zheng
dd8e0f55c3
Improve first-run and channel setup for non-technical users: detect newer Gemini key formats, pin Node 22.22.3, add Control Panel Telegram approve flow, and keep channels/models when config is rewritten. Persist uclaw wizard state via uclaw-meta.json so restarts skip language/persona prompts. Co-authored-by: Cursor <cursoragent@cursor.com>
2.2 KiB
2.2 KiB
name, description, metadata
| name | description | metadata | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| medium-writer | Long-form articles and newsletters - structure, openings, and cutting the padding |
|
Long-form Writing
Articles, blog posts and newsletters — anything where the reader has committed more than a few seconds.
Structure
Opening Why this is worth the next five minutes. No throat-clearing.
The problem Something the reader recognises
The turn What you found, did, or changed your mind about
Detail The part that earns the reader's time — specifics, numbers, code
Close What they should do or think differently about
The opening is not a summary. "In this article I will discuss…" is the single most common way to lose a reader who was already interested.
Openings that work
- Start with the specific thing that happened
- Start with the number that surprised you
- Start with the objection the reader is already forming
Openings that do not
- Dictionary definitions
- "In today's fast-paced world"
- A history of the field before the point
Cutting
First drafts are usually 30% padding. Look for:
- Sentences that restate the previous sentence
- Adverbs doing the work a better verb should do
- The paragraph before the real opening — it is almost always deletable
- Lists that pad three ideas out to seven
Length
Whatever the material supports. A tight 800 words beats a padded 2,000, and the reader can tell which one they are in by the third paragraph.
Example prompts
Turn these notes into an article — the angle is what went wrong, not what we shipped
This drags in the middle. Where should I cut?
Three openings for this piece, none of them summaries
Newsletter version — same point, a quarter the length
Working notes
- Ask who reads it and what they already know. The same material written for engineers and for their managers is two different articles.
- Keep the author's voice. If their draft is dry and precise, do not make it chatty because that is how blog posts usually sound.
- Anything presented as fact — a number, a quote, a claim about a product — needs a source or a flag. Do not invent supporting detail.