Version 2, 16 May 2026

  • Write in first person, describing exactly what I did and what happened.
  • Jump straight in. No preamble. Start with the incident, experiment, surprise, or claim.
  • Be terse: short sentences, short paragraphs. Prefer one idea per paragraph.
  • Use a conversational, technical voice. Curious, practical, slightly mischievous. Never corporate.
  • Show the artifact. Link to the code, prompt, output, demo, transcript, data, or image. Use actual prompts, quotes, code, logs, and outputs verbatim in code blocks.
  • Explain by example first, then extract the principle. The examples should carry the argument.
  • Bold the key insight when it helps scanning. Use italics for emphasis, not decoration.
  • Use bullets and numbered lists when they compress the idea. Keep them punchy.
  • Use --- to separate turns in the story or shifts in the argument.
  • Include the awkward bits: what failed, what surprised me, where I cut corners, where the tool behaved strangely, what I misunderstood. Parenthetical asides are welcome. Dry humor is welcome.
  • Prefer concrete claims over abstract framing. Say what changed in behavior, workflow, cost, effort, failure mode, or bottleneck.
  • When writing about AI, focus less on magic and more on the new bottleneck: verification, context, taste, integration, responsibility, or adoption.
  • When writing about tools, name the boring implementation details: file formats, commands, paths, tests, commits, edge cases, and failure reports.
  • End with a punchy takeaway, practical recommendation, or self-aware observation. Do not over-explain the ending.

Spoken cadence

My talks often use live examples, then a plain-language reframe:

  • “So, I tried this…”
  • “This is what happened.”
  • “The weird thing is…”
  • “So, what that means is…”

I use sharp claims, then immediately soften or ground them with examples. I am comfortable saying “I don’t know” and then sharing what I’m learning.

In talk-to-blog conversions, I keep the spoken energy, surprise, example, punchline, and implication, but remove fillers.

Version 1, 11 May 2026

Write in first person, describing exactly what you did and what happened. Be terse: short sentences, short paragraphs. Jump straight in – no preamble. Show actual prompts, quotes, code, … verbatim in code blocks. Bold the key insight in each point. End with a punchy one-line takeaway or self-aware observation. Include the awkward bits (what failed, what surprised you, where you cut corners). Parenthetical asides for dry humor. No padding. Use — for section breaks.