chapter-drafter

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Autonomously draft and polish chapters through multi-skill editorial passes. Use when you have a complete outline and want to produce a polished first draft with iterative refinement.

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Sourcejwynia/agent-skills
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npx skill4agent add jwynia/agent-skills chapter-drafter

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chapter-draftingorchestration-skilliterative-editingwriting-automationprogress-tracking

SKILL.md Content

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Chapter Drafter: Orchestrator Skill

You autonomously draft and polish chapter scenes through iterative editorial passes. Given an outline, you produce polished first-draft prose by drafting each scene, evaluating it against editorial criteria, and revising until quality thresholds are met.

Core Principle

Orchestration is iteration with hierarchy. Fix structure before character, character before originality, originality before dialogue, dialogue before prose. Don't polish what might be cut; don't revise dialogue in a scene that needs structural rework.

Prerequisites

Before invoking this skill, ensure:
  1. Complete outline exists - Scene beats with goals, conflicts, and intended outcomes
  2. Characters defined - Lie/want/need, voice patterns, arc positions
  3. World established - Setting details sufficient for scene work
  4. Story-sense diagnosis complete - No structural story problems remaining
Do NOT use this skill if:
  • Outline is still in flux
  • Character arcs undefined
  • Story-sense would diagnose structural problems

The Orchestration Loop

FOR each scene in chapter outline:

    1. BUILD CONTEXT
       - Load character voices from previous scenes
       - Load open plot threads
       - Load cliche avoidances
       - Extract scene purpose from outline

    2. DRAFT SCENE
       - Generate initial prose from outline beat
       - Apply character voices
       - Maintain plot thread continuity

    3. EVALUATION LOOP (max 5 cycles)
       │
       ├─► Pass 1: scene-sequencing (35%)
       │   └─► If FAIL: REWRITE scene
       ├─► Pass 2: character-arc (25%)
       ├─► Pass 3: cliche-transcendence (15%)
       ├─► Pass 4: dialogue (15%)
       └─► Pass 5: prose-style (10%)
       │
       Calculate composite score
       │
       ├─► >= 80: ACCEPT
       ├─► 60-79: TARGETED FIX → re-evaluate
       ├─► 40-59: REWRITE → return to draft
       └─► <40: REJECT → full re-draft from outline

    4. POST-ACCEPT
       - Extract character voice patterns → update context
       - Track plot thread changes → update registry
       - Record cliche transcendences → update avoidances
       - Write scene to output
       - Update progress tracker

END FOR

Pass Criteria

Pass 1: Scene-Sequencing (35% weight)

Evaluates Goal-Conflict-Disaster structure and pacing.
CriterionPASSWARNFAIL
Goal clarityPOV goal clear in opening beatsGoal exists but buriedNo discernible goal
Conflict escalationOpposition intensifiesConflict static but presentNo real opposition
Disaster quality"Yes, but..." or "No, and..."Simple "No"Clean "Yes" or no resolution
Sequel presenceReaction-dilemma-decision presentAbbreviated sequelMissing after high-tension
Scene-sequel ratioMatches intended pacingSlight mismatchSeverely mismatched
Critical: If scene-sequencing FAILS, do NOT proceed to other passes. Structural problems invalidate downstream evaluation.

Pass 2: Character-Arc (25% weight)

Evaluates transformation consistency and arc progress.
CriterionPASSWARNFAIL
Lie visibilityFalse belief evident in choicesLie present but unstatedNo lie operative
Want/Need gapClear tension between stated/actualGap exists but unclearWant = Need (no tension)
Arc progressScene advances or challenges arcArc static but consistentCharacter contradicts arc
Transformation markersChoices reflect arc positionPosition unclearActs against personality

Pass 3: Cliche-Transcendence (15% weight)

Evaluates originality via orthogonality test.
CriterionPASSWARNFAIL
Form axisNon-default formSlight variationExactly genre default
Knowledge axisOwn concerns, accidental intersectionSome plot awarenessFully story-serving
Goal axisOwn agenda that collidesGoal connected to plotPurely protagonist-serving
Role axisOwn story that intersectsSomewhat independentExists only for hero
Orthogonality test2+ axes orthogonal1 axis orthogonalAll axes match default

Pass 4: Dialogue (15% weight)

Evaluates voice distinctiveness, subtext, and function.
CriterionPASSWARNFAIL
Voice distinctivenessCharacters distinguishable without tagsSome overlapIdentical voices (D1)
Subtext presenceGap between said and meantOccasional direct statementsEverything on-the-nose (D4)
Double-duty test3+ functions per exchange2 functionsSingle function only (D5)
NaturalnessContractions, interruptions, rhythmSlightly formalWooden/stilted (D2)
Exposition handlingInformation through conflictMinor "as you know"Exposition dump (D3)

Pass 5: Prose-Style (10% weight)

Evaluates sentence-level craft.
CriterionPASSWARNFAIL
Sentence varietyLength and structure varySome variationMonotonous (P4)
ClarityConcrete, clear antecedentsOccasional abstractionUnclear writing (P2)
Voice consistencyDiction level consistentMinor shiftsRandom shifts (P6)
EconomyWords earn placeMinor redundancyOverwrought (P3)
Active voicePassive intentionalSome default passivePassive overuse (P5)

Composite Scoring

Each pass produces a score from 0-100:
  • All PASS = 100
  • Each WARN = -15
  • Each FAIL = -40
Composite = SUM(pass_score × pass_weight)
CompositeOutcomeAction
>= 80ACCEPTScene complete, proceed to next
60-79REVISEFix lowest-scoring pass, re-evaluate
40-59REWRITERegenerate with failure constraints
< 40REJECTFull re-draft from outline

Iteration Limits

LevelLimitOn Exceed
Per-pass3Escalate to rewrite
Per-scene12Accept at threshold 50, flag for review
Per-chapter50Stop, report remaining issues
Diminishing returns detection: If improvement < 10% between iterations, accept current state or escalate.

Context Accumulation

Maintain across scenes:

Character Voices

After each scene, extract and store:
  • Vocabulary patterns per character
  • Sentence rhythm patterns
  • Directness level
  • Verbal tics and avoidances
Use as constraint for subsequent scenes: "Character X speaks like [markers]"

Plot Threads

Track:
  • Open threads - Introduced, not resolved
  • Closed threads - Resolved this chapter
  • Foreshadowing - Planted for future payoff
Each scene checks:
  • No contradiction with established facts
  • Open threads acknowledged or advanced
  • At least one element progresses

Cliche Avoidances

After cliche-transcendence pass, record:
  • Which defaults were avoided
  • How they were transcended
  • New elements that feel fresh
Use as constraint: "Already transcended [X], maintain freshness"

Progress Tracker

Use the progress tracker template to persist state:
markdown
## Chapter Progress: [Title]
Started: [timestamp]
Current: Scene [N], Pass [M], Iteration [K]

### Scenes
| Scene | Status | Pass | Iterations | Score | Issues |
|-------|--------|------|------------|-------|--------|

### Context
- Character Voices: [accumulated]
- Plot Threads: [open/closed]
- Cliche Avoidances: [list]

### Change Log
- [timestamp] [change]

Revision Strategy

Targeted Fix (score 60-79)

  1. Identify lowest-scoring pass
  2. Extract specific failure criteria
  3. Generate minimal fix addressing that criterion
  4. Re-evaluate that pass + downstream passes
  5. If pass improves, recalculate composite

Rewrite (score 40-59)

  1. Preserve scene goal from outline
  2. Generate new draft with explicit constraints:
    • "Must include clear goal in opening"
    • "Conflict must escalate"
    • etc. based on failures
  3. Re-run full evaluation loop

Reject (score < 40)

  1. Return to outline beat
  2. Re-draft from scratch
  3. Treat as new scene (reset iterations)

Conflict Resolution

When fixing one pass breaks another:
  1. Detect: Re-run all passes after any fix
  2. Compare: Did any pass regress?
  3. Prioritize: Higher-weight pass wins ties
  4. Seek synthesis: Can fix satisfy both?
  5. Accept trade-off: If irreconcilable, accept per hierarchy
Escalation: If conflict persists after 2 attempts, flag scene for human review.

Anti-Patterns

The Infinite Polisher

Pattern: Keeps iterating because one criterion is at WARN. Fix: WARN is acceptable. Accept at threshold after iteration limit.

The Pass Skipper

Pattern: Jumps to prose-style when scene-sequencing failed. Fix: Hard gate on structural passes. FAIL blocks progression.

The Context Amnesiac

Pattern: Each scene drafted in isolation, losing voice and threads. Fix: Explicit context loading before each scene draft.

The Cascade Blind Spot

Pattern: Fixes dialogue, doesn't check if prose-style regressed. Fix: Always re-evaluate current pass + downstream after any fix.

The Silent Failer

Pattern: Hits iteration limit, proceeds without documentation. Fix: Log all limit exits with categorized remaining issues.

Output Persistence

Progress Tracker

  • Location: 
    context/chapter-drafter/[chapter]-progress.md
  • Update: After each scene acceptance
  • Purpose: Resume point if interrupted

Scene Output

  • Location: 
    drafts/[story]/[chapter]/scene-[N].md
  • Update: On scene acceptance
  • Purpose: Accumulated draft prose

Context State

  • Location: 
    context/chapter-drafter/[chapter]-context.md
  • Update: After each scene
  • Purpose: Character voices, threads, avoidances

Integration

Inbound (feeds into chapter-drafter)

SkillWhat it provides
outline-collaboratorScene beats with goal-conflict-disaster
character-arcLie/want/need for each character
worldbuildingSetting details for scene work
story-senseConfirmation structure is solid

Outbound (chapter-drafter produces)

OutputNext step
Draft chapterrevision (for full manuscript revision)
Flagged scenesHuman review
Context stateNext chapter drafting

Example Invocation

Input: Chapter outline with 5 scene beats
Process:
  1. Load outline, confirm prerequisites
  2. Initialize progress tracker
  3. For each scene:
    • Build context from prior scenes
    • Draft initial prose
    • Run evaluation loop
    • On ACCEPT: extract context, write output
  4. Complete: 5 polished scenes, flagged issues documented
Output:
  • 5 scene files in 
    drafts/[story]/[chapter]/
  • Progress tracker showing all iterations
  • Context file for next chapter
  • List of any flagged issues for human review