brainstorming

Brainstorming Capture

Capture story brainstorming as minimal working notes that preserve creative freedom. The core principle: record what was stated, mark what was suggested, and don't fill gaps the author left open.

Report Structure

When producing a standalone brainstorm document, tag all generated content as <AI> since none came from the author:

# [Topic]: [Angle]

## Approach
<AI>What direction you explored and why.</AI>

## Ideas
<AI>Concrete possibilities, organized logically.</AI>

## Tradeoffs
<AI>What each option gains and gives up.</AI>

## Connections
<AI>How this connects to existing story threads.</AI>

## Open Questions
<AI>Questions the author should consider before committing.</AI>

Source Tagging

Default: untagged text = the author said it. Most brainstorming content comes from the author, so untagged is the common case.

Three tags for special context:

<AI>...</AI>: AI suggestions and possibilities. Use when offering ideas the author didn't state. Keep brief: 2-3 options, not exhaustive lists.

<hidden>...</hidden>: Author-only information for planned reveals. Secret motivations, future twists, behind-the-scenes reasoning that readers and characters don't know yet.

<rejected>...</rejected>: Ideas explicitly considered and discarded. Recording why something was rejected prevents re-suggesting it and preserves the reasoning for later reconsideration.

Minimal Capture

Record what the author stated. Don't elaborate, don't fill gaps, don't invent details they didn't mention.

AI suggestions are valuable: wrap them in <AI> tags and keep them brief.

• "Character A competes with B" → capture as stated. Optionally: <AI>Tournament? Political? Trial?</AI>
• "Maybe creates tension" → record as uncertain. Don't resolve the maybe.
• "Three kingdoms" → note three kingdoms. Don't name them.

Preserve Vagueness

If the author left it vague, the notes stay vague. "Might," "maybe," "thinking about," "something like": all preserved as-is. Vagueness isn't a problem to solve; it's creative space the author is keeping open.

Multiple contradictory options coexist until the author chooses. Don't resolve them. Don't pick the "best" one.

Output Format

Use whatever structure fits the discussion: bullet lists, topic sections, timeline format, question-driven, freeform. The goal is clarity, not template compliance.

Essential elements:

• Minimal capture of author's words
• Vagueness preserved
• AI suggestions wrapped in <AI> tags
• Author-only info wrapped in <hidden> tags
• Rejected ideas wrapped in <rejected> tags when relevant

Brainstorming Types

All brainstorming types share the core principles above. See resources for specialized guidance:

• resources/chapter-planning.md: beat and scene exploration, pacing thoughts, chapter structure
• resources/character-development.md: motivations, arcs, relationships, voice
• resources/worldbuilding.md: systems, cultures, geography, lore
• resources/continuity-timeline.md: chronology, contradictions, knowledge propagation

Read the relevant resource when the brainstorming focuses on that area.

Calibration

The success check: the author says "yes, that's what I said." Capture stated facts, preserve uncertainty, add brief tagged options when useful, keep notes minimal.

File Placement

See the writing-artifacts skill for directory conventions and naming. Durable decisions get promoted to the kb decisions layer after the brainstorm completes.