Story Scaffold (Templates-Outline-Parts)

Architectural Lineage (Credits):
SwarmCraft is an architectural fork and deep rewrite of the multi-agent swarm engine created by Mojomast in mojomast/swarmussy.
SwarmCraft’s deterministic “Architect-style” layering is also derived from the meta-structure of Abstract Wiki Architect (AWA).
Full details: Credits & Lineage

POWERED BY GROK

The Story Scaffold is SwarmCraft’s structured planning layer used to generate and maintain narrative coherence. It is designed as a human-editable grid and a machine-usable schema.

It combines:

Templates: what threads exist and how they should be paced
Outline: chapters → parts mapping + per-part beats + part contracts
Parts: the atomic unit the engine drafts/revises

The Scaffold lives inside the Story Bible:

data/story_bible/templates/<template_id>.json
data/story_bible/outline.json

See: Story Bible

1) Why Parts Exist

SwarmCraft drafts and revises one Part at a time.

A Part is the atomic unit because it enables:

stable, small prompt slices
targeted regeneration (one slice)
better continuity control
precise status tracking in Matrix

Chapters are rollups over Parts.

Central Matrix
Deterministic Pipeline

2) Threads (Narrative Lanes)

A template defines the thread set used to structure the story, e.g.:

Plot
Character Development
Philosophy
Conflict
Themes
World-Building
Emotion
Symbolism and Imagery
Structure
Relationships

Threads are not the final prose. They are scaffolding lanes the engine uses to plan and draft.

3) Templates: Thread Set + Cadence + Default Parts/Chapter

A template defines:

the thread list (rows in the grid)
cadence rules (which threads are required per part/chapter, and at what frequency)
default and allowed ranges for parts/chapter
optional genre voice constraints

Schema: Schema Templates

4) Outline: Chapters → Parts + Per-Part Beats + Part Contract

The outline is the canonical story plan for a project.

It defines:

chapters and their ordered parts
for each part:
- beats per thread (grid cells)
- a “part contract” (goal / obstacle / turn / outcome)
- optional locks (protect manual edits)

Schema: Schema Outline

5) Grid View (Human Editing)

The UI projects the outline into a grid:

Columns = Parts (P001, P002, …)
Rows = Threads (Plot, Character Dev, etc.)
Cells = the beat for that thread in that part

This is designed to be:

quick to scan
easy to edit manually
compatible with CSV round-trip when needed

Round-trip spec: Outline Grid CSV Round-Trip

6) How the Scaffold Drives Writing

During execution, SwarmCraft hydrates prompts with only the active Part slice:

that Part’s thread beats
that Part’s contract
minimal continuity (previous part outcome, relevant character/lore snippets)
style constraints

This prevents the system from “re-summarizing the whole story” every time.

Details: Orchestration Slice-by-Slice Prompt Hydration

7) Parts/Chapter: User-Configurable Splitting

Templates provide defaults, but the user can override:

Children / picture book: typically 1 part = 1 chapter
Novel: often 3 parts/chapter (default example)
Complex long-form: up to 6 parts/chapter where needed

Important constraint:

parts must have stable IDs; changing parts/chapter should preserve existing part IDs wherever possible, or explicitly create new parts with new IDs.

8) Orchestration Expectations (Recommended)

The engine SHOULD:

treat empty cells as “no beat required” unless cadence says otherwise
enforce cadence at plan-time (PLAN chooses what needs filling)
use Editor to verify manuscript covers the contract + beats
lock parts once stable to avoid regressions

9) How This Relates to Matrix

Outline is creative intent.
Matrix is runtime progress.

Matrix stores:

status per Part (EMPTY/DRAFTING/REVIEW_READY/REVISION_NEEDED/LOCKED)
manuscript paths and metrics
active_task target

Matrix page: Central Matrix

Story Bible
Schema Templates
Schema Outline
Outline Grid CSV Round-Trip
Orchestration Slice-by-Slice Prompt Hydration
Central Matrix