Home
Resources
Agent Skills
Writing voices
Ivy — the numbered bits of advice

Ivy — the numbered bits of advice

A blog-writing style skill that makes an AI agent write in the numbered-advice voice of Kevin Kelly: a short personal frame, then a numbered list of compressed, quotable lessons, each one to three sentences and able to stand alone, built from contrasts, reversals, rules of thumb and plain imperatives, mixing the practical with the reflective and explaining almost nothing. A second shape argues one big simple idea with arithmetic the reader can check, real examples and answered objections. It works on any business topic. The skill gives fingerprint tables for both shapes, a build, sentence rules, truth rules that require the lessons to be the user's own, a worked opening and a revision pass.

In the voice of Kevin Kelly

Updated 6 October 2026 · By Sadeq

When to use it

Write a blog post in Ivy's voice: the numbered bits of advice. A short personal frame — why the writer is passing this on — then a numbered list of compressed, quotable advice, each item one to three sentences, built from contrasts, reversals and plain imperatives, mixing the practical with the wise, with almost no explanation. A second shape for one big simple idea: state it plainly, prove it with simple arithmetic, give real examples, answer the objections. Use when someone asks for a post "in Ivy's style", a list of lessons, "things I wish I'd known", advice for new customers or new hires, or a post meant to be quoted and shared. Works for any business topic. Do not use it when the writer has no real experience to distil — the voice is earned by years, not borrowed.

Complete file

SKILL.md

---
name: ivy
description: >
  Write a blog post in Ivy's voice: the numbered bits of advice. A short
  personal frame — why the writer is passing this on — then a numbered
  list of compressed, quotable advice, each item one to three sentences,
  built from contrasts, reversals and plain imperatives, mixing the
  practical with the wise, with almost no explanation. A second shape for
  one big simple idea: state it plainly, prove it with simple arithmetic,
  give real examples, answer the objections. Use when someone asks for a
  post "in Ivy's style", a list of lessons, "things I wish I'd known",
  advice for new customers or new hires, or a post meant to be quoted and
  shared. Works for any business topic. Do not use it when the writer has
  no real experience to distil — the voice is earned by years, not
  borrowed.
license: MIT
metadata:
  author: daena-digital
  version: "1.0"
  collection: blog-style-voices
---

# Ivy — the numbered bits of advice

Ivy writes like an elder of the trade emptying their pockets: dozens of
small, hard-won lessons, each short enough to remember and sharp enough
to quote. No item is explained at length. The reader is trusted to sit
with it. The warmth is in the frame; the wisdom is in the compression.

Studied from Kevin Kelly's writing at kk.org, chiefly his numbered
advice lists and his "1,000 True Fans" essay. This skill reproduces his
*moves*, never his sentences, items or titles.

## When to pick Ivy over another voice

- The writer has years in the field and a stock of lessons.
- The audience wants something to save, share or pin above a desk.
- The point is many small truths, not one argument.

Pick Wren for one small idea in prose. Pick Hazel when each lesson needs
its story told. Use Ivy's second shape (one big simple idea) instead of
Ezra when the idea can be shown with simple arithmetic.

## Shape A — the numbered list

| Trait | Ivy does | Ivy never does |
|---|---|---|
| Length | 25–100 items; 800–3,000 words. The number is often meaningful (an anniversary, a year count) | Five tips padded with explanation |
| Title | Plain, with the number: *"41 things I've learned running a bakery"* | Hype ("ultimate", "secrets") |
| Frame | 1–3 short paragraphs: who the writer is, why they wrote this, who it's for | A long personal story |
| Items | 1–3 sentences each, most under 30 words. Each stands alone | Paragraph-long items, or items that need the previous one |
| Devices | Contrast (*"A customer you keep is worth more than two you win"*), reversal, a rule of thumb with a number, plain imperatives | The same device every time |
| Mix | Practical (how to price, how to answer an email) next to reflective (patience, reputation), alternating | All tactics or all philosophy |
| Explanation | Almost none. Trust the reader | Defending every item |
| Formatting | A plain numbered list. No headings, no bold inside items | Sections, emoji, images |
| Tone | Warm, wry, unpretentious, a little paternal | Preachy, guru-like, or cynical |
| Ending | The last item lands softly, then at most one line of sign-off | A pitch or "subscribe" |

## Shape B — one big simple idea

| Trait | Ivy does |
|---|---|
| Length | 1,200–2,500 words |
| Opening | The idea in one plain sentence, addressed to the reader's ambition |
| Proof | Simple arithmetic the reader can check in their head, then varied ("if you only earn half that, you need twice as many") |
| Examples | Two to four real, named, checkable cases |
| Objections | A section that takes the strongest two or three objections seriously |
| Ending | A short, encouraging, realistic close |

## How to build the post

1. **Collect the raw lessons.** Ask the user for everything they wish
   they'd known: mistakes, rules they now follow, things customers taught
   them. Aim for twice as many as you'll use.

2. **Compress each one.** Rewrite every lesson as one to three sentences.
   Cut every word that isn't needed. If it needs a story to make sense,
   it belongs in a Hazel post instead.

3. **Sharpen with a device.** Turn the flat ones into a contrast, a
   reversal, a number, or an imperative. Vary the devices across the list.

4. **Order for rhythm.** Alternate practical and reflective. Put a
   strong, short item first and a gentle, wide one last.

5. **Write the frame.** One to three short paragraphs: who's speaking,
   why now, who it's for.

6. **Cut the weakest fifth.** Remove any item that is a cliché, a
   duplicate, or true of every business.

For Shape B, state the idea, show the arithmetic with the user's real
numbers, add real examples, answer the objections, close.

## Sentence-level rules

- **Every item must be quotable alone.** No "as above", no "this".
- **Concrete nouns.** "Answer the phone on the second ring" beats "be
  responsive".
- **One device per item.** Don't stack a contrast inside a reversal.
- **Imperatives are fine, sermons are not.** Say what to do, not what
  kind of person to be.
- **Avoid famous sayings.** If it sounds like a poster, rewrite it or cut
  it.

## What Ivy never licenses

Short lines can still be false or borrowed.

- **No invented experience.** Every lesson must come from the user's own
  work, or be clearly theirs to claim. Don't invent anecdotes behind them.
- **No borrowed advice.** Do not reproduce, paraphrase closely or
  re-number items from the writer this voice was studied from, or from
  other famous lists and quotations.
- **No invented numbers** in rules of thumb or arithmetic. A number must
  be the user's real figure or clearly labelled as an example.
- **No unsafe or regulated advice** (legal, medical, tax) stated as a
  rule; point to a professional instead.

## A short illustration

Opening items of an Ivy list for a hypothetical bakery owner. The bakery
and its lessons are invented to show the shape; in a real post every
lesson must be the user's own:

> **31 things I learned in 31 years of baking for a living**
>
> I opened the shop at 24 with a borrowed oven and no idea what I was
> doing. My daughter is about to open her own, so I wrote down what I
> wish someone had told me. Some of it is about bread.
>
> 1. Sell out by two in the afternoon. A sold-out sign does more
>    advertising than a full shelf.
> 2. The customer who complains is the one who intends to come back.
> 3. Price for the morning you're tired, not the morning you're proud.
> 4. Write the recipe down the day it works. You will not remember why.
> 5. A regular is worth ten walk-ins and costs nothing to keep but their
>    name.
> 6. Never argue about a refund under three dollars.
> 7. Rest is an ingredient.

Note what it does: a three-sentence frame, items that each stand alone,
a mix of contrast, imperative, rule with a number and reversal, practical
items next to reflective ones, and no explanations.

## Revision pass

1. Is every lesson the user's own, with no borrowed or famous lines?
2. Does every item stand alone in one to three sentences?
3. Are the devices varied across the list?
4. Do practical and reflective items alternate?
5. Did you cut the weakest fifth?
6. Is the frame three paragraphs or fewer?
7. Shape B: is the arithmetic real and checkable, and are objections
   answered?

Knowledge base

What we read to learn Kevin Kelly’s voice

68 Bits of Unsolicited AdviceBirthday frame; 1–3 sentence items; imperatives, paradox and parallelism
103 Bits of Advice I Wish I Had KnownContrast and numbers as memory devices; wry, avuncular tone
99 Additional Bits of Unsolicited AdvicePractical items alternating with reflective ones
1,000 True FansOne big idea proved with simple arithmetic, real examples and objections
A Billion DollarsA thought experiment frame; bolded tips grounded in experience
88 Prompts for Long Term ThinkingCompressed antitheses; items that build cumulatively; a wide final item