Best Practices for Prompting with Examples

Welcome to Storynest.ai!

Want to create amazing stories, unforgettable characters, and stunning comics? You're in the right place! Here's your simple guide to getting the best results from our AI.

Creating Stories

The Secret Recipe

Think of your story prompt like a recipe - the more ingredients you include, the richer the flavor! Here's what to include:

Quick Formula:

Write a [genre] story about [main character] in [setting] who must [what they need to do]. Add [tone] and [themes] for [target readers].

Examples to Spark Your Imagination

For a Short Story:

Write a cozy mystery about a retired baker who finds secret recipes hidden in an old cookbook in the attic of her grandmother’s old Victorian home. When customers start acting strangely after eating her rediscovered desserts, she must uncover whether there’s magic in the recipes. Perfect for adult readers who love food and magic, with a warm and whimsical tone.

For a Romance:

Write a contemporary romance about a food truck owner in bustling Seattle who keeps parking in front of a stressed corporate lawyer's office. Their daily coffee-and-argument routine turns into something more when they're forced to collaborate on a neighborhood food festival. Include lots of banter and food descriptions, perfect for readers who love enemies-to-lovers stories.

For a Fantasy Novel:

Write a young adult fantasy about a teenage gamer who discovers she can enter her favorite video games, but each time she does, something from the game world escapes into reality. Set in modern-day Tokyo with lots of neon lights and digital magic. Include themes of friendship, courage, and the blending of virtual and real worlds.

Creating Characters

The Character Recipe

Good characters feel real! Here's how to create them:

Quick Formula:

Create a character who is [occupation/role] and is [personality]. They want to [goal] but struggle with [problem]. When they talk, they often [speech pattern/habit].

Meet Some Example Characters

The Fun Teacher:

Create a high school art teacher who's enthusiastically clumsy and always covered in paint splatters. She wants to organize the biggest student art show her small town has ever seen, but struggles with self-doubt and the school's tight budget. She talks with creative metaphors and often describes emotions in terms of colors.

The Cool Grandma:

Create a 70-year-old former rock band guitarist who now runs a music store. She has silver hair with a purple streak, loves leather jackets, and teaches local kids to play guitar. She wants to organize a huge community concert but worries about being taken seriously due to her age. She speaks with a mix of 1970s slang and modern phrases she learns from her students.

The Inspiring Hero:

Create a teenage superhero who got powers from a freak science fair accident. She's brilliant at chemistry but terrible at keeping secrets. While trying to balance high school and heroics, she wants to find others like her but fears putting her family in danger. She makes nervous science puns when stressed and talks too fast when excited.

Creating Comics

1️. Writing Your Comic Story

First, create the overall story for your comic! This will guide all your scenes.

Story Formula:

Create a [genre] comic about [main character] who [main goal/conflict]. Set in [setting/world], featuring [key story elements] with [tone/style] for [target readers].

Example Comic Stories

Slice of Life Story:

Create a heartwarming comic about Mai, a tech-savvy grandmother learning to make viral cooking videos with her grandson's help. Set in a cozy modern apartment in Tokyo, featuring the blend of traditional cooking and modern social media, with humor and family bonding. Perfect for readers who love intergenerational stories and food culture.

Superhero Story:

Create an action-packed comic about Alex, a teenage barista who discovers their coffee creations give customers temporary superpowers. Set in a busy Seattle café, featuring unexpected hero scenarios, coffee-based powers, and the challenge of keeping the secret from a suspicious health inspector. Mix humor with light action for young adult readers.

Fantasy Story:

Create a magical comic about Zara, a young urban witch opening a magical plant shop in Brooklyn. Her enchanted plants have minds of their own and keep trying to matchmake her with the cute bookstore owner next door. Feature magical mishaps, blooming romance, and plant-based magic with a modern witchy aesthetic for new adult readers.

2️. Creating Individual Scenes

Once you have your story, create amazing scenes within it!

Scene Formula:

[Art style] comic panel showing [character with specific details] [doing specific action] in [detailed setting]. Include [mood/lighting] and [important visual elements].

Example Scene Prompts

Character Introduction:

Manga-style comic panel showing Mai (70-year-old grandmother with silver hair in a modern apron) setting up her phone to record in her sunny kitchen. Warm morning lighting streaming through window, shelves filled with both traditional cooking tools and modern gadgets, her grandson's tech setup visible in background. Focus on her excited but slightly confused expression.

Action Moment:

Dynamic western comic style panel showing Alex (18-year-old barista with curly blue hair and coffee-stained apron) diving to catch a floating customer who got too much anti-gravity latte. Busy café setting with coffee cups and pastries suspended in mid-air, other customers looking amazed, sunlight through big café windows creating lens flares. Show motion lines and Alex's determined expression.

Emotional Scene:

Soft, magical comic style panel showing Zara (young Black witch with natural hair and crystal jewelry) surrounded by her glowing plants in the shop after hours. Evening lighting with magical sparkles, plants all turning to face the bookstore next door, one vine trying to write a love note. Focus on Zara's embarrassed smile, warm magical atmosphere.

Pro Tips for Success

1. Be Specific About Details

• Instead of "a woman," say "a tall woman with curly red hair and paint-stained overalls"

• Instead of "a house," say "a creaky Victorian mansion with overgrown rose gardens"

1. Add Personality

• Give characters quirks like "always carries lucky dice" or "can't resist petting dogs"

• Add emotional details like "nervous smile" or "confident stride"

1. Set the Mood

• Describe lighting: "warm sunset glow" or "eerie moonlight"

• Add atmosphere: "busy city sounds" or "peaceful forest silence"

1. Build in Layers Start simple, then add details:

Basic: "Write a story about a chef."

Better: "Write a story about a passionate chef in Paris."

Best: "Write a story about a passionate but unlucky chef in Paris who must win a cooking competition to save her grandmother's café, using mysterious recipes found in the building's ancient walls."

Remember:

• The more details you give, the better your results will be

• But leave some room for the AI to be creative

• Don't be afraid to try different approaches

• Save prompts that work well for you to use again

Now go create something amazing! We can't wait to see what you come up with! 🌟

Need Inspiration?

Check out our prompt starters:

For Stories:

• "Write a story about someone who discovers they can..."

• "Create a tale about the first person to..."

• "Tell a story about what happens when..."

For Characters:

• "Create a character who has a secret ability to..."

• "Design a hero who must overcome..."

• "Describe a villain who actually wants to..."

For Comics:

• "Show a scene where someone realizes..."

• "Create a moment when everything changes because..."

• "Draw the exact moment when..."

Happy creating!