Arcs

The Arcs page helps you visualize and track the structural and emotional threads running through your story. Whether you're mapping the twists of your main plot or charting a character's rise and fall, arcs give you a bird's-eye view of your narrative.

Two Kinds of Arcs

The Arcs page is divided into two modes, accessible via the tab toggle at the top:

• Story Arcs: Track your plot structure: main storyline, subplots, and the keyframes that mark each turning point.
• Character Arcs: Track a character's fortune over time, visualized as a curve that rises and falls with their circumstances.

Writing a series? There's a third kind: Series Arcs chart the storylines that span every Book, and your Story Arcs are called Book Arcs there: same tool, one per Book. See Book Arcs and Series Arcs.

The Layout

Both modes share a three-panel layout:

• Sidebar (left): Browse your arc hierarchy or character list. Use the divider button to collapse or expand it.
• Visualizer (top right): An interactive display showing your arcs as curves with diamond-shaped keyframes.
• Details Panel (bottom right): View and edit the selected arc or keyframe's information.

View and Edit Modes

Each mode has a View/Edit toggle. In View mode you can browse your arcs and read details. Switch to Edit mode to make changes: rename arcs, add or remove keyframes, write plot details, and more.

Arcs Across the App

Arcs aren't confined to the Arcs page; they appear throughout Penpoint to keep your story structure visible wherever you're working:

• Character Arcs appear on character sheets via the Character Arc Block, showing a compact fortune curve you can click to jump to the full editor.
• Story Arcs appear on chapter detail pages as a mini arc visualizer, showing which plot points each chapter is assigned to. See Editing Chapter and Scene Details for more.

Clicking any arc or keyframe in these compact views navigates you directly to the full Arcs page with that arc selected.