# Blog Writer
# Author: curator (Community Curator)
# Version: 1
# Format: markdown
# A systematic process for researching, writing, and publishing high-quality, well-cited blog posts. Covers voice, structure, parallel research, drafting, three quality passes, and citation verification.
# Tags: writing, blog, research, process, quality
# Source: https://constructs.sh/curator/blog-writer
# Blog Writer

A systematic process for researching, writing, and publishing high-quality, well-cited blog posts. Designed for thought-leadership content on technical topics with an essayistic, opinionated voice.

## Voice and Tone

- Confident, intellectual, and essayistic. Closer to Paul Graham or a strong Substack than a SaaS blog.
- Declarative openings. Lead with a punchy, opinionated statement, not a question or hedge.
- Second person used sparingly and in the general sense, not marketing-direct.
- No jargon-heavy marketing speak. No "leverage," "unlock value," or "game-changer."
- Cross-disciplinary analogies drawn from philosophy, psychology, economics, creative arts, history.
- Not casual, not academic. Confident middle register. No slang, no exclamation points, no emojis.
- Opinionated without being preachy. Show the reasoning, not just the assertion.
- Short sentences for emphasis. Medium sentences for exposition.

## Post Structure

Every post follows this skeleton:

1. **Opening hook** (1-3 sentences). A provocative claim or observation. No preamble, no throat-clearing.
2. **Framing section** (2-3 paragraphs before any headings). Establish what the post is about and why it matters.
3. **Body sections** (4-7 H2 sections). Descriptive, evocative headings. Bold terms for introducing key concepts. Mix of data, narrative, and analysis.
4. **Closing section**. Synthesize and elevate. End with a memorable line that reframes the entire post.
5. **Related links**. 2-3 links to other posts on the blog.
6. **CTA**. A single, understated link. No aggressive signup prompts.

**Target length**: 1,500-2,800 words for a standard essay.

## Process

### Phase 1: Research (parallel)

Launch multiple research tracks simultaneously:

- **Prior content review**: Read existing blog posts to match tone, avoid redundancy, and find internal linking opportunities.
- **Primary topic research**: Deep dive into the core subject. Gather origin stories, timelines, key players.
- **Data and statistics**: GitHub counts, survey data, adoption metrics, academic papers. Hard numbers matter.
- **Ecosystem and landscape**: Map all relevant tools, formats, projects, standards. Be comprehensive.
- **Creative and unexpected angles**: Find the surprising use cases, the non-obvious applications, the human stories.
- **Counterarguments and criticism**: Understand what skeptics say. The best essays address tension, not just enthusiasm.

**Research standard**: Every factual claim should have a traceable source. Prefer primary sources (official docs, academic papers, announcement posts) over secondary coverage.

### Phase 2: Draft

Write the full post in one pass, following the structure above. Key principles:

- Open with the strongest insight from research, not a summary of what you will discuss.
- Let the research inform the structure. The most interesting finding often becomes the organizing principle.
- Use specific examples, names, numbers. Vague gestures at trends are weak. "110,000 GitHub stars" is strong. "Growing adoption" is weak.
- Quote sparingly and only when the original phrasing is better than paraphrase.
- Every section should have a reason to exist. If it does not advance the argument or add new information, cut it.
- Do not use em dashes. Use hyphens with spaces instead.

### Phase 3: Quality Passes

Run three distinct review passes. Do not combine them.

**Pass 1 - Accuracy and citations**:
- Verify every factual claim against sources.
- Check all statistics for recency and correctness.
- Confirm all names, titles, dates, and attributions.
- Flag any claim that cannot be verified and either source it or remove it.

**Pass 2 - Prose, flow, and tone**:
- Read the full post for rhythm and pacing.
- Check transitions between sections.
- Ensure consistent voice throughout.
- Cut unnecessary words. If you can say it in one sentence, do not use three.
- Check for repetition of phrases, ideas, or structures.

**Pass 3 - Final review and polish**:
- One final read-through as a reader, not an editor.
- Verify the opening hook still works after the body is complete.
- Confirm the closing line lands.
- Check formatting (headings, links, code formatting, bold terms).
- Ensure no sensitive, internal, or proprietary information is exposed.

### Phase 4: Citation Verification

Visit every external link in the post. For each link, verify:

- The URL resolves (not 404, not redirected to wrong content).
- The page content matches what is claimed in the post.
- The link text accurately describes the destination.

Fix or remove any broken, stale, or mismatched links. This step is non-negotiable. Published posts with dead links damage credibility.

### Phase 5: Publication

- Create the post in the correct format for the publishing platform.
- Add to the blog index.
- Create a PR against main.
- Verify the preview deployment renders correctly.
- Flag any items needing human approval before merge.

## Anti-patterns

- Do not open with "In this post, we will explore..." or any variant. Start with the insight.
- Do not end with "In conclusion..." or summarize what was already said. End with a new thought that elevates.
- Do not pad with generic context the reader already knows. Assume an intelligent, informed audience.
- Do not use AI-generated instruction files, curated lists, or "awesome" repos as primary sources without verifying their claims independently.
- Do not cite statistics without a traceable source. "Studies show" with no link is worse than no statistic at all.
- Do not let the product tie-in dominate. Earn the mention by making the essay genuinely useful without it.
- Do not publish without running all three quality passes and the citation verification. Skipping these is how errors get published.

## Checklist

Before submitting for publication, confirm:

- [ ] Opening hook is a strong, declarative statement
- [ ] All factual claims have traceable citations
- [ ] All links have been visited and verified
- [ ] No em dashes used anywhere
- [ ] No sensitive, internal, or proprietary information exposed
- [ ] Post is between 1,500-2,800 words
- [ ] 4-7 H2 sections with descriptive headings
- [ ] Closing line reframes or elevates, does not summarize
- [ ] Related links section points to 2-3 existing posts
- [ ] CTA is understated and earned
- [ ] Three quality passes completed (accuracy, prose, final)
- [ ] Preview deployment verified