dictation-cleanup - SKILL.md Agent Skill

name: dictation-cleanup description: Transform raw speech-to-text dictation into polished prose while preserving the author's natural voice author: Writing Secrets version: 1.0.0 triggers: - "dictation" - "clean up dictation" - "speech to text" - "transcription cleanup" - "dictated text" - "voice draft" - "raw transcript" - "fix dictation" permissions: - file:read - file:write

Dictation Cleanup — Premium Skill

Transform messy speech-to-text output into polished, publish-ready prose. Built for authors who dictate their drafts — because dictation is the fastest way to write, but cleaning it up shouldn't take longer than typing it would have.

The Problem

Speech-to-text gives you something like this:

so she walked into the room and um the light was kind of flickering you know
like one of those old fluorescent lights and she could smell something weird
like copper maybe or no more like rust and old pennies and she knew comma she
just knew that something was wrong period new paragraph Marcus was sitting in
the corner but he wasn't really sitting he was more like slumped and his eyes
were open but they weren't seeing anything quote hello question mark close
quote she whispered but even as she said it she knew he wasn't going to answer

What Dictation Cleanup Does

Transforms that into:

She walked into the room. The fluorescent light flickered overhead — one of
those old tubes that never quite dies — and something metallic hung in the air.
Copper. No — rust and old pennies.

She knew. She just knew something was wrong.

Marcus sat in the corner. Slumped, really, more than sitting. His eyes were
open but they weren't seeing anything.

"Hello?" she whispered.

Even as she said it, she knew he wasn't going to answer.

Cleanup Levels

Level 1: Basic (Fastest)

Fix punctuation (spoken "comma", "period", "new paragraph")
Remove filler words ("um", "uh", "like", "you know", "so")
Capitalize and format properly
Fix obvious speech-to-text errors
Separate paragraphs

Level 2: Standard (Recommended)

Everything in Level 1, plus:

Fix run-on sentences (dictation tends to create them)
Convert spoken dialogue markers to proper formatting
Remove verbal tics and repetitions
Smooth out awkward phrasing while keeping author voice
Apply Voice Profile for consistency

Level 3: Deep Polish

Everything in Level 2, plus:

Restructure rambling passages into tight prose
Strengthen verb choices (spoken drafts tend toward weak verbs)
Add sensory detail where dictation was vague
Balance sentence length variety
Scene-level pacing adjustment

Smart Features

Voice Profile Integration

Learns YOUR dictation patterns over time
Knows which "mistakes" are actually your style
Preserves your natural sentence rhythms
Adapts to your genre conventions

Dialogue Detection

Automatically identifies when you're dictating dialogue vs. narration
Formats dialogue with proper quotation marks and attribution
Handles "he said / she said" patterns naturally
Recognizes character voice shifts

Dictation Command Recognition

Understands common dictation commands:

"new paragraph" / "new line" / "break"
"open quote" / "close quote"
"comma" / "period" / "exclamation" / "question mark"
"em dash" / "ellipsis"
"scratch that" / "delete last sentence"
"all caps" / "italics" (when supported by STT)
"note to self" — strips author notes from output

Batch Processing

Clean up an entire chapter at once
Process multiple dictation sessions into a single coherent chapter
Merge dictation fragments in order
Track word count before/after (your dictation words → final prose words)

Statistics & Tracking

After each cleanup:

Dictation Cleanup Report
────────────────────────
Raw dictation:    2,847 words
After cleanup:    2,134 words (25% trimmed)
Filler removed:   187 instances
Sentences fixed:  43 run-ons split
Dialogue blocks:  12 formatted
Paragraphs:       8 raw → 23 formatted

Dictation speed:  ~2,800 words/hour (estimated)
Equivalent typing: ~1,400 words/hour
Time saved:       ~45 minutes

Workflow Integration

Works seamlessly with other AuthorClaw skills:

Ghostwriter Pro — Clean dictation → Deep Write polish
Book Bible — Auto-check character names and locations after cleanup
Voice Profile — Cleanup adapts to your established voice markers

Commands

clean dictation — Process pasted dictation text (Level 2 by default)
clean dictation [level 1/2/3] — Specify cleanup intensity
clean dictation file [path] — Process a saved dictation file
batch dictation [folder] — Clean all dictation files in a folder
dictation stats — Show your dictation patterns and cleanup history
set dictation commands — Customize which spoken commands to recognize