fiction-workshop

name	fiction-workshop
description	Use when writing or editing novels, short stories, or any fiction manuscript. Trigger on: 'write fiction', 'edit my novel', 'developmental edit', 'line edit', 'character voice', 'plot hole', 'brainstorm', or fiction writing tasks.

Fiction Workshop

Editorial workflow for collaborative fiction writing in three stages: Story Bible Building, Chapter Development, and Reader Testing.

Session Continuity

Novel projects span weeks or months. Claude has no memory between sessions, so the Story Bible is your persistent state.

• At session start: Read story-bible.md (or whatever the project calls it) before doing any other work. Skim recent files in sessions/ for unresolved threads.
• At session end: Write a brief note at sessions/YYYY-MM-DD_topic-slug.md summarizing what was done, decisions made, and the stopping point. Two to five sentences is enough.
• When foundations shift: Update the Story Bible immediately when premise, character bios, world rules, or major plot turns change. The Story Bible is the source of truth, not a one-time template.
• Surface unresolved questions: At the start of new work, list questions left open from prior sessions and ask the user which to address before continuing.

When to Use

This skill is for:

• ✅ Long-form fiction (novels, novellas, short story collections)
• ✅ Multi-chapter manuscripts requiring character/plot consistency
• ✅ Fiction projects needing developmental or line editing
• ✅ Stories with complex worldbuilding or multiple POV characters

When NOT to Use

This skill is NOT for:

• ❌ Flash fiction or single scenes (< 2000 words) - too lightweight for the workflow
• ❌ Poetry or experimental prose - needs different editorial approach
• ❌ Screenplays or stage plays - different format conventions
• ❌ Technical writing, documentation, or academic papers
• ❌ Business writing or marketing copy

For narrative nonfiction (memoir, self-help with story elements), use the narrative-nonfiction skill instead.

Editorial Personas

Personas are primarily for Stage 2 (Chapter Development) and Stage 3 (Reader Testing); Stage 1 is freeform Story Bible building that does not require persona invocation. Switch between these roles by requesting a specific lens:

Role	Invocation	Focus
Developmental Editor	"As developmental editor..."	Plot, pacing, structure, stakes, theme
Line Editor	"As line editor..."	Prose rhythm, word choice, "show don't tell"
Character Consultant	"As character consultant..."	Voice consistency, motivation, arc, relationships
Continuity Tracker	"As continuity tracker..."	Timeline, world facts, internal consistency
Brainstorm Partner	"Brainstorm mode..."	"What if" exploration, problem-solving, unsticking

Load only the reference file matching the currently invoked persona. Do not preload all references at session start—it wastes context budget. If switching personas mid-session, load the new reference file and treat the prior one as out-of-scope unless the work explicitly bridges both.

See references/ for detailed guidance on each role.

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Stage 1: Story Bible Building

Goal: Establish shared story foundation before drafting or editing.

Initial Questions

1. Genre and target reader?
2. Core premise/logline?
3. Protagonist: who they are, what they want?
4. Central conflict?
5. Reader's intended emotional journey?
6. How much written vs. planned?

Story Bible Components

Plot: Premise, three-act structure/beat sheet, major turns, ending (even if rough)

Characters: Protagonist (want/need/wound/arc), antagonist (motivation/threat), supporting cast (function/relationships), POV voice notes

World: Setting (time/place/rules), tech/magic systems, social structures, sensory palette

Theme: Central question, moral argument, recurring motifs

If a Story Bible document exists, review it. If not, offer to create one using assets/story-bible-template.md.

Example Story Bible entry (character):

ALEX CHEN - Protagonist
Want: Expose the conspiracy and clear her name
Need: Learn to trust her instincts over institutional authority
Wound: Mentor betrayed her at previous agency, causing career setback
Arc: Lone wolf → realizes she needs allies → builds trust with team
Voice notes: Analytical, dry humor when stressed, avoids emotional language
Key relationship: Tension with Handler (wants to trust, can't fully)

Exit condition: Confident grasp of story fundamentals. Can discuss character motivations, predict plot implications, and identify thematic threads without asking basic questions.

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Stage 2: Chapter Development

Goal: Draft or refine chapters through brainstorm → curate → draft → refine cycles.

Drafting new? → Creation workflow | Editing existing? → Editing workflow

Creation Workflow

1. Scene Planning

   • What must happen (plot)? Whose POV?
   • Chapter's emotional arc?
   • What reader learns/feels by end?

2. Brainstorm Beats (5-15 options): Opening hooks, key moments, dialogue, sensory details, closing

   Example (thriller scene): Same car outside coffee shop three days running | Phone buzzing at 3am with blocked caller | Surveillance photo under door | Colleague mentions detail only surveillance would know | Camera lens reflection in window | Dead drop cleaned out | Safe house key doesn't fit | Contact misses first check-in

   Then curate: "Which create immediate tension? Combine any?"

3. Curate: Ask which to keep, combine, or discard. Reasons help calibrate.

4. Draft: Write chapter. Use str_replace for revisions, never reprint.

5. Refine: Iterate on feedback. After 3 passes with minimal changes, ask: "What could be cut?"

Editing Workflow

1. Read and Diagnose: What chapter tries to do, where it succeeds, where it loses energy/clarity

2. Invoke Persona: Structure/pacing → Developmental | Prose → Line | Voice → Character | Facts → Continuity

3. Propose Changes: Specific, surgical edits with brief "why"

4. Implement: Use str_replace. Link to file after changes.

5. Iterate: Until chapter achieves purpose

Role-Specific Guidance

When a specific editorial persona is invoked, load the corresponding reference file:

• Developmental editing → references/developmental-editing.md
• Line editing → references/line-editing.md
• Character work → references/character-work.md
• Continuity → references/continuity-tracking.md
• Brainstorming → references/brainstorming.md
• Thriller-specific craft → references/thriller-craft.md
• Sci-fi worldbuilding → references/scifi-worldbuilding.md

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Stage 3: Reader Testing

Goal: Verify manuscript works without author context.

Using fresh sub-agent (no story bible):

1. Comprehension: Can they summarize plot, understand motivations, identify stakes?
2. Engagement: Where did they lose interest, have questions, feel confused?
3. Emotional: Did key moments land? Ending satisfying? Theme clear?

Common issues: Unclear motivation | Pacing lags | Unearned moments | Confusion

If struggles: Identify gap → Return to Stage 2 → Re-test

Exit condition: Reader understands and engages without author explanations.

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Self-Check: Is This Working?

Use these checkpoints to verify you're following the workflow correctly.

After Story Bible building:

• Can you describe the protagonist's want vs. need without re-reading notes?
• Can you predict how the antagonist would react to a new scenario?
• Do you understand the thematic question the book explores?
• Could you summarize the three-act structure in 2-3 sentences?

After invoking a persona:

• Did you explicitly say "As [persona name]..." in your request?
• Is the feedback focused on that persona's domain (developmental = structure, line = prose)?
• Did you avoid mixing feedback from multiple personas in one pass?

After making edits:

• Did you use str_replace for surgical changes, not reprinting entire sections?
• Can you articulate what changed and why it's better?
• Is the change consistent with the Story Bible (character voice, plot logic, world rules)?

After brainstorming:

• Did you generate 5+ options before selecting one?
• Did you curate collaboratively rather than taking the first suggestion?
• Can you explain why the selected option is stronger than alternatives?

Before claiming "done":

• Has a fresh sub-agent (without Story Bible context) read the manuscript?
• Did the fresh reader understand plot, character motivations, and stakes?
• Were any gaps or confusion points identified and addressed?

If you answered "no" to any checkpoint, return to that stage before proceeding.

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Stopping Points

Each persona and stage has a defined end. Stop at it. Do not auto-advance to the next persona, do not silently expand scope, do not start drafting when you were asked to diagnose.

Tool / Stage	Stop when...	Then
Story Bible Building (Stage 1)	The Story Bible Self-Check passes	Hand back to author. Do not auto-advance into drafting.
Developmental Editor	One full structural pass on the requested scope is complete and issues list is delivered	Wait for author to apply edits. Do not loop into rewriting unless explicitly asked.
Line Editor	One chapter (or named scope) is line-edited; after 3 passes with minimal changes, ask "what could be cut?" once	If no further direction, stop. Line editing has a natural ceiling.
Character Consultant	One consult on the named character/scene is complete	Do not reflexively check other characters or scenes. Wait for the next invocation.
Continuity Tracker	Audit produces flag list	Stop. Do not fix automatically. Author decides which flags are real and how to resolve.
Brainstorm Partner	Curate step produces a chosen direction (or 5+ options reviewed and declined)	Hand back. Do not draft into a chapter unless explicitly asked.
Reader Testing (Stage 3)	Fresh sub-agent's report is delivered	Stop. Author decides whether to return to Stage 2 and on which findings.
Session	Stopping point reached or context window is filling	Update the Story Bible if foundations shifted; write a sessions/ note; stop.

If the author explicitly asks you to continue past a stopping point, fine—but name what's about to happen ("I'll now move from continuity audit to applying fixes") so the scope shift is visible.

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Common Mistakes

Mistake	Why It Happens	Fix
Skipping Story Bible	"I know my story well enough"	Story Bible isn't for you—it's for Claude. Without shared context, feedback will miss key story elements. Build it.
Generic feedback without persona	Rushing, forgetting to invoke specific role	Explicitly say "As developmental editor..." or "As line editor..." in your prompt. Different lenses catch different issues.
Reprinting entire chapters	Habit from other editing contexts	Use str_replace for surgical edits only. Reprinting burns context and makes changes hard to track. Link to file after edits.
Jumping to line edits before structure	Wanting to "fix" prose immediately	If plot/pacing/character issues exist, line edits are wasted effort. Always developmental pass first. See example below.
Skipping Reader Testing	"I've read it so many times already"	You have author context. Reader Testing uses fresh sub-agent without story bible to catch gaps readers will hit.
Too many personas at once	Trying to fix everything in one pass	Invoke one persona per pass. Developmental → Character → Line → Continuity. Focused feedback is actionable feedback.
Brainstorming without curation	Taking first idea that sounds good	Generate 5-15 options, then curate. First idea is rarely best idea. Quantity enables quality.

Example: Developmental vs. Line Editing

Same passage, different lenses:

Sarah walked into the office. Her boss looked angry. "We need to talk," he said. She sat down nervously.

Line Editor feedback (prose-level):

• "Walked" is weak—try "strode" or "slipped"
• "Looked angry" tells rather than shows—describe furrowed brow, tight jaw
• "Nervously" is an adverb crutch—show the nervousness through action

Developmental Editor feedback (structure/stakes):

• What does Sarah want in this scene? What does her boss want?
• If this is the confrontation, we need setup—what's the conflict history?
• Stakes feel low—why does this conversation matter to the story?
• Pacing: Is this the right chapter for this confrontation, or should tension build longer?

The difference: Line edits polish sentences. Developmental edits ensure the scene earns its place in the story. Always developmental first.

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Quick Reference Commands

Need	Command
Start new project	"Let's build a story bible for [project]"
Developmental pass	"As developmental editor, analyze [chapter/section]"
Line edit	"As line editor, polish [scene/passage]"
Character check	"As character consultant, is [character]'s [action] in character?"
Continuity audit	"As continuity tracker, check [chapters X-Y] for inconsistencies"
Get unstuck	"Brainstorm mode—I need to [solve problem]"
Test readability	"Run a fresh read on [chapter/section]"

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Finding Format

When this skill's diagnostic modes (developmental-editing critique, continuity-tracking flags) produce findings, emit them conforming to ../../references/finding-schema.json: audit (use the mode name, e.g. "developmental-editing"), technique (the named craft technique — e.g. "Want/Need/Wound/Lie alignment"), severity (note/suggestion/warning), location (file/line/quote), issue, confidence ("judgment" — this skill has no deterministic component), and optionally exemplar (a one-sentence illustration inline, since this skill has no curated exemplar library yet — grow one opportunistically). Brainstorming and drafting-proposal output is NOT in scope for this contract.

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Files

• references/developmental-editing.md - Plot, structure, pacing analysis (see also the story-structure skill for landmark-beat percentages and signpost diagnostics)
• references/line-editing.md - Prose-level refinement
• references/character-work.md - Voice, motivation, arc tracking (see also the character-archetypes skill for role/personality archetype analysis)
• references/continuity-tracking.md - Timeline and fact consistency
• references/brainstorming.md - Idea generation techniques
• references/thriller-craft.md - Genre-specific guidance for suspense
• references/scifi-worldbuilding.md - Technical accuracy, speculation rules
• assets/story-bible-template.md - Blank story bible structure
• assets/scene-worksheet.md - Scene-level analysis template