Sources & method
A table with a story
StoryTable is a personal project for people who love cinema and want to understand how stories work.
The original chart
The Periodic Table of Storytelling was created by James Harris, also known as ComputerSherpa and DawnPaladin. Its symbols, names, category membership, original positions, and historical kilowick values were checked against the creator’s public source on October 6, 2026.
Read the original source ↗The original chart is licensed under Creative Commons Attribution–NonCommercial 4.0. StoryTable adapts its presentation and adds search, editorial summaries, and filmmaker resources. The original creator does not endorse this adaptation.
Definitions and wiki references
Trope names link to the corresponding TV Tropes pages identified in the original chart. Definitions here are concise editorial summaries, with corrections to the project’s earlier data. They are not copied wiki articles. TV Tropes is a community reference, and this project is not affiliated with it.
Kilowicks count thousands of links within the wiki in the source chart’s historical snapshot. They do not measure present-day search demand, film quality, or how often a trope appears in movies.
Using the resources
The guides and tools offer practical starting points, rather than mandatory screenplay rules. Fictional examples in the guides are original exercises. The new guide text and tool workflows were developed with AI assistance; no professional credentials or outside expert review are claimed.
Loglines, outlines, and shot lists are edited in your browser. The tools do not submit those drafts to a server or save them between visits. Download your work before leaving.