The Shine Story Development Engine is a system that helps new and experienced writers develop a story idea into a full, well-structured story. Whether you write novels, screenplays, interactive fiction, RPG campaigns, graphic novels, or fan fiction, Shine can help you get the idea out of your head and onto paper.
Shine is not a formula. The writing prompts and guidelines on each card represent common patterns found in stories. It’s up to you, the writer, to decide which of these patterns you want to include in your story.
Once you’ve selected the cards that will make up your tale, writing prompts on each will guide you as you write an outline or your first draft!
The Shine Plot Engine is a tool for battling that most pernicious of an author’s demons: writer’s block. Not sure what to write next? The Plot Engine combines the drawing of random Plot and Detail cards with the imagination of the writer. Create strange and wonderful fictional scenes with the cords and conquer them with your pen. Spice up your manuscript, explore your writing potential, or create writing prompts for your students!
The Shine Character Engine is a fun and visual way to outline characters for your novel, screenplay, or other work of fiction. Every card in the deck offers questions and writing prompts to help you explore one aspect of your fictional character, and you will construct each character out of the cards/aspects most relevant to them. Core aspects are questions you want to answer for all characters. Arc aspects allow you to craft a story arc for each character as they take on different roles in your main story. Detail aspects allow you to add as much or as little detail as your character outline needs.
