Bow Tie Kreative Writing System
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Rules / editing

EDT-013 Context default layer: paragraph

Preserve intentional voice variation

IF a nonstandard construction consistently marks character, narrator, brand, culture, or genre AND remains comprehensible, THEN preserve it unless the assignment requires normalization ELSE correct accidental inconsistency.

Why the rule exists

Editing should not erase meaningful identity or craft.

Condition

The rule fires when this evaluates true. Paths marked below must be present in the fact base; the engine reports the rest rather than guessing them.

  • ALL
    • paragraph.nonstandard_construction eq true
    • paragraph.voice_function in [character, narrator, brand, culture, genre]
    • paragraph.comprehensible eq true

Facts this rule reads

PathSource
paragraph.nonstandard_construction You supply it
paragraph.voice_function You supply it
paragraph.comprehensible You supply it

Then

  1. retain — target paragraph.nonstandard_construction
  2. record — target content_system.style_sheet

Else

  1. normalize — target paragraph.nonstandard_construction

LAKA

Smallest sufficient intervention
Yes
Primary axes

Sources

  • Dreyer's English — Benjamin Dreyer
    Practical modern editorial advice and stylistic judgment.
  • The Copyeditor's Handbook — Amy Einsohn; Marilyn Schwartz
    Professional copyediting practice, grammar, and editorial process.
  • Steering the Craft — Ursula K. Le Guin
    Sound, rhythm, syntax, point of view, and exercises.
The raw rule record

Verbatim from 19-editing-diagnostic-rules.json. Also available at /v1/rules/EDT-013.

{
  "id": "EDT-013",
  "name": "Preserve intentional voice variation",
  "domain": "editing",
  "layer": "paragraph",
  "strength": "context_default",
  "human_logic": "IF a nonstandard construction consistently marks character, narrator, brand, culture, or genre AND remains comprehensible, THEN preserve it unless the assignment requires normalization ELSE correct accidental inconsistency.",
  "when": {
    "all": [
      {
        "path": "paragraph.nonstandard_construction",
        "operator": "eq",
        "value": true
      },
      {
        "path": "paragraph.voice_function",
        "operator": "in",
        "value": [
          "character",
          "narrator",
          "brand",
          "culture",
          "genre"
        ]
      },
      {
        "path": "paragraph.comprehensible",
        "operator": "eq",
        "value": true
      }
    ]
  },
  "then": [
    {
      "action": "retain",
      "target": "paragraph.nonstandard_construction"
    },
    {
      "action": "record",
      "target": "content_system.style_sheet",
      "as": "intentional_exception"
    }
  ],
  "else": [
    {
      "action": "normalize",
      "target": "paragraph.nonstandard_construction"
    }
  ],
  "unless": [],
  "because": "Editing should not erase meaningful identity or craft.",
  "diagnostics": [],
  "examples": {},
  "source_ids": [
    "BK-005",
    "BK-007",
    "BK-019"
  ],
  "laka": {
    "smallest_sufficient_intervention": true,
    "primary_axes": [
      "scope",
      "depth",
      "magnitude",
      "reversibility"
    ]
  }
}

Other editing rules

  1. EDT-001 Do not polish before purpose is stable IF audience, purpose, outcome, or controlling idea is unresolved, THEN perform strategy or developmental editing before line editing ELSE continue. Hard constraint
  2. EDT-002 Separate editing passes IF one pass attempts strategy, structure, evidence, style, mechanics, and proofing simultaneously, THEN separate the passes ELSE retain. Context default
  3. EDT-003 Protect meaning before changing form IF an edit changes denotation, scope, polarity, actor, time, modality, evidence strength, or legal effect without authorization, THEN reject or escalate it ELSE retain. Hard constraint
  4. EDT-004 Apply smallest sufficient intervention IF a diagnosed failure can be fixed at a lower layer without creating another failure, THEN use that lower-layer fix ELSE escalate one layer. Context default
  5. EDT-005 Track the reason for substantive edits IF an edit changes argument, order, emphasis, evidence, obligation, or reader action, THEN attach a concise rationale ELSE silent mechanical correction is allowed by policy. Context default
  6. EDT-006 Style sheet records local decisions IF spelling, capitalization, hyphenation, numerals, terminology, citation, locale, or exceptions repeat, THEN record the decision in a style sheet ELSE retain. Context default
  7. EDT-007 Query instead of guessing intent IF two plausible interpretations require different edits and context cannot resolve them, THEN ask a focused query ELSE edit. Hard constraint
  8. EDT-008 Verify facts outside copyediting scope IF names, dates, numbers, citations, quotations, links, calculations, or cross-references are present, THEN verify according to assignment scope and flag the rest ELSE retain. Context default