Exploration — Draft Mode by node

Draft Mode is the second mode of the exploration pane. Unlike Plot Mode, which analyzes and suggests, Draft Mode writes. It generates actual prose you can pull into your editor. ## Switching to Draft Mode At the top of the exploration pane, toggle from Plot to Draft. The AI's behavior changes immediately. It stops analyzing and starts writing. ## The response tags Draft Mode uses two specific tags: **`<draft>`** — A prose passage The AI writes a complete passage — a paragraph, a scene opening, a dialogue exchange, a transition. This is finished prose, not an outline. You can read it, assess it, and decide whether to use it. To use a draft: click the insert button to place it in your editor at the cursor position. Once inserted, it's your text. Edit it, rewrite it, keep what works, discard what doesn't. **`<alternative hint="context">`** — An alternate version After generating a draft, the AI often offers alternatives. Same scene, different approach. Maybe the first draft was formal and the alternative is conversational. Maybe one starts with dialogue and the other with description. The hint tells you what's different about this version. Alternatives let you compare approaches without rewriting yourself. Pick the one that's closest to what you want and edit from there. ## When to use Draft Mode **Getting unstuck.** You know what needs to happen but the words aren't coming. Draft Mode gives you a starting point. The generated prose isn't your voice — it's a scaffold. Write over it. **Exploring options.** You're not sure how to open a scene. Ask Draft Mode for three different openings. See which one feels right. Use none of them but let them show you what you actually want. **Transitions.** The hardest paragraphs to write are the ones between scenes. Draft Mode can bridge the gap. "Write a transition from the argument to the morning after." Use it as-is or rewrite it entirely. **First-draft speed.** Some writers use Draft Mode to get a rough version down fast, then revise everything into their own voice. This is a valid workflow. The AI provides velocity. You provide quality. ## Draft Mode vs the inline tools The editor toolbar has inline AI tools — rewrite, expand, coach, explain. These work on text you've already written. They modify existing prose. Draft Mode generates new prose. It's for when the page is blank (or you wish it were). Use inline tools for revision. Use Draft Mode for generation. ## Practical example You're writing a scene where two characters meet after a long separation. You know the emotional beats but the words aren't coming. 1. Open the exploration pane, switch to Draft Mode 2. Type: "Write the moment Elena sees Marcus again after three years. They're at a train station. She wasn't expecting him." 3. The AI generates a `<draft>` passage — maybe a paragraph of Elena spotting him across the platform 4. It offers an `<alternative>` — same moment but from Marcus's perspective 5. You read both. Neither is quite right, but the second one has a detail you like — Marcus notices she's cut her hair 6. You take that detail and write the scene yourself This is the intended workflow. Draft Mode isn't a replacement for writing. It's a way to get moving when you're standing still.