# Method: Choosing the Right Narrative Container > Not every insight belongs in the same kind of document. ## Description This method exists to prevent epistemic drift caused by placing ideas in the wrong narrative container. In ODD, **form is not decoration**. It determines how authority is interpreted and where meaning accumulates. When writing feels forced or confusing, the issue is often not the content but the container. --- ## The Three Containers ### Canon Use when: - an invariant constraint is being stated - violations must be disallowed - authority is intentional Do not use when: - ambiguity is required - experience matters more than rules --- ### Apocrypha Fragment Use when: - a failure mode must be preserved - explanation would create authority - the system needs to absorb pressure without resolving it Apocrypha fragments: - do not instruct - do not warn - do not explain - do not close loops They exist because deletion would reduce coherence. --- ### Cinematic Retelling Use when: - experiential truth matters - temporal unfolding is important - emotional or human impact needs preservation Cinematic retellings: - have no governing authority - must never be cited as canon - exist to preserve memory, not rules --- ## Diagnostic Signals - If writing feels **forced**, the container is likely wrong. - If writing feels **inevitable**, the container is likely correct. - If a document feels **too persuasive**, it is probably in the wrong form. When in doubt, do not publish. Reclassify first.