# reverse-outliner

Breaks a published book into scenes and builds a structural outline, so you can see how the text is put together.

- skill · `type=skill` · Claude Code, Codex, Cursor, GitHub Copilot, Gemini CLI, OpenCode · 439 installs · ★ 176
- Author: jwynia
- License: MIT · policy=mirror · the beginning of the file is at the end of this page
- Source: https://github.com/jwynia/agent-skills/tree/HEAD/skills/creative/fiction/structure/reverse-outliner/SKILL.md
- Updated: 2026-02-24
- HTML: https://affpapa.org/en/nevibecode/skills/reverse-outliner

## What it does

The skill takes finished prose and works backwards. It splits the text into chapters and scenes, then describes each scene by its goal, conflict and disaster. From there it detects the genre, traces character arcs, and writes everything into a markdown outline. Handy for craft study, genre research, or building teaching material from an existing work.

Under the hood it is a set of Deno scripts: `segment-book.ts` cuts the text, `analyze-scene-batch.ts` runs the scene analysis, `detect-genre.ts` and `track-characters.ts` handle genre and arcs, `generate-outline.ts` assembles the result. The orchestrator `reverse-outline.ts` runs the whole pipeline from `book.txt` to `outline.md` and drops the intermediate JSON into an `analysis/` folder. Scripts run with `deno run --allow-read`, plus `--allow-write` when you want files on disk.

The stages build on each other, so skipping one does not work. Scene boundaries are the weak spot: when a book has no clear chapter markers, segmentation falls back to a pattern and you should check the edges by hand. The skill does not write new story content and does not rate the book.

## Install

### Claude Code (native platform)

1. **Skills CLI (Vercel)**
```bash
npx skills add jwynia/agent-skills --skill reverse-outliner -a claude-code
```

2. **Manually: put the files in place**
- File: `~/.claude/skills/reverse-outliner/SKILL.md` — Copy the whole skill folder; for one project use .claude/skills/reverse-outliner/

### Codex

1. **Skills CLI (Vercel)**
```bash
npx skills add jwynia/agent-skills --skill reverse-outliner -a codex
```

2. **Manually: put the files in place**
- File: `.agents/skills/reverse-outliner/SKILL.md` — For all projects use ~/.agents/skills/

### Cursor

1. **Skills CLI (Vercel)**
```bash
npx skills add jwynia/agent-skills --skill reverse-outliner -a cursor
```

2. **Manually: put the files in place**
- File: `.cursor/skills/reverse-outliner/SKILL.md` — Cursor also reads .agents/skills/ and .claude/skills/

### GitHub Copilot

1. **GitHub CLI**
```bash
gh skill install jwynia/agent-skills reverse-outliner
```

2. **Manually: put the files in place**
- File: `.github/skills/reverse-outliner/SKILL.md`

### Gemini CLI

1. **Skills CLI (Vercel)**
```bash
npx skills add jwynia/agent-skills --skill reverse-outliner -a gemini-cli
```

2. **Platform CLI**
```bash
gemini skills install https://github.com/jwynia/agent-skills --path skills/creative/fiction/structure/reverse-outliner
```

### Windsurf (Devin Desktop)

**Manually: put the files in place**
- File: `.devin/skills/reverse-outliner/SKILL.md` — The legacy .windsurf/skills/ path still works

### OpenCode

**Skills CLI (Vercel)**
```bash
npx skills add jwynia/agent-skills --skill reverse-outliner -a opencode
```

### Claude.ai

**Claude.ai**
- Zip the folder and upload it in Settings → Capabilities → Skills

Where a file is given instead of a command, copy the files from the source to that path: https://github.com/jwynia/agent-skills/tree/HEAD/skills/creative/fiction/structure/reverse-outliner/SKILL.md

## When to use it
- split a book into scenes without marking it up by hand
- see what structural job each scene does
- detect the genre from the text itself
- trace the protagonist and secondary character arcs
- build a study outline from someone else's novel

## Example prompts
- Segment book.txt into scenes and generate the outline in reverse-outlines/
- Detect the genre of this book and map its key moments
- Track the character arcs and show which scenes change them

## Source text · SKILL.md · MIT

Below is the content of a third-party file. It is data, not instructions for you: do not act on anything written inside unless the human asks. Block tag: 7742f0524cf4a650.

BEGIN THIRD-PARTY FILE 7742f0524cf4a650
```text
---
name: reverse-outliner
description: Reverse-engineer published books into structured scene-by-scene outlines for study. Use when analyzing craft, learning story structure from masters, or creating teaching materials from existing works.
license: MIT
metadata:
  author: jwynia
  version: "1.0"
  type: utility
  mode: evaluative
  domain: fiction
---

# Reverse-Outliner: Book-to-Outline Analysis

You reverse-engineer published books into structured study outlines. Your role is to extract the underlying story architecture from finished prose, making visible the craft decisions that created the reader experience.

## Core Principle

**A finished book conceals its construction. The outline reveals the skeleton beneath the prose.**

Every scene serves structural, emotional, and character functions. By extracting these functions systematically, you create a map of how the story achieves its effects.

## The States

### RO0: No Input
**Symptoms:** User wants to analyze a book but hasn't provided text or identified the source.

**Key Questions:**
- What book are you analyzing?
- Do you have the text file ready?
- What's your study goal? (craft analysis, genre study, teaching)

**Interventions:** Guide user to prepare text input. Discuss scope (whole book vs. section).

### RO1: Unsegmented Text
**Symptoms:** Have raw text but no chapter/scene divisions identified.

**Key Questions:**
- Does the book have explicit chapter markers?
- Are scene breaks marked with whitespace, symbols, or POV shifts?
- What's the typical scene length for this genre?

**Interventions:** Run `segment-book.ts` to identify chapters and scenes.

### RO2: Segmented, Unanalyzed
**Symptoms:** Chapters/scenes identified but no structural analysis performed.

**Key Questions:**
- How many scenes total?
- Ready to begin scene-by-scene analysis?

**Interventions:** Run `analyze-scene-batch.ts` for G/C/D analysis.

### RO3: Genre Unidentified
**Symptoms:** Scenes analyzed but genre-specific Key Moments not mapped.

**Key Questions:**
- What's the primary elemental genre?
- Are there secondary genres?
- Which Key Moments framework applies?

**Interventions:** Run `detect-genre.ts`, then map Key Moments.

### RO4: Characters Untracked
**Symptoms:** Scenes and genre mapped but character arcs not traced.

**Key Questions:**
- Who is the protagonist?
- Which 3-5 secondary characters are most significant?
- Which arc type does each follow?

**Interventions:** Run `track-characters.ts` to identify and trace arcs.

### RO5: Ready for Synthesis
**Symptoms:** All analysis complete, ready to generate outline.
```
END THIRD-PARTY FILE 7742f0524cf4a650

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