defaults/project-template/VOICE.md

# VOICE.md

Use this file to define how the writing should sound. `VOICE.md` contains syntax, diction, and tone rules.

## What belongs here

- **Syntax:** sentence architecture, length, rhythm, cadence, punctuation, paragraph shape, lists, and transitions.
- **Diction:** word choice, register, favored or banned language, technical vocabulary, idiom, imagery, and verbal tics.
- **Tone:** the attitude and emotional register of the prose—warm, dry, direct, playful, restrained, skeptical, intimate, formal, or otherwise.

Do not put argument, evidence standards, article structure, substantive requirements, or publication-readiness criteria in this file. Those belong in `STYLE.md`.

Classification test: if a rule changes wording, sentence construction, or tone, it belongs here. If it changes the claim, support, organization, or readiness standard of the article, it belongs in `STYLE.md`. Split mixed feedback into separate rules.

Start with the sections you can answer now. Add rules only when they are specific enough to change a draft.

## Scope

- **Writer or voice:** [Name]
- **Applies to:** [Your writing generally, a publication, or a format]
- **More specific voice files:** [List any assignment-level overrides]

When a more specific voice instruction conflicts with this file, follow the more specific rule for that assignment.

## Voice at its best

Describe the voice using tensions and boundaries, not flattering adjectives alone.

- [Example shape: Direct without becoming blunt.]
- [Example shape: Intellectually ambitious without sounding academic.]
- [Example shape: Warm without performing intimacy.]

## Diction and register

### Favor

- [Kinds of words, images, verbs, or registers that belong]
- [Preferred degree of formality]
- [How technical, colloquial, emotional, or playful the language may become]

### Avoid

- [Words or phrases that feel generic, inflated, corporate, or false]
- [Registers that sound unlike the writer]
- [Common model vocabulary to cut or replace]

### Register shifts

- [When plain language should follow a technical idea]
- [When humor, slang, or specialized language is welcome]
- [Where the writing should remain restrained]

## Syntax and rhythm

- **Sentence length:** [Short, long, varied; when each is useful]
- **Paragraph shape:** [Dense, brief, single-turn, scannable, etc.]
- **Cadence:** [How sentences build, release, interrupt, or land]
- **Punctuation:** [Preferences for dashes, colons, semicolons, parentheses, fragments]
- **Lists:** [How lists should sound and when to avoid them]
- **Transitions:** [Preferred moves; stock transitions to remove]

## Signature moves

Name repeatable sentence-level moves worth preserving. Explain the job each move performs so the model does not imitate it mechanically.

| Move | What it does | When to use it | Failure mode |
|---|---|---|---|
| [Name] | [Effect on the sentence or reader] | [Useful context] | [How it becomes forced or repetitive] |

## Tics and patterns to avoid

| Pattern | Why it weakens the writing | Preferred response |
|---|---|---|
| [Pattern] | [Specific consequence] | [Cut, rewrite, qualify, or replace] |

## Positive examples

Keep full exemplars in `examples/`. Use short excerpts here only when they demonstrate one rule, and explain the principle instead of inviting imitation.

### [Rule demonstrated]

> [Short example]

**Why it works:** [What the example demonstrates about diction, syntax, rhythm, or voice]

## Negative examples

### [Failure demonstrated]

> [Short example]

**What is wrong:** [Specific diagnosis]

**Preferred move:** [How to revise without prescribing one mandatory sentence]

## Voice review questions

- Would the writer naturally choose these words?
- Does the syntax follow the writer's characteristic sentence patterns?
- Is the tone right for this writer and assignment?
- Does the rhythm sound lived-in or mechanically polished?
- Has editing removed useful texture, tension, or specificity?
- Are any banned tics or model defaults still present?
- Does an intentional exception work better than the stated rule here?

## Confirmed lessons

Add durable lessons supported by repeated use or explicit writer judgment. Do not turn one-off choices into permanent rules.

- [Date or piece]: [Confirmed lesson and why it generalizes]