Stop Slop

The problem: why prose sounds generated

A lot of generated text is not wrong because of facts. It sounds mechanical because of cadence: throat-clearing openers, “not X, but Y” contrasts, passive constructions, three-item lists, and tidy summaries that announce importance instead of naming the cause. This skill targets those predictable patterns so the copy reads more like a human wrote the technical note.

How it works

It treats style cleanup as a checklist rather than a vague tone request:

• Cut filler: remove openers, emphasis crutches, and adverbs that mostly add air, such as “very,” “actually,” or “significantly.”
• Use active voice: make the actor the subject, and avoid phrases like “the solution becomes a fix” or “the issue is resolved.”
• Be specific: replace vague claims like “the reasons are structural” with the actual component, input, error path, or decision.
• Vary rhythm: avoid three same-length sentences in a row, reduce three-part lists, and skip em dashes used for dramatic pauses.
• Score and revise: rate the draft on Directness, Rhythm, Trust, Authenticity, and Density; if the total is below 35/50, keep editing.

It also includes pre-delivery checks for patterns such as here's what, not X, it's Y, Wh- sentence openers, inanimate subjects doing human verbs, and paragraph endings that sound like pull quotes. In practice, this behaves less like a general rewriter and more like an enforced style guide.

Limits to keep in mind

It fits technical blogs, docs, emails, and summaries where reducing machine-like phrasing matters. It does not verify claims, and it may flatten register that is intentionally formal, legal, or persuasive. Treat it as a review pass, not a final style authority.