StoryGraph
Channels — the typed connections
In most tools a connection is just an arrow: “this, then that”. In a StoryGraph, every connection is typed — a colour-coded wire that carries one specific layer of the story between beats. A beat doesn’t just lead to the next; it passes along what’s known, how much tension, who’s changed, and more — each on its own channel.
Why typed wires matter. Because each thread is separate, the engine can reason about them: raise tension without touching what’s known, flip a relationship without changing the stakes, carry a motif across twenty chapters. It’s the difference between a plot the model has to remember and a plot the graph actually tracks.
The seven channels
Informationcarries what is known, and who knows it
The backbone of the knowledge layer — wire it where a fact should travel from the beat that establishes it to the beats that depend on it.
Tensioncarries the pressure rising or easing across beats
Shape the tension curve of the book; pair it with AMPLIFY / DAMPEN / THRESHOLD to build, release, and time the pressure.
Character statecarries how a character is changed by a beat
Carry a character’s arc — what each beat does to them — so the change is tracked, not forgotten.
Stakescarries what stands to be won or lost
Track what’s on the line as it climbs toward the climax; pair with AMPLIFY to escalate.
Relationshipcarries the bond or fracture between characters
Carry how two characters stand with each other; pair with INVERT for a betrayal or a reconciliation.
Emotioncarries the felt charge a beat carries
Shape the emotional texture across beats; pair with TRANSFORM to let a feeling change form (love → resentment).
Motifcarries a recurring thread — planted early, paid off later
Carry a motif from where it’s PLANTed to where it PAYs OFF, so the recurrence lands with weight.
How you use them
Each node exposes the same rail of typed ports along its edge — one per channel. To wire a thread, you drag from a channel’s port on one node to the same channel on another. Drop an operator onto a wire (GATE, AMPLIFY, INVERT…) and it transforms whatever that channel is carrying as it passes through. The Information channel is special: it feeds the Knowledge layer, which is how the graph tracks who knows what.