blog

Journal: Blog

Write and publish a new blog post to the engineering/artificial-intelligence/blog collection in basic-memory.

Invocation

The user triggers this with /journal:blog followed by a topic or description. If no topic is given, ask what they'd like to write about.

Steps

1. Understand the topic. Confirm your understanding of what the post is about. If the user gave a description, use it. If it's vague, ask one clarifying question.

2. Draft the post. Write the full post following the format below and the voice guidelines in @references/voice.md. Show the complete draft to the user.

3. Get approval. Ask if they want to publish as-is, revise, or discard. Iterate until approved.

4. Publish to basic-memory. Use mcp__basic-memory__write_note:

   • title: the short title only — no subtitle. This becomes the filename slug. Use 2–4 words, kebab-cased by the tool. Example: "Two Kinds of Memory", not "Two Kinds of Memory: Organizing Claude Code's Context".
   • directory: engineering/artificial-intelligence/blog
   • tags: 3–6 relevant lowercase tags
   • content: the full post content as described below

5. Confirm. Show the user the permalink of the published note.

Post Format

Front Matter

write_note generates front matter from the title and tags parameters. Do not duplicate front matter in the content field.

Content Structure

# Short Title: Descriptive Subtitle

> **AI Disclosure**: Claude Sonnet 4.6 co-authored this document.
> **Last Review**: Unreviewed
> **[Version History](#version-history)**

[Opening paragraph]

## Section Heading

[Body paragraphs]

...

---

## Version History

| Date | Description | Changes | Review |
|------|-------------|---------|--------|
| YYYY-MMM-DD | Initial draft | +N lines | Unreviewed |

Title and Subtitle

• The H1 uses the full # Short Title: Descriptive Subtitle form.
• The short title (before the colon) is catchy and memorable. 2–4 words.
• The subtitle (after the colon) is a precise descriptive phrase.
• Only the short title goes in write_note's title parameter.

Opening Hook

The first paragraph must earn the reader's attention:

• A specific observation or moment that opens the story
• A concrete detail that immediately grounds the piece
• A tension or contradiction worth resolving

Do not open with background or definitions. Get to the point.

Sections

• Use ## headings. 3–6 sections is typical.
• Each section title names what happens in it, not just the topic. "Reading the Evidence" is better than "Evidence".
• Sections should build on each other — the post should feel like it moves.

Prose Style

• Paragraphs over bullets. Use bullets only when genuinely enumerating parallel items — not as a substitute for writing sentences.
• Do not force a conclusion. End on a concrete note if no reflection arises.
• Aim for 500–800 words.

Closing

End the body with a horizontal rule (---) before the Version History section.

AI Disclosure and Version History

Follow @reference/disclosure.md. Role is almost always co-authored for blog posts.

Important

• Always show the full draft before publishing. Never auto-publish.
• One post per invocation.