Story Builder documentation

Templates

A template gives a new project a starting shape instead of an empty page: a starter template for the kind of story you are writing, or a story bible template you saved from a project you have already set up.

Starting from a starter template #

When you create a project, the first step, Start from, offers four starter templates. Each one chooses a set of modules and a genre, along with that genre's suggested character fields and tags. None of them adds chapters, characters or any other content.

Template Switches on
Contemporary novel Dashboard, chapters, characters, entries, plotlines, publication
Secondary-world fantasy The above, plus map, locations, places, organizations, bestiary, timeline and the graph
TTRPG campaign Dashboard, characters, bestiary, map, locations, places, organizations, entries, timeline, images
Screenplay Chapters, characters, plotlines, timeline and publication

None of this is permanent. You can switch any module on or off afterwards, and switching one off deletes nothing. The template only decides what the project looks like on the first day.

Starting from a blank project #

Choose Blank project under Start from to pick everything yourself. The next steps ask for a genre and a Modules preset:

  • Minimal — chapters, characters, entries and publication.
  • Full — most modules, including the map, locations, the timeline and the graph.
  • Text only — chapters and publication.

You can also switch on Add default timeline to the project? to start with a ready calendar.

The shorter Start a project flow has its own blank option, Start empty, which gives you chapters and characters to begin with.

How do I make a story bible template from my own project? #

Save the project's setup as a template. Open the project's Settings, go to Actions, and under Reuse this project select Save as template. Give it a name and, if you like, a description.

A saved template keeps the shape of your story bible: the modules, your custom fields, your tags and the timeline's calendar. It keeps no content: no chapters, no characters, no maps.

Using and deleting your own templates #

Your templates are saved to your account. When you create a project with Create Project, they appear under Saved by you in the Start from step, next to the starter templates. To remove one, select Delete this template on its card.

How do I duplicate a project? #

Open the project's Settings, go to Actions, and under Reuse this project select Duplicate project. Name the copy and choose how much it takes with it:

Option Copies
Structure only Custom fields, tags, the timeline's calendar, modules and permissions. No records
Structure and entities All of the above, plus characters, locations, chapters, maps and their relations
Everything All of the above, plus boards, images and map layers: a complete working copy

The copy is never published, and you start as its only member. You can duplicate up to three projects an hour, and each copy counts toward the number of projects you can own.

Tips #

  • Use a template to reuse a way of working. Use a duplicate to start a second book in the same world, or to try a large revision without touching the original.
  • Set up custom fields and tags before you save a template: they are the part that saves you the most time in the next project.
  • Start with a smaller template rather than a bigger one. Switching a module on later takes a second in Settings under Modules.
  • Delete templates you no longer use, so Saved by you stays short.