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From draft-review-kit
Audits writing against Kurt Vonnegut's 8 rules for fiction and nonfiction. Provides structural gut-checks and diagnoses why a piece feels lifeless.
npx claudepluginhub everyinc/draft-review-kit --plugin draft-review-kitHow this skill is triggered — by the user, by Claude, or both
Slash command
/draft-review-kit:vonnegutThe summary Claude sees in its skill listing — used to decide when to auto-load this skill
Check your writing against Kurt Vonnegut's eight rules for fiction—which apply to nonfiction too. This skill audits your piece for the fundamentals that make stories work.
Routes writing problems to the right technique for fiction, non-fiction, or professional writing. Diagnoses issues like flat characters, clunky prose, weak arguments, or tonal shifts.
Checks writing for pacing and momentum issues, flagging static sections and suggesting walk-and-talk techniques to build forward motion.
Applies Strunk & White writing rules (omit needless words, active voice, concrete language) to prose. Use for tightening and clarifying any written text.
Share bugs, ideas, or general feedback.
Check your writing against Kurt Vonnegut's eight rules for fiction—which apply to nonfiction too. This skill audits your piece for the fundamentals that make stories work.
Use this when:
/vonnegut [text] — Audit the provided text against the 8 rules/vonnegut — System asks "What piece should I audit?"Every sentence must do one of two things: reveal character or advance the action. If it does neither, cut it.
Check: Is there anything here that a reader would skip? Anything that made you feel smart but doesn't serve them?
Even in nonfiction, readers need someone to follow. That might be you, a subject, or a stand-in for the reader.
Check: Who does the reader care about in this piece? Why should they want that person to succeed?
Want creates movement. A character (or writer, or reader) who wants nothing is dead on the page.
Check: What does the main figure in this piece want? Is that want visible from the start?
This is rule one restated as a practical test. If a sentence fails both, it goes.
Check: Can you justify every sentence? What would be lost if it disappeared?
Don't give backstory. Don't set up. Start where things are already happening.
Check: Where does this piece actually begin? Could you cut the first paragraph and lose nothing?
Conflict reveals character. Comfort hides it. Your subjects (including yourself) should struggle.
Check: What's hard in this piece? Where's the difficulty, failure, or resistance?
If you try to please everyone, you'll please no one. Write as if for a single specific reader.
Check: Who is this piece for? Can you name them? Would they recognize themselves?
No mysteries for mystery's sake. No withholding to seem clever. Trust the reader with information.
Check: Are you hiding anything that the reader should know earlier? Are you being coy?
## Vonnegut Audit
### Rule-by-Rule Check
| Rule | Verdict | Notes |
|------|---------|-------|
| 1. Time well spent | ✓ / ✗ | [Brief note] |
| 2. Someone to root for | ✓ / ✗ | [Brief note] |
| 3. Character wants something | ✓ / ✗ | [Brief note] |
| 4. Every sentence earns its place | ✓ / ✗ | [Brief note] |
| 5. Starts close to the end | ✓ / ✗ | [Brief note] |
| 6. Sadist (conflict present) | ✓ / ✗ | [Brief note] |
| 7. Written for one person | ✓ / ✗ | [Brief note] |
| 8. Information given freely | ✓ / ✗ | [Brief note] |
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### The Main Issue
**Biggest violation:** [Which rule is most broken and why]
**How to fix it:** [Specific suggestion]
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### Other Notes
[Any other observations that don't fit the rules but matter]
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Pass: [X/8 rules]
[Skill-specific lessons will be added here as they're captured]