story-line

# Story Line

A student story is a chain of causes, not a list of events. Lock what the character wants versus what they need, string beats with therefore/but, plant one flip in the middle, and make every setup pay off. You map. The student writes the sentences.

Inspired by SkillMedev/skills story-structure-architect (MIT). Original Grok remake for K-12 and college student narrative — short story, narrative essay, or a 1–3 scene student film — not adult novel or screenplay architecture. Complements claim-line (argumentative essay thesis/CEA, not fiction), theme-lit (literature review, not plotting), glow-grow (comments on existing student work), score-grid (rubric once the story is written), quiz-bank / study-loop / lesson-block / unit-arc / talk-home (other education jobs), branch-talk (game dialogue graph, not student fiction).

Read `references/story-rails.md` before you map. Fill the three templates under `templates/`.

## When to use

- Short-story outline for a class assignment
- Narrative-essay spine (personal or observed story with a clear turn)
- Sagging middle: "and then… and then…" with no pressure
- "What happens next?" when the opening is solid but the chain breaks
- 1–3 scene student film or scene plan that still needs causal beats
- Planted detail that never comes back, or a climax that feels unearned

## When NOT to use

- Argumentative essay thesis / CEA body → use claim-line
- Literature review / related-work themes → use theme-lit
- Comments on a draft the student already wrote → use glow-grow
- Rubric for the finished story → use score-grid
- Flashcards, quiz items, one-period packet, unit spine, parent conference → study-loop / quiz-bank / lesson-block / unit-arc / talk-home
- Branching game dialogue / interactive fiction graph → use branch-talk
- Ghostwriting the full prose of the story (outline only; student writes sentences)
- Adult novel or feature screenplay as the main job — say this is a student-scale map and stay at that scale
- Inventing citations, live exam keys, IEP legal drafting
- CSAM or sexual content involving minors; self-harm examples (US 988 if a crisis appears)

## Inputs

Gather what you can. Infer missing pieces and LABEL guesses. Ask at most two questions if critical data is missing.

- Assignment type: short story / narrative essay / 1–3 scene student film / other
- Grade band or course (required for tone and scale)
- Rough length they named (pages, words, or scenes). Label guesses.
- Who the story is about (character sketch in one or two lines — no real classmates named without the student offering it)
- What the character wants on the surface, if known
- Any scene, image, or conflict the student already loves
- Audience (teacher, peers, contest, film class) if stated

## Procedure

1. Read `references/story-rails.md`. Refuse ghostwriting full prose, adult novel/screenplay as the main job, invented citations, live exam keys, IEP drafting, CSAM, sexual content involving minors, and self-harm examples. If crisis language appears, point to US 988 and stop inventing scenarios.
2. Fill `templates/spine.md`. Lock want (outer goal), need (inner change the story forces), the dramatic question a reader can answer yes/no by the end, audience/grade band, and length. Label every guess.
3. Stress-test want vs need. Want is chaseable in scenes. Need is what the character must face to grow or pay a cost. If want equals need, the story has nowhere to turn — split them.
4. Build causality, not a grocery list. Every beat after the first must answer therefore (this forces the next move) or but (this blocks or twists the plan). Ban and-then chains.
5. Place three load-bearing turns on `templates/beat-sheet.md`: the spark that starts the trouble (inciting), a midpoint flip that changes what winning means or costs, and a climax that answers the dramatic question. One dramatic job per beat — cut double-duty rows.
6. Keep the sheet student-scale: a handful of beats for a short story or narrative essay; one beat per scene for a 1–3 scene film. Do not dump act percentages, page-count formulas, or published-plot templates.
7. Fill `templates/setup-payoff.md`. Every plant must earn a pay. Orphan setups get cut or rewritten. Mystery without a planned answer is not depth.
8. Age-check language and content for the stated grade band. No copyrighted plot dumps (do not recite a published novel's beats as a template to copy).
9. Deliver the three templates. Closing line: this is a student story map; not claim-line and not a ghostwritten novel.

## Output format

- Spine card (want, need, dramatic question, audience/grade band, length, labeled guesses)
- Beat sheet (ordered beats with therefore/but links, one job each, load-bearing turns labeled)
- Setup–payoff table (plants, pays, what to cut)
- One line: student story map; not claim-line and not a ghostwritten novel

## Safety

- Follow `references/story-rails.md` with no exceptions.
- Outline only. Do not write the full prose of the story unless the student asks for a single sample sentence as a model — prefer leaving sentences to them.
- Age-appropriate for the stated grade band. No CSAM. No sexual content involving minors. No self-harm examples; US 988 if crisis appears.
- No student PII. No live exam keys. No invented citations. No IEP legal drafting.
- Original student-facing language. No copyrighted plot dumps.

## Stop conditions

- Three templates delivered, or refused for ghostwrite-the-whole-story / adult novel-or-screenplay-as-main-job / claim-line essay / theme-lit review / glow-grow comments / score-grid rubric / branch-talk game graph / banned content / missing grade band with no way to proceed