Skill v1.0.0
currentAutomated scan100/100version: "1.0.0" name: authors-build-place description: Build a place entry for the project bible via an interactive interview. Usage - /authors-build-place <name> [--author <author-name>]. Seven questions covering type, sensory signature, one odd detail, meaning to characters, how it changes, contradiction, connections. Optional --author lens (mcphee for architectural history, didion for cultural specificity). Use when you're adding a new location to a long-form project and want author personas to read its bible entry before editing passages set there.
/authors-build-place <name> [--author <author>]
Build a structured place entry in the project bible.
When to use
- A new location has entered your novel and you want other author personas to know about it.
- You're pre-planning a novel and sketching out key settings.
- A location has been drifting (sensory details shifting across chapters) and you want to nail it down.
Not for: writing scene prose set in this place (use /authors-channel <author> or /authors-draft); editing an existing passage (use /authors-edit).
Instructions for Claude
- Parse arguments: place name (required) + optional
--author <name>flag. Valid lenses in v0.5:mcphee,didion. Others fall back to default.
- Verify `.great-authors/` exists. If not, tell the user to run
/authors-project-initand stop.
- Check for existing place file at
.great-authors/places/<name>.md. If exists, ask about overwrite (default no).
- Dispatch place-builder via
Agenttool:
subagent_type: place-builder- Prompt includes:
Mode: interactive,Place name: <name>,Author lens: <author>,Working directory: <cwd>.
- Relay the interview. Seven questions, one at a time, user answers pass back verbatim.
- Confirm creation:
``` Created .great-authors/places/<name>.md
Type: <type> Sensory signature: <one-line summary>
Next: run /authors-channel <author> to draft a scene here, or /authors-build-place for the next location. ```
Notes
- Places are bible metadata. Do not write to the manuscript.
- If the user mentions a character that doesn't exist in
.great-authors/characters/during the interview (question 7, connections), offer to run/authors-build-characternext — after finishing this place file. - If the user says "cancel" or "abort," stop the dispatch and confirm no file was written.