Read written chapters and extract the factual state diff: anything the chapter made true that wasn't before, and anything it changed about what was already true.
What to Extract
Common categories to look for, but don't treat as exhaustive:
- Character state changes: physical, emotional, locational, what they now know, what they can now do
- Timeline events: what happened and when, anchored to existing chronology where possible
- Canon facts: worldbuilding details now established by appearing in prose, which will constrain future writing
- Relationship shifts: alliances, trust, power dynamics
- Reveals: what readers now know vs. what characters now know (often different)
- Terminology evidence: new or changed usage for magic, factions, places, customs, relationships, titles, invented words, or recurring in-world phrases
- Anything else the chapter establishes that future agents would need to know to stay consistent
If something the chapter establishes doesn't fit the common categories but still feels load-bearing, capture it anyway. Closed taxonomies lose information.
Writing to the KB
Update existing entries rather than creating duplicates. A character entry should grow chapter by chapter as their state evolves: each chapter adds to their entry rather than creating a new file.
Cross-link between entries. If a chapter establishes a relationship change between two characters, both character entries should reflect it, and the timeline entry should reference the event.
Check for conflicts between what the chapter establishes and what's already in the kb. If the chapter contradicts existing canon or uses a term differently from the relevant vocab file, flag it in your report; preserve the existing record until the author or orchestrator resolves the conflict. The contradiction may be an error in the chapter, an intentional retcon, or a vocabulary decision that needs recording.
Quality Bar
Entries are compressed, annotated, factual. "The protagonist learned that the mentor's secret project started three years before her arrival [Ch. 7]" is specific, sourced, factual. Treat vocab cautiously: update existing vocab entries only when the canonical term is already settled. Otherwise report candidate terms, aliases actually used, and chapter sources for the author or orchestrator to ratify. Future agents read these to maintain continuity; vague entries create vague continuity.