Skip to main content

💡 Planned Stories

A planned story is a story you mean to write, saved with only a title and a teaser, and "Planned stories" in the Studio is your backlog of them. This page will guide you through jotting down an idea, placing it in a topic, turning it into a draft and how readers see it before it is written.

Adding a planned story​

"Planned stories" holds stories you mean to write but have not placed yet.

  • Press "Plan a story".
  • Type a "Title" and, if you like, a "Teaser (optional)" of one or two lines readers would see before it is written.
  • Press "Plan story".

Each row has "Start writing", which opens the story as a draft, and a bin button to delete it.

You can also plan a story straight into a topic: in a story's "What comes next", press "Plan a new story", or in "Story structure" press "Plan this story". See Threads and choices.

Placing a planned story in a topic​

A planned story in the backlog belongs to no topic until you attach it. To attach one:

  • Open a story in the topic, at the point where the planned story should follow.
  • Under "What comes next", press "Use a planned story".
  • Pick it from the list.

This ensures the idea sits where you meant it to, even if you write it weeks later.

How readers see planned stories​

Once a planned story sits in a published topic, readers see it as a "Coming soon" card with its title and teaser. They cannot open it, and on the map it shows as "Coming soon". If it is the last story on a path, its gem socket shows as locked. See Endings and gems.

Writing a planned story​

Press "Start writing" on its row, or open it from the topic and choose "Draft" in "Publishing". The title and teaser carry over. A planned story cannot be published or scheduled until it is a draft with a body. See Drafts and publishing.

Best Practices​

  • Keep ideas short: a title and a teaser is enough to remember a story by.
  • Write teasers for readers: a planned story in a published topic is public as a "Coming soon" card.
  • Clear out stale ideas: delete planned stories you no longer mean to write.