From narrative
Designs plot structure and story arcs using McKee's value turns, Campbell's monomyth, and Sanderson's Promise/Progress/Payoff model to ensure causal integrity and emotional resonance. Use when constructing narratives, outlining novels, or diagnosing why a story feels broken.
How this skill is triggered — by the user, by Claude, or both
Slash command
/narrative:fiction-architectThe summary Claude sees in its skill listing — used to decide when to auto-load this skill
Fiction architecture is the structural engineering of story. It focuses on the causal design of events (Plot) and the transformation of characters through conflict. By applying McKee's value turns, Campbell's monomythic arc, and Sanderson's "Promise/Progress/Payoff" model, the architect ensures that a narrative has both logical integrity and emotional resonance.
Fiction architecture is the structural engineering of story. It focuses on the causal design of events (Plot) and the transformation of characters through conflict. By applying McKee's value turns, Campbell's monomythic arc, and Sanderson's "Promise/Progress/Payoff" model, the architect ensures that a narrative has both logical integrity and emotional resonance.
Plot is not a formula; it is the writer's strategic selection of events from a character's life story. Every event must be meaningful, meaning it creates change in a life situation and is achieved through conflict.
Every scene, sequence, and act must "turn" a value. A value is a universal quality (e.g., love/hate, freedom/slavery) that must shift from positive to negative (or vice-versa) during the action. If a scene doesn't turn, it is mere activity, not an event.
Plot is the process of breaking a character's "theory of control." The protagonist begins with a flawed belief about how the world works (The Sacred Flaw). The events of the plot must systematically challenge this flaw until the character is forced to change or perish.
Human stories tend to follow a three-act cycle:
Story momentum is maintained by keeping promises. The "Promise" sets the tone and expectations; the "Progress" shows the hero moving closer to the goal; the "Payoff" delivers a resolution that is both surprising and inevitable.
Identify the moment of "Unexpected Change" that throws the protagonist's life out of balance. This event must open a "Curiosity Gap" and set a specific goal (The Object of Desire).
Structure the primary arc using the "And, But, Therefore" framework:
Map the "Road of Trials." Ensure each obstacle tests the protagonist's "Sacred Flaw." Use the "Principle of Antagonism": the protagonist is only as compelling as the forces against them.
Review each act climax. Does it represent a major reversal of values?
Does the ending deliver on the specific promises made in the beginning? Ensure the "Object of Desire" is either obtained or permanently lost in a way that satisfies the audience's emotional investment.
REQUIRED SUB-SKILL: character-vulnerability — because plot is merely the "X-ray" of character. RECOMMENDED SUB-SKILL: world-building-logic — to ensure the setting supports the causality of the plot.
npx claudepluginhub joellewis/skill-library --plugin narrativeOutlines story structure using beat sheets and three-act framework for screenplays, novels, and narratives.
Provides fiction writing patterns: Save the Cat! 15-beat, Snowflake Method, Hero's Journey, scene structure, character bible, and chapter hooks.