What Ifs
One rough idea. Five ranked premises.
Type the idea as it is, pick Screenplay, Book or Video Game, and What Ifs sparks five distinct What if premises tuned to that medium, ranked strongest first. Keep the ones worth chasing.
Example: Screenplay
The Difference
From a rough idea to five directions you can compare.
Before
A rough idea you can't yet turn into a story
One angle, explored one draft at a time
No quick way to compare directions
After
Five distinct premises from the same idea
Each tuned to Screenplay, Book or Video Game
Ranked strongest first, so you can compare at a glance
What you get
Five Distinct Premises
Five different angles on your idea, not five rewordings of one. Each begins "What if" and runs 40 to 75 words: a hook, a turn, and a stake.
5 PremisesTuned To Your Format
Choose Screenplay, Book or Video Game and each premise is built around what makes that medium engaging.
3 FormatsRanked Strongest First
Each premise gets a 1 to 10 score relative to the other four, in five bands from Weak to Can't look away.
Relative ScoresSave Your Favorites
Bookmark any premise to a saved library you can come back to.
Saved LibraryCopy The Whole Batch
Copy all five premises with their scores in one click.
Copy AllExport As .txt Or .md
Download the batch as a plain text or Markdown file. Your last batch is restored when you come back.
.txt · .mdHOW THE SCORES WORK
Scores rank the five against each other.
Scores rank these ideas against each other — not against every story ever told.
9–10: Can't look away
The strongest premise in the batch. At most one premise per batch reaches this band.
7–8: Strong pull
A premise with real momentum behind it.
5–6: Solid
Workable, with room to sharpen.
3–4: Flat
Less compelling than its siblings in this batch.
1–2: Weak
The weakest of the five. Low scores are allowed when deserved.
How It Works
From a rough idea to five premises in four steps.
Drop In Your Idea
Up to 1,000 characters, as rough as you like.
Choose A Format
Screenplay, Book or Video Game. The format changes what each premise is built around.
Get Five Premises
Each runs 40 to 75 words and is ranked from strongest to weakest.
Keep What Works
Save premises to your library, copy the whole batch, or export it as .txt or .md.
One Idea, Three Lenses
The format you pick changes the premises.
The same idea is read for what makes each medium engaging, so a Screenplay batch and a Video Game batch come out different.
Screenplay
Visual hooks, a dramatic engine, and a turn that plays on screen rather than on the page.
Book
Interiority and voice, a world worth living inside, and a question that pulls the reader deeper.
Video Game
Player agency, an implied core loop or mechanic, and choices that carry real stakes.
Who It's For
Anyone with an idea that isn't a story yet.
Screenwriters
Test several screen-ready angles on an idea before committing to an outline.
Novelists
See which version of an idea has the strongest voice and question.
Game Designers
Look at an idea through player agency and an implied core loop.
Writers Between Projects
Turn a loose note into something you can compare and keep.
What Ifs
- Five Distinct Premises
- Tuned To Your Format
- Ranked Strongest First
- Save Your Favorites
✓ No credit card required · 3-day free trial, then $12/mo · cancel anytime
New users get a free 3-day trial of every tool in the Screenwriting bundle.
You have the idea. See what it could become.
Five premises, ranked, in one pass. Save the ones worth chasing.
Start your free trial →Common questions
What do I need to provide?
A rough idea, up to 1,000 characters, and a format: Screenplay, Book or Video Game.
What does the format change?
It changes what the premises are built around. Screenplay favors visual hooks and a dramatic engine, Book favors interiority, voice and a world worth living inside, and Video Game favors player agency and an implied core loop.
What do the scores mean?
Scores rank these ideas against each other — not against every story ever told. Each premise is scored 1 to 10 relative to the other four in its batch, and at most one premise in a batch reaches the 9 to 10 band.
Can I keep what I like?
Yes. Save any premise to your library, copy the whole batch, or export it as a .txt or .md file. Your last batch is restored when you return.
Is there a limit?
A standalone What Ifs subscription includes up to 150 generations per month. If you have What Ifs through the Screenwriting bundle, it shares the bundle's pool of 90 generations a month instead. It writes premises, not full outlines or scripts.