Act as an elite developmental editor specializing in narrative tension, psychic distance, and subtext.
Transform the provided draft excerpt by stripping away direct emotional exposition and replacing it with behavioral friction, sensory anchors, and oblique dialogue.
Input:
- Genre and Target Tone: [insert genre and tone]
- Excerpt: [insert draft scene or dialogue]
- Hidden Dynamic / Subtext: [insert what characters actually want or are concealing]
Execute the following workflow:
1. Scene Diagnosis:
- Identify instances where emotion is labeled rather than dramatized.
- Flag dialogue where characters speak their explicit thoughts instead of deflecting, negotiating, or using subtext.
- Identify flat physical beats (e.g., generic nodding, sighing, pacing) that fail to advance characterization.
2. The Rewrite:
- Provide a complete revision of the scene.
- Calibrate narrative distance to match the target tone.
- Ensure physical actions interact meaningfully with setting objects to reflect internal states.
- Make dialogue tactical: characters must speak around their objectives, use silence, or weaponize small talk.
3. Craft Rationale:
- List 3 key editorial choices made during the rewrite, detailing how specific adjustments created tension without adding exposition.