When a tool shows nothing

Every analysis tool draws from fields that you, AI reading or a scan filled in. When a chart says Nothing to draw yet, or a column stays blank, it is almost always because the field it reads is empty. Nothing is broken. Find what you see below, and the table says which field is missing and where to fill it in.

A few words used below. A scene's Value is the words you write for how things stand before and after it (“hopeful → humiliated”). Its charge is the same thing as a number from −2 to +2, set separately. Beats are the cards on the Plot Board, each placed on a chapter.

Scenes and structure

What you see	Why	What to do
Scene Grid or Scene Shape says No scenes yet	The chapters are single blocks of prose with no scenes inside them.	Split chapters into scenes in the binder, or right-click the manuscript and choose Propose Scene Splits….
Scene Grid’s Charge column is empty	No scene has a charge. The written Value is a separate field and doesn’t fill it.	Set the charges on each scene, or use Infer Value Shifts (AI)… in Scene Shape.
Scene Shape’s line is flat	Every charge is still 0, which the chart reads as unset.	Infer Value Shifts (AI)… reads each scene’s prose and fills only the charges still blank. It needs AI reading set up; see The Claude API key.
Cast Grid says No structure chosen	Its columns are the manuscript’s structure beats.	Choose a structure in Structure.
A scene is missing from the Corkboard	Each scene sits in its chapter’s column, and this one has no chapter.	Set the scene’s Chapter.

Characters and connections

What you see	Why	What to do
Character Arc has no one in it	It reads who is present in each scene, and no scene lists anyone.	Click Detect Appearances, or fill each scene’s Present list.
Family Tree says No family connections yet, or draws everyone on one row	It draws generations only from parent, sibling and spouse connections. A connection marked just “family” gives it no direction.	Add connections from a character’s Connections section with Add Connection, choosing parent, sibling or spouse.
Every node on the Relationship Graph looks the same	Nodes are shaded by importance, and everyone has the same one.	Set Importance on the characters who matter most.
Events and objects float unconnected on the graph	They join the graph through their own fields.	Fill an event’s Participants and Location, and an object’s Current Owner.
Series Continuity says No character spans two of these books yet	A character counts once their record says they appear in both books.	Tick two books in its menu, then mark the character under Appears In.

Plot and threads

What you see	Why	What to do
Thread Map says Nothing to draw yet	Routes come from story-arc beats that are placed on a chapter.	Place beats on chapters in the Plot Board.
Thread Map has arcs but no character lines	Character lines come from the characters listed on each beat, not from scenes.	Add characters in each beat on the Plot Board, or click Fill In Characters, offered when Characters is on and no character lines exist yet.
Loose Ends lists an item as never placed	The plot item has no position where it is introduced.	Set its Introduced In Scene.
A setup you paid off is still reported as without a payoff	A setup counts as paid only when a payoff lists it under Prerequisites.	Open the payoff and add the setup to its Prerequisites, or set the setup’s status to intentionally open.
Five C’s calls an arc hollow	The arc score reads the arc’s owner and its before and after.	Fill the arc’s Owner, Initial State and Actual End State.

Time and continuity

What you see	Why	What to do
Events are missing from the Timeline	An event needs a date or a narrative position to be placed.	Click Detect Dates in the Timeline, or set When or Narrative Position on the event.
Continuity Check finds no date problems in a book full of dates	The date checks compare birth and death dates with dated events the character takes part in.	Give the main characters birth and death dates, and give events dates and Participants.
It never reports a journey that’s too fast	Distances need coordinates on both places.	Look up Coordinates on the locations that matter.
Continuity Check lists unfilled records	These are linked from the prose but have no summary or details yet.	Write a summary, or let AI reading propose one.

Goals, history and voice

What you see	Why	What to do
Voice Check says No AI-written passages	Only text marked as written or rewritten by AI is compared with your voice.	Nothing to fix: the marks appear when AI writes or rewrites text.
Writing History says No writing history yet	The log starts from your next edit. Earlier work isn’t reconstructed.	Edit a scene or chapter and close it.

Links in the prose feed many of these tools. If several look thin at once, run Tools ▸ Scan All Manuscripts for Entity Links first; see The Tools menu.