My writing workflow after storyforming

Writing
1

Now that I’m past storyforming and into the writing, I checked in with ChatGPT today to directly analyze my workflow, and this is what I came up with.

Updated Chapter Workflow Checklist

1. Draft & Expansion

  • Write raw draft in Ulysses.

  • Expand with ChatGPT/Claude, save new versions in Ulysses.

2. Print-Friendly Gut Check

  • Export draft to Goodnotes (PDF).

  • Read in “reader mode,” mark visceral responses with Apple Pencil.

3. Structural Revision

  • Return to Ulysses, revise using Goodnotes notes.

  • Focus on pacing, character, theme, tension.

  • Don’t worry about grammar or polish yet.

4. Storyform Validation

  • Send draft to Navarro/Dramatica.

  • Check for storyform integrity:

    • Throughline alignment (MC, IC, OS, RS).

    • Signposts/turning points in the right order.

    • Catalysts/Inhibitors, Issues/Counterpoints, etc.

  • Note feedback on story-level corrections.

  • Apply necessary adjustments back in Ulysses.

5. Language & Style Cleanup

  • Export near-final version into Word.

  • Run Grammarly for grammar, style, tone refinement.

  • Keep authorial voice — don’t accept every suggestion.

6. Final Pass

  • Read polished version in Word or Goodnotes.

  • Fix any last continuity/formatting issues.

  • Archive final: Word doc + Ulysses sheet.

Workflow Rhythm

Draft messy → React visceral → Revise structural → Validate storyform → Polish style → Final check.

Do you want me to now turn this into a visual one-page PDF flowchart + checklist you can drop into Goodnotes and actually tick through with your Apple Pencil?

2

hmm, not quite perfect. for storytelling on the chapter level, I use GCD (goal, conflict, disaster) to structure chapters.

I’m trying to get more efficient and get faster turnaround on chapter creation, since I have all these bloody tools at my disposal now. I’m still fine tuning but i think it’s a matter of not dawdling and getting lost in my own thoughts as I trudge the happy road of destiny (thanks to BIll Wilson for that phrase).

3

Another note: for each chapter I have three folders: MPI (that’s me), Claude and ChatGPT. I don’t have one for Navarro because what it does it so dynamic, I don’t think it makes sense to save it out of context. Drafts go in here.

4

I should add, VERY IMPORTANT, that some early story work is done IN Narrova, including drivers and chapter generation. A lot of it doesn’t get used, because while it’s broadly correct as a technical story, it’s usually missing the storytelling aspects. It takes a LOT of upfront material for Narrova to get a novel’s storybeats right, and sometimes, well, that’s not the order things get done in.

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