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skills/cw-story-critique/SKILL.md

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+---
+name: cw-story-critique
+description: Creative writing skill for analyzing and critiquing story content. Use when the user requests feedback, critique, or analysis of their writing. Provides balanced feedback calibrated to intended audience.
+---
+
+# Story Critique
+
+Analyze story content and provide constructive feedback.
+
+## Process
+
+### 1. Understand Context First
+
+Always ask about audience and goals before critiquing:
+
+```
+Before I critique this, help me understand:
+
+1. Target audience? (YA, adult, genre, platform)
+2. What feedback are you looking for? (big picture, line-level, both, harsh-only)
+3. Draft stage? (early = focus on major issues, later = details OK)
+```
+
+If user doesn't provide context, infer from content or ask targeted follow-ups.
+
+### 2. Adapt Structure to Story Needs
+
+**Don't force rigid templates.** Each story needs different things:
+- Sometimes extensive character analysis, minimal plot discussion
+- Sometimes pacing is the main issue and everything else works  
+- Sometimes prose quality overshadows other concerns
+
+**Common areas to consider** (not mandatory):
+- Plot & structure (causation, stakes, logic)
+- Character (motivation, consistency, agency)
+- Pacing & flow
+- Dialogue
+- Prose quality
+- Genre/audience fit
+
+See `references/critique-areas.md` for detailed breakdowns - this is a reference, not a checklist.
+
+### 3. Trust Your Analysis
+
+**Notice what matters, not just what's listed.** If something affects the story but isn't in any reference guide, say it:
+- Unusual structural choices
+- Tonal issues
+- Thematic confusion
+- Unique voice elements
+- Anything else relevant
+
+### 4. Use Web Search When Helpful
+
+Search when you'd benefit from:
+- Genre convention verification
+- Narrative technique terminology
+- How similar stories handled challenges
+- Fact checking
+- Craft advice on specific techniques
+
+### 5. Calibrate to Context
+
+- Early draft → big picture issues
+- Later draft → line-level details OK
+- Genre matters (thriller vs literary, fanfic vs traditional)
+- Platform matters (web serial needs hooks, traditional needs opening, fanfic needs canon adherence)
+
+## Output Modes
+
+**Balanced** (default): Strengths + areas for improvement + priorities
+
+**Harsh** (if requested): Focus on problems, minimize or skip strengths section
+
+**Flexible**: Whatever structure serves this story best
+
+## Skills are Composable
+
+Feel free to combine with other skills when helpful - e.g., using cw-official-docs to check canon accuracy during critique.

skills/cw-story-critique/references/critique-areas.md

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+# Critique Areas Reference
+
+This is a reference guide for common areas to examine when critiquing fiction. **This is not a mandatory checklist** - use your judgment about what matters for each story.
+
+## Plot & Structure
+
+**What to examine:**
+- Story structure (three-act, episodic, etc.)
+- Cause and effect chains
+- Pacing (too slow, too fast, uneven)
+- Scene purposes (what changes in each scene?)
+- Setup and payoff
+- Plot holes and logic gaps
+- Stakes and tension
+- Beginning hook, middle momentum, ending resolution
+
+**Common issues:**
+- Saggy middle (lack of momentum)
+- Rushed ending
+- Scenes without purpose
+- Deus ex machina
+- Convenient coincidences
+- Stakes not clear
+- Characters know things they shouldn't
+- Timeline inconsistencies
+
+## Character Development
+
+**What to examine:**
+- Character motivations (why they do things)
+- Consistency of personality and voice
+- Character agency (do they drive the plot?)
+- Complexity (flaws, contradictions, depth)
+- Character arcs (growth, change, resistance to change)
+- Relationships (believable dynamics)
+- Distinct voices (can you tell characters apart?)
+
+**Common issues:**
+- Reactive protagonist (things happen TO them, not driven BY them)
+- Flat arc (no change or growth when one is expected)
+- Inconsistent characterization
+- Characters acting for plot convenience
+- All characters sound the same
+- Unmotivated actions
+- Sudden personality changes without explanation
+
+## Pacing & Flow
+
+**What to examine:**
+- Scene momentum (does story move forward?)
+- Chapter pacing (fast/slow appropriate to content?)
+- Transitions (smooth between scenes/time?)
+- Balance (summary vs scene, action vs reflection)
+- Dead space (sections that drag)
+- Chapter hooks (end on tension/question?)
+- Information reveal timing
+
+**Common issues:**
+- Slow opening
+- Info dumps
+- Repetitive scenes
+- Lack of scene variety
+- Uneven pacing
+- Flat momentum
+- Scenes that neither advance plot nor develop character
+
+## Dialogue
+
+**What to examine:**
+- Naturalism (sounds like real speech)
+- Subtext (characters don't always say what they mean)
+- Character voice (distinct per character)
+- Purpose (moves plot/reveals character/builds relationships)
+- Info-dumping (exposition disguised as dialogue)
+- Tags and beats (attribution clear?)
+
+**Common issues:**
+- On-the-nose dialogue (too explicit)
+- Info dumps in conversation
+- All characters sound the same
+- Unnatural speech patterns
+- Too much exposition
+- Unclear who's speaking
+- "As you know, Bob" syndrome
+
+## Prose & Technical
+
+**What to examine:**
+- Sentence clarity and variety
+- Show vs tell balance
+- Filter words ("saw", "heard", "felt")
+- Passive voice (excessive use)
+- Word choice (precise, appropriate)
+- Purple prose (over-description)
+- Repetition (word choice, sentence structure)
+- Grammar and technical errors
+
+**Common issues:**
+- Telling instead of showing
+- Filter words distancing reader
+- Monotonous sentence rhythm
+- Unclear action/description
+- Excessive adjectives/adverbs
+- Weak verb choices
+- Confusing pronoun references
+- Repetitive sentence structures
+
+## Audience & Genre Fit
+
+**Genre-Specific Considerations:**
+
+**Fanfiction:**
+- Canon adherence vs divergence (as intended)
+- Character voice matching source material
+- Reader expectations for ships, battles, favorite characters
+- Update frequency and chapter hooks (if web serial)
+
+**YA:**
+- Protagonist age-appropriate
+- Pacing fast enough
+- Romance/relationships age-appropriate
+- Coming-of-age themes
+
+**Literary Fiction:**
+- Prose quality high
+- Thematic depth
+- Character complexity
+- Subtlety over explicit
+
+**Web Serial:**
+- Chapter hooks and cliffhangers
+- Consistent posting structure
+- Reader engagement hooks
+- Pacing for serial format
+
+**Traditional Publishing:**
+- Opening hook strong
+- Pacing professional
+- Meets genre expectations
+- Marketability
+
+**Fantasy/Sci-Fi:**
+- Worldbuilding clear but not info-dumpy
+- Magic/tech systems consistent
+- Lore revealed naturally
+- Balancing exposition with story
+
+**Thriller/Mystery:**
+- Pacing maintains tension
+- Clues planted fairly
+- Red herrings work
+- Satisfying resolution
+
+**Romance:**
+- Relationship development central
+- Chemistry between leads
+- Satisfying romantic arc
+- Genre-appropriate heat level
+
+## Universal Craft Principles
+
+These apply regardless of genre:
+
+**Emotional Resonance:**
+- Reader can connect with characters
+- Emotional beats land
+- Stakes feel meaningful
+- Tension exists
+
+**Clarity:**
+- Reader can follow what's happening
+- Scene goals are clear
+- Action is comprehensible
+- Transitions work
+
+**Consistency:**
+- World rules stay stable
+- Character abilities don't fluctuate randomly
+- Timeline makes sense
+- Tone remains appropriate
+
+**Purpose:**
+- Scenes have reason to exist
+- Details serve the story
+- Nothing feels arbitrary
+- Reader trusts the author
+
+---
+
+**Remember:** This is a reference, not a prescription. Some stories will have issues not listed here. Some listed issues won't apply to certain stories. Trust your judgment.