name: book_outline description: "Boardroom debate to lock the book concept, produce a character bible (for fiction) + full chapter outline, then spawn chapter writing tasks." debug: true rag_exclude: [business_plan, charter] system: agent_prompt step_pause_mode: true context_builders: - markov_names participant_prompt: - "= identity.md" agent_prompt: - "= identity.md" sections: - agent - project - history - rag - deliverables - participants - participants_prompt - message - instructions steps: - type: think rotate_participants: true loop: max_iterations: 4 hint: | You are {agent.name}. This is round {task.iteration} of the creative boardroom. GENRE: {genre_name|[infer from project description if blank]} AUDIENCE: {genre_audience|[infer from project description if blank]} STRUCTURE GUIDE: {outline_structure|[use standard 3-act structure with chapter hooks if blank]} The room is deciding on ONE book concept to write. The trend research is in the DELIVERABLES and RAG above — everyone has read it. ═══════════════════════════════════════════════ PRE-ASSIGNED CHARACTER NAMES (fiction projects — use these exactly) ═══════════════════════════════════════════════ These names were generated for this project. Do NOT substitute generic defaults like Jax, Elara, Ryder, Quinn, Lyra, Knox, or Zane. Protagonist: {protagonist_name} Love interest: {love_interest_name} Antagonist: {antagonist_name} Supporting: {supporting_1}, {supporting_2}, {supporting_3} Setting/Town: {place_name} (Non-fiction projects: ignore the character names above — they are not applicable.) ═══════════════════════════════════════════════ From YOUR area of expertise, argue for (or against) a specific concept: - Which of the research concepts has the strongest hook for this audience? - What protagonist archetype will readers obsess over? - What central conflict creates the best chapter-to-chapter tension? - What's the opening chapter hook that makes a reader continue? - What should the chapter length and structure be? React to what prior speakers argued. Push back on weak ideas. Build on strong ones. Be specific — no vague enthusiasm. Name the concept, argue WHY. When the group has agreed on ONE specific concept (title, hook, protagonist, conflict, structure): "consensus_reached: true" - type: think agent: first_available hint: | The boardroom has selected ONE concept. Your job is to write the SINGLE CANONICAL outline. ⚠️ CRITICAL RULES: - Do NOT present multiple options, alternatives, or "Option A / Option B" variants. - Do NOT include chapter ideas from the deliberation rounds that were NOT selected. - Write ONE definitive chapter list. If the project calls for 10 chapters, write EXACTLY 10. - Every chapter entry must follow the exact format: "- Chapter N: [Title]" (sequential, no gaps). Synthesize the agreed concept into a COMPLETE BOOK OUTLINE document. ═══════════════════════════════════════════════ PART 1: CHARACTER BIBLE (fiction only — omit entirely for non-fiction) ═══════════════════════════════════════════════ If this is a fiction project, write a Character Bible FIRST: # [Book Title] — Character Bible ## {protagonist_name} - Age: - Voice: [describe the internal narrative voice — e.g., "sardonic, first-person, teen"] - Background: [2 sentences] - Want: [what they think they want] - Need: [what they actually need to grow] - Fatal flaw: [the trait that creates conflict] - Speech pattern: [how they talk — with examples] ## {love_interest_name} - Age: - Role in story: - Why readers root for them: - Dynamic with protagonist: - Secret or wound they carry: ## {antagonist_name} - Type: [person / institution / supernatural / internal] - Motivation: - How they challenge the protagonist: ## Supporting Characters - {supporting_1}: [role and relationship to protagonist] - {supporting_2}: [role and relationship to protagonist] - {supporting_3}: [role and relationship to protagonist] ## World Rules (if paranormal/fantasy/speculative) - [Powers, systems, constraints — be precise] - [What limits them? What are the costs?] ## Voice Signatures (REQUIRED for fiction — this section is injected into every chapter to enforce consistent character voice. Think carefully: these are NON-NEGOTIABLE identifiers the polisher will enforce.) ### [Protagonist name] — Voice Signature - Curse/stress expression scale: "[mild phrase]" = minor irritation | "[mid phrase]" = upset | "[strong phrase]" = furious - Verbal tic or sarcasm tell: [e.g., "says 'obviously' when meaning the opposite"] - Speech pattern when excited: [e.g., "interrupts own sentences mid-thought"] - What they REACH FOR in descriptions: [e.g., "tactile/kinesthetic — touches things to understand them"] - What they NEVER say or do in dialogue: [e.g., "never apologizes directly — fixes things instead"] - Sentence pattern: [e.g., "short declaratives when focused; long run-ons when arguing"] ### [Love interest name] — Voice Signature - Formality scale (INVERSELY maps to severity): "[mild formal phrase]" = small problem | "[very formal/archaic phrase]" = disaster - What they NEVER say: [e.g., "never says 'I think' — says 'the evidence suggests' or 'it is probable that'"] - Superlative rule: [e.g., "never uses superlatives except for things that matter deeply — when they do, it stops the room"] - Sentence completeness tell: [e.g., "always grammatically complete — EXCEPT when flustered by protagonist, then fragments"] - Speech pattern: [e.g., "precise, no wasted words; anger shows through subject choice and word order, not volume"] ═══════════════════════════════════════════════ PART 2: CHAPTER OUTLINE (all projects) ═══════════════════════════════════════════════ ## Factions (REQUIRED for fantasy/speculative — define named factions so NPCs have memory chapter-to-chapter. These entries are compiled into factions.rag.md and injected into each chapter's world state.) ### [Faction Name] - Home location: [specific -- city, building, region, planet -- not vague] - Leader: [name and title] - Key NPCs: [name (role/function at this location), name (role), ...] - Initial attitude toward protagonist: [ALLIED / NEUTRAL / WATCHFUL / HOSTILE] -- [one sentence reason] - Initial attitude toward love interest: [same] - What they want: [one sentence faction goal] - What would make them hostile: [threshold / trigger] - What would make them allied: [threshold / trigger] (Repeat for every faction in the story -- at minimum: protagonist's school/home, antagonist's faction, any neutral third party with named NPCs) --- # [Book Title] ## Concept Summary - Hook: one sentence that sells the book - Genre: {genre_name} - Protagonist: name, age, background, flaw, want vs need - Antagonist / Central Conflict: what stands in their way - Setting: world, time, atmosphere - Format: target chapter length ~{chapter_target_words} words, POV (1st/3rd) - Target audience: {genre_audience} ## Chapter Outline ⚠️ COMPLETENESS REQUIRED: Write a FULL entry for EVERY chapter. Do NOT abbreviate, skip, or summarize multiple chapters with "...omitted for brevity" or similar. If the outline calls for 45 chapters, all 45 must appear below with complete entries. Partial outlines are a critical error — Iris writes blind without this information. For each chapter (target {chapter_count} chapters): - Chapter N: [Title] - Summary: 2–3 sentences of what happens - Emotional beat: what the reader feels - Hook / cliffhanger: the exact last image or line that makes readers continue - Opens at: [location / setting at chapter start] - Character state: [protagonist's emotional and physical state as the chapter opens] - Dominant tension: [the active conflict or pressure driving this chapter] ## Voice & Tone Guide Write the Voice & Tone Guide as HARD OPERATING CONSTRAINTS, not aspirations. This guide will be copied verbatim into every chapter task as the prose_style context variable — treat it as rules the author must follow on every page, not a mood description. Format the Voice & Tone Guide as: - POV and tense: [e.g., "First-person present tense throughout."] - Sentence rhythm: [e.g., "Vary sentence length; no more than two consecutive complex sentences. Short sentences for impact. Fragments allowed for interiority."] - Anti-overpolish rules: [e.g., "Not every paragraph needs a memorable line. Use functional connective prose. Let observation precede interpretation — show the moment before naming what it means. Avoid clustering aphorisms. Prefer scene motion over thesis delivery."] - Voice don'ts: [e.g., "No head-hopping. No passive construction during action beats. No normalizing the protagonist's distinctive voice."] - One example opening sentence that demonstrates all of the above. ## Publishing Notes Why this book fits the genre and target audience. - type: document filename: "{{task_name_slug}}" - type: think agent: first_available hint: | Extract a CLEAN CHAPTER LIST from the outline document above. Output ONLY the chapter list in this exact format — no other text: Chapter [Title] Summary: [2-3 sentence summary] POV: [character name or "narrator"] Chapter [Title] Summary: [2-3 sentence summary] POV: [character name or "narrator"] Rules: - One "Chapter [Title]" line per chapter, in order - Indented metadata lines underneath each chapter (Summary, POV) - Do NOT include chapter numbers — just the title - Do NOT include any markdown headers, bullet points, or extra formatting - This output will be parsed by StoryForge's outline sync engine - type: package packet_type: IntakeResponse hint: | You are the Project Manager serializing the FINAL OUTLINE DOCUMENT above into chapter tasks. ⚠️ STRICT DEDUPLICATION RULES: - Use ONLY the chapters listed in PART 2: CHAPTER OUTLINE of the document above. - IGNORE all chapter suggestions from the boardroom deliberation rounds. - Count ONLY entries formatted as "- Chapter N:" in PART 2. That count = your action count. - A 10-chapter outline = exactly 10 actions. A 12-chapter outline = exactly 12 actions. - If you produce more actions than chapter entries in PART 2, you have made an error — recount. For each chapter in PART 2 (and ONLY those chapters), create one create_task action: CRITICAL — Fill in these values from the outline document: - genre_name: the exact genre (e.g., "YA Romance", "Science Fiction", "Literary Fiction") - genre_audience: the target audience (e.g., "Young adults 14–18", "Adult romance readers") - prose_style: copy the 3-sentence Voice & Tone Guide from the outline exactly - chapter_target_words: the target word count per chapter as a number string (e.g., "3500") - chapter_ref: zero-padded two-digit chapter number, e.g. "ch-01", "ch-02", ... "ch-18" - chapter_number: plain chapter number as a string, e.g. "1", "2", ... "18" - character_profiles: copy the COMPLETE "## Voice Signatures" section from PART 1 of the outline verbatim. Include every named character's Voice Signature entry. If no Voice Signatures section exists, copy the full character entries (## Name blocks) from the Character Bible in Part 1. If this is a non-fiction project, leave empty. Rules: - EXACTLY one action per chapter from PART 2 of the outline — no more, no less - task_name format: "Write Chapter N: [Chapter Title]" (N is a plain number, 1, 2, 3...) - agent_name: always "Iris" - task_type: choose based on genre_name from the outline: * "ya_chapter" → if genre_name contains "YA" or "Young Adult" * "romance_chapter" → if genre_name contains "Romance" or "Contemporary Romance" * "drafting" → if genre_name contains "Science Fiction" or "Sci-Fi" or "Space Opera" * "cozy_mystery_chapter" → if genre_name contains "Cozy Mystery" or "Mystery" * "adult_novel_chapter" → if genre_name contains "Adult" and not YA * "book_chapter" → all other genres (default) - description: > Include the chapter summary, POV character, emotional beat, cliffhanger, character state, dominant tension, and opening location from the chapter outline. Start with: "You are writing Chapter N of [Book Title]. [chapter summary]. POV: [character name]. Opens at: [location]. [Character name] enters this chapter [character state]. Dominant tension: [tension]. Closes with: [cliffhanger hook]." Also include the Voice & Tone Guide from the outline as the prose_style value — copy it exactly. This is a hard constraint for every sentence of the chapter. - depends_on: the exact task_name of the PREVIOUS chapter (empty string for Chapter 1) The depends_on chain creates sequential writing — each chapter waits for the previous to be committed. schema: actions: - type: create_task task_name: "string" agent_name: "string" task_type: "string" description: "string" depends_on: "string" context: genre_name: "string" genre_audience: "string" prose_style: "string" chapter_target_words: "string" chapter_ref: "string" chapter_number: "string" character_profiles: "string" - type: package packet_type: IntakeResponse hint: | SPAWN CHARACTER SHEET TASKS From the "## Character Bible" section of PART 1 (or the Voice Signatures section), identify every NAMED character who has a speaking role or significant story function. For EACH named character, emit one create_task action: - task_name: "Character Sheet: [character full name]" - task_type: character_sheet - agent_name: Iris - context.character_name: exact canonical name as used in the outline - context.character_name_slug: lowercase, spaces-to-hyphens, remove non-alphanumeric Example for a character named "Emmeline Voss": task_name: "Character Sheet: Emmeline Voss" task_type: character_sheet agent_name: Iris context.character_name: "Emmeline Voss" context.character_name_slug: "emmeline-voss" Do NOT include unnamed background characters or characters mentioned only in passing. Include at minimum: protagonist(s), love interest(s), antagonist(s), and any character with more than one scene. schema: actions: - type: create_task task_name: "string" agent_name: Iris task_type: character_sheet context: character_name: "string" character_name_slug: "string" - type: close rag_update: true adjudication: enabled: false