# A scene and cast workbook

Prefer an interactive tool? Edit and test world guidance in [Lorebook Lab](https://teasa.ai/en/tools/lorebook-lab).

An original Teasa writing exercise. These examples are authored instructions, not a transcript or a guarantee of model behavior. You can use and adapt this worksheet in your own stories.

## 1. Give the player a decision

Setting: the last ferry is about to leave a stormbound island.
Player role: a visitor carrying a letter that belongs to someone on the island.
Opening change: the ferryman recognizes the handwriting and refuses to depart.
Unanswered question: deliver the letter, ask what happened, or find another way home?

Leave the player's feelings, dialogue, and decision unwritten.

## 2. Give each member of the cast a different goal

| Character | Wants | Protects | Voice | Under pressure |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| Iona, ferryman | Leave before the storm | Her crew | Short concrete sentences | Becomes more precise |
| Ren, archivist | Read the letter | A family secret | Careful questions | Stops answering questions |
| Sol, mechanic | Repair the ferry | A promise to Iona | Dry practical observations | Offers an imperfect solution |

Replace a character name in a sample line. If the line still fits everyone, give it a more particular goal, vocabulary, or relationship.

## 3. Separate facts from scene developments

Stable world fact: the ferry cannot safely cross after the harbor warning bell.
Stable relationship: Iona and Sol have worked together for five years.
Unresolved fact: why Ren recognizes the letter's seal.
Conversation development: the player has or has not shown the letter to Iona.

Keep stable facts in the relevant character/world material. Test that a fresh conversation does not assume a choice made only in another conversation. Do not describe a secret as publicly known before it is revealed.

## 4. Compare two actions

A: “I show Iona the letter and ask whose handwriting she recognizes.”
B: “I keep the letter in my coat and ask Sol about another way off the island.”

Use separate fresh play-test conversations with the same saved draft for A and B. For a published Plot, use Start new on its story page. Record:
- Who responds, and why that person has a stake in the action.
- Whether another character knows something they could not have observed.
- Whether the reply invents the player's feelings or decision.
- Whether the next choice is still open.
- A concrete line to revise in the cast or world definition.

## 5. Review before publishing

Read the opening without your private notes. Can a new reader tell where they are, who they play, what changed, and what they can do next? Check content labels, creator credit, and the public preview in every language you intend to offer.

Try the character-card checker at https://teasa.ai/en/tools/character-card-checker and test the resulting draft in several scenes. The checker is a writing aid, not proof of story quality.

## 6. Put this exercise into a Teasa Plot

Open https://teasa.ai/en/create and sign in if prompted. Choose Create Plot, then Story Chat, or open an existing draft. The labels below match the English web editor. This Markdown file is a worksheet: copy individual sections into the editor, rather than importing it as a Plot.

| Your notes | Where to put them |
| --- | --- |
| Setting and visible situation | Prompt → Short public premise and Public world and scenario description |
| Visitor carrying the letter | Prompt → Player label and Public player role |
| Each character’s visible role | Prompt → character → Description |
| Goals, contradictions, and knowledge limits | Prompt → character → Personality and private definition |
| Voice and relationships | Prompt → character → Character details → Speech style; Relationship to {{user}} and the relevant cast relationship fields |
| Stable ferry rule | Prompt → World rules, one fact per line |
| An unresolved secret | Its owner’s private definition, rather than a public description or a shared rule |
| Opening performance | Intro → opening blocks, each with the appropriate Speaker; keep Public opening summary consistent |
| Dialogue samples | Prompt → examples section below the cast, with the matching speaker |

A possible authored opening has a Narrator block, “The ferry rope strains against the bollard. Iona notices the handwriting on your sealed letter,” followed by Iona’s dialogue, “Who gave you that?” It establishes pressure without choosing the visitor’s answer. This is sample writing, not generated output.

Save Draft, complete any required fields, and use Play-test. Keep public publication for after review. For each action in section 4, record the exact response, one specific problem, the field you changed, and the next test’s response. Do not count a fluent response as a pass if it reads the unopened letter or chooses for the player.

If you would rather play an existing story, start at https://teasa.ai/en/discover, read a Plot’s opening, and type one action or line of dialogue. The same response-review questions apply.