arcanea 3.0.0

package/skills/creative/story-weave/SKILL.md

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+---
+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."*