Gen brief

Skill tchr-dev/autonovel/.claude/skills/revision/gen-brief

Autonomous fantasy-novel pipeline as Claude Code skills, agents, and slash commands

Install

npx -y skills add tchr-dev/autonovel --skill gen-brief

Assembled from the repository path, not quoted from the project. Check it against their README if it does not work.

One thing to look at

1 stars1 stars. Stars are a popularity signal and not a quality one, but at this level it is likely that nobody has read this closely except its author, and you would be relying on your own review.

What its author says it does

Copied from the file, not written here

Auto-generate a chapter revision brief from structured feedback (eval JSON + reader panel JSON + adversarial cuts JSON + Opus review items). Output is a markdown brief suitable as input to gen-revision. Picks the right brief shape (compression / expansion / dramatisation / character-deepening / consistency).

SKILL.md

4.8 KB, as published. Nobody here has run it

Generate revision brief

A revision brief is a focused instruction to the writer, NOT a full re-spec of the chapter. It says: keep what works, change THIS specifically, here's what to add or cut, here are the constraints.

The brief replaces hand-written editorial notes. Quality of the brief drives quality of the revision.

Inputs

Caller passes either:

--auto — pick the chapter automatically based on lowest score / strongest consensus signal
--chapter N — a specific chapter

For each chapter under consideration, gather (where present):

<novel-dir>/chapters/ch_<N:02d>.md
Latest <novel-dir>/eval_logs/*_chNN.json for that chapter
Latest <novel-dir>/eval_logs/*_full.json and any top_suggestion/weakest_chapter references
<novel-dir>/edit_logs/reader_panel.json — extract any consensus items mentioning this chapter
<novel-dir>/edit_logs/chNN_cuts.json — adversarial cut data
Latest <novel-dir>/reviews/*_parsed.json — Opus items mentioning this chapter

Auto-pick logic

If --auto:

From reader_panel.json consensus items: any cut_candidate, missing_scene, or worst_scene with 3-of-4 or 4-of-4 agreement → pick that chapter, brief shape inferred from the question.
If no consensus, pick the chapter with lowest overall_score in latest eval logs.
If scores are tied within 0.5 across the bottom three, pick the one with most adversarial cuts ≥17% fat.

Brief shapes

Pick the shape that fits the dominant signal:

A. COMPRESSION (cut_candidate consensus, or chapter > target word count by >20%)

Target: 40-60% word reduction. Identify the 2-3 essential beats (what the reader panel said worked or what the outline marks as load-bearing). Cut everything else, but DO NOT compress below 1800 words — sweet spot is 2200-3000 for a compressed chapter.

B. EXPANSION (missing_scene consensus, or chapter is too short for its structural importance)

Target: +800-1500 words. Specify WHAT BEATS to expand (the missing scene from panel feedback, or the under-developed beat from eval). Specify WHAT TO KEEP unchanged. Don't write "make it longer" — write "add a private moment between X and Y after the existing scene at the bell tower."

C. DRAMATISATION (weak scene, low engagement, summary-heavy)

Change HOW information arrives, not WHAT information. "Reading a document" → investigation/confrontation. "Briefing" → confrontation with resistance. The plot beats stay; the medium changes.

D. CHARACTER DEEPENING (thin_character consensus)

Identify 1-2 existing scenes where the character appears. Add a private/unguarded moment the POV catches. Connect to backstory in characters.md. Do NOT add a new scene — deepen an existing one.

E. CONSISTENCY / TIMELINE FIX (canon_compliance violations, contradictions_found)

Specify the contradiction. Specify which value is canonical. Specify all places that need to update (canon.md + outline.md + the affected chapters).

F. VOICE / SLOP CLEANUP (high `slop_penalty`, voice fingerprint outlier)

Bullet-list specific patterns to fix: "remove all 7 instances of 'a sense of'", "reduce em-dash density from 23/1k to ≤15/1k", "vary sentence-start: only 18 of 47 sentences should start with 'He' — currently 31."

Brief format (write to `<novel-dir>/briefs/ch<NN>_<shape>.md`)

# Revision brief — Ch <NN> (<TITLE>) — shape: <SHAPE>

## Why this revision

<2-3 sentences. Cite the specific evidence: panel consensus item / eval weakest_dimension / Opus review item / adversarial cuts %. Quote the source brief.>

## What to keep

<3-5 specific elements that work. Quote 1-2 sentences that the editor or panel praised, if available. The writer needs these as anchors.>

## What to change

<The specific change, broken into 3-6 numbered items. Each item is a concrete instruction, not a wish.>

## Constraints

- Word count target: <NNNN> (range, with reason)
- Voice: stay within voice.md Part 2; in particular, watch for <pattern>
- Continuity: ending must flow into Ch <N+1>'s opening (currently: "<paste 1-2 sentences>")
- Canon: do not contradict <list of relevant canon entries>

## Anti-patterns to avoid (from prior versions)

<2-4 specific tics flagged by adversarial-edit or evaluate-chapter on the previous draft. Quote them.>

Output

Write the brief, then print:

The chosen chapter and brief shape
A one-line summary of the change
The expected word count delta

Suggest: gen-revision <NN> briefs/ch<NN>_<shape>.md.