chapter-proofreader

Chapter Proofreader

Checks language correctness — spelling, grammar, punctuation — on prose that is already craft-stable (after chapter-reviewer + chapter-humanizer). Does NOT check craft, voice, or cross-chapter patterns.

Step 1 — Resolve Languages

Call MCP get_author(slug) to read the author profile.

Writing language (what rules to apply):

book_language (from book frontmatter)
  → preferred_writing_language (from author profile)
  → "en" (global fallback)

Explanation language (what language to write findings in):

native_language (from author profile)
  → "en" (fallback)

If writing_language == native_language: skip the explanation — just give the fix. Explanations are for non-native writers who need context, not for native speakers who already know the rule.

Step 2 — Load Book and Chapter

Call MCP get_book_full(book_slug) to read:

• book_language — authoritative per-book writing language
• Author slug (to cross-reference profile from Step 1)

Read the chapter draft directly:

• {project}/chapters/{chapter_slug}/draft.md

Step 3 — Load Author Profile Context

From the author profile (already loaded in Step 1), extract:

• avoid list — intentional stylistic choices that are NOT errors (e.g. sentence fragments as voice)
• sentence_style — if "short-punchy", intentional fragments are expected, do not flag
• vocabulary_level — informs whether archaic or unusual words are intentional

Rule: If a pattern appears in the author's avoid list or is consistent with their documented style, it is intentional — do not flag it.

Step 4 — Run Proofreading Pass

Spelling

• Typos and misspellings
• Wrong word forms (e.g. "affect" vs "effect", "lay" vs "lie")
• Homophone confusion (their/there/they're, your/you're, its/it's)
• Consistency: proper nouns spelled the same way as in earlier chapters (use canon from Step 2)

Grammar

• Subject-verb agreement ("she don't" → "she doesn't")
• Tense consistency within a scene — unintentional tense shifts only; intentional mixed tense (e.g. present for reflection, past for events) must be honored
• Dangling and misplaced modifiers
• Pronoun-antecedent agreement
• Double negatives (unless stylistic/dialect)
• Run-on sentences and comma splices (two independent clauses joined only by a comma)
• Sentence fragments — flag ONLY if NOT consistent with sentence_style: short-punchy or the author's documented voice

Punctuation

English (writing_language: en):

• Em dash (—) vs en dash (–) vs hyphen (-): em dash for interruption/parenthetical, en dash for ranges, hyphen for compound words
• Oxford comma: flag if inconsistently applied within the chapter (pick one style, keep it)
• Dialogue punctuation: comma before closing quote when followed by dialogue tag ("Hello," she said — not "Hello." she said); period inside closing quote (US English)
• Ellipsis: three dots only (…), not two or four, no space before
• Apostrophe errors: it's/its, possessives, contractions

German (writing_language: de):

• Comma rules (Nebensätze, Infinitivgruppen)
• Quotation marks: „..." not "..."
• Compound words written together vs apart
• Capitalization of nouns
• Comma before "und/oder" in compound sentences (not mandatory, but flag inconsistency)

Other languages: Apply the standard punctuation conventions of that language.

Non-Native Writer Patterns (only when writing_language != native_language)

These patterns are common for non-native writers and worth flagging when writing_language is not the author's mother tongue:

• Article misuse (a/an/the for non-native English writers)
• Preposition errors ("interested on" → "interested in", "depend of" → "depend on")
• False friends (words that look similar across languages but mean different things)
• Calque constructions (literal translations of idioms from the native language that don't work in the writing language)
• Modal verb misuse ("can" vs "may", "must" vs "have to", "will" vs "would")

Step 5 — Output Report

Report target: concise. Only flag real errors. Do not pad the report with minor stylistic observations that belong in chapter-reviewer. If a chapter is clean, say so in one line.

## Proofreading Report: {Chapter Title}

**Writing language:** {en/de/...}
**Explanations in:** {de/fr/en/...}
**Non-native patterns checked:** {yes / no — native speaker}

---

### Spelling ({count} issues)

**[~Line/paragraph reference]** "{quoted phrase with error}"
→ Fix: "{corrected version}"
→ {Explanation in native_language — only for non-obvious rules}

### Grammar ({count} issues)

**[~Line/paragraph reference]** "{quoted phrase with error}"
→ Fix: "{corrected version}"
→ {Explanation in native_language}

### Punctuation ({count} issues)

**[~Line/paragraph reference]** "{quoted phrase with error}"
→ Fix: "{corrected version}"
→ {Explanation in native_language}

### Non-Native Patterns ({count} issues / "not checked — native speaker")

**[~Line/paragraph reference]** "{quoted phrase}"
→ Fix: "{corrected version}"
→ {Explanation in native_language — explain the rule and why the native pattern causes it}

---

### Summary

| Category | Issues |
|---|---|
| Spelling | {n} |
| Grammar | {n} |
| Punctuation | {n} |
| Non-native patterns | {n} |
| **Total** | **{n}** |

**Verdict:** CLEAN | ISSUES FOUND

**Suggested next step:**
- CLEAN → `/storyforge:manuscript-checker` (full-book pass)
- ISSUES FOUND → Fix listed items, then `/storyforge:manuscript-checker`

Rules

• Flag errors, not style. If unsure whether something is intentional, check the author profile before flagging.
• Quote the actual text when flagging — never describe it vaguely.
• Explanations go in the author's native_language. If writing_language == native_language, skip explanations entirely — just give the fix.
• Do not flag craft issues (pacing, show-don't-tell, AI-tells) — those belong in chapter-reviewer.
• Do not flag cross-chapter repetitions — those belong in manuscript-checker.
• A clean chapter gets one line: "No issues found. Verdict: CLEAN."