home / skills / dmccreary / claude-skills / story-generator

story-generator skill

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This skill helps generate historically accurate graphic novel narratives about scientists for educational textbooks, including image prompts and structured

npx playbooks add skill dmccreary/claude-skills --skill story-generator

Review the files below or copy the command above to add this skill to your agents.

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SKILL.md

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---
name: story-generator
description: This skill generates graphic novel narratives about physicists and scientists for intelligent textbooks. It creates compelling, historically-accurate stories with image prompts designed for high school students. Use this skill when the user wants to add a new scientist story to the Physics History Graphic Novels section of an MkDocs Material textbook, or when creating educational graphic novel content about historical scientists.
---

# Story Generator

This skill generates complete graphic novel narratives about physicists and scientists for intelligent textbooks built with MkDocs Material.

## When to Use This Skill

Use this skill when:

- The user requests a new graphic novel story about a scientist or physicist
- Adding a story to a Physics History Graphic Novels section
- Creating educational narrative content with image prompts for AI image generation
- The user mentions "story", "graphic novel", or "narrative" about a historical scientist

## Story Structure

Each story follows a consistent structure designed to engage high school students:

### Required Components

1. **YAML Frontmatter** - Title, description, social media image paths
2. **Cover Image** - With detailed generation prompt in `<details>` block
3. **Narrative Prompt** - Background context for generating the story
4. **Prologue** - Hook introducing the scientist's significance
5. **Chapters (12-14)** - Each with narrative text, image placeholder, and image prompt
6. **Epilogue** - Lessons table summarizing what made the scientist successful
7. **Call to Action** - Inspiring message connecting to readers
8. **Quotes** - 2-3 memorable quotes from the scientist
9. **References** - Academic sources (can use placeholders initially)

### Image Prompt Requirements

Every image prompt must specify:

- Wide-landscape **16:9 format**
- Period-appropriate art style (e.g., "Victorian", "Art Nouveau", "Renaissance")
- Specific scene details and characters
- Color palette guidance
- Emotional tone and mood

## Workflow

### Step 1: Gather Information

Before writing, identify:

- The scientist's name and birth/death years
- Key discoveries or contributions
- Central theme (e.g., "overcoming doubters", "persistence through failure")
- Historical period and appropriate art style
- 3-5 key life events that form the narrative arc

### Step 2: Create Story Directory

```bash
mkdir -p docs/stories/<scientist-name>
```

Use lowercase with hyphens for directory names (e.g., `nikola-tesla`, `marie-curie`).

### Step 3: Write the Story

Create `docs/stories/<scientist-name>/index.md` with the following structure:

```markdown
---
title: <Catchy Title> - <Scientist Name>'s <Theme>
description: A graphic-novel story of how <brief description>...
image: /stories/<scientist-name>/cover.png
og:image: /stories/<scientist-name>/cover.png
twitter:image: /stories/<scientist-name>/cover.png
social:
   cards: false
---

# <Catchy Title>: <Subtitle>

![Cover image](./cover.png)
<details>
<summary>Cover Image Prompt</summary>
[Detailed cover image generation prompt - 16:9 format, period style, composition details]
</details>

<details>
    <summary>Narrative Prompt</summary>
[Background context and style guide for the entire story]
</details>

### Prologue – <Hook Title>

[Opening narrative establishing the scientist's importance]

![](./image-01.png)
<details><summary>Image Prompt</summary>
[Detailed image prompt for prologue scene]
</details>

## Chapter 1 – <Chapter Title>

[Chapter narrative...]

![](./image-02.png)
<details><summary>Image Prompt</summary>
[Image prompt...]
</details>

[Continue for 12-14 chapters...]

### Epilogue – What Made <Scientist> Different?

[Summary of lessons learned]

| Challenge | How <Scientist> Responded | Lesson for Today |
|-----------|---------------------------|------------------|
| ... | ... | ... |

### Call to Action

[Inspiring message connecting to readers]

---

*"Quote from scientist"*
—<Scientist Name>

---

## References

1. [Title](PLACEHOLDER) - Description
[Continue with 4-6 references]
```

**Important:** Always use `.png` extension for image references (not `.jpg`).

### Step 4: Add to Navigation

Edit `mkdocs.yml` to add the story in **chronological order by birth year**:

```yaml
- Stories:
    - Overview: stories/index.md
    - <Scientist Name> - <Title>: stories/<scientist-name>/index.md
```

Reference chronological order:
- Archimedes (287 BC)
- Galileo (1564)
- Newton (1643)
- Faraday (1791)
- Tesla (1856)
- Marie Curie (1867)
- Rutherford (1871)
- Lise Meitner (1878)
- Einstein (1879)
- Chien-Shiung Wu (1912)
- Vera Rubin (1928)

### Step 5: Add Grid Card to Stories Index

Edit `docs/stories/index.md` to add a card using MkDocs Material grid format:

```markdown
- **[<Story Title>](<scientist-name>/index.md)**

    ![<Scientist Name>](./<scientist-name>/cover.png)
    <2-4 sentence compelling description emphasizing the story's theme>
```

## Writing Guidelines

### Target Audience

- High school students (grades 9-12)
- Age 14-18
- Introductory physics background
- Reading level: accessible but not dumbed down

### Narrative Style

- Use active voice and vivid descriptions
- Include dialogue when historically appropriate
- Balance drama with educational accuracy
- Emphasize the human story behind discoveries
- Show struggles, failures, and persistence
- Connect historical events to modern technology

### Theme Development

Choose a central theme that resonates with teenagers:

- Overcoming doubters and skeptics
- Persistence through failure
- Self-education and curiosity
- Fighting against discrimination
- Seeing what others couldn't see
- Staying humble despite success

### Historical Accuracy

- Research key dates, events, and relationships
- Use historically accurate details in image prompts
- Note any creative liberties in the narrative prompt
- Include verifiable quotes when possible

## Art Style Reference by Era

| Era | Suggested Art Style |
|-----|---------------------|
| Ancient (before 500 AD) | Classical Mediterranean, mosaic-inspired |
| Renaissance (1400-1600) | Italian Renaissance, warm lighting |
| Enlightenment (1600-1800) | Baroque, Dutch Golden Age |
| Victorian (1800-1900) | Pre-Raphaelite, industrial |
| Gilded Age (1870-1900) | Art Nouveau, American industrial |
| Early Modern (1900-1950) | Art Deco, Modernist |
| Mid-Century (1950-1980) | Atomic Age, clean lines |
| Contemporary | Photorealistic with period elements |

## Checklist

After completing a story, verify:

- [ ] Story directory created: `docs/stories/<name>/`
- [ ] `index.md` has full narrative and all image prompts
- [ ] All image references use `.png` extension
- [ ] YAML frontmatter has title, description, and image paths
- [ ] Added to `mkdocs.yml` navigation in chronological order
- [ ] Grid card added to `docs/stories/index.md`
- [ ] 12-14 chapters with consistent structure
- [ ] Epilogue includes lessons table
- [ ] References section present (placeholders OK initially)
- [ ] Image prompts specify 16:9 format and period style

Overview

This skill generates complete graphic-novel narratives about physicists and scientists for intelligent MkDocs Material textbooks. It produces historically grounded stories, image-generation prompts in 16:9 format, and the full Markdown structure needed to add a new entry to a Physics History Graphic Novels section. The output targets high school readers with vivid prose, clear chapters, and educator-friendly assets.

How this skill works

I gather the scientist's basic facts, key discoveries, central theme, historical period, and 3–5 pivotal life events. Then I produce a ready-to-drop index.md with YAML frontmatter, cover and chapter images (PNG placeholders), 12–14 chapters each with image prompts, an epilogue lessons table, quotes, and references. Every image prompt specifies 16:9 format, period-appropriate art style, scene details, color palette, and emotional tone.

When to use it

Adding a new scientist story to the Physics History Graphic Novels section of an MkDocs Material textbook
Creating an educational graphic-novel narrative about a historical physicist or scientist for high school students
Generating detailed image prompts for AI art tools alongside classroom-ready narrative text
When you need a complete docs/stories/<scientist-name>/index.md structure with assets and navigation notes

Best practices

Provide the scientist's full name, birth/death years, and 3–5 pivotal events up front
Choose a central theme (e.g., persistence, overcoming bias) to shape the narrative arc
Specify the historical era to pick an appropriate art style from the era reference list
Verify key dates and quotes during editing to preserve historical accuracy
Use the generated image prompts as inputs for your preferred image model and save outputs as .png

Example use cases

Create a Marie Curie graphic novel entry to explain radioactivity and her challenges as a woman in science
Add a short graphic-novel biography of Nikola Tesla with Art Nouveau–style cover and laboratory scenes
Produce a classroom-friendly Einstein story that connects relativity concepts to modern tech
Generate visual prompts and chapter text for a unit on Lise Meitner highlighting scientific collaboration and ethics

FAQ

Can I request a specific art style or era?

Yes. Tell me the era or art style and I will craft image prompts with period-appropriate details and color palettes.

Are references required to be final sources?

No. I include placeholders if needed, but I recommend replacing them with vetted academic sources before publishing.