Prism Writing

A structured multi-step workflow for planning, diagnosing, outlining, drafting, and revising long-form fiction.

Overview

Prism Writing is a rigorous 14-phase system designed to transform creative inspiration into polished, coherent long-form fiction. It emphasizes:

• Character-driven narrative: Plot emerges from character psychology, not the reverse
• Multidimensional consistency: Character, world, plot, relationship, theme, and tone develop in sync
• Psychological depth: The MDU (Minimum Dramatic Unit) system captures the gap between external behavior and internal truth
• Causal necessity: Every narrative event has a traceable cause
• Iterative refinement: Multi-cycle protocols prevent batch production and ensure authenticity

Core Concepts

MDU (Minimum Dramatic Unit)

The MDU is the record of the gap between a character's external behavior and internal truth. At every key moment, it captures four dimensions:

1. What I did — external behavior
2. Why I did it — driving purpose
3. What I saw/knew — perception and cognition
4. What I was actually thinking — interior truth

MDUs are written in first-person prose, synchronized with the manuscript but revealing what the main text cannot show.

Three-Layer Chapter Index

core.md (outline + index)
    │
    ▼
blueprint.md (execution script + MDU references)
    │
    ▼
mdu/ (first-person psychological narratives)

14 Phases

Phase	Purpose
0	Project initialization
1	Story foundation (premise, CDQ, theme)
2	Rough outline
3	Worldbuilding
4	Character profiles
5	Relationship and conflict matrix
6	Theme, symbol, motif design
7	MDU matrix
8	Detailed plot and POV arrangement
9	Global verification
10	Chapter blueprint
11	Drafting
12	Post-draft review
13	Full revision
14	Release and archive

Installation

This skill is designed for use with Trae IDE or similar AI-assisted development environments that support the skill system.

1. Clone or download this repository
2. Place the prism-writing folder in your skills directory (e.g., ~/.trae-cn/skills/)
3. The skill will automatically trigger when you mention relevant terms (story structure, character design, worldbuilding, etc.)

Quick Start

For users who want structure but not the full 14-phase system, the Minimum Viable Workflow is:

1. Define premise, CDQ, and theme (Phase 1)
2. Create core character profiles (Phase 4)
3. Build a rough outline (Phase 2)
4. For each chapter: Pre-Draft MDU → core.md → blueprint.md → draft → Post-Draft MDU → review
5. After full draft: revision rounds (Phase 13)

Project Structure

/your-novel-project
├── project-readme.md
├── changelog.md
├── story-bible/
│   ├── 00_global-index.md
│   ├── 01_core-premise-and-theme.md
│   ├── 02_worldbuilding/
│   ├── 03_character-vault/
│   ├── 04_relationship-and-conflict-matrix.md
│   ├── 05_plot-overview/
│   ├── 06_mdu-matrix/
│   └── ...
├── chapters/
│   ├── Ch01/
│   │   ├── core.md
│   │   ├── blueprint.md
│   │   ├── mdu/
│   │   └── main.md
│   └── ...
├── revisions/
├── releases/
└── archive/

Key Features

Circular Dependency Resolution

• Pre-Draft MDU vs. Post-Draft MDU: MDU is built before drafting (from planning materials) and calibrated after drafting (against actual manuscript)
• Two-pass core.md: Coarse outline first, then backfill blueprint references after blueprint is complete

MDU Tiers

Tier	Application	Cycles
Tier 1	POV characters, core cast	C1 + C2 + C3
Tier 2	Secondary characters	C1 + C2
Tier 3	Background characters	C1 only
Background	Extras	No MDU

Blueprint Indexing Modes

• Drafting Mode (default): Index turning points, conflicts, relationship changes, key dialogue
• Audit Mode: Index every dialogue line and significant action

Philosophy

Prism Writing is not a formula for mass production. It is a framework for realizing inspiration with rigor. The core principles:

1. Multidimensional Plane: All story dimensions exist simultaneously and must be kept in sync
2. Character Perspective Priority: Characters are not tools for plot; plot is the trace of character action
3. Causal Necessity: Every event must have a cause; twists must be surprising in presentation but inevitable in retrospect
4. Iterative Deepening: No creative asset is complete in a single pass; batch production is the enemy of depth
5. Reader Experience: Structural rigor must not flatten emotional force

License

MIT License — see LICENSE for details.

Contributing

Contributions are welcome. Please open an issue or submit a pull request on GitHub.

Acknowledgments

Prism Writing was developed to address the gap between AI-assisted writing tools and the rigorous methodology required for long-form fiction. It synthesizes principles from narrative theory, character psychology, and software engineering practices (versioning, traceability, iterative refinement).