I’ve been talking about specification-driven AI for code for a while now. The short version: put the model on rails, keep tests and specs in charge, and skip the vibe-coding theatre. (If you want the longer version, I’ve written and presented on AI Specification Driven Development before.)

Then I noticed the same mess showing up in fiction.

People try to write a novel with AI, paste a vague brief into ChatGPT, and hope for a book. What they get is a confident first chapter and a cast that forgets its own surname by chapter three. Chat history isn’t canon. Continuity drifts. You spend longer untangling the output than you saved.

A bit odd, given how useful the models are when you actually constrain them.

Same habit, different medium

So I packaged the habit.

Canon-First is a ChatGPT compatible novel writing system that behaves more like novel writing software than a chat thread. You get Markdown templates, a session pack (what to load every time), and scoped AI writing prompts: draft one scene, align voice, check continuity, revise. Bring your own model. ChatGPT, Claude, Gemini; your files stay canon either way.

It is AI-assisted writing with the model on a leash. This isn’t an AI-story writer that owns the plot: you’re in charge of how it develops and ends up.

What’s in the kit

  • Vault blueprint: Canon → Outlines → Drafts → Revision
  • Session pack: what to attach before you ask for prose
  • Prompt pack: including ChatGPT prompts for writing a novel, one scene at a time
  • Templates: character bible, continuity log, chapter scene cards

No install. No subscription to my inference. Just a system you run yourself.

How it works (in brief)

  1. Lock style, cast, and continuity files before you ask for bulk prose.
  2. Outline one chapter as scene cards, not a vibes brief in the sidebar.
  3. Draft one scene with a scoped prompt; log new facts the same day (yes, even the boring ones).
  4. Run alignment and continuity checks before you open chapter two.

The process is structured this way because fiction fails the same way half-specced software features fail: the model fills gaps with inventiveness you didn’t ask for.

Founding waitlist

I’m opening a founding waitlist while I finish the kit for sale. Founding price is £29 (then £49). Sign up and I’ll drop you an email when it’s ready.

Join here: canon-first.ramone.co

If you’ve been wrestling with creative writing AI that writes past you, have a play with the idea. Drop your email on the page and I’ll let you know when the zip ships. And if you try the workflow before then with your own folder structure, tell me how you get on, as I’m using this system now for my own novella - details on that coming soon!