Revision Passes
A structured rewrite with immutable checkpoints, craft intentions, chapter decisions, and an inspectable result.
Open Revision Passes from the revision icon beside Chapter History in the main toolbar while you are in the chapter you want to revise, choose the kind, then state what should be true when the pass is finished. ChapterMuse protects an immutable starting checkpoint for that chapter before revision begins. Write normally: revision colour never becomes permanent manuscript formatting. The drawer derives its comparison from the checkpoint and current prose instead.
Revision Passes — chapter progress and protected changes
- 1Open the chapter you want to revise and name the pass — for example Structural rewrite, Line edit, or Final polish.
- 2Let ChapterMuse protect that chapter’s starting checkpoint before you begin.
- 3Add revision intentions and write in the normal clean editor while the comparison updates from the checkpoint.
- 4Inspect inserted, removed, moved, and changed paragraphs against the protected start.
- 5Complete the pass to mark the chapter revised and protect its ending checkpoint.
A Pass Is a Workflow, Not a Text Colour
- Choose a structural, plot, character, scene, dialogue, line, copyedit, proof, or custom pass
- Each pass belongs to the chapter open when it begins; different chapters can have their own open passes at the same time
- Use All chapters in the drawer to see those independent passes across the book
- Capture intentions from Outliner and craft tools, or add them manually; each remains linked to its source while keeping a source snapshot
- Open intentions remain on the completed record rather than being silently discarded
Checkpoint Comparison
- Checkpoint comparison shows words inserted and removed plus changed, added, deleted, and moved paragraphs
- Normal self-revision changes the manuscript immediately; the comparison remains a view, never formatting stored in the prose
A Revision Record You Can Trust
- Starting and ending checkpoints are pinned and protected from ordinary History rename, unpin, delete, and storage-cleanup actions
- A missing checkpoint stops the pass as damaged; ChapterMuse never silently replaces history with current prose
- Completed and abandoned passes remain inspectable with dates, goals, chapter metrics, intentions, and historical start-to-end comparisons
- Deleting a revision record keeps its checkpoints in Chapter History but returns them to ordinary, unpinned snapshots you can manage or delete
- Older colour-mark passes remain available through a one-time legacy resolver; new passes never add those wrappers
Use the goal for the pass's definition of done, and intentions for the concrete effects that must land. The ending report then records both what changed and what you decided.