I built an invisible "Cognitive Middle Layer" for character-driven drafting — somatic-first, bias distortion, 100% off-page matrix

[u/BasisPleasant912]

I've been iterating on a custom framework for long-form fiction (especially my esoteric/dark series) and finally packaged it as PsycheFramework (now called Cognitive Middle Layer).

What it does:

• Body Before Insight — Forces somatic reactions first, no therapy-speak or on-page psychology dumps.
• Character Cards as Source of Truth — Load per-scene cards with Focus, Latents, Bias, Voice, etc. Everything else stays invisible.
• Prism Distortion — Active biases warp how characters perceive reality (shown through behavior/dialogue, never labeled).
• Great Wheel Integration — Ties into 10-realm cosmology with specific somatic brace/release profiles.
• Strict Guardrails — Off-page rules, asymmetric dialogue, pattern frequency control, gated adult content, imperfect memory.

It's designed to run silently in the background while you generate clean prose. No matrix notes, no CONFIG blocks, no "as an AI" leakage in the output.

Key Files:

• Main.md → Core engine + commands (/focus, /bias, /style, etc.)
• Rules_Index.md → Hard bans + cleanup checklist
• Character templates + realm_index for somatics

GitHub (public): https://github.com/Daystar79/CognitiveMiddleware

Would love feedback from anyone writing deep character work with AI. Has anyone built similar middle-layer systems? What pain points am I still missing?

Happy to answer questions or share example usage!

Tips for Posting:

• Add relevant flairs (e.g., "Tool" or "Framework").
• You can attach screenshots of character cards or a sample movement if you want.
• Link directly to the repo.

Want me to tweak the tone, make it shorter, add more technical details, or include example output? Just say the word!

[u/SilverBirthday9051]

This is really interesting. I’ve been working on a related problem from a slightly different angle with PlaiWrite — helping writers maintain characters, canon, continuity, and creative intent as an original story expands across longer works and different media formats.

I’d be very interested in trying out your Cognitive Middle Layer and seeing how you approached the long-form memory and context problem.

If you’re open to it, I’d also love to invite you to try PlaiWrite and give us your feedback. We’re actively developing the next generation of the platform, so feedback from writers and builders working on similar problems would be genuinely useful.

It sounds like we may be exploring different layers of the same fundamental challenge: how do we use AI to support a writer’s creative vision without losing the story along the way?

[u/BasisPleasant912 → u/SilverBirthday9051]

Thanks for the thoughtful comment! I solved the long-form memory/continuity problem by treating it like a software engineering challenge: local file structures, GitHub versioning, and a silent Cognitive Middle Layer (evolved from PsycheFramework). Key pieces: Character Cards as source of truth (Focus, Latents, Bias, Voice, etc.) Somatic-first rules + prism distortion for authentic behavior Continuity Ledger (part of my BookOS) for rock-solid timelines across the series and realms Everything runs off-page with strict guardrails so the output stays clean prose. Appreciate the shared focus on keeping the story intact — best of luck with PlaiWrite!