View source for Component Format by SaraKayaSyn

A suggestion from reddit user SaraKayaSyn:<ref>https://www.reddit.com/r/redquill/comments/1vqo180/comment/p48jqbb/?utm_source=share&utm_medium=web3x&utm_name=web3xcss&utm_term=1&utm_content=share_button</ref>

I use components to set up every story now unless it's just a one off short. I use place components, describing a town, or a house, or business, character components giving physical, emotional, and sexual preference traits, and use writing style components to enforce how the story and dialog is presented, for historical settings.

I create the components prior to writing the story and once I have my 'cast' I introduce them into whatever chapter they are first mentioned to not muddy up things for the engine.

I also highly recommend you use a structured template for components with the same fields. I often forget to add a description of something (hair color, etc) and then have to edit the chapter or regenerate it. The structured list helps you keep some order, so you don't forget things.

For character templates I use the following format which per my understanding is efficient for the engine. You don't have to create that much detail, just include things that are important that you want the engine to get right. This is true of place components as well. Again, I recommend a template for places. Describe the setting; quiet neighborhood, high-rise apartment, then the interior. I find that breaking up levels, if more than one, helps. Create each section with a ## mark for clarity. Describe first floor layout and decor, mention you don't have mirrors (to your point about that), etc. then the second, etc.

I don't describe every detail, just the ones I care about in the story. Is there a shower scene? Might want to describe the bathroom and shower. Don't care about a garage? Don't add it to the component.

Here is a sample template I am using now for a period story where context matters more. Simple descriptions, words, are best I am told, but a format like this is supposed to be efficient for the engine too per my understanding.<blockquote>## Core Profile

- Name:Marique deLore

- Age: 36

- Role: Matriarchal Healer and clandestine land steward

- Location: Outskirts of Blackwood Hollow, Massachusetts Bay Colony

&lt;nowiki&gt;##&lt;/nowiki&gt; Physical Attributes & Semiotics

- Physique: Tall (5'10") with a stately, curvaceous frame, striking and graceful, medium sized breasts.

- Features: Pale skin, piercing pale green eyes, long wavy black hair, striking, beautiful.

- Grooming: Fastidious; maintains a youthful complexion through secret herbal tinctures and rigorous hygiene. Pubic hair removed using sharpened shells.

- Attire Public: Conservative black-and-white linen of high quality.

- Distinguishing Marks: A hand-poked tattoo of a thorny vine originating at the pubic bone, winding sensually across her torso, and terminating at the right breast.

## Psychological Profile

- Demeanor: Stoic, formidable, observant, intelligent.

- Public Persona: Reserved, polite, maintains an untouchable air of self-possession.

- Motivations: Preservation of matriarchal knowledge, stewardship of her family's land holdings, protection of her daughter, Elisabeth.

- Philosophical Tenet: Believes healing is a choice; she assists only the honest-hearted and those who do not subscribe to the colony's cruelty.

- Daily Routine: Morning ablutions with herbal waters; management land ledgers; collection of forest specimens; tutelage of her daughter, Elisabeth.

## SocialDynamics

- Clandestine lover: 22-year-old Julian Vance.

- Clandestine lover: 20-year-old daughter of the Magistrate Elspeth Van Vleck.

- Maid/Cook: Loving, bound by sworn oath of absolute secrecy regarding her work and affairs.

- Daughter: Elisabeth

## Emotional Intimacy Profile

- Core Dynamic: Seeks genuine, beautiful connections amidst a sea of rigid dogma; shares deep, protective bonds with her daughter Elisabeth and trusted confidants like Prudence, while offering sanctuary to those she deems honest of heart.

- Trust & Vulnerability: Selectively vulnerable; requires absolute discretion and mutual trust before letting anyone past her stoic exterior.

- Expression of Care: Nurtures through healing, guardianship, and providing a safe, uncompromising haven from the oppressive morality of the town.

## Sexual Profile

- Drive: Sexual liberation as a form of defiance against the colony's stifling morality.

- Boundaries & Ethics: Absolute discretion required; maintains clandestine relationships with Julian Vance a 22-year-old and the Magistrate’s daughter, Elspeth Van Vleck.

- Controls: Secrecy is paramount; she is the architect of her own pleasures, far removed from the colony’s judgment, favoring partners who value autonomy and discretion.

- Preferences: Explicit stuff 😄

## Professional & Obligatory Ties

- Employer: Self-employed; custodian of extensive multigenerational family wealth and land holdings.

- Primary Duties: Practicing the matriarchal arts of healing; ensuring the survival and prosperity of her daughter, Elisabeth.

- Subsidiary Duties: Managing land portfolios across Europe and the colonies; maintaining the loyalty of her maid through bonds of mutual secrecy, protection, love.</blockquote>

== References ==