The simplified builder
The simplified builder is a smaller way into Story Builder for writing a novel without every tool on screen: your projects, and inside each one the chapters, characters, entries and maps. It works on the same projects and the same records as the advanced builder.
What the simplified builder shows #
The advanced builder shows every module a project has, with a sidebar to move between them. The simplified builder shows five things: your projects, and inside a project its chapters, characters, entries and maps. There is no module sidebar. Everything else the project can do is still there, one button away.
How do I switch between the simplified and advanced builder? #
Use the switch in the header, or the setting in your profile. Both change the same account setting, and both land you on the same page in the other builder.
- From the simplified builder, select Switch to the advanced builder in the header. It is on every screen.
- From the advanced builder, select Switch to the simplified builder in the menu under your avatar.
- In your account Settings, on the Profile tab, turn Simplified builder on or off.
The setting belongs to your account, so it follows you to every device you sign in on. The first time a new account opens the builder, it asks which builder to start in, with a sketch of each and who each one suits. Your answer becomes this setting.
What each screen does #
Your projects #
Your projects lists every project you can open, most recently worked on first: the ones you created and the ones you were invited into, in one list.
A project #
A project's page offers Continue writing, which opens the last chapter in the book, or Start writing, which creates the first chapter and opens it. Below that are the chapters, characters, entries and maps the project has switched on. If the project is yours, there is also Delete this project (see deleting and restoring).
Wherever you are inside a project, its name in the header takes you back to the project's page.
The lists #
Each list shows names and a count, one button to add another, and a search box once there is something to search. Opening anything from a list takes you to the same record page the advanced builder uses.
The chapter list also has Export manuscript, which downloads the book in chapter order as a Word document, an EPUB, or Markdown as one file or one file per chapter.
The tour #
The first time through, a short tour points out each step from the empty project list to your first chapter. Select Skip tour on any page and it ends on all of them.
What is missing from the simplified builder? #
Everything outside the five screens above: the timeline, relations, the graph, publishing, project settings, permissions, the dashboard and chat. None of it is switched off. A link to any of them opens the advanced builder, and the switch back is always in the header.
Does the simplified builder change my project? #
No. It is not a different account or a different project. Anything you write in it is in the same project, and switching to the advanced builder shows all of it.
Every page has the same address in both builders, with /s added for the simplified one. A link
you copy in one builder opens the same page in the other, so you can share a chapter with someone
who uses the other builder.
Tips #
- Use the simplified builder for drafting days and the advanced builder for planning days. Switching keeps you on the same page.
- Continue writing is the quickest way back into the book: it always opens the last chapter.
- Export a copy of the manuscript from the chapter list before you send it to a reader or an editor.
- If a link opens the advanced builder, Switch to the simplified builder in the avatar menu brings you back.
Related #
- Getting started — what a project is made of, and how to start one.
- Modules — everything the advanced builder adds.
- Chapters — the editor you write in, in both builders.
- Backup and export — more ways to get your manuscript out.