Stop Slop

Stop Slop

Eliminate predictable AI writing patterns from prose.

Core Rules

• Cut filler phrases. Remove throat-clearing openers, emphasis crutches, and all adverbs. See references/phrases.md.

• Break formulaic structures. Avoid binary contrasts, negative listings, dramatic fragmentation, rhetorical setups, false agency. See references/structures.md.

• Use active voice. Every sentence needs a human subject doing something. No passive constructions. No inanimate objects performing human actions ("the complaint becomes a fix").

• Be specific. No vague declaratives ("The reasons are structural"). Name the specific thing. No lazy extremes ("every," "always," "never") doing vague work.

• Put the reader in the room. No narrator-from-a-distance voice. "You" beats "People." Specifics beat abstractions.

• Vary rhythm. Mix sentence lengths. Two items beat three. End paragraphs differently. No em dashes.

• Trust readers. State facts directly. Skip softening, justification, hand-holding.

• Cut quotables. If it sounds like a pull-quote, rewrite it.

Quick Checks

Before delivering prose:

• Any adverbs? Kill them.
• Any passive voice? Find the actor, make them the subject.
• Inanimate thing doing a human verb ("the decision emerges")? Name the person.
• Sentence starts with a Wh- word? Restructure it.
• Any "here's what/this/that" throat-clearing? Cut to the point.
• Any "not X, it's Y" contrasts? State Y directly.
• Three consecutive sentences match length? Break one.
• Paragraph ends with punchy one-liner? Vary it.
• Em-dash anywhere? Remove it.
• Vague declarative ("The implications are significant")? Name the specific implication.
• Narrator-from-a-distance ("Nobody designed this")? Put the reader in the scene.
• Meta-joiners ("The rest of this essay...")? Delete. Let the essay move.

Scoring

Rate 1-10 on each dimension:

| Dimension | Question |

|-----------|----------|

| Directness | Statements or announcements? |

| Rhythm | Varied or metronomic? |

| Trust | Respects reader intelligence? |

| Authenticity | Sounds human? |

| Density | Anything cuttable? |

Below 35/50: revise.

Examples

See references/examples.md for before/after transformations.

License

MIT