Opener Critique
Table of Contents
Related skills: Called by Editor in structural pass. Sets tone contract; downstream skills (voice-check, slop-detector S1) can reference its classification.
Classifier
| Class |
Markers |
Voice verdict |
| confession |
I hadn't, I used to think, I did not know, Until last week, I spent three hours, I was wrong about |
PASS |
| reframe |
X is commonly called Y — actually Z, Most people think X; actually Y |
PASS |
| admission |
I substitute learning for doing, I have been meaning to, I have opinions about X — the kind that feel like knowledge |
PASS |
| puzzle (biology cold open) |
Biological/systems question opened with a specific number or contradiction |
PASS |
| epistolary |
Dear friend, Dear reader, second-person address to a specific imagined reader |
PASS (rare but valid) |
| news-hook |
GPT-5 launched, Last week OpenAI, With the release of X, reacting to an external event |
FLAG tier-1 |
| generic-opener |
AI is transforming, In a world where, In today's fast-paced, As we enter a new era |
FLAG tier-1 |
Workflow
Evaluate opener:
- [ ] Step 1: Extract first 1-3 sentences
- [ ] Step 2: Match against classifier marker lists
- [ ] Step 3: Assign class
- [ ] Step 4: Write one-line justification
- [ ] Step 5: If news-hook or generic-opener, produce 2 rewrite options in the confession/admission register
Worked example
Draft opener (bad): "In today's rapidly evolving AI landscape, teams face a critical choice between RAG and fine-tuning for domain knowledge."
Classification: generic-opener. Tier-1.
Rewrites:
- (a) "I spent four months trying to make a RAG demo not lie. The model was never the problem."
- (b) "I had not shipped a fine-tune until last quarter. I assumed the model was the hard part. It wasn't."
Draft opener (good): "I spent a week re-prompting a customer-service agent before I realised the agent was the wrong unit of analysis."
Classification: confession (I spent, I realised). PASS.
Draft opener (puzzle — valid): "Your immune system can recognize roughly ten trillion distinct molecular threats. It does this with a genome that contains fewer than twenty thousand protein-coding genes. The math should not work."
Classification: puzzle. PASS.
Guardrails
- First 3 sentences only. If the writer's opener is 1 sentence, use that alone.
- Never rewrite the opener beyond 2 suggested options, each ≤2 sentences.
- News-hook and generic-opener are automatic tier-1. Never soften.
- If the opener is borderline (e.g., an admission that's ALMOST generic), default to PASS and note as candidate for Editor's drift review.
- Series-log posts often open with the scoreboard or a direct match reference — that's admission-adjacent, accept.
- Epistolary register is valid but RARE. Flag if the writer uses it more than 1 in 10 posts.
Quick reference
- Input: first 3 sentences of draft.
- Output: classification + verdict (PASS / FLAG tier-1) + rewrites if flagged.
- Seven classes: confession, reframe, admission, puzzle, epistolary (all pass); news-hook, generic-opener (flag).
1---2name: opener-critique3description: Evaluates the first 1-3 sentences of a substacker draft against the writer's signature opener patterns — confession / "I hadn't done X" / reframe / small concrete admission. Classifies opener as confession | reframe | admission | news-hook | generic-opener and flags news-hook/generic as tier-1. The opener sets the voice contract for the essay. Use on every draft. Trigger keywords — opener, hook, first sentence, opening, confession opener, news hook, generic opener.4---5
6# Opener Critique
7
8## Table of Contents
9
10- [Classifier](#classifier)
11- [Workflow](#workflow)
12- [Worked example](#worked-example)
13- [Guardrails](#guardrails)
14
15**Related skills:** Called by Editor in structural pass. Sets tone contract; downstream skills (`voice-check`, `slop-detector` S1) can reference its classification.
16
17## Classifier
18
19| Class | Markers | Voice verdict |
20|---|---|---|
21| **confession** | `I hadn't`, `I used to think`, `I did not know`, `Until last week`, `I spent three hours`, `I was wrong about` | PASS |
22| **reframe** | `X is commonly called Y — actually Z`, `Most people think X; actually Y` | PASS |
23| **admission** | `I substitute learning for doing`, `I have been meaning to`, `I have opinions about X — the kind that feel like knowledge` | PASS |
24| **puzzle** (biology cold open) | Biological/systems question opened with a specific number or contradiction | PASS |
25| **epistolary** | `Dear friend`, `Dear reader`, second-person address to a specific imagined reader | PASS (rare but valid) |
26| **news-hook** | `GPT-5 launched`, `Last week OpenAI`, `With the release of X`, reacting to an external event | **FLAG tier-1** |
27| **generic-opener** | `AI is transforming`, `In a world where`, `In today's fast-paced`, `As we enter a new era` | **FLAG tier-1** |
28
29## Workflow
30
31```
32Evaluate opener:
33- [ ] Step 1: Extract first 1-3 sentences
34- [ ] Step 2: Match against classifier marker lists
35- [ ] Step 3: Assign class
36- [ ] Step 4: Write one-line justification
37- [ ] Step 5: If news-hook or generic-opener, produce 2 rewrite options in the confession/admission register
38```
39
40## Worked example
41
42**Draft opener** (bad): "In today's rapidly evolving AI landscape, teams face a critical choice between RAG and fine-tuning for domain knowledge."
43
44**Classification**: generic-opener. Tier-1.
45
46**Rewrites**:
47- (a) "I spent four months trying to make a RAG demo not lie. The model was never the problem."
48- (b) "I had not shipped a fine-tune until last quarter. I assumed the model was the hard part. It wasn't."
49
50**Draft opener** (good): "I spent a week re-prompting a customer-service agent before I realised the agent was the wrong unit of analysis."
51
52**Classification**: confession (`I spent`, `I realised`). PASS.
53
54**Draft opener** (puzzle — valid): "Your immune system can recognize roughly ten trillion distinct molecular threats. It does this with a genome that contains fewer than twenty thousand protein-coding genes. The math should not work."
55
56**Classification**: puzzle. PASS.
57
58## Guardrails
59
601. First 3 sentences only. If the writer's opener is 1 sentence, use that alone.
612. Never rewrite the opener beyond 2 suggested options, each ≤2 sentences.
623. News-hook and generic-opener are automatic tier-1. Never soften.
634. If the opener is borderline (e.g., an admission that's ALMOST generic), default to PASS and note as candidate for Editor's drift review.
645. Series-log posts often open with the scoreboard or a direct match reference — that's admission-adjacent, accept.
656. Epistolary register is valid but RARE. Flag if the writer uses it more than 1 in 10 posts.
66
67## Quick reference
68
69- Input: first 3 sentences of draft.
70- Output: classification + verdict (PASS / FLAG tier-1) + rewrites if flagged.
71- Seven classes: confession, reframe, admission, puzzle, epistolary (all pass); news-hook, generic-opener (flag).
lyndonkl