# 30 Days of Agentic Programming - Style Guide

## Voice & Tone

### First-Person, Experience-Based

- Use "I" and share personal experiences
- Lead with real moments: "My first 'a-ha' moment was..."
- Ground advice in actual usage: "I've been building...", "I used it to..."
- Show evolution: "More recently, I..."

### Direct and Conversational

- Write like you're explaining to a colleague over coffee
- No corporate speak or academic distance
- Use contractions: "It's", "don't", "you'll"
- Address the reader directly: "You can start...", "You'll build intuition..."

### Confident but Not Preachy

- State opinions clearly: "In my opinion it should be the default"
- Back them with experience: "I find that once you..."
- Acknowledge alternatives exist without dwelling on them
- Focus on what works, not exhaustive coverage

## Structure Patterns

### Article Formula

1. **Hook** - Direct statement of the key insight
2. **Quick Context** - Why this matters (1-2 paragraphs max)
3. **Core Content** - Examples and explanation
4. **Conclusion/TL;DR** - Actionable takeaway

### Opening Patterns

- Start with the tool/technique immediately
- No long preambles or justifications
- Get to the value prop within 2 sentences

Examples:

- "Claude has a verbose mode. It's not emphasized and it's off by default."
- "The best way to build confidence with agentic programming is to start where the stakes are zero"

### Section Headers

- Clear and descriptive: "Why Investigation Works", "Token Count"
- No clever wordplay or puns
- Headers should stand alone as an outline

## Content Approach

### Example-Driven

- Real code snippets and actual output
- Specific scenarios over abstract principles
- Show the actual commands: `claude --verbose`
- Include real error messages and logs

### Practical Focus

- Every piece should enable immediate action
- Include specific commands to run
- Show before/after comparisons
- End with what to do next

### Progressive Disclosure

- Start with the simplest useful thing
- Build complexity only when needed
- Don't front-load all edge cases
- Save advanced topics for later articles

## Language Patterns

### Short Paragraphs

- 2-3 sentences per paragraph typical
- Single-sentence paragraphs for emphasis
- Break up walls of text aggressively

### Active Voice

- "Claude excels at pattern matching"
- Not: "Pattern matching is excelled at by Claude"

### Specificity

- "40128 tokens" not "a lot of tokens"
- "Four years ago" not "a while back"
- "Copy and paste CI failures" not "use it for debugging"

## What to Avoid

### Don't Do

- Academic citations or footnotes
- Exhaustive feature lists
- Defensive hedging ("might", "perhaps", "in some cases")
- Meta-discussion about the series itself (save for intro)
- Long philosophical tangents

### Don't Use These Phrases

- "It should be noted that..."
- "As we'll see..."
- "Interestingly enough..."
- "In this article, we will..."

## Technical Elements

### Code Blocks

- Use appropriate syntax highlighting
- Keep examples short and focused
- Include actual output when relevant
- Show real file paths when helpful

### Inline Code

- Use backticks for commands: `claude --verbose`
- For file names: `.zshrc`
- For specific values: "~25K tokens"

### Lists

- Bullet points for parallel items
- Numbered only when order matters
- Keep items short and scannable

## Conclusion Patterns

### TL;DR Style

- One paragraph max
- Ultra-practical summary
- Often starts with "Just..."
- Includes the immediate next action

Examples:

- "Just turn it on. You'll build intuition about what Claude is doing more quickly."
- "Start here: immediate value, zero risk, builds confidence for more ambitious work later."

### Personal Touch

- Share your own setup: "I have `alias claude='claude --verbose'` in my `.zshrc`"
- Endorse strongly when earned: "Highly recommended"
- But don't oversell - let results speak

## Title Patterns

- "Day [Number]: [Imperative Action/Concept]"
- Clear value proposition in the title
- No questions or clickbait
- Examples:
  - "Always Run Claude in Verbose Mode"
  - "Start with Claude as Investigator"

## Overall Philosophy

Write articles that you'd want to read during a busy day. Get to the point, show real examples, and give readers something they can use immediately. Trust that readers are smart and don't need hand-holding. Focus on insights from actual usage rather than theoretical possibilities.

The goal: After reading for 2-3 minutes, the reader should be able to do something new and useful with their agentic tools.
