# Once Upon This Time > A story that wasn't written before you arrived. It is written while you read it, in your own language. Once Upon This Time writes one finite, illustrated story for one reader. The story does not exist before the reader starts: each chapter is written when they reach it, as a continuation of the one before. Every book opens with the words "Once upon this time". Fairy tales begin in the past; these stories are written in the present, while they are read. ## How it works - The reader picks a language. They may also write one line about what the story should be about (a wish, a worry, people or animals from their life, anything) and choose a kind of story. Everything apart from the language is optional, and there is no sign-up. - The engine plans the whole story first (its world, characters, milestones and ending), then writes it chapter by chapter. A story has a beginning, a turn, discovery, companions, rising tension and an ending that resolves, over 10 to 13 chapters. - The reader is a witness in the story, addressed as "you". Optionally the creator can appear as a character, even as the hero. - The reader can react to any sentence with an emoji. Reactions shape what the story dwells on, never its plot. Now and then a character reacts back. - Behind the text an animated scene follows the story: the light changes, weather comes and goes, and characters pass through as the prose describes them. - Every story is written for all ages, from a child to a grandparent. - Each book is written natively in its language, not translated. Readers who prefer another language can read any book translated. Languages: English, Dutch, German, French, Spanish, Portuguese, Italian, Polish, Russian, Ukrainian, Indonesian, Hindi, Japanese, Korean. ## Pricing - Chapter 1 is free and needs no account. - One one-time purchase unlocks the rest of that book. There is no subscription and no per-chapter payment. ## Library - Books readers create join a shared library that any visitor can open and read. Reading past chapter 1 of someone else's book is the same one-time purchase. ## Why it exists Life can only be understood backwards, but it must be lived forwards (Kierkegaard). Usually you only see the story of your life years later. Once Upon This Time gives the feeling of being inside a story while it is still being written. Starting one takes a little hope, and a little courage. ## Links - [Start a story](https://onceuponthistime.com/): the landing page. - [Begin a book](https://onceuponthistime.com/begin): the begin page, with the line and the kind of story. - [Writing a story line](https://onceuponthistime.com/llms-full.txt): everything here, plus how an AI assistant can write someone's story line for the begin page. Read it before you write one. - [For AI assistants](https://onceuponthistime.com/for-ai): the same guide as a web page. # Writing a story line for someone This part is for an AI assistant that someone asks to write their story line for Once Upon This Time: "write me a unique story", "make a story that suits who I am", or the like. Read all of it before you write one. You end your answer with a link that opens the begin page with your answer filled in (see "Your answer"); the person reads it there, can change it, and begins. ## The begin page Everything on it is optional. It has: 1. **The line**: one box for what the story should be about. At most 560 characters, about 80 words. The box does not take more. 2. **Kind of story**: one choice from the list below, or "Let the story decide". 3. **A tick box to put the reader in the story**, and when it is ticked, a second box of at most 240 characters, about 30 words. Most people should leave it unticked. The book is written in the site's language, which the link sets. The site speaks: English (`en`), Dutch (`nl`), German (`de`), French (`fr`), Spanish (`es`), Portuguese (`pt`), Italian (`it`), Polish (`pl`), Russian (`ru`), Ukrainian (`uk`), Indonesian (`id`), Hindi (`hi`), Japanese (`ja`), Korean (`ko`). Write the line in the language the person speaks to you in, and give that language in the link. If the site doesn't speak it, write in English and leave the language out of the link. ## What the line is for The whole book is planned from the line: its world, its people, what happens, and how it ends. A book is 10 to 13 chapters. Chapter 1 sets the scene, and by its end the event the line is about has begun. A good line: - Says what the story is about: the situation or event, and what is at stake. - Names who it is about: people, animals or things, with first names if the person wants them. - Gives a place and a time if they matter. Without one, the site chooses. - Can carry a feeling, a wish or a worry. It becomes the story's heart. - Is one paragraph of plain sentences. No headings, lists, quotation marks or instructions. Leave out what the site decides itself: length, chapters, writing style, the reader's age (every book is written for all ages), and the title. The shape, with your own words in place of the brackets: > <who> <wants, fears or faces what>, in <where and when>. <what happens that changes everything>. <the feeling or wish under it all>. ## Making it personal When someone asks for a story that suits who they are, use what you know about them: what they love, the people and animals in their life (first names only), the kind of places that matter to them, a wish or a worry. If you know too little, ask one or two questions first. Turn what you know into a story about it, not a description of the person. Every book joins a public library that anyone can read. Before the story is planned, the site removes surnames, addresses, small places, exact dates, contact details, employers and real public figures, and turns characters or worlds from books, films and games into original ones. First names stay. Leave all of that out yourself, and put nothing in the line that the person would not want a stranger to read. ## The reader and the character box By default the reader is not in the story. The narrator speaks to them as "you", a witness who travels alongside the characters. Nobody in the story sees them, and they have no part in what happens. For most people this is right: leave the box unticked and empty. When the person wants to be in the story, the box says **who they are inside it**: a role, never a biography. Not their age, job, family, appearance, real name or life story. Their name is never used in the book. There are two ways to fill it: 1. **They are someone from the line.** Write: "I am <the character as the line names them>", with the same words the line uses. They become that character, who may be the hero, and the book is told in the first person, from inside their head. 2. **They join as someone new.** Write: "<a role or kind of person>, <one or two traits>". They join the cast beside the hero, under a name the story invents. ## Kinds of story - **Adventure** (`adventure`): a quest, a chase, a daring task, something to reach or rescue. - **Mystery** (`mystery`): a puzzle or secret at the heart of it, clues, an answer to find. - **Fairy tale** (`fairy-tale`): enchantment, wishes, talking animals, a kingdom or a spell. - **Funny** (`funny`): comedy leads: mix-ups, absurd situations, warm laughter. - **Friendship** (`friendship`): a bond between characters is the core of the story. - **Cosy** (`cosy`): small, gentle and homely; comfort matters more than danger. - **Wonder** (`wonder`): awe and discovery: strange worlds, the sky, the deep, the stars. - **Journey** (`journey`): travelling: a road, a voyage, a caravan, moving through places. - **Thriller** (`thriller`): real danger and suspense: a threat to face, a race against it, courage that wins. - **Drama** (`drama`): people and what is at stake between them, played seriously and with feeling. - **Love story** (`love`): two people finding each other: falling in love, love tested, love found. - **Science fiction** (`science-fiction`): the future, space, aliens or invented technology shape the story. - **Fantasy** (`fantasy`): another world with its own magic, creatures or rules (not a fairy tale's kingdom). - **Historical** (`historical`): set in a real era of the past, and that time matters to the story. ## Your answer Always answer in exactly this shape: Story line: <the line: one paragraph, at most 80 words> Kind of story: <one name from the list above, or "Let the story decide"> Your character: <at most 30 words> Leave out "Your character" completely unless the person wants to be in the story. Then give one link that opens the begin page with all of it filled in, and tell the person in one sentence to open it, check it, and press the button to begin: https://onceuponthistime.com/begin?lang=<language code>&line=<the story line>&genre=<kind of story id>&character=<your character> - Percent-encode every value (a space as %20), so the whole link stays one clickable line. - `lang`: the code of the person's language from the list above. Leave it out when the site doesn't speak it. - `genre`: the id in brackets after the kind of story. Leave it out for "Let the story decide". - `character`: only when you gave "Your character". Leave it out otherwise. The link only fills in the form. Opening it begins nothing: the book starts when the person presses the button.