Editing Pass

Metadata

• inherits: ../writing-style/SKILL.md
• applies to: long-form/, short-form/

editing-pass

A structured editing pass for any draft. Three goals: enforce the voice, cut filler, sharpen the closer.

Voice resolution

Before editing, load voice rules in this order:

1. scribetronic/style/writing-style.md in the project root, if it exists — this is the user's personalized voice override.
2. The bundled writing-style/SKILL.md template otherwise — generic baseline.

If both exist, the project-local file wins. The user creates it via scribetronic style or /scribetronic:style-extract.

When to run

After drafting and BEFORE ai-slop-check. The two are complementary:

• editing-pass is craft (rhythm, structure, voice).
• ai-slop-check is detection (specific AI tells, anti-patterns).

Workflow

Pass 1 — Read for shape

Read the post top to bottom in one go. Don't edit yet. After reading, answer:

• Does the first paragraph give the point? If not, fix the opener before anything else.
• Does the closer close, or does it trail off? Note it.
• Is there a clear through-line, or does it sprawl? Mark sections that don't serve the through-line.

Pass 2 — Apply the writing-style checklist

Run through the checklist in writing-style/SKILL.md section 8:

• First 2 sentences contain the point.
• Closer is declarative, not soft.
• At most ONE rhetorical question.
• At most ONE staccato 2-3 word paragraph ("That's it.", "Why?").
• Zero "not just X, but Y" constructions.
• Zero adjective stacks of 3+.
• At least one concrete number, name, or date.
• No filler hedges unless load-bearing.
• No coach-speak.
• Sentence length varies — read aloud test.
• If "I" appears in a feeling-claim, it's earned by a fact next to it.

For each failure, fix it inline.

Pass 3 — Tightening

Cut, don't rewrite, in this pass:

• Adverbs that don't change meaning ("really", "very", "quite").
• Hedges ("I think", "kind of", "in some sense").
• Sentence openers that delay the point ("Now, what's interesting is…").
• "Of course" / "obviously" / "needless to say" — if obvious, cut. If not, don't claim it is.
• Any sentence that COULD be cut without changing the argument.

Aim: cut 10-15% of word count without losing meaning.

Pass 4 — Closer

Read just the closer. Ask:

• Could this closer appear at the end of any other post in any other niche? If yes, rewrite.
• Does it commit to something specific? If no, add a date, a number, or a next post.
• Does it match the post's energy? A hot-take needs a punch closer, a devlog needs a "next week" closer.

Pass 5 — Read aloud

Literally read it out loud. Mark places where:

• You stumbled (rewrite for rhythm).
• You ran out of breath (sentence too long — split).
• You sounded bored (paragraph is filler — cut or sharpen).

Output

The same draft, edited inline. No new file. Track changes are useful but not required — the goal is the final tightened text.

Time budget

15-25 minutes for a long-form. 5-8 for short-form. If you're spending more, you're rewriting, not editing — make it a separate pass.