“My second act sagged for months and I couldn’t work out why. Turns out two chapters had nothing coming out of them. Nobody had ever told me to look for that.”
YasinEarly Scyn user
01 · Visual story planning for novelists
Plan a novel where every scene earns its place.
Scyn maps your scenes as cause and effect, so you can uncover plot holes, missing setups, and dead-end threads before they become rewrites. Build a visual story map as you draft. Plan chapters, connect plot points, and see how every choice shapes what happens next.
The Hollow Sea · Act I · Story Mode
- The ferry route is cut→ forces a harder way home
The notice went up on the harbour wall the week they buried her father. No winter crossing to Brenn. Council’s order. Effective immediately. Ida read it twice while the salt wind worried at the paper. Brenn was still home. Getting there was now the problem.
- Ida hires the Maren→ puts her in the skipper’s debt
Only the Maren still worked the strait, the one boat her father had sworn never to board. Ida found the skipper mending nets at low tide. “Passage to Brenn,” she said. He was quiet long enough for her to know he wanted more than money.
- The skipper names his price
“Keep your money.” The skipper folded the net across his knees. “One hour with your father’s tide charts. That’s the fare.” The satchel sat heavy on Ida’s shoulder. Whatever her father had hidden in those soundings, she had just agreed to let the skipper see it.
Same scenes. Same causal chain. Now read in story order.
Writers using Scyn
Writers are already planning with it.
“I still draft in Word. I just plan in Scyn first now, because the arrows make it obvious when a scene isn’t paying anything off.”
RichardEarly Scyn user
“It took me one evening to move the whole beat sheet across. I wanted to see how the threads connected, and a spreadsheet was never going to show me that.”
BeckyEarly Scyn user
02 · Try it
Your outline says what happens. Scyn shows why.
A list can hide a scene with no cause and no consequence. The same scenes on a visual plot map make the weak link obvious. Can you spot it?
The outline · chapter order
- The ferry route is cut
- Ida hires the Maren
- The skipper names his price
- The charts show a false reef
- The chapel bell rings at midnight
- Ida rows out at slack tide
Six scenes in order. The gap is easy to miss.
03 · Your first map
Build your story map from the scenes you already know.
No complete outline or plotting formula required. Add one turning point, connect what it changes, and follow the chain into your next scene.
- 01Capture
Turn each scene into a card
Add a short title, an optional note, and its chapter or act. Keep the prose in your writing app.
- 02Connect
Show what each scene causes
Draw an arrow from cause to consequence. Add a label only when the relationship needs explaining.
- 03Test
Follow the chain
Trace cause and effect across chapters and acts. Story Mode puts the same scenes back in reading order.
04 · Explore the product
Explore a working visual plot map.
Pick up The Hollow Sea in Act II. Filter the map, open a scene to see what caused it and where it leads, then switch to Story Mode to read the chain as a draft.
The Hollow Sea
HighlightTap a marker to show or hide its scenesShowing 5 of 5 scenes.
Chapter 6 · 4 beats
The charts
Paragraph
Ida kept the lamp low as she unlocked the chart room. Salt had silvered the lock, but the key still turned. Her father’s tide charts lay in careful stacks. She took the newest one first.
The same reef appeared twice, one cable apart. Ida checked the older charts. They showed it once.
* * *
A chain rattled outside. Marta stood at the boathouse doors with the harbour key in her fist. She did not ask what Ida had found. Her eyes went straight to the doubled reef. “No one takes a boat tonight,” she said.
05 · Your work
Your story remains yours.
Scyn saves your map to your account. It doesn’t read your manuscript, generate scenes, or decide what happens next.
Pick up on any device
Your active project syncs to your account, so your map is there when you return.
No AI co-writing
Scyn doesn’t read your prose or invent a plot. Every scene and connection is your decision.
Try the actual workflow
The demo uses the same scenes, connections, filters, and Story Mode you get after signing up.
06 · Plans
Map the first 100 scenes free.
Free includes one novel with acts, chapters, up to 100 scenes, and 200 links. At scene 101, start your one-time 14-day Pro trial or upgrade to keep adding scenes.
One novel, up to 100 scenes
$0no time limit
Build a substantial map and see whether visual planning earns a place beside your draft.
- One active editable novel
- Up to 100 scenes and 200 links
- Chapter, act, and color filters
- Five retained snapshots
- PNG export
A home for every story
$70/year
For writers managing several active storiesKeep every project active and invite other people into the map.
- Unlimited projects
- 1,000 scenes and 2,000 links per map
- Story Mode, goals, stats, and Cast & Places
- Unlisted share links and up to five collaborators
- 30 restorable versions
- PDF and DOCX exports
07 · Before you start
Story planning questions, answered.
Visual story planning puts scenes on a map instead of hiding them in a list. In Scyn, you connect each scene to what causes it and what it changes, making plot holes, missing setups, and dead-end threads easier to see.
No. Scyn is story planning software, not a full writing suite. Draft in the writing app you already use, and use Scyn to map scenes, connect cause and effect, and test whether the plot holds together.
No. Scyn doesn’t read your manuscript, suggest a plot, or write a word. You create every scene and decide what each connection means.
Yes. Free includes one novel with up to 100 scenes and 200 links, acts, chapters, colour filters, five retained snapshots, account saving, and PNG export. There is no time limit and you don’t need a credit card to start.
Story Mode puts the scenes from your map back into chapter order while keeping their causes visible. Use it to read the chain and test whether the story holds together. Story Mode is included with Scyn Pro; drafting stays in your writing app.
No. Scyn works with your plotting method, whether you follow a beat sheet, write by discovery, or do something in between. Add the scenes you know, connect what leads to what, and reshape the map as the story develops.
08 · Start mapping
Know why every scene belongs before you draft the next one.
100 scenes free · No credit card · Saved to your account