# Tone pass > A skill that maps tonal shifts scene by scene — flagging accidental breaks while respecting intentional gear changes — so the draft’s emotional through-line stays coherent. Also known as tonal map ## In practice Tone problems often hide until a cold read: a comic button that undercuts a funeral, a thriller scene that suddenly plays sitcom without intention. A tone pass maps shifts scene by scene so you can tell accidental breaks from gear changes you meant to make on purpose in the draft. Treat the output as a reviewable map and suggested fixes, not an automatic sanding of every mood into one gray. Mark intentional shifts as deliberate when the tool flags them. You decide what changes; unaccepted suggestions do not rewrite the draft underneath you while you are still thinking. Use it after structural rewrites when emotional through-lines tend to drift, and before you hand pages to a room that will feel tone faster than they can articulate it. Pair with Dialogue pass when the break lives in voice, and keep a save point so you can restore after aggressive cleanup passes. [Tone pass](https://www.inkwell.software/skills/tone-pass) ## Common questions ### Will Tone pass rewrite my scenes automatically? No. It surfaces a tonal map and suggested fixes as reviewable output. You decide what to change; intentional shifts can be kept on purpose. ### Is every tonal shift treated as a mistake? It should not be. The point is to catch accidents while respecting deliberate gear changes — mark intentional moves so they are not "fixed" away. ### When should I run a tone pass? After major rewrites, before a table read, and anytime Act Two starts feeling emotionally random compared with the opening promise. ### How is Tone pass different from Dialogue pass? Dialogue pass targets line craft and voice. Tone pass looks at emotional through-line across scenes — related jobs, different scopes of attention. ## Related terms - [AI skill](https://www.inkwell.software/glossary/ai-skill): A structured AI pass that reads your document and proposes edits or findings in place — dialogue polish, continuity flags, coverage — as reviewable markup you accept or reject. - [Dialogue pass](https://www.inkwell.software/glossary/dialogue-pass): A skill that proposes line-level dialogue improvements — tightening, rhythm, voice consistency — as inline markup you accept or reject one line at a time. - [Coverage](https://www.inkwell.software/glossary/coverage): A professional reader’s report on a script — logline, synopsis, comments, and a verdict such as Pass / Consider / Recommend. Inkwell’s Script Coverage skill produces a structured self-review in that industry shape. - [Midpoint](https://www.inkwell.software/glossary/midpoint): A major turn near the middle of the story that raises stakes, flips power, or reveals a truth — so the second half is not a repeat of the first. --- Canonical page: