---
title: Story Assets
category: Story Assets
tags: assets, clues, objects, continuity, secrets
contextKey: storyAssets.overview
micro: Track important objects, clues, documents, secrets and other story items.
quickTitle: What are Story Assets?
quickSummary: Story Assets help you follow objects, clues and important information as they appear, change hands or affect the plot.
screenshot:
---

# Overview

Story Assets are important things that move through the story or matter to the plot. They might be physical objects, clues, documents, weapons, letters, heirlooms, passwords, secrets, debts, promises or pieces of evidence. If something has continuity weight, PlotDirector can treat it as an asset.

An asset does not have to be glamorous. A hotel key, a torn photograph, a train ticket or a missing notebook can be more important than a dramatic artefact if it affects what characters know or what they can do. The purpose of asset tracking is to stop important items becoming vague once the plot becomes busy.

Story Assets are especially useful for mysteries, thrillers, fantasy, historical fiction and any story where objects, clues or information need to appear at the right time and in the right hands.

# When Should I Use This?

Create a Story Asset when you need to remember where something is, who has it, what state it is in, or why it matters. If an item appears once as flavour, you probably do not need an asset. If it is discovered, hidden, lost, damaged, transferred, decoded, revealed or used later, it is worth tracking.

Assets can also represent non-physical story items. A secret identity, a rumour, a legal claim or a promise can function like an asset if it passes between characters or changes the direction of the plot.

# How To Use It

Start with a clear asset name and type. Add a short description that explains what the asset is in story terms. Use importance to mark how much attention it deserves. A low-importance asset may be background continuity; a high-importance asset may drive major plot turns.

Link assets to scenes when they appear, change state or become relevant. Record notes about possession, visibility, condition or meaning. If an asset depends on another asset, such as a locked diary requiring a key, use dependency tracking to keep the chain clear.

When revising, check whether important assets are introduced early enough, disappear for too long, or reappear without enough preparation.

# Example

Asset: "Silver Locket"

Description: "A locket found in the nursery, engraved with initials Rebecca does not recognise."

It first appears as a clue, later passes to Beth, and finally reveals a family connection. Tracking it as an asset helps you know which scenes contain the locket and who understands its meaning at each point.

# Writer Tip

Track the reader's relationship to the asset, not only the object's location. An object can be physically present long before its significance is clear. Those delayed meanings are often where good payoffs live.

# Common Mistakes

- Tracking only physical objects and forgetting secrets, documents and promises.
- Introducing a vital asset too late for its payoff to feel earned.
- Moving an asset between characters without recording the handover scene.
- Letting an asset vanish after setup, then return as if the reader should remember it.

# Related Guides

- [Scenes](/Help/Article/scenes.overview)
- [Characters](/Help/Article/characters.overview)
- [Locations](/Help/Article/locations.overview)
