# Voice Dna

> Revise general prose so it sounds more like the user's real voice and less like generic AI writing. Use when Codex is asked to rewrite a draft in the user's voice, de-slop prose, tighten writing without making it sound AI-generated, preserve the user's edges while editing, or edit emails, essays, notes, posts, docs, and other prose to sound more like them.

- Skill: `oli-deacon/voice-dna` (Agent Skill, multi-file: 5 files)
- Install (CLI): `npx skillmds@latest add oli-deacon/voice-dna`
- Raw SKILL.md: https://api.skillmd.com/api/skills/oli-deacon/voice-dna/raw
- Safety review: pending
- Works with: Claude Code, Claude.ai, OpenAI Codex
- Category: Coding & Dev Tools
- Author: oli-deacon (https://skillmd.com/u/oli-deacon)
- Updated: 2026-09-22
- Page: https://skillmd.com/skills/oli-deacon/voice-dna

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# VoiceDNA

Revise drafts toward the user's actual voice, not toward generic "good writing." Ground strong rewrites in real samples, preserve texture and intent, and use anti-slop rules as guidance rather than as a rigid style constitution.

## Workflow

### 1. Frame the job first

- Identify the source draft, intended audience, and purpose.
- Identify the requested edit depth: light cleanup, moderate rewrite, or strong recast.
- Default to revision, not ghostwriting from scratch, unless the user clearly asks for a fresh draft.

### 2. Check for real voice evidence

- Start with [references/voice-samples.md](references/voice-samples.md) when that file exists.
- Look for 2-3 real writing samples from the user before doing substantial voice imitation.
- Treat real emails, essays, notes, posts, or draft excerpts as stronger evidence than abstract style instructions.
- If no samples are available and the user wants a strong voice match, ask for samples before rewriting heavily.
- If the user does not provide samples, say confidence is limited and fall back to a light anti-slop edit rather than pretending to know their voice.

### 3. Build a temporary voice profile

- Read [references/voice-profile-template.md](references/voice-profile-template.md) and infer the user's:
  - cadence and paragraph rhythm
  - bluntness vs softness
  - humor or dryness
  - tolerance for fragments and rough edges
  - specificity style and favored details
  - recurring transitions or sentence patterns
  - phrases, tones, or moves that feel fake in their voice
- Let the samples outrank generic writing rules whenever they conflict.

### 4. Rewrite toward the profile

- Preserve the draft's meaning, intent, and emotional temperature.
- Keep the user's edges when they feel deliberate: slight roughness, sharp turns, fragments, dry understatement, or clipped endings.
- Remove obvious sludge: padded transitions, vague abstraction, fake certainty, motivational filler, and stock AI phrasing.
- Prefer sanding off the synthetic layer over recasting the whole piece.
- When in doubt, choose the smaller rewrite that still improves the text.

### 5. Use anti-slop rules as a bias, not a cage

- Read [references/anti-slop-rules.md](references/anti-slop-rules.md) when you need sharper guardrails against generic AI prose.
- Treat hard bans on dead AI phrasing and engagement bait as reliable cleanup targets.
- Treat stylistic preferences such as contractions, parentheticals, or em dash avoidance as defaults that can be overridden by the user's samples or the specific piece.
- Never force the output to satisfy a rule that makes it less like the user.

### 6. Return the work cleanly

- Return the revised copy first.
- Add a brief note only when useful, for example:
  - what voice signals were preserved
  - what sludge was stripped out
  - whether confidence is limited because samples were missing or thin
- Do not pad the response with a long explanation unless the user asks.

## Defaults

- Prefer short paragraphs and concrete wording when that aligns with the samples.
- Prefer natural contractions unless the user's voice or the moment wants formality.
- Prefer specific nouns and active verbs over inflated abstraction.
- Prefer natural transitions over mechanical connectors.
- Avoid over-explaining the edit.

## Confidence Rules

- High confidence: multiple strong writing samples with consistent traits.
- Medium confidence: one or two decent samples plus a draft with clear signals.
- Low confidence: no real samples, contradictory samples, or only abstract style instructions.
- When confidence is low, say so plainly and keep the rewrite conservative.

## Example Triggers

- "Rewrite this in my voice."
- "Make this sound more like me."
- "De-slop this."
- "Tighten this without making it sound AI-generated."
- "Edit this email but keep my voice."
- "This sounds polished in a bad way. Strip out the generic parts."

## References

- Use [references/voice-profile-template.md](references/voice-profile-template.md) to extract a temporary voice profile from user samples.
- Use [references/voice-samples.md](references/voice-samples.md) as preloaded evidence of the user's voice when it is available.
- Use [references/anti-slop-rules.md](references/anti-slop-rules.md) to catch synthetic phrasing and generic cleanup habits.