Optional groups of rules
Asten doesn’t believe in one right way to write. Its checks come in packs you turn on and off, and craft advice stays switched off until you ask for it.
In short
Method packs are optional groups of rules in Asten. Eight ship today: Scribe (the core canon check and name hygiene, always on), Lifecycle, Clocks, Relations, Knowledge, Atlas, Invariants (your own world rules), and Diction watch (optional filter-word hints, off by default). Packs add marks; they never change your manuscript.
Scribe
The core canon compiler. Attribute contradictions and name hygiene, CANON-E013 to E015 and NAME-W001 to W004. Always on.
Lifecycle
A settled death followed by a later act, a birth after a first appearance, an item used after it was destroyed. CANON-E101 to E103.
Clocks
Story time inside continuous runs, dates that cannot all be true, effects before causes. CANON-E201 to E203. Silent until scenes are dated.
Relations, Knowledge, Atlas
Genealogy and exclusive relations (E501 to E503), who knows what and when (E401), routes and travel time (E301).
Invariants
Rules you write yourself in plain patterns (“after X, never Y”), checked against the scene trace. CANON-E601, and the setup ledger PLOT-I001.
Diction watch
Optional craft hints for filter words. Never a canon error. Off until you enable it.
Example: method packs
- ScribeCore canon check. Always on.CANON-E013
- LifecycleLife after a settled death.CANON-E101
- ClocksStory time against reading order.CANON-E201
- Diction watchOptional filter-word notes.CRAFT-H001
Mira pushed her black hair back as the bell rang. Oren poured the tea, which was very strong. Three days earlier, the harbor had burned.
3 packs on · the page itself never changes
Why packs instead of built-in advice?
Craft advice is contested. One editor’s “cut every adverb” is another writer’s voice. So Asten separates truth (your canon contradicts itself) from taste (you used “very” twice), and puts taste in a pack that starts switched off.
What packs might come next?
The plan is to let method packs carry templates, scene fields, reports, and advisory rules for approaches such as mystery clue ledgers or screenplay sequences, always optional and never the default. These are planned, not shipped. See the roadmap.
About method packs
Can I turn off Asten’s checks?
Does Asten give writing-style advice?
Keep reading
Try the pre-alpha
Open the workbench in your browser on a sample novel, or download release 0.0.1b for Windows or Linux.