howells/edit

Run the editor agent to polish your manuscript at the line level.

What This Does

1. Processes chapters looking for mechanical issues
2. Flags spelling, grammar, awkward phrasing, word echoes
3. Identifies manuscript-wide patterns (overused words, crutch phrases)
4. Offers to apply mechanical fixes automatically
5. Updates progress.md with findings

Usage

/fiction:edit                    # Edit most recent chapter
/fiction:edit 5                  # Edit chapter 5
/fiction:edit all                # Edit all drafted chapters
/fiction:edit 3-7                # Edit chapters 3 through 7

If arguments provided: $ARGUMENTS

Parallel Processing (Important for Large Manuscripts)

When editing multiple chapters ("all" or a range), spawn editor agents in parallel for efficiency:

1. Identify all chapters to process
2. Launch one editor agent per chapter simultaneously using the Task tool
3. Each agent processes its chapter independently
4. After all complete, aggregate manuscript-wide patterns from all reports
5. Update progress.md with combined findings

Example parallel approach for /fiction:edit all with 20 chapters:

• Spawn 20 editor agents in a single message (one Task call per chapter)
• Agents run concurrently, each producing its own report
• Main conversation aggregates: common crutch words, repeated issues across chapters
• Total time ~ time for 1 chapter instead of 20x

What It Catches

• Style guide compliance — Enforces the project's declared style guide (Chicago Manual of Style for American, New Oxford Style Manual for British). Checks spelling conventions, punctuation rules, dash style, quotation marks, number rendering, capitalisation, and date formats. The editor reads craft/tone.md for the project's declared guide, or detects it from context.
• Spelling & typos — Including wrong-word errors (their/there) and variant-specific spelling (colour/color, travelled/traveled)
• Grammar & punctuation — Agreement, comma splices, dialogue punctuation per the active guide, serial comma usage, logical vs American quote placement
• Awkward phrasing — Confusing syntax, unclear references
• Word echoes — Repetition in close proximity
• Overused words — Filter words, weak verbs, crutch words
• Formatting — Dash style, ellipsis style, quote marks, scene breaks — all checked against the active style guide
• Audiobook readiness — Unattributed dialogue, ambiguous pronouns, similar-sounding names

Output

A report per chapter with:

• Issues by category with line numbers
• Suggested fixes
• Manuscript-wide patterns (when editing multiple chapters)

When to Use

• After completing a chapter draft
• Before sending to beta readers
• During revision passes
• After /fiction:review addresses story issues

Workflow

Recommended order for polishing:

1. /fiction:review — Fix story/craft issues first
2. /fiction:edit — Then line-level polish
3. continuity agent — Check cross-chapter consistency
4. /fiction:critique — Final literary assessment (if complete)

Related Commands

• /fiction:review — Story and craft feedback (run first)
• /fiction:critique — Full manuscript literary review
• /fiction:reconcile — Project structure audit