Note Taking

Maintain posts/{post}/discussion.md — an audit trail of decisions, Claude's contributions, and outcomes. Two audiences: Claude (quick context to avoid repetition across sessions) and the user (trace why any decision was made).

Note: The SessionEnd hook at .claude/hooks/session-wrap.sh auto-appends a session entry and commits when a session closes with uncommitted posts/ changes. Invoke this skill explicitly when a major decision is made mid-session and you want it captured in the AUDIT TRAIL (not just the session log) — or when the user asks.

Core principle

Attribute clearly: what Claude did → what user decided → why → what happened. A session entry without attribution is narrative filler.

File structure

markdown

# Discussion Notes: [Project Name]

## AUDIT TRAIL: Key Decision Points
[Decisions with attribution — added as they happen]

## WHAT CLAUDE DID (Contributions)
### Research / Writing / Quality Control / Technical
[Bullet lists, updated on milestones]

## WHAT WORKED / DIDN'T WORK
### Worked Well ✅
| What Claude Did | User Decision | Outcome |
### Didn't Work ❌
| What Claude Did | Problem | Lesson |

## SESSIONS (Chronological Detail)
[Session-by-session entries — appended; oldest stays at top]

Before writing

Read the existing discussion.md first. Extract decisions already made (don't re-debate), coverage (don't repeat), and failures (don't retry).

Session entry template

Append at the bottom of the SESSIONS section:

markdown

## Session N: [Short Title] (YYYY-MM-DD)

### Context
[Why this session happened — 1–2 sentences]

### What Claude Did
- Research: [what]
- Analysis: [what]
- Writing: [what drafted/revised]
- Tools: [scripts/automation]

### User Decisions
- [What was decided and why]

### Outcomes
- ✅ Worked: [successes]
- ❌ Didn't: [failures]
- Files modified: [list]

### Next Steps
[What comes next]

Keep under ~40 lines. Terse beats thorough — the audit trail is the load-bearing record.

Decision entry template

Use for significant decisions only (framing, scope, major revisions). Add to the AUDIT TRAIL section at the top:

markdown

### Decision: [Title] (YYYY-MM-DD, Session N)

**Claude's Analysis:**
- [Research/analysis performed; options presented]

**Claude's Recommendation:**
[What Claude suggested and why]

**User Decision:**
[What the user actually decided — may differ from recommendation]

**Rationale:**
[Why the user made this choice]

**Outcome:**
✅/❌ [What happened as a result]

If Claude had no recommendation (presented options equally), state that explicitly. Do not invent one.

When to invoke this skill explicitly

The SessionEnd hook handles routine session logging. Use /note-taking for:

•Major decisions that need to land in AUDIT TRAIL (not just SESSIONS)
•Series milestones (a part published, direction pivot)
•When discussion.md doesn't exist yet and you're creating it from scratch
•When the user asks

Don't use this skill to re-record what the hook already committed. Check git log -- posts/{post}/discussion.md first.

For series work

Add these sections when working on Part N of a series:

markdown

## WHAT'S BEEN COVERED
### Part 1 established: [bullets]
### Part 2 established: [bullets]

## SERIES STATE
- Part 1: PUBLISHED (date)
- Part 2: DRAFT
- Part 3: KIV

## SERIES LESSONS
- ✅ [What worked across parts]
- ❌ [What to avoid repeating]

Good vs. bad

Good: "Decision: use '150+ hours' (Session 2). Claude found 79 commits across 36 days → revised from 600 to 150. User approved. Outcome: ✅ more credible."

Bad: "We decided to use 150 hours instead of 600." (Missing: what Claude did, why, what happened.)