| name | sensory-grounding |
| description | Load when WriterAgent is drafting or revising a scene with emotional weight or environment establishment, especially key emotional moments, first-time location reveals, or sensory-heavy passages. Skip for transitional summary, pure dialogue without staging, or rapid time-jump exposition. |
Sensory Grounding
Use this skill to make important scenes feel physically present instead of abstractly emotional.
Minimum Standard
For each important scene, include at least:
- One visual detail the viewpoint character would actually notice.
- One non-visual sensory detail: sound, touch, smell, taste, temperature, pressure, texture, or bodily sensation.
- A reason the detail matters in the moment. Sensory detail should reveal mood, pressure, danger, intimacy, status, or memory. It is not decoration.
Character Filter
The same room should feel different through different characters.
Before drafting, ask:
- What is the character trying to avoid noticing?
- What detail does their current emotion make louder?
- What detail would a calmer person ignore, but this character cannot?
Avoid
- Pure emotion labels: "he felt sad", "she was anxious".
- Abstract atmosphere without physical anchors: "tension filled the room".
- Inventory description that pauses the scene without pressure.
- Applying a sensory checklist to every paragraph.
When Not To Use
Skip for fast transitions, multi-day summaries, direct exposition, or scenes where speed matters more than embodiment.
