Phase 3E Help System

PlotLine/Help/Articles/Chapters/Overview.md

@@ -0,0 +1,57 @@
+---
+title: Chapters
+category: Chapters
+tags: chapters, structure, pacing, scenes
+contextKey: chapters.overview
+micro: Group scenes into readable story movements and keep each chapter focused.
+quickTitle: What are Chapters?
+quickSummary: Chapters gather scenes into manageable story movements, helping you control pace, tension and reader expectation.
+screenshot:
+---
+
+# Overview
+
+Chapters are the reader-facing containers that turn a sequence of scenes into a shaped reading experience. In PlotWeaver Studio, a chapter belongs to a book and contains one or more scenes. The chapter does not need to carry every detail of the action. Its job is to help you organise the narrative, decide where a reader enters and leaves a movement, and keep the rhythm of the book visible.
+
+Think of a chapter as a purposeful stretch of story. It may cover one continuous sequence, a set of related beats, a shift in point of view, or a deliberate contrast between scenes. Some writers plan chapters before drafting. Others draft scenes first and only later decide where chapter breaks should fall. PlotWeaver Studio supports both approaches because the scenes remain the core building blocks.
+
+# When Should I Use This?
+
+Use chapters when you want to group scenes into a readable flow. A chapter is useful when several scenes share a mini-arc, a location, a time period, a character focus, or a question that the reader should carry forward. Chapters are also helpful for checking whether your book has too many long stretches without a shift in mood, point of view or consequence.
+
+Do not worry if chapter boundaries change. In early planning, a chapter may be little more than a holding place. As the story grows, you can refine titles, summaries and order so the structure reflects the actual book rather than the first outline.
+
+# How To Use It
+
+Start by giving the chapter a clear number and, if useful, a working title. Add a short summary that explains the chapter's function rather than recounting every scene. For example, "Beth realises the house is not empty" is often more useful than a long list of actions.
+
+Add scenes in the order the reader will experience them. If the chapter starts to feel crowded, consider whether it actually contains two movements. If it feels thin, check whether the scenes are doing enough work or whether they belong inside a neighbouring chapter.
+
+Use the chapter page to review the scene list, open individual scenes, and move into the timeline when you need a wider view of the surrounding story.
+
+# Example
+
+A chapter might contain three scenes:
+
+- Scene 1: Maggie arrives at the hotel and notices the locked ballroom.
+- Scene 2: Beth warns her not to ask about the old photographs.
+- Scene 3: Maggie finds a photograph of herself taken before she was born.
+
+The chapter summary could be: "Maggie enters the hotel mystery and receives the first impossible clue." That summary tells you what the chapter does in the book.
+
+# Writer Tip
+
+Give each chapter a reason to exist. A good test is to ask: what changes for the reader by the end of this chapter? They may know a new fact, fear a new danger, understand a character differently, or feel a stronger question pulling them forward.
+
+# Common Mistakes
+
+- Treating chapter summaries as full synopses instead of quick structural notes.
+- Keeping a chapter intact after its scenes have clearly split into different story movements.
+- Ending every chapter at the same emotional level, which can flatten pacing.
+- Forgetting that a quiet chapter still needs movement, pressure or consequence.
+
+# Related Guides
+
+- [Scenes](/Help/Article/scenes.overview)
+- [Characters](/Help/Article/characters.overview)
+- [Story Assets](/Help/Article/storyAssets.overview)

PlotLine/Help/Articles/Characters/Overview.md

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+---
+title: Characters
+category: Characters
+tags: characters, cast, relationships, arcs
+contextKey: characters.overview
+micro: Track cast members, appearances, relationships and the shape of character change.
+quickTitle: What are Characters?
+quickSummary: Characters help you manage your cast, follow their story presence and keep emotional and relationship continuity clear.
+screenshot:
+---
+
+# Overview
+
+Characters are the people, beings or important figures who move through your story. PlotWeaver Studio treats characters as more than a name in a list. A character can appear in scenes, carry knowledge, form relationships, connect to story assets, move between locations and develop an arc across the book or series.
+
+You can use character records lightly at first. A name and a short description are enough to begin. As the story becomes more complex, the same record can grow into a continuity anchor: where the character appears, what they know, how they feel, what relationships have changed, and which scenes matter most to their journey.
+
+This is especially useful in series writing, ensemble casts, mysteries and stories with secrets. The more moving parts your story has, the more valuable it becomes to know exactly where a character is, what they have seen, and what the reader understands about them.
+
+# When Should I Use This?
+
+Create a character when a person matters enough to track across scenes. Main characters, recurring supporting characters, suspects, family members, witnesses, antagonists and important off-page figures usually deserve records.
+
+You do not need to create a full record for every unnamed passer-by. If someone only appears once and has no continuity weight, a scene note may be enough. If they might return, affect a relationship, know something important, or carry an asset, create a character.
+
+# How To Use It
+
+Start with the character's display name and a short description. Add details that help you identify them quickly while planning. Then assign the character to scenes where they appear. Scene appearances are important because they allow the rest of the system to answer questions such as: when did this character last appear, where were they, and what did they know at that point?
+
+Use relationship tools to record initial relationships and later changes. A character may begin as a stranger, become a friend, and later be revealed as family. PlotWeaver Studio keeps that evolution visible without erasing the past.
+
+For revision, use character pages to look for long absences, uneven appearances and key scenes that define an arc.
+
+# Example
+
+Beth may begin as "housekeeper, guarded, knows more than she admits". She appears in early scenes as a warning presence, later becomes an ally, and eventually is revealed as Rebecca's sister. Her character record helps track that she was present for several clues before the reader understood their meaning.
+
+# Writer Tip
+
+Separate what the author knows from what the character knows. A character record can contain your private planning knowledge, while scene appearances and knowledge notes help track what the character has actually learned inside the story.
+
+# Common Mistakes
+
+- Creating rich biographies but not linking characters to scenes.
+- Forgetting to update relationship changes when the story reveals new information.
+- Treating character descriptions as fixed when the reader's understanding of the character evolves.
+- Tracking only protagonists and losing continuity for important supporting characters.
+
+# Related Guides
+
+- [Scenes](/Help/Article/scenes.overview)
+- [Locations](/Help/Article/locations.overview)
+- [Story Assets](/Help/Article/storyAssets.overview)

PlotLine/Help/Articles/Locations/Overview.md

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+---
+title: Locations
+category: Locations
+tags: locations, setting, continuity, movement
+contextKey: locations.overview
+micro: Track places, movement, spatial continuity and how settings affect scenes.
+quickTitle: What are Locations?
+quickSummary: Locations help you manage story places, keep character movement believable and make setting part of the plot.
+screenshot:
+---
+
+# Overview
+
+Locations are the places where your story happens. They can be broad settings, such as a city or estate, or specific places, such as a bedroom, kitchen, railway platform, office, cellar or garden path. PlotWeaver Studio uses locations to support both atmosphere and continuity.
+
+A location is not only scenery. It affects what characters can see, hear, hide, discover and misunderstand. In a tightly plotted story, the distance between rooms may matter. In a mystery, who could hear a conversation may matter. In a romance, returning to the same place after an emotional change may matter. Locations give those details a stable home.
+
+You can begin with a simple list of important places and add detail later. As your project grows, location relationships and scene links help you understand how characters move through the world of the story.
+
+# When Should I Use This?
+
+Create a location when a place appears more than once, affects continuity, or shapes the action. A named house, shop, school, hospital ward or train carriage may deserve a record. A vague background street probably does not, unless it becomes important later.
+
+Use locations whenever spatial logic matters. If a character enters from the landing, exits to the kitchen, overhears something through a wall, or hides an asset in a locked cupboard, location tracking can prevent confusion during revision.
+
+# How To Use It
+
+Start by naming the location clearly. Add a short description that captures what a writer needs to remember: layout, mood, access, important objects, or story significance. If locations relate to each other, record that relationship. For example, a bedroom may connect to a landing, a cellar may be beneath the kitchen, or an office may overlook a courtyard.
+
+Assign locations to scenes and scene characters where useful. A scene can have a primary location, while characters can have current, entry and exit locations. This is especially helpful when validation warns that a character has no location set.
+
+During revision, use location information to check whether movement, sightlines and timing make sense.
+
+# Example
+
+Location: "Blue Bedroom"
+
+Description: "A guest bedroom at the back of the house, cold even in summer, with a locked connecting door to the nursery."
+
+Scenes in this room might involve Rebecca finding a clue, Beth refusing to enter, and later the connecting door being opened. Tracking it as a location keeps the physical logic and emotional meaning together.
+
+# Writer Tip
+
+Let locations carry story pressure. A place can become more tense each time the reader returns to it, especially if new knowledge changes what the same room means.
+
+# Common Mistakes
+
+- Creating locations only as decorative settings rather than story spaces.
+- Forgetting entry and exit locations when several characters move through a scene.
+- Changing a building layout in revision without updating earlier scenes.
+- Treating a location's emotional meaning as static when events have changed it.
+
+# Related Guides
+
+- [Scenes](/Help/Article/scenes.overview)
+- [Characters](/Help/Article/characters.overview)
+- [Story Assets](/Help/Article/storyAssets.overview)

PlotLine/Help/Articles/Scenes/Overview.md

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+---
+title: Scenes
+category: Scenes
+tags: scenes, structure, pacing, metrics, purpose
+contextKey: scenes.overview
+micro: Plan each story beat with purpose, time, consequences and emotional shape.
+quickTitle: What are Scenes?
+quickSummary: Scenes are the core building blocks of PlotWeaver Studio, where story action, character change and continuity details come together.
+screenshot:
+---
+
+# Overview
+
+Scenes are the heart of PlotWeaver Studio. A scene is a single unit of story action: something happens, someone wants something, pressure changes, and the reader leaves with a different understanding than they had before. Books and chapters provide structure, but scenes are where the story actually moves.
+
+In PlotWeaver Studio, a scene can hold its title, summary, time information, revision status, purpose, outcome, character appearances, assets, locations, attachments and metrics. You do not need to fill every field immediately. The point is to give you a practical place to capture the details that matter when you are planning, drafting or revising.
+
+The scene editor is also designed to support continuity. If a character enters from one location and exits to another, if an object changes hands, or if the emotional weight spikes sharply, the scene is the place where that evidence belongs.
+
+# When Should I Use This?
+
+Use a scene whenever the reader would experience a distinct story beat. A new scene might begin because the location changes, time jumps, the point-of-view character changes, the goal changes, or the emotional situation resets.
+
+You may also create placeholder scenes while outlining. A placeholder can simply say, "Beth discovers the letter" or "Confrontation in the kitchen". Later, you can return to add timing, participants, scene purposes and metrics.
+
+# How To Use It
+
+Start with the essentials: scene title, scene number, summary and revision status. Then add time information if it matters to the story. Exact dates are useful for tightly plotted mysteries, thrillers or historical fiction. Relative time is often enough for looser drafts, such as "later that night" or "three weeks after the funeral".
+
+Use scene purposes to mark what the scene is doing: reveal, payoff, relationship development, action, transition, setup and so on. Purpose notes help explain why the scene belongs in the story. Outcome notes capture what has changed by the end.
+
+Use metric sliders to sketch the shape of the scene. Overall Intensity, Tension and Emotional Weight are especially useful for spotting flat stretches or accidental repetition.
+
+# Example
+
+Scene title: "The Locked Nursery"
+
+Summary: "Rebecca enters the nursery despite Beth's warning and finds a modern toy hidden inside an antique cradle."
+
+Purpose: Reveal, Mystery, Character Development
+
+Outcome: "Rebecca no longer trusts Beth's explanation of the house."
+
+Metrics might show moderate action, high mystery and rising emotional weight.
+
+# Writer Tip
+
+Every scene should create a change. The change can be external, emotional, informational or relational, but something should be different by the end. If nothing changes, the scene may be exposition wearing a costume.
+
+# Common Mistakes
+
+- Writing a scene summary that describes atmosphere but not story movement.
+- Forgetting to record who appears in the scene, which weakens later continuity checks.
+- Marking every scene as high intensity, leaving the timeline with no peaks or rests.
+- Treating scene purposes as labels only instead of using notes to clarify why the scene matters.
+
+# Related Guides
+
+- [Chapters](/Help/Article/chapters.overview)
+- [Characters](/Help/Article/characters.overview)
+- [Locations](/Help/Article/locations.overview)

PlotLine/Help/Articles/StoryAssets/Overview.md

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+---
+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, PlotWeaver Studio 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)

PlotLine/Views/Chapters/Details.cshtml

@@ -32,7 +32,7 @@
             <a asp-controller="Projects" asp-action="Details" asp-route-id="@Model.Project.ProjectID">@Model.Project.ProjectName</a>
             / <a asp-controller="Books" asp-action="Details" asp-route-id="@Model.Book.BookID">@Model.Book.BookTitle</a>
         </p>
-        <h1>Chapter @Model.Chapter.ChapterNumber: @Model.Chapter.ChapterTitle</h1>
+        <h1>Chapter @Model.Chapter.ChapterNumber: @Model.Chapter.ChapterTitle <help-icon key="chapters.overview" /></h1>
         @if (!string.IsNullOrWhiteSpace(Model.Chapter.Summary))
         {
             <p class="lead-text">@Model.Chapter.Summary</p>

PlotLine/Views/Characters/Index.cshtml

@@ -19,7 +19,7 @@
 <div class="page-heading">
     <div>
         <p class="eyebrow">Characters</p>
-        <h1>@Model.Project.ProjectName</h1>
+        <h1>@Model.Project.ProjectName <help-icon key="characters.overview" /></h1>
     </div>
     <div class="button-row">
         <a class="btn btn-outline-secondary" asp-controller="Projects" asp-action="Details" asp-route-id="@Model.Project.ProjectID">Project</a>

PlotLine/Views/Locations/Index.cshtml

@@ -19,7 +19,7 @@
 <div class="page-heading compact">
     <div>
         <p class="eyebrow">Locations</p>
-        <h1>@Model.Project.ProjectName</h1>
+        <h1>@Model.Project.ProjectName <help-icon key="locations.overview" /></h1>
     </div>
     <a class="btn btn-primary" asp-action="Create" asp-route-projectId="@Model.Project.ProjectID">New location</a>
 </div>

PlotLine/Views/Scenes/Edit.cshtml

@@ -39,7 +39,7 @@
 <div class="page-heading compact">
     <div>
         <p class="eyebrow">@Model.Book?.BookTitle / Chapter @Model.Chapter?.ChapterNumber</p>
-        <h1>@ViewData["Title"]</h1>
+        <h1>@ViewData["Title"] <help-icon key="scenes.overview" /></h1>
     </div>
     <div class="button-row">
         @if (Model.SceneID > 0)

PlotLine/Views/StoryAssets/Index.cshtml

@@ -18,8 +18,8 @@
 
 <div class="page-heading">
     <div>
-        <p class="eyebrow">Story assets <help-icon key="storyAssets.overview" /></p>
-        <h1>@Model.Project.ProjectName</h1>
+        <p class="eyebrow">Story assets</p>
+        <h1>@Model.Project.ProjectName <help-icon key="storyAssets.overview" /></h1>
     </div>
     <div class="button-row">
         <a class="btn btn-outline-secondary" asp-controller="Projects" asp-action="Details" asp-route-id="@Model.Project.ProjectID">Project</a>