Help me develop and draft a novel from the material below. Do not write a generic premise or imitate a living author. Build an original voice from the craft qualities I name. Project inputs Genre and readership: [GENRE AND READERS] Premise and central conflict: [PREMISE] Main character: [PROTAGONIST] Voice and comparable qualities: [VOICE NOTES]
Desired length and current material: [LENGTH AND MATERIAL] Boundaries: [CONTENT BOUNDARIES] First, ask up to 3 clarifying questions only if a required input is missing. Then produce: 1. A one-paragraph logline naming the protagonist, destabilizing event, objective, obstacle, and consequence of failure. 2. A 12- to 18-beat chapter roadmap. For every beat, state what the character wants, what blocks them, the decision or reversal, and what new pressure results. Identify the midpoint shift and final irreversible choice. 3. Character sheets for the protagonist and up to three essential supporting characters: public goal, private fear, contradiction, relationship pressure, and how each changes. 4. A 1,500- to 2,000-word opening chapter. Begin in a concrete scene already under pressure. Use sensory detail that reveals setting or character; avoid explanatory backstory blocks. End with a changed situation or compelling decision. Keep point of view, tense, distance, and voice consistent. Use dialogue only where it creates conflict, subtext, or a decision. Before answering, check that each plot beat follows causally from a character choice and flag any premise detail you had to assume. Also check that the opening chapter does not resolve the central conflict too early.
Fill in
| Placeholder | What to enter | Example |
|---|---|---|
| [GENRE AND READERS] | State the genre, subgenre, and intended adult, young-adult, or middle-grade readership. | Adult speculative mystery, for readers who like intimate small-town stories. |
| [PREMISE] | Describe the starting situation, central conflict, and any key setting facts. | A county archivist finds records proving that one resident is erased from every public document each decade. |
| [PROTAGONIST] | Give the protagonist's age, role, goal, flaw, and what they stand to lose. | Mara, 34, an archivist desperate to protect her late father's reputation; she avoids confrontation and could lose her job and family history. |
| [VOICE NOTES] | Name original tonal and stylistic qualities such as spare, wry, intimate, or suspenseful. | Quietly ominous, observant, dry humor, precise physical details, close third person. |
| [LENGTH AND MATERIAL] | State the target word count and paste any outline, scenes, or notes you already have. | 85,000 words; I have a two-page outline and the archive discovery scene. |
| [CONTENT BOUNDARIES] | List subjects, depiction limits, or story elements to include or avoid. | No graphic violence; keep the supernatural mechanism ambiguous until late in the book. |
How to use
- Replace every bracketed field, especially the protagonist's loss and the story's central obstacle.
- Read the beat roadmap before using the chapter draft; change any turn that happens because the plot needs it rather than because a character acts.
- Check the opening for point-of-view slips and exposition that could become action.
- Follow up with: "Revise beats 6 through 10 so the antagonist's pressure grows from Mara's decision in beat 5."
Variations
Chapter revision
Use when a chapter exists but feels flat or disconnected from the larger plot.
Revise this novel chapter: [CHAPTER]. It belongs after this prior event: [PRIOR EVENT], and must set up: [NEXT EVENT]. Preserve the established point of view and tense: [POV AND TENSE]. Return a brief diagnosis, then a revised 1,200- to 2,000-word chapter. Make every scene change a character's information, relationship, or options. Mark any continuity fact you cannot verify rather than inventing it. Before answering, check for repeated emotional beats and dialogue that states subtext directly.
Series bible
Use when planning multiple books with continuing characters and rules.
Create a series bible for [SERIES PREMISE] across [NUMBER] novels. Core cast: [CHARACTERS]. World rules and limits: [RULES]. Return a table for each book with central question, antagonist pressure, protagonist change, ending consequence, and unresolved thread. Then list continuity facts that cannot change without explanation. Do not create powers, history, or relationships absent from my notes. Check that every later-book escalation follows from an earlier consequence and that each book has its own satisfying climax.
Query package
Use when the manuscript is drafted and you need agent-submission materials.
Create a query package for my completed [GENRE] novel, [TITLE], [WORD COUNT] words. Premise and protagonist: [PREMISE]. Major plot turns, including the ending: [PLOT SUMMARY]. Return a 250- to 350-word query letter, a one-sentence pitch, and a 100-word synopsis. Reveal the ending in the synopsis but not necessarily the query. Do not claim market success or invent credentials. Check that the query names the protagonist's choice and stakes, not only the setting.
Tips
- Treat the roadmap as a chain of choices and consequences, not a list of events that happen near one another.
- Give the model a voice brief made of qualities and constraints; asking for an author's exact style produces weaker, less original prose.
- Draft chapters one at a time and provide the immediately preceding scene plus the intended next turn to protect continuity.
- Keep a separate canon sheet for dates, injuries, names, rules, and relationship changes; paste relevant entries with each revision request.
FAQ
Can AI write an entire novel in one prompt?
It can generate a draft, but long outputs lose continuity. A beat plan, canon sheet, and chapter-by-chapter drafting process produce more controllable work.
How do I keep the prose from sounding generic?
Supply scene-level observations, character contradictions, and voice constraints. Then reject stock phrasing and revise passages against the specific emotional purpose of each scene.
Should I tell the AI my ending?
Usually yes. Knowing the ending helps it plant meaningful reversals and avoid building toward a resolution that does not fit your story.