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.
Visual Brainstorm
The Visual Brainstorm generates AI-powered suggestions for any node in your project. The experience adapts to the view you're in:
Outline View — Side Panel
- Click the brain icon (pink) on any Act, Chapter, or Scene card.
- A suggestion panel slides in from the right edge of the screen.
- The AI generates 5–8 diverse suggestions displayed as a scrollable card list.
- Each card shows a category pill, title, description, and Accept/Dismiss buttons.
Corkboard View — Inline Nodes
- Hover over any node (scene, character, setting, or worldbuilding) and click the brain icon.
- Suggestion cards appear as radial nodes around the target, connected by dashed color-coded edges.
- A floating toolbar appears at the top of the canvas with bulk actions.
- Accept or dismiss individual suggestions directly on each node card.
Suggestion Categories
| Category | Color | What it suggests |
|---|---|---|
| Plot Point | Indigo | New chapters (for acts) or scenes (for chapters/scenes) with beats and tension |
| Character | Violet | New characters with role, personality, and arc |
| Setting | Emerald | New settings with atmosphere and sensory details |
| Worldbuilding | Amber | World elements like magic systems, cultures, or politics |
| Theme | Pink | Thematic threads with motifs and tensions |
Actions
- Accept — Creates the entity in your project (Story Bible entry, chapter, or scene depending on category).
- Dismiss — Removes the suggestion.
- Accept All / Dismiss All — Bulk actions (in the panel footer or floating toolbar).
- More Ideas — Generates a fresh set of suggestions for the same node.
Visual Brainstorm uses your full Story Bible context and existing outline to avoid duplicating entities you already have. The more complete your Story Bible, the more targeted the suggestions.