# Writer Brainstorm

> Explore fiction premises, conflicts, endings, character dilemmas, and alternate story directions without prematurely making them canon.

- Skill: `firstp1ck/writer-brainstorm` (Agent Skill)
- Install (CLI): `npx skillmds@latest add firstp1ck/writer-brainstorm`
- Raw SKILL.md: https://api.skillmd.com/api/skills/firstp1ck/writer-brainstorm/raw
- Safety review: pending
- Works with: Claude Code, Claude.ai, OpenAI Codex
- Category: Coding & Dev Tools
- License: MIT
- Author: Firstp1ck (https://skillmd.com/u/firstp1ck)
- Updated: 2026-09-22
- Page: https://skillmd.com/skills/firstp1ck/writer-brainstorm

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# Story brainstorming

## When to use

Use when a story has an unresolved creative question or the author wants alternatives before committing.

## Inputs and assumptions

Ask for the specific uncertainty, existing constraints, desired reader effect, and what must remain unchanged. Do not restart the entire premise to solve a small scene problem.

## Portable workflow

1. Read relevant project decisions using [the project workflow](../../references/project-workflow.md).
2. Frame the actual choice, such as whether a betrayal should change trust, status, or knowledge.
3. Offer a small set of distinct options with different causal mechanisms, not renamed versions of one idea.
4. For each option, explain what the reader gains, what must be set up, and what later consequences it creates.
5. Include a less obvious option when it serves the brief. Ask the author which direction to develop.
6. Preserve useful rejected options as proposals only when saving is requested.

## Safety and side effects

Default to discussion. Do not overwrite approved plans or convert exploratory suggestions into established events.

## Scripts, references, and dependencies

No external dependencies. Use the shared project workflow for approval and saved-state handling.

## Verification

Options should differ in stakes or consequences. Check each against the author's constraints and identify the decision still awaiting approval.

## Pi adapter

Use `/writer brainstorm --brief "Find three motives for the mentor's disappearance"` in an existing project.