UX Writing

Use this when you need to write or review microcopy for a product interface -- button labels, error messages, empty states, tooltips, confirmation dialogs, onboarding sequences, or notification text. Produces copy that follows voice guidelines and considers the user's emotional state at each touchpoint.

Related skills: Pair with /design-review for full design feedback. Use /activation-optimization for onboarding flow strategy. Reference /persona-draft for user context.

Process

Step 1: Gather inputs

Ask the user to provide:

1. What needs copy? -- specific screens, components, or flows that need interface text
2. Product context -- what the product does, who uses it, current voice/tone (if any)
3. Voice guidelines -- existing brand voice docs or tone preferences
4. User state -- what is the user feeling or trying to do when they encounter this copy?
5. Technical constraints -- character limits, variable data, text expansion budgets
6. Localization scope (optional) -- will this copy be translated? To which languages? If yes, localization notes will be included with each copy element.

Step 2: Audit existing copy (if applicable)

If the user provides current copy to improve, evaluate against these criteria:

Step 3: Write the copy

For each copy element, provide:

### {{Screen or component name}}

**Context:** (What the user is doing and feeling when they see this)
**Current copy:** (If exists -- what it says now)

#### Recommended copy

| Element | Copy | Notes | Localization notes (if applicable) |
|---------|------|-------|-------------------------------------|
| Heading | (text) | (why this wording) | (text expansion impact, cultural tone considerations) |
| Body | (text) | (why this wording) | (string concatenation risks, gender/plural form needs) |
| Primary CTA | (text) | (why this verb) | (max char budget for longest locale) |
| Secondary action | (text) | (alternative path) | (adaptation notes) |

Step 4: Write state-specific copy

For each screen or flow, write copy for all relevant states:

Step 5: Review and iterate

Present the copy and ask:

• Does this sound like your product? Does the tone feel right?
• Are there states or screens I missed?
• Any character limits I should know about?
• Does the copy work for your non-English users? (Localization considerations)

Output location

Present the copy as formatted text in the conversation. For implementation, the copy can be extracted into a copy deck spreadsheet or component-level documentation.