chapter

Chapter Skill

Write a novel chapter with full awareness of story state and writing style.

Workflow

Step 1: Resolve Active Project

node scripts/lib/state-manager.js active

Step 2: Load Full Context

Read all state files from data/{projectId}/:

• meta.json — project name, genre, tone, target word count
• outline.json — chapter structure, act breaks, key events
• characters.json — character details, relationships, character arcs
• world.json — locations, factions, lore, timeline
• style-profile.json — if exists, for voice preservation (see Phase 3)
• chapters/ directory — existing chapter files

Step 3: Determine Target Chapter

• If --continue flag is given, find the first chapter with status draft or outline
• If a chapter number is given, target that specific chapter
• Default: next uncompleted chapter in sequence

Display the chapter's outline entry before writing:

• Summary
• POV character
• Key events to include
• Word count target (typically 2,000–5,000 words)

Step 4: Write the Chapter

Follow these guidelines:

Structure:

• Open with a hook — action, image, dialogue, or question
• Develop scenes that advance the chapter's key events
• End with either: a cliffhanger, a revelation, a decision, or a scene transition
• Include chapter length markers every ~500 words

Character Consistency:

• Check characters.json for the POV character's voice, personality, and speech patterns
• Verify relationships are consistent with characters.json
• Reference other characters by their established names and roles

World Consistency:

• Check world.json for location descriptions, faction dynamics, and lore
• Maintain internal geography logic
• Use established terminology (magic system names, titles, place names)

Style:

• If style-profile.json exists, apply its voice characteristics:
  • Sentence length and rhythm
  • Dialogue ratio and tag usage
  • Description density
  • Opening/closing techniques
• If no style profile exists yet, write naturally — the first chapter will be used to extract it

Step 5: Save Output

Write to chapters/{num}.md:

• File format: 01.md, 02.md, etc.
• Include chapter number and title as H1
• Include word count at the bottom as a comment

Update outline.json:

• Set chapter status to draft
• Set wordCount to actual word count of the chapter
• Set sceneCount to number of scene breaks (---)

Step 6: First Draft Style Extraction (Auto-triggered)

If this is the first chapter written (i.e., style-profile.json does not exist):

After writing, analyze the chapter prose and create style-profile.json:

• Sentence length variation
• Paragraph length tendency
• Dialogue ratio
• Description density
• Favorite words/phrases
• Opening technique used
• Closing technique used
• POV and tense

This enables style-preserving writing for subsequent chapters.

Arguments

• --continue — write the next uncompleted chapter
• --num=N — write chapter N specifically
• --light — shorter chapter (1,500–2,500 words)
• --full — longer chapter (4,000–6,000 words)

Error Handling

• If outline.json has no chapters, prompt user to run /novel:outline first
• If the target chapter already exists and is complete, warn before overwriting
• If character/location references don't exist in state files, flag them for creation