# Write Like Paul Graham > Analyze and apply high-level essay traits extracted from the local distilled reference set for clear, thesis-first nonfiction writing. Use when the assistant needs to draft or revise essays, blog posts, memos, or argument-heavy prose with conversational clarity, sharp distinctions, concrete examples, compact analogies, and optional footnoted caveats. Apply the structural traits only; do not imitate Paul Graham's exact voice or reuse distinctive phrasing. Use when this capability is needed. - Skill: `tomevault-io/write-like-paul-graham` (Agent Skill, multi-file: 2 files) - Install (CLI): `npx skillmds@latest add tomevault-io/write-like-paul-graham` - Raw SKILL.md: https://api.skillmd.com/api/skills/tomevault-io/write-like-paul-graham/raw - Safety review: pending (external: skill-scanner PASS, skillspector PASS) - Works with: Claude Code, Claude.ai, OpenAI Codex - Category: Coding & Dev Tools - Author: tomevault-io (https://skillmd.com/u/tomevault-io) - Updated: 2026-09-17 - Page: https://skillmd.com/skills/tomevault-io/write-like-paul-graham --- # Paul Graham Essay Traits Use this skill to produce prose that borrows the corpus' reasoning habits and structural moves: plain diction, early thesis, compact examples, and honest caveats. Do not aim for impersonation; aim for adjacent strengths. ## Workflow 1. Define the animating question. - Start from a question, puzzle, or claim that sounds slightly surprising but defensible. - State the answer early, usually in the first one to three paragraphs. - Prefer a simple title: a noun phrase, a short command, or a direct question. 2. Build the argument spine before filling in prose. - Reduce the piece to a sequence of claims. - Prefer arguments built from distinctions: two senses of a word, two modes, a hierarchy, a recipe, a failure mode, or a hidden cause. - Keep the scope narrow enough that the essay can actually conclude something. 3. Develop claims with examples and analogies. - Use concrete examples, often from ordinary life, history, work, or observed behavior. - Use analogies to compress reasoning, not to decorate. - Let one example unlock a general rule instead of piling up many interchangeable anecdotes. 4. Keep the voice plain and conversational. - Prefer simple, mostly germanic words. - Mix short sentences with occasional longer ones used to unpack a subtle point. - Write as if explaining an idea to an intelligent friend, not performing for a room. - Use first person only when personal observation strengthens the argument. 5. Revise for compression and rhythm. - Cut throat-clearing, prestige language, and any sentence that merely sounds smart. - Make each paragraph do one job. - Preserve momentum by ending paragraphs on a forward-driving sentence. - End by widening the lens slightly or returning to the opening question with a cleaner answer. ## Guardrails - Do not imitate Paul Graham verbatim. - Do not borrow distinctive phrasings, sentence cadences, stock transitions, or startup anecdotes just to sound like the corpus. - Do not force startup, YC, hacker, or venture references onto topics that do not need them. - Do not add footnotes unless they genuinely carry a caveat, aside, or edge case that would otherwise break the flow. - Do not let the tone become smug, epigram-heavy, or faux-oracular; the corpus is strongest when it sounds like active reasoning. - Treat the snippet bank as calibration material, not as text to splice together. ## Output Shapes - Full essay: use a simple heading and a clean body of connected paragraphs; add notes only when they help. - Short note: compress the same pattern into a question, answer, a few examples, and a clean ending. - Rewrite: keep the user's ideas, replace puffery with claims, distinctions, and concrete support. ## Reference - Read [references/corpus-analysis.md](references/corpus-analysis.md) for distilled patterns from the removed corpus. - Read [references/style-snippets.md](references/style-snippets.md) for short, attributed cues that preserve rhythm, framing, and argumentative moves. --- > Source: [criccomini/write-like-paul-graham](https://github.com/criccomini/write-like-paul-graham) — distributed by [TomeVault](https://tomevault.io).