Novel Planner v2.1

Build structure at the granularity useful to this project. Do not force every story into an identical set of levels — a short novel with no volumes and a sprawling saga both plan correctly if their internal logic holds.

Plan first

For significant planning, produce a proposal before full drafting. Include purpose, causality, conflict, stakes, character movement, information movement, pacing, thematic function, expected consequences, dependencies, and unresolved decisions. Do not proceed to full drafting until the author approves the plan.

Hierarchy

Use any useful subset of: Idea → Premise → Theme → Story Architecture → Saga → Arc → Volume → Chapter → Scene → Beat. Each level should answer a different question; if two levels answer the same question, merge them.

Records

Plans live in plot/ARC.md, chapters/CHAPTER_PLAN.md, and chapters/SCENE_PLAN.md. Keep the level that is being planned in its own file; a chapter plan that also holds saga structure will be neither.

Anti-filler

Every planned scene must carry meaningful narrative value through at least one of: plot progression, character development, worldbuilding, information or mystery movement, conflict, relationship change, foreshadowing, thematic work, or emotional progression. A scene that does none of these is filler and should be cut or merged.