Revision Continuity
Overview
Revise existing Story Skills projects without losing continuity. Use this skill for targeted chapter edits, continuity audits, developmental revision, line edits, and pre-flight checks before drafting the next chapter.
Prerequisites
A story project must already exist. Verify by checking for story.md in the project root, then run or inspect story report . when CLI access is available.
Revision Workflow
- Clarify the pass type unless the user already specified it:
- Continuity audit - find contradictions, stale references, timeline problems, missing backlinks, or word-count drift
- Developmental revision - improve structure, scene purpose, character motivation, pacing, stakes, and arc progression
- Line edit - improve clarity, voice, rhythm, dialogue, and sensory specificity without changing plot facts
- Proof/polish - fix small wording, grammar, repetition, and formatting issues
- Read the relevant context:
story.mdchapters/_index.md- The target chapter(s)
- Previous and next chapters when present
- Relevant character, location, system, and arc files referenced by the chapter frontmatter
- Matching scene files in
scenes/
continuity/state.md, open questions, and promises/payoffsplot/timeline.md and active arc files for continuity-sensitive edits
- Create a concise revision plan:
- What will change
- What must stay fixed for continuity
- Which files may need updates beyond the chapter
- Make targeted edits directly in markdown files. Do not create project-local scripts to rewrite prose.
- Update dependent metadata:
- Chapter frontmatter
status (draft -> revised, revised -> final only when appropriate)
- Chapter
word-count via CLI when available
plot/timeline.md if events changedscenes/ records if POV, location, participants, or state changes movedcontinuity/state.md, continuity/questions/, or continuity/promises/ when knowledge, object ownership, mystery state, or payoffs changed- Arc plot points or foreshadowing status if the revision changes setup/payoff
- Character or location files when state, relationship, or location references changed
- Run maintenance:
story wordcount . --write
story reindex .
story links .
story validate .
story continuity .
story doctor .
story continuity deterministically checks death ordering (died-in vs later appearances), promise/question chapter ordering, unfired setups, POV/cast consistency, and continuity/state.md references. For intentional flashbacks, memories, or recordings of dead characters, list them under chapter or scene mentions instead of characters.
If story is not installed, use bun run story -- from this repository or the bundled story-maintenance/scripts/story.js fallback when available.
Continuity Audit Checklist
Run story continuity . first to collect the deterministic findings, then check for what the CLI cannot judge:
- Character knowledge: no one acts on information they have not learned
- Character state: injuries, emotions, alliances, location, and status carry forward
- Timeline: time of day, travel time, sequence, and cause/effect stay coherent
- Plot arcs: each changed scene still advances or intentionally pauses an arc
- Foreshadowing: planted and paid-off items match arc files
- Promises/questions: durable continuity records match what the chapter now reveals or withholds
- Scene state: every chapter scene has machine-readable POV, location, participants, arcs, and state-change notes
- World rules: magic, technology, politics, and geography stay consistent with worldbuilding files
- References: chapter frontmatter lists every major character, location, and arc advanced in the prose
- Registries: indexes, word counts, and links are current after edits
Reporting
When the user asks for an audit rather than direct edits, return findings ordered by severity with file references and concrete fixes. When the user asks for revision, summarize the edited files, changed continuity facts, and maintenance results.
1---2name: ivx-revision-continuity3description: This skill should be used when the user asks to revise a chapter, edit prose, continuity check, find inconsistencies, audit character state, check timeline consistency, line edit, developmental edit, polish a draft, or prepare existing story material for the next revision pass.4---56# Revision Continuity78## Overview910Revise existing Story Skills projects without losing continuity. Use this skill for targeted chapter edits, continuity audits, developmental revision, line edits, and pre-flight checks before drafting the next chapter.1112## Prerequisites1314A story project must already exist. Verify by checking for `story.md` in the project root, then run or inspect `story report .` when CLI access is available.1516## Revision Workflow17181. Clarify the pass type unless the user already specified it:19 - **Continuity audit** - find contradictions, stale references, timeline problems, missing backlinks, or word-count drift20 - **Developmental revision** - improve structure, scene purpose, character motivation, pacing, stakes, and arc progression21 - **Line edit** - improve clarity, voice, rhythm, dialogue, and sensory specificity without changing plot facts22 - **Proof/polish** - fix small wording, grammar, repetition, and formatting issues232. Read the relevant context:24 - `story.md`25 - `chapters/_index.md`26 - The target chapter(s)27 - Previous and next chapters when present28 - Relevant character, location, system, and arc files referenced by the chapter frontmatter29 - Matching scene files in `scenes/`30 - `continuity/state.md`, open questions, and promises/payoffs31 - `plot/timeline.md` and active arc files for continuity-sensitive edits323. Create a concise revision plan:33 - What will change34 - What must stay fixed for continuity35 - Which files may need updates beyond the chapter364. Make targeted edits directly in markdown files. Do not create project-local scripts to rewrite prose.375. Update dependent metadata:38 - Chapter frontmatter `status` (`draft` -> `revised`, `revised` -> `final` only when appropriate)39 - Chapter `word-count` via CLI when available40 - `plot/timeline.md` if events changed41 - `scenes/` records if POV, location, participants, or state changes moved42 - `continuity/state.md`, `continuity/questions/`, or `continuity/promises/` when knowledge, object ownership, mystery state, or payoffs changed43 - Arc plot points or foreshadowing status if the revision changes setup/payoff44 - Character or location files when state, relationship, or location references changed456. Run maintenance:4647```shell48story wordcount . --write49story reindex .50story links .51story validate .52story continuity .53story doctor .54```5556`story continuity` deterministically checks death ordering (`died-in` vs later appearances), promise/question chapter ordering, unfired setups, POV/cast consistency, and `continuity/state.md` references. For intentional flashbacks, memories, or recordings of dead characters, list them under chapter or scene `mentions` instead of `characters`.5758If `story` is not installed, use `bun run story --` from this repository or the bundled `story-maintenance/scripts/story.js` fallback when available.5960## Continuity Audit Checklist6162Run `story continuity .` first to collect the deterministic findings, then check for what the CLI cannot judge:6364- Character knowledge: no one acts on information they have not learned65- Character state: injuries, emotions, alliances, location, and status carry forward66- Timeline: time of day, travel time, sequence, and cause/effect stay coherent67- Plot arcs: each changed scene still advances or intentionally pauses an arc68- Foreshadowing: planted and paid-off items match arc files69- Promises/questions: durable continuity records match what the chapter now reveals or withholds70- Scene state: every chapter scene has machine-readable POV, location, participants, arcs, and state-change notes71- World rules: magic, technology, politics, and geography stay consistent with worldbuilding files72- References: chapter frontmatter lists every major character, location, and arc advanced in the prose73- Registries: indexes, word counts, and links are current after edits7475## Reporting7677When the user asks for an audit rather than direct edits, return findings ordered by severity with file references and concrete fixes. When the user asks for revision, summarize the edited files, changed continuity facts, and maintenance results.
intelli-verse-x