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Eric Rhys Taylor edited this page Feb 10, 2026 · 26 revisions

Analyzing Narrative Momentum

Gossamer Mode visualizes narrative momentum using story beat scores. Timeline grays out; momentum values display across story beats to show tension/excitement building.

  • Momentum Tracking: Chart narrative momentum across story beats and over time with manual or AI-driven scoring.
  • Historical tracking: Compare momentum scores across up to 30 iterations to track how your story evolves.
  • Ideal Range: Based on Range=0-20 yaml for each story beat creating an idealized story momentum shape (visual reference only).
  • Manual score entry: Track momentum changes over time with manual updates (with or without external AI assistance).
  • Justification capture: Each score line now records a brief justification so you know what the score was based on.
  • Normalize & repair: Use the Normalize Scores button inside the modal to smooth outliers and automatically repair orphaned/out‑of‑sequence entries.

Timeline mode: Gossamer (key 4) Command: Gossamer score manager Settings: Story beats system

Gossamer Range & Three Scores
Gossamer Range & Three Scores
Gossamer ideal ranges visualization
Ideal ranges for story beats
Gossamer callouts with scoring details
Callouts showing score details
Gossamer score entry modal for manual momentum scoring
Gossamer score manager — manual momentum entry

Manual Entry

Use Gossamer score manager to enter scores yourself. This is a manual workflow by design — you can score purely by your own judgment, or use an external AI tool to help draft scores and justifications, then paste those results into the modal.

AI Analysis

Use Gossamer analysis to run the built-in AI evaluation of narrative momentum. This AI run intentionally does not receive ideal range guidance in its payload/instructions, so the result is a fresh take rather than a range‑constrained score.

Story Beats Configuration

You can configure the underlying system that powers Gossamer Mode in Settings → Story beats system.

1. Select a System

Choose a preset structure:

  • Save The Cat (15 beats)
  • Hero's Journey (12 beats)
  • Story Grid (5 Commandments)
  • Custom: Define your own structure.

2. Custom Beat System

When "Custom" is selected, the beat system editor appears:

  • Name: Give your system a name (e.g., "7 Point Structure"). This is written to the Beat Model YAML field.
  • Add beats: Type a name and click + to add a new beat. Assign each beat to an act using the dropdown.
  • Reorder: Drag and drop beats to change their order within or across acts.
  • Rename: Edit beat names inline. After renaming or reordering, use Merge to update existing files.
  • Beat YAML editor: Customize additional YAML keys for beat notes and select which fields appear in beat hover metadata (stored per system).
  • Saved beat systems ✦ Pro: Save and switch between multiple custom beat systems (unlimited beat sets). Each system stores beats plus Beat YAML editor fields and hover metadata.

Row colors show the sync status between your beat list and the actual note files:

  • Green — beat note exists and is aligned.
  • Orange — beat note exists but is misaligned (wrong number or act). Merge to fix.
  • Red — duplicate title or multiple files match. Resolve manually.
  • No highlight — new beat, no file yet.

3. Create & Merge

  • Create: Generates beat template notes in your source folder, one per beat. Notes come pre-populated with YAML frontmatter (Class: Beat, Beat Model, Range, etc.) so they are immediately recognized by Gossamer Mode. The button is disabled when all beats already have files, and shows how many new notes will be created.
  • Merge: Appears when beats are misaligned. Renames and updates existing beat note files to match the current list order and act assignments. Use this after reordering or renaming beats.

Note

Custom beat notes use the same YAML structure as preset systems. Use the Beat YAML editor to extend this with your own fields.

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