Chapter Drafting

When to use

The user wants Claude to produce prose for a specific chapter or scene of a specific title. This is the deepest writing flow — Claude reads the pen name's persona, the title's existing chapters, the relevant characters/locations/lore, and then drafts in the right voice.

Flow

1. Resolve scope

If the user named a pen name and a title, look them up:

stos_pen_names_list()          // find the matching id
stos_titles_list({ penNameId })  // find the matching title id

If either is ambiguous, ask the user to clarify. Don't guess.

2. Read voice + bible

stos_pen_names_get({ id: penNameId })   // persona, prose_guide, prose_sample, words_to_use, words_to_avoid
stos_chapters_list({ bookId: titleId }) // existing chapters for continuity
stos_scenes_list({ chapterId })         // the chapter's scenes, in order
stos_scenes_get_content({ id: sceneId }) // a scene's FULL prose (draft_snippet is only a preview)
stos_characters_list({ penNameId })     // who can appear
stos_locations_list({ penNameId })      // where it can happen
stos_lore_list({ penNameId })           // mechanics / rules to respect

3. Draft

Write the chapter in the conversation. Honor:

• The persona's prose_guide (voice / tense / POV).
• words_to_use and words_to_avoid if present.
• Continuity from the prior chapter and from any scene beats already saved.
• Character voice patterns (lexicon_and_quirks, speech_patterns) and physical descriptions.
• Location features (climate, key_features).
• Lore rules (rules_and_mechanics) — never contradict.

Show the draft to the user. Wait for approval before saving.

4. Save

Prose lives on scenes, and it is saved with stos_scenes_set_content({ id, content }). Chapter and scene records hold details like title, synopsis and beat, not the text, so stos_chapters_update and stos_scenes_update cannot save prose.

• Existing chapter: write each changed scene with stos_scenes_set_content. The chapter text and word count rebuild from its scenes, and the app keeps a version the author can restore.
• New chapter: stos_chapters_create({ fields: { book_id: titleId, chapter_number, chapter_title } }). It already has an empty Scene 1: get it with stos_scenes_list({ chapterId }) and write to it. Don't create a second Scene 1.
• More scenes: stos_chapters_insert_scene({ id: chapterId, order }), then stos_scenes_set_content on the new scene. If that answers paused (409 STRUCTURE_OPS_PAUSED), create the scene with stos_scenes_create({ fields: { book_id, chapter_id, scene_title, scene_order } }) instead.

Check every save result

After each stos_scenes_set_content, read chapter_synced, chapter_sync_reason and chapter_snapshot_version_id:

• chapter_sync_reason: 'adopted_scenes': the chapter had text its scenes didn't (an edit made in the app, or a restored version). That earlier chapter text was saved first, in the chapter's version history, as a version named "Before assistant update" (its id is chapter_snapshot_version_id); then the chapter was rebuilt from the scenes. Always tell the author, for example: "Your chapter had changes I hadn't seen, so I saved the earlier text first. To get it back, open the chapter in the Writing Studio, open Version history, and restore the version called Before assistant update."
• chapter_synced: false: the scene is saved, but the chapter text was left as it was for now (for example, another scene in the chapter has no text yet). It catches up on a later save. Mention it if the author is about to read the chapter.
• 409 CHAPTER_NOT_REBUILDABLE: nothing was written. Wait a few seconds and retry the same call once. If it fails again, stop and tell the author the save didn't go through and their text is unchanged.
• version_recorded: false only means no history snapshot was taken; the prose is still saved.

If the author has a whole manuscript file to bring in, use the manuscript-import skill instead of saving chapter by chapter.

Revise mode

When the user asks to revise a chapter with feedback (the /stos-revise command is this), pull the existing text, apply the feedback, and show the revised draft. Don't blindly accept the feedback's wording — apply it in the pen name's voice.

Anti-patterns

• Drafting without reading the bible. A chapter is only as good as the continuity it preserves. Always pull stos_characters_list and stos_locations_list first.
• Saving without showing the user. Always show prose for approval before stos_scenes_set_content.
• Saving prose with stos_chapters_update or stos_scenes_update. Neither holds the text. Use stos_scenes_set_content.
• Forgetting the pen-name scope. A chapter drafted in the wrong persona reads off-brand. Pass penNameId on every call in the multi-step flow.
• Skipping the persona's prose_sample. It's the highest-fidelity voice anchor available.