## When to Use Narrative Beats

**Narrative beats** document complex stories across three archetypal universes simultaneously:
- **Engineer-world**: Technical/analytical perspective
- **Ceremony-world**: Relational/spiritual protocol awareness
- **Story-engine-world**: Narrative/creative progression

Use narrative beats when you need to capture **how a story unfolds across multiple dimensions**—not just what happened technically, but what it means relationally and narratively.

### Chart vs. Narrative Beat

| Aspect | Chart | Narrative Beat |
|--------|-------|-----------------|
| **Purpose** | Create a desired outcome from current reality | Document how a complex story unfolds |
| **Structure** | Outcome + Reality + Actions | Act + Prose + Universes + Lessons |
| **Scope** | Individual goal/strategy | Incident/milestone across all dimensions |
| **When to use** | Building toward something | Making sense of what happened |
| **Output** | Action steps toward goal | Integrated understanding of story |

### Examples: When to Create Narrative Beats

✅ **Create a beat when**:
- An incident affects technical AND relational AND narrative dimensions
- You need to document how three perspectives understood the same event differently
- An action step revealed something about the larger story
- A transgression becomes wisdom through integration

❌ **Don't use beats for**:
- Simple task documentation (use charts instead)
- Linear progress tracking (use action steps)
- Technical logs (use observations on current_reality)

## The Three Narrative Beat Tools

### 1. `create_narrative_beat`

Creates a new narrative beat documenting a story event across the three universes.

**When to use**: When a significant moment (learning, transgression, discovery, integration) needs multi-universe documentation.

**Parameters**:
- `parentChartId`: The chart this beat belongs to (required)
- `title`: Short name of the beat (e.g., "The Sacred Object Violation")
- `act`: Which act in the narrative sequence (1, 2, 3, 4, 5...)
- `type_dramatic`: Story function—Crisis/Antagonist Force, Discovery/Learning, Resolution Beginning, New Awareness, Character Development
- `universes`: List of which archetypal universes this beat involves
  - "engineer-world" — technical/analytical view
  - "ceremony-world" — relational/spiritual view
  - "story-engine-world" — narrative/creative view
- `description`: Factual summary of what happened (visible in list)
- `prose`: Full narrative prose showing how all three universes experienced this moment
- `lessons`: Key insights or learnings from this beat
- `assessRelationalAlignment` (optional): Boolean—invoke iaip-mcp to assess relational science alignment
- `initiateFourDirectionsInquiry` (optional): Boolean—invoke iaip-mcp for Four Directions guidance

**Example**:
```
Create a narrative beat titled "The Sacred Object Violation"
Act 2, Crisis/Antagonist Force
Engineer-world: Technical boundary crossed (direct file editing)
Ceremony-world: Sacred artifact dishonored
Story-engine-world: Character reveals flaw through action
```

**Result**: Beat created with:
- ID automatically generated
- Relations created linking beat to parent chart
- Optional relational alignment assessment
- Optional Four Directions guidance embedded in the beat

### 2. `telescope_narrative_beat`

Breaks down a narrative beat into detailed sub-beats for deeper exploration.

**When to use**: When a beat is too broad—needs to show the sub-moments that compose it.

**Parameters**:
- `parentBeatName`: Name of the beat to expand
- `newCurrentReality`: Updated understanding of what's happening at this level of detail
- `initialSubBeats` (optional): Array of sub-beats to create:
  - Each has: title, type_dramatic, description, prose, lessons

**Example**:
```
Telescope "The Integrity Test" into:
  - Sub-beat 1: "Question Asked" (Discovery)
  - Sub-beat 2: "Truth Avoidance Attempted" (Crisis)
  - Sub-beat 3: "Direct Admission" (Turning Point)
```

**Result**: Parent beat now has detailed sub-structure showing how the larger moment unfolds.

### 3. `list_narrative_beats`

Lists all narrative beats, optionally filtered by parent chart.

**When to use**: After creating beats, to verify they're properly stored and to review the narrative arc.

**Parameters**:
- `parentChartId` (optional): Filter to beats within a specific chart

**Result**: Shows all beats with:
- Title and act number
- Dramatic type and universes involved
- Full description and prose
- Explicit lessons
- Relational alignment assessments (if invoked)
- Four Directions guidance (if invoked)

## Integration with Optional iaip-mcp Tools

When creating narrative beats, you can optionally invoke iaip-mcp tools for relational and directional enrichment. These are NOT required for beats to work, but add depth:

### `assess_relational_alignment` (Optional)

Assesses how well the narrative beat aligns with relational science principles:
- Does the beat honor the web of relationships?
- What relational responsibilities emerge?
- How does this moment affect the relational field?

**Use when**: The beat involves relational harm or breach (transgression, integrity test, apology, repair)

### `get_direction_guidance` (Optional)

Provides guidance from the Four Directions framework (North, East, South, West):
- **North**: Vision/Dream - what's the larger purpose?
- **East**: Awakening/Intention - what's the call to action?
- **South**: Gathering/Emotion - what's the emotional/relational wisdom?
- **West**: Going-in/Introspection - what's the deeper meaning?

**Use when**: The beat needs ceremonial or spiritual perspective, or to integrate indigenous wisdom frameworks.

### `initiate_holistic_inquiry` (Optional)

Begins a structured four-direction exploration of the beat's themes.

**Use when**: You want to move through North→East→South→West systematically to develop deep understanding.

## Common LLM Mistakes with Narrative Beats

❌ **Creating beats for action steps**
- Action steps become sub-charts via `add_action_step` and `telescope_action_step`
- Use beats for story/incident documentation, not for breaking down task work

❌ **Using beats instead of charts for desired outcomes**
- Beats document what happened; charts create what you want
- Don't use beats to establish goals

❌ **Ignoring the three universes**
- A beat with only "engineer-world" perspective isn't complete
- Each significant beat should engage all three or explicitly explain why only some apply

❌ **Creating too many beats**
- Each beat should represent a meaningful story moment
- Not every action step needs a beat; only significant transitions/learnings/transgressions

❌ **Forgetting that beats are first-class entities**
- Use `list_narrative_beats` to query and verify
- Don't manually add beat entries to JSONL; use the tool
- Beats have their own relations and metadata just like charts

## Workflow: From Action to Narrative Beat

**Common pattern**:
1. **Create chart** with structural tension (outcome + reality)
2. **Add action steps** as strategic intermediaries
3. **Complete action steps** as you work
4. **Recognize significant learning** from an action
5. **Create narrative beat** documenting that learning across three universes
6. **Telescope the beat** to show sub-moments if needed
7. **Use list_narrative_beats** to view your narrative arc

**Result**: Your chart now has:
- Strategic action structure (action steps)
- Story structure (narrative beats) showing what the work meant
- Both technical and relational dimensions visible

## Session Memory: Narrative Beats Guidance

**SAVE THIS**: Add narrative beat guidance to your session memory:
- Claude Code: Include "Narrative Beats" section in CLAUDE.md
- Projects: Document narrative beat usage patterns in README.md
- Session continuity: Save beat names and their relational significance

This ensures future instances understand:
- Which beats are active in this story
- What each beat represents
- How beats integrate optional iaip-mcp tools