guide-writing

Documents

Use when writing or editing guide docs — files under guide/src/

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Source SKILL.md: https://github.com/ubolonton/emacs-module-rs/blob/HEAD/.claude/skills/guide-writing/SKILL.md

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Guide Writing

Overview

This skill captures the writing style of the guide/ mdbook. Apply it when creating or modifying any file under guide/src/.

Voice & Tone

Active voice throughout; imperative for setup steps ("Create a file", "Modify Cargo.toml")
No hedging: "must" not "should ideally", "returns" not "will typically return"
Semi-formal: engineer-to-engineer, no marketing fluff, no filler transitions

Sentence & Section Length

Sentences: 10–25 words; split complex ideas rather than stacking clauses
Sections: 10–40 lines; one focused idea per section

Teaching Approach

Code first, explanation after. Show a working example, then extract the key point.

// Show this first, then explain what's happening
#[defun]
fn inc(x: i64) -> Result<i64> {
    Ok(x + 1)
}

Progressive complexity: simple case first, advanced options after
Explain trade-offs explicitly when presenting multiple options — don't just list them
Call out failure modes and edge cases directly; don't gloss over them

Structure

Content type	Format
Reasoning / rationale	Prose
Options / parameters	Bullet list (one line each; prose for elaboration)
Setup sequences	Numbered steps or sequential bash blocks
Complete patterns	Fenced code block
Identifiers in prose	Backtick inline code

Audience Assumptions

Readers know Rust or Emacs well — no hand-holding for either domain's fundamentals
C FFI concepts (raw pointers, extern, cdylib) are understood
Don't explain what &mut, Box, or Result mean

Code Examples

Substantial enough to copy-paste and run
Include both Rust and Elisp when showing a Lisp-facing API
Use real scenarios (e.g. wrapping a hash map, a git repo) not toy abstractions
One good example beats several mediocre ones

Terminology

Precise and consistent: pick one term and use it throughout (e.g. always "type conversion", never "type casting")
Domain terms — defun, user-ptr, GIL, signal, throw — used without apology or inline definition

Common Mistakes

Passive voice: "The type can be embedded" → "You can embed the type"
Over-hedging: "Note that you may want to consider using..." → "Use X when Y"
Listing options without trade-offs: always say when to prefer each
Leaking project internals: CI matrices, supported OS counts, test version lists — omit unless directly relevant to the reader's setup