Skip to content
IronProse

Story Structure

Fichtean Curve

Flag slow setups and low crisis counts — hallmarks of a narrative lacking escalating tension.

What It Does

Analyzes the document's tension curve for characteristics of the Fichtean Curve structure — a series of crises that escalate toward a climax, often starting in medias res. Detects:

  1. Late Inciting Incident — a long low-tension setup (>15% of the document) before the first crisis
  2. Low crisis count — fewer than 3 tension spikes across the entire document, suggesting insufficient dramatic escalation

Why It Matters

The Fichtean Curve is a narrative structure that throws the reader into action immediately, then escalates through a series of crises. It's the opposite of the slow-burn setup. If you're aiming for this structure and your first crisis doesn't arrive until 20% into the manuscript, the reader may lose patience. If you have fewer than 3 crises total, the "sawtooth" pattern that drives this structure is absent.

What Gets Flagged

Slow Setup

Severity: Information

Example (flagged):

Pacing: slow setup detected. The Fichtean Curve typically starts with immediate action or a crisis (In Medias Res). Consider moving the inciting incident earlier.

Why: The first 15% of the document contains no tension spike (score ≥ 2.0), suggesting a slow opening.

Low Narrative Drive (Flatline)

Severity: Hint

Example (flagged):

Pacing: low narrative drive. Detected only 1 tension spike (crisis). A Fichtean structure relies on a series of rising crises. Consider adding more obstacles.

Why: Fewer than 3 tension spikes across the document means the narrative doesn't have the escalating crisis pattern that drives reader engagement.

Tension Spike Threshold

A "crisis point" is any paragraph with a tension score ≥ 2.0 (relative to baseline), as computed by the Tension Curve analyzer.

Configuration

  • Tension spike threshold: 2.0 (hardcoded)
  • Minimum crises for Fichtean structure: 3

Technical Details

  • Source: prose-craft
  • Scope: Document-level
  • Minimum text: 5+ paragraphs
  • Dependencies: Uses the Tension Curve analyzer to compute the tension curve
  • Method: Tension curve analysis for spike detection; positional analysis for setup phase