Fiction Writing Plugin for Claude Code

Write complete novels with Claude. Literary prose, iterative review, and craft-aware feedback.

What This Is

A complete fiction writing system—from initial concept through final draft. Specialized agents handle different aspects of the craft: architecture, characters, prose, review, editing, continuity, and publishing prep.

This isn't a chatbot that writes generic content. It's a writing partner that understands story structure, character arcs, scene economy, and the difference between good prose and great prose.

Installation

claude plugins:add howells/fiction

Quick Start

New Project

/fiction:plan        # Design your story's architecture
/fiction:character   # Develop your protagonist
/fiction:outline     # Break into chapters
"Write chapter 1"    # Start writing

Existing Project

/fiction:go          # Load project and see what to work on next

Commands

Command	What It Does
/fiction:go	Resume a project (load context + suggest what to do next)
/fiction:new	Start a new fiction project from scratch
/fiction:plan	Design story architecture (premise, theme, ending)
/fiction:outline	Create chapter and scene breakdown
/fiction:character	Develop a character document
/fiction:review	Review current chapter
/fiction:critique	Full manuscript review (NYT/New Yorker style)
/fiction:synopsis	Generate synopsis (short/medium/long)
/fiction:edit	Line-level editing (spelling, grammar, word echoes)
/fiction:naming	Generate and validate book title options
/fiction:cover	Generate cover art prompts for image generation
/fiction:build	Build EPUB from your manuscript
/fiction:reconcile	Update project to current plugin conventions
/fiction:next	Get suggestion for what to work on next

Project Structure

/my-novel
├── README.md           # Overview, status, key decisions
├── progress.md         # Session tracking, continuity state
├── themes.md           # Central question, thematic content
├── characters/         # Character documents
├── world/              # Setting documents
├── craft/              # Tone guide
├── chapters/           # Chapter files
├── critiques/          # Saved critiques
├── synopses/           # Saved synopses
├── builds/             # EPUB builds
└── covers/             # Cover art iterations

Recommended Workflow

Fiction writing isn't linear—it's iterative. Here's how to use the plugin effectively:

Phase 1: Foundation

Start with /fiction:new for a guided project setup, or build manually:

/fiction:plan          # Define premise, theme, ending, tone
/fiction:character     # Develop protagonist and key characters
/fiction:outline       # Break into chapters with scene beats

Don't skip this. A weak foundation creates problems that compound with every chapter. Know your ending before you start writing.

Phase 2: First Draft

Write chapters one at a time. After each chapter:

"Write chapter 3"      # Write the chapter
/fiction:review        # Get craft-focused feedback
# Revise based on feedback
/fiction:review        # Review again if needed

The review → revise → review loop is where the real work happens. Don't move on until a chapter is solid.

Phase 3: Polish

Once all chapters are drafted:

/fiction:edit          # Line-level editing (all chapters)
/fiction:review        # Re-review after edits

The editor catches spelling, grammar, word echoes, and awkward phrasing. Review again afterward—editing can introduce new issues.

Phase 4: Manuscript Review

When the full draft is complete:

/fiction:critique      # Full manuscript critique (NYT/New Yorker style)

This is a comprehensive review of the entire work: structure, character arcs, themes, pacing, prose quality. Use it to identify what needs revision before calling the manuscript done.

Phase 5: Publishing Prep

When the manuscript is final:

/fiction:synopsis      # Generate query letter synopses
/fiction:naming        # Find the right title
/fiction:cover         # Generate cover art prompts
/fiction:build         # Export to EPUB

The Short Version

/fiction:new or /fiction:plan
         ↓
    Foundation work (characters, outline)
         ↓
┌──→ Write chapter
│        ↓
│    /fiction:review
│        ↓
└─── Revise (loop until solid)
         ↓
    /fiction:edit (all chapters)
         ↓
    /fiction:critique (full manuscript)
         ↓
    Publishing prep (synopsis, naming, cover, build)

Returning to a Project

/fiction:go            # Load project and get recommendation for what to do next

Core Principles

The plugin enforces these craft principles:

1. Story = Character + Change — Plot is what happens; story is what it means
2. Scene Economy — Every scene must do at least two things
3. Specificity Creates Universality — Concrete details create resonance
4. Earned Moments — Plant before harvest
5. Trust the Reader — Show, don't tell. Imply, don't explain
6. Write for the Ear — Modern books become audiobooks

Anchored Constraints

Mark immutable decisions with ## ⚓ Anchored in any document. Review agents treat these as non-negotiable.

## ⚓ Anchored

- The protagonist never learns the truth about her father
- The ending is ambiguous
- No magic system explanations; it stays mysterious

Craft References

14 reference documents guide the writing and review process:

Problem	Reference
Story feels aimless	story-structure.md
Scene drags	scene-structure.md
Flat characters	character.md
Stilted dialogue	dialogue.md
Prose lacks rhythm	prose-style.md
Pacing issues	pacing.md
Weak opening	openings.md
Unsatisfying ending	endings.md
Genre expectations	genre-conventions.md
Common mistakes	anti-patterns.md

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For Nerds

Agents

22 specialized agents, each tuned for a specific task:

Agent	Purpose	Model
writer	Literary prose, chapters, scenes	opus
architect	Story structure, premise, ending	opus
outliner	Chapter breakdown, scene beats	sonnet
character-developer	Character documents	opus
world-builder	Settings, systems	sonnet
chapter-reviewer	Iterative chapter review	sonnet
editor	Line-level polish	sonnet
critique	Full manuscript review	opus
synopsis	Synopsis generation (short/medium/long)	opus
continuity	Consistency checking	haiku
scene-analyzer	Scene diagnosis	sonnet
voice-analyzer	POV/tense consistency	sonnet
naming	Title generation + availability	opus
cover-artist	Image gen prompts	opus
next	Project navigation	haiku
new-project	Interactive project wizard	opus
reader-skim	Fast fact extraction (parallel)	haiku
reader-careful	Deep analysis with quotes (parallel)	sonnet

Literary Critic Reviewers (persona-based feedback):

Agent	Style
james-wood	New Yorker style, craft-focused
stephen-king	Direct, story-first, hates adverbs
ursula-le-guin	World-building, moral weight
roxane-gay	Voice, representation, emotional truth

Large Manuscript Efficiency

For 50k+ word novels (10+ chapters), specialized reader agents extract chapter data in parallel:

Task	Reader	Speedup
Synopsis generation	reader-skim / reader-careful	~3-4×
Full critique	reader-careful	~3-4×
Voice analysis	reader-careful	~3-4×
Editing all chapters	(direct parallel)	~20×
Reviewing all chapters	(direct parallel)	~20×
Continuity checking	(two-phase)	~3-4×

Reader agents return structured data that the parent agent synthesizes into final output.

Multi-Book Series Structure

/my-series
├── README.md
├── series/
│   ├── series-architecture.md  # ⚓ Anchored series constraints
│   ├── characters/
│   └── world/
└── book-1-title/
    ├── README.md
    ├── progress.md
    ├── chapters/
    ├── critiques/
    ├── synopses/
    └── builds/

Cross-Reference System

All agents link to relevant craft references and related agents. No orphaned knowledge.

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Version: 1.8.0 — See CHANGELOG.md

Author: Daniel Howells

License: MIT