Storybound helps kids learn to write and illustrate original stories through guided conversation. AI supports the creative process step by step, while kids remain the authors—building confidence, creativity, and storytelling skills as they go.
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Maker
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Hey Product Hunt! 👋🏾 I'm Isaac Lee, creator of Storybound.
This year I started writing stories myself, kind of accidentally, and was surprised by how much I enjoyed it. There was something so enchanting about being able to create these entire worlds and the people who live in them.
I was having such a good time, and I wanted my kid to be able to experience the same thing. But it quickly became clear that a lot of the technical aspects of creating a compelling story—stuff like three-act structure, character arcs, and story beats—are a real barrier for a 7-year-old who has no shortage of imagination to fill a story with, they just lack some of the language tools for sharing it.
Every AI "storybook" tool I've tried seems to completely miss that point. They jump straight to a finished story in one click, which is exactly backwards. The magic is in the making; the final product is just the cherry on top.
So I built the opposite. Kids lead, and AI only plays a supporting role:
It listens and ask questions.
It expresses curiosity about their ideas, and encourages them when they get stuck.
It's always ready to inspire, but it never takes over.
This is my first launch, so expect wrinkles, but I'm really excited to be here and to share it with y'all!
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This feels like a thoughtful way to support kids without taking over the creative process. In early testing, what helped kids stay engaged the most, the guided questions, the illustrations, or hearing their story come together?
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Maker
@yash_salvi Great question! In the earliest testing there was no illustrations, just the story. A bit surprising to me was just how engaged kids were with the guided questions alone. I had expected them to be more motivated by the output at the end, but they really seemed to just enjoy exploring the narrative in real-time.
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@ilmatic That’s really interesting and kind of counterintuitive. It sounds like the curiosity and back-and-forth mattered more than the end result. Did that change how you think about adding new features, or did it reinforce keeping things simple?
Hey Product Hunt! 👋🏾 I'm Isaac Lee, creator of Storybound.
This year I started writing stories myself, kind of accidentally, and was surprised by how much I enjoyed it. There was something so enchanting about being able to create these entire worlds and the people who live in them.
I was having such a good time, and I wanted my kid to be able to experience the same thing. But it quickly became clear that a lot of the technical aspects of creating a compelling story—stuff like three-act structure, character arcs, and story beats—are a real barrier for a 7-year-old who has no shortage of imagination to fill a story with, they just lack some of the language tools for sharing it.
Every AI "storybook" tool I've tried seems to completely miss that point. They jump straight to a finished story in one click, which is exactly backwards. The magic is in the making; the final product is just the cherry on top.
So I built the opposite. Kids lead, and AI only plays a supporting role:
It listens and ask questions.
It expresses curiosity about their ideas, and encourages them when they get stuck.
It's always ready to inspire, but it never takes over.
This is my first launch, so expect wrinkles, but I'm really excited to be here and to share it with y'all!
This feels like a thoughtful way to support kids without taking over the creative process. In early testing, what helped kids stay engaged the most, the guided questions, the illustrations, or hearing their story come together?
@yash_salvi Great question! In the earliest testing there was no illustrations, just the story. A bit surprising to me was just how engaged kids were with the guided questions alone. I had expected them to be more motivated by the output at the end, but they really seemed to just enjoy exploring the narrative in real-time.
@ilmatic That’s really interesting and kind of counterintuitive. It sounds like the curiosity and back-and-forth mattered more than the end result. Did that change how you think about adding new features, or did it reinforce keeping things simple?