Five steps about your story. Ten minutes. We'll show you which of the World Story Plot Architectures
your idea leans toward — and the Story Worlds that show it.
Already know the shape you want?
Go straight to How to Choose a Story World →
Step 1 of 5
✦ Step 1: Initial Spark
Let's capture what triggered this story idea. Don't edit yourself —
the raw impulse is useful information, even if it feels incomplete or contradictory.
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💡 Note:
The goal right now is to capture everything rattling around in your head —
not to make it coherent. You can refine later. The raw version often reveals
what the story is really about more honestly than the polished version.
✦ Step 2: Core Concept
Beyond the plot — what is this story really about? Your answers here
point toward the World Story Plot Architecture your story leans toward.
A story with no antagonist needs a different structure than a story
built on escalating conflict.
💡 Note:
If you answered "no antagonist" or "no clear conflict" above, that's important information —
not a gap in your concept. Non-Conflict, Balance, and Negotiation architectures are built
for exactly these stories. Forcing a villain onto a concept that doesn't need one
can bend a story out of its own shape.
✦ Step 3: Character Concepts
Let's develop your key characters. Even partial or rough answers are useful here.
You don't need a complete character sheet — just the essentials that drive your story.
💡 Note:
Great antagonists aren't just obstacles — they have valid motivations that genuinely
conflict with your protagonist's goals. But if your answer to "opposition type" was
"no clear antagonist," your story may want a Non-Conflict, Negotiation / Reciprocal,
or Balance-Seeking shape. That's a feature, not a flaw.
✦ Step 4: Scope Assessment
What kind of project is this? Be honest — a focused story told
completely is always better than an unfinished epic.
Scope also points toward a shape: Cyclical and Spiral suit generational stories,
Linear suits a focused single arc, Multi-Trial suits a long road of tests.
💡 Note:
Be honest about scope. A 70,000-word novel told cleanly beats a 200,000-word
series that stalls at chapter 12. You can always expand a successful concept.
Spiral and Cyclical shapes are particularly well-suited to stories that
cover long timelines, carrying them in turns rather than in one long arc.
✦ Your Story Concept
Here is your developed concept — and the World Story Plot Architectures it leans toward.
Each one links to its page and to the Story Worlds that show it.
🚀 What's next:
Read the page for each World Story Plot Architecture you were pointed to, then open one of
the Story Worlds that show it and build your idea there. Some Story Worlds open without an
account; a free account opens more. Then try the same idea in a second Story World and
compare the shapes.