# Narrative Keyframing for Generative Creative Writing

arXiv: https://arxiv.org/abs/2608.10337 · HTML: https://mlsanity.com/paper/2608.10337/

## Key facts

- Cited by 1 papers in the map (data through 14 Oct 2026).
- Builds on 23 of its 89 references that are in the map.
- First posted on arXiv 11 Aug 2026.

## Builds on (most cited first, 23 of 23)

- [Hierarchical Neural Story Generation](https://mlsanity.com/paper/1805.04833/) (2018)
- [AI Chains: Transparent and Controllable Human-AI Interaction by Chaining Large Language Model Prompts](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2110.01691/) (2021)
- [CoAuthor: Designing a Human-AI Collaborative Writing Dataset for Exploring Language Model Capabilities](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2201.06796/) (2022)
- [Co-Writing Screenplays and Theatre Scripts with Language Models: An Evaluation by Industry Professionals](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2209.14958/) (2022)
- [A Design Space for Intelligent and Interactive Writing Assistants](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2403.14117/) (2024)
- [Luminate: Structured Generation and Exploration of Design Space with Large Language Models for Human-AI Co-Creation](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2310.12953/) (2023)
- [Shaping Human-AI Collaboration: Varied Scaffolding Levels in Co-writing with Language Models](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2402.11723/) (2024)
- [VISAR: A Human-AI Argumentative Writing Assistant with Visual Programming and Rapid Draft Prototyping](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2304.07810/) (2023)
- [AI-Slop to AI-Polish? Aligning Language Models through Edit-Based Writing Rewards and Test-time Computation](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2504.07532/) (2025)
- [Patchview: LLM-Powered Worldbuilding with Generative Dust and Magnet Visualization](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2408.04112/) (2024)
- [StoryVerse: Towards Co-authoring Dynamic Plot with LLM-based Character Simulation via Narrative Planning](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2405.13042/) (2024)
- [Mechanical Novel: Crowdsourcing Complex Work through Reflection and Revision](https://mlsanity.com/paper/1611.02682/) (2016)
- [Authors' Values and Attitudes Towards AI-bridged Scalable Personalization of Creative Language Arts](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2403.00439/) (2024)
- [Heteroglossia: In-Situ Story Ideation with the Crowd](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2001.04519/) (2020)
- [A Character-Centric Creative Story Generation via Imagination](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2409.16667/) (2024)
- [Visual Story-Writing: Writing by Manipulating Visual Representations of Stories](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2410.07486/) (2024)
- [TaleStream: Supporting Story Ideation with Trope Knowledge](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2309.03790/) (2023)
- [From Words to Widgets for Controllable LLM Generation](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2604.10925/) (2026)
- ["I Like Your Story!": A Co-Creative Story-Crafting Game with a Persona-Driven Character Based on Generative AI](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2503.09102/) (2025)
- [Constella: Supporting Storywriters' Interconnected Character Creation through LLM-based Multi-Agents](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2507.05820/) (2025)
- [Narrix: Remixing Narrative Strategies from Examples for Story Writing](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2604.07643/) (2026)
- [Texterial: A Text-as-Material Interaction Paradigm for LLM-Mediated Writing](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2603.00452/) (2026)
- [ORIBA: Exploring LLM-Driven Role-Play Chatbot as a Creativity Support Tool for Original Character Artists](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2512.12630/) (2025)

## Built on by (most cited first, 1 of 1)

- [Designing Proactive Thought Partners for Writing](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2609.01588/) (2026)

## Abstract (arXiv)

We introduce narrative keyframing, an interaction technique for AI-assisted creative writing that lets writers specify different types of narrative constraints at selected moments in a story, then use AI to generate intervening prose. Inspired by the use of keyframing in animation, narrative keyframing offers a flexible way to connect story planning with adaptive control over generated text. We explore three types of keyframes: plot keyframes define significant events in a story, character keyframes represent how individual characters change over the narrative, and perspective keyframes capture how individual characters experience different events through first-person narratives. Plot and character keyframes offer a flexible way to adapt the type of high-level conditioning explored in previous AI writing tools to more customizable, iterative, and fine-scale control, while perspective keyframes add a new way to control characterization and focalization by using first-person narratives as an intermediary. Through a user study, we show that narrative keyframing supports a more controllable, transparent, and engaging way to use generative AI in creative writing.