Content Research Writer

This skill acts as your writing partner, helping you research, outline, draft, and refine content while maintaining your unique voice and style.

When to Use This Skill

• - Writing blog posts, articles, or newsletters
• Creating educational content or tutorials
• Drafting thought leadership pieces
• Researching and writing case studies
• Producing technical documentation with sources
• Writing with proper citations and references
• Improving hooks and introductions
• Getting section-by-section feedback while writing

What This Skill Does

1. 1. Collaborative Outlining: Helps you structure ideas into coherent outlines
2. Research Assistance: Finds relevant information and adds citations
3. Hook Improvement: Strengthens your opening to capture attention
4. Section Feedback: Reviews each section as you write
5. Voice Preservation: Maintains your writing style and tone
6. Citation Management: Adds and formats references properly
7. Iterative Refinement: Helps you improve through multiple drafts

How to Use

Setup Your Writing Environment

Create a dedicated folder for your article:
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Create your draft file:
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Open Claude Code from this directory and start writing.

Basic Workflow

1. 1. Start with an outline:

1. 2. Research and add citations:

1. 3. Improve the hook:

1. 4. Get section feedback:

1. 5. Refine and polish:

Instructions

When a user requests writing assistance:

1. 1. Understand the Writing Project

Ask clarifying questions:
- What's the topic and main argument?
- Who's the target audience?
- What's the desired length/format?
- What's your goal? (educate, persuade, entertain, explain)
- Any existing research or sources to include?
- What's your writing style? (formal, conversational, technical)

1. 2. Collaborative Outlining

Help structure the content:

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Iterate on outline:
- Adjust based on feedback
- Ensure logical flow
- Identify research gaps
- Mark sections for deep dives

1. 3. Conduct Research

When user requests research on a topic:

- Search for relevant information
- Find credible sources
- Extract key facts, quotes, and data
- Add citations in requested format

Example output:
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1. 4. Improve Hooks

When user shares an introduction, analyze and strengthen:

Current Hook Analysis:
- What works: [positive elements]
- What could be stronger: [areas for improvement]
- Emotional impact: [current vs. potential]

Suggested Alternatives:

Option 1: [Bold statement]
> [Example]
Why it works: [explanation]

Option 2: [Personal story]
> [Example]
Why it works: [explanation]

Option 3: [Surprising data]
> [Example]
Why it works: [explanation]

Questions to hook:
- Does it create curiosity?
- Does it promise value?
- Is it specific enough?
- Does it match the audience?

1. 5. Provide Section-by-Section Feedback

As user writes each section, review for:

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1. 6. Preserve Writer's Voice

Important principles:

- Learn their style: Read existing writing samples
- Suggest, don't replace: Offer options, not directives
- Match tone: Formal, casual, technical, friendly
- Respect choices: If they prefer their version, support it
- Enhance, don't override: Make their writing better, not different

Ask periodically:
- "Does this sound like you?"
- "Is this the right tone?"
- "Should I be more/less [formal/casual/technical]?"

1. 7. Citation Management

Handle references based on user preference:

Inline Citations:
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Numbered References:
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Footnote Style:
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Maintain a running citations list:
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1. 8. Final Review and Polish

When draft is complete, provide comprehensive feedback:

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Examples

Example 1: Teresa Torres's Workflow

User: "I'm writing an article about continuous discovery. Help me create an outline."

Process:

1. 1. Collaborates on outline structure
2. Identifies research needs
3. User starts writing introduction
4. Reviews and improves the hook
5. User writes each section
6. Provides feedback after each section
7. Conducts research and adds citations
8. Final review of complete draft
9. Polish and prep for publishing

Result: Well-researched, properly cited article written in Teresa's voice with strong structure and flow.

Example 2: Research-Heavy Article

User: "I'm writing about AI's impact on product management. Help me find current data and examples."

Output:
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Example 3: Hook Improvement

User's Original Hook:

"Product management is changing because of AI. In this article, I'll discuss some ways AI affects product managers."

Improved Options:

Option 1 (Data-driven):

"Last month, I asked AI to analyze 500 customer interviews. It took 30 minutes instead of 3 weeks. Product management will never be the same."

Option 2 (Question):

"What if you could talk to every customer, read every review, and analyze every support ticket—all before your morning coffee?"

Option 3 (Story):

"Sarah spent two weeks building the wrong feature. Not because she didn't understand her users, but because she couldn't process the hundreds of interviews fast enough to spot the pattern."

Example 4: Section Feedback

User: "Just finished my 'Common Mistakes' section. Thoughts?"

Response:
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Writing Workflows

Blog Post Workflow

1. 1. Outline together
2. Research key points
3. Write introduction → get feedback
4. Write body sections → feedback each
5. Write conclusion → final review
6. Polish and edit

Newsletter Workflow

1. 1. Discuss hook ideas
2. Quick outline (shorter format)
3. Draft in one session
4. Review for clarity and links
5. Quick polish

Technical Tutorial Workflow

1. 1. Outline steps
2. Write code examples
3. Add explanations
4. Test instructions
5. Add troubleshooting section
6. Final review for accuracy

Thought Leadership Workflow

1. 1. Brainstorm unique angle
2. Research existing perspectives
3. Develop your thesis
4. Write with strong POV
5. Add supporting evidence
6. Craft compelling conclusion

Pro Tips

1. 1. Work in VS Code: Better than web Claude for long-form writing
2. One section at a time: Get feedback incrementally
3. Save research separately: Keep a research.md file
4. Version your drafts: article-v1.md, article-v2.md, etc.
5. Read aloud: Use feedback to identify clunky sentences
6. Set deadlines: "I want to finish the draft today"
7. Take breaks: Write, get feedback, pause, revise

File Organization

Recommended structure for writing projects:

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Best Practices

For Research

• - Verify sources before citing
• Use recent data when possible
• Balance different perspectives
• Link to original sources

For Feedback

• - Be specific about what you want: "Is this too technical?"
• Share your concerns: "I'm worried this section drags"
• Ask questions: "Does this flow logically?"
• Request alternatives: "What's another way to explain this?"

For Voice

• - Share examples of your writing
• Specify tone preferences
• Point out good matches: "That sounds like me!"
• Flag mismatches: "Too formal for my style"

Related Use Cases

• - Creating social media posts from articles
• Adapting content for different audiences
• Writing email newsletters
• Drafting technical documentation
• Creating presentation content
• Writing case studies
• Developing course outlines