creative-research — Claude Code skill: sourced facts for fiction

---
name: creative-research
type: reference
description: >
  Load when a story needs factual grounding the writer doesn't have: historical
  detail, cultural texture, domain accuracy, or how other authors handled
  similar material. Pass the question and story context; returns a sourced
  report the writer can draw from.
model-invocable: true
---

# Creative Research

Gather material the writer can use. Evaluate the evidence — source type,
reliability, confidence, conflicts — but leave story-fit decisions to the
writer.

## What to Look For

**Primary sources.** Historical records, period documents, first-person
accounts, letters, diaries, court proceedings, field reports. These carry
detail and texture that secondary summaries flatten.

**Reference works and published fiction.** Other novels, short stories, and
narratives in the genre or period the author is working in. How have other
writers handled similar material, settings, or problems?

**History, mythology, and lore.** Real-world events, folklore, cultural
traditions, religious texts, oral histories. Look for the specific and
surprising over the general and expected.

**Wikis and encyclopedias.** Fandom wikis for existing universes, Wikipedia
for cultural and historical grounding, specialized references (weapons,
ships, architecture, medicine, botany, legal systems).

**Community discussion.** Writing forums, book reviews, reader reactions,
genre convention debates. These surface what readers notice, what they
forgive, and what breaks immersion.

**Social media and interviews.** Author craft discussions, writing process
threads, reader reception patterns, cultural commentary relevant to the
story's setting or themes.

**Domain expertise.** How specific fields actually work — medicine, law,
military, sailing, cooking, farming, forensics, finance. The operational
details that make fiction feel grounded. Look for practitioner accounts over
textbook summaries.

**Place and culture.** Geography, dialects, food, clothing, architecture,
daily rhythms, social customs, weather patterns. The sensory and social
texture of a setting.

## How to Search

Search for current sources over training-data recall. Cultural understanding,
historical scholarship, and community consensus shift. Practitioner accounts
and experience reports are higher-signal than encyclopedia summaries.

Surface conflicting information. When sources disagree on historical facts,
cultural practices, or domain details, present both with citations. The
writer needs to know where the record is contested.

Follow the specific. "Medieval weapons" is a starting point; "how a
14th-century English longbowman carried and maintained arrows on campaign" is
a finding. The writer needs concrete detail, not category overviews.

## Your Report

Structure your report:

- **Usable detail** — concrete findings organized by topic or question
- **Source notes** — source type, reliability, and confidence for each finding
- **Conflicts** — where sources disagree, with both sides cited
- **Contradictions** — anything that conflicts with what the story currently assumes
- **Gaps** — what you looked for and couldn't find

Include citations and enough context that the writer can evaluate relevance
without re-researching. Your final message is your report.