Diagrams
Diagrams are a drawing surface for the parts of a story that are easier drawn than written: node graphs you lay out and label yourself, such as a magic system, a conspiracy or a family's line of succession.
What is a diagram? #
A named canvas of nodes and the connections between them. Unlike the relations graph, a diagram is not drawn from your records automatically. The graph shows what the project already knows; a diagram shows what you think, including things no record covers yet.
Creating a diagram #
- In Diagrams, choose Create Diagram and name it.
- Choose Add node, then Create text node for a label with a description, or Create entity node for a card showing one of your records, such as a character or a location.
- Drag from the edge of one node to another to connect them.
Nodes snap to a grid as you move them. When you open a diagram, it zooms to fit everything on it. The diagram editor needs a wider screen than a phone.
Editing a diagram #
- The pencil on a node opens Edit node, where you change its text or the record it shows.
- Select a node or connection and press Delete, or choose Delete selected, to remove it.
- Diagram settings change the Edge type (curved, straight or stepped lines) and the Background style.
With collaboration on, changes other people make appear while you have the diagram open.
What can I use diagrams for? #
- A magic system's rules and what depends on what.
- A conspiracy: who knows what, and who believes whom.
- Inheritance, succession, a family tree with contested branches.
- The plumbing of a plot: which reveal has to land before another one makes sense.
Diagram or brainstorm board? #
| Use | Surface |
|---|---|
| Thinking, unstructured, nothing decided | Brainstorm board |
| A labelled drawing of how something works | Diagrams |
A brainstorm board gets cleared; a diagram gets kept and consulted. It is reference material about the world rather than about the writing.
When your thinking settles into a sequence, this happens and then this, it has become a plotline.
Tips #
- Use entity nodes for anything that already has a record, so the diagram shows the record's current details.
- Diagrams have no undo, so check what is selected before you delete.
- Keep one diagram per question: one for the magic system, another for the succession.
- When the story changes, update the diagram or delete it. An out-of-date drawing looks authoritative and misleads.
Related #
- Relations — the graph drawn from your records' relations.
- Brainstorm — a whiteboard for loose ideas.
- Plotlines — put events into story order.
- Characters — family trees drawn from character relations.