Project Studio

Chapters & Scenes

Organize your manuscript into chapters and scenes. Move content around, track word counts, and outline your story structure.

How Your Manuscript is Organized

StorytellerOS organizes your writing in a hierarchy:

  • Book — The complete work
  • Chapter — Major divisions of your book
  • Scene — Individual scenes within chapters

This structure lets you write in small chunks, rearrange easily, and see progress at every level.

Tip

Some authors prefer to write in scenes, others in chapters. Use whatever works for you. You can always reorganize later.

Creating Chapters

  1. Open your book
  2. Go to the Chapters tab
  3. Click + New Chapter
  4. Enter a chapter title (or leave as "Chapter 1")
  5. Click Create

Chapter Fields

FieldDescription
TitleChapter name or number
OrderPosition in the book (1, 2, 3...)
SummaryBrief description of what happens
NotesPrivate notes (not included in export)
StatusDraft, Revised, Final
Word CountAutomatically calculated from scenes

Creating Scenes

  1. Click on a chapter to open it
  2. Click + New Scene
  3. Enter a scene title or description
  4. Click Create

Scene Fields

FieldDescription
TitleScene name (only you see this)
OrderPosition within the chapter
POV CharacterWhose point of view this scene is from
LocationWhere the scene takes place
TimeWhen it happens (day, time, story date)
ContentThe actual writing
NotesPrivate planning notes
StatusOutline, Draft, Revised, Final

Note

Scene titles are for your organization only. They do not appear in the exported manuscript. Use them to remind yourself what happens in each scene.

Reordering Content

Moving chapters and scenes is simple:

Drag and Drop

  1. In the chapter list, click and hold a chapter or scene
  2. Drag it to the new position
  3. Release to drop

Using Order Numbers

  1. Edit the chapter or scene
  2. Change the order number
  3. Save

Other items automatically adjust their order numbers to make room.

Moving Scenes Between Chapters

  1. Edit the scene
  2. Change the Chapter field to a different chapter
  3. Set the order within the new chapter
  4. Save

Outlining Mode

Before you write, you can outline your book:

  1. Create all your chapters with summaries
  2. Create scenes with descriptions of what happens
  3. Leave the scene content empty
  4. Set scene status to Outline

This gives you a roadmap before you start drafting. As you write each scene, change its status to Draft.

Tip

The chapter list shows status at a glance. You can quickly see which scenes are outlined vs. drafted vs. revised.

Word Count Tracking

Word counts update automatically as you write:

  • Scene word count — Words in that scene
  • Chapter word count — Sum of all scenes in the chapter
  • Book word count — Sum of all chapters

The dashboard shows your total progress and daily writing stats.

Point of View Tracking

For books with multiple viewpoint characters, assign a POV character to each scene:

  • See at a glance whose head you are in
  • Filter scenes by character
  • Balance screen time across characters
  • Spot POV patterns in your structure

Scene Status Workflow

Use status to track your editing progress:

StatusMeaning
OutlinePlanned but not written
DraftFirst draft complete
RevisedSelf-edited
FinalReady for export

Scene Breaks

When you export, scenes within a chapter are separated by scene breaks (typically three centered asterisks or a blank line). You control the export format in settings.

Front and Back Matter

Create special chapters for:

  • Title page — Book title and author
  • Copyright page — Legal notices
  • Dedication — Personal message
  • Acknowledgments — Thanks to helpers
  • About the Author — Author bio
  • Also By — Other books

Set these chapters to order 0 (for front matter) or very high numbers (for back matter) to position them correctly.

Best Practices

  • Write scenes, not chapters — Smaller pieces are easier to write and rearrange.
  • Use descriptive scene titles — "John confronts Sarah" is more useful than "Scene 4."
  • Add summaries while drafting — It helps you remember what happens where.
  • Update status as you go — Knowing which scenes need revision helps planning.
  • Use notes for reminders — "Fix pacing here" or "Add more description" notes help during revision.