Question 1

What is Chronicle Builder?

Accepted Answer

Chronicle Builder is a single studio for long-form fiction. Your manuscript, characters, world bible, story structure and an assistant that knows your canon all live in one project — so you stop juggling a dozen documents and keep your whole book in one place.

Question 2

Do I need to finish my outline before I start writing?

Accepted Answer

No. The editor, characters and world bible are all independent — start anywhere. Many writers draft a chapter, capture a character or location as it appears, and let the world bible grow alongside the manuscript rather than ahead of it.

Question 3

Is Chronicle Builder only for fantasy and sci-fi?

Accepted Answer

Not at all. The world bible suits any genre with a lot to track — historical fiction, mystery series, literary sagas. If your story has a cast, a setting and a structure worth keeping straight, it fits.

Question 4

What do the Free, Pro and Studio plans include?

Accepted Answer

Free covers a single project with the core editor and world bible. Pro unlocks story-structure tools, the tension graph and unlimited projects. Studio adds shared canon across a multi-book series and continuity checking. You can compare them in full on the Pricing page.

Question 5

Can I change or cancel my plan later?

Accepted Answer

Yes. Upgrade, downgrade or cancel at any time from Account → Plan & billing. Changes take effect at the start of your next billing cycle, and your writing is never locked behind a downgrade — you keep full read and export access to everything.

Question 6

How do AI credits work?

Accepted Answer

Credits are deducted from your balance based on the actual token usage of each answer — the assistant shows a breakdown (prompt tokens, completion tokens, total, and credits charged) under every reply. Cheaper models like GPT-5 Nano or Gemini 2.5 Flash Lite typically cost 1 credit per short reply; balanced models like Gemini 2.5 Flash or GPT-5 Mini usually land at 1–2 credits; Gemini 2.5 Pro can run 5–10 credits for a long, detailed answer. Every answered question costs at least 1 credit. Paid plans include a monthly allowance that refreshes each cycle, and you can top up any time with credit packs. Unused included credits do not roll over; purchased packs do not expire.

Question 7

Is the World Assistant trained on my book?

Accepted Answer

The assistant answers from your own entries — characters, locations, lore and timeline — and cites which entries it drew from. It is grounded in your canon rather than generic knowledge, so it will not invent facts that contradict your world.

Question 8

Is my manuscript used to train AI models?

Accepted Answer

No. Your manuscript and world data are never used to train any model. They are yours; the assistant reads them only to answer your questions, and nothing leaves your project for that purpose.

Question 9

Can I turn the AI features off entirely?

Accepted Answer

Yes — and this is a first-class part of how Chronicle Builder is designed. Every account has a global AI Features toggle in Settings. When it's off, all AI surfaces are hidden entirely — no buttons, no nudges, no upsells — and the app is a complete worldbuilding and manuscript workspace on its own. You can change your mind any time.

Question 10

Does the editor support scenes, chapters and drafts?

Accepted Answer

Yes. Chapters and scenes are first-class, with word counts, status (Draft, Planned, Revising, Done) and per-chapter summaries. The distraction-free Focus mode hides all chrome for pure drafting.

Question 11

What is the tension graph?

Accepted Answer

It plots the emotional intensity of your story beat by beat across chapters, so you can see pacing at a glance — where it sags, where it spikes, and whether your climax actually lands where you think it does.

Question 12

How does shared canon work across a series?

Accepted Answer

On Studio, characters, locations and lore belong to the series rather than a single book. Update an entry once and every book stays consistent — and continuity checking flags contradictions before your readers find them.

Question 13

Can I import an existing manuscript?

Accepted Answer

Yes. Smart Import reads a .docx, .txt, .md, .rtf or .pdf the way an editor would — splitting chapters, surfacing characters, locations and lore, and letting you choose what to add to your project before anything is created.

Question 14

Can I export my work?

Accepted Answer

Always. Export your manuscript and project data at any time. Your writing is portable by design — there is no lock-in, on any plan.

Question 15

Is my work backed up?

Accepted Answer

Projects autosave continuously and are stored securely. Your manuscript, characters and world bible are kept safe so a lost tab or closed laptop never costs you a sentence.

Question 16

What does the Language setting on my Account do?

Accepted Answer

It sets the default document language embedded in your exports — EPUB, PDF, HTML and Markdown — so e-readers and browsers apply the right typography, hyphenation and screen-reader voice. It does not change the app's interface language and does not translate your writing.

Question 17

Can I pick a different AI model for each feature?

Accepted Answer

Yes. Every AI feature — World Assistant, Custom AI Workspace, chapter summaries, scene beats, book and series continuity, Smart Import and full-manuscript analysis — has its own Model picker, and your choice is remembered per feature. Pick a cheap model like Flash Lite or GPT-5 Nano for quick drafts and a premium model like Gemini 2.5 Pro for the heavy passes.

Question 18

Does Chronicle Builder work on mobile and tablets?

Accepted Answer

Yes. On phones the app uses a bottom tab bar for one-thumb access to Home, Write, Cast and World, plus a More sheet for every other section. The topbar stays slim, the editor reflows for touch, and safe-area padding keeps buttons clear of the home indicator. It's great for capturing notes and reviewing your bible on the go; most writers still prefer a laptop for long drafting sessions.

Question 19

Do I get a demo project when I sign up?

Accepted Answer

Every new account ships with The Hollow Crown, a small seeded series with chapters, characters, locations and lore. It does not count against your project limit and you can delete it any time once you're comfortable.

Question 20

Is there a free trial of Pro or Studio?

Accepted Answer

The Free tier is permanently free — no card required — so you can try the core editor and world bible for as long as you like. Pro and Studio are billed from the moment you upgrade, but you can cancel any time and keep full read and export access to your work.

Question 21

Do you offer annual billing?

Accepted Answer

Yes. Pro and Studio are both available on monthly or annual plans, with annual saving roughly two months versus paying monthly. Switch between the two from Account → Plan & billing at any time.

Question 22

Do you offer refunds?

Accepted Answer

If something goes wrong within 14 days of a new charge, email support@chroniclebuilder.com and we'll make it right. Full terms live on the Refunds page.

Question 23

Which AI models power the assistant, and can I choose one?

Accepted Answer

Every optional AI feature — the World Assistant, continuity checks (book and series), full-manuscript analysis, Smart Import, chapter summaries and scene beats — uses the same Model picker. You can pick between Gemini (2.5 Flash, Flash Lite, Pro, 3 Flash preview) and OpenAI (GPT-5 Mini, GPT-5 Nano). Your choice is remembered per feature. Premium models — Gemini 2.5 Pro and GPT-5 Mini — are locked to Pro plans; Free users see all models but need to upgrade to select the premium ones. Credits are always deducted from actual token usage per model, so the cost depends on both which model you pick and how much text is involved.

Question 24

What is continuity checking?

Accepted Answer

Available on Studio, continuity checking reads your manuscript against your world bible and flags contradictions — a character in two places at once, an item destroyed earlier reappearing, a magic rule broken. You decide what to fix; nothing is changed for you.

Question 25

Can I write distraction-free?

Accepted Answer

Yes. Focus mode hides the sidebar, topbar and panels and gives you just the page. Your word count and autosave keep running in the background; press Escape to come back.

Question 26

How do writing goals and streaks work?

Accepted Answer

Set a daily word target in Writing Goals and the app tracks every session against it. Streaks, weekly totals and a heatmap come from real session data — nothing is estimated. Per-book targets let you see exactly how close each book is to done.

Question 27

Can I reorder chapters?

Accepted Answer

Yes. Drag chapters in the editor sidebar to reorder them; chapter numbers recalculate automatically. Summaries, status and word counts follow the chapter wherever you move it.

Question 28

What export formats are supported?

Accepted Answer

Manuscripts export to .docx, .pdf, .epub and .md. Your Story Bible exports to PDF or Markdown with per-section toggles (characters, locations, magic, timeline, notes) so you can ship exactly what you need.

Question 29

Can I control how PDF exports look?

Accepted Answer

Yes. The Export panel exposes line spacing (Single, 1.5 or Double), whether each chapter starts on a new page, and a decorative gold drop-cap on the first paragraph of each chapter. The drop-cap now indents the surrounding lines correctly so nothing overlaps, and turning off the new-page toggle keeps chapters flowing inline with a compact heading.

Question 30

Can I delete a project and start over?

Accepted Answer

Yes. Open a project from the Series page, scroll to the Danger Zone and confirm. Deletion removes the project and all of its chapters, bible entries and notes — it cannot be undone, so export first if you want a copy.

Question 31

What is the Advanced Description on a character?

Accepted Answer

A long-form field for the deeper backstory — history, voice, private motivations, anything that doesn't fit in the short summary. It only appears on the character view when you've filled it in, so lightweight characters stay lightweight.

Question 32

Can I classify a project by sub-genre?

Accepted Answer

Yes. Each project has a primary genre and an optional sub-genre (e.g. Fantasy → Grimdark, Sci-Fi → Space Opera), so series with a specific voice can be tagged more precisely and templates can adapt to match.

Question 33

Why is the sidebar hiding some sections on the Free plan?

Accepted Answer

To keep the app calm rather than overwhelming, groups that are mostly Pro or Studio features are collapsed by default on the Free plan. Click any group heading to expand it — your choice is remembered per browser, and Pro/Studio accounts see every group open by default.

Question 34

Where did the Story Bible menu items go?

Accepted Answer

The sidebar Story Bible group now only shows Overview and Continuity to stay tidy. Everything else — POV distribution, tension graph, themes, arcs, conflicts, subplots, story questions and foreshadowing — is one click away on the Story Bible overview page, which is the hub for all of them.

Questions, answered.