5.4 KiB
Continuity Explorer
Overview
The Continuity Explorer is a dedicated tool within PlotDirector designed to allow authors to visualise and trace the state of their fictional world throughout a story.
Unlike the existing Scene Inspector, which focuses primarily on editing the current scene, the Continuity Explorer provides a global view of how Characters, Assets, and Locations evolve over time.
The goal is to answer questions such as:
- Where is the murder weapon at this point in the story?
- Which characters have been inside the library?
- Who possessed the diary before Beth found it?
- What was the state of the world during Scene 42?
- Are there continuity issues caused by characters or objects appearing in impossible locations?
This feature is particularly valuable for mysteries, thrillers, fantasy novels, historical fiction, and any work involving large casts or numerous interconnected locations.
Objectives
The Continuity Explorer should allow authors to:
- View the complete story state at any point in the timeline.
- Track the movement of characters between locations.
- Track the movement and ownership of assets.
- Examine the history of individual characters, assets, or locations.
- Identify continuity problems before publication.
- Reduce reliance on external notes and spreadsheets.
Core Concepts
Story State
Story State represents the author's current understanding of the fictional world at a particular scene.
If an entity has not explicitly moved since its last appearance, its previous state is assumed to remain valid.
Explicit State
The entity's state was directly set within the selected scene.
Examples:
- Beth enters the kitchen.
- The revolver is placed inside the desk.
Inferred State
The entity has not been updated since an earlier scene.
Examples:
- Beth remains in the kitchen.
- The revolver remains inside the desk.
The last scene in which the state was explicitly confirmed should always be displayed.
Access Points
1. Scene Inspector Integration
A new tab should be added:
Story State
Purpose:
Provide immediate continuity information while writing.
This view is scene-specific and read-only.
2. Continuity Explorer Page
A dedicated navigation item:
Continuity Explorer
Purpose:
Allow detailed investigation of continuity throughout the project.
Filter Panel
Users may filter by:
- Characters
- Assets
- Locations
Multiple types may be selected simultaneously.
Scene Range
Options:
- Entire Project
- Specific Book
- Specific Chapter
- Custom Scene Range
Display Mode
Full Timeline
Display every scene.
Changes Only
Display only scenes where the selected entity changed state.
Views
Story State View
Answers:
"What does the world look like at Scene X?"
Displays:
- Characters and locations
- Assets and ownership
- Locations with occupants and contents
Character Journey View
Answers:
"Where has this character been?"
Supports:
- Table view
- Timeline view
Asset Journey View
Answers:
"Where has this object been?"
Supports:
- Table view
- Timeline view
Location Activity View
Answers:
"What happened in this location?"
Shows:
- Characters present
- Assets present
- Changes over time
Combined Tracking View
Allows multiple entities to be displayed together to reveal relationships and continuity issues.
Visual Timeline View (Future Enhancement)
Provide a horizontal timeline showing movement patterns.
Example:
SCENE →
Beth: Bedroom → Kitchen → Library → Study
Knife: Library → Beth → Evidence Locker
Diary: Library → Study
Continuity Warnings (Future Enhancement)
Potential warnings include:
- Impossible movement
- Asset discrepancies
- Multiple locations
- Missing states
Technical Requirements
Story State calculations should be generated dynamically.
Initial implementation should reuse existing:
- Character Appearance records
- Asset State records
- Scene chronology
For each selected scene:
- Identify all Characters, Assets, and Locations.
- Search backwards through prior scenes.
- Retrieve the most recent explicit state.
- Carry state forwards until superseded.
- Mark whether the displayed state is Explicit or Inferred.
Performance Considerations
Large projects may contain:
- 100+ Characters
- 500+ Assets
- Thousands of Scenes
Potential optimisation:
Pre-compute continuity snapshots during project save operations.
Phase 1 Scope
Included
- Story State tab within Scene Inspector
- Continuity Explorer page
- Character Journey View
- Asset Journey View
- Location Activity View
- Combined Tracking View
- Changes Only filtering
- Explicit/Inferred state indicators
Excluded
- Automatic continuity warnings
- Visual movement diagrams
- Snapshot persistence
- AI continuity suggestions
Expected Benefits
Authors gain immediate visibility into their fictional world.
Continuity errors become easier to identify.
Complex mysteries become significantly easier to manage.
PlotDirector moves beyond planning software and becomes an active continuity assistant.
The Continuity Explorer transforms PlotDirector from a repository of information into a system capable of understanding and tracking the evolving state of a story.
Rather than asking:
"Where did I write that?"
Authors can ask:
"Where was everyone and everything when this happened?"