4.7 KiB
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
-
Select goal:
- Finish First Draft
- Finish Current Revisions
- Finish Manuscript Ready for Beta Readers
- Custom Goal
-
Choose target deadline.
-
Select writing days.
-
Specify session capacity.
-
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.