StoryNotes for Screenplays and Novels

StoryNotes™ are Forme’s core analytical tools designed to give writers structured, professional-grade feedback on completed drafts — whether you’re working in screenplay format or literary manuscript form. Rather than generating material for you, StoryNotes help you understand how your story functions on the page, highlight areas for improvement, and situate your work in creative and industry contexts.

Part I — StoryNotes for Screenplays

What Screenplay StoryNotes Are

StoryNotes for Screenplays are analytical documents that evaluate a specific screenplay draft and return structured feedback across clearly defined categories. They are not generative: they don’t rewrite scenes, create new pages, or blend insights across multiple drafts. Each set of StoryNotes corresponds only to the draft you submit.

Core principles:

• One draft → one analysis → one set of conclusions.
• Feedback is traceable to the submitted text.
• StoryNotes do not make creative suggestions in the form of new story content.

How to Generate StoryNotes

To run StoryNotes on a screenplay draft inside Forme:

1. Upload or paste your screenplay into Forme’s editor.
2. Select “StoryNotes” from the bolt menu in the document editor.
3. Forme analyzes your screenplay and attaches the resulting StoryNotes to the draft.

Each analysis run is independent — to assess a revised draft, upload the new version and run StoryNotes again.

The Three Screenplay StoryNotes Types

Forme generates three distinct outputs for screenplays. Each serves a different purpose in the development lifecycle:

1. Industry Coverage

This is a comprehensive narrative analysis similar to professional coverage reports used in the industry. It includes:

• Logline and keywords
• Setting and premise evaluations
• Scored craft breakdowns
• Synopses at different levels of detail
• Identified strengths and areas for improvement
• An overall verdict calibrated to professional standards

Industry Coverage helps answer questions like: Is the story clear? Where does momentum stall? What elements are strongest (or weakest)?

2. Budget Top Sheet

Unlike creative feedback, the Budget Top Sheet focuses on production feasibility and cost implications:

• Estimates above-the-line and below-the-line costs
• Groups expenses into standard production categories
• Makes assumptions explicit and tied directly to the written script

This is useful for producers, packaging conversations, and early financial planning.

3. Proofread

Proofreads are a polish pass:

• Flags grammar, formatting, clarity, and consistency issues
• Improves presentation for submissions or sharing
• Does not comment on narrative structure or character arc

Proofreads prepare your screenplay for professional eyes without changing story elements.

Interpreting Screenplay StoryNotes

StoryNotes are designed to be read both holistically and selectively:

• Many creators start with scores and the overall verdict.
• Then they dive into narrative sections to understand underlying reasoning.
• Budget insights and proofread issues can be addressed independently.

Because StoryNotes are bound to a specific draft and point in time, they provide a snapshot of how your screenplay currently performs — allowing you to plan revisions with clarity rather than guesswork.

Part II — StoryNotes for Novels

Overview

StoryNotes for Novels are Forme’s end-to-end analytical pass on a completed manuscript. They are designed to reflect the kind of professional feedback authors receive from editorial letters, agency reads, or acquisitions coverage — but with consistent structure and repeatability.

Each StoryNotes run for a novel produces three coordinated outputs, all based on the same submitted draft.

How Novel StoryNotes Work

You can generate StoryNotes for a novel either by creating manuscript content inside Forme or importing an existing document — the workflow is the same once you request StoryNotes. Forme treats the submitted manuscript as a completed draft, not a fragment or work-in-progress.

After submitting the draft:

• All three outputs (below) are generated simultaneously.
• The outputs offer developmental insight, market positioning analysis, and technical polish.

The Three Novel StoryNotes Outputs

1. Manuscript Assessment

This is the developmental core, closest to traditional editorial and agency coverage. It includes:

• Neutral summary of the manuscript
• Evaluative commentary (structure, pacing, POV)
• Craft analysis (characterization, prose quality)
• Market positioning and thematic clarity
• A final verdict

Unlike line edits, it focuses on how your story works as a whole — not just isolated mechanics. The result guides where revisions will have the most impact.

2. Movie Adaptability Assessment

This evaluates your novel from a film and television development lens. It is not a screenplay or treatment. Instead, it:

• Assesses cinematic viability and structural suitability
• Flags adaptation challenges and opportunities
• Offers context on comparable screen projects

Even if you’re not pursuing adaptation, this view often reinforces insights about structure, pacing, or external conflict — because adaptation-readiness often overlaps with narrative clarity.

3. Proofread

Like screenplay proofreads, this is a polish-level pass for:

• Grammar
• Formatting
• Presentation
• Readability

It does not comment on plot, theme, or character arcs, but ensures your manuscript reads professionally for editors, agents, or publishers.

Using Novel StoryNotes in Your Workflow

StoryNotes for novels are designed to fit a point in the process:

• After drafting, but before querying, submission, or self-publishing.
• They are not a replacement for revision — but rather a tool to inform it.
• You can use the Manuscript Assessment to plan developmental edits, then use Proofread after revisions are complete.
• The Adaptability Assessment can inform cross-media positioning or rights conversations.

Follow-Up Questions (Screenplays & Novels)

After generating StoryNotes — for both screenplays and novels — Forme allows a limited set of follow-up questions to deepen your understanding.

Follow-ups can:

• Clarify why an issue was flagged
• Explore how feedback connects to story decisions
• Help interpret scoring or evaluation language

Follow-ups do not:

• Generate new analysis beyond the original output
• Rewrite text or create alternative story material
• Replace the need for a new StoryNotes pass on a revised draft/manuscript

Their purpose is to support understanding, not to reopen or expand the analysis.

‍Turning Insight Into Action

StoryNotes — whether for screenplays or novels — provide structured, actionable feedback tailored to your craft. They help you see your story clearly, understand how it functions at a professional level, and make informed decisions about revisions, submissions, or cross-media positioning. By anchoring feedback to a specific draft and resisting generative rewrite, StoryNotes preserve creative ownership while guiding your development with clarity and precision.