Better Writing skill
A skill that edits English prose: it strips filler and cliches, keeps facts and voice and marks gaps instead of inventing.
- 56 ★ on the repository
- Last commit
- MIT
Minimal access
Why this level
- The skill carries text editing instructions and runs nothing and makes no network calls itself.
Install
- Works in
In your terminal, with SkillFoxx CLI
npx skillfoxx add skills/better-writingDetects the agents on your machine, shows the access level and pins the version.
Other ways to install
Access and checks
How we reviewMinimal accessThe tool runs nothing and makes no network calls.
- The skill carries text editing instructions and runs nothing and makes no network calls itself.
This is third-party code. Review the repository files before installing.
What it does
Better Writing rewrites, drafts and reviews prose: emails, reports, docs, release notes and UI text. The skill first looks at genre and audience, then hunts for clusters of formula tells: empty significance, vague attribution, promotional padding, formulaic conclusions, throat-clearing and manufactured drama. A single quirk triggers no edit, while leaked tool markup or an unfilled `[Your Name]` does. The writer's voice is the main style source: given a writing sample, the skill fits the edit to it, and genres have dials for directness, warmth, density and polish. Specifics are never invented: if a needed figure is missing, a placeholder or a question stays in its place. Before delivery a preflight check confirms that every fact survived. If a text already reads alive, the skill changes nothing.
Who it is for. People who write and edit English text with an agent: emails, reports, documentation and release notes.
Good fit when
- A launch email reads like an ad and its facts must stay untouched.
- A report paragraph is full of generic words and must get sharper without invented figures.
- A draft with a lively voice needs only a light touch.
- Text from a chatbot still carries leftovers such as unfilled fields and markup.
Not a fit when
- You need to lower an AI-detector score: the authors name this a non-goal and the skill offers no detector protection.
- The text is in Russian or another language: examples and patterns target English.
- You need spell checking: the skill works on style and clarity.
Example request
Rewrite this product launch email: remove generic wording, keep every date and fact, and mark missing figures with a question.Limitations
The skill targets English text. It does not promise to change an AI-detector score, and such scores are deliberately excluded from its evaluation set. A request to pass a detector is handled as a strict style pass and the change note says so, with no evasion tricks such as synonym swaps or inserted typos. The `npx skills` installer sends anonymous telemetry by default, which `DISABLE_TELEMETRY=1` switches off. Running the repository evaluation harness requires the Claude Code CLI with working credentials.
How to disable. Remove the `better-writing` plugin through the plugin manager or the skill folder added through `npx skills`. Nothing else changes.
FAQ
How do I install Better Writing?
`npx skills add forjd/better-writing` for Claude Code, Codex, Cursor and other agents. Claude Code also has a plugin: `/plugin marketplace add forjd/better-writing`, then `/plugin install better-writing@forjd`.
What does the skill not do?
It does not promise to lower an AI-detector score. The authors consider that the wrong goal: the skill improves clarity, specificity and voice fit.
Will it invent figures?
No. The guardrails and the pre-delivery check forbid making up numbers, anecdotes and experts. A missing fact is replaced with a placeholder or a question.
How does the skill keep my voice?
A sample of your writing is the main style source, and genres have dials for directness, warmth, density and polish. If a text already reads alive, no edits follow.
Can the skill be tested?
Yes. The repository holds an evaluation set: 22 texts seeded with known tells and facts, a checker and a runner through a real model.
Discussion
No questions or reviews yet.
Related
SkillsA skill that strips AI writing tells from text using Wikipedia's list, without adding invented facts
Avoid AI Writing
avoid-ai-writing
A skill that finds typical machine-writing patterns in text and rewrites them, with detect-only and edit-in-place modes
A de-AI writing skill: it repairs the narrative architecture of fiction and edits professional documents by their venue rules
Addy Osmani skill for clearer writing: an interview and draft from your own words, a rewrite of existing text, a review that leaves the file alone
Human Writing
human-writing
A skill for lively Chinese writing: helps the agent write and edit so a specific person seems to speak, not a model
Infostyle
infostyle
A Russian copy-editing skill based on Ilyakhov's information style: cuts filler and cliches, adds facts, shows before and after
README in short
The README shows before and after examples, lists use cases and install options. The skill boundaries, the quality evaluation set and the sources the author drew on are described separately.