---

name: book-genre-creator description: "Meta-skill for genre selection and custom genre creation. Routes a project to the right built-in genre or composes a genre-custom.md spec from existing patterns, including agent behavior and validation rules." argument-hint: "[list|custom]"

Genre Creator

Use when the project does not fit a built-in genre cleanly, or when the author is unsure which genre applies. Read ${CLAUDE_PLUGIN_ROOT}/skills/loom/quality-bar.md and the candidate genre skills.

Built-in genres

Genre	Skill	Core shape	Best for
fiction	book-fiction	Three-act / 15-beat / bespoke; scene craft; character depth	Novels, novellas, short stories, web novels
non-fiction	book-nonfiction	Problem → principles → practice; evidence discipline	Business, self-help, essays, memoir, narrative nonfiction
technical	book-technical	Concept gradient + running project; failure-first	Programming, engineering, data science
screenplay	book-screenplay	Three-act + eight sequences; subtext	Film, TV, web series
poetry	book-poetry	Form, line, collection arc	Collections, chapbooks
game	book-game	Branching, quests, lore bible	Game scenarios, visual novels, interactive fiction
academic	book-academic	IMRAD / discipline structures; citation integrity	Theses, dissertations, monographs

Selection

Three questions, then route:

1. What is the reader doing with it? (living a story / learning to understand / learning to do / watching / playing / reading aloud / examining)
2. What does the author fear most going wrong? (boring middle / being wrong / being unclear / being obvious / being inconsistent)
3. What does "done" look like? (a bound book / a script / a build / a submission)

Hybrids are common: a memoir with a practical framework (nonfiction, narrative spine); a technical book with a fictional running story (technical, with fiction scene craft for the story sections); an illustrated poetry-essay (poetry + nonfiction). Most hybrids are a primary genre with a borrowed section from another; write that into genre-custom.md rather than inventing a new genre.

Custom genre spec

Write genre-custom.md in the project root. Agents read it in place of a built-in genre skill.

# Genre: {name}

## Parent genre
{closest built-in; agents read that skill first, then this file}

## Reader and what they are doing with it
...

## Structure
{shape with proportions; which chapters borrow which genre's craft}

## Borrowed craft
- From book-fiction: scene design for the narrative interludes
- From book-nonfiction: evidence discipline for the argument chapters

## Unique elements
{what no built-in genre covers}

## Tells to watch
{genre-specific failure modes, in addition to quality-bar.md}

## Validation
{what the architect scores; what beta-reader's personas are}

## Agent notes
| Agent | Behavior override |
|-------|-------------------|
| scene-generator | runs only on chapters tagged `narrative: true` in the outline |
| fact-checker | runs on argument chapters only |

Agent behavior by genre

Agent	fiction	non-fiction	technical	screenplay	poetry	game	academic
book-architect	arc, midpoint, setup/payoff	promise map, evidence map	DAG, running project	beat pages, sequences	collection arc	branch map, flags	thesis chain, synthesis matrix
scene-generator	scene plans	—	—	beat sheets	—	quest/dialogue plans	—
chapter-writer	scenes in one voice	claim + evidence + story	build + break + explain	slug/action/dialogue	poems	quests + nodes	sections with citations
continuity-editor	characters, timeline, motifs	terms, recurring example, claims	prerequisites, code state	props, locations, time	imagery, form adjacency	flags, lore	terminology, citations
fact-checker	real-world claims only	full	full + runs code	real-world claims only	—	—	full + citation existence
style-doctor	voice, distance, tells	register, hedging, tells	clarity, jargon, tells	action-line economy	sound, compression	line length, barks	register, hedging
beta-reader	genre readers + one editor	target readers + one skeptic	target devs + one senior	reader + one producer	readers + one poet	players + one designer	peers + one examiner
art-director	character/setting constants, 0-4 ill./ch	figure system, photo policy	diagram grammar, screenshot policy	pitch tone board	narrowest palette, spot art only	map, sheets, branching maps	discipline figure conventions
figure-engineer	maps (fantasy)	charts, concept diagrams	architecture/sequence/state diagrams	season-arc diagram	—	maps, branching flowcharts	data figures
illustrator	scenes, headers, sheets	rarely	never	key art	section spots	key art, sheets	never
cover-designer	genre visual language	category conventions	tech aesthetic	poster	literary	key art	press style
marketing-expert	Goodreads, BookTok, 리디	LinkedIn, newsletters, 브런치	Dev.to, HN, GitHub	festivals, competitions	readings, 문예지	Steam, itch, communities	conferences, journals

Usage

/book-genre-creator runs selection. /book-genre-creator list shows the table. /book-genre-creator custom starts the spec. If PRD.md already has a genre, show that genre's workflow and offer to customize.