# nick-philosophical-prose Skill Implementation ## Completed Steps (1-4) ### ✓ Step 1: Created references/vocabulary.md - **Location**: `/Users/nickyoung/.claude/skills/nick-philosophical-prose/references/vocabulary.md` - **Size**: 6,767 bytes - **Content**: - Comprehensive word lists with usage notes - Preferred terms with examples ("straightforward," "plausible," "consists in") - Terms to avoid organized by category (empty evaluatives, performative hedges, announcement phrases, Latinate inflation) - Usage tests ("Does it add a distinction or just register?") - Common patterns with before/after examples ### ✓ Step 2: Created references/conversation-examples.md - **Location**: `/Users/nickyoung/.claude/skills/nick-philosophical-prose/references/conversation-examples.md` - **Size**: 11,481 bytes - **Content**: - 8 major before/after examples from Feb 23 Section 1 session - Organized by principle: Orientation, Engagement, Example Function - **THE comprehensive Watson/Crick example** showing: compression problem → feedback → proper development - Root cause analysis from my own contemplation - Nick's characterizations of the failures - Checklist for avoiding mistakes ### ✓ Step 3: Drafted new SKILL.md - **Location**: `/Users/nickyoung/.claude/skills/nick-philosophical-prose/SKILL.md` - **Size**: 210 lines (well under 500-line limit) - **Structure**: ``` 1. What This Skill Solves (detail-preservation problem stated clearly) 2. Before Drafting - Extract conversation content (with example) - Engage with prose practice (revised guidance - orientation not mechanical) 3. How Nick Does Philosophy in Prose - Orientation [+ meta-commentary example] - Engagement [+ Watson/Crick FULL example] - Example Function [+ rhetorical question example] - Author Positioning - Prose Texture - Vocabulary (core principles only, points to references/) 4. What Not to Do (genus-species anti-patterns) 5. After Drafting (light-touch review) 6. References (all 4 files listed with descriptions) 7. Content Preservation (from old skill) ``` ### ✓ Step 4: Updated description for auto-loading - **New description**: "Invoke during or after philosophical conversation when drafting philosophical prose — research papers, Substack essays, or developed notes that argue a position. Use when transitioning from conversation to written output, to preserve fine-grained details and render them in Nick's prose practice — facing the subject matter directly, with characteristic engagement and style." - **Changes from old**: - Specifies "philosophical prose" (not all writing) - Explicitly includes Substack - Emphasizes detail-preservation function - Explains WHEN (during/after conversation) and WHY (preserve fine-grained details) ### ✓ Additional: Copied existing reference files - **prose-composition.md**: Extended passages from published papers (Ownership, Texture, Dialectic, Concreteness) - **examples.md**: Contrastive before/after pairs from published work --- ## File Structure Created ``` /Users/nickyoung/.claude/skills/nick-philosophical-prose/ ├── SKILL.md (210 lines) └── references/ ├── conversation-examples.md (NEW - 11,481 bytes) ├── vocabulary.md (NEW - 6,767 bytes) ├── prose-composition.md (copied from old skill - 8,671 bytes) └── examples.md (copied from old skill - 4,216 bytes) ``` Total: 1 skill file + 4 reference files --- ## Key Features Implemented ### 1. Detail-Preservation Focus The skill explicitly frames the core problem: fine-grained details from conversation get lost when drafting. The "Extract Conversation Content" section forces engagement with specifics before writing. ### 2. One Exemplar Per Main Section - **Orientation**: Short meta-commentary examples (clear, diagnostic) - **Engagement**: Full Watson/Crick example (comprehensive, shows complete pattern) - **Example Function**: Rhetorical question example (shows the fix) ### 3. References Engagement Clarified Revised from vague "Read a passage that's relevant" to: > "Read 1-2 passages from references/prose-composition.md. Choose passages that exemplify what you're about to write... You're not matching task-type to passage-type mechanically. You're orienting yourself in Nick's prose practice... This is like a musician playing through a piece before performing — you're getting into the method, not following a recipe." ### 4. Progressive Disclosure - Core principles in SKILL.md (210 lines, scannable) - Detailed lists in references/ (vocabulary, conversation examples) - Examples from both conversations (new) and published work (existing) ### 5. Diagnostic Anti-Patterns "What Not to Do" section uses genus-species structure: - **Genus**: "The draft should render specific philosophical work, not describe it vaguely" - **Species**: 6 specific failure modes with examples --- ## What Makes This Different from Old Skill ### Old skill (nick-analytic-voice): - Focused on style/voice characteristics - No pre-drafting workflow - Examples only from published papers - Vocabulary embedded in main file - 66 lines total ### New skill (nick-philosophical-prose): - Focused on **philosophical practice** (orientation, engagement, method) + style - **Pre-drafting extraction** section (preserve conversation details) - Examples from both **conversations** (real failures) and **published work** (good models) - Vocabulary in separate reference file (progressive disclosure) - 210 lines + 4 reference files ### The Core Innovation: Old skill said HOW to write. New skill says: 1. **WHAT to preserve** (conversation details) 2. **HOW to prepare** (extract + engage with examples) 3. **HOW to write** (orientation, engagement, method) 4. **WHAT to check** (after drafting review) --- ## Next Steps (5-6) ### Step 5: Test on a drafting task **Suggestion**: Use on the next Section 1 revision or Substack draft to verify: - Does the extraction step actually happen? - Do the conversation examples catch real errors? - Does the Watson/Crick example teach the pattern? ### Step 6: Iterate based on results After testing, potential refinements: - Add more examples if failures persist - Adjust description if auto-loading is too broad/narrow - Clarify any sections that are still confusing - Update conversation-examples.md with new failure cases --- ## Old Skill Preserved The original nick-analytic-voice skill remains at: `/Users/nickyoung/.claude/skills/nick-analytic-voice/` Once the new skill is proven, you can: - Archive it (rename to `_archived-nick-analytic-voice`) - Or delete it entirely - Or keep both (but update old skill's description so they don't conflict) --- ## Summary **Implementation complete**: Steps 1-4 done. **What's ready**: New skill with: - Detail-preservation workflow - 8 conversation examples (3 in main skill, all in references) - Vocabulary reference file - Updated description for proper auto-loading - 210-line main file (under limit) **What's next**: Test on actual drafting task, iterate based on results. **Core achievement**: The skill now addresses the actual failure mode (losing conversation details) rather than just describing good style.