#notebook.ai

[thevoidgalactic]

crashing the fuck out /silly

join us……..

[abeloth]

Novel Planning/Writing Programs/Sites

I wrote this mostly for myself as I've used many different things over the years with varying success, but I think it might be useful for others as well. Not sponsored. All below the cut. If you want the TLDR, scroll to the very bottom.

1. Google Docs

Free. Just regular ol' Google Docs for writing and organizing. If you lose a Doc, you can contact Google and they're pretty prompt about getting it back for you if you accidentally delete something and then empty your trash.

For writing, it helps to get one folder and then have a bunch of folders inside that folder for drafts. It also helps to make one Doc that's just for background information you might need or for outlining. For this, I've just made tables or used Google's built-in outlines. However, this is the model of an eleven year old and it can get pretty messy trying to keep track of too much.

2. Airtable

Free with paid version available. Not for writing, but good for organizing. There's a novel template as well. I like that you can link records together. I've been using it for awhile for things like species, scenes, locations, etc.

For family trees, I recommend changing the view from "Grid view" to "Kanban" and categorizing it by "Generation" (Gen 1, etc). This works really well for planning things out and world building in general. You can add images really easily as well. It's very user intuitive and I recommend playing around with categories and fields until you get it to your liking. Btw, if you sign up with the above link I get referral credit on the site! I'd appreciate it if this post proves helpful.

3. Notebook.ai

Free with paid version available. This is one of those programs that's technically free, but you need to pay for it to be really usable in some respects. I really like how it organizes characters and asks you questions that prompt you to think more about your character. Same with locations. So it's great for characters and locations, but not for stuff like species or races. If you want to write fantasy, I would not use this alone (but I would take a look to see if any of the questions help you with world-building or characterization). I'd use it in conjunction with something like Airtable.

4. novelWriter

Free. This offline software is great for novel-writing! You can move chapters around which is nice. It has all your work in this nice lil' collapsable list. It also has options for you to note stuff about the plot, characters, location, etc at the bottom. Not super user intuitive, but it's not very hard to figure out and their site can help you out. Also, the next several are very similar to novelWriter (similar features and are not browser-based), but with more features.

5. Manuskript

Free. Same as above, but it includes an analyzer that can tell you how often you used a word or phrase. It also has some neat features like a distraction-free mode you can customize and a novel assistant–though I have not used that feature. The devs recommend having backups because it's still in early development. However, you should have backups regardless. I’ve personally had some issues losing progress and my .msk file not loading completely within the program. I’m trying to play around and find a solution, but I might lose motivation since I haven’t had this issue with Quoll or novelWriter.

6. Quoll Writer

Free. Great for novel writing. It also has bonus features like a fullscreen distraction free mode you can configure and a guide meant to identify problems with your writing. You can easily do text annotations as well. It has stats to view your productivity AND an editor mode that includes sharing with others. There is also a warm-up feature that comes complete with writing prompts, though I’ve never used this feature.

7. Atomic Scribbler a.k.a SmartEdit Writer

Free. Great for novel writing, especially if you're super used to Microsoft Word. It has the same look and feel, so if you're considering transitioning, this is a great fit. Just like the ones above, it lets you go chapter by chapter and scene by scene so you can easily view your novel and rearrange it to your liking. Disclaimer that I have not used this because I hate Microsoft Word so much it's unreal.

8. yWriter

Free. yWriter seems pretty similar to novelWriter, but is only for Windows. I have Mac, so I haven’t tried this one but it looks nice and uncomplicated.

9. NovelEasy

Free. Browser-based, so you can use this if you have a ChromeBook (4-8 require Mac or Windows to run). It has a similar set up and some similar features, but it goes by chapters, not chapters and scenes. However, it does still have the option to see your daily progress with word count, time spent writing, etc. Disclaimer that I have not used this, but it looks like a good alternative if you can't run the aforementioned programs.

I haven't tried Scrivener (since it's paid), but I've heard good things about it. I'm not sure if there's anything included you couldn't get elsewhere for free. Campfire is free, but I'm unsure if it's free like Airtable or like Notebook. If I check it out, I'll update this post with my thoughts on it.

TLDR: What I’ve been using to write is Airtable (#2 on the list) for worldbuilding, characters, and outlining, Google Docs (#1) for at least the first draft, and novelWriter (#4) for the second draft onward since it’s so much easier to move scenes around and see what else you need to edit.

[thdramas2]

Seeing as we're talking about Toyhouse alternatives, this is a list of all the ones I know of: UnVale Characterhub Refsheet.net ocbin (though it requires an invite) Notebook.ai (has some p2u features) Obsidian (local backups)

In case anyone is wanting to jump ship: don't forget the Toyhouse downloader. I personally like Characterhub the most, but I have accounts on all of them so that my information is stored in several places, including local backups on Obsidian.

Nice

[avhira]

Where else to find me

@Avhira-The-Eldritch-Horror (Notebook.ai [roleplaying/world building website, no used ai features])

.avhira (discord)

Avhira'sCorner or @Avhira (YouTube)

let me tell you a Story (Webtoon)

Avhira~ (Webtoon Profile)

How to find certain things of mine (updated when needed)

FAQ

Current character workings

Character work- #Avhira's Character

Character sheets- #Avhira's Character Sheets

Webtoon pages- #let me tell you a Story (none yet)

Rambles- #Avhira Rambles

Puppy- #Onyx the Pup

[awkw4rdtoxicity]

Writing resource masterlist that I use :)

Links in color

Writing tips for when I get writers block

Notebook.Ai to keep track of universes and characters

CharacterHub for character sheets and designs

(This is for DSMP writers but) Character's speech patterns for when I need to write dialouge

Words to replace said but it's actually helpful(View in mobile)

Havocscope for all those sketchy searches

Thesaurus for synonyms for things

Poison list cause... idk assassinations ig

This site for when you forget a word or ned synonyms

This will continue to be updated as I go :D

[stressed-sock]

🎓 for the oc game! how long have you had your characters from solis?

according to my changelogs on notebook.ai, they're over three years old at this point!! i first made them when i was really attached to the site and started off with the main crew (elliot, alexi, thala, theo, etc.)

looking back, their old names were,,, not the best - i really just took words i associated with them and google-translated them with latin or put weird place holders lmao

this was also when i wasn't very confident in my art and mostly resorted to picrew! it's nice to see how far i've come :D

[abbuniverses]

It's the calm before the storm...

KCU Changelog 6/25/25

Updated Merry's portrait so the underside of her coat actually glows.

Added portrait for Act 1 Mahou Carmen.

Ensured all Notebook.ai pages used portraits with transparent backgrounds.

Rewrote Morningstar's OC Profile flavor text, as it was no longer accurate to the character.

Phoebe buff! (Or disambiguation, rather!) Added the Stasis ability.

Buffs for all low-ranking angels and demons. What do you mean you can't fly!?

"Proficiency" abilities (e.g. Good with Blades) have been deprecated, unless they're considered superhuman or otherwise notable.

Adjusted ability lists and their terminology to be more thorough and pedantic than ever! Powerscalers rejoice!

And don't forget–

ABBsona Changelog 6/25/25

Made small updates to Notebook.ai and OC Profiles. (Like the ages! Forgot about those.)

Fixed name inconsistency in ABBcities Comic Archive.

Upcoming ABBsona descriptions are ready...

[spiderhoodieclothing]

spider hoodie

[perfectcovenauthors]

1/31/2025 Weekly Update

1/30/2025 → Thursday Skype & Write Last night was our monthly series bible update. We use notebook.ai for that, accessible to all of us. It’s very convenient because it allows for linkage and cross-referencing…when it works. Last night, it was not working. Sid spent the entire session trying to update the locations/towns areas and yeah. The locations section is, apparently, borked. It can’t…

[abbuniverses]

Guess who New Years'd too hard again?

KCU Changelog 1/3/25

A lot of these changes were made and published way earlier, but about half have been published just today, so y'know.

The mountain Byrnes Conservatory is built on top of has been named Mt. Whitewater.

Updated Sanguine's official portrait to more accurately reflect her design. She was missing the extra skirt frills the entire time...

Fleshed out the mechanics of souls and ghosts in the KCU, and updated Species and Magic Notes accordingly. Consequently, the soul-recovery side plot involving Harley, Reflex, and Parris has been given more detail. (A new item entry on Notebook.ai will be coming sometime in the future.)

Reworked the side-effects of the Forbidden subset somewhat, for small characterization and plot tweaks.

Tweaked the gamut of abilities given by the Ocean subset.

Made various small changes to Notebook.ai character entries and the Subset Guide.

Nerfed Remedy via complete ability revamp.

And as a bonus:

ABBsona Changelog 1/3/25

Changed Blurp's title.

Added the remaining Royabb cast into the OC Profiles document.

Made various small changes to Notebook.ai entries, including the new OC Profiles flavor text.

Combustion now counts as a unique ability, and not a reflavored version of Energy Manipulation.

Removed formatting errors in Royabb Regulations.

Removed Herobrine.

[tarpstar76]

ukTrapstar