The Premise of Your Story

This new feature allows users to quickly and easily generate a single sentence that encapsulates the narrative structure found in a Storyform into a Dramatic Premise. With the tap of a button, the feature interprets the meaning of the Storyform and generates a Premise that clearly communicates the author's intended message with their story.

If you are already familiar with the concept of the Storyform, the Premise is a distillation—or reduction—of that Storyform. While it was not readily apparent in earlier incarnations, the Storyform is the schematic of an argument. The Premise in Subtxt cuts to the point in order to communicate the meaning of such a blueprint.

The Intersection Between Character and Plot

In Subtxt, there are two Illustrations that sit in-between the Storyform and the Premise: the Subjective Illustration (Character) and the Objective Illustration (Plot). These Illustrations provide a way for the author to visualize how the narrative structure of their Storyform might manifest in their story.

It is important to note that while in the past some have referred to "character-driven plots" or "plot-driven plots," there is only one type of plot: one that exists at the intersection between character and plot. These two Illustrations in Subtxt are meant to give the author an idea of how that intersection might look in their story.

By using these Illustrations, the author can step away from the abstract concept of structure and into the realm of storytelling, which is often the most enjoyable and creative part of the writing process.

How to Use

To use the Subjective and Objective Illustrations, simply select a Storyform from your library and navigate to the Storyform page. The Illustrations will be located just below the Premise.

Both the Subjective and Objective Illustrations work the same way all Illustrations work across Subtxt. Simply tap the Illustration to open up a drop-down menu where you can scroll through the entire collection of similarly-themed Illustrations. In addition, you can simply type what you want in the box and Subtxt will check and see if your idea for a Storytelling Illustration is close enough to what it should be in order to work with the Storyform.

Use the Subjective Illustration to get a sense of how the characters in your story will be affected by the narrative structure of your Storyform. Similarly, use the Objective Illustration to understand how the plot of your story will be shaped by the Storyform.

Generating the Premise

As a writer, once you've selected the Subjective Illustration and Objective Illustration that most closely align with the message you want to convey in your story, you can tap the Generate Premise button on the Storyform page (the Up arrow right above both). In just a few seconds, Subtxt's AI will analyze both your Storyform and Illustrations and return a Premise that encapsulates them all.

This Premise is the meaning of your story, the message or idea that you're trying to convey to your audience. It's important to keep in mind that the Premise is not set in stone and you can continue to modify and adjust your Illustrations until you find one that you truly connect with.

Remember, the choices you make in the Illustrations may not significantly change the intent of the Premise, this is by design as the structure of the story (the Storyform) holds the meaning and the Illustrations are a way to bring it to the audience. So keep experimenting with different Illustrations until you find the one that expresses your story idea in the best way.

Tips and Best Practices

Use the Illustrations as a starting point for developing your characters and plot.
Experiment with different Storyforms to see how the Illustrations change and evolve.
Keep in mind that the Illustrations are meant to be a guide, not a strict template. Feel free to deviate from them as needed to.

This new feature is a powerful tool for writers looking to quickly and easily generate a clear and concise Premise for their story. Whether you're just starting out or well into the writing process, the Generate Premise feature can help you stay focused and on track as you develop and refine your narrative.

Subtxt Settings

Beneath the Premise, you’ll find a list of Subtxt Settings similar to the ones you might have chosen in the Premise Builder. These are not interactive, and only appear as a means of easy reference with the narrative you are currently working on.

Alternate Narratives

Subtxt is the first software application for writers that allows for multiple narratives within a single story.

In short, a single story may contain several different narratives (think Lord of the Rings or Jerry Maguire). By adding a different thematic focus, the Author opens up the singular experience of a story to several different narrative concerns.

Just know that the more narratives, the larger the work (again, think Lord of the Rings).

The current implementation of this feature is limited in that, while you can switch between narratives, the ability to weave these alternate narratives into one cohesive story is not available.Access to multiple narratives is available as you might want to try out different narratives without having to re-enter story information like character names or Worldbuilding aspects that could apply to any narrative.

Duplicating a Narrative

Subtxt offers two different options for duplicating your Storyform. The first option only duplicates the structure of your story, allowing you to start with a fresh narrative. The second option duplicates both the structure and all the storytelling elements, including Encodings, Storypoints, and Storybeats. This option is useful if you want to make changes to an existing story structure while preserving the original storytelling elements.

To choose between these two options, simply select the appropriate option when duplicating your Storyform.

Once completed, you will see your duplicated Storyform listed at the bottom of the Narrative view (labeled "Duplicated from" and the name of your current narrative). To work on this new fresh narrative, tap the Duplicated Storyform and Subtxt will load it into place.

You can always switch back to your original narrative by returning to this screen and selecting the original narrative at the bottom of the screen.

There are two main components of a work in Subtxt: "Stories" and "Narratives." Stories can hold multiple narratives such that a Player can be Main Character in one narrative and Obstacle Character in another narrative. If you want a completely unique set of characters, the best approach is to build a brand new story.

The Benefits of Duplicating a Storyform

Duplicating a storyform is a feature designed to enable you to experiment with different illustrations of both Storybeats and Storypoints. This offers a creative space for you to test out new ideas, plot turns, or character developments without altering the original version. It's akin to sketching multiple drafts of a drawing - each one may have the same basic structure, but the details and nuances can vary greatly.

The purpose of this feature is to provide writers with a safe and efficient avenue for exploration and divergence. It's engineered to simplify and automate many processes that previously required multiple steps, offering flexibility and convenience to the writer. Every writer has a unique approach to story development, and the ability to duplicate a storyform caters to these varying needs and methodologies.

Adding a Narrative

Subtxt provides four methods for adding a narrative to your current story:

the Premise Builder
Copying a Narrative from the Subtxt records
grab a Random Narrative
Storyform Connections

Each of these options provides you an option to attach your new Narrative to an existing Story.

Setting a Default Narrative

Once you have multiple narratives set into your story, you may find it convenient to set one as the default narrative that is loaded every time you open your story.

To set the current working narrative as the Default Narrative, simply toggle the switch in the Advanced Settings here in the Premise tab.