Best for
- Writers who want a visual workflow after completing a Storyform.
- Dramatica users moving from structural reports into scene and sequence planning.
- Teams that need to see which Storybeats belong in which Moments before drafting.
Dramatica Use Cases
Breaking a Storyform Into Storybeats and Moments in Subtxt
Open a completed Storyform in Subtxt, illustrate Signposts, break them into Progressions and Events, then weave the resulting Storybeats into Moments that can function like scenes or sequences.
Start in Subtxt, follow the guided steps, and leave with a concrete story-development artifact you can carry forward.
Story PlanningIntermediate25-45 minutes Start in SubtxtSubtxt Illustrating -> Plotting -> WritingStorybeat-to-Moment scene plan
What you need
- A completed Storyform available in Subtxt.
- Enough Storytelling or Illustration direction to make the first Storybeats concrete.
- Time to work Throughline by Throughline instead of trying to weave everything at once.
What you get
- A visible Storybeat hierarchy from Signposts to Progressions to Events.
- A practical way to decide whether a Progression, Event, or group of Storybeats should become a scene.
- A Moment plan that can move into Writing, Synopses, and exports.
Practical tips
- Start with one Throughline before weaving all four together.
- Treat Progressions as scene containers when possible, with Events as internal turns.
- Move to Plotting only after you can explain what each selected Storybeat contributes.
Starter prompt
Use this to kick off the workflow.
I want to use this completed Storyform to build a scene/sequence plan in Subtxt. Help me work Throughline by Throughline: illustrate the Signposts, break them into Progressions, break key Progressions into Events, then decide which Storybeats should be woven into Moments.Additional prompts
Use these when you need a narrower pass.
Ask Narrova for help with one Throughline
Help me evaluate this Throughline's Storybeats. Which Progressions feel like scene or sequence containers, and which Events should become internal turns?Clarify a Dramatic Scenario
Translate this Storybeat's Area of Exploration, Dramatic Function, and Area of Engagement into a practical scene-writing instruction.Prepare for Plotting
Based on these Storybeats, suggest which ones could be woven into the same Moment without losing Throughline clarity.Steps
Follow the sequence.
1
Open the Storyform in Subtxt
Start from the saved Storyform and enter Subtxt so the Forming, Illustrating, Plotting, and Writing workspaces share the same structure.
2
Move into Illustrating
Choose one Throughline and open the Storybeats tab. Work in Objective Story, Main Character, Influence Character, or Relationship Story on purpose.
3
Illustrate the Signposts
Begin at the broad act-level movement. Click Illustrate on each Signpost before breaking it down.
4
Break Signposts into Progressions
Use Breakdown to create smaller movements inside each Signpost. These Progressions often become your scene or sequence containers.
5
Break selected Progressions into Events
Use Breakdown again when a Progression needs finer-grained turns. Do not break down every Progression unless the story needs that level of detail.
6
Read the Dramatic Scenario
Use Area of Exploration, Dramatic Function, and Area of Engagement to understand what the beat is doing before turning it into Storytelling.
7
Weave Storybeats into Moments
Move into Plotting and attach relevant Storybeats to Moments. A Moment can hold Storybeats from multiple Throughlines when they belong in the same scene or sequence.
Deep dive
Why this works and how to run it.
Want to turn a completed Storyform into something closer to a scene or sequence board? Use Subtxt to break the Storyform into Storybeats, then weave those Storybeats into Moments.
Why this workflow is separate from the Narrova plan
Narrova is excellent for a printable working map. Subtxt is better when you want to actually build the structure in the platform.
The difference matters. A Narrova plan can tell you what the Storyform suggests. Subtxt lets you make those Storybeats real, revise them, break them down, and then place them into Moments that behave like scenes, sequences, chapters, set pieces, or any other storytelling unit you use.
Work Throughline by Throughline
Start in Illustrating and choose one Throughline:
- Objective Story for the external conflict everyone shares.
- Main Character for the personal Throughline the audience experiences from the inside.
- Influence Character for the alternative worldview pressing on the Main Character.
- Relationship Story for the central relationship’s changing pressure.
Then open the Storybeats tab. Stay with one Throughline long enough to understand its movement before trying to weave everything together.
Break broad movement into usable turns
The sequence is simple:
- Illustrate the Signpost.
- Break the Signpost into Progressions.
- Break selected Progressions into Events.
Do not assume more detail is always better. Some stories need all the Events. Others only need the Signposts and a few Progressions. The goal is not maximum granularity. The goal is enough structural pressure to make the story writable.
Read the Dramatic Scenario before writing the scene
Every Storybeat carries a Dramatic Scenario:
- Area of Exploration: what the beat is about.
- Dramatic Function: how the beat behaves in the circuit.
- Area of Engagement: how the audience encounters it.
For older Dramatica users, this is where PRCO and TKAD reappear in modern language. PRCO becomes Dramatic Function: Potential, Resistance, Current, Power. TKAD/KTAD becomes Area of Engagement: Situations, Activities, Aspirations, Contemplations.
That gives you a clear bridge into Storytelling:
What is being explored?
How does this beat function in the circuit?
How should the audience encounter it?
If you can answer those three questions, you can usually find the scene.
Use Progressions as scene or sequence containers
A practical rule: treat a Progression as a possible scene or sequence container, then use the child Events as internal turns.
For example, if the Progression explores Hope, and the Events move through Theory, Trust, Test, and Hunch, the scene is not merely “a Hope scene.” It is a scene where Hope is pressured by ideas, trust, testing, and intuition. That gives you shape, escalation, and a reason for the scene to turn.
Weave into Moments
After the Storybeats exist, move to Plotting and begin attaching them to Moments. A Moment is the storytelling container: a scene, sequence, chapter, set piece, or any other unit that makes sense for your draft.
Moments can hold Storybeats from multiple Throughlines. That is the point. A scene may carry Objective Story pressure, reveal something personal in the Main Character, let the Influence Character challenge the current worldview, and move the Relationship Story at the same time.
The discipline is to know which Storybeats you are weaving and why. Once that is clear, the Writing workspace can help you read the Storytelling flow, generate Synopses, and export more usable writing material.
The payoff
At the end of this workflow, you do not just have a list of scenes. You have a Storybeat-to-Moment plan: each Moment carries visible structural pressure, and each Storybeat still knows which Throughline, Signpost, Progression, or Event it belongs to.
That is the real upgrade from a static report. You can still print, review, and revise, but the plan stays connected to the living Storyform.