Immutable. This exact content is served forever at /api/v1/blob/76d81c7a97342005.
---
name: create
description: "Interactive outline co-creation for developer advocacy content — collects format, audience profile, story arc (Problem→Journey→Insight→Action), and voice/tone; detects out-of-scope requests (FAQs, comparison tables); surfaces conflicts between user brief and audience needs. Writes approved outline to .plans/content/<slug>-outline.md for foundry:creator to execute. Use when starting a blog post, Marp slide deck, social thread, talk abstract, or lightning talk."
argument-hint: "[topic]"
disable-model-invocation: true
allowed-tools: Write, Bash, TaskCreate, TaskUpdate, TaskList, AskUserQuestion, Agent
effort: medium
---
<objective>
Story arc four-beat: Problem → Journey → Insight → Action.
NOT for: implementation, code gen, README writing (use `foundry:doc-scribe`), structured ref docs (FAQs, comparison tables — use `foundry:doc-scribe`).
</objective>
<inputs>
- **$ARGUMENTS**: optional — topic or goal, any form; one sentence enough. Format hints accepted ("a blog post about…", "talk abstract for…").
</inputs>
<workflow>
**Task hygiene**: Call `TaskList`; mark clearly-done tasks `completed`, orphaned tasks `deleted`, genuinely-continuing tasks `in_progress`.
**Task tracking**: TaskCreate all steps before any tool calls.
## Step 1 — Parse topic and out-of-scope detection
- If $ARGUMENTS provided: extract topic; note embedded format hint.
- If no $ARGUMENTS: AskUserQuestion — "What are you trying to write about, and for whom?" (free text). After receiving the answer, re-check against out-of-scope conditions: if answer describes FAQs, comparison tables, feature matrices, README content, or docstrings — stop. Respond: "This format doesn't fit a narrative arc — use `foundry:doc-scribe` for structured reference content." No further steps.
- Out-of-scope gate (when $ARGUMENTS provided): if brief describes FAQs, comparison tables, feature matrices, or ref docs — stop. Respond: "This format doesn't fit a narrative arc — use `foundry:doc-scribe` for structured reference content." No further steps.
## Step 2 — Format and audience (1 AskUserQuestion call — 2 questions)
**Format + audience** (single AskUserQuestion call with 2 questions):
- Q1 "What content format?": (a) blog post · (b) conference / meetup talk with Marp slide deck ★ · (c) social thread (X/LinkedIn) · (d) talk abstract (CFP submission) · (e) lightning talk (5–10 min)
- Q2 "Who is the audience?": (a) beginners — new to problem space ★ · (b) intermediate — familiar with basics, seeking depth · (c) expert — know landscape, want novel insight · (d) describe your own profile
After answer: restate one sentence covering format + audience ("Got it — a [format] for [audience description].").
## Step 3 — Arc construction and conflict check
Propose four-beat arc from topic + audience:
- **Problem**: concrete opening hook — specific pain or question, not generic
- **Journey**: 3–5 key points (what tried, what failed, what arc covers)
- **Insight**: core "aha" framed for stated audience level — name directly
- **Action**: specific next step for audience
**Editorial conflict check**: if brief implies expert audience but topic introductory, or vice versa — surface before continuing:
> "Your brief suggests [X] but audience profile is [Y] — recommend adjusting [Z]. Proceed as-is or adjust?"
**Arc approval + voice** (single AskUserQuestion call): show proposed arc, then ask voice choice — option (d) redirects to arc adjustment.
Options:
- (a) Approve arc — neutral developer advocate (balanced, educational) ★
- (b) Approve arc — opinionated / direct first-person, no hedging
- (c) Approve arc — conversational / approachable, informal
- (d) Adjust the arc first (free text — describe what to change)
On (d): revise arc, re-present, re-invoke this question. After (a)/(b)/(c): restate confirmed arc and voice in two sentences.
## Step 4 — Write outline file
- Derive slug from topic: kebab-case, max 5 words (e.g. `tracing-python-services-otel`).
- Write creates `.plans/content/` if absent — no separate mkdir needed.
- **Anti-overwrite check before writing the outline**: list existing files matching `.plans/content/<slug>-outline*.md` (Bash `ls -1 .plans/content/<slug>-outline*.md 2>/dev/null || true`). If `.plans/content/<slug>-outline.md` already exists, append the smallest available counter suffix (`-2`, `-3`, …) per quality-gates.md output routing convention. Resulting path becomes the new `<outline-path>`; use it in the Write call AND in the Step 4 gate spawn prompt below. Print the resolved path before writing.
- Write `<outline-path>` with this structure:
```md
---
topic: <topic from brief>
created: YYYY-MM-DD
---
## Audience
[who they are, experience level, what they've likely seen, what they need]
## Format
[blog post | conference talk (N min) | social thread (x|linkedin) | talk abstract | lightning talk (N min)]
## Voice
[tone brief: e.g., "direct and opinionated, first-person, no hedging"]
## Arc
### Problem
[concrete opening hook — the pain or question]
### Journey
[key points to explore: what was tried, what failed, what the arc covers]
### Insight
[the core "aha" — what was learned or built; name it directly]
### Action
[call to action — specific, what audience should do next]
## Constraints
[length target, things to avoid, format-specific constraints]
```
- Confirm file path to user.
- Derive the artifact extension `<ext>` from the format selected in Step 2 — substitute the literal value into the spawn prompt before invoking `Agent()`; do not pass the literal `<ext>` placeholder. Mapping:
| Format (Step 2 choice) | `<ext>` |
| --- | --- |
| a) blog post | `md` |
| b) conference / meetup talk with Marp slide deck | `md` (Marp markdown) |
| c) social thread (X/LinkedIn) | `md` |
| d) talk abstract (CFP submission) | `md` |
| e) lightning talk | `md` |
Every supported format currently renders to a markdown source file, so `<ext>` resolves to `md` in every branch — but the substitution must still happen explicitly so the artifact path on disk is `.plans/content/<slug>.md`, not `.plans/content/<slug>.<ext>`. If a future format uses a different extension, extend the table.
> **Agent budget** — each spawn costs ~120,851 tok of fixed overhead (~73 tool-calls' worth) plus ~12.0 s/call, so work under ~73 calls is cheaper done inline: spawn nothing. Keep each agent near ~55 tool-calls; past ~60 they stall without returning an envelope, forcing reconstruction from disk. Every spawn prompt must require an envelope even on exhaustion — `partial: true` plus what was finished.
- End with an `AskUserQuestion` gate with two options:
(a) **Generate the full artifact now** — spawn `foundry:creator` via `Agent(subagent_type='foundry:creator', prompt='Read <outline-path> and generate the complete <format> artifact. Output file path: .plans/content/<slug>.<ext>')` where `<outline-path>` is the resolved path from the anti-overwrite step above, and `<slug>`, `<format>`, `<ext>` are substituted from the generated outline (see extension table above) before the call — never pass literal angle-bracket placeholders to the spawned agent.
(b) **Stop here** — I'll invoke `foundry:creator` manually when ready.
**Substitution verification before issuing the Agent call (mandatory)**:
1. Construct the final prompt string with all placeholders replaced
2. Scan the constructed string for any remaining `<` or `>` characters; if either is present, substitution is incomplete — resolve the missing value(s) before spawning
3. Confirm the outline file path in the prompt matches `<outline-path>` exactly (the resolved path including any counter suffix, not a guess)
If the user selects (a), issue the Agent() call in the same response turn AFTER the verification above passes. Do not narrate intent — call the tool.
- End with `## Confidence` block per quality-gates.md protocol, score based on outline coverage of topic, arc, audience.
</workflow>
<notes>
- **Execution model**: `disable-model-invocation: true` — Claude itself follows this SKILL.md as workflow template directly in the main context (no autonomous sub-agent dispatch during the outline phase). When the Step 4 gate selects (a), exactly one sub-agent is spawned: `foundry:creator` (executes the outline and writes the full artifact). No other sub-agent invocations are made by this skill.
- 5 questions in baseline flow; up to 7 with arc-conflict resolution (steps 2–4 use exactly 4; step 1 adds one only when $ARGUMENTS absent; arc conflicts in step 3 may add 1–2 more).
- Each AskUserQuestion uses lettered options with one ★ recommended default.
- After each answer, restate understanding 1–2 sentences before proceeding.
- Never silently adjust arc to match audience — always surface conflicts explicitly (Step 3).
- Refuse FAQs / comparison tables / ref docs at Step 1 gate; name `foundry:doc-scribe` as redirect.
- Write outline exactly once after approval — no second draft unless user requests.
- `foundry:creator` reads output outline file and generates full artifact autonomously.
- Outline spec files written to `.plans/content/` — see `artifact-lifecycle.md` for TTL policy (30d).
</notes>