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+---
+name: blog-writing-style
+description: De-LLM blog posts to sound authentically human. Rewrite text in .gmi.tpl and .gmi files to match the casual, personal style of older posts. Remove corporate/formal language, hedging, and over-explanation. Triggers on: de-llm, humanize text, fix writing style, blog style.
+---
+
+# Blog Writing Style (De-LLM)
+
+Rewrite blog content to sound authentically human by removing LLM-generated patterns and matching the established voice from older posts (6+ months old). This skill humanizes text in `.gmi.tpl` template files and `.gmi` files that don't have a `.tpl` counterpart.
+
+## When to Use
+
+- Use when blog text sounds too formal, corporate, or LLM-generated
+- Use when asked to "de-llm" or "humanize" blog content
+- Use when reviewing writing style of foo.zone posts
+- Use after composing or updating blog posts (reference from `compose-blog-post` and `update-blog-post` skills)
+
+## Target Files
+
+- All `*.gmi.tpl` files in `~/git/foo.zone-content/gemtext/`
+- All `*.gmi` files that don't have a corresponding `.gmi.tpl` file
+- Never modify `.gmi` files that have a `.gmi.tpl` counterpart (those are generated)
+
+## Instructions
+
+### 1. Read Reference Posts First
+
+Read 2-3 posts from 6+ months ago to absorb the authentic voice. Look at files dated before the current month minus 6. Examples of good reference posts:
+
+- `2021-09-12-keep-it-simple-and-stupid.gmi.tpl`
+- `2022-09-30-after-a-bad-nights-sleep.gmi.tpl`
+- `2022-12-24-ultrarelearning-java-my-takeaways.gmi.tpl`
+
+### 2. Identify LLM Patterns to Remove
+
+Rewrite text that contains these patterns:
+
+**Opening structures:**
+- "This [noun] [verb]..." → Start with action or personal observation
+- "As a [role], you..." → Use direct "You" or "I" statements
+- "In today's world..." → Cut entirely or rephrase
+
+**Corporate/marketing language:**
+- "robust", "vital", "ensuring", "leveraging", "enabling", "facilitating"
+- "comprehensive", "seamless", "powerful", "efficient"
+- Replace with simpler words or remove
+
+**Hedging language:**
+- "often", "typically", "can help", "may", "might"
+- "tends to", "generally", "usually"
+- Replace with definitive statements or personal experience
+
+**Over-explanation:**
+- Sentences explaining *why* something is useful after stating it
+- Redundant clarifications
+- Paragraphs that summarize what was just said
+- Remove these entirely
+
+**Formal transitions:**
+- "Furthermore", "Additionally", "Moreover", "In conclusion"
+- "It's worth noting that", "It's important to understand"
+- Replace with conversational transitions or just cut
+
+**Passive constructions:**
+- "This can be achieved by..." → "You can do this by..."
+- "It is recommended to..." → "I'd recommend..." or just state it directly
+
+**Third-person distance:**
+- "The author suggests..." → "Larson suggests..." or "The book says..."
+- "One should consider..." → "You might consider..." or "I'd..."
+
+### 3. Apply Human Writing Patterns
+
+**Voice:**
+- Use "I" for personal experience and opinion
+- Use "you" when addressing the reader directly
+- Use contractions: don't, it's, I'm, you'll, they're
+- State opinions directly: "I think", "Honestly", "Kind of", "Pretty much"
+
+**Sentence structure:**
+- Break long sentences into shorter ones
+- Use dashes (—) for emphasis and asides
+- Parenthetical asides for casual comments
+- Mix sentence lengths for rhythm
+
+**Tone:**
+- Conversational but not juvenile
+- Personal anecdotes and experience
+- Occasional humor where appropriate
+- Direct statements without hedging
+- "Anyway," "So," "By the way," for natural flow
+
+**Practical examples:**
+- Draw from personal experience
+- Use specific details over generalizations
+- Show, don't tell
+
+### 4. Concrete Rewrite Examples
+
+**Before (LLM):**
+> "Larson breaks down the role of a Staff Engineer into four main archetypes, which can help frame how you approach the role:"
+
+**After (Human):**
+> "Larson defines four archetypes. You'll probably recognize yourself in one (or a mix):"
+
+---
+
+**Before (LLM):**
+> "As a Staff Engineer, influence is often more important than formal authority. You'll rarely have direct control over teams or projects but will need to drive outcomes by influencing peers, other teams, and leadership. It's about understanding how to persuade, align, and mentor others to achieve technical outcomes."
+
+**After (Human):**
+> "You won't have direct authority over most people or teams you work with. Influence is the actual tool here. You have to persuade, align, sometimes just nudge people in the right direction. No one reports to you, but you still need to drive outcomes."
+
+---
+
+**Before (LLM):**
+> "Robust monitoring is vital to any infrastructure, especially one as distributed as mine. I've thought about a setup that ensures I'll always be aware of what's happening in my environment."
+
+**After (Human):**
+> "I want to know when stuff breaks (ideally before it breaks), so monitoring is a big part of the plan."
+
+---
+
+**Before (LLM):**
+> "The Beelink S12 Pro with Intel N100 CPUs checks all the boxes for a k3s project: Compact, efficient, expandable, and affordable. Its compatibility with both Linux and FreeBSD makes it versatile for other use cases, whether as part of your cluster or as a standalone system."
+
+**After (Human):**
+> "Honestly, the Beelink S12 Pro with the N100 is kind of perfect for this — tiny, cheap, sips power, and runs both Linux and FreeBSD without drama. I'm pretty happy with it."
+
+### 5. Preserve What Works
+
+Do NOT change:
+- Technical accuracy
+- Code blocks and commands
+- Links and URLs
+- ASCII art
+- The core information being conveyed
+- Personal anecdotes that already sound human
+- Direct quotes from sources (only rewrite your own commentary)
+
+### 6. Process Each File
+
+1. Read the target `.gmi.tpl` or standalone `.gmi` file
+2. Identify sections that sound LLM-generated
+3. Rewrite using human patterns
+4. Preserve all technical content, links, code blocks
+5. Show a diff before writing
+6. Write the updated file
+
+### 7. Related Skills
+
+When using `compose-blog-post` or `update-blog-post`, apply this writing style proactively to ensure new content sounds human from the start. Reference this skill when writing or editing any blog content.
diff --git a/prompts/skills/compose-blog-post/SKILL.md b/prompts/skills/compose-blog-post/SKILL.md
index be135a3..2aa639c 100644
--- a/prompts/skills/compose-blog-post/SKILL.md
+++ b/prompts/skills/compose-blog-post/SKILL.md
@@ -60,3 +60,5 @@ Compose a blog post in gemtext for the foo.zone gemfeed. **Only write or modify
    `=> ./YYYY-MM-DD-slug.gmi YYYY-MM-DD - Post title`
 
 10. **Preview and confirm.** Show a short preview (e.g. title, TOC, and first section) before writing the file. After saving, confirm that only `.gmi.tpl` files were created or modified (post template and index template) and that no `.gmi` files were changed.
+
+11. **Apply human writing style.** Use the `blog-writing-style` skill to ensure the content sounds authentically human — casual, personal, without corporate/marketing language or LLM-generated patterns.
diff --git a/prompts/skills/update-blog-post/SKILL.md b/prompts/skills/update-blog-post/SKILL.md
index b8be62c..97084f9 100644
--- a/prompts/skills/update-blog-post/SKILL.md
+++ b/prompts/skills/update-blog-post/SKILL.md
@@ -26,3 +26,5 @@ Update an existing blog post in ~/git/foo.zone-content/gemtext/gemfeed/ in the g
    ```
 9. Once published, verify that the changes appear on https://foo.zone by fetching the post URL.
 10. If the content matches, it means that the ./gemtexter --publish command didnt work correctly and investigate it for any errors in the output.
+
+11. **Apply human writing style.** Use the `blog-writing-style` skill to ensure any new or modified content sounds authentically human — casual, personal, without corporate/marketing language or LLM-generated patterns.