Markdown frame narrative template: a tale within narration

Enclosing narration scope

You write an enclosing narration, a complete invented tale within it, and a written return with this frame narrative template. You write the enclosing narration through its own ending after the inner tale.

You write Markdown as plain text with formatting marks, as described in the .md format introduction.

Frame paragraph anatomy

# Write a title for the invented frame narrative

Write an opening paragraph about an invented adult reading an invented tale.

Write the complete inner tale in prose, beginning with words identifying it as the tale being read.

Write a return paragraph about the enclosing person's actions after reading, through the end of that narration.

You write your chosen title beside #.

You write the enclosing person's activity before reading to replace the opening instruction.

You write the inner tale from its beginning through its end in place of the middle instruction.

You write the enclosing person's remaining actions in place of the return instruction.

You write a blank line between this template's paragraph placeholders, following paragraphs and blank lines.

Jane Doe's almond reading

Jane Doe writes invented prose about an adult named Jane Doe reading about an adult named John Doe; both adults, the title, and every sample line are invented.

# Almonds beside the manuscript

Jane Doe cracked almonds into a bowl beside an invented manuscript. With half the shells still on the cloth, she laid down the nutcracker and began reading the tale about John Doe.

In the tale she read, John Doe planted beans beside a leaning trellis. He straightened the posts and pressed soil around their bases. As the vines grew, he tied their stems to the crosspieces. Pods swelled along the vines. He picked the ripe beans, pulled up the spent plants, and stacked the bare poles beside the empty bed.

After reading the final sentence, Jane Doe folded the manuscript shut. She cracked the remaining almonds and swept the shells into a sack. She ate the almonds and washed the bowl.

Jane Doe writes "In the tale she read" to enter the inner tale. Jane Doe writes "After reading the final sentence" to return to the enclosing narration.

Filename for the frame

You write almond-frame-narrative.md as a filename for this sample. You write hyphens between its words and .md at its end, following Markdown filename choices.

Where Sashmark fits

Under its current design, Sashmark would be a desktop tool to open Markdown files and change them. The plan has in mind anyone holding .md output from AI agents. It is still being built, with no public build yet. A stack of .md files like these is also among the work planned for Sashmark.