AI Prompts for Storytelling

Help me create a deep, multi-dimensional character for my [genre] story.

Role in story: [protagonist / antagonist / supporting]
Setting: [time period and world]
Core conflict: [what the story is about]
Initial character concept: [brief sketch of who they are]

Build this character:
1. A backstory that explains their core motivation (what they want and WHY)
2. Their fatal flaw — the internal weakness that creates the story's tension
3. A contradiction that makes them feel real (e.g. brave but terrified of vulnerability)
4. 5 specific mannerisms, speech patterns, or habits that reveal personality
5. Their relationship to 2-3 other characters and what each relationship reveals
6. A character arc: who they are at the start vs. who they become by the end
7. The 'mirror moment' — the scene where the character sees who they've really been

Help me build a story bible for my [novel / series / screenplay].

Title: [working title]
Genre: [genre]
Premise: [2-3 sentence summary]
Current stage: [outlining / first draft / revising / expanding into series]

Build a comprehensive story bible covering:
1. One-page overview: premise, theme, tone, and target audience
2. Character profiles: name, age, appearance, role, motivation, flaw, arc, relationships, voice notes (for every named character)
3. Timeline: chronological event sequence including backstory events that predate the narrative
4. World rules: what's possible and impossible in this world (physics, magic, technology, social norms)
5. Location guide: every setting with sensory details, emotional associations, and which scenes take place there
6. Thematic threads: the 2-3 ideas the story explores and which scenes carry each thread
7. Open questions: plot holes, unresolved threads, and decisions still to be made
8. Continuity checklist: character descriptions, timeline consistency, and rule adherence to verify during revisions

Help me structure a plot for my [genre] story.

Premise: [one-sentence story concept]
Main character: [brief description]
Setting: [where and when]
Length: [short story / novella / novel]
Tone: [dark / humorous / literary / thriller / heartwarming]

Build the plot structure:
1. The hook: an opening scene that drops the reader into action or intrigue
2. The inciting incident: the event that disrupts the character's normal world
3. Rising action: 3-4 escalating complications that raise the stakes each time
4. The midpoint twist: a revelation that changes everything the reader assumed
5. The crisis: the moment the character must make an impossible choice
6. The climax: the confrontation where the character's arc is tested
7. Resolution: how the story ends (and what remains deliberately unresolved)
8. A subplot that mirrors or contradicts the main theme

Help me write a dialogue scene between [number] characters.

Characters involved:
- [Character A]: [personality, mood, goal in this scene]
- [Character B]: [personality, mood, goal in this scene]

Scene context: [where they are and what just happened]
Subtext: [what's really being discussed beneath the surface]
Tension level: [low / simmering / explosive]

Write the scene with:
1. Distinct voice for each character (different sentence length, vocabulary, rhythm)
2. Subtext — what they mean vs. what they say
3. Action beats between dialogue lines (not just 'he said / she said')
4. At least one moment where a character avoids answering directly
5. An emotional shift: the conversation should feel different at the end than the start
6. A closing line that lingers with the reader

Help me build a world for my [genre] story.

Core concept: [what makes this world different from ours]
Time period feel: [medieval / modern / futuristic / timeless]
Scale: [a single city / a country / an entire planet / a multiverse]
Magic/technology: [what rules apply — or what rules don't]
Themes: [what ideas this world is designed to explore]

Build the world:
1. The 3 rules that define how this world works differently from ours
2. Social structure: who has power and why (and who doesn't)
3. History: one pivotal event in the past that shaped the current world
4. Daily life: what an ordinary person's day looks like
5. Conflict: the central tension built into the world's design
6. Sensory details: what this world looks, sounds, smells, and feels like
7. The cost: what price does this world's unique feature exact on its inhabitants

This scene feels flat and I need help making it more compelling:

[Paste your scene or describe what happens]

What this scene needs to accomplish: [plot purpose]
Emotional tone I'm going for: [suspense / sadness / humor / wonder]
What I think is missing: [my instinct about the problem]

Rework this scene by:
1. Identifying the core problem: why this scene doesn't work yet
2. Adding a source of tension or conflict (even in quiet scenes)
3. Engaging at least 3 senses beyond just visual
4. Showing character emotion through action and body language, not narration
5. Cutting any line that doesn't serve character, plot, or atmosphere
6. Rewriting the opening and closing lines for maximum impact

Help me write a compelling opening for my [genre] story.

Story premise: [what the story is about]
Main character: [brief description]
Tone: [dark / whimsical / literary / fast-paced]
Length of opening: [first paragraph / first page / first chapter outline]

Generate:
1. 5 different opening line options with different hook strategies
2. For the best one: expand it into a full opening paragraph
3. A 'cold open' version that starts in the middle of action
4. A 'voice-driven' version that establishes character through narration
5. A 'mystery' version that opens with an unanswered question
6. Analysis: which opening works best for this specific story and why

My story has structural problems and I need help diagnosing them:

[Paste your outline, synopsis, or chapter-by-chapter summary]

Genre: [genre]
Target length: [short story / novella / novel]
What feels wrong: [my instinct — pacing drags, ending falls flat, middle sags, etc.]

Diagnose the structure:
1. Identify the story's actual spine: what is the through-line connecting beginning to end?
2. Map the pacing: where does the story accelerate, stall, or lose focus?
3. Check the escalation: does each complication genuinely raise the stakes, or do some repeat the same tension level?
4. Evaluate the midpoint: does it fundamentally change the story's direction or just add another problem?
5. Test the ending: is it earned by everything that came before, or does it arrive out of nowhere?
6. Recommend specific structural fixes: scenes to cut, combine, move, or add — with reasoning for each change