Bow Tie Kreative Writing System
Run the engine

The rules

Every rule, and how hard it binds

228 base rules across 14 domains and 9 structural layers. Filter them, then open one to see its condition tree, both branches, its exceptions and its sources.

38 rules match. Showing 26–38. Clear filters

  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
  9. EDT-009 Read at multiple scales IF reviewing a document, THEN inspect outline, section, paragraph, sentence, word, and rendered page views ELSE retain. Heuristic
  10. EDT-010 Reverse proofread for surface errors IF content is structurally final and proofreading is active, THEN inspect sentences or lines in reverse order for local mechanics ELSE do not use reverse order for meaning review. Heuristic
  11. EDT-013 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. Context default
  12. EDT-014 Stop when outcome is met IF all required outcomes pass AND further changes are preference-only with regression risk, THEN stop editing ELSE continue the diagnosed pass. Hard constraint
  13. EDT-015 Record unresolved risk IF deadline or authority prevents resolving a material ambiguity, factual gap, accessibility barrier, or legal issue, THEN record it with owner and consequence; do not silently approve ELSE retain. Hard constraint