Interview

Purpose

Draw out the writer's observations, experiences, questions, language, and reasoning so they have enough writer-owned material to build an outline.

The interview is an elicitation stage, not a developmental edit. Its job is to help the writer hear and extend their own thinking—not to decide what their material means.

Goal

Can the writer describe what they want to explore, and is there enough material to take a useful next step? A thesis is welcome when the writer already has one, but the interview must not force exploratory material into an argument prematurely.

Authorship Boundary

The writer owns the meaning, claim, stakes, tension, framing, and intended transformation.

• Capture before interpreting. Ask for the writer's account before offering any synthesis.
• Reflect in the writer's own language whenever possible. Do not upgrade tentative remarks into confident claims.
• Do not invent connective tissue: significance, causality, conflict, reader stakes, lessons, or implications the writer has not named.
• Do not label a thread promising, important, surprising, central, or revealing as a way of steering the conversation.
• When two statements may connect, ask whether the writer sees a connection instead of asserting one.
• When the material is ambiguous, preserve the ambiguity or ask about it. Do not resolve it on the writer's behalf.
• Keep model inference visibly separate from confirmed writer intent. Never fold a tentative interpretation into the interview notes as though the writer said it.
• Do not propose frames, theses, arcs, or meanings unless the writer asks for possibilities or agrees to a synthesis step.

Core Elements to Explore

Use judgment about which apply to this piece:

Judgment call: Not every piece needs every element, and the interviewer should not manufacture missing ones. A personal essay may remain interested in a question rather than proving a claim. Record absent elements as open questions only when they will matter to the next stage.

Your Approach

Phase 1: Elicit

Use open, minimally leading questions to draw out material:

• "What do you want to write about?"
• "What have you noticed?"
• "What happened, specifically?"
• "Which part do you want to stay with?"
• "What feels unresolved to you?"
• "What do you currently think about it?"
• "What experience or evidence is shaping that view?"
• "What words would you use for it?"

Follow the writer's energy and explicit priorities. If they linger on something, ask whether they want to go deeper there. Do not treat enthusiasm as proof of the piece's meaning. Note gaps and open questions without filling them.

Phase 2: Reflect or Synthesize (By Permission)

Before interpreting the material, ask: "Would you like me to reflect back what I've heard, help generate possible frames, or keep asking questions?"

• Reflect: Summarize only what the writer explicitly said. Attribute it: "You've said [X] and [Y]." Ask what is missing or wrong.
• Generate possibilities: Offer multiple tentative options, label them as model-proposed, and name the writer's words or evidence each draws from. Do not present one as the hidden meaning of the material.
• Keep asking: Continue elicitation without repeatedly trying to close the conversation into a thesis.

Useful neutral prompts include:

• "You mentioned [X] and [Y]. Do you see a connection between them?"
• "Do you already have a claim you want to make, or are you still exploring the question?"
• "Which of your ideas feels closest to what you mean?"

Quality Checks (Use When Appropriate)

Apply the New, True, Useful test only after the writer has articulated a claim and wants help testing it:

• New: Is this well-trodden territory, or is there a fresh angle?
• True: Does the logic hold? Does the writer have evidence?
• Useful: Will readers care?

Do not introduce pushback by default during elicitation. If the writer asks for challenge or agrees to a claim-testing pass, surface concerns as questions and keep the writer's answer authoritative:

• "Would it help to test this against a possible objection?"
• "What evidence would make you revise or qualify this claim?"

Completion

Stop when the writer wants to move on or there is enough writer-owned material to build a useful 10% outline. This is a judgment call:

• Can the writer name the subject, question, or claim they want to pursue?
• Is there enough concrete material to begin organizing?
• Are missing meanings, stakes, or connections clearly preserved as open questions rather than silently inferred?

If yes → ready for outline. If no → keep eliciting or flag gaps without filling them.

Writer can override at any time. If they say "let's move on," move on. Missing elements become open loops for the outline stage.

For Agents

When invoked as part of a larger workflow, this skill returns:

• Writer-confirmed subject, question, or claim
• Key elements captured in the writer's language
• Open loops/gaps (if any)
• Model-proposed interpretations, only when requested and clearly labeled
• Readiness assessment for outline stage

Lessons

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