Writing & Editing

The Writing Interface

When you click on a scene to edit it, you enter the writing interface. This is where you write your actual prose.

The interface is designed to be clean and focused:

• Minimal buttons and toolbars
• Easy-to-read font and spacing
• Auto-save so you never lose work
• Quick access to reference materials

The Text Editor

The editor supports standard formatting:

• Bold — Ctrl/Cmd + B
• Italic — Ctrl/Cmd + I
• Paragraph breaks — Enter key
• Scene breaks — Three asterisks (***)

Translations

To keep your book in other languages, use the language menu at the top of the writing view. Pick a language to translate scene by scene beside your original. See Translations.

Images

Use the image button in the editor toolbar to add a picture from your media library or from the web (an address starting with https://). Select an image and use the image settings button next to it to choose how it prints: size, alignment, caption, its own page or a full page to the edges, a chapter heading image or a scene break ornament, and page breaks. The settings are saved in your chapter text right after the image and are used for your print book, ebook and Word file. See How each image prints.

Footnotes, Verse, Letters and Text Messages

Use the Insert menu in the editor toolbar to add these to your text. Each one is saved in your chapter as a few plain marks around your words, so it travels with the chapter into versions, exports and your AI assistant, and your print book, ebook and Word file lay it out for you.

• Footnote. Puts a number where your cursor is and a note line right under the paragraph, starting with the same number. Type the note there. In your text it looks like a log[^n4k2p], and the note like [^n4k2p]: The log survives. The short word after the caret only pairs the number with its note, and any word works if you type notes yourself, like [^1]. Readers see numbers: notes are numbered from 1 in each chapter, in the order your text refers to them. Choose where they print under Typesetting in Publishing Studio.
• Verse or song. A box that keeps every line, every indent and every blank line between stanzas exactly as you type them. Lines are never stretched to the margins.
• Text messages. One message per line, written as Name: message. The name after ::: chat at the top is the person whose phone it is: their messages sit on the right, everyone else's on the left. A line with no name, like a time, is centered. In print the bubbles work in black and white, and an ebook app that ignores a book's styles still shows each message as “Name: message”.
• Letter or note. Sets the selected paragraphs apart from the story. Inside a letter, select the last lines and choose Closing and signature to set them to the right, the way a letter ends.
• Center and right. The center and right alignment buttons now stay with your text when it is saved, and print that way. Inside a block quote or a list, lines keep the usual alignment.

You can also type these marks yourself, or paste them in. A block starts with a line like ::: verse and ends with a line of three colons, :::. The names you can use are verse (or poem), chat (or texts), letter (or note), signature (or closing), center and right. A line that starts with three colons and any other word is printed as you typed it. Inside verse, leave a blank line between stanzas: a line of three asterisks starts a new scene, even there.

Auto-Save

Your work saves automatically as you type:

• Changes save every few seconds
• A "Saved" indicator shows when your work is safe
• No need to click a save button
• If you close the browser, your work is already saved

Live Word Count

The word count displays at the bottom of the editor:

• Scene count — Words in the current scene
• Chapter count — Total for this chapter
• Session count — Words written this session

The session counter resets when you start a new writing session.

Writing Timer

Track your writing time with the built-in timer:

1. Click Start Timer when you begin writing
2. The timer runs in the background
3. Click Stop Timer when you finish
4. Your session is automatically logged

Sessions record:

• Duration (how long you wrote)
• Words written (ending count minus starting count)
• Which book and chapter you worked on

View your writing history in Dashboard → Time Tracking.

Focus Mode

For distraction-free writing, enable focus mode:

1. Click the Focus button (or press F11)
2. The interface expands to full screen
3. Sidebars and toolbars hide
4. Only your text remains visible

Press Escape or click the exit button to return to normal view.

Reference Panel

While writing, you can open a side panel showing:

• Characters — Quick access to character details
• Story Bible — World-building notes
• Outline — Your chapter and scene summaries
• Research — Notes and links

Click the panel icons on the right side to toggle them open or closed.

Linking Characters, Places and Lore

While you write, type @ to pick a character, /loc to pick a location, or /lore to pick a lore entry. The name appears as a colored tag in the editor.

The tag is saved in your manuscript as the name itself, the word you picked (for example, "Quinn" for Quinn Sasha). Exports, your printed book and ebook, word counts and search all show that name.

The link to the entry is kept separately and is attached to the scene you are writing in, so the entry's timeline shows that scene. If the chapter has no scenes yet, the name is still saved but isn't linked; we let you know, and you can pick it again after adding a scene. After you reopen a chapter, the name shows as plain text.

Scene Navigation

Move between scenes without leaving the editor:

• Previous/Next arrows — Jump to adjacent scenes
• Scene dropdown — Jump to any scene in the chapter
• Chapter dropdown — Switch chapters

Changes auto-save before navigation, so you will not lose work.

Keyboard Shortcuts

AI Writing Assistance

If you have configured API keys, you can use AI assistance:

• Brainstorm — Generate ideas for what happens next
• Continue — Let AI draft the next paragraph
• Rephrase — Rewrite selected text in a different way
• Expand — Add more detail to a passage
• Summarize — Condense selected text

Version History

Every chapter keeps its own history. Open the History panel on the right of the Writing Studio to:

• See saved versions of the chapter you have open
• Preview an earlier version before you restore it
• Restore an earlier version if you need it back

Restoring brings the earlier text back everywhere: in the chapter, in each of its scenes, and in what your assistant reads. Before anything changes, the text you have now is saved in the same list as “Before restore”, so you can undo a restore by restoring that. If the earlier version has a different number of scenes than the chapter has now, the chapter gets the earlier text and your scene list is left as it is; we tell you when that happens. While a restore runs (a few seconds), other saves to that chapter wait and then go through.

What you type is saved exactly as you typed it, including <, > and &, and your book prints those characters as they appear in the editor.

Your writing is saved in StorytellerOS and included in our backups every hour. Connecting GitHub, Google Drive or Airtable is optional and only adds an extra copy you control.

This is especially useful if you cut text and later decide you want it back.

Best Practices

• Start the timer — Track your writing habits to understand your productivity patterns.
• Use focus mode for drafting — Minimize distractions when getting words down.
• Keep reference panels open for editing — Check character details and story facts while revising.
• Write in scenes — Smaller chunks are less intimidating and easier to rearrange.
• Do not over-edit as you write — Get the draft down first, then revise in a separate pass.