# Writing an Untemplated Document

Load when: no template in [`templates/`](../templates/Readme.md) matches the document being written — a design note, a comparison, an investigation writeup, an index, a reference sheet, anything the Routing table sends to "no template matches".

A template is a pre-made set of shape decisions. With no template, make the same decisions explicitly, in this order.

## 1. Decide the nature — truth or record

Every document is exactly one (`SKILL.md` § The Two Natures). Ask: *when reality changes, is this file rewritten, or is it frozen?*

- Rewritten in place → **truth document**. Topic-named (`kebab-case.md`), lives outside `docs/history/`, present tense throughout — the iron rule in `SKILL.md` § Present tense, always.
- Frozen or append-only → **record**. Date-named (`YYYY-MM-DD-slug.md`), lives in `docs/history/` — inside an existing subfolder where it fits (an investigation or research writeup → `history/research/{topic}/`); a genuinely new category of record needs a `docs/structure.md` folder-rule row in the same change, never an invented folder.

When a draft wants to be both — the current state *and* the story of getting there — split it: the state becomes a truth document, the story becomes a record that links to it. Never mix the natures in one body.

## 2. Place and name it

- `docs/structure.md` is the placement authority — match the document's topic to its folder map before inventing a location.
- **One canonical home per topic.** If a document on the topic already exists, extend it; a second document on the same topic is drift waiting to happen. Link, don't copy.
- A new topic *folder* gets a `Readme.md` landing page that introduces and indexes it.

## 3. Shape it

- **Open with the goal.** The first line under the H1 states what the document is for and who reads it — a reader (or agent) landing here cold decides in one sentence whether to keep reading.
- **Headings are retrieval keys.** Sections get pulled out of context by search and agents; qualify generic headings with the topic (`## Merge rules — data sync`, not `## Rules`) so each stands alone.
- **Tables for enumerable facts, prose for judgment.** One row per item; anything needing a *because* lives in prose around the table, never inside a cell.
- **Every section earns its place.** No empty stubs — omit what has nothing real to say; write an explicit "None" only where the absence itself is information.
- **Cite sources and link neighbours.** If the document mentions a concept another document owns, link it; if it draws on code, name the files.

## 4. Write it in the house style

`references/style-guide.md` carries the rules: present tense with no history narration, progress markers, or stale-reference tripwires (§ The Two Natures); imperative/active voice; code examples under 15 lines showing contracts, not implementations; ASCII diagrams in docs only; inline-code every identifier, filename, command, and config key.

## 5. With a human in the loop — the co-authoring workflow

**Stage 1 — context gathering.** Ask: audience? purpose? existing format to match? Have the user dump all the context they hold, then ask 5–10 clarifying questions before proposing anything.

**Stage 2 — structure & draft.** Propose the section structure from §1–3 above, then draft section by section. The user indicates changes — learn their style from their edits; don't silently rewrite them.