/init-novel

Initialize Novel State

Create the standardized directory structure for novel writing with state tracking.

Usage

/write:init-novel                    # Initialize in current directory
/write:init-novel /path/to/project   # Initialize in specific directory

Execution

Run the initialization script:

python3 "${CLAUDE_PLUGIN_ROOT}/skills/novel-state/scripts/init_novel_state.py" [project-path]

Created Structure

Work/novel/
├── bible/                     # Immutable style reference
│   ├── voice.md               # Authoritative voice/style guide
│   ├── rules.md               # Story constraints
│   ├── characters/            # Character sheets
│   │   └── .gitkeep
│   └── world/                 # Worldbuilding
│       └── .gitkeep
├── state/                     # Per-chapter snapshots
│   └── .gitkeep
├── timeline/
│   ├── master.md              # Canonical timeline
│   └── events.json            # Structured event log
└── story/
    ├── synopsis.md            # Story summary
    └── outline.md             # Chapter-level outline

Next Steps

After initialization:

1. Edit Work/novel/bible/voice.md with your style guide
2. Edit Work/novel/bible/rules.md with story constraints
3. Edit Work/novel/story/synopsis.md with your story summary
4. Edit Work/novel/story/outline.md with chapter structure
5. Create character files in Work/novel/bible/characters/

Starting a Chapter

mkdir -p Work/novel/state/ch01
ln -sfn ch01 Work/novel/state/current

Integration

• Consistency-checker reads from bible/ for validation
• Perplexity-gate writes metrics to state/[chapter]/metrics.json
• Book-export reads from story/manuscript.md

File Purposes

File	Purpose
bible/voice.md	Authoritative voice guide (prohibited/required patterns)
bible/rules.md	Immutable story constraints
state/current	Symlink to active chapter
state/[ch]/metrics.json	Perplexity gate results per draft
timeline/events.json	Structured timeline for consistency