# How to Use Modules to Structure a Story by lostfox

**How to Use Modules to Structure a Story**

*A Guide by foxlostintranslation (lostfox)*

**What Are Modules?**

Modules are a way to organize your story and give the AI the flexibility to choose what’s appropriate at any given time based on the user’s actions. I add them in the “Prompt Guideline” space in ISK0.

For this guide, I’ll reference two of my stories: **Beneath the Unseelie Hill (BUH)** and **Neutral Ground (NG)** as examples.

**Step 1: Classify Your Modules**

**First, decide how to categorize your modules. This helps the AI know what to introduce and when. Your classification depends on your story type:**

**BUH (Linear Story with Start & End):**

- Core Plot Modules: The main journey
- Folklore & Side Modules: World-building scenes that don’t affect the main plot (side quests)
- Romance-Specific Modules: Unique scenes for each romance option (or bonding modules)
- Transformation Modules: Track a mechanic (physical changes, power gains, etc.)

**NG (Sandbox / Slice of Life):**

- Date Modules: Formulaic date templates (same structure for all characters)
- Pressure Modules: External complications (government, society, family)
- Crisis Modules: Character-specific scenes
- Fallout Modules: Internal consequences based on user choices

**Step 2: Write Your Modules**

**Inside each category, define individual scenes. Keep them short (or don’t—but you’ll suffer token consequences). For each module, explain:**

- What happens in the scene
- How it’s triggered

**Example Format:**

*M1: Court Introduction*

*{{user}} arrives, meets the LIs, learns basic survival.*

*Trigger: Game start.*

**Step 3: Structure Your Prompt Guidelines**

**Here’s the skeleton I use. Adapt it to your story:**

**THE PROMPT GUIDELINES (The Rulebook)**

**Narrative Perspective & Tone:**

**Write in the second person (“You”). \[Add your tone description here—lyrical, modern, ominous, witty, etc.\]**

**Player Agency is Sacred:**

**Never control {{user}}’s actions, thoughts, or dialogue. Present choices, describe consequences, and react to their decisions. They define their own personality. The story molds to them.**

**Pacing & Structure (The Modular Flow):**

**Do not force a linear plot. Instead, offer narrative hooks from the available modules below. Follow the player’s interest.**

***\[Optional pacing guidance:\]***

- Start with: Module 1: \[Your starting module\]
- Early Game: Offer hooks for \[early modules\]
- Mid-Game: Weave in \[mid-game modules\]
- Late Game: Escalate with \[climax modules\]
- Romance: Integrate character-specific modules as relationships deepen

**Step 4: Add Your Modules**

**Here are complete examples from my own stories. Use them as templates for formatting.**

**Example 1: Beneath the Unseelie Hill (BUH)**

**Core Plot Modules (The Main Journey)**

<span class="s1">**M1: Court Introduction:** </span>**{{user}} arrives, meets the LIs, learns basic survival.** <span class="s1">***Trigger: Game start.***</span>

<span class="s1">**M2: Path Selection:** </span>**{{user}} must choose a role: Soldier (Cairn), Poet (Lachlan), or Courtier (Earc). This locks in her primary LI and aspect path.** <span class="s1">***Trigger: After initial exploration.***</span>

<span class="s1">**M3: The Wild Hunt:** </span>**A chaotic, dangerous seasonal ritual. {{user}}’s role depends on her chosen path.** <span class="s1">***Trigger: Seasonal change or border exploration.***</span>

**M4: Parentage Revelation:** <span class="s2">**{{user}} discovers her true parents were Seelie nobles.** </span>***Trigger: Investigating her past or encountering Seelie agents.***

**M5: Human Counterpart:** <span class="s2">**{{user}} meets the human who lived her life.** </span>***Trigger: Visiting the human world or a magical crossover.***

**M6: Court War:** <span class="s2">**Tensions with the Seelie Court erupt into open conflict.** </span>***Trigger: Aggressive player choices or mid-game plot escalation.***

<span class="s1">**M7: Final Transformation:** </span>**{{user}} fully embraces her fae nature, achieving her final form based on her choices.** <span class="s1">***Trigger: The climax of her personal journey.***</span>

**Folklore &amp; Side Modules (World-Building &amp; Depth)**

**M8: Market of Lost Things:** <span class="s2">**A strange market where memories, senses, and years can be traded.** </span>***Trigger: When {{user}} needs something rare or seeks hidden knowledge.***

**M9: The Tithe to Hollows:** <span class="s2">**The Unseelie must pay a debt to ancient powers. A moral dilemma.** </span>***Trigger: Approaching a solstice or equinox.***

**M10: Greensickness:** <span class="s2">**A supernatural illness strikes, requiring a cure made of impossible things.** </span>***Trigger: After a major rule is broken or as a romance complication.***

**M11: Changeling Gathering:** <span class="s2">**A secret meeting of others like her.** </span>***Trigger: When {{user}} feels isolated or deeply questions her identity.***

**Romance-Specific Modules (Deepen Bonds)**

<span class="s1">**M12: Cairn’s Oath Stone:** </span>**He tests her loyalty in a ritual of stone and promise.**

<span class="s1">**M13: Lachlan’s Drowning Poem:** </span>**He shares the tragic origin of his curse through a poetic recital.**

<span class="s1">**M14: Earc’s Political Gambit:** </span>**He involves her in a high-stakes game of court intrigue.**

**Transformation Modules (Track Her Change)**

- Awakening (Level 1): Subtle signs (e.g., hair texture, eye sparkle).
- Manifestation (Level 2): Noticeable changes (e.g., voice echo, cold skin).
- Crisis (Level 3): Major physical shifts under stress.
- Mastery (Level 5): Full, controlled transformation.

**Final Form Determination:**

Track {{user}}’s choices: Emotional/Artistic = Water, Loyal/Practical = Stone, Cunning/Strategic = Thorn.

At thresholds (5, 15, 25, 30), describe physical changes.

**Aspect: WATER (Empathy, Art, Emotion)**

- Sacrifice &amp; Protection → Selkie
- Passion &amp; Possession → Each-Uisge
- Truth &amp; Artistry → Undine

**Aspect: STONE (Loyalty, Practicality, Justice)**

- Guardianship &amp; Home → Urisk
- Vengeance &amp; Justice → Redcap
- Memory &amp; Secrets → Ghillie Dhu

**Aspect: THORN (Cunning, Strategy, Ambition)**

- Ambition &amp; Rule → Unseelie Sidhe Noble
- Allure &amp; Inspiration → Leanan Sídhe
- Freedom &amp; Chaos → Púca of the Frost

**Example 2: Neutral Ground (NG)**

**Start Module**

<span class="s1">**M1: Start here:** </span>**{{user}} goes to a meeting with a civil servant. They explain the program. {{user}} must pick a first date candidate.** <span class="s1">***Trigger: Game start.***</span>

**Date Modules**

**D1: First Date:** <span class="s2">**Neutral ground, government approved.** </span>***Trigger: MC agrees to see someone.***

**D2: Second Date:** <span class="s2">**Date chooses a neutral location.** </span>***Trigger: First date went well OR MC is curious.***

**D3: Their Territory:** <span class="s2">**MC visits their home.** </span>***Trigger: After D1 or D2.***

**D4: Your Territory:** <span class="s2">**They visit MC’s space.** </span>***Trigger: After D1 or D2.***

<span class="s1">**D5: The Group Date:** </span>**Mandated group activity. All four candidates. Government intervention.** <span class="s1">***Trigger: MC ignored one or more candidates.***</span>

**D6: The Accidental Meeting:** <span class="s2">**Running into a candidate outside dating context.** </span>***Trigger: Random chance / candidate’s choice.***

**Pressure Modules**

**P1: Progress Report Due:** <span class="s2">**MC must document their dating experiences.** </span>***Trigger: Monthly requirement.***

**P2: Government Review:** <span class="s2">**An official interviews MC about “compatibility.”** </span>***Trigger: After several dates / a major choice.***

**P3: Family Asks:** <span class="s2">**Approval? Disapproval?** </span>***Trigger: Regular interval.***

**P4: Public Opinion:** <span class="s2">**A stranger comments. A news piece airs. Society watches.** </span>***Trigger: Random / after public sighting.***

<span class="s1">**P5: The Deadline:** </span>**MC must make a choice by X date. The clock is visible.** <span class="s1">***Trigger: Story midpoint.***</span>

<span class="s1">**P6: Financial Threat:** </span>**Funding, scholarships, or job security tied to compliance.** <span class="s1">***Trigger: If MC resists the program.***</span>

**P7: Public Unrest:** <span class="s2">**Government actions create public unrest.** </span>***Trigger: A scandal related to the program appears.***

**Darren Crisis Modules**

**DR1: The Nightmare:** <span class="s2">**MC witnesses (or finds evidence of) a panic attack.** </span>***Trigger: Sleepover / late night / staying over.***

<span class="s1">**DR2: The Scar:** </span>**MC asks about his scar. Or touches it without thinking.** <span class="s1">***Trigger: Intimacy moment.***</span>

<span class="s1">**DR3: The Window Seat:** </span>**MC finds his hidden nook. Sees him vulnerable there.** <span class="s1">***Trigger: Exploring his home.***</span>

**DR4: Liam Appears:** <span class="s2">**His half-brother shows up. Old wounds open.** </span>***Trigger: Random / family event.***

**DR5: Julie Calls:** <span class="s2">**His sister reaches out. MC sees that dynamic.** </span>***Trigger: Relationship deepening.***

**DR6: His Past:** <span class="s2">**Darren introduces MC to some ex-coworkers.** </span>***Trigger: At least 4 Darren modules already experienced.***

***(Lena, Lucien and Noemi follow similar structure)***

**Fallout Modules**

**F1: The Rejection:** <span class="s2">**MC turns someone down. How do they handle it?** </span>***Trigger: MC chooses someone else.***

<span class="s1">**F2: The Unchosen Lingers:** </span>**A rejected candidate reappears. Not over it. Not gone.** <span class="s1">***Trigger: After rejection.***</span>

<span class="s1">**F3: Jealousy:** </span>**A candidate sees MC with someone else. Reaction varies.** <span class="s1">***Trigger: Group setting / accidental.***</span>

**F4: The Choice Made:** <span class="s2">**MC finally picks. The others react.** </span>***Trigger: Story climax.***

<span class="s1">**F5: The Aftermath:** </span>**Life after the choice. Is it what MC expected?** <span class="s1">***Trigger: Resolution.***</span>

**Step 5: The Final Line**

**Every time I finish a prompt, I add this:**

***AI Guideline for Using Modules: Weave these modules into the story based on {{user}}’s actions. Offer hooks—a rumor, an invitation, a strange event—but the AI can make up more scenarios as it sees fit and is not constrained to this guide.***

**And then I add some instructions on how to weave the modules into the AI. Some examples from NG:**

- Track MC’s choices. Who are they seeing? How often? How did it go?
- Check triggers. Has enough time passed? Has intimacy deepened? Has a candidate been neglected?
- Offer hooks naturally. “Your phone buzzes. A message from Lucien: ‘I was wondering if you’d like to see my studio. No pressure. Just... if you want.’”
- Follow MC’s lead. If they ignore a hook, let it drop. If they pursue, escalate.
- Let pressure build. Government reports. Family questions. The ticking clock. MC should feel the walls closing in.
- Remember: every character is the hero of their own story. Even the unchosen. Even the rejected. Their pain matters.

**Final Note**

**This is simply my workflow. There are many ways to approach things, but this is what suits me, and I hope it can be helpful to you as well. Remember, you don’t have to follow this guide rigidly, or at all; everyone develops their own method, and what suits me might not suit you. Experiment, adapt, and find your own rhythm.**

**Hope this helped! Feel free to reach out on Discord if you have any questions.**

***— lostfox***

**Find my stories on:** [<span class="s3">**isekai.world**</span>](https://www.isekai.world/creator/694ea206996c586371f77f90)