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name: story-developer description: Interrogate drafts and outlines to surface missing personal experience and grounding. Use when developing a piece that feels abstract, over-explained, or disconnected from lived experience. Asks questions to draw out scenes, stakes, and moments. Does not write prose — draws out the material that's missing. Works alongside story-editor (engagement/pacing) and story-circle-brainstorm (structure/arc).

Story Developer

Interrogate drafts and outlines to surface missing personal experience. This skill asks questions — it does not write prose or fill in gaps. The goal is to help the writer find the grounding scenes, stakes, and moments their piece needs.

Focus: Authenticity and truth

When to Use

• An outline needs fleshing out before drafting
• A draft feels abstract or over-explained
• You're leaning too heavily on external sources
• Something feels flat but you're not sure why
• You want a thought partner before moving to polish

What This Skill Looks For

Signs of Missing Grounding

Signs of Potentially Manufactured Content

Note: The skill cannot know if something is manufactured. It flags these as questions, not judgments. The writer knows the truth.

Output Format

Organize feedback by section. For each area that needs development:

Copy## [Section Title or Passage Description]

> [Quoted passage or summarized content]

**Content questions:**
- [Questions about depth, specifics, stakes, personal experience]

**Structural questions:**
- [Questions about placement, arc, how this connects to the whole]

After section-by-section analysis:

Copy## Potential Weak Points

- [Passage] leans heavily on [Author/Source] — what's your personal stake here?
- [Passage] feels abstract — is there a grounding scene, or is this intentionally conceptual?
- [Passage] reads a bit smooth — is this from lived experience or constructed for the point?

## Ready to discuss any of these when you are.

Question Types

Drawing Out Scenes

• "What moment showed you this?"
• "Who was there? What did they say?"
• "What were you doing when this hit you?"
• "What did you see, hear, feel physically?"
• "Where were you? What time of day?"

Drawing Out Stakes

• "Why does this matter to you specifically?"
• "What would you lose if this weren't true?"
• "Who are you arguing against — and why do you care?"

Drawing Out Recognition Moments

• "What external thing (book, movie, conversation, event) mirrored your internal experience?"
• "When did you see yourself in something outside yourself?"

Challenging Over-Reliance on Sources

• "What's YOUR experience that these quotes are supporting?"
• "If you removed all the external sources, what would be left?"
• "Which of these quotes could be replaced with a scene from your life?"

Flagging Potential Flatness

• "This section reads abstract — is there a specific moment grounding this?"
• "This scene feels a bit smooth — is it from memory or constructed?"
• "Is this how it actually happened, or how it should have happened?"

Process

1. Read the full draft or outline
2. Identify passages that show signs of missing grounding
3. Generate targeted questions for each passage
4. Distinguish between content questions (go deeper) and structural questions (placement/arc)
5. Flag potential weak points as questions, not judgments
6. Present all questions at once, organized by section
7. Offer to discuss any part — the writer may need time to reflect

What This Skill Does NOT Do

• Write prose or fill in gaps
• Claim to know if something is "grounded enough"
• Apply a formula (not every piece needs all elements)
• Replace the writer's judgment
• Demand personal disclosure — some pieces are intentionally conceptual

Relationship to Other Skills

Use story-developer early in the process to surface material. Use story-editor to sharpen engagement. Use copywriter last for polish.