The Gun on the Wall Still Has to Fire.
Hierarchical plotlines, six beat sheet frameworks, K.M. Weiland character arcs, and Sanderson's promises tracked as structured data. Plus Chekhov's gun tracking, so you can actually see which setups you paid off, which you forgot about, and which are still hanging on the wall three books later.
Hierarchical Plotlines
Plots aren't glued-on notes. Nest them at any depth you need — world arcs contain arcs, arcs contain plotlines, plotlines contain subplots. Each level carries its own metadata and status, because a series-spanning arc doesn't have the same shape as a one-chapter subplot.
Hierarchical plotline tree with nested arcs, status tracking, and beat sequence views.
- Unlimited Nesting
- World arcs → Arcs → Plotlines → Subplots. Nest as deep as your story requires. Each level collapses and expands independently.
- Subtypes
- Classify each plotline: Main, Mirror, Contrast, Complication, Character Development, or World Building. The type shapes how the plotline is analyzed and visualized.
- Status Tracking
- Four statuses — Active, Resolved, Dormant, Dropped — track where every thread stands. Filter by status to see only what's currently in play.
- Auto-Generate Legendry Entries
- Every plotline can auto-generate a searchable Legendry entry, making it visible to Lorekeeper consistency checks and Hawken's lore-aware generation.
6 Beat Sheet Frameworks
Apply proven narrative structures to your plotlines. Select a framework, map your plot points to its beats, and track coverage with deviation analysis.
| Framework | Structure |
|---|---|
| Save the Cat | 15 beats from Opening Image to Final Image. Blake Snyder's screenwriting framework adapted for novels. |
| Hero's Journey | 12 stages from Ordinary World to Return. Joseph Campbell's monomyth with departure, initiation, and return. |
| Three-Act | Setup, Confrontation, Resolution. The foundational dramatic structure with two turning points. |
| Five-Act | Exposition, Rising Action, Climax, Falling Action, Denouement. Shakespeare's dramatic structure. |
| Seven-Point | Hook, Plot Turn 1, Pinch 1, Midpoint, Pinch 2, Plot Turn 2, Resolution. Dan Wells' story structure. |
| Fichtean Curve | Rising crises instead of exposition. Starts in medias res with escalating complications toward climax. |
- Custom Templates
- Build your own beat sheet framework with custom beat names, positions, and descriptions. Not every story fits a standard mold.
- Coverage Analysis
- Track which beats have mapped plot points and which are empty. Deviation percentages show where your story diverges from the framework — intentional or accidental.
Character Arcs
K.M. Weiland's character arc framework, built into every plotline. Define the internal journey alongside the external plot — the lie they believe, the truth they must learn.
- The Lie
- What the character believes at the start that is fundamentally wrong. The internal misconception that drives their flawed decisions.
- The Ghost
- Why they believe the Lie. The backstory event or trauma that cemented this belief. The wound that hasn't healed.
- The Want vs The Need
- What the character consciously pursues (the Want) versus what they actually need to grow. The tension between these drives the arc.
- The Truth
- What the character must learn to complete their arc. The realization that shatters the Lie and enables genuine change.
- Per-Plotline Arcs
- The same character can have different arcs in different plotlines. A character's political arc and romantic arc track independently with their own Lie/Ghost/Want/Need/Truth.
Plants, Payoffs & Promises
Track Chekhov's gun and Sanderson's promises as structured data. Know exactly what you've set up, what needs paying off, and what promises you've made to the reader.
Plants & Payoffs
Track the lifecycle: Plant (setup) → Tap (escalation/reminder) → Payoff (resolution). Every gun on the wall is tracked from hanging to firing.
Orphan Detection
Plants without payoffs surface automatically. No more forgotten setups that lead nowhere. Orphan reports show exactly what's been planted but never resolved.
Freshness Reporting
Track how recently each entity has been "tapped" (referenced or used). Stale entities — characters, locations, items that haven't appeared in too long — get flagged.
Promises
Brandon Sanderson's promises framework: Tone, Genre, Plot, and Character promises. Track scope (story/act/scene) and status (made/kept/broken/evolving).
Entity Tagging & Outline Integration
Connect plots to the entities they involve and the outline they structure. Bidirectional links keep everything in sync.
- Entity Tagging
- Tag characters, locations, and factions to plotlines and individual plot points. Each tag includes a role description — "protagonist," "antagonist," "setting," "catalyst."
- Role Descriptions
- Go beyond simple tagging. Describe exactly what role each entity plays in each plotline. A character can be a mentor in one plot and a villain in another.
- Bidirectional Outline Links
- Link plot points to outline nodes (chapters, scenes, beats). Changes in either system reflect in the other. Your plot structure and manuscript structure stay aligned.
- Generate from Plotline
- Auto-generate an outline from a plotline's beat structure, or reverse-generate a plotline from an existing outline. Two-way conversion between plot and manuscript structure.
Visualizations & Analysis
See your plot structure visually. Matrix views, arc charts, freshness reports, and structural feedback from the analysis pipeline.
Matrix View
Plotline × chapter grid showing which plotlines are active in which chapters. Spot gaps, clusters, and pacing issues at a glance.
Arc Chart
Intensity curves showing how tension rises and falls across plot points. Compare multiple plotlines' arcs on the same chart to see how they interweave.
Tap Report
Entity freshness dashboard. See which characters, locations, and items have been recently referenced and which are going stale. Keep your cast active.
Plot Analysis
Deterministic checks for dropped threads, pacing issues, and unresolved beats. Optional deeper narrative analysis from the agent pipeline when you want a second read.