skills/write-like-me/references/question-bank.md

# Warm Question Bank

Use this only when the user has no writing samples. Choose 2 to 3 prompts with variety. Do not ask all of them and do not always select the first prompts.

## Easy prompts

- What is something you wish more people understood?
- What is one thing you have changed your mind about?
- What is something people make more complicated than it needs to be?
- What is one piece of advice you keep giving people?
- What is something you learned recently that stayed with you?
- What is a mistake people often make in your work or daily life?
- What is something you care about that other people sometimes miss?
- What is one tool, habit, or idea you think is overrated?
- What is one tool, habit, or idea you think is underrated?
- What is a small moment that taught you something?
- What would you explain honestly to a friend who asked for your view?
- What is one opinion you have that is not dramatic, but is real?

## Selection rules

- Choose one opinion or judgement prompt.
- Choose one explanation, learning, or small-example prompt.
- Add a third prompt only when more evidence will help and the user seems comfortable.
- For nervous users, prefer `What is something you wish more people understood?` and `What is one piece of advice you keep giving people?`
- For professional use, choose a work-adjacent prompt without using jargon.
- For public or social writing, include one real opinion prompt.
- Avoid prompts that sound like AI evaluation tasks, such as `Write advice to someone smart but busy`.

## Dictation wording

> You do not need to write beautifully. You can type your answers or speak them into the mic. I am looking for your natural rhythm, not a polished essay.

The transcript can reveal wording and movement. Do not treat auto-generated punctuation or pauses as reliable author habits.

## Sparse-answer follow-up

Ask at most once:

> Could you add a little more in the way you would naturally explain it to a friend?

If the user does not want to add more, continue with a Starter file and keep weak signals tentative.