skills/cw-hook/SKILL.md

---
name: cw-hook
description: Generate 3 hook options tailored to your content. Invoke with /cw-hook or /cw-hook [topic/context].
---

# Hook

## Purpose

Generate 3 hook options from the Hook Arsenal, tailored to the content at hand.

Read `../../references/context-contract.md` and resolve available audience context, including optional `AUDIENCE.md` or a named shared guide. The explicit assignment audience takes precedence; missing audience context does not block the task.

## Invocation

- `/cw-hook [context]` — Generate hooks for the specified topic/piece
- `/cw-hook` — System asks "What's the piece about?" then generates options

## The Hook Arsenal

| Hook Type | What It Does | Use When |
|-----------|--------------|----------|
| **The Already-Happened** | Past-tense revelation of surprising outcome | The result proves your point |
| **The Paradigm Flip** | Challenges assumed truth | Presenting contrarian takes |
| **The Visceral Moment** | Sensory detail + emotion | Personal discovery pieces |
| **The Time Stamp** | Specific date/time that changed everything | Career pivots, revelations |
| **The Failed Expert** | Smart person + spectacular failure | Teaching through mistakes |
| **The Future Glimpse** | Present tense description of coming reality | Trend pieces, predictions |
| **The Contradiction** | Two true things that shouldn't both be true | Complex, nuanced topics |
| **The Vulnerability Drop** | Admission of struggle/weakness | Building trust and connection |
| **The Stats Shock** | Number that reframes everything | Data-driven arguments |
| **The Definitional Challenge** | Redefining familiar concept | Thought leadership pieces |

## How to Generate

1. **Analyze the content** — What's the piece about? What's the core tension or insight?

2. **Select 3 hook types** that fit the content best. Consider:
   - What material does the writer have? (personal story? data? contrarian take?)
   - What's the emotional register of the piece?
   - What will resonate with the target audience?

3. **Generate one hook per type** — Each should be 1-3 sentences that could open the piece.

4. **Present all three** with the hook type labeled.

## Output Format

```
## Hook Options

### Option 1: The [Hook Type]
[1-3 sentence hook]

### Option 2: The [Hook Type]
[1-3 sentence hook]

### Option 3: The [Hook Type]
[1-3 sentence hook]

---

Which resonates? Or want me to try a different approach?
```

## Principles

- **Concrete over abstract** — Start with a specific moment, fact, or detail
- **Tension is magnetic** — Create a question or contradiction
- **Earn the right to their time** — The hook must justify why they should keep reading
- **No throat-clearing** — Get to the interesting part immediately

## Lessons

[Skill-specific lessons will be added here as they're captured]