Mordred's Tale — State
Narrative fronts, manuscript position, and next writing queue for Mordred's Tale.
Mordred's Tale — State
Registry
| Field | Value |
|---|---|
book | mordreds_tale |
source | books/mordreds_tale/ |
status | in-progress |
updated | 2026-03-18 |
draft-goal | Complete full first draft chapter-by-chapter; page-level polish (line edits, continuity, prose) deferred. |
outline | Mordred's Tale — Outline for arc and beats. |
Cast (working names)
| Role | Name |
|---|---|
| Jack’s subordinate; Enid’s father | Owain |
| Mordred’s half-sister (Morgana + Owain) | Enid |
| Enid’s daughter (~15, Act III); Jack’s child | Gwyneth |
Narrative Fronts
| Thread | Location | Last Page | Summary |
|---|---|---|---|
| Morgana (present) | Ch3 — through 013-page-84-the-house-of-small-mercies.md | 013-page-84-the-house-of-small-mercies.md | First-draft Ch3 complete: council pressure, separation test, night arrest, Jack arrives as patron, Owain on the chain of command, Mordred to the House of Small Mercies with clay amulet (Midas setup). Morgana captive; Act II opens orphanage. |
| Jack (past) | Ch2 — Lair, Morgana's chamber | 039-page-71-magic-found.md | Found sleeping Morgana; she charges relics. His story leads to empire built on this secret. Later: go deeper for Merlin at core (magic returns). |
Manuscript Position
| Field | Value |
|---|---|
prologue | complete (pages 1–11) |
ch1-morgana | complete (pages 12–31) |
ch2-jack | complete through page 71 (Magic Found) |
ch3-morgana-imprisoned | first draft complete — pages 72–84 (13 files in chapter folder) |
Next Queue
| Priority | Action | Type |
|---|---|---|
1 | run Chapter Done Checklist on Ch3 + one chapter-level rework pass (no page micro-polish yet) | writing |
2 | add Chapter 4 to book.json / chapter map and begin Act II orphanage opener (full chapter draft) | writing |
3 | lock Chapter 4+ chapter map for Act II and continue chapter-at-a-time drafting | plan then writing |
4 | lock Act III chapter map and finish manuscript chapter-at-a-time | plan then writing |
5 | page-by-page refinement pass after full draft is complete | deferred |
Chapter Workflow
| Step | Rule |
|---|---|
draft | Draft the entire chapter before judging prose quality. |
rework | Rework at chapter scope once (logic, pacing, transitions, motive, continuity). |
gate | Mark chapter done only when checklist passes. |
micro-polish | Defer line-level/page-level polish until full manuscript draft is complete. |
References
| Id | Path | Purpose |
|---|---|---|
book-json | books/mordreds_tale/book.json | title, author, description |
ch1 | books/mordreds_tale/chapters/01-chapter-1-morgana/ | Morgana escape, baby, toward council |
ch2 | books/mordreds_tale/chapters/02-chapter-2-jack/ | Jack sent to lair, pendant, discovery of sleeping woman, magic found |
ch3 | books/mordreds_tale/chapters/03-chapter-3-morgana-imprisoned/ | settlement, council, eastern quarters |
Style Rule
| Field | Value |
|---|---|
tone | Sanderson-adjacent: clear cause-effect, character-driven choices |
balance | Newer pages: more dialogue and interiority; enough scenic detail to orient; avoid long blocks of pure atmosphere |