Story Generator

This skill generates complete graphic novel narratives about key contributors to various subjects for intelligent textbooks built with MkDocs Material markdown. The stories are designed to be inspirational, engaging and educational for high school students, with a focus on historical accuracy and compelling storytelling. Each story includes detailed image prompts for AI image generation of each panel, ensuring a visually rich experience that complements the narrative. Each panel image is followed by a short 3-4 sentence narrative that provides context and emotional depth to the scene depicted, making the story accessible and engaging for high school students.

When to Use This Skill

Use this skill when:

The user requests a new graphic novel story about a scientist or physicist
Adding a story to a Physics History Graphic Novels section
Creating educational narrative content with image prompts for AI image generation
The user mentions "story", "graphic novel", or "narrative" about a historical scientist

Story Structure

Each story follows a consistent structure designed to engage high school students:

Required Components

YAML Frontmatter - Title, description, social media image paths
Cover Image - With detailed generation prompt in <details> block
Narrative Prompt - Background context for generating the story
Prologue - Hook introducing the scientist's significance
Chapters (12-14) - Each with narrative text, image placeholder, and image prompt for the panel
Epilogue - Lessons table summarizing what made the scientist successful
Call to Action - Inspiring message connecting to readers
Quotes - 2-3 memorable quotes from the scientist
References - Academic sources (can use placeholders initially)

A template for the story structure can be found in skills/story-generator/references/index-template.md.

Image Prompt Requirements

Every image prompt must specify:

Wide-landscape 16:9 format
Period-appropriate art style (e.g., "Victorian", "Art Nouveau", "Renaissance")
Specific scene details and characters
Color palette guidance
Emotional tone and mood

Workflow

Step 1: Gather Information and Plan the Story

Before writing, identify:

The scientist's name and birth/death years
Key discoveries or contributions
Central theme (e.g., "overcoming doubters", "persistence through failure")
Historical period and appropriate art style
3-5 key life events that form the narrative arc

Step 2: Create Story Directory

mkdir -p docs/stories/<scientist-name>

Use lowercase with hyphens for directory names (e.g., nikola-tesla, marie-curie).

Step 3: Write the Story

Create docs/stories/<scientist-name>/index.md with the following structure:

---
title: <Catchy Title> - <Scientist Name>'s <Theme>
description: A graphic-novel story of how <brief description>...
image: /stories/<scientist-name>/cover.png
og:image: /stories/<scientist-name>/cover.png
twitter:image: /stories/<scientist-name>/cover.png
social:
   cards: false
---

# <Catchy Title>: <Subtitle>

![Cover image](./cover.png)
<details>
<summary>Cover Image Prompt</summary>
[Detailed cover image generation prompt - 16:9 format, period style, composition details.
Include specific characters, setting, color palette, and emotional tone.]
</details>

<details>
<summary>Narrative Prompt</summary>
[Background context and style guide for the entire story]
</details>

### Prologue – <Hook Title>

[Opening narrative establishing the scientist's importance]

![](./panel-01.png)
<details><summary>Image Prompt</summary>
Please generate a 16:9 image in [period style] depicting the the first panel. The scene should include [specific characters], set in [specific setting including period in time and location], with a color palette of [color palette]. The emotional tone should be [emotional tone].
[Detailed image prompt for prologue scene with a minimum of 6 specific details to guide the AI image generation.]
</details>

## Panel N – <Panel Title>

![](./panel-N.png)
<details><summary>Image Prompt</summary>
Please generate a 16:9 image in [period style] depicting the panel N. The scene should include [specific characters], set in [specific setting including period in time and location], with a color palette of [color palette]. The emotional tone should be [emotional tone].
[Detailed image prompt for prologue scene with a minimum of 6 specific details to guide the AI image generation.]
</details>

[Panel narrative text which is 3-4 sentences long.  This is the text that will appear in the graphic novel panel.  It should be engaging and move the story forward, while also being historically accurate and appropriate for high school students.  The narrative should be written in a way that complements the image, providing context and emotional depth to the scene depicted.  Use active voice and vivid descriptions to bring the story to life, while also ensuring that the language is accessible to the target audience.]

[Continue for 12-14 chapters...]

### Epilogue – What Made <Scientist> Different?

[Summary of lessons learned]

| Challenge | How <Scientist> Responded | Lesson for Today |
|-----------|---------------------------|------------------|
| ... | ... | ... |

### Call to Action

[Inspiring message connecting to readers]

---

*"Quote from scientist"*
—<Scientist Name>

---

## References

1. [Title](PLACEHOLDER) - Description
[Continue with 4-6 references]

Important: Always use .png extension for image references (not .jpg).

Step 4: Add to Navigation

Edit mkdocs.yml to add the story in chronological order by birth year:

- Stories:
    - Overview: stories/index.md
    - <Scientist Name> - <Title>: stories/<scientist-name>/index.md

Reference chronological order:

Archimedes (287 BC)
Galileo (1564)
Newton (1643)
Faraday (1791)
Tesla (1856)
Marie Curie (1867)
Rutherford (1871)
Lise Meitner (1878)
Einstein (1879)
Chien-Shiung Wu (1912)
Vera Rubin (1928)

Step 5: Add Grid Card to Stories Index

Edit docs/stories/index.md to add a card using MkDocs Material grid format:

- **[<Story Title>](<scientist-name>/index.md)**

    ![<Scientist Name>](./<scientist-name>/cover.png)
    <2-4 sentence compelling description emphasizing the story's theme>

Writing Guidelines

Target Audience

High school students (grades 9-12)
Age 14-18
Introductory physics background
Reading level: accessible but not dumbed down

Narrative Style

Use active voice and vivid descriptions
Include dialogue when historically appropriate
Balance drama with educational accuracy
Emphasize the human story behind discoveries
Show struggles, failures, and persistence
Connect historical events to modern technology

Theme Development

Choose a central theme that resonates with teenagers:

Overcoming doubters and skeptics
Persistence through failure
Self-education and curiosity
Fighting against discrimination
Seeing what others couldn't see
Staying humble despite success

Historical Accuracy

Research key dates, events, and relationships
Use historically accurate details in image prompts
Note any creative liberties in the narrative prompt
Include verifiable quotes when possible

Art Style Reference by Era

Era	Suggested Art Style
Ancient (before 500 AD)	Classical Mediterranean, mosaic-inspired
Renaissance (1400-1600)	Italian Renaissance, warm lighting
Enlightenment (1600-1800)	Baroque, Dutch Golden Age
Victorian (1800-1900)	Pre-Raphaelite, industrial
Gilded Age (1870-1900)	Art Nouveau, American industrial
Early Modern (1900-1950)	Art Deco, Modernist
Mid-Century (1950-1980)	Atomic Age, clean lines
Contemporary	Photorealistic with period elements

Checklist

After completing a story, verify: