# Book Setup > Interactive intake to define a new fantasy book (or next book in a series). Walks the user through identity, world, magic, castes, characters, plot, subplots, POV. Produces a complete `setup.md` that becomes the single source of truth for everything downstream. Use this when the user wants to start a new book and `setup.md` does not yet exist (or is mostly empty). - Skill: `abetatos/book-setup` (Agent Skill, multi-file: 2 files) - Install (CLI): `npx skillmds@latest add abetatos/book-setup` - Raw SKILL.md: https://api.skillmd.com/api/skills/abetatos/book-setup/raw - Safety review: pending - Works with: Claude Code, Claude.ai, OpenAI Codex - Category: Coding & Dev Tools - Author: abetatos (https://skillmd.com/u/abetatos) - Updated: 2026-09-17 - Page: https://skillmd.com/skills/abetatos/book-setup --- # book-setup You are running the **book-setup** skill. Your job is to interactively define a new fantasy book in collaboration with the user, then write a complete `setup.md` file. ## When to invoke - The user says "new book", "new series", "set up a book", "start a fantasy novel", or equivalent. - There is no `output//book-NN/setup.md`, OR there is one and the user asks to "redo" it. ## Hard rules - This project writes **fantasy only**. If the user asks for another genre, steer them back to a fantasy interpretation or stop. - The writing language defaults to **Spanish (es)** unless the user explicitly asks otherwise. The agent and reference docs may be in English, but the prose of the book will be in the declared language. - **Do not invent setup details the user has not approved.** You may *propose* alternatives, but the user must pick or rewrite. - The user can leave sections blank for `plan-book` to handle later, but certain fields are **gating**: title, language, chapter count, words per chapter, premise of world, magic source/mechanic/cost/limits, principal character names with want/need/wound, central conflict, midpoint candidate. If these are missing, say so before finishing. ## Steps ### 1. Initialize the directory If the user has not already created the structure: 1. Ask for the **title** (or a working title). 2. Ask whether this is a **standalone** or **book N of a series**. 3. If it's part of a series and the series already exists in `output/`, ask which series slug. Otherwise compute the slug from the title. 4. Run: ```bash python3 .claude/skills/book-setup/scripts/init_book.py \ --title "" \ --series-slug "<slug>" \ --book-number <N> ``` This creates the directory tree and writes a `setup.md` template. ### 2. Walk through `setup.md` interactively Open `setup.md` and walk the user through each section, in this order (critical sections first; allow skipping non-critical ones): 1. **Identity** (title, author, subgenre, language, voice, tense). The author line is prefilled with the project pen name from `config.toml` (`[author] name`); only change it for a book-specific pseudonym. 2. **Length & shape** (chapters, words per chapter, act structure). 3. **Premise of world** (3-5 sentences, era, geography, calendar). 4. **Magic system** — *most important*. Use `references/magic-design-checklist.md` as your guide. Push for: - A specific source (not "energy"). - A walkable mechanic. - At least two costs visible in prose. - At least three hard limits. - One thematic question forced by the magic. - Three escalation tiers. 5. **Castes / factions / orders.** Aim for 2-4 with stated current conflict. 6. **Geography.** 5-10 named places, each with sensory detail. 7. **Historical weight.** 3-5 past events the present reverberates. 8. **Characters — principals.** For each: role, age, three physical details, want / need / wound, lie they believe, voice, arc, magic relationship, secret, relationships matrix. Don't accept "brave warrior" — push for specifics. Use `references/fantasy-beats.md` (Character arcs section). 9. **Theme.** Force the user to articulate a moral question, not a "what's it about" pitch. 10. **Plot.** Central conflict, inciting incident, midpoint overturn, all-is-lost, climax decision, resolution costs. 11. **Subplots.** 1-3, each with theme that differs from main. 12. **POV.** Number, default character, distribution. 13. **Slow-immersion specifics.** Sensory anchors that recur. Texture beats budget per chapter. 14. **Prose constraints.** Voice, distance, register, allowed/forbidden tics. 15. **If continuation.** Inherited threads, returning characters, unpaid promises. For each section: - Read aloud (in the chat) the prompts from the template. - If the user gives a thin answer, push back specifically — show one concrete example of what good would look like. - If the user asks for suggestions, propose 2-3 alternatives drawn from fantasy craft, *not* boilerplate. Always declare them as suggestions to be accepted, modified, or rejected. - Write each section to `setup.md` as soon as the user confirms it. Do not batch. ### 3. Validate before finishing After the walk-through, check the gating fields: - title, language, num chapters, words per chapter range - world premise (≥ 3 sentences) - magic: source + mechanic + ≥2 costs + ≥3 limits + thematic question - ≥2 principal characters with want/need/wound declared - central conflict + midpoint + climax decision named If any are missing, **show the user the list** and ask whether to fill them now or defer. If deferred, write a clear `> TODO:` comment in the section so `plan-book` can prompt for it later. ### 4. Wrap up Confirm the file exists at `output/<series-slug>/book-NN/setup.md` and print a short summary (title, chapters, principal characters, central conflict in one sentence). Tell the user the next step: run `plan-book` to generate the outline, shadow timeline, seeds, and initial canon. Optionally remind them that they can edit `setup.md` at any time and re-run `plan-book` to refresh. ## What this skill does NOT do - Does not generate plot beats or chapter plans (that's `plan-book`). - Does not write any prose. - Does not populate `canon/`, `plan/`, or `summaries/`. ## Files this skill writes - `output/<series>/book-NN/setup.md` (created if absent, then iteratively edited). - `output/<series>/series.md` (if new series). - `output/<series>/series-state.md` (empty placeholder if new series).