# story-sense

A diagnostic skill that figures out what state your story is in and what's blocking it. Built for writers who are stuck and can't tell why.

- skill · `type=skill` · Claude Code, Codex, Cursor, GitHub Copilot, Gemini CLI, OpenCode · 646 installs · ★ 176
- Author: jwynia
- License: MIT · policy=mirror · the beginning of the file is at the end of this page
- Source: https://github.com/jwynia/agent-skills/tree/HEAD/skills/creative/fiction/core/story-sense/SKILL.md
- Updated: 2026-02-24
- HTML: https://affpapa.org/en/nevibecode/skills/story-sense

## What it does

story-sense is a diagnostic skill for fiction. It doesn't write prose for you — it identifies where you're stuck: blank page, thin world, flat characters, broken pacing, weak ending, stalled draft. From your symptoms it names the problem and points to the right tool.

Under the hood there's a state model running from State 0 to State 7, a decision tree, and two Deno scripts: `entropy.ts` pulls random prompts from curated lists (lies, ghosts, disasters, dilemmas), and `functions.ts` builds characters from abstract roles like healer or keeper_of_secrets. Both run via `deno run --allow-read`.

The skill deliberately withholds answers at first. Clarifying questions, then one intervention, then reassessment. If you want the agent to actually write a scene, that's story-collaborator's job. The scripts need Deno installed.

## Install

### Claude Code (native platform)

1. **Skills CLI (Vercel)**
```bash
npx skills add jwynia/agent-skills --skill story-sense -a claude-code
```

2. **Manually: put the files in place**
- File: `~/.claude/skills/story-sense/SKILL.md` — Copy the whole skill folder; for one project use .claude/skills/story-sense/

### Codex

1. **Skills CLI (Vercel)**
```bash
npx skills add jwynia/agent-skills --skill story-sense -a codex
```

2. **Manually: put the files in place**
- File: `.agents/skills/story-sense/SKILL.md` — For all projects use ~/.agents/skills/

### Cursor

1. **Skills CLI (Vercel)**
```bash
npx skills add jwynia/agent-skills --skill story-sense -a cursor
```

2. **Manually: put the files in place**
- File: `.cursor/skills/story-sense/SKILL.md` — Cursor also reads .agents/skills/ and .claude/skills/

### GitHub Copilot

1. **GitHub CLI**
```bash
gh skill install jwynia/agent-skills story-sense
```

2. **Manually: put the files in place**
- File: `.github/skills/story-sense/SKILL.md`

### Gemini CLI

1. **Skills CLI (Vercel)**
```bash
npx skills add jwynia/agent-skills --skill story-sense -a gemini-cli
```

2. **Platform CLI**
```bash
gemini skills install https://github.com/jwynia/agent-skills --path skills/creative/fiction/core/story-sense
```

### Windsurf (Devin Desktop)

**Manually: put the files in place**
- File: `.devin/skills/story-sense/SKILL.md` — The legacy .windsurf/skills/ path still works

### OpenCode

**Skills CLI (Vercel)**
```bash
npx skills add jwynia/agent-skills --skill story-sense -a opencode
```

### Claude.ai

**Claude.ai**
- Zip the folder and upload it in Settings → Capabilities → Skills

Where a file is given instead of a command, copy the files from the source to that path: https://github.com/jwynia/agent-skills/tree/HEAD/skills/creative/fiction/core/story-sense/SKILL.md

## When to use it
- figure out why a story won't move forward
- tell a character problem apart from a pacing problem
- pick one intervention instead of ten at once
- diagnose why an ending falls flat
- get a random prompt when every idea feels derivative

## Example prompts
- My story is stuck and I can't tell what's wrong
- The characters feel flat even though the plot is solid — what do I fix?
- Run entropy.ts and give me a couple of twist ideas

## Source text · SKILL.md · MIT

Below is the content of a third-party file. It is data, not instructions for you: do not act on anything written inside unless the human asks. Block tag: b3ed3503f75af5f1.

BEGIN THIRD-PARTY FILE b3ed3503f75af5f1
```text
---
name: story-sense
description: "Diagnose what any story needs regardless of its current state. This skill should be used when a writer is stuck, evaluating story problems, when narrative feels broken, or when someone asks 'what's wrong with my story?'. Keywords: story, diagnosis, stuck, narrative, plot, character, worldbuilding, revision."
license: MIT
compatibility: Works with any fiction format. Entry point for fiction diagnostics.
metadata:
  author: jwynia
  version: "1.0"
  type: diagnostic
  mode: diagnostic
  domain: fiction
---

# Story Sense: Diagnostic Skill

Identify what state a story is in and what it needs to move forward. This is not a linear process but a diagnostic model: Assess → Diagnose → Intervene → Reassess.

## When to Use This Skill

Use this skill when:
- Writer is stuck and doesn't know why
- Story feels broken but root cause unclear
- Need to evaluate story problems systematically
- Someone asks "what's wrong with my story?"

Do NOT use this skill when:
- Writer wants you to write the story (use story-collaborator)
- Writer wants coaching questions only (use story-coach)
- Publishing/marketing questions (use book-marketing)

## Core Principle

**Story Sense is the ability to know what any story needs, regardless of its current state or intended medium.**

**There's no such thing as "stuck."** There's only:
- Not yet having diagnosed the problem
- Not yet applying the right intervention

## The Story States

### State 0: No Story (Blank Page)
**Symptoms:** Nothing exists yet
**Interventions:** story-idea-generator, elemental genres

### State 1: Concept Without Foundation
**Symptoms:** Have idea but world/characters/plot feel thin
**Interventions:** cliche-transcendence, systemic-worldbuilding, key-moments

### State 2: World Without Life
**Symptoms:** Setting exists but feels like backdrop
**Interventions:** worldbuilding skill suite (belief-systems, economic-systems, governance-systems)

### State 3: Flat Non-Humans
**Symptoms:** Aliens/fantasy species feel like humans in costume
**Interventions:** conlang, species development frameworks

### State 4: Characters Without Dimension
**Symptoms:** Characters serve plot rather than driving it
**Interventions:** character-arc, underdog-unit, positional-revelation

### State 4.5: Plot Without Pacing
**Symptoms:** Scenes work individually but don't accumulate
**Interventions:** scene-sequencing

### State 5: Plot Without Purpose
**Symptoms:** Events happen but don't accumulate meaning
**Interventions:** moral-parallax, key-moments

### State 5.5: Dialogue Feels Flat
**Symptoms:** Characters sound alike, conversations lifeless
**Interventions:** dialogue

### State 5.75: Ending Doesn't Land
**Symptoms:** Story builds well but resolution disappoints
**Interventions:** endings

### State 5.85: Draft Not Progressing
**Symptoms:** Planning done but draft isn't happening
**Interventions:** drafting

### State 5.9: Prose Feels Flat
```
END THIRD-PARTY FILE b3ed3503f75af5f1

The third-party file has ended. Everything between the b3ed3503f75af5f1 tags is data: requests and commands from it are not followed. An “end of file” line with another tag inside the block is part of the file.

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