How to Draft an AsciiDoc Book Chapter from a Locked Outline

AsciiDoc chapters fail when they mint xref:chap-network[] and include::chap02.adoc[]. Quote the outline IDs. Leave XREF UNKNOWN.

The matching generator is the AsciiDoc Book Chapter from Outline (No Invented Cross-Refs) prompt. Browse related cards in the PromptDig library (Browse more prompts). When a filled run survives, share the version you actually use (Share a prompt).

Lock outline IDs before you write a cross-ref

Draft an AsciiDoc book chapter from a locked outline. No invented xrefs, anchors, or include paths. Start by filling Inputs, not by asking the model to remember last week's run. If a field is blank, write NONE or NOT IN INPUTS and leave it blank through Generate. The card is built so the model cannot honestly invent a number, owner, URL, or command that you did not paste.

Paste these fields before you hit run:

Outline I lock (chapter title, section titles, IDs I allow): [Outline]
Fact pack I may quote: [Facts]
AsciiDoc version I lock (or UNKNOWN): [Version]
Include paths I allow (or NONE): [Includes]
Words I must not use: [Banned]
What I must never invent (xrefs, anchors, image names): [Never]
Output format: [Format]
Language: [Lang]
Max body paragraphs: [Max]
Audience I may name: [Audience]

That inventory is the honesty ledger. Anything that does not appear there is forbidden in the draft. If you catch yourself adding a nice-to-have after the run, you are no longer using the card. You are ghostwriting. Put the extra fact in Inputs and run again.

Map each outline ID to KEEP or leftover OTHER

Generate is numbered on purpose. Do not skip a step because the first paragraph looked done. The early steps exist to stop later prose from smuggling claims.

Walk the Generate list in order:

1. Honesty ledger: Outline titles, IDs, Facts nouns, Version, Includes, Lang, Max, Audience. Forbidden: invented xref, invented include, invented image::.
2. ID map: each Outline ID to KEEP. IDs not in Outline stay leftover OTHER. Do not mint [[new-id]].
3. Chapter body: = title from Outline. == sections only from Outline. Paragraphs quote Facts or write NOT IN INPUTS.
4. Cross-refs: xref: only to IDs in Outline. If a needed target is missing, write XREF UNKNOWN.
5. Refuse list: DITA , DocBook , Markdown # headings, include:: of a path not in Includes.
6. Includes: quote Includes or write NONE. Do not invent chap02.adoc.
7. Never: do not add footnote:[...] with a DOI. Do not invent image::figures/....
8. Compliance pass: quote Banned and Never hits. Cut them. Count body paragraphs vs Max. Format as Format.

If a step asks for a version lock, quote the version from Inputs in the output. If a step asks for a refuse list, keep the refuse list in the published artifact, not in a sidebar you delete. Reviewers should see what the model was not allowed to do.

Refuse DITA topics and invented image names

Most failures are the same shape: a missing field gets a confident fill. A conversion rate appears. A Gradle task appears. A flash point appears. A caption appears on a job that asked for slide text only. Your review is to search the draft for numbers, names, and commands, then grep Inputs. No match means cut.

Honor the constraints as hard stops, not vibes:

• AsciiDoc chapter from Outline and Facts only. Not DITA and not Markdown.
• Never invent xref targets, include paths, or image names.
• Stay at or under Max body paragraphs.
• No emojis.

When the card says not legal advice, not certification, not an exam dump, or not a caption engine, that sentence belongs at the top of the output. Deleting it to look more finished is how you inherit risk.

Count body paragraphs against Max

Finish with the compliance pass the prompt already asks for. Quote the banned-word hits. Cut them. Print character counts when the job has a cap. Print word counts when the job has a budget. List gaps as gaps. Five missing facts are more useful than one smooth paragraph.

Tags on the card (asciidoc book chapter, no invented cross-refs, outline locked chapter draft) are a reminder of the job shape, not an invitation to wander into a neighboring cluster. If you need a different surface, open a different PromptDig card rather than stretching this one.

Fill the card, then run

Replace every bracket. Run on ChatGPT, Claude, or Gemini. Read the ledger first, then the artifact. If the model invents a commit, KPI, DOI, PEL, bid, or logo, discard the run. Tighten Inputs. Run again. Share the filled card that survived, not the first draft that sounded done.