Abstract
While v0.1 locked tone and mythic continuity, v0.2 adds operational storytelling: CRM-like tracking, scheduling, experimentation, analytics, and non-linear publication. Social feeds become a living comic rack.
1. Introduction — Why narrative CRM?
Modern IP spans TikTok, Instagram, X, YouTube, sites, ARG channels, live events, and physical artifacts. Every post is both an issue and a node. Creators must maintain continuity, measure reception, iterate quickly, and deploy fragments strategically. That requires a blend of CRM discipline, narrative logic, editorial scheduling, marketing analytics, and world constraints.
2. System goals
- Track narrative states (emotional, relational, locational, world dependencies).
- Treat posts as narrative artifacts (panels, clues, character beats).
- Enable scheduling and experimentation (cadence control, A/B tone variants, cohort tracking).
- Maintain tone across non-linear releases (coherent even when shuffled).
- Provide real-time feedback loops (pacing, arc emphasis, thematic direction).
3. Historical parallels
Comic books pioneered overlapping issues and timelines; social feeds mirror the shuffled rack. Found-footage storytelling like Immortality shows fragments discovered by feel. ARGs prove ambient, out-of-order narrative delight — but lacked scalable tooling. The Engine formalizes all three.
4. Technical architecture — operational layer
Narrative CRM Dashboard: character profiles with emotional state, arc progress, thematic alignment, conflict vectors, restricted topics, symbolic ownership, last and next appearances, and sentiment. Health indicators signal tone drift (green/yellow/red).
Feed Scheduler: drag-and-drop timeline, multi-platform previews, tone validation pre-flight, cadence warnings, overexposure detection, symbolic density balancing.
Post Template Engine: POV micro-scenes, diegetic corporate docs, teasers, fragments, emotional beads, quotes, and motif-driven visuals. Templates enforce coherence.
Analytics & audience heatmapping: engagement quality, tone retention, sentiment by character, motif resonance, platform-based reception, shareability vs comprehension, confusion vs intrigue.
Narrative experimentation: tone experiments (soft vs bureaucratic Dime, glitchier Penny, humor density for Celli), platform experiments, motif experiments. Growth R&D for story physics.
5. The non-linear story engine
Chronology is fragile; coherence is not. Every artifact stands alone yet supports the whole. Arcs withstand shuffling, and chronology is reconstructible but optional.
6. Roadmap to v0.3
Emotional arc forecasting, platform-specific tone modulation, multi-character dialogue simulation, influence mapping, dynamic narrative heatmaps, arc integrity scores, experiment auto-analysis, and research into AI dramaturg personalization and resonance graphs.
7. Conclusion
The operational layer turns creators into studios: non-linear serialization, algorithm-resilient narratives, CRM-grade character care, adaptive operations, and narrative R&D. Social feeds become comic issues, not marketing exhaust.