# "The Noise" Tangent Convention — Implementation Plan

> **For Claude:** REQUIRED SUB-SKILL: Use superpowers:executing-plans to implement this plan task-by-task.

**Goal:** Add visual parenthetical formatting and narrative framing for Phelan's ADD tangents across Chapters 1-2, and update project style guides.

**Architecture:** Retrofit existing prose with parenthetical aside convention, introduce "the noise" naming passage in Chapter 1, update CLAUDE.md for all future chapters.

**Design doc:** `docs/plans/2026-03-03-the-noise-tangent-convention-design.md`

---

### Task 1: Introduce "The Noise" and Convert Ward-Jar Tangent (Chapter 1)

**Files:**
- Modify: `chapters/book1/ch01-draft.md:15-21`

**Step 1: Convert the ward-jar analysis to parenthetical format**

Lines 15-19 currently contain the ward-jar flaw analysis as regular prose. Rewrite so the technical analysis (third ring off-axis, resonance gap, moisture seepage, moonpetal chalk) becomes a parenthetical aside — clipped, fragment-style, raw brain output.

The surrounding narration ("I was re-shelving..." and "I moved the jar...") stays as regular prose.

**Step 2: Add "the noise" introduction passage**

After the ward-jar parenthetical and the line "I moved the jar to a higher shelf" (line 19), insert the naming passage. This should:
- Acknowledge his brain "always does this"
- Name it "the noise" — a term he coined around age fourteen
- Establish that other people don't experience this
- Use the river metaphor (constant, not loud, you forget it's unusual until someone points it out)
- Be approximately 80-120 words — enough to land, not so much it becomes an exposition dump

Reference the example from the design doc, but draft in Phelan's actual voice, fitting the paragraph flow around it.

**Step 3: Read the full passage back**

Re-read lines 14-25 (approximately) to verify:
- The parenthetical feels distinct from the narration
- The naming passage doesn't break the scene's momentum
- The transition back to "I didn't think about why I could see the flaw" (line 21) still works — may need adjusting since the new passage covers similar ground

**Step 4: Commit**

```bash
git add chapters/book1/ch01-draft.md
git commit -m "feat(ch01): introduce 'the noise' naming and first parenthetical tangent"
```

---

### Task 2: Convert Remaining Chapter 1 Tangents

**Files:**
- Modify: `chapters/book1/ch01-draft.md` (multiple locations)

**Step 1: Convert the meal-counting tangent (around line 51)**

The line "did the math on my savings of eleven coppers and a shaved half-silver one more time — the answer hadn't changed, but the habit was load-bearing at this point" — convert the recalculation obsession into a parenthetical. Something like:

```
(Eleven coppers. Shaved half-silver. Two meals honest, three creative. Same answer as this morning. Same answer as yesterday. The habit was load-bearing at this point — take away the counting and the structure might go with it.)
```

**Step 2: Convert the cold-read of Mere (around lines 105-117)**

The rapid-fire data collection when Mere enters — posture, clothing, hands, eyes — should become a parenthetical. The *processing* is the noise; the *conclusion* ("What wasn't normal was the gap") stays as narration.

Keep the parenthetical focused on the data intake: posture confident, clothing practical, hands no rings short nails callus right index, eyes scanning not browsing. Fragment style.

The "gap" analysis (lines 109-116) stays as regular narration — that's Phelan deliberately reflecting, not involuntary noise.

**Step 3: Convert the hand-brush overthinking (around lines 169-173)**

The moment where Phelan overthinks the hand contact during the transaction. The spiral from "this was not significant" through to "Stop it" — convert the spiral itself to parenthetical, keep the "Stop it" as regular narration (that's him regaining control).

**Step 4: Convert the house-cost arithmetic (around lines 233-236)**

The calculation of eight hundred silvers, forty-year timeline, savings rate as "theoretical concept" — convert to parenthetical. This is pure noise: obsessive recalculation he can't stop.

**Step 5: Add 1-2 new brief parenthetical flashes**

Add short (1-2 line) parenthetical flashes at natural points to establish frequency. Candidates:
- During the morning rush, a quick noise flash while serving a customer (involuntary stock analysis)
- While walking home, a flash about the gap in the customs wall (structural observation he can't not make)

These should be brief — the noise at its quietest background level.

**Step 6: Read back all modified passages**

Re-read each modified section to verify:
- Parentheticals feel natural, not forced
- The snap-back to narration is clean
- Voice consistency is maintained
- No Kindle formatting issues (no nested parentheses, no conflicts with existing em dashes)

**Step 7: Commit**

```bash
git add chapters/book1/ch01-draft.md
git commit -m "feat(ch01): convert remaining tangents to parenthetical format"
```

---

### Task 3: Convert Chapter 2 Tangents

**Files:**
- Modify: `chapters/book1/ch02-draft.md` (multiple locations)

**Step 1: Convert the scenario planning section (around lines 7-28)**

This is the biggest conversion. The three scenarios are already structured as Phelan's obsessive over-planning. The bold scenario headers and framing narration stay as prose. The obsessive detail *within* each scenario becomes parenthetical:

- Scenario One: the "four variations, eleven responses, optimal follow-ups" — parenthetical
- Scenario Two: the mirror practice, "legal papers" observation — parenthetical
- Scenario Three: the seventeen rehearsals, stress-testing of phrasing — parenthetical

The narration *about* the scenarios ("I should explain...") and the conclusions stay as regular prose.

**Step 2: Convert the kettle efficiency analysis (around lines 89-92)**

When Phelan sees the channeling efficiency degradation in the kettle — the Flaw Sight activation. The raw perception (fifteen percent, channeling sequence cascade, wheel almost round) becomes parenthetical. His verbal explanation to Mere stays as dialogue.

**Step 3: Convert the house-plan second-bedroom spiral (around lines 271-279)**

The passage where Phelan lets "the thought approach" about the second bedroom. The spiral from "not looking at the sun" through "redirected it" — convert the obsessive circling to parenthetical. Keep the redirect ("The dog. Thursday. A curse.") as regular narration — that's him fighting the noise back.

**Step 4: Add 1-2 brief parenthetical flashes**

Candidates:
- While stocking feverwort at record speed (line 65) — a flash of noise about Mere's arrival probability calculations
- During the walk through the arcane district — involuntary pricing assessment of a shop window

**Step 5: Read back all modified passages**

Verify same criteria as Task 2, Step 6.

**Step 6: Commit**

```bash
git add chapters/book1/ch02-draft.md
git commit -m "feat(ch02): apply parenthetical tangent convention"
```

---

### Task 4: Update CLAUDE.md Style Guides

**Files:**
- Modify: `/CLAUDE.md` (three sections)

**Step 1: Add to Section 5 (Phelan's Voice — Writing Guidelines)**

Under the "DO write Phelan like this" list, add a bullet about the noise and parenthetical convention. Reference the design doc for full rules.

**Step 2: Add to Section 9 (KDP Formatting Rules — Structure)**

Add a rule for parenthetical tangent formatting:
- Parenthetical asides `(like this)` for Phelan's involuntary noise tangents
- Can be inline or block-level
- No nested parentheses
- Standard typography, no Kindle rendering issues

**Step 3: Add to Section 11 (Writing Style Guide — Pacing)**

Add a note about how parenthetical frequency maps to scene type:
- Investigation: more frequent, longer spirals
- Action: short, fragmented flashes
- Quiet/personal: medium, sometimes the tangent IS the scene

**Step 4: Commit**

```bash
git add CLAUDE.md
git commit -m "docs: add 'the noise' parenthetical convention to style guides"
```

---

### Task 5: Final Review

**Step 1: Re-read Chapter 1 in full**

Read the entire chapter start to finish. Check:
- The noise introduction feels natural, not expository
- Parenthetical frequency is right (4-6 instances)
- The pattern is clear enough that a new reader would understand by page 3
- No parentheticals where regular narration would be better
- Voice consistency throughout

**Step 2: Re-read Chapter 2 in full**

Same checks. Additionally verify:
- The convention carries over naturally from Chapter 1 (no need to re-explain)
- The scenario planning section still reads well in the new format
- Frequency is 3-5 instances

**Step 3: Fix any issues found**

Make any adjustments needed based on the full read-through.

**Step 4: Final commit**

```bash
git add chapters/book1/ch01-draft.md chapters/book1/ch02-draft.md
git commit -m "fix: polish parenthetical tangents after full read-through"
```
