claude-engineering-plugin/plugins/compound-engineering/commands/essay-outline.md

name, description, argument-hint

name	description	argument-hint
essay-outline	Transform a brain dump into a story-structured essay outline. Pressure tests the idea, validates story structure using the Saunders framework, and produces a tight outline written to file.	[brain dump — your raw ideas, however loose]

Essay Outline

Turn a brain dump into a story-structured essay outline.

Brain Dump

<brain_dump> #$ARGUMENTS </brain_dump>

If the brain dump above is empty, ask the user: "What's the idea? Paste your brain dump — however raw or loose."

Do not proceed until you have a brain dump.

Execution

Phase 1: Idea Triage

Read the brain dump and locate the potential thesis — the single thing worth saying. Ask: would a smart, skeptical reader finish this essay and think "I needed that"?

Play devil's advocate. This is the primary job. Look for:

• Weak thesis — Is this a real insight, or just a topic? A topic is not a thesis. "Remote work is complicated" is a topic. "Remote work didn't fail the office — the office failed remote work" is a thesis.
• Missing payoff — What does the reader walk away with that they didn't have before? If there's no answer, say so.
• Broken connective tissue — Do the ideas connect causally ("and therefore") or just sequentially ("and another thing")? Sequential ideas are a list, not an essay.
• Unsupported claims — Use outside research to pressure-test assertions. If a claim doesn't hold up, flag it and explore whether it can be rescued.

If nothing survives triage: Say directly — "There's nothing here yet." Then ask one question aimed at finding a salvageable core. Do not produce an outline for an idea that hasn't earned one.

If the idea survives but has weaknesses: Identify the weakest link and collaboratively generate a fix before moving to Phase 2.

Phase 2: Story Structure Check

Load the story-lens skill. Apply the Saunders framework to the idea — not prose. The essay may not involve characters. That's fine. Translate the framework as follows:

Saunders diagnostic	Applied to essay ideas
Beat causality	Does each supporting point cause the reader to need the next one, or do they merely follow it?
Escalation	Does each beat raise the stakes of the thesis — moving the reader further from where they started?
Story-yet test	If the essay ended after the hook, would anything have changed for the reader? After the first supporting point? Each beat must earn its place.
Efficiency	Is every idea doing work? Cut anything that elaborates without advancing.
Expectation	Does each beat land at the right level — surprising but not absurd, inevitable in hindsight?
Moral/technical unity	If something feels off — a point that doesn't land, a conclusion that feels unearned — find the structural failure underneath.

The non-negotiables:

• The hook must create a specific expectation that the essay then fulfills or subverts
• Supporting beats must escalate — each one should make the thesis harder to dismiss, not just add to it
• The conclusion must deliver irreversible change in the reader's understanding — they cannot un-think what the essay showed them

Flag any diagnostic failures. For each failure, propose a fix. If the structure cannot be made to escalate, say so.

Phase 3: Outline Construction

Produce the outline only after the idea has survived Phases 1 and 2.

Structure:

• Hook — the opening move that sets an expectation
• Supporting beats — each one causal, each one escalating
• Conclusion — the irreversible change delivered to the reader

Format rules:

• Bullets and sub-bullets only
• Max 3 sub-bullets per bullet
• No sub-sub-bullets
• Each bullet is a beat, not a topic — it should imply forward motion
• Keep it short. A good outline is a skeleton, not a draft.

Write the outline to file:

docs/outlines/YYYY-MM-DD-[slug].md

Ensure docs/outlines/ exists before writing. The slug should be 3-5 words derived from the thesis, hyphenated.

Output Summary

When complete, display:

Outline complete.

File: docs/outlines/YYYY-MM-DD-[slug].md

Thesis: [one sentence]
Story verdict: [passes / passes with fixes / nothing here]

Key structural moves:
- [Hook strategy]
- [How the beats escalate]
- [What the conclusion delivers]