Project Setup
Guide the author through setting up their creative writing project. The goal
is a working CLAUDE.md and directory structure that all agents read for
project-specific conventions, plus initial style files if writing samples are
available.
Learn About the Project
Ask about:
- What kind of project: novel, short story collection, serial?
- How far along: starting fresh, or existing chapters and worldbuilding?
- Single POV or multiple? Linear or non-linear timeline? How much worldbuilding?
- Where do they keep their writing? What's the existing layout?
Writing Samples and Style
Ask about writing samples: these are the foundation for style analysis:
- Do they have sample chapters or scenes already written?
- Do they have writing from other projects that captures the voice they want?
- Are there published works they want to draw style inspiration from?
- Voice goals: close third, omniscient, first person? Formal, colloquial?
Collect whatever they have. Save samples to kb/samples/ so they're available
for future style analysis. If they have enough material, offer to analyze
their style using the /creative-writing-craft methodology: read the samples,
identify the voice dimensions, and produce initial style files in kb/styles/.
If they're starting fresh with no samples, capture their voice goals in
CLAUDE.md so style files can be created from early drafts.
Propose and Iterate
Based on what you learn, draft a CLAUDE.md section and show it to the
author. Cover:
- Project overview: what the project is, one paragraph
- Author's space: where the author keeps their writing and how it's
organized
- KB structure: what subdirectories exist under
kb/ and what they're
for. Suggest based on project complexity:
- Simple (short story, single POV):
characters/, canon/, styles/, root vocab.md
- Medium (novel, few POVs): add
timeline/
- Complex (series, large world): add
world/, issues/, and domain vocab files such as world/vocab.md
- Voice and style: what style files exist, what samples they're derived
from, voice goals not yet captured
- Conventions: anything project-specific: naming patterns, chapter
numbering, POV tagging, spoiler handling
- Shared vocabulary: early canonical terms, aliases, invented words,
genre terms with project-specific meanings, and terms the author wants
agents to avoid or distinguish
Present the draft and let the author adjust. Iterate until they're satisfied.
Create the Files
Once approved:
- Write or update
CLAUDE.md with the agreed content
- Create the
kb/ directories referenced in CLAUDE.md
- Create
kb/vocab.md when the project has named concepts agents must use
consistently; create domain vocab files when a domain already has enough
distinct terms
- Create
work/ with standard subdirectories (outline/, drafts/,
critique-reports/, brainstorm/)
- Save any writing samples to
kb/samples/
- If samples were provided and the author wants style analysis, produce
initial style files in
kb/styles/
Existing Projects
If CLAUDE.md already has creative writing conventions, read it first and
suggest updates rather than overwriting.
1---2name: project-setup3description: One-time project setup for creative writing. Interviews you about your project, collects writing samples, proposes kb structure, and creates CLAUDE.md with project conventions.4---5
6# Project Setup
7
8Guide the author through setting up their creative writing project. The goal
9is a working `CLAUDE.md` and directory structure that all agents read for
10project-specific conventions, plus initial style files if writing samples are
11available.
12
13## Learn About the Project
14
15Ask about:
16
17- What kind of project: novel, short story collection, serial?
18- How far along: starting fresh, or existing chapters and worldbuilding?
19- Single POV or multiple? Linear or non-linear timeline? How much worldbuilding?
20- Where do they keep their writing? What's the existing layout?
21
22## Writing Samples and Style
23
24Ask about writing samples: these are the foundation for style analysis:
25
26- Do they have sample chapters or scenes already written?
27- Do they have writing from other projects that captures the voice they want?
28- Are there published works they want to draw style inspiration from?
29- Voice goals: close third, omniscient, first person? Formal, colloquial?
30
31Collect whatever they have. Save samples to `kb/samples/` so they're available
32for future style analysis. If they have enough material, offer to analyze
33their style using the `/creative-writing-craft` methodology: read the samples,
34identify the voice dimensions, and produce initial style files in `kb/styles/`.
35
36If they're starting fresh with no samples, capture their voice goals in
37CLAUDE.md so style files can be created from early drafts.
38
39## Propose and Iterate
40
41Based on what you learn, draft a `CLAUDE.md` section and show it to the
42author. Cover:
43
44- **Project overview**: what the project is, one paragraph
45- **Author's space**: where the author keeps their writing and how it's
46 organized
47- **KB structure**: what subdirectories exist under `kb/` and what they're
48 for. Suggest based on project complexity:
49 - Simple (short story, single POV): `characters/`, `canon/`, `styles/`, root `vocab.md`
50 - Medium (novel, few POVs): add `timeline/`
51 - Complex (series, large world): add `world/`, `issues/`, and domain vocab files such as `world/vocab.md`
52- **Voice and style**: what style files exist, what samples they're derived
53 from, voice goals not yet captured
54- **Conventions**: anything project-specific: naming patterns, chapter
55 numbering, POV tagging, spoiler handling
56- **Shared vocabulary**: early canonical terms, aliases, invented words,
57 genre terms with project-specific meanings, and terms the author wants
58 agents to avoid or distinguish
59
60Present the draft and let the author adjust. Iterate until they're satisfied.
61
62## Create the Files
63
64Once approved:
65
661. Write or update `CLAUDE.md` with the agreed content
672. Create the `kb/` directories referenced in CLAUDE.md
683. Create `kb/vocab.md` when the project has named concepts agents must use
69 consistently; create domain vocab files when a domain already has enough
70 distinct terms
714. Create `work/` with standard subdirectories (outline/, drafts/,
72 critique-reports/, brainstorm/)
735. Save any writing samples to `kb/samples/`
746. If samples were provided and the author wants style analysis, produce
75 initial style files in `kb/styles/`
76
77## Existing Projects
78
79If `CLAUDE.md` already has creative writing conventions, read it first and
80suggest updates rather than overwriting.
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