story-weave skill

---
name: arcanea-story-weave
description: Master narrative craft using the Arcanean Story System - structure, pacing, scene architecture, dialogue, and the art of weaving compelling stories that resonate with timeless human truths
version: 2.0.0
author: Arcanea
tags: [storytelling, narrative, writing, plot, scene, dialogue]
triggers:
  - story
  - plot
  - narrative
  - scene
  - dialogue
  - pacing
  - structure
  - novel
  - screenplay
---

# The Art of Story Weaving

> *"Story is not entertainment. Story is the primary technology by which humans understand their lives."*

---

## The Fundamental Truth

Every story ever told follows the same underlying pattern:

```
A CHARACTER with a WANT
     encounters OBSTACLES
          that force CHANGE
               revealing TRUTH.
```

Everything else is variation and craft.

---

## Story Architecture

### The Three Questions Every Scene Must Answer

```
1. What does the character WANT in this scene?
   (Immediate, specific, active)

2. What OBSTACLE prevents them from getting it?
   (External or internal, believable, meaningful)

3. What CHANGES because of what happens?
   (Plot, character, or relationship)

If you can't answer these, the scene doesn't exist yet.
```

### The Macro Structures

#### Three-Act Structure (Classic)
```
ACT ONE: Setup (25%)
├── Hook: Grab attention in first paragraph/page/scene
├── Ordinary World: Establish what's normal
├── Inciting Incident: Disrupt the normal
└── First Plot Point: Commit to the journey

ACT TWO: Confrontation (50%)
├── Rising Action: Stakes escalate
├── Midpoint: Major revelation or reversal
├── Dark Night: Lowest point, doubt everything
└── Second Plot Point: Final piece before climax

ACT THREE: Resolution (25%)
├── Climax: Decisive confrontation
├── Resolution: Aftermath of climax
└── Final Image: What has changed
```

#### Seven-Point Structure (Blake Snyder Beats)
```
1. OPENING IMAGE - The before state
2. SETUP - Character and world established
3. CATALYST - The event that changes everything
4. DEBATE - Should they commit?
5. B-STORY - The relationship that teaches theme
6. MIDPOINT - False victory or false defeat
7. BAD GUYS CLOSE IN - Everything goes wrong
8. ALL IS LOST - Rock bottom
9. DARK NIGHT OF THE SOUL - What it all means
10. BREAK INTO THREE - Solution emerges
11. FINALE - Climax and resolution
12. CLOSING IMAGE - The after state (mirrors opening)
```

#### The Arcanean Spiral
```
Unlike linear structures, the Spiral recognizes that
stories return to themes, deepening understanding:

     ╭────────────╮
    ╭┤ Beginning  ├─╮
    │╰─────┬──────╯ │
    │      ↓        │ Return
    │ ╭─────────╮   │ deeper
    ╰─┤ Middle  ├───╯
      ╰────┬────╯
           ↓
      ╭─────────╮
      │   End   │
      ╰─────────╯

Each return explores familiar territory at new depth.
```

---

## Scene Craft

### The Scene Anatomy
```
GOAL → CONFLICT → DISASTER
   or
REACTION → DILEMMA → DECISION

These two scene types alternate:
ACTION scene (Goal-Conflict-Disaster) →
REACTION scene (Reaction-Dilemma-Decision) →
ACTION scene → REACTION scene...
```

### Scene Checklist
```
□ Clear POV character
□ Specific want/goal
□ Meaningful obstacle
□ Change by scene end
□ Sensory grounding (at least 3 senses)
□ Tension present (not just conflict)
□ Subtext in dialogue
□ Something surprising
□ Forward momentum to next scene
```

### Scene Opening Techniques
```
1. IN MEDIAS RES: Start in middle of action
   "The knife was already at her throat when she recognized him."

2. CONTRAST: Start with opposite of what's coming
   "It was the happiest morning of her life." (tragedy follows)

3. QUESTION: Open with mystery
   "No one could explain why the clocktower stopped at 3:33."

4. VOICE: Lead with distinctive character voice
   "Let me tell you something about stealing a god's chariot."

5. SENSORY: Immerse in physical world
   "The smell hit her first—copper and burning sage."
```

### Scene Ending Techniques
```
1. CLIFFHANGER: Interrupt at peak tension
2. REVELATION: Drop new information
3. DECISION: Character commits to action
4. EMOTION: Land on powerful feeling
5. IRONY: Twist meaning of what came before
6. ECHO: Mirror/contrast with opening
```

---

## Dialogue Mastery

### The Subtext Principle
```
Good dialogue is not what characters say.
It's what they mean by what they don't say.

WEAK: "I'm angry at you."
STRONG: "Did you enjoy the party? I cleaned for three hours."
```

### Dialogue Functions
Each line should accomplish at least one:
```
1. ADVANCE PLOT: Reveal necessary information
2. REVEAL CHARACTER: Show who they are
3. CREATE CONFLICT: Tension between speakers
4. ESTABLISH RELATIONSHIP: Dynamic between characters
5. CONVEY THEME: Larger meaning of story
```

### Character Voice Differentiation
```
Vary these elements per character:
- Vocabulary level (simple vs. sophisticated)
- Sentence length (choppy vs. flowing)
- Focus (facts vs. emotions vs. ideas)
- Verbal tics (repeated words, phrases)
- Silence patterns (when they don't speak)
```

### Dialogue Tags
```
PREFERRED:
"said" / "asked" (invisible to reader)
Action beats: She set down her cup. "That's not what I meant."

AVOID:
Adverbs: "he said angrily"
Exotic tags: "she expostulated"
Over-attribution: Every line tagged
```

---

## Pacing Control

### The Pace Toolkit
```
FASTER PACE:
- Short sentences
- Short paragraphs
- Dialogue heavy
- Action sequences
- Cliffhangers

SLOWER PACE:
- Longer sentences
- Description and reflection
- Internal monologue
- World-building
- Character moments
```

### Scene Length Strategy
```
HIGH STAKES = LONGER SCENES (savor the tension)
TRANSITION = SHORTER SCENES (maintain momentum)
CLIMAX = BUILD UP LONG, RESOLVE FAST

Vary scene length to create rhythm:
Long → Medium → Short → Long → Short → Short → VERY LONG (climax)
```

### The Tension Curve
```
        ╱╲    ╱╲ CLIMAX
       ╱  ╲  ╱  ╲
      ╱    ╲╱    ╲
     ╱  Build      Resolution
    ╱
───╱ Opening

Never let tension flat-line. Even quiet scenes have stakes.
```

---

## Character Integration

### The Character Diamond in Action
```
        WANT (what they pursue)
           /\
          /  \
   WOUND /    \ NEED
  (past)      (unconscious)
         \  /
          \/
         MASK
    (how they seem)

The story forces MASK to crack,
WOUND to surface,
WANT to transform into NEED.
```

### Character Arc Types
```
POSITIVE ARC: Flaw → Growth → Transformation
  Example: Selfish → Tested → Selfless

NEGATIVE ARC: Virtue → Corruption → Fall
  Example: Idealistic → Compromised → Cynical

FLAT ARC: Character doesn't change, world changes
  Example: Hero with truth → Tests truth → World accepts truth
```

---

## Theme Weaving

### What Theme Is
```
Theme is not a message or moral.
Theme is a QUESTION the story explores.

NOT: "Greed is bad"
BUT: "What is the cost of ambition?"

The story presents evidence. The reader concludes.
```

### Theme Integration
```
1. TITLE: Hints at thematic concern
2. OPENING: First lines establish thematic question
3. CHARACTER FLAW: Embodies theme negatively
4. ANTAGONIST: Represents alternative answer
5. SUBPLOT: Explores theme from different angle
6. MIDPOINT: Theme becomes explicit
7. CLIMAX: Theme is tested definitively
8. ENDING: Thematic resolution (not answer)
```

---

## Common Problems & Solutions

### "My middle sags"
```
DIAGNOSIS: Stakes not escalating, character too passive
SOLUTION:
1. Raise stakes at each major beat
2. Force character to make irreversible choices
3. Add ticking clock
4. Reveal information that changes everything
```

### "Characters feel flat"
```
DIAGNOSIS: All surface, no contradiction
SOLUTION:
1. Give each character a contradiction
   (kind + ruthless, brave + secretly terrified)
2. Reveal their wound
3. Put them in situations that expose hypocrisy
4. Give them specific, idiosyncratic details
```

### "Story feels predictable"
```
DIAGNOSIS: Following formula too closely
SOLUTION:
1. What does the reader expect? Subvert it.
2. What would the character never do? Make them do it.
3. What information are you hiding? Reveal it early.
4. Combine two unexpected genres/elements
```

### "Exposition feels clunky"
```
DIAGNOSIS: Information delivered outside of conflict
SOLUTION:
1. Reveal through character conflict
2. Make someone not want to tell
3. Spread across multiple scenes
4. Convert to dialogue under pressure
5. Cut 50% - readers need less than you think
```

---

## The Story Weaver's Toolkit

### Story Audit Checklist
```
□ Clear protagonist with want and need
□ Antagonist with justified worldview
□ Stakes that escalate
□ Midpoint that changes everything
□ Dark moment before climax
□ Climax that tests theme
□ Character change (or meaningful resistance to change)
□ Scenes that each have purpose
□ Dialogue with subtext
□ Pacing that breathes
□ Theme explored, not stated
□ Ending that resonates
```

### Revision Passes
```
PASS 1: Structure - Does the architecture hold?
PASS 2: Character - Are motivations clear and consistent?
PASS 3: Scene - Does each scene have purpose?
PASS 4: Dialogue - Is there subtext?
PASS 5: Prose - Line-level polish
PASS 6: Theme - Is meaning clear without being stated?
```

---

## Quick Reference

### Scene Template
```markdown
## Scene: [Title]
**POV**: [Character]
**Goal**: [What they want]
**Obstacle**: [What blocks them]
**Outcome**: [What changes]
**Purpose**: [Why this scene exists]
---
[Scene content]
```

### Story One-Pager
```markdown
# [Title]

## Premise
[One sentence: Character + Want + Obstacle]

## Theme Question
[What question does the story explore?]

## Three-Act Summary
**Act 1**: [Setup and inciting incident]
**Act 2**: [Complications and midpoint]
**Act 3**: [Climax and resolution]

## Character Arc
[Character] starts [flaw] and ends [transformation]

## Key Scenes
1. [Opening hook]
2. [Inciting incident]
3. [Midpoint reversal]
4. [Dark night]
5. [Climax]
6. [Closing image]
```

---

*"The story is wiser than the teller. Your job is to listen as you write."*