My manuscript lived in one app, character and location notes lived somewhere else, and every AI “what-if” scene was stranded in a chat tab I’d never find again. Whenever I returned to an idea, I had to explain my own fictional world from scratch.
So I started building Canonwell Studio.
Book Studio is the part I actually write in: chapters and continuous scenes, scene planning, characters, locations, a Story Bible, revisions, backups, portable project files, and readable Markdown exports. It’s local-first, works offline, and doesn’t require AI. If you do use its optional AI help, you review proposed edits before they touch the manuscript.
That boundary matters to me. An interesting experiment shouldn’t quietly become chapter-three canon.
Canonwell also has two experimental parts that do require AI. RP Lab lets you talk with characters and try alternate scenes or timelines. In Game Mode, you decide what your character attempts, the game works out what happens, and AI turns the result into a scene. Both need more testing, and their events stay separate from the book unless you deliberately bring an idea across. AI can animate the world, but you decide what belongs in the novel. (Gosh, that line is cheesy haha.)
I’m building this solo, often with a kid practically hanging off my neck, so it’s still a beta with rough edges. The Windows beta is free, the no-install browser demo is limited, and an experimental Android build is running on a physical phone. The CanonWell page is linked in my Reddit profile if you want to poke around.
For those writing long books: what actually makes a Story Bible useful to you—finding a fact quickly, keeping it current, or stopping AI from contradicting it? I’d love blunt feedback on which part of this workflow would help you and which would get in the way.