Story Structure Generator

The Story Structure Generator is an interactive web application inspired by Kurt Vonnegut's concept of the "Shape of Stories." It generates random plotlines on a graph, showcasing the ups and downs of a story's narrative.

Live instance at https://benjifriedman.github.io/Vonnegut-Story-Structure-Generator/

Features

• Randomly generated plotlines with varying nodes
• Plotlines are drawn using quadratic Bezier curves for smooth transitions
• Each plotline is assigned a random color and line width
• The y-axis represents the emotional scale, ranging from "Very Bad" to "Very Good"
• The x-axis represents the progression of the story, labeled with "Beginning," "Middle," and "Ending"
• Some plotlines will feature an "Off the chart happiness" ending, where the final node extends beyond the top of the chart and an infinity symbol is displayed

Usage

1. Open the index.html file in a web browser
2. The application will display a random plotline on the graph
3. Click the "New Plotline" button to generate a new random plotline
4. Observe the different shapes and endings of the generated plotlines
5. Click the info button in the top left corner to learn more about the project

Technologies Used

• HTML5 Canvas for drawing the graph and plotlines
• JavaScript for generating random plotlines and handling user interactions
• CSS for styling the application and modal

Inspiration

This project is inspired by Kurt Vonnegut's concept of the "Shape of Stories," where he proposed that the emotional arcs of stories can be mapped onto a simple graph. The Emotional Plotline Generator aims to visualize and explore the variety of possible emotional trajectories a story can take.