Story Bible
CompleteDefine the rules, tone, vocabulary, and emotional arc for your book.
v1
World Rules
{
"rules": [
{
"rule": "Feelings Monsters are visible only to Mia and live inside her heart-house",
"reason": "Creates magical realism while keeping the story grounded in Mia's internal emotional experience"
},
{
"rule": "Each Feelings Monster has a distinct color, personality, and physical characteristic that matches their emotion",
"reason": "Provides clear visual identification for young readers to connect emotions with characters"
},
{
"rule": "Monsters cannot be locked out or pushed away permanently—they always find their way back in",
"reason": "Reinforces that emotions cannot be suppressed and will return, teaching healthy emotional acceptance"
},
{
"rule": "When Mia feels an emotion strongly, that monster grows bigger and more active",
"reason": "Shows the natural fluctuation of emotional intensity in an age-appropriate visual way"
},
{
"rule": "The heart-house has enough room for all monsters to coexist comfortably",
"reason": "Demonstrates that multiple emotions can exist simultaneously without crowding each other out"
},
{
"rule": "Monsters communicate through simple words, sounds, and expressive body language",
"reason": "Makes emotions accessible and understandable to pre-readers and early readers"
},
{
"rule": "The outside world continues normally while Mia interacts with her Feelings Monsters",
"reason": "Grounds the fantasy in real-world situations children experience"
}
],
"setting": "Inside Mia's heart-house, a cozy magical space that exists within her chest, visualized as a warm, inviting home with different rooms for different feelings",
"geography": "The heart-house has a cozy main room with soft furniture where monsters gather, individual nooks or corners where each monster feels most comfortable, a front door that represents Mia's openness to feelings, windows that show what's happening in Mia's outside world, and warm lighting throughout. Each monster has a favorite spot that reflects their emotional nature.",
"timePeriod": "Present day, timeless quality that could be any era, story takes place over several days in Mia's life",
"magicSystem": "The heart-house is a magical internal space that represents Mia's emotional world. It responds to her experiences—when something happens in Mia's day, the corresponding Feelings Monster reacts. The magic is gentle, warm, and always safe. Monsters can move between rooms, interact with each other, and occasionally all gather together. The heart-house glows softly and feels like home."
}Tone Rules
{
"humorLevel": "light",
"overallTone": "Warm, reassuring, gently educational, and emotionally validating with a sense of wonder and discovery",
"tensionLevel": "light",
"narratorVoice": "Third person, gentle and understanding, like a kind teacher or parent explaining something important, uses simple present tense primarily, speaks directly to the child's experience",
"forbiddenTones": [
"preachy",
"condescending",
"scary",
"overly clinical",
"dismissive of emotions",
"shame-inducing",
"anxiety-producing",
"chaotic",
"manic"
]
}Vocabulary Boundaries
{
"maxSyllables": 3,
"forbiddenWords": [
"stupid",
"dumb",
"bad",
"wrong",
"shouldn't",
"must",
"always",
"never",
"control",
"manage",
"fix",
"problem",
"disorder",
"therapy",
"diagnosis"
],
"encouragedWords": [
"feel",
"heart",
"home",
"belong",
"welcome",
"okay",
"helps",
"listens",
"understands",
"friends",
"together",
"room",
"visit",
"stays",
"needs",
"important",
"job",
"shows",
"tells"
],
"maxSentenceLength": 12,
"readingLevelGrade": 1
}Themes
{
"primary": "All emotions are natural, necessary, and deserve acceptance",
"secondary": [
"Self-awareness and recognizing feelings",
"Emotions serve important purposes",
"Internal diversity makes us whole",
"Feelings come and go naturally",
"Being curious about emotions rather than afraid",
"Each emotion has wisdom to share"
],
"moralLesson": "Every feeling belongs inside us and has an important job to do. We don't need to push away uncomfortable emotions—they're trying to help us understand our experiences and keep us safe.",
"conflictType": "Person vs self—Mia's internal struggle between wanting only happy feelings and learning to accept all her emotions"
}Emotional Arc
{
"climax": "Recognition and acceptance—A moment when Mia needs one of the other monsters (perhaps Scared keeps her safe or Sad helps her when something is lost) and realizes each one helps her",
"opening": "Curious and slightly confused—Mia discovers the Feelings Monsters and feels wonder mixed with uncertainty about these new residents",
"resolution": "Understanding and integration—Mia welcomes all the monsters, sees how they work together, and recognizes they all have a home in her heart-house",
"risingAction": "Mild frustration and resistance—Mia tries to keep only Happy and push away the others, leading to gentle chaos as the unwanted monsters keep returning, helping her see they won't leave",
"closingEmotion": "Peaceful acceptance, empowerment, and warm contentment—readers should feel reassured that their own feelings are okay and natural"
}Safety Constraints
{
"noDeath": true,
"noViolence": true,
"customRules": [
"No shaming of any emotion or suggesting feelings are bad or wrong",
"No depiction of emotional suppression as successful or healthy",
"No scary monster imagery—all Feelings Monsters are friendly and cute",
"No situations that could trigger anxiety in sensitive children",
"No parent or adult figures dismissing or invalidating Mia's emotions",
"No implication that feeling multiple emotions is confusing or overwhelming in a negative way",
"Angry monster may stomp but never harms anyone or anything",
"Sad monster may cry but is never depicted as pitifully miserable",
"All monsters are helpful friends, never antagonists",
"No medical or clinical language about emotions",
"No suggestion that emotions need to be controlled or managed rather than accepted",
"Mia's family is supportive and present but not central to the emotional lesson"
],
"noScaryImagery": true
}Recurring Motifs
[ "The heart-house as a safe, warm home with glowing light", "Doors opening to welcome feelings in rather than closing to keep them out", "Monsters sitting together in the main room showing coexistence", "Each monster's distinct color appearing in scenes even when they're not the focus", "Mia placing her hand on her chest to connect with her heart-house", "The phrase 'room in my heart' or 'belong here' repeated throughout", "Visual representation of monsters changing size based on emotional intensity", "Windows in the heart-house showing what's happening in Mia's external world", "Soft, rounded shapes throughout to maintain gentleness", "Rainbow effect when all seven monsters are together, showing completeness" ]