# PlotDirector -- Writer Workspace & Writing Schedule Planner

## Overview

The Writer Workspace and Writing Schedule Planner are designed to help
authors move from planning stories to completing manuscripts.

The overall philosophy is:

> **Writer Workspace answers:** *"What needs my attention?"*

> **Writing Schedule Planner answers:** *"When should I work on it?"*

Together, these systems aim to reduce decision fatigue, provide
realistic planning, adapt when life interrupts progress, and help
authors consistently finish books.

## Writer Workspace

### Purpose

The Writer Workspace provides a live overview of an author's current
workload.

It should help authors answer:

> **"What should I work on right now?"**

### Workflow Source of Truth

Revision Status is the sole source of truth for scene workflow
progression.

  Status          Meaning
  --------------- -------------------------------------------------------
  Planned         Scene idea exists but is not ready to draft
  Outlined        Scene is ready for drafting
  Drafted         First draft completed
  Needs Work      Scene requires revision
  Revised         Revision completed and ready for polish
  Polished        Scene is complete
  Locked          Scene is finalised and protected from further changes
  Cut Candidate   Scene may be removed

These statuses represent major workflow milestones rather than every
individual writing activity.

### Workspace Queues

#### Write Next

Displays scenes with Revision Status of **Outlined**.

#### Continue Writing

Displays scenes with Revision Status of **Drafted**.

#### Revision Queue

Displays scenes with Revision Status of **Needs Work**.

#### Polishing Queue

Displays scenes with Revision Status of **Revised**.

#### Finished Work

Contains **Polished** and **Locked** scenes.

#### Excluded

**Planned** and **Cut Candidate** scenes are excluded from active
queues.

### Productivity Fields

Retained fields:

-   Blocked
-   Blocked Reason
-   Priority
-   Estimated Words
-   Actual Words
-   Drafted Date
-   Last Worked On

Removed fields:

-   Draft Status
-   Ready for Draft
-   Ready for Revision
-   Ready for Polish

### Priority Slider

  Value   Label
  ------- ----------
  1--2    Very Low
  3--4    Low
  5--6    Medium
  7--8    High
  9--10   Critical

Priority influences workspace ordering and schedule generation.

## Writing Schedule Planner

### Purpose

The planner helps authors answer:

> **"Can I realistically finish this book?"**

and

> **"What should I work on today?"**

### Schedule Creation

1.  Select goal:

    -   Finish First Draft
    -   Finish Current Revisions
    -   Finish Manuscript Ready for Beta Readers
    -   Custom Goal

2.  Choose target deadline.

3.  Select writing days.

4.  Specify session capacity.

5.  Decide whether blocked scenes should be included.

### Schedule Generation

  Revision Status   Generated Work
  ----------------- --------------------
  Outlined          Draft Sessions
  Needs Work        Revision Sessions
  Revised           Polishing Sessions

Excluded statuses:

-   Planned
-   Polished
-   Locked
-   Cut Candidate

### Effort Estimation

Primary estimation uses Estimated Words.

Fallback defaults:

  Activity    Estimate
  ----------- ------------
  Drafting    90 minutes
  Revision    45 minutes
  Polishing   30 minutes

### Schedule Items

Each item contains:

-   Scheduled Date
-   Scene
-   Task Type
-   Estimated Minutes
-   Target Words
-   Status

Statuses:

-   Planned
-   Done
-   Skipped
-   Moved

### Daily Dashboard

Displays:

-   Today's Writing
-   Upcoming Work
-   Progress Summary

### Rebalancing

Default behaviour:

-   Detect missed sessions
-   Ask before rebalancing

Options:

-   Preview Rebalance
-   Keep Existing Plan
-   Extend Deadline

User settings:

-   Ask Before Rebalancing
-   Automatically Rebalance
-   Never Rebalance

### Encouragement Philosophy

The planner should encourage rather than shame.

Positive examples:

-   You're ahead of schedule.
-   Three scenes completed this week.
-   Only revisions remain.

### Statistics

Track:

-   Sessions Completed
-   Sessions Missed
-   Words Completed
-   Scenes Completed
-   Average Sessions Per Week
-   Average Completion Rate

### Future Enhancements

Out of scope:

-   Writing streaks
-   Calendar integration
-   Email reminders
-   Publishing schedules
-   Beta reader schedules
-   Editor schedules
-   Multi-author collaboration
-   Manuscript integrations

## Summary

The Writer Workspace focuses on identifying what requires attention.

The Writing Schedule Planner focuses on determining when that work
should happen.

Together, these features transform PlotDirector from story planning
software into a complete book completion system, helping authors finish
their books.
