clarify

name	clarify
description	Use when user types /clarify or asks for this novel workflow command. Step 3: Reviews the specification, identifies up to 5 ambiguities, and asks targeted questions to resolve them.

/clarify

Treat text after /clarify as $ARGUMENTS.

User Input: $ARGUMENTS

Objective

Eliminate vagueness from the story specification by identifying and resolving ambiguities.

Execution Steps

1. Read Context

1. Read ./memory/constitution.md and ./stories/[novel-name]/specification.md.
2. Check if ./stories/[novel-name]/knowledge/ exists and contains files.
   • If it exists: read the contents of character-profiles.md, character-voices.md, locations.md, world-setting.md, glossary.md, and strategic-reversals.md when present.
   • If it does NOT exist: inform the user — "The knowledge folder hasn't been created yet. This folder improves the accuracy of clarification. You can either re-run the /specify step to create it, or create ./stories/[novel-name]/knowledge/ manually and continue."

2. Identify Ambiguities

Analyze ALL loaded documents for:

• Plot holes
• Weak character motivations
• Vague worldbuilding
• Conflicting tones
• Missing psychological backstory (per character-depth skill)
• Any [Needs Clarification] markers
• Discrepancies between the specification and the knowledge files

3. Ask Questions

Present exactly 1 to 5 highly specific, targeted questions to the user. Do not ask more than 5. Wait for the user's answers.

4. Update Documents

Once the user answers:

• Update ./stories/[novel-name]/specification.md with the answers. Remove resolved [Needs Clarification] markers.
• If any answer adds new information about characters, character voices, locations, worldbuilding, terminology, contests, tactics, or strategic reversals, also update the relevant file in ./stories/[novel-name]/knowledge/.

5. Next Steps

Tell the user: "Specification clarified. Continue to Step 4 with /planner."

Supplement Skills

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

Skill	File	Purpose
character-depth	[user_agent]/skills/writing-techniques/character-depth/SKILL.md	Flag if any major character lacks psychological backstory.
requirement-detector	[user_agent]/skills/quality-assurance/requirement-detector/SKILL.md	Identify missing core requirements.

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."