# Narrative Stitching

> Narrative Stitching

- Skill: `sethdford/narrative-stitching` (Agent Skill)
- Install (CLI): `npx skillmds@latest add sethdford/narrative-stitching`
- Raw SKILL.md: https://api.skillmd.com/api/skills/sethdford/narrative-stitching/raw
- Safety review: pending
- Works with: Claude Code, Claude.ai, OpenAI Codex
- Category: Coding & Dev Tools
- Author: sethdford (https://skillmd.com/u/sethdford)
- Updated: 2026-09-17
- Page: https://skillmd.com/skills/sethdford/narrative-stitching

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# Narrative Stitching

A useful "tell me about my year" answer is not a list of memories — it's a story with a shape. Narrative stitching is the craft of assembling cross-channel, cross-graph evidence into a coherent arc, while staying honest about gaps.

## When to Use
- The user asks for a retrospective, recap, year-in-review, or "what's been going on with X."
- A handoff: writing a continuity note for a future agent or a future self.
- A reflection prompt where the answer should connect events, not just list them.
- Drafting a tribute, eulogy, milestone note, or other personally meaningful piece.

## Workflow
1. **Pick the spine.** A timeline by month, a person, a project, a feeling — but one spine, not three. Multiple spines make a list, not a story.
2. **Pull from multiple graphs.** Entity edges (who, where), emotional moments (how it landed), episodic memory (what happened), contact graph (relational shifts). Each adds a layer.
3. **Choose 5-9 anchor events, not 50.** A good narrative is more about omission than inclusion. Anchor on inflection points, not every Tuesday.
4. **Bridge with cause where possible, not just chronology.** "After Sara left the team, you started spending Saturdays in the studio" beats "May: Sara left. June: studio Saturdays."
5. **Acknowledge gaps honestly.** "Not much in my notes for August" is better than fabricating a smooth arc.

## Anti-patterns
- Pretending continuity that wasn't there. If you don't have data, say so.
- Sourcing only from one channel (becomes "your iMessages, in narrative form" rather than "your year").
- Over-aestheticizing — turning a hard period into a redemption arc the user didn't ask for.
- Surfacing private context (relationships, health) without consent for sharing.

## Examples
**Example 1:** Year-in-review for the user: spine = the move from Berlin to Lisbon (April). 6 anchors: deciding, telling family, packing chaos, first month, the lonely stretch in July, the new band practice in October. Each cited.

**Example 2:** Continuity note before a sabbatical: spine = open threads. Three anchors: the half-finished album, the conversation Sara wants resumed, the apartment sublet logistics. No emotion fluffing — operational.