Build a script to format blog post drafts

Here’s a simple Python script that formats raw blog post drafts by applying basic structural formatting like title capitalization, paragraph separation, and optional keyword highlighting. This can be useful for standardizing content before final editing or publishing.

python
CopyEdit
import re

def format_blog_post(draft, title=None, highlight_keywords=None):
    # Clean up leading/trailing spaces and normalize newlines
    cleaned = draft.strip()
    cleaned = re.sub(r'rn|r', 'n', cleaned)

    # Capitalize first letter of each paragraph
    paragraphs = cleaned.split('nn')
    formatted_paragraphs = []
    for para in paragraphs:
        para = para.strip()
        if para:
            para = para[0].upper() + para[1:]
            formatted_paragraphs.append(para)

    # Join paragraphs with double newlines
    formatted_body = 'nn'.join(formatted_paragraphs)

    # Highlight keywords if provided
    if highlight_keywords:
        for kw in highlight_keywords:
            # Highlight keyword by surrounding it with **
            formatted_body = re.sub(rf'b({re.escape(kw)})b', r'**1**', formatted_body, flags=re.IGNORECASE)

    # Format title if provided
    if title:
        formatted_title = title.strip().title()
        output = f"# {formatted_title}nn{formatted_body}"
    else:
        output = formatted_body

    return output


# Example usage:
if __name__ == "__main__":
    raw_draft = """
this is the first paragraph of the blog post. it introduces the main topic.

this is the second paragraph. it contains more information and transitions the reader to the next point.

here we conclude the post with a summary and maybe a call to action.
"""
    keywords = ["blog", "information", "summary"]
    formatted = format_blog_post(raw_draft, title="how to format blog post drafts", highlight_keywords=keywords)
    print(formatted)

Features:

• Cleans up line breaks and whitespace.

• Capitalizes the start of each paragraph.

• Highlights specific keywords (optional).

• Adds a formatted title with Markdown styling.

Would you like this to include SEO metadata or integration with a CMS?