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### No Logistic Miracles Rule Do not write “he survived” or “they did not hear” without a physical mechanism. It must be on the page: distance, barrier, noise, door, ditch, wall, collapsed shelf, weather, time passed, loss of consciousness, inability to scream, or another reason the reader can believe.
### Future Payoff Rule If a chapter is written to prepare a future chapter, the future chapter or its locked plan must also be opened and checked so the planting truly enables the payoff. It is not enough for the emotion to work. The body, space, and time must work too. <!-- END ORIGINAL FILE: worklist.md --> ---
# WRITING METHODOLOGY
## How to plan, write, or repair a chapter so it feels alive
## Use alongside characters_voices.md for every planning, writing, repair, or QA session -----
# CURRENT PROJECT BASELINE The saga is now planned and written in English by default. This file is not a translation guide. It is the active craft and process guide for: 1. skeleton-first planning, 2. chapter architecture, 3. prose writing, 4. prose repair, 5. QA, 6. fanfic register, 7. emotional structure, 8. dialo
# PATTERN SOURCES The patterns in this document come from three distinct bodies of fanfic source material, each contributing different layers to the project: | Source body | What it contributes | Where it lives in detail | |---|---|---| | **Lexark / Apocalyptic** | Survival register, body layer, apocalyptic stacking
# THE PROBLEM IN ONE SENTENCE The chapters are written like a narrator is explaining a story to someone who wasn't there. Fanfic is written like the reader is already inside the room. That is the entire gap. Everything below is tools for closing it. -----
# PART ZERO , SKELETON-FIRST PLANNING
## Why this phase exists The project is too large to keep repairing prose chapter by chapter while the large structure is still moving. The purpose of the skeleton-first phase is to make the whole saga visible before prose begins again: 1. all parts, 2. all blocks, 3. all 200+ chapters, 4. all arrivals, 5. all death
## The rule Do not write full chapter prose from vibes alone. A chapter can only be written after it has: 1. a clear role inside the part, 2. a physical start and end, 3. a time anchor, 4. a cast list, 5. a knowledge map, 6. a logistics map, 7. an emotional spine, 8. a relationship movement, 9. a handoff into the ne
## Part-level skeleton Before chapter skeletons, every part needs a part-level structure. A part-level skeleton must include: 1. part engine, 2. start state, 3. end state, 4. timeline range, 5. physical geography, 6. active character tiers, 7. main couples' emotional movement, 8. sub-main arcs, 9. secondary focus bl
## Chapter-level skeleton Every chapter skeleton should answer: | Question | Required answer | |---|---| | What is this chapter's job? | One clear structural and emotional role. | | Where does it start physically? | Location, time, immediate pressure. | | Where does it end physically? | Location, time, changed state.
## Character-tier use during skeletons Use `character_tier_system.md` before building each part. Only the four core couples are main characters across the whole saga: 1. Clexa, 2. Ronance, 3. SwanQueen, 4. Vauseman. Other characters can become sub-main inside a part without becoming saga-core. A character's death
## Standalone entry arc check during skeletons Every entrance block must be planned as if it could be read as a standalone fanfic ending at the first meeting with the main group. Before writing an entrance chapter or entrance block, the skeleton must answer: 1. What was this character, couple, or group before Day Ze
## Entry Arc Scale Guide This guide controls the expected depth of standalone entrance blocks. It does not create a hard maximum word count. It prevents major arrivals from being compressed into summary and prevents smaller arrivals from stealing the structural weight of the core saga.
### Major standalone entry arcs Major standalone entry arcs may require 10,000 to 15,000 words per chapter when the story weight requires it. Use this scale for: * Lexa / Costia / Anya, * Ronance / Steve, * Clarke / Raven / Octavia / Steve, * Vauseman / Theo, * SwanQueen / Henry, * Avalance, * Steve / Anya / Hawkins
### Medium standalone entry arcs Medium standalone entry arcs may require 7,000 to 12,000 words per chapter when needed. Use this scale for: * Finchel, * Shoni, * Seth / Summer, * Maya / Carina, * Runaways, * Sarah Walker / Chuck, * Callie / Arizona, * Cosima / Delphine, * Bo / Lauren. These arcs still need lived p
### Smaller intake arcs Smaller intake arcs are still real story, but they are more compressed. Use this scale for later city arrivals, support families, minor rescue groups, single-purpose civic arrivals, and survivor cells that change the city without carrying a full independent block. They still need enough old-w
### Scale warning If an entrance block cannot be read with emotional satisfaction up to the meeting point, it is underbuilt. If a smaller entrance block starts pushing the four core couples or the active part engine off the page, it is overbuilt. If an entrance block cannot be read with emotional satisfaction before