# Arc Template

Use this template when creating a new arc file at `plot/arcs/{arc-name-kebab}.md`.

```yaml
---
name: "{Arc Name}"
type: {main|subplot|character|thematic}
status: {planned|in-progress|resolved}
characters:
  - {character-kebab}
themes:
  - {theme}
acts:
  - {act-1|act-2|act-3}
---
```

## Setup

The initial state of affairs. What's normal before the arc begins. The inciting incident that sets this arc in motion.

## Rising Action

Key escalations, complications, and developments. List in order:

1. {First escalation}
2. {Second escalation}
3. {Complication or reversal}

## Climax

The turning point of this arc. The moment of highest tension where the outcome is decided.

## Resolution

How the arc resolves. What changes as a result. How the world and characters are different.

## Plot Points

Ordered list of specific story events, linked to chapters:

| # | Plot Point | Act | Chapter | Status | Notes |
|---|------------|-----|---------|--------|-------|
| 1 | | | {planned|written|revised} | |

## Foreshadowing

Track what's planted and where it pays off:

| Planted | Payoff | Chapter Planted | Chapter Payoff | Status |
|---------|--------|-----------------|----------------|--------|
| | | | | {planned|planted|paid-off} |

# MICE Quotient

A threading tool from Orson Scott Card's widely taught craft framework: every story thread is one of four types, and each type has its own start/end rule. Use it to braid subplots and to diagnose why a thread feels unresolved.

## The Four Thread Types

- **Milieu:** The character visits a strange place or situation. Starts when the character enters the milieu, ends when they exit it.
- **Inquiry (Idea):** A question demands an answer. Starts when the question is posed, ends when it is answered.
- **Character:** The character wrestles with an inner dissatisfaction. Starts when the dissatisfaction appears, ends when the inner change resolves.
- **Event:** A disruption hits the status quo. Starts when the disruption lands, ends when it is resolved.

## Thread Rules

- **Open threads close in order.** A thread opened inside another thread should close before the outer one does. A milieu thread opened inside an event thread ends when the character leaves the place, not when the event resolves.
- **Nested threads nest inside each other.** A question asked during a visit (inquiry inside milieu), a wound reopened by a disruption (character inside event). Sketch the nesting to see which threads are still open.
- **Unclosed threads are promises.** A thread that opens and never closes by its rule is a broken promise, not an open ending. During revision, list every open thread and check its closing beat exists.
- **Most stories braid all four.** The main plot is usually event or inquiry; the protagonist's arc is character; set pieces are milieu. A story that is only event has no interiority; a story that is only character has no engine.

## Arc Frontmatter

Arc files may carry an optional `mice-threads:` frontmatter list naming which threads the arc carries, e.g. `mice-threads: [event, character]`. Use it when an arc braids threads of different types — it tells the agent (and the checker) which closing rules apply.

# Outlining Ladder

Structure planning in rungs. Climb as far as the story needs — each rung has an exit criterion, so discovery writers can stop early and full planners can go all the way. For the discovery side of this workflow, see the `discovery-drafting` skill.

## Rung 1: Premise

One sentence: the controlling idea, value + cause (see the `premise:` field in `story.md`).

**Exit criterion:** You can state the premise and counter-premise without looking at your notes, and the logline (see `story-init`'s `references/title-logline.md`) names a protagonist, a want, an obstacle, and stakes. Stop here if the rest of the story is clear in your head.

## Rung 2: Beat Sheet

The major story beats in order — one line each, mapped to the chosen structure model (see `references/structure-models.md`).

**Exit criterion:** Every beat names who changes or what changes; no beat is "something happens here." The beats connect causally — each one causes the next. Stop here if you outline to write freely between fixed points.

## Rung 3: Step Outline / Treatment

One short paragraph per scene or chapter: where, who, what happens, what changes. Prose stays skeletal — no dialogue, no description.

**Exit criterion:** The outline reads like a complete story told badly. Pacing is visible (no dead zones, escalations land where they should), and every scene has a named purpose. Stop here for most novels.

## Rung 4: Full Outline

Scene-by-scene with POV, location, participants, state changes, and which arc plot points advance. This is the `scenes/` frontmatter filled in before the prose.

**Exit criterion:** A stranger could draft the chapter from the outline without inventing plot. This rung exists for complex multi-POV or series work, not as a default.

## Using the Ladder

- Climb one rung at a time; each rung audits the one below. A beat sheet that cannot connect causally means the premise is wrong, not that you need a longer outline.
- If a rung feels like filling in boxes, the story is not ready for it — stay on the rung below and write.
- Revision runs the ladder in reverse: the `revision-continuity` reverse-outline pass checks what the draft actually does against each rung.

# Promise Template

Use this template for setup/payoff files at `continuity/promises/{promise-kebab}.md`.

```yaml
---
title: "{Promise Or Setup}"
status: {planned|planted|paid-off|dropped}
planted: chapter-{NN}
payoff: chapter-{NN}
arcs:
  - {arc-kebab}
characters:
  - {character-kebab}
---
```

## Setup

What the story promises the reader.

## Payoff

How the promise should be answered.

## Tracking Notes

Keep planted and payoff chapters current.

# Question Template

Use this template for open mystery or continuity-question files at `continuity/questions/{question-kebab}.md`.

```yaml
---
title: "{Question}"
status: {open|answered|resolved|dropped}
introduced: chapter-{NN}
resolved: chapter-{NN}
characters:
  - {character-kebab}
---
```

## Question

What needs to be answered or protected for continuity.

## Evidence

Known clues, constraints, and contradictions.

## Resolution Plan

How and when the answer should land.

# Short Story Form

Short fiction runs on different physics than novels. Plan accordingly.

## One Dominant Change

A short story dramatizes one change — one character, one relationship, one understanding — not a transformation arc with five turning points. Pick the single change that matters and cut everything that does not serve it.

## Single Effect

Poe's widely taught "single effect" principle: every word in the story should build toward one pre-established emotional or thematic effect. If a passage does not contribute to that effect, it is padding no matter how well written. Name the effect before drafting.

## Narrow Scope

Limit the cast (1–3 named characters), the timeline (hours to days, not years), and the setting (one or two locations). Each new character or location costs setup the word budget cannot afford. Backstory arrives as a sentence, not a chapter.

## MICE as the Threading Tool

With no room for subplots, short stories usually run one or two MICE threads (see `references/mice-quotient.md`): typically character inside event, or inquiry alone. Sketch the threads before drafting — in a 5,000-word story, one thread that never closes by its rule is a visible hole.

# Story Structure Models Reference

Common story structures with beat sheets. Use as starting points - adapt to fit the story.

## Three-Act Structure

The most common Western story structure.

| Beat | Act | Description |
|------|-----|-------------|
| Opening | 1 | Establish normal world and protagonist |
| Inciting Incident | 1 | Event that disrupts the status quo |
| First Plot Point | 1 | Protagonist commits to the journey (end of Act 1, ~25%) |
| Rising Action | 2 | Protagonist faces escalating obstacles |
| Midpoint | 2 | Major reversal or revelation (~50%) |
| Crisis | 2 | Stakes raised, things get worse |
| Second Plot Point | 2 | Final push, all seems lost (end of Act 2, ~75%) |
| Climax | 3 | Final confrontation, highest tension |
| Resolution | 3 | New normal established, loose ends tied |

## Hero's Journey (Campbell/Vogler)

Mythic structure common in fantasy and adventure.

| Beat | Phase | Description |
|------|-------|-------------|
| Ordinary World | Departure | Hero's normal life |
| Call to Adventure | Departure | Challenge or opportunity appears |
| Refusal of the Call | Departure | Hero hesitates or resists |
| Meeting the Mentor | Departure | Guide appears with wisdom or tools |
| Crossing the Threshold | Departure | Hero enters the unfamiliar world |
| Tests, Allies, Enemies | Initiation | Hero learns the rules, makes friends and foes |
| Approach to the Inmost Cave | Initiation | Preparation for the central ordeal |
| The Ordeal | Initiation | Major crisis, death and rebirth moment |
| Reward | Initiation | Hero gains what they sought |
| The Road Back | Return | Journey home, pursued by consequences |
| Resurrection | Return | Final test, transformation complete |
| Return with the Elixir | Return | Hero returns changed, bearing gifts |

## Save the Cat (Snyder)

Popular in screenwriting, works well for tightly paced stories.

| Beat | Position | Description |
|------|----------|-------------|
| Opening Image | 1% | Visual/thematic snapshot of starting state |
| Theme Stated | 5% | Theme hinted at in dialogue |
| Set-Up | 1-10% | Establish world, characters, stakes |
| Catalyst | 10% | The event that changes everything |
| Debate | 10-20% | Protagonist wrestles with the call |
| Break into Two | 20% | Protagonist chooses to act |
| B Story | 22% | Secondary story begins (often love interest) |
| Fun and Games | 20-50% | The "promise of the premise" delivered |
| Midpoint | 50% | False victory or false defeat |
| Bad Guys Close In | 50-75% | Opposition intensifies |
| All Is Lost | 75% | Lowest point, whiff of death |
| Dark Night of the Soul | 75-80% | Protagonist processes the loss |
| Break into Three | 80% | Solution discovered, often from B story |
| Finale | 80-99% | Protagonist acts, defeats opposition |
| Final Image | 99% | Visual/thematic proof of change |

## Kishotenketsu

Four-act structure common in East Asian storytelling. No central conflict required.

| Beat | Act | Description |
|------|-----|-------------|
| Ki (Introduction) | 1 | Establish characters and setting |
| Sho (Development) | 2 | Develop the story, deepen understanding |
| Ten (Twist) | 3 | Unexpected element, shift in perspective |
| Ketsu (Conclusion) | 4 | Reconcile the twist with the established story |

## Five-Act Structure (Shakespeare)

Classical dramatic structure.

| Beat | Act | Description |
|------|-----|-------------|
| Exposition | 1 | Setting, characters, initial conflict |
| Rising Action | 2 | Complications develop, tension builds |
| Climax | 3 | Turning point, peak of tension |
| Falling Action | 4 | Consequences unfold, momentum shifts |
| Denouement | 5 | Resolution and new equilibrium |

## Fichtean Curve

Crisis-driven structure that opens at or near the first crisis and escalates through rising crises to the climax. Minimal setup — exposition arrives in small doses between crises, and the ending is brief.

| Beat | Phase | Description |
|------|-------|-------------|
| First Crisis | Rising | Open mid-crisis; the protagonist is already in trouble |
| Escalating Crises | Rising | Each crisis worse than the last, with shrinking recovery time between them |
| Climax | Peak | The final, decisive crisis — the point of no return |
| Resolution | Falling | Brief falling action; consequences land quickly |

## Dan Harmon's Story Circle

Eight steps in a circle that foreground internal change. Fits episodic and short-form stories well: each episode runs one full circle while the season traces a larger one.

| Beat | Step | Description |
|------|------|-------------|
| You | 1 | Character in a zone of comfort |
| Need | 2 | But they want something |
| Go | 3 | They enter an unfamiliar situation |
| Search | 4 | They adapt to the new situation |
| Find | 5 | They get what they wanted |
| Take | 6 | They pay a heavy price for it |
| Return | 7 | They return to their familiar situation |
| Change | 8 | Having changed — the circle completes where it began, but the character is different |

## Choosing a Structure

- **Three-Act:** Default choice for most stories. Simple, flexible, well-understood.
- **Hero's Journey:** Fantasy, adventure, coming-of-age. Stories about transformation.
- **Save the Cat:** Tightly paced commercial fiction. Stories that need precise pacing.
- **Kishotenketsu:** Literary fiction, slice-of-life, stories exploring ideas over conflict.
- **Five-Act:** Epic scope, multiple climaxes, complex political drama.
- **Fichtean Curve:** Crisis-driven pacing. Stories that start in motion and never let up.
- **Story Circle:** Episodic and short-form. Stories built around one character's internal change per unit.

Structures are guides, not rules. Mix and adapt as the story demands.