constitution

name	constitution
description	Use when user types /constitution or asks for this novel workflow command. Step 1: Creates or updates the novel's creative constitution using the standard template — defining core values, quality baseline, style/content principles, pacing strategy, and character depth approach.

/constitution

Treat text after /constitution as $ARGUMENTS.

User Input: $ARGUMENTS

Objective

Establish the core principles and values for your novel writing, forming a "constitution" document. These principles will guide all subsequent creative decisions.

Execution Steps

1. Check Existing Documents

Check if ./memory/constitution.md exists. If it does, read it and ask the user if they want to update it.

2. Read Template

If creating fresh: read [user_agent]/templates/memory/constitution.md to understand the document structure (Metadata, Preface, Chapter 1: Core Values, Chapter 2: Quality Standards, Chapter 3: Creative Style, Chapter 4: Content Norms, Chapter 5: Reader Contract, Chapter 6: Revision Procedures, Appendix: Version History).

3. Gather Creative Principles

Also gather (from the pacing-rhythm and character-depth skills as required):

• Pacing preference (Relentless Action / Balanced 2:1 / Literary Slow-Burn / Rollercoaster / Custom)
• Character psychology depth (Surface / Standard / Deep)

Ask structured questions to fill in the template. Save pacing preference under ## Chapter 7: Pacing Strategy and character depth under ## Chapter 8: Character Depth.

4. Output and Save

Use the template structure and populate all placeholder sections with the user's answers. Save to ./memory/constitution.md (create the ./memory/ directory if needed).

Tell the user: "Your constitution is saved. Continue to Step 2 with /specify."

Supplement Skills

These skills enhance this command's output quality. Check if they are available before proceeding:

Skill	File	Purpose
pacing-rhythm	[user_agent]/skills/writing-techniques/pacing-rhythm/SKILL.md	Ask the user about their preferred pacing archetype.
character-depth	[user_agent]/skills/writing-techniques/character-depth/SKILL.md	Ask the user about their preferred approach to character psychology.

If any skill file is not found, inform the user:

"Supplement skills are available to enhance this command. Download them from: https://github.com/JeroTan/novel-writer-english.git I'll continue without them, but output quality will be reduced."