Architect Mode: Building the Foundation

“You cannot build a skyscraper on quicksand.”

Architect Mode is where your research becomes a novel. It’s the first active phase of Writers Factory—the stage where you transform your creative inputs into a structured Story Bible that guides every word the AI writes.

This is not just setup. This is where the most important creative decisions happen.

The Complete Pipeline

graph TD
    User([You: I want to write a novel])
    Step1[Story Development]
    Step2{Do you have research?}

    User --> Step1
    Step1 -->|Creates Story Skeleton| Step2

    subgraph "Phase 1: Preparation"
        Step1
        Step2
    end

    subgraph "Phase 2: Deepening (Optional)"
        Notebooks[NotebookLM + Research]
        Deepening[Prose Deepening Prompts]
        Import[Import to Writers Factory]
    end

    Step2 -->|Yes| Notebooks
    Notebooks --> Deepening --> Import
    Step2 -->|No| Import

    Import --> ResearchGraph
    ResearchGraph[(Research Graph)]
    
    Genre[Genre Calibration]

    subgraph "Phase 3: Concept"
        ResearchGraph --> Genre
        Genre --> AutoGen[Auto-Generate]
        Genre --> Manual[Concept Lab]
    end

    AutoGen --> Review[Review Concept]
    Manual --> Review

    Review --> Seed[Seed Story Bible]
    Seed --> Bible[/Story Bible/]
    
    Gate{The Gate}
    Bible --> Gate
    Gate -->|Complete| Voice[Voice Calibration]

Step 1: The Foundation (Story Development)

Before you can generate concepts, you need a story skeleton.

1. Story Development (Required)

Every writer starts here. Complete the 25-question interview to generate your Story Skeleton (Protagonist, World, Theme). → Story Development Guide

2. NotebookLM Deepening (Recommended)

Once you have your skeleton, we highly recommend enriching it with research.

1. Upload your Story_Skeleton.md to NotebookLM.
2. Run deepening prompts against your research sources.
3. Import the resulting “Prose Deepening Files” into Writers Factory. → NotebookLM Deepening Guide

Step 2: Genre Calibration

After importing your research, complete the Genre Calibration wizard. This takes about 5 minutes and dramatically affects concept quality.

What You Configure

Genre-Adjusted Beat Timing

→ Genre Calibration Deep Dive

Step 3: Concept Generation

Once calibrated, you have two ways to generate novel concepts:

Option A: Auto-Generate 5 Concepts (Recommended)

Click “Generate 5 Concepts” and let the AI cross-pollinate your ingredients.

What happens:

• AI analyzes all ingredients from your Research Graph
• Identifies compatible combinations (character + world + theme + plot)
• Generates 5 complete novel concepts
• Explains why each combination works

Best for: Exploration, discovering combinations you hadn’t considered

Option B: Concept Lab (Manual Selection)

Click “Open Concept Lab” to manually select which ingredients to combine.

The three-pane interface:

• Left pane: Source notebooks (filter by origin)
• Middle pane: Ingredients by category (CHARACTER, WORLD, THEME, PLOT, VOICE, TEXTURE)
• Right pane: Your selections + character renaming

Best for: Writers who know exactly what they want to combine

→ Concept Lab Documentation

Step 4: Concept Review

After generation, review your concepts and decide:

The system checks compatibility when hybridizing and warns about conflicts.

→ Novel Concepts Documentation

Step 5: Story Bible Seeding

Once you approve a concept, the system generates your canonical Story Bible:

The Four Required Documents

Protagonist.md Example

# Silas Morrow

## The Lie
"I am whatever the strongest authority needs me to be."

## Fatal Flaw
Chameleonic need for external validation—cannot form authentic identity.

## Arc
### Start
A hollow enforcer who defines himself by his current master.

### Midpoint
Switches sides when the regime falls, realizes he has no beliefs of his own.

### Resolution
Becomes a "ghost" serving multiple factions, accepting his hollow nature.

How the AI Uses These Files

• Protagonist.md → Every scene checks if behavior matches the flaw
• Beat_Sheet.md → Scene scaffolding aligns with structural timing
• Theme.md → Thematic beats are woven into dialogue and imagery
• Rules.md → Violations are flagged; consistency is enforced

Step 6: The Gate

Architect Mode has a gate—a quality checkpoint that prevents advancing until your Story Bible is complete.

What Gets Checked

Why the Gate Exists

This is deliberate friction:

1. AI needs context — Without structure, you get generic output
2. Consistency requires rules — The Knowledge Graph needs something to check against
3. Voice calibration needs character — The tournament compares variants against your protagonist’s psychology

Passing the Gate

When all requirements are met:

1. The Foreman provides a “Sign-off” summary
2. Voice Calibration unlocks
3. Your Story Bible is locked (edits require explicit unlock)

Alternative: Manual Entry

If you prefer to skip the pipeline entirely, you can write Story Bible files directly:

1. Create content/Story Bible/Protagonist.md
2. Create content/Story Bible/Structure/Beat_Sheet.md
3. Create content/Themes_and_Philosophy/Theme.md
4. Create content/World Bible/Rules.md

The system validates your files against your genre calibration and flags any issues.

Best for: Writers who already have their structure figured out.

Quick Reference: Decision Points

Next Steps

Architect Mode: Where structure meets story.