Your Novel Writing Toolbox - Novelcrafter

What it is

Novelcrafter is a web-based writing platform designed for authors of fiction and non-fiction. It serves a broad range of writers, from novices to published authors, by providing an integrated environment for planning, drafting, and organizing long-form written content. The tool is applicable to various formats, including novels, short stories, poetry, screenplays, articles, and academic writing.

Main Features

Organization & Planning

• The Codex: An integrated wiki that automatically tracks and links characters, places, and lore, providing a central hub for world-building.
• Planning Modes: Multiple views, such as a grid of scene cards, to visualize a story's structure and identify plot holes or inconsistencies early.
• Series Management: Allows a Codex to be shared across multiple books in a series, eliminating the need to re-enter information.

AI Integration & Customization

• Flexible AI Assistance: AI tools can be used for brainstorming, writing, or reviewing, with user-controlled usage levels.
• Multi-Vendor Support: Connects to various AI platforms, including OpenAI (GPT-5), Anthropic (Claude), Google (Gemini), Meta (Llama), and Mistral AI.
• Local Model Support: Can be connected to local AI models via LM Studio or Ollama.
• Custom Prompting: A flexible system for users to build and customize their own AI prompts and shortcuts.

Collaboration

• Shared Projects: Enables collaboration by inviting others, such as co-authors, proofreaders, or editors, to a story or series.
• Team Features: Includes options for writing groups to work together within the platform.

How it works

Novel Writing

A user begins by building their story's world in the Codex, creating entries for key characters and locations. They then outline their plot using the planning tools to arrange scenes. As they draft chapters, the AI can be engaged to help brainstorm ideas or generate text. The linked Codex ensures consistency, and the planning view helps the author review the narrative flow.

Collaborative Project Management

An author pair can create a shared project. Both writers have access to the same Codex and manuscript, allowing them to co-write and edit simultaneously. They can use the AI chat to brainstorm ideas together or invite a third-party editor to review the final draft directly within the platform.

Content Creation Beyond Novels

Users writing non-fiction, articles, or ad copy can utilize the organizational structure of the Codex to manage key concepts, facts, and sources. The AI tools can assist in drafting and refining content for different formats and tones.

Key Points

• The platform is designed to be flexible, adapting to a user's preferred writing process with as much or as little AI assistance as desired.
• It emphasizes data ownership and avoids vendor lock-in by supporting a wide array of AI models and local processing.
• It is built by an independent team of writers, positioning itself as a tool created by and for the writing community.
• The integrated tools are designed to work together seamlessly, sharing context to reduce the need for copying and pasting between applications.

Additional Details

• Pricing: Plans start at $4 USD per month. A 21-day free trial is available.
• Availability: It is a web-based application, requiring no software installation.
• Community: The platform has a community of over 116,000 authors and offers a Discord server for user interaction.
• Learning Resources: Novelcrafter provides free educational content, including courses (e.g., Writing Essentials, The 12 Acts Structure), a blog, and a monthly newsletter (The Monthly Muse) with writing prompts.
• Support: Help is available through a comprehensive online help center, documentation, and a service status page.