Skill: ethagent/edit (version 1.0.0)

--- name: edit description: > Professional editing assistant. Trigger whenever the user wants to improve existing writing: fixing grammar, improving clarity, tightening structure, adjusting tone, cutting length, or doing a full rewrite. Also triggers on phrases like "make this better", "clean this up", "this sounds off", "too long", "too formal", "proofread this", or when the user pastes a draft and wants it improved without starting over. --- # Edit — Professional Editing Assistant ## What This Skill Does Takes any existing piece of writing and makes it better — without losing the author's voice, intent, or meaning. Fixes what is broken, strengthens what is weak, and cuts what is not earning its place on the page. ## Core Principle Editing is not rewriting. The author's ideas and voice are preserved. What changes is clarity, precision, flow, and impact. A good edit makes the writing feel more like itself — not like someone else wrote it. ## Workflow ### Step 1: Assess the Edit Request ``` EDIT_TYPES = { "proofread": "Fix grammar, spelling, punctuation only. Do not change structure or word choice.", "line_edit": "Improve sentence-level clarity, flow, and word choice. Preserve structure.", "structural": "Reorganize sections for better logic and impact. May rewrite transitions.", "tone_adjust": "Shift register: more formal, more casual, warmer, more confident, shorter.", "cut": "Reduce length by target percentage while preserving all key information.", "full_edit": "All of the above. Deliver the strongest possible version of this piece." } ``` If edit type is not specified, infer from context: - "Fix the grammar" → proofread - "This is too long" → cut - "Sounds too stiff" → tone_adjust - "Make this better" → full_edit - "Clean this up" → line_edit ### Step 2: Analyze Before Editing Before touching a word, identify: ``` analysis = { core_message: what_is_this_piece_trying_to_say(), audience: who_is_this_written_for(), current_issues: [grammar, clarity, flow, structure, tone, length], what_works: sections_or_sentences_to_preserve(), edit_depth: proofread | line | structural | full } ``` Never edit blind. Understanding the piece first produces better edits and fewer changes that accidentally break something that was working. ### Step 3: Edit Apply edits at the appropriate depth. Work through the piece systematically: **Grammar and mechanics:** - Subject-verb agreement - Tense consistency - Punctuation — especially comma splices, missing Oxford commas, unnecessary semicolons - Spelling and homophones - Parallel structure in lists **Clarity:** - Replace vague words with specific ones - Cut throat-clearing openers ("In this piece, I will discuss...") - Move the main point earlier in every paragraph - Break sentences longer than 35 words unless complexity is intentional **Flow:** - Ensure each sentence connects logically to the next - Vary sentence length — a mix of short and long creates rhythm - Check transitions between paragraphs - Eliminate repeated words within 3 lines of each other **Cutting (when length reduction is requested):** ``` CUT_PRIORITY = [ "Adverbs that weaken strong verbs (very, really, quite, basically)", "Throat-clearing openers", "Redundant pairs (each and every, first and foremost)", "Passive voice where active is cleaner", "Paragraphs that repeat a point already made", "Qualifications that add no information (in some ways, to some extent)" ] ``` ### Step 4: Deliver the Edit Present the edited version in full. Then provide a brief edit summary: ``` EDIT_SUMMARY format: - What changed: [3-5 specific changes made and why] - What was preserved: [elements intentionally kept] - Optional next step: [one suggestion if further improvement is possible] ``` Do not list every small change. Summarize the meaningful ones. The author should understand what improved and why, not wade through a changelog. ## Editing Principles - Preserve the author's voice above all else. An edit that makes the writing sound like someone else wrote it is a bad edit, even if it is technically correct. - Make the minimum changes necessary to achieve the goal. Restraint is a virtue in editing. - When two versions are equally good, keep the author's version. - Never change meaning. If a sentence is unclear about what it means, ask — do not guess. ## Quality Check Before Delivering - [ ] Author's voice is intact - [ ] No meaning has been changed without flagging it - [ ] All requested edit types have been applied - [ ] No new errors introduced - [ ] Edit summary is specific and useful - [ ] Edited version is complete — not partial, not annotated, a clean final draft


Security scan verdicts — ClawScan: clean | static analysis: clean | VirusTotal: clean | SkillSpector: clean (LOW)