process-feedback

name	process-feedback
description	Interpret user feedback and plan how to incorporate it into next chapter
user-invocable	true
argument-hint	[chapter-id]

Process Feedback

You help Ralph interpret and action user feedback after each chapter in interactive mode.

Your Role

1. Read user feedback from story/feedback/ch-[ID]-feedback.md
2. Translate feedback into actionable changes
3. Update STORY_BIBLE.md if needed (character voices, world rules)
4. Document incorporation plan
5. Update continuity tracker with feedback notes

Process

1. Read Feedback

Load the feedback file:

• story/feedback/ch-[ID]-feedback.md

If file doesn't exist, check if user provided feedback inline (look for <feedback> tags in recent context).

2. Parse Feedback Sections

Extract and understand each section:

What I Loved:

• These are patterns to MAINTAIN and AMPLIFY
• Document as "working techniques" in progress.txt
• Note specific elements user wants more of

Concerns:

• Prioritize by severity:
  • Critical: Breaks story, must fix immediately
  • Moderate: Weakens story, should address in next 1-2 chapters
  • Minor: Nice to fix but not urgent
• Don't be defensive - user knows what they want

Direction for Next Chapter:

• Treat as explicit requirements
• Add to next chapter's acceptance criteria
• These are non-negotiable (user's story, not yours)

Character Notes:

• Voice adjustments needed
• May require STORY_BIBLE.md updates
• Note which characters need more/less presence

Style/Tone Notes:

• Prose style feedback
• Pacing adjustments
• Description density changes
• Dialogue rhythm modifications

3. Create Interpretation Document

Save to feedback file (append to existing):

---

## Ralph's Interpretation

**Processed**: [Date/Time]

### What I'll Maintain
1. [Element from "What I Loved"]
2. [Element from "What I Loved"]
3. [Element from "What I Loved"]

### Issues to Address

#### Critical (Must Fix)
- **Issue**: [Description from concerns]
  - **Action**: [Specific fix]
  - **Timeline**: Immediately in Chapter [ID+1]

#### Moderate (Should Fix)
- **Issue**: [Description]
  - **Action**: [Specific fix]
  - **Timeline**: Within next 1-2 chapters

#### Minor (Consider)
- **Issue**: [Description]
  - **Action**: [Possible fix]
  - **Timeline**: Opportunistic

### Next Chapter Requirements

Based on "Direction for Next Chapter":

1. **[Requirement 1]**
   - How: [Implementation approach]
   - Where: [Which beat/section]

2. **[Requirement 2]**
   - How: [Implementation approach]
   - Where: [Which beat/section]

### Character Adjustments

- **[Character Name]**: [Adjustment needed]
- **[Character Name]**: [Adjustment needed]

### Style/Tone Adjustments

- **Pacing**: [Change if needed]
- **Description density**: [Change if needed]
- **Dialogue rhythm**: [Change if needed]
- **Sentence structure**: [Change if needed]

### STORY_BIBLE Updates Needed

- [ ] Update [Character]'s voice profile: [change]
- [ ] Add world rule: [new rule]
- [ ] Clarify [element]: [clarification]

### Progress.txt Updates

Key learnings to document:
- [Learning 1]
- [Learning 2]

4. Update Files

STORY_BIBLE.md

If character voice or world rule changes needed:

• Edit character profiles
• Add/clarify world rules
• Update style guidelines
• Note changes in feedback interpretation

progress.txt

Append chapter feedback summary:

## Chapter [ID] Feedback (Interactive Mode)

**What worked:**
- [Element 1]
- [Element 2]

**User concerns:**
- [Concern 1]
- [Concern 2]

**Direction for next chapter:**
- [Requirement 1]
- [Requirement 2]

**Adjustments made:**
- [Adjustment 1]
- [Adjustment 2]

Continuity Tracker

Update story/continuity/tracker.md:

## Feedback-Driven Changes (Chapter [ID])

**Plot threads emphasized:**
- [Thread user wants developed]

**Character focus requested:**
- [Character user wants more of]

**Pacing adjustments:**
- [Faster/slower in specific areas]

5. Verify Understanding

Output clear summary to user:

✅ Feedback processed for Chapter [ID]

━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━

I understood:
  ✓ [Key point 1]
  ✓ [Key point 2]
  ✓ [Key point 3]

I will incorporate this by:
  → [Action 1]
  → [Action 2]
  → [Action 3]

Critical changes for next chapter:
  ! [Critical change 1]
  ! [Critical change 2]

━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━

Files updated:
  • story/feedback/ch-[ID]-feedback.md (interpretation added)
  • progress.txt (feedback summary added)
  • story/STORY_BIBLE.md (if character/world updates made)
  • story/continuity/tracker.md (if continuity affected)

Ready to proceed with Chapter [ID+1]

Feedback Interpretation Best Practices

Listen to the User

• User feedback is authoritative (it's their story)
• Don't argue or justify previous choices
• If something didn't work for them, it didn't work
• Your job is to incorporate, not defend

Be Specific in Action Plans

❌ "Make Builder more interesting" ✅ "Add Builder technical problem-solving scene in CH-002, beat 3. Show them debugging the manifestation algorithm with focus on their pragmatic approach."

Translate Feelings to Techniques

User says: "The middle section felt slow" Translate to:

• Cut 200 words of exposition in paragraphs 50-70
• Add conflict or tension beat
• Increase dialogue ratio from 20% to 35%
• Tighten sentence structure (fewer subordinate clauses)

Balance Conflicting Feedback

If user says "faster pacing" AND "more description":

• Clarify which takes priority
• Or: faster plot pacing with richer sensory details (not mutually exclusive)
• Don't guess - if unclear, note it and ask in next pause

Track Pattern Changes

If user consistently wants:

• More of character X → update their priority in story
• Less exposition → note as style preference
• Faster pacing → apply globally, not just one chapter

Common Feedback Patterns

"Character X needs more presence"

Action:

• Add character X to next chapter plan (dedicated beat)
• Give them a problem to solve or decision to make
• Show their unique perspective/skills
• Update STORY_BIBLE.md: increase character's importance

"Pacing dragged in middle"

Action:

• Identify specific paragraph range
• Cut redundant exposition
• Add conflict/tension
• Break up long descriptive passages with dialogue
• Future chapters: watch exposition density

"Voice of character Y feels off"

Action:

• Read previous chapters for character Y's speech
• Compare to STORY_BIBLE.md profile
• Identify specific dialogue that felt wrong
• Update STORY_BIBLE.md with correct voice notes
• Apply to next appearance

"I want more [theme/element]"

Action:

• Identify where theme appears naturally
• Add beat to next chapter plan emphasizing theme
• Weave into existing scenes (don't force)
• Note theme priority in continuity tracker

"Too much/too little description"

Action:

• Measure description ratio in flagged section
• Adjust density in next chapter
• Update writing-sample notes (if exists)
• Note as style preference in progress.txt

Error Handling

Vague Feedback

If user says: "it was okay" or "not sure, just write more"

Response:

⚠️  Feedback is vague. To write what you want, I need specifics:

- What worked? (so I do more of it)
- What didn't work? (so I fix it)
- What direction for next chapter? (so I know where to go)

Would you like to provide more specific feedback, or should I
continue with my best interpretation of your vision?

Contradictory Feedback

If user says: "Add more Builder scenes" but also "chapters feel too long"

Response:

⚠️  Potential contradiction detected:

Request 1: Add more Builder presence (increases chapter length)
Request 2: Keep chapters shorter

Options:
a) Add Builder, cut other content to maintain length
b) Let chapter grow longer for Builder content
c) Spread Builder across multiple chapters (maintain length)

Which approach would you prefer?

Missing Feedback File

If story/feedback/ch-[ID]-feedback.md doesn't exist:

Check:

1. Did user provide feedback inline in chat?
2. Is this an autonomous mode run by mistake?

Action:

• Search recent messages for <feedback> tags
• If found, process from there
• If not found, create template and prompt user

Output Format

Always end with clear, actionable summary:

✅ Feedback processed for Chapter [ID]

━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━

MAINTAINS (from "What I Loved"):
  ✓ [Element 1]
  ✓ [Element 2]

ADDRESSES (from "Concerns"):
  → [Fix 1]
  → [Fix 2]

IMPLEMENTS (from "Direction"):
  ! [Requirement 1]
  ! [Requirement 2]

ADJUSTS (Characters/Style):
  • [Adjustment 1]
  • [Adjustment 2]

━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━

Ready to write Chapter [ID+1] with these changes incorporated.

---

Remember: Interactive mode is collaborative storytelling. The user is co-author, not just consumer. Their feedback guides the story's direction.