Chapters

Chapters hold the text of your book, in order, with the tools you need while you write. This page shows how to organise the chapters of a novel, write in the editor, and keep track of your progress.

Adding a chapter #

Open Chapters and press Create Chapter. A new chapter goes at the end of the book and takes the next number. When the Books module is on, the chapter goes into the book chosen in the selector above the chapter list.

The chapter list shows the book's chapters with a running total of chapters and words. Search chapters… finds a chapter by title or number, and the sort button switches between first to last and last to first. To bring in chapters you have already written elsewhere, use import.

Writing in the editor #

The editor has the formatting a manuscript uses: Bold, Italic, underline and strikethrough, Heading and Large heading, Quote, lists and alignment. There is no page layout; the manuscript is laid out when you export it.

• Keyboard and Markdown. Ctrl + B, Ctrl + I and Ctrl + U set bold, italic and underline; Ctrl + Alt + 1 and Ctrl + Alt + 2 make a heading, Ctrl + Alt + 0 body text. At the start of a line, #, ##, > or * followed by a space starts a large heading, a heading, a quote or a bulleted list. A dash and a space stay as typed, for dialogue. One Ctrl + Z gives you back what you typed.
• Links. Select text and press Ctrl + K, or use Link in the toolbar, and type a web or email address (example.com becomes https://example.com). Click inside a link to open it in a new tab, edit it or remove it.
• Scene breaks. Type *** or --- on a line of its own and press Enter: the line becomes a centred * * * that divides scenes. It stays a scene break in every export.
• Pasting. Text pasted from a web page or a word processor keeps its headings, quotes, lists, bold, italic, underline, strikethrough and links; fonts, colours and other styling are left out.
• Pictures. Paste or drop a JPEG, PNG or GIF into the text, or choose Insert image under More formatting to upload one or pick one from the project's images. It appears once the upload finishes. Several pictures upload one after another, about ten seconds apart, and the notice counts them. Select a picture to align it, set its width, give it alt text and a caption, or remove it. Pictures do not count as words.
• Right-click menu. Right-click the text, or press the menu key or Shift + F10, for formatting, headings, lists, a link, a picture, a scene break, a mention, cut and copy, each with its shortcut. It acts on the selected text, or on the line the cursor is in.
• Spelling. When the book has a language (on the book's page), the browser checks spelling in that language. For its suggestions, hold Ctrl (Cmd on a Mac) while you right-click: that opens the browser's own menu.
• Find and replace. Ctrl + F searches the chapter, with Match case, Whole word and Replace all.
• Focus mode. The Focus mode button in the header steps everything but the page back.
• Readability. The Readability button in the toolbar marks long sentences (over 30 words), repeated words and proper names in the text, with a grade from 1 to 10 where higher is easier to read. It only highlights; it never changes your text. The setting is remembered for the project.
• Mentions and quick add. Type @ and a name, or [[ and a name with spaces, to link a record. If it does not exist yet, choose Quick add and pick a character or an entry: a record with just that name is created and linked at once, so you do not leave the page. Fill it in later. Each option appears only while its module is switched on.

Does Story Builder save my chapter automatically? #

Yes. There is no save button: your edits are saved as you write. The indicator in the header tells you where things stand:

Chapter details #

The panel beside the editor holds what the rest of the project reads from a chapter. Its Notes tab has the story side:

• Synopsis — a short summary, shown on the outline in Lens.
• Plotlines — the plotline beats this chapter tells.
• Location — where the chapter happens.
• Date — when it happens, on your timeline.
• Characters — who is in it. These are links to real characters, not notes.

The Details tab holds the chapter's Tags and custom fields. Delete Chapter is at the bottom of it. The chapter goes to the archive, and the chapters after it move up one number.

Who else is at this place on the same day? #

When a chapter has both a location and a date, Also here now under them lists the characters who are at that location on the same day elsewhere in the project: in another chapter, in a plotline beat, or in a character's history. A place counts as part of its location, so a chapter set in a city also shows who is at its harbour. Point at a name to see where they appear; the add button beside it adds them to this chapter. Characters already in the chapter are not listed.

Maybe here below it lists characters whose last known place before that day is this location, with nothing since placing them anywhere else: seen in a city on day 8 and next somewhere else on day 22, they are maybe here on day 15. Their names are lighter; point at one to see the record and date they were last seen here.

A date range counts for every day it covers. In a custom calendar without days, only the exact same date counts.

How do I change the order of chapters? #

Drag a chapter's column in the Weave view of Plotlines, and the chapters after it are renumbered. Anything linked to the chapter stays linked; the number only sets the order. When you start a new chapter from a plotline beat, you choose where it goes: at the start, at the end, or after any chapter.

Word counts and writing goals #

Each chapter counts its own words in the header, and the chapter list totals them for the book.

How do I set a daily word goal? #

On the project's home page, open Writing goals from the settings button beside Today's writing, and switch on Track writing goals. Then set:

• Daily word goal — the words you aim to add on a writing day.
• Grace days — missed days in a row your streak survives.
• Deadline and Target length — together they show the pace you need to finish in time.
• Sprint length — the length of one timed writing sprint.

With goals on, the chapter header shows your progress for the day and a sprint timer. Start a … minute sprint runs a timed stretch of writing and counts the words you add; End sprint stops it early. Nothing is shown while goals are off.

Can I publish one chapter at a time? #

Yes. Once the story is published, you release chapters one by one, which is how a serial works: readers see the chapters you have released and nothing else. See publishing.

Writing with someone else #

When collaboration is on, two people can write in the same chapter at once, and the indicator reads saving live. Edits merge rather than overwrite each other.

Tips #

• Fill in a chapter's location, characters and date as you go. Lens reads them to check continuity, and chapters without them drop out of the map and timeline reports.
• Write a one-line synopsis for each chapter; the outline becomes a plan you can read in a minute.
• Use Focus mode and a sprint together for a distraction-free stretch of writing.
• Press Ctrl + K to jump from a chapter to any character or place by name.
• Read the book end to end in the manuscript view before a revision pass.

Related #

• Manuscript — read the whole book and export it to Word or EPUB.
• Books — keep several books of a series in one project.
• Lens — find continuity errors across your chapters.
• Importing — bring in a manuscript you already have.
• Publishing — release chapters to readers.