Alright, Chat.
Time for Episode 1: Brainstorming what we are going to write.
Let’s also try to keep your answers and prompts on the shorter side during this segment, does that sound good?
Sounds great! Let’s start simple:
Do you have a specific genre or theme in mind, or do you want to explore a range of possibilities?
I write fiction, so we’ll keep it in that vein. Lately I have been toying with the idea of writing a standalone portal fantasy set in the modern era that has cozy vibes. Where the protagonist finds themselves wanting to spend more and more time in the portal world to avoid the reality of their stressful life. Think animal crossing meets Alice in wonderland.
I think the main conflict should be something along the lines of realizing that she isn’t fulfilled in either world. (Oh hey, look at that. Apparently the protagonist is a she.)
But I’m not sure. I’m just spit balling here.
I love that premise — it’s rich with emotional depth and has the potential for both whimsy and introspection.
A quick question to refine the idea: Is the portal world inherently escapist and idyllic, or does it subtly challenge her in unexpected ways?
Hmm… good question. I think she treats it as escapist but the trick of it is that her anxieties and troubles from her world don’t actually leave her when she is there. They are manifested there too, just separate from her in a different “zone” or area maybe.
That’s a compelling twist — it keeps the story from being pure wish fulfillment and adds depth to her journey.
Next question: How does she access the portal? Is it a physical place, an object, a recurring event, or something else?
Oh! How about she is the great great grand niece of the original Alice or something which we find out later, but she is given a gift on her birthday, a pocket watch locket. She is messing with it one night while she lays in bed playing an animal crossing-esque video game and a new bunny character pops up on the screen and she interacts with it and gets sucked in.
Alice gets sucked in just that once though doesn’t she? In the original book? I know she goes back later…. Not that it has to be the same.
Yes, in the original Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland, Alice falls into the rabbit hole once. In Through the Looking-Glass, she enters a different world by stepping through a mirror.
Would you like your protagonist to be able to return at will, or should she initially be trapped until she figures something out?
Ah, that’s right. Okay. Hmm. What are the benefits of both and the downsides of both given what we’ve discussed so far?
Good question! Let’s break it down:
Option 1: She Can Return at Will
Pros:
She actively chooses to return, reinforcing the idea that she’s using it as an escape.
She can experiment with balancing both worlds, making the contrast between them more pronounced.
The story can explore her increasing dependency on the portal world, showing how it affects her real life.
Cons:
The stakes might feel lower if she can leave whenever she wants.
It could be harder to establish tension early on — unless something starts luring her back or making her time there longer.
The mystery of the portal might feel less urgent if she always has control over it.
Option 2: She Is Initially Trapped
Pros:
Creates immediate tension — how does she get back? Does she even want to?
Forces her to confront the portal world fully instead of just dipping in and out.
Allows for a stronger hero’s journey structure — she has to earn her way back.
Cons:
If she’s trapped, it might make the story feel more like an adventure than an escapist fantasy.
If her real-world stress is a big part of the plot, we lose contrast until she returns.
You’d need to establish why she stays in the portal world once she can leave — otherwise, she’d just go home the moment she’s able.
Hybrid Approach?
Maybe at first, she can return at will, but over time, the portal world starts pulling her in more often or for longer periods.
Perhaps the pocket watch locket malfunctions, and she has to figure out how to fix it.
Or she can return whenever she wants, but something changes in the real world each time — making it more unsettling to leave.
Would you like to explore one of these options further, or do any of these ideas spark something new?
All good points. I think I lean toward a hybrid approach. I like the idea of the escapism being something that gets corrupted by over use and turning into almost an addiction that then won’t let her go. I also like the idea that it then turns on her after it has its claws in and starts to force her to face the anxieties from the real world. Very Alice in Wonderlandy but a bit darker.
That approach adds a lot of depth — it turns the portal world into both a refuge and a trap, making her arc much more compelling.
Next question: What is her real-world stressor? What is she trying to escape from?
Well, I think to figure that out we have to figure out who she is.
Agreed! Let’s start with a few core traits:
Age & Stage of Life — Is she a teen (YA), a young adult struggling with independence, or someone older facing burnout?
Personality & Coping Style — Is she passive and avoiding problems, or is she overwhelmed but trying to push through?
Biggest Fear or Insecurity — What emotional wound makes the portal world so tempting?
Do you have any initial instincts, or should we throw out a few possibilities?
My instinct says she is an older teen. Maybe coming to the end of her summer year and her plans for college or her future just got annihilated by external circumstances. Maybe she had an athletic scholarship and got in a car wreck, maybe she is trans and entering the army but now the military isn’t accepting trans people, maybe it’s none of those things. Maybe it is everything going right but also not right because the world feels like a fucking dumpster fire. I’ll need to think on this one…
Personality is joke to cover pain and grin and bear it. Maybe she used to be a Pollyanna type but finds herself being more and more sarcastic about it now. She isn’t passive, she is trying to push through but there is only so much that is within her control.
Her biggest fear is to be unprepared. The pull of the portal world is that everything she could ever need is just an inventory or crafting table away and advancing in life and improving her world is clear cut and listed out in obvious checkboxes.
This is shaping up into a really layered character — someone who wants to keep moving forward but is losing faith in the world’s ability to make that possible.
Would you like to brainstorm more about her backstory and what specifically derailed her plans, or should we shift to defining the portal world itself?
That’s a good way to summarize her situation. She wants to move forward and have hope for her future but is becoming severely disillusioned by the world and events that are out of her control.
That sounds like it so maybe too cliche right now though. Is it?
It’s a strong foundation, and while disillusioned youth grappling with the world is a common theme, it’s how you execute it that makes it fresh. Here’s why I think your approach has distinctive potential:
The Portal World’s Appeal — The clear-cut, gamified progression system is a unique way to externalize her struggles. It’s not just escapism — it’s an illusion of control in a life where she feels powerless.
2. Tone & Voice — If she has a sharp, wry, sarcastic-but-hopeful voice, it’ll stand out. If she was once a Pollyanna type but is now forced to reevaluate, that shift gives her emotional depth.
3. The Cause of Her Disillusionment — If it’s just generic world-weariness, it could feel overdone. But if it’s something personal — a hyper-specific loss of agency — then it’ll resonate more.
Would you like to refine the exact cause of her loss of faith so it feels uniquely hers? Or do you want to sketch out how the portal world contrasts with her real life first?
Good point about the generic-world weariness being overdone. Let’s dig in to her exact loss of faith. Maybe take some parallel inspiration from Alice in Wonderland or Alice through the Looking Glass?
Great idea! Let’s look at Alice’s journey for thematic inspiration:
Alice in Wonderland — She tumbles into a chaotic world where logic doesn’t apply. The story reflects a child trying to make sense of nonsensical adult rules and struggling with identity.
Parallel: Maybe your protagonist believed in a merit-based system — work hard, follow the rules, and life will turn out okay — only to discover that the world is actually chaotic and unfair.
Through the Looking-Glass — Alice enters a world structured like a chessboard, where every move is dictated by strict, arbitrary rules. She tries to navigate it but has no real control over the game.
Parallel: Maybe your protagonist had a life path that was carefully planned and structured, but an external force (society, bureaucracy, an institution) changed the rules mid-game and shattered her trajectory.
Specific Ideas for Her Loss of Faith
She followed all the steps and still lost — (e.g., she worked hard for a scholarship but lost it due to something out of her control).
She was promised fairness, but the system failed her — (e.g., a sudden policy change, family circumstances, or a betrayal ruined her plans).
She thought she had control, but she never did — (e.g., she thought she was making choices, but in reality, she was always at the mercy of forces she didn’t see).
Do any of these resonate, or would you like to blend elements into something more tailored?
Hmm… no. Although I do find it interesting that this is maybe the opposite of Wonderland. Our Alice is in a world where nothing makes sense and is escaping to a world where everything does. That almost provides the opportunity to point out that even in worlds that appear to be orderly and logical, they are still fabrications and constructs that we have to maintain to keep orderly.
A mirror for our Alice character if that is what we shoot for thematically is something she took for granted as being reliable while not realizing that it required more attention and care to maintain. So, that could be maybe a friendship, her grades, her health, or maybe it is literally her Pollyanna attitude. She took it for granted that she would always be able to find the bright side of things so she never practiced strategies for how to handle it when depression strike.
So, maybe she gets fucking blindsided by everything. Her best friend in a car wreck from someone else hitting them, she survived but only barely and now she no longer has her scholarship through track to get her to college, she also used to run to manage her stress and she can’t even do that anymore, and her parents are stressed out trying to pay for the medical bills AND find a way to pay for her college tuition all while still trying to take care of her younger twin siblings, and then the subject she planned to study in college is suddenly made unnecessary because of some technological discovery that she should be happy about but is irritated by because now what the hell is she supposed to do? She trained maybe to become an architect but some new AI tech came out and now the position is annihilated despite everyone saying that would be decades out and she’d at least have a job training the AI’s.
This setup makes her struggle feel deeply personal and layered. She’s not just dealing with a single setback — she’s facing a complete unraveling of everything she trusted to carry her forward.
Her escape to the portal world makes total sense now. It’s not just avoidance — it’s grasping for a sense of control in a life that’s slipping through her fingers.
Would you like to explore the portal world’s mechanics next, or do you want to refine her emotional arc first?
Cool.
First can you maybe summarize what I’ve decided on so far? I’m starting to lose track.
Of course! Here’s a concise summary of what you’ve established so far:
Story Premise & Themes
Standalone portal fantasy with cozy vibes but a darker undertone.
Thematic contrast: Her real world is chaotic and nonsensical, while the portal world appears orderly and logical.
Core conflict: She initially treats the portal world as an escape, but overuse makes it addictive, and it eventually forces her to confront the anxieties she was trying to avoid.
Protagonist
Older teen, possibly finishing senior year.
Personality:
Used to be a Pollyanna type, but trauma has made her cynical and sarcastic.
Not passive — she’s trying to push through but is overwhelmed by forces out of her control.
Biggest fear:
Being unprepared for life. The portal world appeals to her because everything she needs is clear-cut and structured (inventory, crafting tables, task lists).
What broke her faith in the world?
She assumed she’d always find the bright side but never learned how to cope with true hardship.
She is blindsided by cascading losses:
Best friend in a car wreck (not her fault), survived but barely.
Lost track scholarship due to the accident.
Can’t run anymore, which was her main stress relief.
Parents struggling financially with medical bills, tuition, and younger twin siblings.
Her college major (architecture?) just became obsolete due to an unexpected AI breakthrough.
People say it’s a good thing, but for her, it wiped out her career path overnight.
Portal World & How She Enters
She is the great-great-grandniece of Alice (this is revealed later).
She receives a pocket watch locket as a birthday gift.
One night, while playing an Animal Crossing-esque game, a new bunny character appears on the screen.
She interacts with it and gets pulled into the portal world.
Initially, she can return at will, but over time, it pulls her in more frequently and for longer periods.
Eventually, the portal world turns on her, forcing her to confront her real-world anxieties.
Next Steps
Would you like to:
Define the portal world’s mechanics and aesthetic? (How does it work, what are its rules, how does it shift over time?)
Refine her emotional arc and how it plays out? (When does she realize the portal world isn’t a true escape?)
Develop supporting characters? (Portal world NPCs? Real-world relationships?)
Let me know which direction feels right, or if you need anything clarified!
Those all sound like great next steps but I think this might be a good stopping point for our “Episode 1,” what do you think?
I agree! You’ve built a solid foundation for your protagonist, themes, and core conflict, which makes this a strong stopping point for Episode 1.
When you’re ready for Episode 2, we can dive into defining the portal world’s mechanics, refining her emotional arc, or developing supporting characters. Just let me know where you’d like to start!
Chat's being so nice there in the beginning when you asked it to respond with short answers and it actually DID. I love too how this conversation took a totally different direction than mine would have. I would have picked a middle-aged protagonist who is suddenly young again in the portal world... just one way that human input still matters, even in AI writing.