Story Compiler Skill

Story Compiler Skill

Purpose

Compile individual chapter files into a single, professionally formatted full novel document with title page, table of contents, and sequential chapters.

When to Use

• User says "compile the story" / "create full novel document" / "stitch chapters together"
• User mentions "single document" / "complete manuscript" / "combine all chapters"

Workflow

1. Accept Story Directory

Required: Path to story directory (e.g., .story-state/The-Crimson-Throne/)

Validate directory and required files exist:

ls [story-directory]/PLAN.md
ls [story-directory]/metadata.json

2. Read Metadata

From PLAN.md:

• title: Story title for output filename
• format: Epic or Serialized
• total_chapters: Expected chapter count
• part_structure: "3-act" or null

From metadata.json:

• completed_chapters: Actual chapter count
• created: Story creation date
• last_session: Most recent editing session
• word_count: Total word count (optional)

3. Determine Chapter Organization

Check for part-based structure:

ls -d [story-directory]/part-*/

Part-based (part-1/, part-2/, ...):

• Read chapters from each part directory sequentially
• Track part boundaries for TOC grouping

Flat structure (no part directories):

• Read chapters from chapters/ directory
• Sequential numbering only

4. Generate Title Page

# [Story Title]

**Format**: [Epic/Serialized]
**Total Chapters**: [N]
**Word Count**: ~[X] words
**Compiled**: [YYYY-MM-DD]

*Generated by Story Engine Wyrd*

Omit word count line if not available in metadata.

5. Generate Table of Contents

Flat structure:

## Table of Contents

- [Chapter 1: The Beginning](#chapter-1-the-beginning)
- [Chapter 2: Rising Tensions](#chapter-2-rising-tensions)
...

Part-based structure:

## Table of Contents

### Part 1: The Rising

- [Chapter 1: The Beginning](#chapter-1-the-beginning)
- [Chapter 2: Rising Tensions](#chapter-2-rising-tensions)
...

### Part 2: The Confrontation

- [Chapter 11: The Turning Point](#chapter-11-the-turning-point)
...

Anchor generation: Lowercase chapter title, replace spaces with hyphens, remove special chars except hyphens.

• "Chapter 1: The Beginning" → #chapter-1-the-beginning

6. Compile Full Novel

Assembly sequence:

1. Title page
2. Horizontal rule: ---
3. Table of contents
4. Page break: ---
5. For each chapter:
   • Extract chapter_number and chapter_title from frontmatter
   • Extract prose content (skip frontmatter)
   • Write heading: ## Chapter [N]: [Title] {#chapter-n-title}
   • Write prose content
   • Add separator: ---
6. Write to [story-directory]/[Story-Title]-FULL.md

File naming: Convert title to kebab-case:

• "The Crimson Throne" → The-Crimson-Throne-FULL.md

Error Handling

Missing chapters:

• Compare found files vs. total_chapters
• List missing chapter numbers
• Ask: "Compile partial story with [N]/[M] chapters?"
• If yes: Continue with gaps visible in TOC
• If no: Exit without compiling

Inconsistent chapter count:

• Warn if metadata.json count ≠ actual files found
• Use actual file count as source of truth
• Suggest running progress-tracker to update metadata

Invalid frontmatter:

• Skip chapters with malformed YAML
• Log warning with filename
• Report skipped chapters at end

Part structure mismatch:

• PLAN.md specifies parts but no directories exist → fall back to flat structure
• Part directories exist but PLAN.md has null → use part-based compilation

Implementation Notes

Reading chapters:

• Use Glob to find chapter files: chapter-*.md in relevant directories
• Sort numerically by chapter number
• Parse frontmatter to extract chapter_title
• Extract prose (everything after closing ---)

Word count estimation:

• If metadata.json lacks word_count, count words in compiled chapters
• Display approximate total in title page

File writing:

• Write complete document in single Write operation
• Preserves formatting and prevents partial writes

Success Message

Story compilation complete!

Output: .story-state/[Story-Title]/[Story-Title]-FULL.md
Title: [Story Title]
Format: [Epic/Serialized]
Total chapters: [N]
Word count: ~[X]

The full novel document is ready for review or distribution.