home / skills / tdhopper / dotfiles2.0 / stop-slop

stop-slop skill

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This skill helps you rewrite prose to remove filler, avoid formulaic patterns, and enhance directness, rhythm, and authenticity.

npx playbooks add skill tdhopper/dotfiles2.0 --skill stop-slop

Review the files below or copy the command above to add this skill to your agents.

Files (5)

SKILL.md

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---
name: stop-slop
description: Use this skill when writing or editing prose to eliminate predictable AI writing patterns. Helps make writing more direct, authentic, and human.
---

# Stop Slop

Eliminate predictable AI writing patterns from prose. Apply these rules to any writing task.

## Core Principles

1. **Eliminate filler** - Remove predictable opening phrases and emphasis words
2. **Avoid formulaic patterns** - Sidestep binary contrasts and dramatic structures
3. **Vary sentence rhythm** - Mix lengths and paragraph endings
4. **Write directly** - Trust readers without excessive explanation
5. **Remove quotable moments** - Rewrite anything that reads like a pull-quote

## Quick Audit Before Finalizing

- Check for repetitive sentence lengths
- Look for monotonous paragraph endings
- Remove unnecessary em-dashes
- Cut over-explained metaphors

## Assessment Framework

Rate prose 1-10 on each dimension:
- **Directness** - Does it get to the point?
- **Rhythm** - Does sentence length vary naturally?
- **Trust** - Does it respect reader intelligence?
- **Authenticity** - Does it sound like a human wrote it?
- **Density** - Is every word earning its place?

Below 35/50: revise.

## Reference Files

See the `references/` directory for:
- `phrases.md` - Specific phrases to eliminate
- `structures.md` - Formulaic patterns to avoid
- `examples.md` - Before/after transformations

Overview

This skill helps writers and editors eliminate predictable AI writing patterns to make prose more direct, authentic, and human. It provides simple rules, a quick audit checklist, and a compact assessment framework to evaluate and revise text before finalizing. Use it during drafting, editing, or final polish to remove mechanical, formulaic phrasing.

How this skill works

The skill inspects prose for common AI‑like traits: filler openings, formulaic contrasts, repetitive sentence lengths, and quotable pull‑quotes. It guides targeted edits—removing filler words, varying sentence rhythm, shortening over‑explained passages, and stripping dramatic structures—so the result feels natural and reader‑respecting. A short scoring framework rates key dimensions to prioritize revisions.

When to use it

Final pass before publishing blog posts or essays
Editing marketing copy to sound less canned
Polishing documentation or help text for clarity
Rewriting social posts that feel formulaic
Improving thought pieces to preserve author voice

Best practices

Remove predictable openers (e.g., "In this article" or "It is important")
Vary sentence length and paragraph endings deliberately
Trust the reader—cut unnecessary explanations and metaphors
Avoid binary contrasts and dramatized structures that signal formula
Replace quotable-sounding lines with straightforward variants
Use the 5-metric assessment to guide revision priorities

Example use cases

Transforming a corporate blog post from promotional to conversational
Editing a how-to guide to remove padded introductions and needless emphasis
Streamlining academic summaries to be more concise and direct
Tightening product copy that currently relies on clichés and hype
Converting AI-generated drafts into a consistent human voice

FAQ

How do I score a piece quickly?

Rate Directness, Rhythm, Trust, Authenticity, and Density from 1–10. Sum them; below 35 indicates a need for revision.

What counts as filler to remove first?

Predictable opening phrases, unnecessary intensifiers, and transitional clichés. Remove them and read for clarity.