| name | workflow-guide |
| description | Use when user asks about the novel writing process, workflow steps, or how to get started — provides the eight-step methodology for systematic novel creation |
Novel Writing Workflow Guide
This skill provides the eight-step systematic workflow for novel creation. It ensures you follow a proven methodology from initial concept to completed manuscript.
The Eight-Step Methodology
| Step | Name | Purpose | Output |
|---|
| 1 | Constitution | Establish creative principles | memory/constitution.md |
| 2 | Specify | Define lean story specification and knowledge map | stories/[name]/specification.md or specification/ split mode |
| 3 | Clarify | Resolve ambiguities | Updated specification |
| 4 | Plan | Create creative plan | stories/[name]/creative-plan.md or creative-plan/ split mode |
| 5 | Tasks | Break down into tasks | stories/[name]/tasks.md or tasks/ split mode |
| 6 | Write | AI-assisted chapter writing | stories/[name]/content/chapter-XX.md |
| 7 | Edit | One-chapter correction pass with approve/skip tracking | Updated chapter |
| 8 | Review | Broad QA for continuity, tracking, and final readiness | Review report |
When to Use Each Step
Starting a New Novel
Begin at Step 1 (Constitution) and proceed sequentially. Do not skip steps — each builds on the previous.
Resuming an Existing Project
Check which files already exist:
memory/constitution.md exists -> Step 1 completestories/[name]/specification.md or stories/[name]/specification/ exists -> Step 2 completestories/[name]/creative-plan.md or stories/[name]/creative-plan/ exists -> Step 4 completestories/[name]/tasks.md or stories/[name]/tasks/ exists -> Step 5 completestories/[name]/content/ has chapters -> Step 6 in progress- chapters need revision -> Step 7 (
/editor)
- chapters are edited or ready for broad QA -> Step 8 (
/reviewer)
Resume from the first incomplete step.
Writing Additional Chapters
If the project is set up and you're writing more chapters, go to Step 6 (/writer). After a chapter is drafted, use Step 7 (/editor) for chapter-level fixes, then Step 8 (/reviewer) for broad QA and approval.
Key Principles
- Never skip the Constitution — it prevents creative drift over long projects
- Lean specifications prevent scope creep — keep core purpose in the spec and detailed canon in
knowledge/
- Avoid god files — when
specification.md, creative-plan.md, or tasks.md grows past about 500 lines, use a folder with _main.md plus focused shards
- The pre-write checklist is mandatory — it solves AI context degradation after 30+ chapters
- Editor handles chapter fixes — use
/editor for one chapter, line-specific suggestions, and approved edits
- Reviewer handles broad QA — run
/reviewer for project health, cross-chapter continuity, tracking accuracy, and final readiness
- Track everything — use the tracking templates to maintain state across sessions
Related Skills
pre-write-checklist — Mandatory context reload before each chaptersetting-detector — Auto-detects genre and loads relevant knowledgeconsistency-checker — Catches contradictions across chaptersforgotten-elements — Finds dropped plot threads and abandoned character arcs
