This page shows a complete end-to-end example of a StoryForge workflow — from initial idea to finished EPUB. The example book is "The Lighthouse Keeper", a fictional mystery/contemporary/literary-fiction novel.
Everything here is invented — characters, plot, author persona. The example does not show how to write a specific book; it shows how StoryForge is used as a tool.
Book basics:
git clone https://github.com/markus-michalski/storyforge.git ~/projekte/storyforge
claude plugin install ~/projekte/storyforge
In Claude Code:
/storyforge:setup
Output:
✓ Python venv created at ~/.storyforge/venv/
✓ Dependencies installed (FastMCP, PyYAML, pdfplumber, python-docx, ebooklib)
✓ Config template copied to ~/.storyforge/config.yaml
✓ Cache directory created: ~/.storyforge/cache/
✓ Authors directory created: ~/.storyforge/authors/
# ~/.storyforge/config.yaml
paths:
content_root: "~/projekte/book-projects"
authors_root: "~/.storyforge/authors"
defaults:
language: "en"
book_type: "novel"
export_format: "epub"
review:
handle: "Author"
/storyforge:create-author
Interactive answers:
Author name: Maja Sundberg
Primary genres: literary-fiction, mystery, contemporary
Narrative voice: third-person-limited
Tense: past
Tonality (3-5 descriptors):
→ melancholic, understated, coastal, slow-build, wintry
Sentence style: varied-short-to-long
Vocabulary level: moderate
Dialog style: naturalistic-with-dialect-markers
Pacing: slow-build-with-occasional-sharp-accelerations
Author writing mode: outliner
Banned words (10-20 recommended):
→ journey (metaphorical), tapestry, realm, essence,
landscape (metaphorical), "it's worth noting",
vulnerable, overwhelmed, embraced,
navigated (metaphorical), transcended, held space
Preferred words (5-10):
→ mug (never cup), boat (small), path, fog,
aye, wee, back along
Signature phrases (2-4, max 2x per book):
→ "and then it was quiet."
→ "That was the way of it."
→ "Not today."
Influences (literary):
→ Jon Fosse, Siri Hustvedt, Per Petterson, Kate Atkinson
Output: ~/.storyforge/authors/maja-sundberg/profile.md + vocabulary.md
If Maja had a prior work, she could import it:
/storyforge:study-author ~/works/island-at-night.epub maja-sundberg
Output (excerpt):
Analysis of "The Island at Night" (82,000 words) complete.
Style parameters extracted:
- Sentence length Mean: 16.3, StdDev: 9.8 (high, human-typical)
- Filter-word density: saw 12/10k, heard 8/10k (very low)
- Dialog proportion: 23%
- Signature phrases identified:
"That was the way of it" (14x — strong)
"and then it was quiet" (6x)
"Not today" (4x)
profile.md has been updated.
vocabulary.md has been updated.
For our example we assume Maja starts fresh and imports no prior works.
When the idea is still vague:
/storyforge:brainstorm
Conversation:
Claude: Tell me your idea, as rough as it comes.
User: An old lighthouse keeper finds a silver coin
from 1987, the year his brother disappeared.
The coin might be a clue — or just coincidence.
Claude: Interesting. Five phases:
1. Seed — what draws you to the idea?
2. Exploration — worst case / best case?
3. What-if — three alternative angles
4. Genre check
5. Feasibility
Seed: What is the emotional anchor for you?
User: That the past returns, but not in the form you expect.
Arne believes he will find his brother. But maybe he
only finds himself — the parts he has suppressed.
[...four more phases]
Claude: Idea saved as "the-lighthouse-keeper" (status: ready).
You can promote it with /storyforge:new-book.
Output: ~/.storyforge/cache/ideas/the-lighthouse-keeper.md
/storyforge:new-book
Interactive:
Title: The Lighthouse Keeper
Type: novel
Primary genres (1-3): mystery, contemporary, literary-fiction
Author slug: maja-sundberg
Target words: 85000
Language: en
Writing mode: outliner (loaded from author profile)
Slug generated: the-lighthouse-keeper
Project directory: ~/projekte/book-projects/projects/the-lighthouse-keeper/
Output structure:
~/projekte/book-projects/projects/the-lighthouse-keeper/
├── README.md # Book metadata (YAML)
├── synopsis.md # empty
├── plot/
│ ├── outline.md # empty
│ ├── timeline.md # empty
│ ├── tone.md # empty
│ ├── canon-log.md # empty
│ └── arcs.md # empty
├── characters/
│ └── INDEX.md # empty
├── world/
│ ├── setting.md # empty
│ ├── rules.md # empty
│ └── history.md # empty
├── chapters/ # empty
├── CLAUDE.md # empty (filled by hooks)
├── cover/
├── export/
└── translations/
---
title: "The Lighthouse Keeper"
slug: "the-lighthouse-keeper"
type: "novel"
author_slug: "maja-sundberg"
primary_genres:
- "mystery"
- "contemporary"
- "literary-fiction"
language: "en"
target_words: 85000
status: "Idea"
writing_mode: "outliner"
created: "2026-04-24"
updated: "2026-04-24"
---
# The Lighthouse Keeper
*Status: Idea*
No concept yet. Run /storyforge:book-conceptualizer.
/storyforge:book-conceptualizer the-lighthouse-keeper
5-phase walk (condensed):
Input: The seed idea from brainstorm
Output premise:
"Arne Kruse, 72, former seaman and lighthouse keeper on the
North Sea island of Kargholm, finds a silver coin minted 1987
— the year his brother Jürgen disappeared without a trace.
The closer he gets to the truth, the clearer it becomes: the
island has its own rules about what is allowed to be forgotten."
Arne Kruse, 72
- 35 years on Kargholm
- Former fisherman, then lighthouse keeper (now retired but
still unofficially maintaining the object)
- Widowed (Helga), 8 years ago
- Childless
- Lives alone in the keeper's cottage next to the lighthouse
Physical: Tall, still sinewy, weather-beaten. Belongs to the
island like the rock the lighthouse sits on.
Inner core: Guilt. He was not at the cottage the evening his
brother disappeared. He might have stopped him. Maybe.
External: The coin — clue to Jürgen's fate
Internal: Arne's guilt vs. his fear that the truth is worse
than the uncertainty
Plot engine: Every new piece about 1987 forces Arne to choose:
dig further or let the truth stay buried.
Central question: What if processing is not remembering but
suppression with another name?
Theme statement:
"What you have not processed comes back — but not as
what you expected."
Sub-themes:
- Islands as metaphors for isolation AND for compression
- Men and not-speaking
- The honesty of the sea
Dominant: melancholic, wintry, slow-thickening
Not: dark-nihilistic, thriller-like, cozy
Tonal litmus test questions:
1. Is there humor? Yes — dry, rare, always from minor characters
2. How much violence? Minimal, off-page when possible
3. May the reader hope for a happy ending? No — an earned,
incomplete ending
4. Is the sea human-friendly? No — indifferent, a third character
5. May characters cry? Yes, but never cathartically
Output:
synopsis.md with blurb (~200 words) + long synopsis (~1,500 words)plot/tone.md with tonal guard railsREADME.md frontmatter updated: status → Concept/storyforge:plot-architect the-lighthouse-keeper
Method choice: 3-Act Structure (fits mystery + literary)
Selection criteria:
- 3-Act: fits all genres, clearly locatable
- Hero's Journey: too archaic for literary mystery
- Save the Cat: too commercial-beat-driven
- Snowflake: for very complex plots — overkill here
- Freytag: classic dramatic build — fits, but 3-Act more flexible
Plot architecture (condensed):
# Plot Outline — The Lighthouse Keeper
## Act 1: Arrival and Resurfacing (Ch 1-6, ~26k words)
**Chapter 1: Arrival**
- Arne returns from 2 weeks on the mainland
- Lighthouse dark (power failure? maintenance issue?)
- At night: first alien signal from the sea
- Hook: "The fog didn't come from the sea."
**Chapter 2: The Beacon**
- Arne repairs the lighthouse
- In the cellar: remains of an old logbook
- Hint: Jürgen's name in a 1987 entry
- Introduction: Pastor Thaden (stops by, has tea)
**Chapter 3: The Coin**
- Arne finds the silver coin in the flooded cellar
- Minted: 1987
- Emotional pivot: Jürgen's face
- Arne decides: "Not today." — but the coin stays on the
mantelpiece
**Chapter 4: The Stranger**
- Introduction: Inga Holm (34, marine biologist, on the
island for a research study)
- Arne distrusts her (in-group/out-group)
- Inga sees the coin: "I know that coin. It's from Hannover."
**Chapter 5: The Ultimatum (Inciting Incident)**
- Arne decides to dig
- Confrontation with Pastor Thaden
- Pastor: "Let it rest, Arne. The island knows what it's doing."
- Arne: "The island — or you?"
- End: Arne has decided to investigate
**Chapter 6: The First Crack**
- Arne in Jürgen's room (untouched for 38 years)
- Finds: notebook with coded entries
- First decoding: 14.3.1987 — "Today I go"
## Act 2: The Downward Spiral (Ch 7-14, ~35k words)
[Details similar to German version]
## Act 3: The Lighthouse (Ch 15-18, ~24k words)
[Details similar to German version]
Arcs per character (in plot/arcs.md):
Arne: Positive Change
- Lie: "Suppression is forgetting"
- Truth: "Suppression is deferred confrontation"
- Start: peace through isolation
- End: acceptance without peace
Inga: Positive Change
- Lie: "Older men are unreliable"
- Truth: "Closeness to older people is risking love"
- Start: distance as self-protection
- End: ally of a 72-year-old stranger
Pastor Thaden: Flat Arc
- Truth: "Loyalty can be hiding" — holds this conviction,
story forces him to defend it
Jürgen (the brother): Negative Arc (implicit, off-page)
- Start 1987: wanted to be free
- End 2025: found freedom, at the price of his former self
Output files:
plot/outline.md with complete structureplot/arcs.md with character arcschapters/{NN-slug}/README.mdSequentially for each character:
/storyforge:character-creator the-lighthouse-keeper "Arne Kruse"
/storyforge:character-creator the-lighthouse-keeper "Inga Holm"
/storyforge:character-creator the-lighthouse-keeper "Pastor Thaden"
/storyforge:character-creator the-lighthouse-keeper "Jürgen Kruse"
Arne Kruse (14-step process, condensed):
---
name: Arne Kruse
slug: arne-kruse
role: protagonist
age: 72
profession: Ex-fisherman, ex-lighthouse keeper (retired)
status: Arc Defined
arc_type: Positive Change
fatal_flaw: mistakes silence for strength, when it is suppression
---
## GMC
- Goal: Find out what happened in 1987
- Motivation: Guilt that he was not there that evening
- Conflict: If the truth is painful, uncertainty would be easier
## Backstory (3 key experiences)
1. 1985: Jürgen leaves the island for the first time. Returns
but changed.
2. 14.3.1987: Jürgen disappears. Arne was in Husum, fetching
a crate of eel.
3. 2017: Helga dies. Arne sells the boat, keeps only the
lighthouse duty.
## Want vs. Need
- Want: The truth about Jürgen
- Need: Accept he could not have saved Jürgen
## Ghost
Jürgen on the pier, 1985: "You belong on the island. I don't."
## Lie
"If I don't speak it, it doesn't really exist."
## Truth
"The unspoken exists twice. Once as memory, once as the un-remembered."
## Voice
- Speaks short, often in fragments
- Never "I feel" — instead: "That was too much for me."
- Uses "aye" as greeting and as closing
- During dialog beats often: hand on the lighthouse, gaze to the sea
## Physical Tells (no repetition!)
- Pulls on left earlobe when thinking (NOT more than 3x in the book)
- Left foot taps sometimes (unconscious)
- Smells coffee before drinking
## Relationships
- To Inga: initially distrustful, develops into paternal care
- To Pastor Thaden: 40 years of friendship now crumbling
- To Helga (deceased): remembers only through objects
(her teacup, her scarf)
- To Jürgen (absent): alternates between longing and rage
(Same for other characters — full detail only for Arne here.)
Output:
characters/arne-kruse.mdcharacters/inga-holm.mdcharacters/pastor-thaden.mdcharacters/juergen-kruse.mdcharacters/INDEX.md with overviewplot/arcs.md with detailed arcs/storyforge:world-builder the-lighthouse-keeper
Setting (condensed):
# Kargholm — Fictional North Sea Island
## Geography
- Island: 4.5 x 1.8 km, elongated
- 180 inhabitants (almost all in Karhallig, the only village)
- Only mainland connection: ferry to Husum, 2x daily
(departures 08:00 and 15:00; crossing 1 hour)
## Locations
### 1. Kargholm Lighthouse
- Built 1897, 28 meters tall
- Keeper's cottage next door (Arne's residence)
- Rotating lens: Fresnel, still original
### 2. Karhallig Harbor
- 12 fishing boats (10 active)
- Landing for Husum ferry
- Pub "The Grey Boat" at the landing
### 3. Karhallig Village
- 180 inhabitants
- St. Nicolai Church (Pastor Thaden)
- School (7 children, single-classroom)
- Shop (combined groceries + post)
### 4. Parsonage
- Next to the church
- Residence of Pastor Thaden
- Old church books in the cellar
### 5. The Cliffs (south side)
- Rocky shore
- Several boat accidents since 1887
- 1987: Jürgen's boat found drifting here (empty)
### 6. The Ferry
- MS "Kargholm II"
- Captain Mönckeberg (70, knows Arne since childhood)
## Travel Matrix
| From → To | Lighthouse | Harbor | Village | Parsonage | Cliff | Ferry→Husum |
|-----------|------------|--------|---------|-----------|-------|-------------|
| Lighthouse | — | 25 min | 40 min | 45 min | 15 min | 2.5 h |
| Harbor | 25 min | — | 15 min | 20 min | 35 min | 1 h (crossing) |
| Village | 40 min | 15 min | — | 5 min | 30 min | 2 h |
| Parsonage | 45 min | 20 min | 5 min | — | 35 min | 2 h |
| Cliff | 15 min | 35 min | 30 min | 35 min | — | 2.5 h |
Assumptions: Walking speed 4 km/h, dry weather.
During storms: Lighthouse path impassable (60 min detour via village).
During spring tide: Shore path between harbor and cliffs flooded.
Canon Log (initial):
# Canon Log — The Lighthouse Keeper
## Established Facts (as of plot-architect phase)
### Historical
- Kargholm Lighthouse was built in 1897 (Status: ESTABLISHED)
- Jürgen Kruse (Arne's brother) disappeared 14.3.1987 (Status: ESTABLISHED)
- Jürgen's boat found drifting at the cliffs (Status: ESTABLISHED)
- Pastor Thaden was already pastor on Kargholm in 1987 (Status: ESTABLISHED)
### People
- Arne Kruse: 72, former seaman and lighthouse keeper,
widowed since 2017, childless (ESTABLISHED)
- Inga Holm: 34, marine biologist, her father Hannes Holm
was a fisherman, disappeared 1987 (ESTABLISHED)
- Pastor Thaden: 68, pastor on Kargholm since 1984 (ESTABLISHED)
- Jürgen Kruse: lives under another name in Hannover
(ESTABLISHED as plot premise, revealed in Ch 16)
### Places
- Kargholm: North Sea island, 4.5 x 1.8 km, 180 inhabitants (ESTABLISHED)
### Objects
- Silver coin minted 1987 (Hannover) (ESTABLISHED)
- Jürgen's diary in the family home (ESTABLISHED)
- Jürgen's boat, found drifting 1987 (ESTABLISHED)
/storyforge:chapter-writer the-lighthouse-keeper 01
Claude asks:
Choose writing mode:
[1] Scene-by-scene (recommended)
[2] Full chapter
[3] Batch all chapters
User: 1
Scene 1 (~900 words):
Claude loads all 16 context sources (profile, book, outline, canon, timeline, travel matrix, genre READMEs, craft refs, tonal doc, per-book CLAUDE.md, review handle).
Then writes Scene 1:
## Scene 1 — Arrival
The fog didn't come from the sea.
Arne Kruse stood at the stern of the ferry and watched Kargholm
peel itself out of the grey. He knew every inch of this coast,
knew the way the lighthouse appeared first as a line in poor
visibility, then as a cylinder. But this time there was no line.
Only the fog.
Mönckeberg came to the stern. Held two coffees in hands that
looked as if they had gripped the helm for thirty years.
"Moin, Arne."
"Moin."
Mönckeberg handed him a mug. Arne smelled it before drinking.
Mönckeberg pretended not to see.
"Your lighthouse."
"What about it."
"Looked last night on the Husum run. Dark."
Arne said nothing. Drank. The coffee was too strong, the way
Mönckeberg had always made it, since they were children and
coffee was something the grownups drank.
[...scene continues ~820 more words, ending with Arne pulling
the lighthouse key from his coat pocket and finding the door
is already open.]
Author: The coffee-sniff moment is good. Keep it.
Author: Mönckeberg's dialog feels too chatty — cut "on the
Husum run", it's filler.
User feedback:
User: Good. Apply the change and write Scene 2.
Claude:
Scene 2 (~900 words):
[Arne in the lighthouse — power outage, generator start, check the Fresnel lens]
Scene 3 (~800 words):
[At night — the first alien signal from the sea that should not be there]
Full chapter close:
Claude updates:
chapters/01-arrival/draft.md — full text (~2,600 words)chapters/01-arrival/README.md frontmatter: status → Draftchapters/01-arrival/README.md → ## Chapter Timeline:14:15 — Arrival at Karhallig landing
14:40 — Arne reaches keeper's cottage
15:00 — Power outage identified
16:20 — Generator running, lighthouse on
19:45 — Supper (herring tin + bread)
23:30 — Alien signal from the sea
plot/timeline.md: New row "Day 1 (Mon, 14.3.2025): Arne arrives. Lighthouse power outage. Alien signal 23:30."plot/canon-log.md: New fact "14.3.2025: Arne returns after 2 weeks on mainland. Lighthouse dark on arrival."/storyforge:chapter-reviewer the-lighthouse-keeper 01-arrival
Because it is Chapter 1, the First-Chapter Gate (13 points) runs additionally.
First-Chapter Report:
| # | Requirement | Result | Note |
|---|-------------|--------|------|
| 1 | Orient the reader | PASS | North Sea, ferry clearly established |
| 2 | Set the tone | PASS | Melancholic, wintry, understated |
| 3 | Establish genre | WARN | Mystery not yet fully clear |
| 4 | Protagonist in element | PASS | Arne at stern, observing |
| 5 | Protagonist wants something | PASS | Peace, lighthouse duty |
| 6 | Normal world revealed | PASS | Island daily life |
| 7 | Problem illustrated | PASS | Lighthouse dark |
| 8 | Theme seeded | WARN | Not explicit enough yet |
| 9 | Internal conflict | WARN | Arne's guilt only implicit |
| 10 | Killer first sentence | PASS | "The fog didn't come from the sea." |
| 11 | Curiosity sparked | PASS | Alien signal at end |
| 12 | Dread established | PASS | Atmosphere tightens |
| 13 | First domino knocked | PASS | Alien signal is the trigger |
28-Point Review: 25/28 (2 WARNs, 1 polish recommendation)
Verdict: Minor revise recommendation, status can go to Revision, or start Chapter 2 directly.
Same as Chapter 1. For each chapter:
/storyforge:chapter-writer the-lighthouse-keeper <N>/storyforge:chapter-reviewer the-lighthouse-keeper <N-slug>At Ch 5 something interesting happens:
User: Rule: Arne never speaks in complete sentences when
alone. Interior monologues consist of fragments.
→ The PreCompact hook extracts this rule and writes it to projects/the-lighthouse-keeper/CLAUDE.md. From Ch 6 chapter-writer loads this rule automatically.
At Ch 11 (Turning Point):
User: Callback: The silver coin (Ch 3) must return in Ch 17
during the confrontation with Thaden — he must see it
and his face must change.
→ Saved to per-book CLAUDE.md, loaded in Ch 17.
After Ch 9 (midway):
/storyforge:continuity-checker the-lighthouse-keeper
Finds 2 conflicts:
1. Ch 6, L. 198: "Arne arrived two hours ago"
Timeline: Arne arrived one hour forty minutes ago
→ Minor fix
2. Ch 8, L. 67: "The fog was as thick as in Ch 2"
Tonal document: "No chapter-to-chapter self-references
without reason"
→ Book-rule violation, remove
All 18 chapters have status Draft.
/storyforge:book-dashboard the-lighthouse-keeper
Output:
Book: The Lighthouse Keeper
Status: Drafting (derived from chapter aggregate)
Writing mode: outliner
Words: 82,300 / 85,000 (96.8%)
Chapter status matrix:
Ch 01: Draft
Ch 02: Draft
[...]
Ch 18: Draft
Next step: /storyforge:manuscript-checker
/storyforge:manuscript-checker the-lighthouse-keeper --interactive
Findings (condensed):
127 findings total.
High severity: 12
Top 5:
1. BOOK-RULE-VIOLATION: "journey" as metaphor — 12x
(but rule: no abstract nouns)
2. CLICHÉ: "blood ran cold" — 3x (Ch 7, 14, 17)
3. CROSS-CHAPTER REPETITION: "for a moment he paused" —
18x structural
4. FILTER WORDS Ch 8: "saw"×14, "noticed"×8, "seemed"×5
5. SIMILE REPETITION: "like a feather on the water" —
4x in Ch 5, 9, 17, 23
Interactive fix mode walks every finding. Arne chooses:
After the run: /storyforge:chapter-reviewer on all edited chapters.
/storyforge:voice-checker the-lighthouse-keeper
Overall score: 18/100 (solid — ready for next stage)
We have no LGBTQ or trauma topics, but the check runs:
/storyforge:sensitivity-reader the-lighthouse-keeper
Result: No critical findings. Jürgen's identity change is handled sensitively (no trans-metaphor misuse).
/storyforge:cover-artist the-lighthouse-keeper
Output — cover/brief.md:
Mood: Melancholic, atmospheric, winter-wet.
Palette: Grey-blue, muted white, single warm accent (window light).
Genre conventions:
- Literary mystery: atmospheric, no classic crime cover
- No portrait in foreground
- Strong typography, classical serif
Visual elements:
- Lighthouse (distant, not dominant)
- Foggy land or coast
- One window with warm light (contrast to cold)
Typography:
- Title: serif, elegant, restrained
- Author name: smaller than title, sans-serif possible
cover/prompts.md has ready Midjourney prompts:
/imagine a lone lighthouse at dusk on a North Sea island, heavy
fog rolling in, the lighthouse light barely visible, a single
warm window light in a distant cottage, muted blue-grey palette,
cinematic photography, book cover composition, no text,
atmospheric, melancholy --ar 2:3 --v 6
/storyforge:export-engineer the-lighthouse-keeper --format epub
Prerequisites:
Finalexport/front-matter.md: copyright, dedicationexport/back-matter.md: about the author, other bookscover/art/cover.jpg: finished cover imageExecution:
Pandoc → EPUB 3.2
Custom CSS applied
Front matter: copyright 2026, dedication "For L."
Back matter: about, newsletter hint
Output: export/output/the-lighthouse-keeper.epub (1.2 MB)
Validation:
✓ EPUB Check (no errors)
✓ Kindle Previewer (Amazon-compatible)
/storyforge:promo-writer the-lighthouse-keeper
Output sections:
For 35 years Arne Kruse has lived on Kargholm, an island of
fog and habits. He tends the lighthouse, drinks his coffee
too strong, and speaks only what is necessary. When he finds
a silver coin minted 1987 in the flooded cellar, something
begins to tear in him that he sealed thirty-eight years ago.
Arne's brother Jürgen went missing at sea one March day in
1987. No farewell, no explanation, only a boat drifting at
the cliffs. Arne never asked. No one on Kargholm ever asked.
Now Inga Holm is on the island, a marine biologist with her
own missing-person case, and Pastor Thaden, Arne's oldest
friend, has begun to evade. A coin can be anything. Memory.
Sign. Mistake.
Or invitation.
The Lighthouse Keeper is a quiet novel about what we forget
so we can keep living — and what comes back when we are
finished with it.
Facebook, Instagram, TikTok, Twitter/X, Bluesky, Newsletter — each with content ideas, hashtags, quote cards, release calendar.
/storyforge:translator the-lighthouse-keeper de
Process:
Creates translations/de/glossary.md:
Translates chapter by chapter with voice preservation
Register consistency check
Output: translations/de/chapters/01-ankunft/draft.md etc.
If The Lighthouse Keeper becomes part of a series:
/storyforge:series-planner kargholm-saga
Creates a series level with:
| Phase | Duration | Cumulative |
|---|---|---|
| Setup + author profile | 1-2 days | 2 days |
| Concept (book-conceptualizer) | 3-5 days | 1 week |
| Plot architecture | 2-3 days | 10 days |
| Character creation (4 chars) | 3-4 days | 2 weeks |
| World + canon | 2-3 days | 2.5 weeks |
| Drafting (18 chapters, scene-by-scene) | 8-12 weeks | 11-14 weeks |
| Intermediate check | 1 day | 11-14 weeks |
| Revision (manuscript + voice) | 2-3 weeks | 13-17 weeks |
| Cover + export + promo | 1 week | 14-18 weeks |
Total: ~3-4 months for an 85k-word outliner project.
For comparison: Discovery writers would need ~4-5 months (more revision), plantser about the same as outliner (slightly faster in planning, more revision).
→ Normal. Back to plot-architect, restructure plot from Ch 7. Ch 1-6 stay if they hold.
→ /storyforge:character-creator for this character (now full)
→ Re-run plot-architect if arc changes
→ Set Callback: rule so the character stays present
→ Not a problem. Chapter lengths are guidelines, not laws. Check: are there two chapters in one?
→ /storyforge:continuity-checker reconstructs. Always available.
→ Either adjust the book OR create a new profile for this book. Users can have as many profiles as needed.
No book follows the ideal workflow. StoryForge is a structure that lets you deviate from the path without getting lost. The quality gates (continuity-checker, manuscript-checker, voice-checker) are your insurance that after deviation you collect what you need.