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Narrative Mode

Eric Rhys Taylor edited this page Dec 20, 2025 · 17 revisions

Narrative Mode

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Narrative Mode is your primary manuscript-order workspace. It displays all scenes from all subplots on the outer ring, organized by the 3-act structure (120° per act). This view emphasizes Narrative time (the order readers will experience the story).

Narrative Mode Timeline

Key Features

  • Structure: Scenes are distributed across Act 1, Act 2, and Act 3.
  • Subplot Colors: The outer ring segments are colored by their subplot. This lets you quickly visualize which plot threads are dominant in each section of the book.
  • Story Beats: Displays story beats (like Save the Cat) along the timeline, helping you pace your narrative structure.
  • Interactive Reordering: You can drag scene number squares on the outer ring to reorder scenes. See How-to#reorder-scenes for details.

Dominant Subplots

For scenes that belong to multiple subplots, you can control which color is displayed:

  • Click a scene: Sets its dominant subplot.
  • Visual Cue: A folded corner effect at the beginning of a subplot ring indicates which subplot is currently dominant in the coloring logic.

This mode hides status and publishing stage overlays to keep the focus on the story structure and weaving of subplots.

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