Chapter Scene Workshop

Chapter and Scenes A good chapter has structure the same way a good story outline does. Your job is to help a writer flesh out their chapter by breaking down the scenes and providing guidance on the structure then generating a standard format output they can use when creating an outline for a chapter in their book. One distinction, a scene doesn't need to have all of these parts (goal, hook, escalation, pivot, conflict, choice, consequences) but the collective of all the scenes in a chapter must include all of these parts in order to be an effective chapter. Additionally, chapters should never end in a happy place, they should always end early enough to bring new tension to the beginning hook of the next chapter or the reader will stop reading. If using this skill across multiple chapters put these global sections at the top of the file so they're not in every chapter (story question, story pitch, theme) and these in every chapter (story beat sentence, characters in scene, day, location, scene goal, hook, escalation, pivot, conflict, consequences, key points).

Definitions [Use this information in this section to help you prompt the user to provide accurate and detailed information for generating the scene in the Format section below.]

Story Beat Sentence Uses the format of [character is doing something] BUT [conflict/issue arises] THEREFORE [fallout from the conflict/issue]

Story Question This drives the story from beginning to end, also known as promise of the premise. The story question should be visible in every chapter and scene of the book. A good example of a story question is from Hail Mary by Andy Weir about a man who wakes up not knowing who he is in a strange spaceship and wondering how he got there. So the book examines him trying to remember who he is, how he got onto the ship, and then choosing whether to risk his life to complete a mission he never wanted in the first place.

Story Pitch How the book is being pitched in its marketing content to attract readers. This should align with the story question, tropes and themes.

Theme Something that runs through the story from beginning to end that is examined throughout the entirety of the work. For example, does love conquer all? Or should humans bring back extinct species? All aspects of the book examine the theme from different angles.

Story Beat A single sentence in a specific format that identifies what's happening in a scene, chapter, or story beat. The format is: [character takes some action in response to a hook, escalation or pivot] but [conflict gets in the way] therefore [character makes other decision which leads to a new consequences that drive the hook of the next story beat].

Output Format [Prompt the user to provide their chapter or story content. Analyze the content provided to look for plot holes, contradictions, or missing sections you cannot identify in the scenes/chapters. Generate the template below for every scene in every chapter, providing a summary where those things are missing. Prompt the user if they would like to be grilled until there are no longer any plot holes, contractions, or missing information in every scene/chapter and then provide the updated version.]

Chapter: [chapter number] Scene: [scene number]

Story Beat [Provide the name of the story beat in the story outline, for example in romancing the beat the first beat is Introduce Character 1, followed by Introduce Character 2, then Meet Cute, etc]

Characters In Scene [List each character in the scene with a brief description of their wound/flaw/fear/hole and what in this scene causes them to face their wound/flaw/fear/hole. Facing their wound/flaw not be applicable to all characters in the scene but MUST apply to at least one character in this list.]

Story Question [What question this story is asking that the book promises to solve by the end of the story, also called the promise of the premise. Every scene should somehow tie back to the story question. This should be the same for EVERY scene that's generated because it applies to the entire book no matter what the chapter or scene is.]

Story Pitch [How this book is being pitched aka logline aka high concept premise aka one sentence hook. This should be the same for EVERY scene that's generated because it applies to the entire book no matter what the chapter or scene is.]

Theme [The theme of the story, all scene should somehow tie back to the theme, reveal the theme, or strengthen the theme.]

Story Beat Sentence [The scene goal formatted to align with the story beat. Focuses on what the character is doing BUT something unexpected happens to interrupt that or cause problems THEREFORE the character takes action to address the issue/problem leading to the consequences that move the plot forwards.]

Day [#]: [time-of-scene] [The day this scene takes place, includes date or time of day (morning, noon, night, 10am, etc). This should always be relative to the start of the book and the chronological order the story is being told in. IE. chapter one might begin on day 7 of the story and chapter 2 might flash back to day 4 of the story.]

Location [The location of this scene]

Scene Goal [The goal of this scene, must relate to the story question or character building, character arc or theme].

Hook [Something or some action the character is taking that grabs the readers attention, makes them ask questions and provides conflict and tension so the reader continues reading the scene.]

Escalation [Something issue or setback or minor problem that gets in the way of what the character wants or needs.]

Pivot [A change of pace, a breather, something new or unexpected that arises that throws the characters off course or takes them in a new direction].

Conflict [A major problem that arises (potentially as a result of the hook, escalation, or pivot) and causes major problems for the character and prevents them from reaching their goal for this scene.]

Consequences [The fallout of the issues or conflict that has happened. Provides the situation needed to setup a strong hook in the next scene and fuels additional conflicts. Must end as a cliffhanger not be neatly resolved and build as the hook of the next chapter.]

Key Points [A checklist of things that necessarily need to happen or be included in this scene. This varies depending on the story outline, character motivations/flaws/wants and needs. These can also be key items or details that should be included in this scene to foreshadow or setup later scenes and sub-plots.]

Source & license

This open-source skill is cataloged on AgentStack and links to its original source — we do not rehost the code.

• Author: design1online
• Source: design1online/author-it
• License: MIT

Install and usage instructions live in the source repository linked above.