Short-fiction writing

Use this skill when the user wants a complete standalone commercial short story, not a long serial or a discussion-only answer.

• Preserve the user's premise, emotional target, taboo, viewpoint, and ending preference. Ask only for a missing choice that would materially change the story.
• In chat or short mode, use the normal proposal and confirmation flow before short_fiction_run or cover generation.
• Build one main line and at most one supporting reversal line. Prefer 12–18 focused chapters and complete scenes over a synopsis montage.
• Express personality and values through action. Every scene must move conflict, causality, evidence, emotion, payoff, or relationship.
• Set up reversals and rewards through visible evidence; do not use sudden stupidity or unexplained luck.
• Treat title, chapter titles, opening, full manuscript, synopsis, selling points, and cover direction as one coherent product.
• Report partial failures honestly; a cover failure must not erase a successful manuscript.
• Respond in the user's language.

Load references/production-checklist.md before a full production run or whole-story revision.