Exploration — Plot Mode by node

The exploration pane is a side panel that opens next to your editor. It's where you have a conversation with AI about your writing — not to generate prose, but to think through your story. Plot Mode is the default. It's analytical. The AI reads what you've written and responds with observations, suggestions, and questions. It doesn't write for you. It thinks alongside you. ## Opening the exploration pane Click the exploration icon in the editor toolbar (or use the keyboard shortcut). The pane opens on the right side. Type a question or prompt, or just say "look at what I've written" and the AI will respond. ## The response tags The AI responds using structured tags. Each tag type serves a different purpose: **`<thread>`** — Story direction suggestions These are short labels for directions your story could go. "Elena confronts her father," "The letter is never sent," "Time skip to winter." Click a thread to explore that direction further. Think of them as forks in the road. **`<craft>`** — Writing and structural observations The AI notices things about your technique. Pacing shifts, tonal inconsistencies, dialogue patterns, structural choices you may not have made consciously. These aren't corrections — they're observations. "The dialogue in chapter three is faster-paced than the surrounding narration" or "The secondary plot hasn't been referenced in twelve pages." **`<character name="Name">`** — Character insights Observations about specific characters. Motivations the AI has inferred from their actions, contradictions in their behavior, relationships that have shifted. Draws from your text and the characters, locations, and other story elements you have defined for your book. **`<location name="Name">`** — Setting details Insights about places in your story. Atmosphere, sensory details the writing emphasizes (or neglects), how settings relate to character states. **`<creature name="Name">`** — Creature or entity details For speculative fiction — observations about non-human beings in your work. **`<ripple>`** — Consequences happening elsewhere This is one of the most useful tags. When a character does something, what happens offscreen? What are the side effects in other parts of the story? The ripple tag suggests consequences you might not have considered. "If Marcus leaves town, his mother discovers his absence at dinner" or "The fire at the warehouse would be visible from Elena's apartment." **`<image prompt="description">`** — Visual scene suggestions The AI sometimes suggests a visual for a scene. If you have an image provider configured, clicking this generates the image. **`<family event="birth|death|marriage">`** — Relationship events Suggestions for family/relationship changes: births, deaths, marriages, separations. Useful for multi-generational stories. ## How to use Plot Mode effectively Don't just ask "what should happen next?" That's a Draft Mode question. Plot Mode is for thinking. Better prompts: - "What are the consequences of what just happened?" - "Is there a contradiction in how Elena has been behaving?" - "What does this scene accomplish structurally?" - "Where is the tension weakest?" - "What does Marcus want that he hasn't said?" The AI responds with analysis, not prose. It shows you your story from angles you might not have considered. The threads it suggests are starting points for your own thinking, not prescriptions. ## Plot Mode vs Draft Mode Plot Mode thinks about the story. Draft Mode writes the story. Use Plot Mode when you're planning, stuck, or want to understand what you've already written. Use Draft Mode when you want words on the page.