# The rule-cost-exception ledger for fantasy worlds

A fictional rule matters less as trivia than through who pays for it, who benefits, and when it breaks. This ledger tracks those consequences without cataloguing the whole world.

## Record one operative rule

Save one page that makes the method useful, then complete the fields in your own words:

| Field | Prompt |
|---|---|
| **Rule** | What appears possible or forbidden? |
| **Witness** | Whose action demonstrates the rule? |
| **Cost** | What must be spent, risked, or surrendered? |
| **Exception** | What condition might change the rule? |

Keep the page number as the route back to the source. Avoid copying a protected passage when a short paraphrase will do.

## Check the consequence

- Find one ordinary-life effect, not only a battle use.
- Ask who can afford the cost and who cannot.
- Keep a suspected exception labelled as a theory until the text demonstrates it.

Write one working sentence:

> My current reading is ____________________________________________.

## Review rule

When the rule appears again, record whether it held, narrowed, or gained a cost. A contradiction may be a clue, a mistake, or missing context; do not decide too early.

## Boundaries

This is a private reading-reflection aid, not a quotation archive, plot substitute, academic citation, factual verification, or proof of an author's intention. For consequential claims, return to the full passage and verify outside facts independently.

## Optional iPhone workflow

I am the developer of **Reading Journal: TabMap**, an iPhone and iPad companion for physical-book readers. It lets a reader save a page, a reason such as **Question** or **Surprise**, and an intensity, with an optional private note. The free version includes one complete book map; no account is required, and books, markers, labels, and optional notes stay on the device.

[View Reading Journal: TabMap on the App Store](https://apps.apple.com/us/app/reading-journal-tabmap/id6796663483)

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