#fiction

Top prompts tagged fiction.

p/writingAauraNovice4 days agohas example⁂auto-checked

Prologue or opening chapter necessity test

I have a prologue (or a short opening chapter set apart from the main narrative) and I'm not sure it's earning its place. Evaluate it honestly. Prolgoue/opening text: prologue_text What happens in chapter 1 proper: chapter_one_summary Do this: 1. State plainly what information or feeling the prologue delivers that chapter 1 doesn't already deliver on its own. 2. Test whether the book would actually be confusing or weaker if a reader skipped the prologue entirely and started at chapter 1, be honest, most prologues fail this test. 3. If it's doing real work (establishing a mystery the reader needs to feel curious about, delivering information only this vantage point can give), name specifically what that work is and confirm chapter 1 can't do it. 4. If it's not earning its place, suggest what to do instead: cut it, compress its essential information into a line or two woven into a later chapter, or restructure it as the actual chapter 1. 5. Give me a blunt verdict: keep as-is, cut, or revise, with the one-sentence reason.

Claude #openings #prologue #structure #fiction

p/writingAauraNovice4 days agohas example⁂auto-checked

Show-don't-tell audit that avoids the generic fix

I know 'show don't tell' is the cliche note, but I actually want a precise audit, not the vague version of this advice. Below is a passage. Passage: passage_text For each instance of 'telling,' don't just say 'show this instead,' actually classify WHY it's telling: (a) stating an emotion directly when it could be conveyed via a physical/behavioral detail specific to this character (b) summarizing an action that could be a scene beat with more tension (c) editorializing (the narrator judges or explains the meaning of an event instead of trusting the reader) (d) legitimate telling that should stay (not everything needs to be shown, pacing sometimes requires summary, and I want you to identify those too) For (a), (b), (c) instances, give a specific rewrite grounded in THIS character and scene, not a generic template. For (d) instances, explain why showing it would actually hurt pacing. Don't flag things that are already fine just to seem thorough.

Claude #show-dont-tell #craft #self-editing #fiction

p/writingAauraNovice4 days agohas example⁂auto-checked

Point-of-view audit for head-hopping and filtering

Check the scene below for point-of-view discipline problems. I'm writing in pov_type (close third, first person, etc) from pov_character's perspective only. Scene: scene_text Flag, with quoted lines: 1. Head-hopping: any moment where we're told what a different character is thinking or feeling that the POV character couldn't actually know (not inferred from behavior, but stated as fact). 2. Filtering: unnecessary 'she saw,' 'he noticed,' 'she felt' constructions that put a pane of glass between reader and experience, when the sensation/thought could just be stated directly. 3. Knowledge leaks: information the POV character wouldn't yet have or wouldn't think about in these words (e.g. a character noticing their own 'furrowed brow'). 4. Tense/distance inconsistency: places where the narrative distance suddenly zooms out to omniscient-feeling summary and then back in. For each flagged instance, give the fix in the same POV, not a rewrite that avoids the problem by changing scope.

Claude #point-of-view #craft #self-editing #fiction

p/writingAauraNovice4 days agohas example⁂auto-checked

Cold-read critique simulating a slush-pile reader

Read the opening page_count pages below exactly as a literary agent or acquiring editor would read a slush submission: fast, looking for reasons to stop reading, not looking to be generous. Pages: opening_pages Give me: 1. The exact sentence or paragraph where a real slush reader would likely stop reading, if there is one, and why (be specific: confusing, boring, cliche opening image, unclear whose story this is, etc). 2. What genre and comp titles this reads like based only on these pages, and whether that's what I intended (tell me if it's sending the wrong signal). 3. The single most overused opening move present here, if any (waking up, staring in a mirror, weather report, info-dump prologue) and how visible it is to an experienced reader. 4. One thing that IS working and made you want to keep reading, stated honestly, not as a consolation prize. 5. A blunt pass/request-more verdict as if you were actually the agent, with the one-line reason you'd write in a form rejection. Do not soften this for my feelings. I want the version of this feedback I won't get from friends.

Claude #slush-critique #opening-pages #querying #fiction

p/writingAauraNovice4 days agohas example⁂auto-checked

Voice consistency check across a long manuscript

I'm worried my protagonist's narrative voice (first person or close third) drifts inconsistently across a long manuscript, sounding different in chapter 1 versus chapter 15 in ways that aren't intentional character growth. I'll give you excerpts from different points. Early excerpt (chapter early_chapter_number): early_excerpt Later excerpt (chapter later_chapter_number): later_excerpt Compare them on: - Vocabulary sophistication and register - Sentence length and rhythm - What kind of observations the narrator makes (what they notice, what they skip) - Emotional expressiveness versus restraint - Use of humor, irony, or metaphor For each dimension, tell me: is the difference plausibly intentional character development given what's happened to them in the story (if I describe the plot events, I will), or does it read like the author's voice leaking through inconsistently? Give me a verdict, not just a description of differences. If it's drift, tell me which excerpt is closer to what should be the 'anchor' voice and why.

Claude #voice-consistency #revision #self-editing #fiction

p/writingAauraNovice4 days agohas example⁂auto-checked

Cutting exposition dumps in opening chapters

Below is the opening of my manuscript. I suspect it's front-loaded with exposition, backstory, or worldbuilding that's slowing the reader down before they care about anything. Confirm or deny, and fix it. Opening pages: opening_pages 1. Mark every paragraph that is pure exposition/backstory with no present-tense scene action happening (no character doing, deciding, or reacting to anything in real time). 2. For each marked paragraph, decide: cut entirely, compress to one sentence woven into action later, or keep but move to a point where the reader has already earned a reason to care about it. 3. Identify the actual first moment where a character wants something and something is in their way, that's likely your real opening; tell me the page/paragraph it's on. 4. Rewrite the opening target_word_count words starting as close to that moment as possible, letting backstory leak in through action and dialogue instead of upfront delivery. 5. Be honest if the current opening is fine and I'm wrong to worry, don't manufacture problems.

Claude #openings #exposition #pacing #fiction

p/writingAauraNovice4 days agohas example⁂auto-checked

Worldbuilding consistency and depth pass

I'm building a fictional world for project_type (novel, tabletop setting, game). Below is my current set of worldbuilding notes. Do two things. First, an internal-consistency audit: find contradictions, unexplained conveniences, or places where the economics/politics/geography/magic system don't logically hold together. Be specific, quote the exact lines that conflict. Second, a depth pass on ONE element I specify: element_to_deepen. For that element, generate: - Second-order consequences: if this exists, what does it change about daily life, economy, or power structures that I haven't considered? - One piece of texture that would only occur to someone who actually lived there (a slang term, a superstition, an annoying mundane inconvenience) rather than an epic-scale detail. - One tension or conflict this element could plausibly cause between two factions or groups already in my notes. Do not invent contradicting canon. Work from what's given. If something is ambiguous, ask a clarifying question instead of guessing. My notes: worldbuilding_notes

Claude #worldbuilding #worldbuilding-consistency #fantasy #fiction

p/writingAauraNovice4 days agohas example⁂auto-checked

Dialogue punch-up for stiff or expository conversations

Here is a scene of dialogue that reads stiff, on-the-nose, or too expository. Rewrite it so the characters talk like real people who have history, subtext, and things they're avoiding saying directly. Context: scene_context Character A: character_a_description Character B: character_b_description What needs to happen plot-wise in this scene (keep this, but don't state it directly in dialogue if it can be implied): required_plot_beats Original dialogue: original_dialogue Rewrite rules: 1. Cut any line where a character states information both characters already know, purely for the reader's benefit. Find another way to convey it. 2. Give each character a distinct speech pattern (word choice, sentence length, interruption habits) so I could tell who's speaking with the names removed. 3. Add subtext: at least one exchange where what's said and what's meant diverge, driven by character motivation, not randomly. 4. Keep it roughly the same length or shorter, not longer. 5. After the rewrite, do a 'blind test': paste 3 lines with names removed and tell me which speaker said which and why it's identifiable.

Claude #dialogue #screenwriting #subtext #fiction

p/writingAauraNovice4 days agohas example⁂auto-checked

Structural critique using a three-act diagnostic

Act as a developmental editor doing a structural pass, not a line edit. I'll give you a synopsis or full draft of work_type (short story, novella chapter set, screenplay, etc). Run this diagnostic: 1. Identify the inciting incident. State the page/scene it occurs on. If it's too late (more than 10-15% into the work), say so plainly. 2. Map the midpoint: is there a reversal, revelation, or raise in stakes at roughly the halfway mark? If the middle sags, name exactly which scenes are doing no structural work (not moving plot, not deepening character, not raising stakes). 3. Check the protagonist's want vs need. State both in one sentence each. Tell me where the story currently reveals the gap between them, or if it never does. 4. Identify the low point / dark moment before the climax. If it's missing or too mild, explain what's missing. 5. Evaluate the ending: does it pay off the specific promise made in act one, or does it resolve a different, easier problem? 6. Give me a ranked list (most to least urgent) of the top 3 structural fixes, each with a concrete suggestion, not just 'strengthen the middle.' Draft/synopsis: draft_or_synopsis Be direct. I want the structural problems, not encouragement.

Claude #structure #developmental-editing #plot #fiction

p/writingAauraNovice4 days agohas example⁂auto-checked

Line editor for overwritten prose

You are a ruthless line editor. I will paste a passage of my fiction or narrative nonfiction. Your job is NOT to rewrite my voice into your own; it is to cut what is not earning its place. For the passage below: 1. Identify every sentence that restates something the reader already knows (redundancy). 2. Flag adjective/adverb pile-ups and suggest which single word could replace 2-3 weaker ones. 3. Mark any sentence where the verb is weak (is, was, seemed, felt) and a stronger verb exists. 4. Point out any place where I am explaining an emotion instead of dramatizing it. 5. Give me a final cut version that is at least target_percent_shorter% shorter, preserving my sentence rhythm and voice, not smoothing it into generic prose. Do not add new imagery or metaphors that aren't mine. Do not soften my style toward 'MFA workshop neutral.' If a sentence is already tight, say so and leave it alone. Passage: passage_text After the edit, give me a one-paragraph diagnosis of my single most common bad habit in this passage, named specifically (not 'show don't tell' generically, but the actual pattern, e.g. 'you narrate a character noticing something and then narrate the noticing').

Claude #editing #line-editing #prose #fiction