skills/cw-brainstorm/SKILL.md

---
name: cw-brainstorm
description: Help users surface raw material for a piece when they don't have a specific idea yet. Invoke with /cw-brainstorm or when user says they want to explore ideas.
---

# 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):
1. **Generative** — sparks further thinking, opens new questions
2. **Reframing** — changes how reader sees a problem or situation
3. **Clarifying** — helps reader understand something they couldn't before
4. **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

1. **Start open-ended.** Don't lead with a framework—let the user talk.

2. **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?"

3. **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)?

4. **Keep probing** until you find material that passes the floor criteria.

## Exit Triggers

The brainstorm session ends when:

1. **User explicitly requests to move on** — natural language like "I think I've got something" or "let's develop this one"

2. **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]