diff --git a/docs/source/project_story.rst b/docs/source/project_story.rst index 736ae940..461efca2 100644 --- a/docs/source/project_story.rst +++ b/docs/source/project_story.rst @@ -1,39 +1,48 @@ +.. _a_story: + *************** Story Structure *************** -Version x.y of novelWriter supports story structure using the %story style of comment. -To use the feature, make the first word of a comment `story`, followed by a period, -a structure term, a colon, a space and the text for that term. +.. _The Story Grid: https://storygrid.com + + +As of version 2.7, story structure annotations using the ``%story`` style of comment is supported. +To use the feature, make the first word of a comment ``story``, followed by a period, a structure +term, a colon, a space and the text for that term. + +Here's and example: .. code-block:: md - %story.term: text + %story.term: text -The term can be anything that you want to track in the manuscript. -This construct is intended to make it easier to extract metadata from a work to perform a structural analysis of the story. +The term can be anything that you want to track in the manuscript. This construct is intended to +make it easier to extract metadata from a work to perform a structural analysis of the story. -There are probably as many ways to examine story structure as there are authors and editors combined. -For this reason the story tag is flexible. -You can use any terms you want and track any aspect of the story that serves your purposes. -An example method has been advanced by Shawn Coyne in _The Story Grid_. -This method asserts that a story is composed of "beats", and that each beat has an inciting incident, a complication, a crisis, and a resolution. -One might capture these elements of a beat where a character overcomes their fear of giving a speech as: +There are probably as many ways to examine story structure as there are authors and editors +combined. For this reason the story tag is flexible. You can use any terms you want and track any +aspect of the story that serves your purposes. + +An example method has been advanced by Shawn Coyne in `The Story Grid`_. This method asserts that a +story is composed of "beats", and that each beat has an inciting incident, a complication, a +crisis, and a resolution. One might capture these elements of a beat where a character overcomes +their fear of giving a speech as: .. code-block:: md - %Synopsis: Carol overcomes her fear of giving a speech. - %Story.incite: Carol is pleased to be invited to a confernece to see her boss deliver a keynote. - %Story.complication: Carol's boss calls in sick and asks her to deliver a big speech. - %Story.crisis: Carol has a fear of appearing on stage. - %Story.resolution: Carol engages the help of a coach who helps her overcome her fears and delivers a great speech. + %Synopsis: Carol overcomes her fear of giving a speech. + %Story.incite: Carol is pleased to be invited to a conference to see her boss deliver a keynote. + %Story.complication: Carol's boss calls in sick and asks her to deliver a big speech. + %Story.crisis: Carol has a fear of appearing on stage. + %Story.resolution: Carol engages the help of a coach who helps her overcome her fears and delivers a great speech. -Other analyical models propose tracking a scene's pace, how it affects the mood of the story, -or which element(s) of the story's genre are being satisfied. -An author can use this mechanism to track any element of a scene. -Some examples include time of day, how much time passes in the scene, ot even the physical form of a shape-shifting character. -If a story involves magic, one could track which wand a main characteh has in hand. It's up to tha author. +Other analytical models propose tracking a scene's pace, how it affects the mood of the story, or +which element(s) of the story's genre are being satisfied. An author can use this mechanism to +track any element of a scene. Some examples include time of day, how much time passes in the scene, +or even the physical form of a shape-shifting character. If a story involves magic, one could track +which wand a main character has in hand. It's up to tha author. -When the story and other scene metadata is extracted into a tabluar form, -it is possible to get a comprehensive overview of the story and to identify possible issues -(for example, so many fast-paced scenes without a break that readers might become fatigued or over-stimulated). +When the story and other scene metadata is extracted into a tabluar form, it is possible to get a +comprehensive overview of the story and to identify possible issues. For example, so many +fast-paced scenes without a break that readers might become fatigued or over-stimulated.