novel-research

Novel Research

Overview

Create a single-novel project, transforming a vague story idea into a Markdown knowledge base for long-term drafting use through 6 phases.

Phases 1–3 are the interview phase (scope assessment → approach exploration → incremental interview), focused on collaborating with the user to clarify creative intent
Phases 4–6 are the execution and verification phase (research writing → self-check → user review), solidifying confirmed conclusions into artifact files

Unless the user explicitly declines, conduct online research by default.

When to Use

The user wants to start a new novel project from scratch
The user has only a story premise and needs further structuring
The project needs research on setting, genre, style, or professional domain
Before the files are complete, the drafting phase must remain blocked

Required Artifacts

Research can only be marked complete when all of the following files exist and have sufficient content:

00-project/project-brief.md
00-project/success-criteria.md
00-project/workflow-status.md
10-research/topic-research.md
10-research/setting-research.md
10-research/style-research.md
10-research/references.md
20-story/characters/ — one per character .md file, unified character card format
20-story/character-relationships.md — bidirectional relationships between characters
20-story/plot-outline.md
20-story/foreshadowing.md
30-draft/chapter-plan.md

The above files are written in Phase 4, self-checked in Phase 5, and reviewed and confirmed by the user in Phase 6.

Phase 1: Scope Assessment and Decomposition

Entry conditions: Execute this phase first whenever the user proposes any new novel idea.

If the following signals are present, the project needs to be split:

Trilogy / series / multiple volumes
An ensemble drama with more than 3 main-line POVs
Spanning multiple eras or continents, where the worldbuilding itself is an independent undertaking
The user explicitly mentions "series" or "multiple volumes"

Splitting process:

Help the user clarify the relationships and reading order among sub-projects
Each sub-project is an independent book with its own directory structure and research cycle
The current session focuses on the first sub-project

Normal scope: If it is suitable for a single novel, execute the project creation rules and proceed to Phase 2.

Project Creation Rules

When research begins, create a single-book directory using a slug derived from the book title or working title.

If the agent is started from the workspace root rather than the book root, create and use the following structure:

<workspace-root>/<book-slug>/00-project
<workspace-root>/<book-slug>/10-research
<workspace-root>/<book-slug>/20-story
<workspace-root>/<book-slug>/30-draft
<workspace-root>/<book-slug>/40-review
<workspace-root>/<book-slug>/50-delivery

When subsequent skills reference paths such as 00-project/... , they should be resolved relative to the detected novel project root. This root may be:

The current working directory itself
The only child book directory under the current working directory

Create the following directories:

00-project
10-research
20-story
30-draft/chapters
40-review/chapter-reviews
50-delivery/output

All template files must be instantiated before declaring progress.

Phase 2: Approach Exploration

Purpose: Before the detailed interview, present 2-3 different broad directions to the user, letting the user actively choose rather than passively follow the agent's default understanding.

Direction Card Format(3-5 sentences each):

One-sentence positioning (what kind of story this is)
Narrative perspective + genre
Tone and atmosphere
Unique selling point (the essential difference from the other directions)

Example: The user says "I want to write a revenge xianxia" —

Direction A:Traditional cultivation revenge tale — First person, the protagonist goes from having their whole clan wiped out to ascending, dark realistic tone, the core is power growth and moral cost
Direction B:Hidden line of court intrigue — Third person multi-POV, revenge hidden beneath the power struggle between sects and the dynasty, cold and calculating tone
Direction C:Deconstructive anti-trope — First person with an ironic voice, the protagonist discovers that "revenge" is a script designed by a higher being, absurd yet warm tone

Process:

The Agent explains "Your idea can go in these directions"
Present the direction cards one by one
Wait for the user to choose (can pick one, can mix elements, can propose their own direction)

Skip condition: If the user's initial description is already very specific (e.g. "third person multi-POV, Ming dynasty setting, spy wuxia"), the option exploration can be shortened to a single confirmation.

Phase 3: Incremental interview

The 8 interview topics are divided into 3 groups. Ask questions one by one within a group, and pause for confirmation at the end of each group. Ask only one question at a time, do not ask in batches.

Group A: External form

Topic	How to ask
Type and genre	What kind of story is this?
Target readers	Who is the intended reader?
Length target	Short story, novella, novel? Roughly how many words?

Group A confirmation: After the three questions are answered, the agent summarizes in 3-5 sentences and asks "Is this understanding correct?"

Group B: Internal drive

Topic	How to ask
Tone and atmosphere	Serious, lighthearted, dark, hopeful?
Core conflict	What is the central tension?
Protagonist's desire	What does the protagonist want most?

Group B confirmation: Same as Group A, confirm after summarizing.

Timing for importing character cards

After Group B is completed and before Group C begins, ask the user:

"Do you have a SillyTavern / tavern character card (PNG or WebP image)? If so, I can parse and import it as a starting point for the character setting."

If the user provides a character card path:

Run <skill-root>/scripts/parse-charcard.mts --input <path> --project-root <project-root>
Read the generated 20-story/characters/<角色名>.md
Iterate over the system_prompt / post_history_instructions in the "needs agent summary" section, and extract information useful for character building
Integrate the parsing results + agent summary into the character's character card file
Leave remaining fields such as identity / goal / motivation / conflict / arc as placeholders, to be filled in during the interview phase

If the user has no character card, continue with the Group C interview.

Prerequisite for character creation:

Before starting character creation, the agent must read references/theory/zhuji-character-theory.md Understand the three-axis deconstruction system (external axis / internal axis / extension axis)
In the subsequent char0~3, guide the user interview with the three-axis framework: char0 focuses on the three-axis conceptual design, char1 focuses on the external axis, char2 focuses on the internal axis, char3 focuses on the extension axis

Character creation pipeline: When creating characters, the agent follows references/character-interview-guide.md Execute the char0~7 steps of Part 1 step by step; after character creation is complete, run Part 2 "Character Review" for self-check. The consistency diagnosis in the review is based on references/theory/mckee-character.md 's six-dimension system, and the arc verification is based on references/theory/harmon-story-circle.md 's 8-stage cycle.

Group C: Boundary Conditions

Topic	Questioning approach
Ending tendency	Happy, tragic, open-ended, bittersweet?
Taboo content	Which subjects, tropes, or elements must be avoided?

Group C confirmation: Same as above, confirm after summarizing.

Overall confirmation

After all three groups pass, the agent provides an overall summary covering all 8 topics + character information. After user confirmation, proceed to Phase 4.

Phase 4: Research and Document Writing

Write the conclusions confirmed in Phase 2–3 into all 11 artifact files.

Style Construction: When the agent is writing 10-research/style-research.md , it produces style constraints according to references/style-analysis-guide.md 's stylistic analysis process and style reproduction charter.

Narrative Construction: The agent proceeds in two steps —

According to references/narrative-structure-guide.md Part 1, establish the narrative framework (preset author, plot structure selection, narrative perspective, reader experience), and write the output into 20-story/plot-outline.md 's narrative constraint section.When selecting the plot structure, you must consult references/theory/mckee-story.md to understand act design principles, and use references/theory/harmon-story-circle.md 's 8-stage cycle to verify the protagonist's arc integrity.
According to references/narrative-structure-guide.md Parts 2 and 3, organize the narrative network and refine it chapter by chapter, and write the output into 20-story/plot-outline.md、20-story/foreshadowing.md and 30-draft/chapter-plan.md。

Worldbuilding Construction: When the agent is writing 10-research/setting-research.md , it builds section by section according to references/worldbuilding-guide.md 's 7 major sections (tone and physical principles → natural endowments → biosphere → world history → human culture → regional differentiation → cultural symbols). Sections 1 through 6 are required, and section 7 is optional.

Online research

For domain facts, period details, setting authenticity, professional procedures, regional background, and style references, unless the user explicitly prohibits it, conduct online research by default.

If searching is prohibited:

Do not browse online
In references.md , mark uncertain areas
Clearly indicate which details are inferences rather than verified findings

Research transformation

Do not stop at the level of links or excerpts. Transform each useful finding into one or more of the following:

Setting constraints
Terminology explanations
Authenticity risks
Style rules
Taboo or continuity risks

Document writing principles

The constraints of each file must be traceable to the confirmed conclusions of Phase 3
Files must not contradict one another (if they do, it is considered incomplete)
Integrate the parsed character card results into the 20-story/characters/ directory (the directory must be non-empty), and update 20-story/character-relationships.md

Phase 5: Self-check

After all files are fully written, pass two checks in sequence. If either one fails → the status remains research_in_progress, and return to the corresponding phase to supplement.

First check: completeness checklist

The protagonist, core conflict, and story goal are clearly defined
Length target has been set and is consistent with the number of chapters.
The chapter plan matches the length and pacing.
Foreshadowing appears before its corresponding payoff point.
The style constraints sufficiently constrain subsequent drafting.
There are no obvious gaps in worldview / setting / plausibility.

Second pass: mechanical validation

Run validator (must succeed):

node --experimental-strip-types <skill-root>/scripts/validate-research-project.mts --project-root <project-root>

After both checks pass, proceed to Phase 6.

Phase 6: User Review Gate

Hard constraint: before the user explicitly confirms,workflow-status.md in the Status must absolutely not be written as research_complete。