NS Canon

Responsibilities

• project.yaml

  : Project identity.

• plan.yaml

  : Overall book scale, volumes, chapters, side stories, next steps.

• memory.yaml

  : Characters, world, relationships, foreshadowing, genre modules.

• continuity.yaml

  : Current status, events, unresolved plot threads, revision impacts.

• index.yaml

  : Text entry paths, status, word count, sorting.

• style.yaml

  : Writing style and chapter contracts.

• research.yaml

  : Sources and fact boundaries.

• publish.yaml

  : Root directory of text and publishing rules.

• finish.yaml

  : Completion status and output index.

• art.yaml

  : Visual consistency and file indexes.

YAML/Markdown Collaboration

• The Markdown frontmatter of chapters and volumes serves as the connection layer between YAML memory and text files.
• Frontmatter only includes identity, sorting, status, time, word count, and tags; long descriptions should be written in the Markdown text section or

  notes/*.md

  .

• index.yaml.entries

  must be reconstructible from chapter frontmatter and audited word counts.
• Volume

  _index.md

  maintains volume introductions, volume commitments, and chapter directories;

  plan.yaml

  maintains plans, and long texts should not be duplicated between them.
• The optional

  ## End-of-Chapter Notes

  section in chapters is Markdown; if there are no end-of-chapter notes, update the canon directly from the text and context.
• The total number of volumes, total chapters, number of side stories, and total word count target are only written in

  plan.yaml.scale

  .

Rules

• New facts should only be written in one primary YAML field to avoid duplicate records.
• Uncertain content should be written to

  continuity.yaml.loose_threads

  or

  research.yaml.open_questions

  .
• After finishing a chapter, prioritize reading the optional

  ## End-of-Chapter Notes

  before updating

  index.yaml

  ,

  continuity.yaml

  , and

  memory.yaml

  .
• Update

  finish.yaml

  only when a volume is completed, the entire book is finished, or deliverables change.
• YAML is the source of facts; Markdown is for long-form explanations or display panels.
• When adjusting the scale, first modify

  plan.yaml.scale

  and

  plan.yaml.volumes/extras

  , then synchronize the directory description in the volume

  _index.md

  .

Tools

• Structure check:

  python skills/ns-canon/scripts/schema_doctor.py <novel-root>

  .
• Continuity check:

  python skills/ns-canon/scripts/continuity_check.py <novel-root>

  .
• Add

  --json

  when machine-readable results are needed; add

  --strict

  to continuity checks if unresolved plot threads should be treated as failure conditions.