sumeru-outline

Online Novel Outline Design

Trigger Keywords

Core Functions

1. Worldview Setting: World background, power system, social rules, geographic setting
2. Character Setting: Character portraits, personalities, and growth arcs of protagonists, supporting characters, and villains
3. Plot Framework: Main story, subplots, key nodes, climax arrangement
4. Volume Outline: Divide plot stages by volumes, clarify core conflicts and goals for each volume
5. Cool Point Arrangement: Plan the positions of key cool points, turning points, and suspense points
6. Mandatory Compliance Check: Detect all names based on AI reasoning, identify possible real person names/place names to avoid infringement risks

Output Structure

I. Worldview Setting Template

• World Background:
  • Era Background (Ancient/Modern/Future/Fantasy)
  • Historical Context (Key event nodes)
  • World Essence (Core rules/underlying logic)
• Power System:
  • Power Level Division (Clear advancement path)
  • Power Acquisition Methods
  • Power Balance Mechanism (Restraint relationships)
• Social Rules:
  • Political Structure
  • Economic System
  • Social Classes
  • Cultural Customs
  • Taboo Rules
• Geographic Setting:
  • World Map Overview
  • Key Locations (Main City/Secret Realm/Dangerous Area): Mandatory use of fictional names, prohibited from using real-world countries, cities, mountains, rivers, scenic spots, etc.
  • Regional Characteristics and Faction Distribution

II. Character Setting Template

• Protagonist Character Card:
  • Basic Information: Name, Age, Appearance, Identity: Mandatory use of fictional names, prohibited from using real-world public figures, historical figures, or well-known IP character names
  • Personality Traits: Core personality, strengths and weaknesses, catchphrase
  • Background Story: Past experiences, trauma/obsession, initial state
  • Core Goals: Short-term/Mid-term/Long-term goals
  • Growth Arc: Transformation from ×× to ××
  • Golden Finger/Special Ability: Origin, limitations, growth potential
  • Character Tags: 3-5 key tags (e.g., "Underdog Counterattack", "Rational and Scheming")
• Main Supporting Character Cards (3-5 people):
  • Relationship with Protagonist
  • Character Function (Mentor/Partner/Romantic Interest/Rival)
  • Basic Information and Personality
  • Personal Goals and Growth Arc
  • Interaction Mode with Protagonist
• Antagonist Character Cards (1-3 people):
  • Basic Information and Personality
  • Antagonist Motivation (Why do bad things)
  • Strength Level and Factions
  • Core Conflict with Protagonist
  • Antagonist Charm Points (Avoid flat characterization)

III. Plot Outline Design

• Main Story Line:
  • Opening (Chapters 1-3): Entry point, initial state, introduction of Golden Finger/conflict
  • Development Period: Gradual upgrade, faction expansion, emotional warming
  • Climax Period: Final conflict, truth revealed, fate choice
  • Ending: Conclusion method, character endings, lingering charm
• Subplots:
  • Supporting Character Personal Lines
  • Worldview Exploration Lines
  • Emotional Lines
  • Foreshadowing Resolution Lines

IV. Cool Point Arrangement Formula

1. Slap-in-the-face Cool: Villain underestimates → Protagonist shows strength to slap face
2. Gain Cool: Obtain treasures/skills/breakthroughs
3. Identity Cool: Identity exposed/status upgraded
4. Emotional Cool: Relationship warming/confirmation
5. Intelligence Cool: Scheme succeeds/plot works
6. Exploration Cool: Discover secret realms/unlock truths
7. Team Battle Cool: Team cooperation/defeat stronger opponents with weaker strength

Paving (Suppressing expectations) → Turning Point (Unexpected occurrence) → Outbreak (Cool point release) → Aftermath (New suspense)

V. Volume Planning Method

• Volume Name: Meaningful title
• Core Conflict: Main contradiction of the volume
• Upgrade Node: Key breakthrough of the protagonist
• Important Turning Point: Plot turning point
• Volume End Hook: Suspense leading to the next volume

VI. Complete Chapter Detailed Outlines

• Generate corresponding number of chapter detailed outlines based on total length planning (Short: 20-50 chapters, Medium: 50-100 chapters, Long: 100-200 chapters, Ultra-long: 200+ chapters)
• Each chapter outline contains sufficient details to support independent generation of complete chapter content
• Outlines are organized by volumes, with clear volume goals and core conflicts for each volume

• Chapter Number: Chapter X
• Chapter Title: Attractive chapter title
• Suggested Word Count: Recommended word count range (e.g., 3000-4000 words)
• Core Event: What happens in this chapter (1-2 sentences summary)
• Characters Appearing: List of main characters appearing in this chapter
• Plot Progression: Detailed description of plot development steps (3-5 key nodes)
• Cool Point/Suspense of This Chapter: Core highlights, cool points, or ending suspense of this chapter
• Foreshadowing: Foreshadowing laid in this chapter (if any)
• Connection with Previous/Next Chapters: What content it承接 from the previous chapter, what content it leads to in the next chapter
• Scene Location: Main scene where this chapter takes place
• POV Perspective: Perspective used in this chapter (Default: Protagonist's perspective)
• Emotional Tone: Overall emotional atmosphere of this chapter (Tense/Relaxed/Blood-boiling/Warm, etc.)

• User-visible:

  Novel_Outline_Chapter_Detailed_Outlines.md

  (Markdown format, easy to read)
• Machine-readable:

  .sumeru/outline/chapter-outlines.json

  (Complete JSON structure for subsequent skill use)

Sub-Agent Parallel Detailed Outline Generation Mechanism

• Required Number of Agents = ceil(Total Chapters / 3)
• Allocation Strategy: Priority by volume, chapters in the same volume are assigned to the same group of Agents as much as possible
• Each Agent Receives: Confirmed worldview setting, character setting, volume outline, context correlation of responsible chapters

flowchart LR
    A[Detailed Outline Generation Task] --> B[Determine Total Chapters and Volume Structure]
    B --> C[Calculate Required Agents Based on Max 3 Chapters per Agent]
    C --> D[Assign Chapters to Each Agent by Volume]
    D --> E[Launch N Parallel Sub-Agents]
    E --> F[Sub-Agents Generate Outlines → Save Results]
    F --> G{All Chapter Outlines Completed?}
    G -->|No| F
    G -->|Yes| H[Merge Outlines → Verify Consistency → Output chapter-outlines.json]

• Parallel-generated outlines need to be merged and verified for consistency
• Check plot connection between adjacent chapters, continuity of character appearances, timeline logic
• Check foreshadowing setup and resolution planning across volumes

Compliance Constraint Rules

1. Name Constraints:
   • ❌ Prohibited from using any real-world names, including but not limited to: historical figures, contemporary public figures, celebrities, political figures, well-known IP character names
   • ❌ Prohibited from using combinations of real-world surnames and real names
   • ✅ Encouraged to use original fictional names, which can be created using homophones, adaptations, or combinations of rare characters
   • ✅ For alternate history works that need to map real characters, sufficient fictional adaptation must be done, and original names cannot be used directly
2. Place Name Constraints:
   • ❌ Prohibited from using any real-world geographic names, including but not limited to: country names, city names, province names, mountain names, river names, scenic spot names, street names
   • ❌ Prohibited from using real-world organization names, school names, company names, government department names
   • ✅ Encouraged to use original fictional place names, which can be created with distinctive names based on regional characteristics and functional positioning
   • ✅ For real-world background works that need to map real locations, fictionalized names must be used (e.g., general terms like "Magic City", "Imperial City", or homophone-adapted names)
3. Automatic Check Mechanism:
   • During outline generation, AI reasoning is used to identify possible real person names/place names
   • When suspected real names are found, it automatically prompts and provides 3+ fictional replacement options
   • All non-compliant names must be replaced before outline generation is completed
   • Compliance check report is automatically saved to

     .sumeru/outline/compliance-check.json

Data Persistence

• Novel_Outline_Worldview_Setting.md

  : Complete worldview setting document (Directly readable)

• Novel_Outline_Plot_Framework.md

  : Main + subplot outline + volume planning (Directly readable)

• Novel_Outline_Chapter_Detailed_Outlines.md

  : Complete chapter detailed outlines (Directly readable, includes all chapters)

.sumeru/outline/

• world.json

  : Worldview setting (JSON format, for subsequent skill reuse)

• characters.json

  : Structured character cards (JSON format, for subsequent skill reuse)

• plot-outline.json

  : Plot outline data (JSON format, for subsequent skill reuse)

• chapter-outlines.json

  : Complete chapter detailed outline data (JSON format, used by sumeru-write for parallel chapter generation)

• world.md

  : Worldview setting backup

• plot.md

  : Plot outline backup

chapter-outlines.json Data Structure Specification

{
  "meta": {
    "totalChapters": 100,
    "volumes": [
      {
        "volumeNumber": 1,
        "volumeName": "Foundation Arc",
        "chapterStart": 1,
        "chapterEnd": 20,
        "coreConflict": "Novice Village Conflict and Establishment"
      }
    ],
    "generatedAt": "2026-04-05T10:00:00Z"
  },
  "chapters": [
    {
      "chapterNumber": 1,
      "chapterTitle": "The Underdog Young Master",
      "suggestedWords": "3000-4000",
      "coreEvent": "The protagonist is underestimated in his family and awakens his Golden Finger",
      "characters": ["Protagonist", "Antagonist Young Master", "Steward"],
      "plotProgression": [
        "Opening shows the protagonist's underdog situation",
        "Antagonist comes to provoke",
        "Protagonist unexpectedly awakens Golden Finger",
        "Initially shows strength, shocks everyone",
        "Ending lays foreshadowing of leaving the family"
      ],
      "coolPoint": "The moment Golden Finger is awakened, initially slaps the provocateur",
      "suspense": "What is the real function of Golden Finger?",
      "foreshadowing": "Mentions the family's mysterious ancestral item",
      "connection": "Undertake: Opening; Lead to: Test Golden Finger in next chapter",
      "location": "Family Martial Arts Field",
      "pov": "Protagonist's perspective",
      "mood": "Depressed → Shocked → Expectant",
      "volumeNumber": 1
    }
  ]
}

world.json Data Structure Specification

{
  "meta": {
    "generatedAt": "2026-04-26T10:00:00Z",
    "genre": "Fantasy",
    "style": "Detailed"
  },
  "background": {
    "era": "Era Background (Ancient/Modern/Future/Fantasy)",
    "history": ["Key Historical Event 1", "Key Historical Event 2"],
    "coreRules": "World Essence/Underlying Logic"
  },
  "powerSystem": {
    "levels": ["Level 1", "Level 2", "Level 3"],
    "acquisition": "Power Acquisition Methods",
    "balance": "Power Balance/Restraint Relationships"
  },
  "society": {
    "politics": "Political Structure",
    "economy": "Economic System",
    "classes": ["Social Class 1", "Social Class 2"],
    "culture": ["Cultural Custom 1", "Cultural Custom 2"],
    "taboos": ["Taboo Rule 1", "Taboo Rule 2"]
  },
  "geography": {
    "overview": "World Map Overview",
    "locations": [
      {
        "name": "Fictional Place Name",
        "type": "Main City/Secret Realm/Dangerous Area",
        "description": "Location Description",
        "factions": ["Related Factions"]
      }
    ]
  }
}

characters.json Data Structure Specification

{
  "meta": {
    "generatedAt": "2026-04-26T10:00:00Z",
    "totalCharacters": 8
  },
  "protagonist": {
    "name": "Protagonist Name (Fictional)",
    "age": "Age",
    "appearance": "Appearance Description",
    "identity": "Identity",
    "personality": {
      "core": ["Core Personality 1", "Core Personality 2"],
      "strengths": ["Strength 1", "Strength 2"],
      "weaknesses": ["Weakness 1", "Weakness 2"],
      "catchphrase": "Catchphrase"
    },
    "background": "Past Experiences",
    "trauma": "Trauma/Obsession",
    "goals": {
      "shortTerm": "Short-term Goal",
      "midTerm": "Mid-term Goal",
      "longTerm": "Long-term Goal"
    },
    "growthArc": "Transformation from XX to XX",
    "goldenFinger": {
      "name": "Golden Finger Name",
      "source": "Origin",
      "description": "Description",
      "limitations": ["Limitation 1", "Limitation 2"],
      "growthSpace": "Growth Potential"
    },
    "tags": ["Tag 1", "Tag 2", "Tag 3"]
  },
  "supportingCharacters": [
    {
      "name": "Supporting Character Name (Fictional)",
      "relationship": "Relationship with Protagonist",
      "function": "Mentor/Partner/Rival/Romantic Interest",
      "personality": "Personality Description",
      "goal": "Personal Goal",
      "growthLine": "Growth Arc",
      "interactionMode": "Interaction Mode with Protagonist"
    }
  ],
  "antagonists": [
    {
      "name": "Antagonist Name (Fictional)",
      "personality": "Personality Description",
      "motivation": "Antagonist Motivation",
      "power": "Strength Level",
      "conflict": "Core Conflict with Protagonist",
      "charm": "Antagonist Charm Points"
    }
  ]
}

Cooperation with Other Skills

• Preceding Skill: Can read

  options.json

  from

  sumeru-topic

  (Specify "Reuse existing topic data" via natural language)
• Subsequent Skills: Generated data can be used by

  sumeru-write

  and

  sumeru-review

  • sumeru-write

    automatically reads

    chapter-outlines.json

    , supporting single-chapter or batch parallel generation of all chapters

  • sumeru-review

    directly reads outline data to verify plot deviation

Built-in Reference Resource Library

skills/outline/references/

xianhuan-style-reference.md

xianxia-style-reference.md

urban-style-reference.md

sci-fi-style-reference.md

romance-style-reference.md

common-naming-library.md