amzn1.ask.skill.b217a76e-c9e7-4872-b048-4e5d5c41ae84
Inspiration
When I was eleven or twelve years old, I used to keep a diary. When I jotted down the thoughts of a day, it felt like talking with a friend. Later when I grew up, I realised that writing a diary is a good way for tweenagers to explore themselves and the world. It is both creative and therapeutic. However, it's not always easy to know what to write. Sometimes a temporary writer's block could discourage a kid to keep writing regularly. This skill is designed to give kids prompts for the writing, develop a writing habit, and promote positive thoughts by suggesting inspiring topics. It also encourages tweenagers to think critically about the environment, social issues and life, to develop skills for positive engagement in society.
What it does
Simply say something like "ask my diary what to write", Alexa will prompt you with an idea. If you don't like the suggestion, say "another one" then Alexa will give you another one. Make sure you write some thoughts down!
How I built it
This is my first Alexa skill. I started with the HelloWorld example and used the "ask" CLI tool to deploy the skill. For the "idea library", I used DynamoDB. I am amazed how easy it is to create an Alexa skill and integrate it with AWS.
Challenges I ran into
As this is the first time I've published an Alexa skill, I am not familiar with the certification guidelines.
Accomplishments that I'm proud of
I am quite satisfied with the end result, although it is a really simple design! I found it useful myself -- perhaps I don't keep a diary anymore, but when I get home and talk to my Alexa, I use the skill to reflect on my day, not bad! Also, the serverless architecture means it is easy and cost-effective to maintain the skill.
What I learned
- The intent driven model is easy, intuitive and powerful
- The "ask" CLI is the best developer toolkit I've ever used -- it just works
- There are some advanced Alexa skill techniques, e.g. state-based intent
What's next for What to write in my diary
To be able to give prompts based on users' response -- e.g. if the user says "I feel a bit down", Alexa will prompt with something cheerful; and if the user says "I watched a good film", Alexa will prompt something about films.
Log in or sign up for Devpost to join the conversation.