chapter-drafter

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.

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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

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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

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Pass Criteria

Pass 1: Scene-Sequencing (35% weight)

Evaluates Goal-Conflict-Disaster structure and pacing.

Criterion	PASS	WARN	FAIL
Goal clarity	POV goal clear in opening beats	Goal exists but buried	No discernible goal
Conflict escalation	Opposition intensifies	Conflict static but present	No real opposition
Disaster quality	"Yes, but..." or "No, and..."	Simple "No"	Clean "Yes" or no resolution
Sequel presence	Reaction-dilemma-decision present	Abbreviated sequel	Missing after high-tension
Scene-sequel ratio	Matches intended pacing	Slight mismatch	Severely 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.

Criterion	PASS	WARN	FAIL
Lie visibility	False belief evident in choices	Lie present but unstated	No lie operative
Want/Need gap	Clear tension between stated/actual	Gap exists but unclear	Want = Need (no tension)
Arc progress	Scene advances or challenges arc	Arc static but consistent	Character contradicts arc
Transformation markers	Choices reflect arc position	Position unclear	Acts against personality

Pass 3: Cliche-Transcendence (15% weight)

Evaluates originality via orthogonality test.

Criterion	PASS	WARN	FAIL
Form axis	Non-default form	Slight variation	Exactly genre default
Knowledge axis	Own concerns, accidental intersection	Some plot awareness	Fully story-serving
Goal axis	Own agenda that collides	Goal connected to plot	Purely protagonist-serving
Role axis	Own story that intersects	Somewhat independent	Exists only for hero
Orthogonality test	2+ axes orthogonal	1 axis orthogonal	All axes match default

Pass 4: Dialogue (15% weight)

Evaluates voice distinctiveness, subtext, and function.

Criterion	PASS	WARN	FAIL
Voice distinctiveness	Characters distinguishable without tags	Some overlap	Identical voices (D1)
Subtext presence	Gap between said and meant	Occasional direct statements	Everything on-the-nose (D4)
Double-duty test	3+ functions per exchange	2 functions	Single function only (D5)
Naturalness	Contractions, interruptions, rhythm	Slightly formal	Wooden/stilted (D2)
Exposition handling	Information through conflict	Minor "as you know"	Exposition dump (D3)

Pass 5: Prose-Style (10% weight)

Evaluates sentence-level craft.

Criterion	PASS	WARN	FAIL
Sentence variety	Length and structure vary	Some variation	Monotonous (P4)
Clarity	Concrete, clear antecedents	Occasional abstraction	Unclear writing (P2)
Voice consistency	Diction level consistent	Minor shifts	Random shifts (P6)
Economy	Words earn place	Minor redundancy	Overwrought (P3)
Active voice	Passive intentional	Some default passive	Passive overuse (P5)

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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)

Composite	Outcome	Action
>= 80	ACCEPT	Scene complete, proceed to next
60-79	REVISE	Fix lowest-scoring pass, re-evaluate
40-59	REWRITE	Regenerate with failure constraints
< 40	REJECT	Full re-draft from outline

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Iteration Limits

Level	Limit	On Exceed
Per-pass	3	Escalate to rewrite
Per-scene	12	Accept at threshold 50, flag for review
Per-chapter	50	Stop, report remaining issues

Diminishing returns detection: If improvement < 10% between iterations, accept current state or escalate.

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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"

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Progress Tracker

Use the progress tracker template to persist state:

## 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]

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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)

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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.

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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.

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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

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Integration

Inbound (feeds into chapter-drafter)

Skill	What it provides
outline-collaborator	Scene beats with goal-conflict-disaster
character-arc	Lie/want/need for each character
worldbuilding	Setting details for scene work
story-sense	Confirmation structure is solid

Outbound (chapter-drafter produces)

Output	Next step
Draft chapter	revision (for full manuscript revision)
Flagged scenes	Human review
Context state	Next chapter drafting

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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