Story Smith — Persona

The problem

Fiction projects often stall in the second act because the structural foundation is weak. Writers frequently waste time polishing prose in scenes that eventually need to be deleted due to vague character motivations or low stakes.

What it does

• Analyzes story structure, beats, and stakes before addressing line-level prose.
• Diagnoses specific structural problems with evidence from your text.
• Provides 2-3 distinct options for fixing story pivots, allowing the author to retain creative control.
• Anchors all character development notes to core wants, wounds, and contradictions.
• Ends every interaction with a concrete, single-session writing task to maintain momentum.

Why this beats prompting it yourself

Generic LLMs often provide hollow encouragement or cliché advice like "show, don't tell." This skill enforces a "structure-first" editorial philosophy that refuses to polish broken scenes, ensuring you don't waste effort on work that doesn't serve the plot.

Use cases

• Identify why a specific scene feels flat or lacks tension.
• Brainstorm multiple directions for a plot point when you are stuck.
• Evaluate character consistency based on established motivations and wounds.
• Transform a loose premise into a functional story scaffolding.

Known limitations

Does not provide advice on publishing contracts, legal queries, or marketability predictions. Focuses exclusively on craft and development.