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JustWrite

JustWrite — User Guide

JustWrite is a desktop writing app for novelists. It bundles a clean rich-text editor, a full story bible (characters, places, plot threads, world-building), planning tools (corkboard, plot board, timeline), and an analysis dashboard.

It runs locally on your own computer. Your manuscript is yours, on your disk, in your hands. AI features are optional and work with whichever provider you prefer — including local engines that never send a word out to the internet.

This guide is written for writers, not engineers. You do not need to know what a “renderer” is to use the app, and you do not need to read this front-to-back. Dip into the section you need. Every pane in the app also has a small ? button next to its title that opens the relevant docs right inside the app, so you rarely need to leave the app to find an answer.

Where to start

Section titled “Where to start”

If this is your first time:

  1. Getting started — install, open the app, find your bearings.
  2. Core concepts — the way JustWrite thinks about a book (Parts, Chapters, Scenes, the Story Bible, autosave, undo).
  3. Writing — the editor itself: Home, Chapters, the four view modes, the scene-strip AI dropdown.

If you have a draft already:

If you want to plan first:

  • Story bible — Characters, Locations, Objects, Groups, Relations.
  • Plot and time — Narrative strands, the Plot Board, Timelines, and Events.

Full table of contents

Section titled “Full table of contents”

The basics

Section titled “The basics”
  • Getting started — install, first launch, the seed project, optional AI setup
  • Core concepts — Parts → Chapters → Scenes, the Story Bible, soft delete + undo, autosave
  • Writing — Home, Chapters, the editor, Edit / Outline / Read modes (with the Cards corkboard inside Edit), the Links panel, AI rewrites, Version History

Planning your story

Section titled “Planning your story”
  • Story bible — Characters, Locations, Objects, Groups, Relations graph
  • Plot and time — Narrative strands, Plot Board, project Timeline, per-entity Events
  • Worldbuilding — Worldbuilding articles and the three Architecture documents (Premise, Fabula, Setting)
  • Notes and search — the scratch-pad and full-text search across everything
  • Markers — in-prose pins for fix-laters, loose threads, weak prose, and AI-tell / dangling-thread scans

Producing the book

Section titled “Producing the book”
  • Import and export — bring a manuscript in; export to PDF, DOCX, or EPUB
  • Analysis — pace, milestones, style metrics, cast presence; plus the structural AI passes (story tension, voice drift, reverse outline, beat sheet, plot-hole audit, marketing pack)
  • Reader knowledge — a chapter-by-chapter dramatic-irony map: what the reader knows vs. what the POV character knows

Setup and configuration

Section titled “Setup and configuration”
  • AI providers — OpenAI, Anthropic Claude, Ollama, LM Studio, others
  • Appearance — themes, fonts, accents, button shape, editor layout
  • Backups and data — autosave, snapshots, restoring, reset
  • Sync — your books on every device: a cloud folder, pairing, or a file by hand
  • Keyboard shortcuts — the full reference

What’s coming

Section titled “What’s coming”
  • What’s new — recent changes worth noticing; the same content the in-app “What’s new” modal shows on first launch after an upgrade
  • Roadmap — items on the table; not promises, just direction
  • AI features roadmap — AI-specific direction; shipped, deferred, and won’t-ship entries with rationales

What JustWrite is not

Section titled “What JustWrite is not”
  • It is not a cloud service. There is no account, no login, no subscription. The app and your project live on your computer.
  • It is not locked to any AI vendor. Every AI feature works with whichever provider you choose, including local engines.
  • It is not a publishing platform. It produces files (PDF, EPUB, DOCX) that you take to whatever distributor or printer you prefer.

Your code, your manuscript, your terms. AI models are subject to their own providers’ terms.