ABOUTME: Write blog posts from Second Brain, IDEAS.md, or free prompts with vault-backed research

ABOUTME: Discovers topics, drafts in Max's style, humanizes AI patterns, generates cover image

Blog Writer

Write blog posts for Max's Hugo blog (PaperMod theme). Four entry points: discover topics, expand a vault note, develop an IDEAS.md idea, or write from a free prompt.

Obsidian CLI: See ../OBSIDIAN.md | Second Brain: See ../SECOND_BRAIN.md

Quality Notes

• Take your time with each step. A blog post is public, permanent content.
• Quality over speed. Better to write 2500 sharp words than 4000 padded ones.
• Do not skip the humanizer pass. Max's voice is direct, opinionated, evidence-backed.
• Do not skip outline approval. The structure determines the post's quality.

Blog Structure

/Users/maroffo/Development/private/blog/
├── content/posts/YYYY-MM-DD-slug-title.md   ← posts go here
├── static/images/                            ← cover images
├── IDEAS.md                                  ← structured idea backlog
└── hugo.toml                                 ← site config

Vault Folder

Blog artifacts live in maroffo-blog/ in the Obsidian vault (NOT Mauro-Blog/, that's a different person's blog).

maroffo-blog/
├── Blog Discovery - YYYY-MM.md   ← topic discovery results, updated incrementally
└── (future: drafts, outlines)

Discovery note: always read maroffo-blog/Blog Discovery - <latest>.md before scanning the full vault. If it exists and is <30 days old, only scan Timeline entries after the last scan date.

Front Matter and Tags

Hugo front matter template and the Second Brain -> Blog tag mapping live in references/front-matter.md. Apply them when writing the draft.

Entry Points

Mode 1: Discover (no input)

Triggered when the user invokes without a specific topic ("what should I write about?", "blog ideas"). Scan the vault for signals (cached discovery note first, then full scan), cross-check IDEAS.md and published posts, then present 3-5 ranked ideas via AskUserQuestion. Full step-by-step procedure in references/discovery.md.

Mode 2: From Vault Note

User provides a specific vault note path or topic.

obsidian read path="Second Brain/Second Brain - <Topic>.md"

Extract the relevant section, identify what's worth expanding into a post.

Mode 3: From IDEAS.md

User references an idea by number or title. Read IDEAS.md, extract the structured idea (proposed angle, gap, unique value).

Mode 4: Free Prompt

User describes the topic. Search vault for related content:

obsidian search query="<keywords>" path="Second Brain"
obsidian search query="<keywords>" path="Projects"

Writing Workflow (all modes converge here)

Step 1: Gather Context

Based on the chosen topic:

1. Read relevant Second Brain notes
2. Read project logs/solutions if applicable (obsidian search query="..." path="Projects")
3. Read related published posts (for series linking)
4. If external research needed, use WebSearch / WebFetch for data, studies, citations

Step 2: Outline (requires approval)

Present the outline to Max:

## Proposed Outline

**Title**: "..."
**Angle**: [what makes this post different from existing content]
**Target length**: ~XXXX words
**Language**: English (or Italian if requested)
**Tags**: [proposed tags]

### Sections
1. [Hook/opener] - personal anecdote or observation
2. [Problem statement] - why this matters
3. [Section N] - ...
4. [Practical examples] - code, metrics, real data
5. [Reflection] - what was learned, what's next
6. Methodology note + acknowledgments

**Series context**: [links to previous posts if part of a thread]

Wait for approval. Do NOT proceed without it.

Step 3: Write Draft

Write the full post applying Max's style (see references/style-guide.md). Save to:

/Users/maroffo/Development/private/blog/content/posts/YYYY-MM-DD-<slug>.md

Use today's date. Slug: lowercase, hyphens, descriptive (match existing convention).

Step 4: Second Opinion (mandatory)

Run /second-opinion on the draft. Ask Gemini to review for:

• Factual accuracy of cited studies
• Argument coherence and logical gaps
• Tone consistency (personal narrative vs literature review)
• Differentiation from previous posts
• Missing angles and counterarguments
• AI writing artifacts that survived the humanizer

Apply Gemini's feedback before proceeding.

Step 5: Humanize

Run the humanizer skill on the draft (see ../humanizer/SKILL.md), re-running after second-opinion edits. Keep Max's voice: direct, opinionated, self-ironic, evidence-backed. Read the draft back, fix issues in-place with Edit.

Step 6: Cover Image

Generate the cover via the cover-image skill (see ../cover-image/SKILL.md); output to /Users/maroffo/Development/private/blog/static/images/cover-<slug>.png.

Step 7: Report

Post written:
  File: content/posts/YYYY-MM-DD-<slug>.md
  Title: "..."
  Words: ~XXXX
  Tags: [...]
  Cover: static/images/cover-<slug>.png
  Status: draft: true
  Series: [links to related posts, if any]

Style Guide and Common Issues

Max's voice (structure, tone, endings, anti-patterns, length, language) and the troubleshooting table live in references/style-guide.md. Read it during Step 3 (Write Draft) and when debugging output.