadence Prose has music. The reader hears it even when reading silently. **Sentence length variation** is the primary instrument: - Three long sentences followed by a short one creates emphasis on the short - A sentence fragment after flowing prose creates a punch. Like this. - Parallel structure within a sentence creates momentum: "She packed the bag, locked the door, and never looked back." - Monotonous sentence length — all medium, all starting with subject-verb — is the hallmark of amateur prose **Stress patterns matter:** - End sentences on strong words (nouns, verbs), not weak ones (prepositions, pronouns) - ❌ "It was something she had never thought of." - ✅ "She had never considered it." (still weak) - ✅ "The thought had never crossed her mind." (strong noun ending) **Paragraph rhythm:** - Vary paragraph length as deliberately as sentence length - A one-sentence paragraph is a spotlight — use it rarely and with intent - Long paragraphs create immersion; short ones create pace - White space is a tool, not an accident ### 2. Concrete and Sensory Language Abstract language tells. Concrete language shows. The difference is everything. **The specificity ladder:** - Level 0 (abstract): "She felt sad." - Level 1 (named emotion): "Grief pressed against her ribs." - Level 2 (physical detail): "She pressed her thumbnail into her palm until the skin turned white." - Level 3 (world detail): "The kitchen smelled of coffee no one had poured." Level 2-3 is where strong prose lives. Level 0 is almost always wrong. Level 1 is acceptable in transitions. **Sensory hierarchy for immersion:** 1. Sight (most common — don't over-rely) 2. Sound (hugely underused — the second most immersive sense) 3. Touch/texture (creates intimacy) 4. Smell (triggers memory — powerful in small doses) 5. Taste (rarest — use for specific moments) **The "camera" principle:** Prose has a camera. Is it wide-angle (landscape, setting, atmosphere) or close-up (face, hands, texture)? The best prose moves between focal lengths deliberately. A paragraph that stays at one focal length too long becomes monotonous. ### 3. Verb Power Verbs carry prose. Adjectives and adverbs are crutches for weak verbs. **Rules:** - Prefer active voice. Passive voice is a deliberate choice, not a default. - Replace "was + verb-ing" with simple past: "was running" → "ran" - Kill adverbs that duplicate verb meaning: "shouted loudly" → "shouted" - Kill adverbs by finding a better verb: "walked slowly" → "shuffled," "ambled," "dragged her feet" - Limit "to be" verbs (is, was, were, are) — they flatten prose. Not zero, but conscious. - "Said" is invisible. "Exclaimed," "declared," "opined" are not. Use "said" 90% of the time. **Verb precision spectrum:** - Generic: "He went across the room." - Better: "He crossed the room." - Precise: "He shouldered through the crowd." - Over-written: "He perambulated across the expansive chamber." (← never) The right verb eliminates the need for adverbs AND tells us something about character. ### 4. Point of View Discipline POV is not just who's telling the story — it's what information is available and how it's filtered. **POV violations to catch:** - **Head-hopping**: Switching whose thoughts we access within a scene - **Impossible knowledge**: "She didn't notice the man behind her" — if she didn't notice, how does the POV character know? - **Camera-from-outside**: In close third, describing the POV character's own face ("her eyes widened") unless they're looking in a mirror — they can't see themselves - **Tonal inconsistency**: A child's POV using adult vocabulary; a hardened detective noticing flower arrangements **POV as voice filter:** Everything on the page is filtered through the POV character's perception, vocabulary, priorities, and biases. A carpenter notices joints and grain. A chef notices what's cooking. A grieving person notices absence. ### 5. Subtext and Implication The most powerful thing in prose is what you don't say. **Techniques:** - **Behavioral subtext**: Show the emotion through action, not statement. A character who says "I'm fine" while shredding a napkin. - **Loaded objects**: An unwashed mug on the counter. A coat still hanging by the door. Objects carry emotional weight when the context is established. - **Dialogue gaps**: What characters avoid saying reveals more than what they say. - **Juxtaposition**: Place two images side by side and let the reader draw the connection. Don't explain. **The iceberg principle (Hemingway):** The dignity of movement of an iceberg is due to only one-eighth of it being above water. If a writer knows enough about what they're writing, they may omit things they know. The reader will feel what's been omitted as strongly as what's present. ### 6. Opening and Closing Sentences First and last sentences of scenes, chapters, and pieces carry disproportionate weight. **Opening sentences should:** - Create a question in the reader's mind (not answer one) - Establish voice immediately - Ground the reader in time, place, or situation — but not all three at once - Avoid throat-clearing ("It was a typical Tuesday..." "Let me begin by saying...") **Closing sentences should:** - Land on an image, not an explanation - Create resonance — the reader should feel the sentence vibrating after they stop reading - Avoid summarizing what just happened - Often: circle back to an image from the opening (creates structural satisfaction) ### 7. Economy and Precision Every word must earn its place. This is not minimalism — lush prose can be economical. Economy means no word is wasted, not that few words are used. **Cut ruthlessly:** - "In order to" → "to" - "The fact that" → cut entirely and restructure - "He began to walk" → "He walked" (unless the beginning-of-action is the point) - "Very," "really," "quite," "rather," "somewhat" → almost always cut - "There was/there were" openings → restructure with a real subject - Throat-clearing phrases: "It is important to note that," "It should be mentioned that" → cut **Repetition rules:** - Unintentional repetition of words within a paragraph = amateur (especially unusual words) - Intentional repetition for rhetorical effect = powerful ("We shall fight on the beaches, we shall fight on the landing grounds...") - Know which one you're doing --- ## Mode: Write When generating new prose: 1. Establish the style target (literary, commercial, spare, lush, journalistic, lyric) 2. Identify the POV and voice filter 3. Draft with all seven lenses active — don't write flat and polish later 4. After drafting, run the diagnosis checklist (below) against your own output 5. Revise before delivering **Style calibration:** | Style | Sentence length | Metaphor density | Sensory detail | Subtext | Rhythm | |-------|----------------|-----------------|----------------|---------|--------| | **Spare** | Short-medium. Fragments welcome. | Low — only when precise | Selective, sharp | High — silence does the work | Staccato, percussive | | **Literary** | Varied, often long with embedded clauses | Medium-high — original, not decorative | Rich, multi-sensory | High — layers of meaning | Complex, musical | | **Commercial** | Medium, clear, forward-moving | Low-medium — familiar metaphors | Moderate — enough to ground | Moderate — don't lose the reader | Steady, propulsive | | **Literary-commercial** | Varied but accessible | Medium — striking but not obscure | Rich but never purple | Medium-high | Musical but paced | | **Journalistic** | Short-medium, declarative | Low — only for color | Concrete, factual | Low — clarity over layers | Direct, clean | | **Lyric** | Long, flowing, often periodic | High — the prose IS metaphor | Lush, synesthetic | Medium — beauty over puzzle | Incantatory, wave-like | ## Mode: Polish When revising existing prose: 1. Read the passage aloud (mentally). Mark where the rhythm stumbles. 2. Circle every "to be" verb. Replace 60%+ with stronger verbs. 3. Highlight every adjective and adverb. Cut those that duplicate verb/noun meaning. 4. Check sentence openings — if 3+ consecutive sentences start the same way, vary them. 5. Check for the specificity ladder — push abstract language down to Level 2-3. 6. Verify POV discipline — no head-hopping, no impossible knowledge. 7. Check first and last sentences of each paragraph for strength. 8. Read aloud again after revision. The rhythm should feel natural, not forced. ## Mode: Diagnose When auditing prose quality: Score each lens 1-5 and provide specific examples: | Lens | Score | Evidence | |------|-------|----------| | Rhythm & Cadence | [1-5] | [quote the best and worst passages] | | Concrete & Sensory | [1-5] | [show where it's abstract vs. grounded] | | Verb Power | [1-5] | [count to-be verbs, flag weak verbs] | | POV Discipline | [1-5] | [any violations?] | | Subtext & Implication | [1-5] | [is everything over-explained?] | | Openings & Closings | [1-5] | [evaluate first/last sentences] | | Economy & Precision | [1-5] | [flag bloat, redundancy, throat-clearing] | Provide a priority revision list: the 3-5 changes that would most improve the passage. ## Mode: Agent Audit When evaluating an agent's instructions for prose output quality: 1. Read the agent's system prompt / instructions file 2. Check: does the prompt encode ANY prose craft principles, or does it only specify content/structure? 3. Most agent prompts produce mediocre prose because they specify WHAT to write but not HOW to write well 4. Recommend specific additions: - Verb power directives ("Prefer active voice. Replace adverbs with precise verbs.") - Rhythm instructions ("Vary sentence length deliberately. End sentences on strong words.") - Sensory grounding ("Use Level 2-3 specificity. Engage at least two senses per scene.") - Anti-patterns to forbid ("Never open with throat-clearing. Never use 'very' or 'really'.") 5. Draft a "Prose Quality" section that can be inserted into the agent's instructions --- ## Rules - Never sacrifice clarity for style. Obscurity is not depth. - "Purple prose" = when the decoration obscures the meaning. The cure is not plainness — it's precision. - Know the difference between your voice and affectation. Voice is consistent and earned. Affectation is performing someone else's style. - Clichés are dead metaphors. They once meant something. Find what they meant and say it fresh, or cut them. - The reader's experience matters more than the writer's intention. If it doesn't land, it doesn't work, no matter how clever it is. - Read your prose aloud. If you stumble, the reader will stumble. - Prose craft applies to ALL writing — fiction, non-fiction, marketing copy, agent instructions. Good sentences are good sentences.