Storytelling Glossary
Key Terms for Understanding Story Architecture
Core Concepts
Architecture (Narrative)
The organizational system determining how story unfolds. Includes time progression, causality structure, character focus, and resolution type.
Architectural Diversity
The principle that story structures use different organizational systems (linear, web, spiral, cyclical, etc.), not variations of a single universal formula.
GriotsWell Products
Plotting Tools
17 interactive story structure workshops (9 Classic + 8 Worldwide) with AI-powered generation, teaching sidebar, and structure-shaped progress maps.
World Wizards
30 storytelling frameworks from 10 world regions. Self-contained, offline-capable standalone tools organized by region and architecture type.
Architectural Types
Linear Architecture
Sequential time progression with conflict escalation toward climax. Examples: Hero's Journey, Three-Act Structure.
Web Architecture
Interconnected narrative threads where multiple storylines weave together. Example: Anansi Web Pattern.
Spiral Architecture
Past and present exist simultaneously. Cyclical causality. Example: Griot Performance Cycle.
Balance Architecture
Cosmic order disrupted and restored. Restoration rather than triumph. Example: Ancient Egyptian Ma'at.
Geographic Architecture
Place-based narrative where land functions as character and structure. Example: Aboriginal Songlines.
Cyclical Architecture
Multiple interlocking time cycles. Return/renewal rather than ending. Examples: Mayan Calendar, Pachakuti Cycle.
Cultural Terms
Griot
West African oral historian and storyteller (Mandé peoples). Preserves genealogy, history, and cultural knowledge through performance.
Anansi
West African spider figure (Akan peoples). Trickster and wisdom-keeper teaching through clever stories.
Ma'at
Ancient Egyptian principle. Cosmic truth, justice, balance, and order. Opposite of Isfet (chaos).
Pachakuti
Andean Quechua term. Literally "world-turning." Cosmic transformation through death/rebirth cycle.
Songline
Australian Aboriginal term. Geographic-narrative mapping. Songs that map land and tell ancestral stories simultaneously.
Questions About Terminology?
Email: hello@griotswell.com
We're happy to clarify concepts and add definitions based on user needs.