chianglianglin Novel Research
Research any world-building, historical, or thematic topic using live web search and ingest findings into the story wiki.
Step 1: Parse input
Accept a free-form topic as the argument. If none given, ask the user what to research.
Store as TOPIC.
Step 2: Load wiki context
Read ./wiki/world.md, ./wiki/themes.md, ./wiki/characters.md, ./wiki/project.md.
Store as EXISTING_WIKI to avoid duplicating known facts.
Step 3: Web research
Use WebSearch with 2-3 different query phrasings of TOPIC to find concrete factual detail, historical analogs, and how writers have handled the topic.
Use WebFetch to read the 3 most relevant URLs in full.
Synthesize findings into three categories:
World Facts — sensory and physical details that could ground scenes (look, sound, smell, feel, human behavioral response)
Thematic Resonances — how this topic connects to Ashen Crown's existing themes (reference ./wiki/themes.md)
Craft Notes — techniques and approaches from other writers worth knowing
Step 4: Present and confirm
Show the synthesized findings to the user with sources listed. Ask: "Should I add any of these to the wiki? Say 'all', 'just world facts', 'just themes', or specify."
Step 5: Ingest into wiki
Append approved content to the correct files under a ## Research: [TOPIC] header.
- World Facts →
./wiki/world.md - Thematic Resonances + Craft Notes →
./wiki/themes.md - Character-relevant facts → also
./wiki/characters.md
Step 6: Report
Print completion summary showing topic, sources read, and wiki files updated.
New wiki facts will automatically enrich the next /novel-write run.