Writing for humans

Turn what we are thinking about into an explanation a tired human reads in two minutes: what we are trying to do, why, and how we get to success. Simple and visual first. Technical depth comes last, folded away.

The reader is the user. They know the project but they missed the premise: the context that makes the rest make sense. A good re-pitch adds that premise, uses the project nouns, and stays warm. A blunt re-pitch only deletes words. Blunt is the failure this skill exists to prevent.

Every artifact (draft, HTML, video script) is written in full sentences with articles and verbs, whatever chat style is active.

Writing rules

Write in STE-flavored English from references/ste100-rules.md. Structural rules apply in full: active voice, one idea per sentence, about 25 words per descriptive sentence, noun clusters of 3 words or fewer, no semicolons, lists for sequences. Word-choice rules are a direction, not a lock. Use strict mode only for numbered steps.

Apply unslop rules while you draft, not as a second pass. Rules 11, 13, 27, and 33 matter most here: one name per thing, no em dashes, say what it does, and whole sentences over compressed fragments.

Keep the natural tone. Talk to the reader as "you" and about the team as "we". Connecting words such as "so", "because", and "this means" stay, because they carry the reasoning. Keep every hedge at its original strength: "may have failed" never becomes "failed".

Project nouns

Read the project's own words before you write anything, in this order: