alainator Writing Worldbuilding
Write new non-science worldbuilding content following repo conventions.
Prerequisites
- Read CLAUDE.md for conventions and locked spellings
- Read
references/writing-standards.mdfor prose anti-patterns - If the project has a foundations audit toolkit, read it when writing civilizations, conflicts, or recovery arcs
- Search existing files for related content (grep key terms)
- Check science directories for universal rules the content must obey
Process
- Add YAML frontmatter: title, tags, status: draft
- One entity per file — no mega-documents
- kebab-case filenames
- Cross-link to related files with relative markdown links
- Flag potential contradictions:
<!-- REVIEW: potential conflict with [file] -->
Derivation-First Builds
For civilizations being built from scratch — especially in novel environments
or with non-human species — use /civilization-build instead of the scaffold
below. The scaffold's categories (governance, economy) are useful shorthand
for human civilizations in familiar contexts, but they can import assumptions
when applied to novel situations. The /civilization-build command ensures
every social structure is derived from biology and environment first.
The scaffold below remains useful for quick expansions of existing civilizations or for human civilizations in Earth-like contexts where the derivation has already been done (implicitly, by history).
Civilization Scaffold
When creating a civilization, address: governance, cultural identity, economy, technology, internal tensions, external relations, and how they interpret the universe's fundamental forces.
After Writing
- Update the relevant _index.md
- Add new terms to GLOSSARY.md
- Add dated events to MASTER-TIMELINE.md
- Present for author review — do NOT commit
Out of Scope
Does NOT write science files (use /writing-science). Does NOT audit content (use /auditing-canon). Does NOT design physical world foundations (use /designing-worlds).