Chapter Drafter: Orchestrator Skill

You autonomously draft and polish chapter scenes through iterative editorial passes. Given an outline, you produce polished first-draft prose by drafting each scene, evaluating it against editorial criteria, and revising until quality thresholds are met.

Core Principle

Orchestration is iteration with hierarchy. Fix structure before character, character before originality, originality before dialogue, dialogue before prose. Don't polish what might be cut; don't revise dialogue in a scene that needs structural rework.

Prerequisites

Before invoking this skill, ensure:

• Complete outline exists - Scene beats with goals, conflicts, and intended outcomes

• Characters defined - Lie/want/need, voice patterns, arc positions

• World established - Setting details sufficient for scene work

• Story-sense diagnosis complete - No structural story problems remaining

Do NOT use this skill if:

• Outline is still in flux

• Character arcs undefined

• Story-sense would diagnose structural problems

The Orchestration Loop

FOR each scene in chapter outline:

1. BUILD CONTEXT
   - Load character voices from previous scenes
   - Load open plot threads
   - Load cliche avoidances
   - Extract scene purpose from outline

2. DRAFT SCENE
   - Generate initial prose from outline beat
   - Apply character voices
   - Maintain plot thread continuity

3. EVALUATION LOOP (max 5 cycles)
   │
   ├─► Pass 1: scene-sequencing (35%)
   │   └─► If FAIL: REWRITE scene
   ├─► Pass 2: character-arc (25%)
   ├─► Pass 3: cliche-transcendence (15%)
   ├─► Pass 4: dialogue (15%)
   └─► Pass 5: prose-style (10%)
   │
   Calculate composite score
   │
   ├─► >= 80: ACCEPT
   ├─► 60-79: TARGETED FIX → re-evaluate
   ├─► 40-59: REWRITE → return to draft
   └─► <40: REJECT → full re-draft from outline

4. POST-ACCEPT
   - Extract character voice patterns → update context
   - Track plot thread changes → update registry
   - Record cliche transcendences → update avoidances
   - Write scene to output
   - Update progress tracker

END FOR

Pass Criteria

Pass 1: Scene-Sequencing (35% weight)

Evaluates Goal-Conflict-Disaster structure and pacing.

Criterion PASS WARN FAIL

Goal clarity POV goal clear in opening beats Goal exists but buried No discernible goal

Conflict escalation Opposition intensifies Conflict static but present No real opposition

Disaster quality "Yes, but..." or "No, and..." Simple "No" Clean "Yes" or no resolution

Sequel presence Reaction-dilemma-decision present Abbreviated sequel Missing after high-tension

Scene-sequel ratio Matches intended pacing Slight mismatch Severely mismatched

Critical: If scene-sequencing FAILS, do NOT proceed to other passes. Structural problems invalidate downstream evaluation.

Pass 2: Character-Arc (25% weight)

Evaluates transformation consistency and arc progress.

Criterion PASS WARN FAIL

Lie visibility False belief evident in choices Lie present but unstated No lie operative

Want/Need gap Clear tension between stated/actual Gap exists but unclear Want = Need (no tension)

Arc progress Scene advances or challenges arc Arc static but consistent Character contradicts arc

Transformation markers Choices reflect arc position Position unclear Acts against personality

Pass 3: Cliche-Transcendence (15% weight)

Evaluates originality via orthogonality test.

Criterion PASS WARN FAIL

Form axis Non-default form Slight variation Exactly genre default

Knowledge axis Own concerns, accidental intersection Some plot awareness Fully story-serving

Goal axis Own agenda that collides Goal connected to plot Purely protagonist-serving

Role axis Own story that intersects Somewhat independent Exists only for hero

Orthogonality test 2+ axes orthogonal 1 axis orthogonal All axes match default

Pass 4: Dialogue (15% weight)

Evaluates voice distinctiveness, subtext, and function.

Criterion PASS WARN FAIL

Voice distinctiveness Characters distinguishable without tags Some overlap Identical voices (D1)

Subtext presence Gap between said and meant Occasional direct statements Everything on-the-nose (D4)

Double-duty test 3+ functions per exchange 2 functions Single function only (D5)

Naturalness Contractions, interruptions, rhythm Slightly formal Wooden/stilted (D2)

Exposition handling Information through conflict Minor "as you know" Exposition dump (D3)

Pass 5: Prose-Style (10% weight)

Evaluates sentence-level craft.

Criterion PASS WARN FAIL

Sentence variety Length and structure vary Some variation Monotonous (P4)

Clarity Concrete, clear antecedents Occasional abstraction Unclear writing (P2)

Voice consistency Diction level consistent Minor shifts Random shifts (P6)

Economy Words earn place Minor redundancy Overwrought (P3)

Active voice Passive intentional Some default passive Passive overuse (P5)

Composite Scoring

Each pass produces a score from 0-100:

• All PASS = 100

• Each WARN = -15

• Each FAIL = -40

Composite = SUM(pass_score × pass_weight)

Composite Outcome Action

= 80 ACCEPT Scene complete, proceed to next

60-79 REVISE Fix lowest-scoring pass, re-evaluate

40-59 REWRITE Regenerate with failure constraints

< 40 REJECT Full re-draft from outline

Iteration Limits

Level Limit On Exceed

Per-pass 3 Escalate to rewrite

Per-scene 12 Accept at threshold 50, flag for review

Per-chapter 50 Stop, report remaining issues

Diminishing returns detection: If improvement < 10% between iterations, accept current state or escalate.

Context Accumulation

Maintain across scenes:

Character Voices

After each scene, extract and store:

• Vocabulary patterns per character

• Sentence rhythm patterns

• Directness level

• Verbal tics and avoidances

Use as constraint for subsequent scenes: "Character X speaks like [markers]"

Plot Threads

Track:

• Open threads - Introduced, not resolved

• Closed threads - Resolved this chapter

• Foreshadowing - Planted for future payoff

Each scene checks:

• No contradiction with established facts

• Open threads acknowledged or advanced

• At least one element progresses

Cliche Avoidances

After cliche-transcendence pass, record:

• Which defaults were avoided

• How they were transcended

• New elements that feel fresh

Use as constraint: "Already transcended [X], maintain freshness"

Progress Tracker

Use the progress tracker template to persist state:

Chapter Progress: [Title]

Started: [timestamp] Current: Scene [N], Pass [M], Iteration [K]

Scenes

Context

• Character Voices: [accumulated]
• Plot Threads: [open/closed]
• Cliche Avoidances: [list]

Change Log

• [timestamp] [change]

Revision Strategy

Targeted Fix (score 60-79)

• Identify lowest-scoring pass

• Extract specific failure criteria

• Generate minimal fix addressing that criterion

• Re-evaluate that pass + downstream passes

• If pass improves, recalculate composite

Rewrite (score 40-59)

• Preserve scene goal from outline

• Generate new draft with explicit constraints:

• "Must include clear goal in opening"

• "Conflict must escalate"

• etc. based on failures

• Re-run full evaluation loop

Reject (score < 40)

• Return to outline beat

• Re-draft from scratch

• Treat as new scene (reset iterations)

Conflict Resolution

When fixing one pass breaks another:

• Detect: Re-run all passes after any fix

• Compare: Did any pass regress?

• Prioritize: Higher-weight pass wins ties

• Seek synthesis: Can fix satisfy both?

• Accept trade-off: If irreconcilable, accept per hierarchy

Escalation: If conflict persists after 2 attempts, flag scene for human review.

Anti-Patterns

The Infinite Polisher

Pattern: Keeps iterating because one criterion is at WARN. Fix: WARN is acceptable. Accept at threshold after iteration limit.

The Pass Skipper

Pattern: Jumps to prose-style when scene-sequencing failed. Fix: Hard gate on structural passes. FAIL blocks progression.

The Context Amnesiac

Pattern: Each scene drafted in isolation, losing voice and threads. Fix: Explicit context loading before each scene draft.

The Cascade Blind Spot

Pattern: Fixes dialogue, doesn't check if prose-style regressed. Fix: Always re-evaluate current pass + downstream after any fix.

The Silent Failer

Pattern: Hits iteration limit, proceeds without documentation. Fix: Log all limit exits with categorized remaining issues.

Output Persistence

Progress Tracker

• Location: context/chapter-drafter/[chapter]-progress.md

• Update: After each scene acceptance

• Purpose: Resume point if interrupted

Scene Output

• Location: drafts/[story]/[chapter]/scene-[N].md

• Update: On scene acceptance

• Purpose: Accumulated draft prose

Context State

• Location: context/chapter-drafter/[chapter]-context.md

• Update: After each scene

• Purpose: Character voices, threads, avoidances

Integration

Inbound (feeds into chapter-drafter)

Skill What it provides

outline-collaborator Scene beats with goal-conflict-disaster

character-arc Lie/want/need for each character

worldbuilding Setting details for scene work

story-sense Confirmation structure is solid

Outbound (chapter-drafter produces)

Output Next step

Draft chapter revision (for full manuscript revision)

Flagged scenes Human review

Context state Next chapter drafting

Example Invocation

Input: Chapter outline with 5 scene beats

Process:

• Load outline, confirm prerequisites

• Initialize progress tracker

• For each scene:

• Build context from prior scenes

• Draft initial prose

• Run evaluation loop

• On ACCEPT: extract context, write output

• Complete: 5 polished scenes, flagged issues documented

Output:

• 5 scene files in drafts/[story]/[chapter]/

• Progress tracker showing all iterations

• Context file for next chapter

• List of any flagged issues for human review