Editor Mode: Polishing the Prose

“The first draft is just the clay. Now we sculpt.”

Editor Mode is the final phase of the Writers Factory workflow. While Director Mode prioritizes generation and structure, Editor Mode prioritizes refinement, consistency, and voice alignment.

This is where your draft becomes a manuscript.

The Problem with “Just Edit”

Traditional AI editing assistance works like this:

1. You: “Make this scene better.”
2. AI: Rewrites everything, loses your voice
3. You: “No, keep my style but fix the pacing…”
4. AI: Rewrites again, still generic
5. Repeat until you give up and edit manually.

The fundamental problem? The AI doesn’t know what “better” means for your novel. It has no reference for your voice, your character’s psychology, or your world’s rules.

The Editor Mode Solution

Editor Mode uses your Voice Bundle as the gold standard. Every edit is measured against:

• Your calibrated voice (POV, tense, vocabulary, rhythm)
• Your anti-patterns (constructions you specifically want to avoid)
• Your Story Bible (character psychology, world rules)

The result: edits that enhance your prose without losing what makes it yours.

The Editing Pipeline

Editor Mode runs a structured pipeline, not random rewrites.

Pass 1: Voice Alignment Check

Before changing anything, the system scans for voice drift.

What It Checks:

Output: A Voice Alignment Report showing:

• Overall alignment score (0-100)
• Specific passages flagged for drift
• Suggested corrections

Pass 2: Anti-Pattern Scrub

Your Voice Bundle includes anti-patterns—constructions you never want in your prose.

Default Anti-Patterns (All Writers):

POV-Specific Anti-Patterns:

Output: Anti-pattern violations highlighted with one-click replacements.

Pass 3: Consistency Check

The Knowledge Graph powers long-range consistency validation.

What It Tracks:

Output: Consistency violations flagged with Knowledge Graph evidence.

Pass 4: Character Voice Validation

Each character should sound distinct. Editor Mode validates dialogue and internal monologue against character profiles.

Checks:

• Does Marcus’s dialogue match his established vocabulary?
• Does his internal monologue reflect his Fatal Flaw?
• Is his voice distinct from other characters?

Common Issues:

Pass 5: Prose Polish

The final refinement pass focuses on craft:

Working with the Foreman in EDITOR Mode

The Foreman shifts behavior in Editor Mode. Instead of generating, it analyzes and refines.

Foreman Capabilities

Example Conversation

You: Edit Chapter 3, Scene 2. Focus on pacing.

Foreman: Running Editor Pipeline on Chapter 3, Scene 2...

Voice Alignment: 94/100 (2 minor drifts)
Anti-Patterns: 1 violation found
Consistency: Clean
Character Voice: Clean
Pacing Analysis: 3 passages flagged as slow

Recommendations:
1. Lines 45-52: Internal monologue drags. Compress to 3 sentences.
2. Lines 78-91: Description overload. Cut 40% while keeping sensory anchors.
3. Line 112: "couldn't help but" → Replace with direct action.

Apply all recommendations? [Yes / Review Each / Skip]

The Monaco Editor Integration

Editor Mode provides a full-featured code editor for your prose.

Features

Treating Prose Like Code

Writers Factory treats your manuscript like a codebase:

• Commits: Each editing session creates a version
• Branches: Test radical edits without losing originals
• Merge: Combine the best parts of different versions

Enhancement vs. Regeneration

Not every scene needs the same level of intervention.

The system recommends based on the Voice Alignment score from Director Mode. Low-scoring scenes may need regeneration, not editing.

The Voice Bundle in Action

Your Voice Bundle (calibrated in Voice Mode) drives every editing decision.

What Gets Injected

When you enter Editor Mode, the system loads:

pov: third_person_limited
tense: past
voice_type: introspective_noir
metaphor_domains: ["gambling", "architecture", "decay"]
rhythm: varied_with_long_passages
vocabulary_level: elevated_but_accessible

anti_patterns:
  - "couldn't help but"
  - "it's important to note"
  - "shivers down spine"
  - "with practiced precision"

pov_constraints:
  - "No head-hopping"
  - "Can only know what POV character perceives"
  - "Internal thoughts in italics"

How It’s Used

1. Every flagged issue is checked against your Bundle
2. Suggested replacements match your vocabulary level
3. Pacing recommendations respect your rhythm preference
4. Metaphor suggestions draw from your approved domains

API Endpoints (Technical Reference)

For Architect Track students:

Data Flow

Draft from Director Mode
         │
         ▼
┌──────────────────────┐
│   Voice Bundle       │  ← From Voice Calibration
│   (Gold Standard)    │
└──────────┬───────────┘
           │
           ▼
┌──────────────────────┐
│   5-Pass Pipeline    │
│   1. Voice Alignment │
│   2. Anti-Patterns   │
│   3. Consistency     │
│   4. Character Voice │
│   5. Prose Polish    │
└──────────┬───────────┘
           │
           ▼
┌──────────────────────┐
│   Enhanced Draft     │
│   + Change Report    │
└──────────────────────┘

Common Editing Workflows

“Quick Polish”

For scenes that scored well in Director Mode:

1. Enter Editor Mode
2. “Polish this scene, focus on prose”
3. Review suggestions
4. Accept or tweak

Time: 5-10 minutes per scene

“Deep Edit”

For scenes that need significant work:

1. Enter Editor Mode
2. “Run full pipeline on this scene”
3. Address voice alignment issues first
4. Fix anti-pattern violations
5. Review consistency flags
6. Polish prose
7. Compare diff, accept changes

Time: 20-30 minutes per scene

“Final Pass”

For the complete manuscript before export:

1. Enter Editor Mode
2. “Run consistency check on full manuscript”
3. Address any cross-chapter issues
4. “Run anti-pattern scrub on full manuscript”
5. Review and accept
6. Export

Time: 2-4 hours for full novel

Next Steps

Editor Mode: Where good drafts become great manuscripts.