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    arqo / features / 02story · feature 02 of 06

    story
    tools.

    Beat Boards, Character Hub, Story Arcs, and Mind Mapper — creative tools to guide your idea from brain to page. Cards know their scenes. Scenes know their beats.

    character hub·beat boards·story arcs·mind mapper·one source of truth
    night-tapes · beat boards22 beats
    ACT IACT IIACT III
    p.29
    inciting
    Caleb hands her the tape.
    · plant
    p.34
    turn
    She plays it once. Once.
    · promise
    p.42
    midpoint
    Marisol returns at night.
    · echo · p.4
    p.51
    pinch
    The third tape is blank.
    · reversal
    p.58
    all-lost
    Caleb deletes the locker key.
    · low point
    p.68
    climb
    They cut a fourth tape.
    · choice
    act II · 11 beats · 6 plants · 3 pays● linked to script
    one canvas
    script ⇄ beats ⇄ arcs
    01Real-time co-write02Story tools03Mobile first04Production-ready05Inspire06Library
    §01

    Character Hub

    who they are · how they talk · where they touch the page
    lead · protagonist
    MARISOL DELAROSA
    archerpenitentwired
    Late-30s sound engineer. Used to record other people's stories. Now records her own.
    wantsTo prove the tape exists.
    needsTo forgive herself for making it.
    voice fingerprintliterate · technical · clipped
    she says
    "once.""the reels""—"
    never says
    "love""sorry""remember"
    goes quiet onher sister
    arc spine
    Act Iclosed
    Midpointasks
    Act IIIspeaks
    scenes · 14 of 29intro p.4 · last p.102
    presentturningmajor
    co-lead · foil
    CALEB AVRA
    repressedliar
    Studio owner. Lost his brother to a song that wasn't finished.
    wantsFor her to leave the booth.
    needsTo hear what's on the tape.
    voice fingerprintcolloquial · rambling
    he says
    "yeah""alright""I dunno"
    never says
    "my brother""the song""finished"
    goes quiet onthe song
    arc spine
    Act Iguarded
    Midpointbreaks
    Act IIIadmits
    scenes · 11 of 29intro p.6 · last p.94
    presentturningmajor
    object · MacGuffin
    THE TAPE
    plantsymbolthreat
    A 90-minute cassette. Recorded once, three nights in a row.
    function
    signalstatic · then silence · then a voice not Marisol's
    story roleplant (p.29) → midpoint (p.42) → pay (p.94)
    mute forCaleb (until p.68)
    arc spine
    Plantsealed
    Midpointplays
    Payheard
    scenes · 9 of 29intro p.29 · last p.94
    presentturningmajor
    relationship graph
    MARISOL—— recorded ——▶THE TAPE◀—— owns ——CALEB
    §02

    Beat Boards

    three-act spine · cards in columns · drag to rearrange
    ACT Ip. 1 — 28
    openingp.1
    Marisol packs the booth in dawn light.
    · mood
    setupp.4
    "I'm asking you to listen. Once."
    · plant
    catalystp.12
    Caleb hands her the locker key.
    · turn
    debatep.22
    She agrees to come back for one night.
    · choice
    act-outp.28
    She opens the locker. Three tapes.
    · reveal
    + add beat
    ACT IIp. 29 — 78
    fun & gamesp.29
    She plays the first tape. Static.
    · tease
    midpointp.42
    Marisol returns at night. Alone.
    · pay · p.4
    bad guysp.51
    The third tape is blank.
    · reversal
    all is lostp.58
    Caleb deletes the locker key.
    · low
    dark nightp.68
    They cut a fourth tape together.
    · shift
    + add beat
    ACT IIIp. 79 — 108
    break-inp.84
    The tape is found by the AD.
    · crisis
    climaxp.94
    Marisol plays it on the studio mains.
    · face
    final imagep.102
    The reels stop. Empty room. Light.
    · echo
    + add beat
    Drag to rearrange

    Move a beat from p.42 to p.36 and the script jumps. The card and the scene heading are the same object.

    Plants & pays

    Tag a beat as a plant; tag another as the pay. arqo draws the line between them and warns if the pay disappears.

    Diamond markers

    Inciting, midpoint, climax — the diamonds anchor the spine. Hide them on Pro; lock them on Studio.

    Templates

    Save the Three Act, Save the Cat, Harmon Circle, and many others — or you can build your own.

    §03

    Story Arcs

    how each character bends across the page · plants · pays · echoes
    arc · night tapes
    MARISOLCALEBTAPE
    ACT IACT IIACT IIIp.1p.12p.22p.29p.42p.51p.68p.84p.94p.102PLANT → PAY · 38 pages

    Arcs can help you visualize your story in new ways. Tag a line as a plant and arqo finds candidates for the pay. The arc you draw is the arc you ship.

    shows you
    • · crossings (where two arcs touch)
    • · flat stretches (no change in 14+ pages)
    • · unpaid plants (dotted in lime)
    • · echoes between distant scenes
    does not
    • − tell you the arc is wrong
    • − grade your story
    • − suggest "more conflict"
    §04

    Mind Mapper

    freeform canvas · cards become scenes · connect what doesn't have a place yet
    night-tapes · mind map
    6 cards3 bound
    ECHOPLANT → PAYPARALLEL
    COLD OPEN● bound
    reels in dawn light
    scene 01 · p.1
    THE TAPE○ idea
    a 90-min cassette · recorded once
    CALEB'S BROTHER○ idea
    the song that wasn't finished
    LOCKER KEY● bound
    plant · p.12
    scene 04 · p.12
    NIGHT VISIT● bound
    midpoint · Marisol alone in the booth
    scene 17 · p.42
    THE BLANK TAPE○ idea
    reversal · pay this
    + carddrag to connectbind to scene
    zoom · 100%
    6 cards · 7 edges · 3 bound to scenes● linked to script

    Some ideas don't have a scene yet. Drop a card on the canvas, write the thought, draw a line to whatever it touches. When the idea finds its page, bind it to a scene — the card stays, the script grows.

    Cards become scenes

    Bind a card to a scene and the card title shows the scene number. Unbind it and the card lives on as a standalone idea.

    Drag to connect

    Pull a thread from one card to another. Label it plant→pay, echo, contrast — or leave it as just a line.

    Storyline colors

    Same swatches as Beats and Threads. A red card here is a red card everywhere.

    Collapsible

    Cards start as title-only chips so the canvas doesn't explode. Click to expand the body inline.

    Live with co-writers

    Cursors, presence, and writes via Y.js — same realtime stack as the editor.

    what story tools are not
    It is nota story generator·a beat machine·a coverage robot·a "score your script"·a notes app·structure is a tool — not an opinion →
    §next

    The other five

    all six tools ship together · no upsell
    feature · 01
    Real-time co-write
    — CRDT · presence · comments
    COLLABopen →
    feature · 03
    Mobile first
    — phone · tablet · desktop
    DEVICESopen →
    feature · 04
    Production-ready
    — fdx · fountain · pdf
    EXPORTopen →
    feature · 05
    Inspire
    — daily prompts · exercises · streaks
    INSPIREopen →
    feature · 06
    Library
    — produced scripts · annotations
    LIBRARYopen →
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