Create an Editorial Constitution for Your AI Writing Project
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AI Writing Assistance · Project Knowledge & Story Control · Public Lesson 31
This block is about building enough project knowledge that AI can assist without quietly becoming the source of truth.
Long projects drift when every session starts with a fresh prompt. An editorial constitution gives the project a stable set of rules that survives drafts, tools and collaborators.
The Jack Righteous approach
Write down the decisions that should remain true across the whole project instead of forcing AI to rediscover them each time.
Use this workflow
- Define the project's purpose and intended reader.
- Create a source hierarchy: what counts as authoritative, supporting or provisional.
- Set voice, terminology and formatting rules.
- State what AI may not invent, merge or silently assume.
- Define what should happen when sources conflict or information is missing.
Why this matters
Long projects do not usually fail because the AI cannot write a sentence. They drift because facts, terminology, chronology, character logic or project rules change without anyone noticing. A stronger source-of-truth system keeps the human creator in control of what the project actually is.
A prompt you can actually use
Copy and adapt:
Turn these approved project decisions into an editorial constitution. Organize them as purpose, audience, source hierarchy, voice, terminology, prohibited assumptions, uncertainty rules and escalation questions. Do not add new policy choices.
What a useful AI response should do
A useful response should distinguish known information from interpretation and proposals. It should surface contradictions instead of smoothing them away, preserve open questions and make it clear when a human decision is required.
Your five-minute exercise
The project's purpose is: ______________________________
The strongest source of truth is: ______________________________
One rule that must never drift is: ______________________________
When AI is uncertain, it must: ______________________________
What the human still decides
AI can organize records, compare scenes, surface contradictions and help maintain consistency. You still decide what becomes canon, which interpretation is fair, what can be published, and when a real-person or source-material issue needs additional professional review.
Continue from here
If you are reading publicly: continue through the AI Writing & Story Development Library for more free writing, manuscript, story and creator workflows.
If Find Your Voice training is included in your access: continue with Voice Foundation Template | Find Your Voice Tool. That link enters the deeper story-development layer and may require you to log in.
If you are unsure where to go next, use How to Use Jack Righteous and start with one project, one blocker and one useful next action.
Jack Righteous principle: Better project knowledge gives AI less room to invent and gives you more control over what becomes real.
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