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cw-vonnegut

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Original

English
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Translation

Chinese

Vonnegut

冯内古特

Purpose

用途

Check your writing against Kurt Vonnegut's eight rules for fiction—which apply to nonfiction too. This skill audits your piece for the fundamentals that make stories work.
Use this when:
  • A piece feels technically fine but somehow lifeless
  • You want a structural gut-check
  • You're not sure if your piece has forward momentum
  • You need to diagnose why something isn't working
对照库尔特·冯内古特的八条小说写作规则（同样适用于非虚构写作）检查你的作品。本技能会审计你的文章，排查那些让故事成立的核心要素是否到位。
适用场景：
  • 文章感觉技术上没问题，但读起来毫无生气
  • 你想对文章结构做一次彻底的核心检查
  • 你不确定自己的文章是否有推进感
  • 你需要找出文章不对劲的原因

Invocation

调用方式

  • /cw-vonnegut [text]
    — Audit the provided text against the 8 rules
  • /cw-vonnegut
    — System asks "What piece should I audit?"
  • Works on selection if provided, asks if not
  • /cw-vonnegut [text]
    — 对照8条规则审计提供的文本
  • /cw-vonnegut
    — 系统会询问「我该审计哪篇作品？」
  • 若选中了文本则直接审计选段，未选中则会询问文本内容

The 8 Rules

8条规则

1. Use the time of a total stranger in such a way that he or she will not feel the time was wasted.

1. 不要浪费陌生人的时间，要让对方觉得时间花得值。

Every sentence must do one of two things: reveal character or advance the action. If it does neither, cut it.
Check: Is there anything here that a reader would skip? Anything that made you feel smart but doesn't serve them?
每句话都必须实现以下两个功能之一：塑造人物或推动叙事。两者都不沾边的话，就删掉。
检查点： 有没有内容是读者会跳过的？有没有内容只是让你自我感觉良好，却对读者毫无价值？

2. Give the reader at least one character he or she can root for.

2. 至少给读者一个可以支持的角色。

Even in nonfiction, readers need someone to follow. That might be you, a subject, or a stand-in for the reader.
Check: Who does the reader care about in this piece? Why should they want that person to succeed?
即便是非虚构作品，读者也需要一个可以追随的对象。这个对象可以是你自己、文章的主题人物，或是读者的代入角色。
检查点： 这篇文章里读者会关心谁？他们为什么要希望这个人成功？

3. Every character should want something, even if it is only a glass of water.

3. 每个角色都要有欲望，哪怕只是一杯水。

Want creates movement. A character (or writer, or reader) who wants nothing is dead on the page.
Check: What does the main figure in this piece want? Is that want visible from the start?
欲望催生动力。没有欲望的角色（或是作者、读者）在页面上就是一潭死水。
检查点： 这篇文章的核心人物想要什么？这个欲望从一开始就明确吗？

4. Every sentence must do one of two things—reveal character or advance the action.

4. 每句话都必须实现两个功能之一——塑造人物或推动叙事。

This is rule one restated as a practical test. If a sentence fails both, it goes.
Check: Can you justify every sentence? What would be lost if it disappeared?
这是第一条规则的实操版本。如果一句话两个功能都达不到，就删掉。
检查点： 你能证明每句话的存在价值吗？如果删掉某句话，会损失什么？

5. Start as close to the end as possible.

5. 尽可能从接近结局的地方开始。

Don't give backstory. Don't set up. Start where things are already happening.
Check: Where does this piece actually begin? Could you cut the first paragraph and lose nothing?
不要铺垫背景，不要做前置说明。直接从事件已经发生的节点写起。
检查点： 这篇文章真正的起点在哪里？删掉第一段会不会毫无损失？

6. Be a sadist. No matter how sweet and innocent your leading characters, make awful things happen to them—in order that the reader may see what they are made of.

6. 做个「施虐者」。无论你的主角多么善良无辜，都要让糟糕的事情发生在他们身上——这样读者才能看清他们的本质。

Conflict reveals character. Comfort hides it. Your subjects (including yourself) should struggle.
Check: What's hard in this piece? Where's the difficulty, failure, or resistance?
冲突彰显性格，安逸掩盖本性。你的描写对象（包括你自己）都应该经历挣扎。
检查点： 这篇文章里的困境是什么？哪里有困难、失败或是阻力？

7. Write to please just one person.

7. 只为取悦一个人而写作。

If you try to please everyone, you'll please no one. Write as if for a single specific reader.
Check: Who is this piece for? Can you name them? Would they recognize themselves?
如果你想取悦所有人，最后谁也取悦不了。写作时就当是写给某个特定的读者看。
检查点： 这篇文章是写给谁的？你能说出具体的人吗？他们能认出自己是目标读者吗？

8. Give your readers as much information as possible as soon as possible.

8. 尽快把尽可能多的信息交给读者。

No mysteries for mystery's sake. No withholding to seem clever. Trust the reader with information.
Check: Are you hiding anything that the reader should know earlier? Are you being coy?
不要为了制造悬念而故弄玄虚，不要为了显得聪明而隐瞒信息。要信任读者，把信息交给他们。
检查点： 你有没有隐瞒本该让读者早点知道的内容？你是不是在遮遮掩掩？

Output Format

输出格式

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Vonnegut Audit

Vonnegut Audit

Rule-by-Rule Check

Rule-by-Rule Check

RuleVerdictNotes
1. Time well spent✓ / ✗[Brief note]
2. Someone to root for✓ / ✗[Brief note]
3. Character wants something✓ / ✗[Brief note]
4. Every sentence earns its place✓ / ✗[Brief note]
5. Starts close to the end✓ / ✗[Brief note]
6. Sadist (conflict present)✓ / ✗[Brief note]
7. Written for one person✓ / ✗[Brief note]
8. Information given freely✓ / ✗[Brief note]
RuleVerdictNotes
1. Time well spent✓ / ✗[Brief note]
2. Someone to root for✓ / ✗[Brief note]
3. Character wants something✓ / ✗[Brief note]
4. Every sentence earns its place✓ / ✗[Brief note]
5. Starts close to the end✓ / ✗[Brief note]
6. Sadist (conflict present)✓ / ✗[Brief note]
7. Written for one person✓ / ✗[Brief note]
8. Information given freely✓ / ✗[Brief note]

The Main Issue

The Main Issue

Biggest violation: [Which rule is most broken and why]
How to fix it: [Specific suggestion]
Biggest violation: [Which rule is most broken and why]
How to fix it: [Specific suggestion]

Other Notes

Other Notes

[Any other observations that don't fit the rules but matter]
Pass: [X/8 rules]
undefined
[Any other observations that don't fit the rules but matter]
Pass: [X/8 rules]
undefined

Principles

核心原则

  • These rules are for diagnosis, not dogma — Vonnegut broke his own rules constantly. But knowing when you're breaking them is the point.
  • Nonfiction counts as story — Even essays have characters (you, your subjects, the reader), wants, and movement.
  • Rule 5 is the most commonly broken — Almost everyone starts too early. Almost every piece improves if you cut the first paragraph.
  • Rules 3 and 6 are linked — Want + obstacle = story. Miss either and the piece goes flat.
  • 这些规则用于诊断问题，而非教条 —— 冯内古特自己也经常打破这些规则。但关键是你要清楚自己什么时候在打破规则。
  • 非虚构作品也是故事 —— 即便是散文也有角色（你、你的描写对象、读者）、欲望和推进感。
  • 第5条规则是最常被打破的 —— 几乎所有人都开篇太靠前。几乎所有文章删掉第一段之后都会变得更好。
  • 第3条和第6条规则是关联的 —— 欲望 + 障碍 = 故事。缺了任何一个，文章都会变得平淡。

Lessons

经验总结

[Skill-specific lessons will be added here as they're captured]
[后续将补充该技能的专属经验总结]