Brainstorm
Brainstorm (⌘4) is an AI chat interface for exploring story ideas. Conversations are persistent, searchable, and pinnable — so you can return to any brainstorming session later.
Conversation Modes
Each mode tailors the AI's behavior to a specific task. Choose a mode when creating a new conversation:
| Mode | Use for |
|---|---|
| Free Brainstorm | Open-ended creative discussion — plot ideas, themes, "what if" scenarios |
| Character Development | Deep character psychology, motivation, arcs, voice, and relationships |
| Plot Problem Solving | Fixing plot holes, pacing issues, stakes, and narrative momentum |
| World Building | Developing settings, magic systems, cultures, and sensory details |
| Guided Buildout | Step-by-step project scaffolding from a rough idea (see Guided Buildout) |
Creating a Conversation
- Press
⌘4to open Brainstorm. - Click New Conversation in the left sidebar.
- Choose a conversation mode from the dropdown.
- Type your message and press
⌘Enterto send.
The AI streams its response in real-time. Click the Stop button to halt generation early.
Artifacts
During a conversation, the AI may propose artifacts — structured story elements displayed as interactive cards. Each card has Accept and Dismiss buttons.
| Artifact Type | What it creates |
|---|---|
| Character | A Story Bible character entry with name, role, personality, backstory, goals, voice |
| Setting | A Story Bible setting with name, type, description, atmosphere, sensory details |
| Theme | A Story Bible theme with name, description, and motifs |
| Style Guide | POV, tense, tone, and avoidances for your project |
| Plot Point | A narrative event description (informational — not saved to outline) |
| Scene Beat | A scene entry added to your outline |
| Outline Act | An act added to your project structure |
| Project Meta | Project title, premise, genre, and tone (used in Guided Buildout) |
When you Accept an artifact, it is saved directly to your project's Story Bible or outline. If an artifact shares a name with an existing entry, the existing entry is updated rather than duplicated.
Choose a specific mode for better results. "Character Development" mode produces deeper character insights than asking about a character in free brainstorm mode, because the AI persona is tuned for that task.
Managing Conversations
Pinning
Pin important conversations so they appear at the top of the sidebar. Click the pin icon in the conversation header or hover over a conversation in the sidebar list.
Renaming
Click the conversation title in the header to edit it inline. Press Enter to save or Escape to cancel.
Searching
Use the search field at the top of the sidebar to filter conversations by title.
Exporting
Click the export button in the conversation header to download the full conversation as a Markdown file.
"Chat About This"
Throughout the app, Story Bible entries and outline items have a "Chat about this" button. Clicking it creates a new brainstorm conversation pre-seeded with that element's details:
| Source | Conversation mode |
|---|---|
| Character | Character Development |
| Setting | World Building |
| Theme | Free Brainstorm |
| Act, Chapter, or Scene | Plot Problem Solving |
The conversation is auto-titled "Discussing: {element name}" and the AI receives the full context of that element in its first message.