project-scaffolding

Project Scaffolding

This skill provides the complete template library and directory conventions for long-form fiction projects. It defines the standard project structure, file naming rules, and templates for every document type the project might eventually need.

Important: These templates are a library, not a checklist. /start-project creates only the core documents the project needs immediately (pitch, characters, continuity — and conditionally world, outline, or north-star). Other documents are created later, when the project's complexity warrants them. The commands /write-chapter and /wrap contain the logic for when to propose each document. This skill provides the template to use when that moment arrives.

Directory Conventions

The full project structure when all documents have been created. A new project starts with only a few docs and grows into this over time:

project-root/
├── AGENTS.md                    # Agent workflow rules and defaults
├── docs/                        # All planning and tracking documents
│   ├── 00-pitch.md              # Always created at start
│   ├── 01-north-star.md         # Created at start if user has clarity
│   ├── 02-world.md              # Created at start if world needs definition
│   ├── 03-characters.md         # Always created at start
│   ├── 04-outline.md            # Created at start if user has structural vision
│   ├── 05-glossary.md           # Proposed when 10+ invented terms accumulate
│   ├── 06-scene-log.md          # Proposed after first chapter is drafted
│   ├── 07-continuity.md         # Always created at start
│   ├── 08-voice.md              # Proposed after 3-5 chapters or via /voice-session
│   ├── 09-chapter-outline-template.md  # Emerges from first few outlines
│   ├── 13-threads.md            # Proposed when 3+ subplots are running
│   ├── 19-foreshadowing-checklist.md   # Proposed when deliberate seeds are planted
│   └── 25-style-guide.md        # Proposed after 3-5 chapters when patterns stabilize
├── outlines/                    # Chapter outlines by volume
│   ├── book-one/
│   ├── book-two/
│   └── book-three/
├── draft/                       # Draft chapters by volume
│   ├── book-one/
│   ├── book-two/
│   └── book-three/
└── manuscript/                  # Final assembled manuscript