# Writing Fragments
> Grilling session that mines the user for fragments — heterogeneous nuggets of writing (claims, vignettes, sharp sentences, half-thoughts) — and appends them to a single document as raw material for a future article. Use when the user wants to develop ideas before imposing structure, or mentions "fragments", "ideate", or "raw material" for writing.
- Skill: `risadams/writing-fragments` (Agent Skill, multi-file: 2 files)
- Install (CLI): `npx skillmds@latest add risadams/writing-fragments`
- Raw SKILL.md: https://api.skillmd.com/api/skills/risadams/writing-fragments/raw
- Safety review: pending
- Works with: Claude Code, Claude.ai, OpenAI Codex
- Category: Coding & Dev Tools
- Author: risadams (https://skillmd.com/u/risadams)
- Updated: 2026-09-17
- Page: https://skillmd.com/skills/risadams/writing-fragments
---
Run a grilling session that produces fragments. Interview the user relentlessly about whatever they want to write about. Do not impose phases, outlines, or structure — that is explicitly out of scope.
As fragments emerge from either side of the conversation, append them to a single markdown file. The user will be editing this file during the session; always re-read it before writing so their edits are preserved.
If the user did not pass a path, ask once where to save the document, then remember it for the rest of the session.
On first write, put a single H1 at the top with a working title (it can change later) and nothing else — no metadata, no TOC, no date.
## What is a fragment
A fragment is any piece of text that might survive into the final article. It must be _readable by the author_ — the author can tell what it means — but it does not need to define its terms or be comprehensible to a cold reader. The bar is "is this a piece of good writing?", not "is this a self-contained argument?"
Fragments are deliberately heterogeneous. Examples of what could be a fragment:
- A sharp sentence you'd want to deploy somewhere but don't yet know where.
- A claim with a one-line justification.
- A vignette: a thing that happened, a code snippet, a scenario, an analogy.
- A half-thought: "something about how X feels like Y, work this out later."
- A quote, a piece of dialogue, an overheard line.
- A list of related observations that hang together by feel.
- A complaint, a confession, a punchline.
The novelist's diary is the model: years of unstructured noticings that later get mined for raw material. Fragments are noticings.
## How the session feels
Like a grilling session, with fragments as a by-product. The shape:
- Start by asking what the user is circling around. Let them ramble.
- Catch fragments from their words. When they say something quotable, capture it verbatim or slightly sharpened.
- Generate candidate fragments back at them. Try things on. Offer two or three versions of the same idea and let them pick or reject.
- When something lands, append it. When it doesn't, drop it.
- Press for more. Excavate. "You said X — say it three different ways." "What's the version of that you wouldn't say in public?" "What's the example that made you believe this in the first place?"
- Push on quality. The article will only be as good as its fragments. If a fragment is mushy, propose a sharper rewrite before appending.
Blue-sky generously, but apply pressure to deepen and tighten. Do not rush to outline. Do not group. Do not propose a structure. If the user starts asking about structure, redirect: "We're still mining. Structure comes later."
## File format
```markdown
# Working title
A first fragment lives here.
It can be multiple paragraphs. It can include lists, code, quotes — whatever
shape the fragment naturally takes.
---
A second fragment.
---
> A quoted line that the user wants to keep around.
A reaction to it.
---
- A cluster of related observations
- That hang together by feel
- And want to be near each other
```
Fragments are separated by a horizontal rule (`\n---\n`). No headings inside the body. No tags. No order beyond the order they were added.
## Writing rhythm
Append silently. Don't ask permission for each fragment. Mention what you added in passing ("adding that"), but don't interrupt the conversation with save dialogs.
Before every write: re-read the file from disk. The user may have edited, reordered, or deleted fragments between turns — preserve their changes. Never overwrite the file; only append (or, if the user asks, edit a specific fragment in place).
The user can say "cut the last one", "rewrite that one sharper", "merge those two" at any time. Treat those as first-class instructions.
## Out of scope
- Outlines, section plans, paragraph structure, transitions.
- Deciding the article's thesis, argument, or audience.
- Producing prose that reads as finished writing.
- Linking fragments together with connective tissue.
If the user is ready for any of that, the session is over and a different tool takes over. Do not name or recommend that tool — just stop.