Plot Tension Arc Simulator

Narrative Parameters

Conflict intensity 55%

Character stakes 50%

Pacing (slow → fast) 50%

Subplots

Live Readouts

Climax tension

Narrative coherence

Pacing variance

0.00

Reading position: —

How it works

The story is modeled as a tension function T(t) over normalized progress t ∈ [0,1], built from six Freytag-pyramid control points (exposition, inciting incident, rising action, climax, falling action, resolution) joined by a Catmull–Rom spline:

climax position:  t_c = 0.55 − 0.15·pacing
climax height:    T(t_c) = clamp(0.5 + 0.45·conflict·(0.5+0.5·stakes), 0, 1)
baseline tension: T(0) = 0.10 + 0.10·stakes,  T(1) = 0.08 + 0.07·stakes

Each subplot adds a secondary, lower-amplitude tension curve offset in depth, peaking at its own point along the timeline — extra competing peaks that a reader must track.

coherence = 1 − 0.18·(peaks_found − 1) − 0.4·var(Δslope)
pacing variance = stdev(dT/dt) sampled along the main curve

Coherence falls as the main curve gains local maxima beyond the single climax (subplots competing for attention) or as its slope changes erratically (uneven pacing). Read Through animates a marker along the actual curve at a speed set by the pacing slider, so you can feel how the tension you built plays out over the length of the story — the same shape editors call a "pacing chart" when diagnosing a draft.

Main plot tension Subplot tension Reader position

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