Writing in the editor
The editor is where you draft scenes. It saves on its own as you type, so there is no save button; the status near the top shows when your work was last stored.
The story's title in the path at the top of the window is a menu. Select it to open the story: its settings (details, cover, page setup, publishing, review links, exports, and more), the print preview, and the public reading page once you have published one. The first item in that menu, "Go to the story", brings you back to the editor from anywhere.
Scenes and chapters
A scene holds one stretch of prose. Chapters group scenes in order. Drag a scene to move it between chapters; scenes without a chapter sit under "Unfiled scenes".
Right-click a chapter in the sidebar to rename it, move it up or down, or delete it. Deleting a chapter keeps its scenes; they move to the unfiled list.
Splitting and merging scenes
To split a scene in two, put the cursor where the break should go and press the split button in the toolbar (the page with the dashed line). Everything after the cursor moves into a new untitled scene directly after the current one. Marks move along with their text.
To merge scenes, right-click each scene in the sidebar and choose "Select for merging"; selected scenes show a coloured ring. With two or more selected, right-click any of them and choose "Merge". The scenes join in story order into the earliest one, with a blank line between them; that scene keeps its title. The others go to "Deleted scenes", so a merge can be undone by restoring them and removing the joined text.
Duplicating a scene
Right-click a scene in the sidebar and choose "Duplicate scene" to make a full copy directly after it: the same prose, status, summary, and marks, with "(copy)" added to the title. This is the simple way to keep a scene as a template. Set up a scene the way you want each one to start, then duplicate it and fill in the copy. If you write campaign sessions as scenes, a skeleton scene with your prep headings and to-do marks duplicates into a ready-made next session.
Deleting scenes
Right-click a scene in the sidebar and choose "Delete scene". A deleted scene goes to "Deleted scenes" at the bottom of the sidebar, where you can restore it or delete it forever. Restoring puts the scene back at the end of its chapter, or in the unfiled list if the chapter is gone. While a scene sits in the trash it does not count anywhere: not in word counts, search, exports, or the story view.
Formatting
Write markdown and it styles in place: bold shows bold, # headings show large, > quotes show muted. The toolbar above the editor sets headings, bold, italic, quotes, and bullet lists on whatever is selected; Ctrl+B and Ctrl+I do bold and italic from the keyboard.
The four alignment buttons set how the paragraphs under the selection sit on the page: left, centered, right, or justified. Alignment is written into the text as a small marker at the paragraph's start, like \center, so it travels with exports and shows correctly on reading pages, in EPUB, and in PDF. The marker dims in the editor; the left button removes it, so the paragraph follows the default alignment.
Paragraphs without a marker use the default text alignment from your page setup (left unless you change it), set under Page setup on your account page or per story in its settings. The writing area's own font and line spacing are separate: set those under Editor on your account page, so you can write in one font on screen and export in another. The review screen's editor uses the same writing appearance.
The two indent buttons beside them step the selected paragraphs in from the left and back out again (Ctrl+] and Ctrl+[). Like alignment, the indent is written as a marker (\indent) that rides with the text and shows everywhere, including exports.
There are two ways to see your prose while you write, chosen under Editor behaviour on your account page (and per story in its settings):
- Rich text, the default, hides the marks except on the line you are editing, so the page reads like formatted text.
- Markdown keeps the formatting marks visible as you type.
Your work is stored as markdown in both modes; switching is purely about what you see while writing.
To force a page break in print and PDF output, put \page alone on its own line. It does nothing on screen or in the reading pages.
Paragraphs and line breaks
Press Enter to start a new paragraph. One Enter is enough: it reads the same in the editor, the preview, and every export. For a soft line break that stays inside the same paragraph, press Shift+Enter. Inside a bullet list or a quote, Enter continues the list or the quote.
Showing the hidden marks
The "..." (View options) button on the formatting bar opens two toggles that change what you see without changing your text:
- Show non-printing characters shows spaces as a faint dot, paragraph breaks as a pilcrow, and soft line breaks as a return arrow. It is the quickest way to tell a real paragraph break from a soft line break.
- Show command markers reveals the markers that ride in the prose, like \center and \indent. They are tucked away by default, so the page reads as the finished formatting; turn this on to see and edit them. (A marker also reappears on its own on the line you are editing.)
Both toggles remember their setting, and you can also set them under Editor behaviour on your account page.
Reading and previewing the whole story
The book icon at the right of the formatting toolbar opens the whole story as one long document, every scene joined in order. This is still the editor: it has the same formatting toolbar, and you can write anywhere in it. The up and down arrows carry the cursor from the end of one scene into the next. Use the same button again to go back to a single scene.
The two buttons beside it are Focus mode, which clears everything but the page, and Preview.
For a clean read, select Preview. It is on the toolbar in both the single-scene editor and the whole-story view, so you can reach it without opening the whole story first. Preview shows the story the way it will look when exported: no underlines, marks, or alignment markers, just the finished prose with your scene breaks and page setup applied. It is read-only; select Edit to return to writing.
Find and replace
Press Ctrl+F in the editor to search the open scene. The panel finds as you type; Enter jumps to the next match, and the replace field swaps one match or all of them. Press Escape to close it. To search across every scene, use Ctrl+K instead.
The field at the top of the sidebar filters the chapter and scene list by name as you type, which is the quick way to find a scene in a long story.
The selection menu
Select a word or phrase and right-click it for a small menu. The top row formats the selection: bold, italic, quote, bullet list. Below it you can create a new character, place, or lore entry named after the selection, without leaving the page; the new name underlines in the text right away, and you can fill in its details from the planning view later. Lore entries created this way file under your first lore category. Right-clicking without a selection opens the browser's own menu, with its spelling suggestions.
Mentions
When you write the name of a character, place, or lore entry the universe already knows, the editor recognises it and underlines it in that entry's colour. Hover the underline to see a short summary and the entry's first few details without leaving the page.
For the full picture, select "Open full details" on that hover, or click an entry in the "In this scene" list on the right. A read-only card takes over the right column with the summary, description, relationships, and details. Click a related entry to follow it in the same card, Back to step back, and "Open in Plan view" to edit the entry.
When two entries share a name, the editor picks one: whoever is declared in the story first, then characters before places before lore. Such a mention gets a dotted underline; hover it to see the alternatives, and pick one to make that the meaning of the name everywhere in this story.
If the editor keeps underlining a common word that happens to be a name, open that entry in the planning view and turn off automatic detection for it.
Marks
To flag a spot to come back to, select some text and add a mark. Marks show in the margin and in the story's to-do list, and you can tick one off when it is done. Typing "TODO:" on a line is also picked up as a reminder; deleting the line clears it.
History
The History tab on the right keeps past versions of the open scene. Use "Checkpoint now" to mark a version you may want back, with a name if you like. Select "Preview" on a version to read it or compare it with the current text, and "Restore this version" to bring it back. Restoring never deletes history: the version you replaced stays in the list.
The Assistant
When you have set up the Assistant on your account page, an Assistant panel appears on the right alongside Reference, History, and Notes. Open it to chat about the open story: ask about a character, check whether something stays consistent, or talk through a scene. The starter prompts above the box are there to get you going; you can also type your own question and press Enter to send, or Shift+Enter for a new line. While a reply is coming in you can select the stop button to cut it short.
To ask about a particular passage, select it in the editor, right-click, and choose Assistant, then "Ask the Assistant about this". The passage appears above the chat box as a quote; type your question and send, or select the x on the quote to drop it.
When a reply contains something you want in the manuscript, select "Insert at cursor" under it to drop the reply's text into the open scene where your cursor is. The action only shows while a single scene is open in the editor.
The Assistant can also suggest where to split a long scene: ask it in the chat, or right-click the scene in the sidebar and choose Assistant, then "Suggest where to split". Its suggestion appears in the conversation as a card quoting the text the new scene would start with, alongside its reasoning. Nothing happens until you select "Split here" on the card. A confirmed card shows the split as done and offers "Revert", which merges the two scenes back into one. If the Assistant proposes several splits for one scene, confirm them in any order; each cut lands at its quoted text even after the earlier ones move it into a new scene.
The conversation is kept per story, so it is still there when you come back or reload. To start over, select "Clear conversation" from the menu next to the send button; this deletes the conversation for good. Only the most recent stretch of a long conversation is kept.
You can also type a command in the chat box. Start a line with a slash and a short menu lists the commands; press Enter or click one to run it. Some commands take the rest of the line as input, so type what you want after the command:
/write <brief>drafts a passage from your brief, the same as the Write button, and shows it for you to insert./rewrite <how>rewrites the passage you have selected in the scene to your instruction; a "Replace selection" button swaps it in./copyeditruns a full review of the open scene, or the whole story when no scene is open./continuity-reviewchecks for continuity contradictions and leaves them as review notes. In a story it checks that story; on the universe Plan page it checks every story against the others. It runs in the background and notifies you when it is done./reviewopens the review window./who <name>shows a short sheet for a character or place./find <text>searches this universe and lists what it finds./catchupwrites a recap of the story so far./summariesrefreshes scene and chapter summaries./clearclears the conversation./helplists these commands.
On the universe Plan page the chat works across all the stories, so it offers the commands that fit there: /continuity-review, /who, /find, /clear, and /help.
When you come back to a story after time away, select "Catch me up" from the menu next to the send button. The Assistant writes a short recap of what has happened up to the scene you have open, drawn from your scenes and their summaries, and adds it to the conversation.
Select "Update summaries" from the menu next to the send button to have the Assistant write a one or two line summary for each scene and chapter that does not have one yet, and refresh the ones it wrote earlier when you have changed the scene since. It works in the background and notifies you when it is done. A summary you wrote yourself is left untouched. These summaries feed the recap and help the Assistant keep track of your story.
While you are writing, press Ctrl+J to ask the Assistant to continue the passage from where your cursor is. The suggestion appears in grey after the cursor: press Tab to accept it, or Esc (or just keep typing) to dismiss it. Nothing is added until you accept.
To have the Assistant write a passage for you, select "Write" on the formatting toolbar. Tell it what you want in a sentence or two, and it drafts a passage that fits the scene and your world. The panel shows where you are in the prose - the text you had selected, or the passage leading up to your cursor - so a brief like "continue from here" picks up in the right place; select the x on that quote if you do not want it sent. On a new or nearly empty scene that follows another, it reads the end of the previous scene, so a brief like "continue from the previous scene" picks up the events and voice where they left off. You can edit the draft right there, then select "Insert at cursor" to drop it into the scene, ask for another try, or discard it. Nothing goes into your scene until you insert it.
You can also ask the Assistant to review your writing and leave comments and suggested edits, which appear on the review page for you to accept or reject one at a time, the same way a guest reviewer's notes do. Right-click a scene or chapter in the left sidebar, choose Assistant, then "Review with the Assistant"; or type /review in the chat. A window opens where you pick what to review (this scene, this chapter, or the whole story) and what to check. The Review section of "Reviewing" covers the choices in full.
A chapter or whole-story review runs in the background, since it reads every scene; a card in the bottom corner shows it working and you get a notification when its notes are ready. Nothing in your writing changes until you accept a suggestion.
To turn the Assistant off for just this book, select "Mute for this story" at the top of the tab. The tab stays so you can turn it back on, but nothing is sent for this story while it is muted. This does not change your other stories or your account setting.
Spelling
The browser's spell-checker underlines possible misspellings as you write. Set the language your prose is written in on your account page, under Display, so the right dictionary is used; "Follow my browser" uses whatever your browser is set to. Turn spell-check off there if the underlines distract you. Both settings can be overridden per story in the story's settings.
How it looks
You can change the theme, accent colour, and editor behaviour on your account page, under Display.
A story can override the editor behaviour settings for itself: open the story's settings and use the Editor section. Anything left on "Use my account setting" keeps following your account page.