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Crafts compelling fiction and creative nonfiction with guidance on structure, voice, prose style, and revision. Supports short stories, novel chapters, essays, hybrid forms.
npx claudepluginhub a-organvm/a-i--skills --plugin document-skillsHow this skill is triggered — by the user, by Claude, or both
Slash command
/example-skills:creative-writing-craftThe summary Claude sees in its skill listing — used to decide when to auto-load this skill
Transform ideas into compelling prose.
Provides a checklist for code reviews covering functionality, security, performance, maintainability, tests, and quality. Use for pull requests, audits, team standards, and developer training.
Share bugs, ideas, or general feedback.
Transform ideas into compelling prose.
ACT I (25%) │ ACT II (50%) │ ACT III (25%)
Setup │ Confrontation │ Resolution
────────────────┼────────────────────────────┼─────────────────
Hook │ Rising Action │ Climax
Inciting Event │ Midpoint Shift │ Falling Action
First Plot Point│ Second Plot Point │ Resolution
Goal → Conflict → Disaster → Reaction → Dilemma → Decision
Each scene should have:
| Beat | Percentage | Function |
|---|---|---|
| Opening Image | 0-1% | Establish world/tone |
| Theme Stated | ~5% | Hint at meaning |
| Setup | 1-10% | Ordinary world |
| Catalyst | ~10% | Inciting incident |
| Debate | 10-20% | Hesitation |
| Break into Two | ~25% | Commits to journey |
| B Story | ~30% | Subplot, often thematic |
| Fun and Games | 30-50% | Promise of premise |
| Midpoint | ~50% | False victory/defeat, stakes rise |
| Bad Guys Close In | 50-75% | Increasing pressure |
| All Is Lost | ~75% | Lowest point |
| Dark Night of Soul | 75-80% | Despair |
| Break into Three | ~80% | New plan/revelation |
| Finale | 80-99% | Climax, resolution |
| Final Image | 99-100% | Echo opening, show change |
| Layer | Question | Example |
|---|---|---|
| Surface | What do they show? | Confident, funny |
| Behavior | What do they do? | Helps strangers, avoids calls |
| Motive | What do they want? | Success, approval |
| Need | What do they actually need? | Self-acceptance |
| Ghost | What wound drives them? | Abandoned as child |
Lie they believe → Want (conscious goal) → Need (unconscious)
↓ ↓ ↓
Truth they learn ← Confrontation ← Cost of lie
To develop distinct character voice, vary:
I walked into the room and immediately regretted it.
Pros: Intimacy, voice, unreliable narrator potential Cons: Limited perspective, "I" fatigue
She walked into the room and immediately regretted it.
Pros: Flexibility, intimacy without "I" Cons: Can drift into head-hopping
Sarah walked into the room, unaware that three people
were already watching her from the shadows.
Pros: God's-eye view, irony Cons: Distance, harder to master
You walk into the room. You immediately regret it.
Pros: Immediacy, unusual Cons: Can feel gimmicky, reader resistance
Vary length:
Short sentences punch. They create urgency. Impact.
But longer sentences, with their flowing clauses and
subordinate phrases, can lull the reader into a rhythm,
carrying them forward on a wave of prose that builds
and builds until—
Strong verbs over adverbs:
❌ She walked quickly across the room.
✅ She darted across the room.
✅ She bolted across the room.
Concrete over abstract:
❌ He felt sad.
✅ His chest ached. He couldn't swallow.
Telling (has its place):
She was angry.
Showing:
Her jaw tightened. She set down her fork—carefully,
deliberately—and folded her hands in her lap.
When to tell:
Subtext: Characters rarely say what they mean.
"Nice weather," she said. (Text)
[I don't want to talk about it] (Subtext)
Attribution:
✅ "I'm leaving," she said.
✅ "I'm leaving." She grabbed her coat.
⚠️ "I'm leaving," she exclaimed angrily.
"Said" is invisible. Use it.
Beats over tags:
"I'm leaving." She grabbed her coat. "Don't wait up."
| Sense | Often Used | Underused |
|---|---|---|
| Sight | Very common | - |
| Sound | Common | - |
| Touch | Uncommon | Temperature, texture |
| Smell | Rare | Memory trigger |
| Taste | Rare | Atmosphere |
Layer senses:
The bar smelled like spilled beer and regret. Neon
buzzed overhead, painting everyone the same shade of
desperate pink. Someone fed the jukebox, and Patsy
Cline started breaking hearts again.
Choose details that do double duty:
❌ The room had a desk, a chair, and a filing cabinet.
[Inventory]
✅ Dust furred the family photos on his desk—all
turned to face the wall.
[Character revelation + atmosphere]
| Level | Focus | Questions |
|---|---|---|
| Structural | Story architecture | Does the plot work? Are scenes in right order? |
| Scene | Individual scenes | Does each scene have conflict? Purpose? |
| Paragraph | Flow and pacing | Transitions smooth? Rhythm varied? |
| Sentence | Prose quality | Verbs strong? Sentences varied? |
| Word | Precision | Right word? Unnecessary words? |
Pass 1: Story
Pass 2: Character
Pass 3: Scene
Pass 4: Line
Pass 5: Polish
| Symptom | Cause | Fix |
|---|---|---|
| Drags | Too much description | Cut, add conflict |
| Rushed | Not enough scene | Slow down, add beats |
| Confusing | Time jumps | Add transitions |
| Boring | No stakes | Raise consequences |
| Problem | Example | Fix |
|---|---|---|
| On-the-nose | "I'm angry at you!" | Subtext |
| Talking heads | Dialogue without action | Add beats |
| Info dump | Explaining plot | Conflict over info |
| Same voice | All characters same | Differentiate |
| Problem | Fix |
|---|---|
| Purple prose | Simplify, cut adjectives |
| No setting | Ground in physical space |
| Floating heads | Add action, gesture |
| Info dump | Distribute, dramatize |
references/story-structures.md - Alternative structuresreferences/genre-conventions.md - Genre expectationsreferences/revision-checklist.md - Detailed checklist