How to use
- Copy the installation command and review the source package before installing it in your own agent environment.
- Check the source document for required tools, credentials and supported hosts.
- Describe your input and desired deliverable; review the output against the source material.
npx skills add https://github.com/everyinc/compound-writing --skill cw-brainstormBefore you start
- Installation does not include a model subscription, API allowance or permission to access your files.
- Repository stars and installation counts describe activity, not an independent quality or security test.
Rendered from the source repository. Headings, examples, code, tables, links, and referenced images are preserved.
Brainstorm
Purpose
Help the user surface raw material for a piece when they arrive without a specific idea. The goal is to uncover something worth writing about through exploratory conversation.
Floor Criteria
All ideas must pass the New, True, Useful test:
New
The idea either:
- Makes the new familiar (introduces something unfamiliar and makes it accessible)
- Makes the familiar new (takes something known and reveals a fresh angle or connection)
Test: "Does this make the new familiar, or the familiar new?"
True
Depending on subject matter, the idea should be:
- Factually accurate (verifiable claims, correct data)
- Honest to the writer's experience (authentic, not performed)
- Resonant to human experience (rings true, recognizable)
- Logically sound (the argument holds up under scrutiny)
Useful
In order of importance (customizable per writer or piece):
- Generative — sparks further thinking, opens new questions
- Reframing — changes how reader sees a problem or situation
- Clarifying — helps reader understand something they couldn't before
- Actionable — reader can do something with it
What to Hunt For
Probe for material that exhibits these qualities:
| Quality | What You're Looking For |
|---|---|
| Surprise | Something that defied expectations |
| Tension | Contradictions, paradoxes, things that shouldn't both be true |
| Transformation | Change over time—in thinking, behavior, understanding |
| Friction | Frustrations, obstacles, things that drive the user crazy |
| Pattern recognition | Connections across domains the user has noticed |
| Earned insight | Something learned through experience, not just reading |
How to Conduct the Session
- Start open-ended. Don't lead with a framework—let the user talk.
- Ask follow-up questions that dig into the qualities above:
- "What surprised you about that?"
- "What changed for you?"
- "What do most people get wrong about this?"
- "Why does this matter to you personally?"
- "What's the tension here?"
- Test ideas against the floor. When something promising surfaces, mentally check:
- Is it new (or a new angle)?
- Is it true (in the relevant sense)?
- Is it useful (generative, reframing, clarifying, or actionable)?
- Keep probing until you find material that passes the floor criteria.
Exit Triggers
The brainstorm session ends when:
- User explicitly requests to move on — natural language like "I think I've got something" or "let's develop this one"
- System detects excitement signals and offers to advance:
- Increased specificity ("Oh, and another thing about that...")
- Energy language ("Yes!", "Exactly", "That's it")
- Unprompted elaboration (user keeps building without being asked)
- Returning to an idea after exploring others
When you detect excitement, offer: "It sounds like this one is resonating—want to develop it further?"
Transition
When exiting brainstorm, transition to Interview to extract what's needed for an outline.
Lessons
[Skill-specific lessons will be added here as they're captured]
