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Yes, that is Xmind! It is an excellent tool for presenting your key points without writing them all out. I used a similar technique when dictating my book on author branding in 2015, pre-AI. These days, I usually use Notion. But those pages take much longer to put together. 😀

Thank you!

The difference between the two is really up to the author's interpretation or the rules of the place where you're publishing. Many people will create the Codex and then write the story themselves (the old-fashioned way). Others will use the Codex and AI to create a 'zero draft' to determine the story's direction. And others will use the assistance of the LLMs to write the actual prose.

We got this resolved on Discord, right?

We resolved this in Discord, right?

Woohoo! Let me know if you have any specific questions.

You are most welcome!

The story of my life!!

Thank you!

I know myself, and I'll nitpick it to death and never ship it if I've left to my own devices while editing. Remember the 80/20 rule.

So, 'bring your own key' means that you are in control of your spending and aren't relying on a developer to tell you how much you have to pay per word. I use OpenRouter almost exclusively now and find myself paying a couple of cents a day instead of paying a flat fee and getting 90,000 words.

I plan to bring this project back to life after I get a few other things off my plate.

I actually created a specific Framework Codex entry for this story. And no, it wasn't Save the Cat or 3-Act Structure. It was a generic 20-chapter outline for a Mafia Romance. It's actually in the AI Toolbox as well. Look at the "Individual Prompts & Frameworks" section for the 'Mafia Romance Framework.'

@@ByteSizedBooksmith Thanks. I've been looking at this process and trying to determine the best route for the series I'm working on. Thank you so much for making this easy to follow!

The 'Story So Far' is the Scene Summaries for the previous scenes but does not include the current scene. I've updated my prose prompt to pull the current scene summary into the context since that is where I put my scene brief. Doing so allows me to have shorter beats since the most important information is already in the scene brief. Once I'm done writing the scene, I run a scene summary prompt (I've extended mine to up to 500 words) and start on the next scene.

You're right. It is easier to write everything except for those scenes that will get you in trouble with Claude and then go back and revise those sections with an NSFW-friendly model or by hand. Since this video, I have tested and added a section to my AI Toolbox prompts collection specifically for writing the scenes that send the moderated models into a tizzy. I've found that at the moment, Mistal Large is my LLM of choice for any sort of plotting and structure work. Then, you can use Command R+ for the heated bits. However, the key is to make sure your style guide aligns with what you're trying to get out of the LLM.

Welcome! Glad you're here.

That's odd. Could you let me know if you're using one of my prompts? A few other things to think about... Claude 3.5 Sonnet hasn't been great through OpenRouter this week. Several folks have mentioned it on Discord. Also, how much is happening in the scene? Is there enough action for all the beats you're trying to create?

@@ByteSizedBooksmith I am using a prompt I customized myself. Here is an example. this is scene 1 outline of my chapter 3: Packing in Silence Context: Evening, dimly lit bedroom Characters: Rayan, Alina Main Action: Rayan methodically packing his bags Dialogue: None Sensory Details: Sound of clothes rustling, occasional thud of items being placed in the bag Internal Thoughts: Rayan focuses on the task, mentally preparing for his journey and escape from the tense atmosphere at home Objects/Environment: A well-worn traveling bag, neatly folded clothes Beat Goal: Establish the strained atmosphere between Rayan and Alina Transition: Alina enters the room, breaking the silence Beat Title: Forced Pleasantries Context: Same bedroom, tension rising Characters: Rayan, Alina Main Action: Alina approaches Rayan, attempting to engage Dialogue: Alina: "Have a good trip, Rayan." Rayan: (without looking up) "I will." Sensory Details: The forced cheeriness in Alina's voice, the coolness in Rayan's tone Internal Thoughts: Alina's frustration at Rayan's indifference, Rayan's desire to avoid confrontation Objects/Environment: The half-packed bag between them, symbolizing the emotional distance Beat Goal: Highlight the lack of warmth in their interaction Transition: Rayan continues packing, pointedly not engaging further Beat 3 Title: Unspoken Tensions Context: Bedroom, emotional distance palpable Characters: Rayan, Alina Main Action: Rayan finishes packing, Alina hovers uncertainly Dialogue: None Sensory Details: The heaviness of unspoken words hanging in the air, the sound of Rayan closing his bag Internal Thoughts: Alina: "He doesn't even care about my comfort. Doesn't he see how hard I'm trying?" Rayan: "This marriage is a mistake. I need to focus on my family." Objects/Environment: The closed bag, ready for departure Beat Goal: Reveal the internal struggles of both characters Transition: Rayan picks up his bag, preparing to leave Beat 4 Title: The Cold Departure Context: Bedroom doorway, the moment of parting Characters: Rayan, Alina Main Action: Rayan moves to leave, Alina steps aside Dialogue: Rayan: (tersely) "I'll return in a fortnight." Alina: (with forced lightness) "I mean, we'll manage just fine without you." Sensory Details: The brush of Rayan's sleeve against Alina as he passes, the slight tremor in Alina's voice Internal Thoughts: Rayan feels a mix of relief and guilt at leaving Alina experiences a surge of resentment and abandonment Objects/Environment: The open doorway, symbolizing Rayan's imminent departure Beat Goal: Emphasize the emotional disconnect between Rayan and Alina Transition: Rayan steps out, leaving Alina alone in the room. As you said I thought the same, maybe not enough informations or actions so I put the beats together and divided in 2 parts. And when I generated it’s still the same result. I am using sonnet 3.5 Sorry for the long text.

@@paikountv4065 The scene contains plenty of information but lacks movement/action. After Rayan leaves, what does Alina do? Can you extend the scene? Also, could you try using my Action Beat prompt (Byte-Sized AI Toolbox)? That might help.

@@ByteSizedBooksmith for your prompt the genres don’t matter ? Because my genre is historical drama fiction.

@@paikountv4065 So that prompt is for Chat (not writing prose), and it doesn't matter which genre you're writing in. The only prompts I have that are genre-specific are the Developmental Editor ones (also for Chat).

Thanks! Let me know if there are any other questions I haven't answered yet.

So, if you're building multiple stories in the same world/universe, you'll want to create the story world first. Once you've done that, you can ask the LLM to suggest some short stories that can take place in the world you've created. This is similar to what I did in one of my Codices. Here is an example of one of my prompts: "I would love your help coming up with ideas for different instant love paranormal romance series set in the world of [World Name]. Each series should have five books, each focusing on a different couple. Each series should have something in common. One of the characters from each couple should be connected… they either work at the same place, they are related, or they are of a similar paranormal race. Each story also must include my primary tropes." The World Name and Primary Tropes were Codex entries in the example above.

@@ByteSizedBooksmith you’re the best! Thank you 🤩 🙏

You're most welcome! We'll start writing the story a little later this week. I wanted to allow people the time to create their Codex, whether they are writing the same story or something else.

Tremendous.

I ended up making my monster a character, and a house could be either a character or a location, depending on its role in the story. Let me know if you need any help!

I don't see any changes really. The big one is when you're generating the ideas you need to change the word count. Because Angie only used a guide for 6,000 word novel so when it broke down the save the cat steps it based it on that 6,000 word limit. So if you are writing ing a book that says it has like 100,000 words you need to let the AI know that when you generating the idea and you use the same chat or you generated the idea to do all the other work so that the AI continually cycles and has reference points. And then when you go to do the plot for like save the cat and we're the percentages are those will change based on your workout. Also you might want to pick up a copy of save the cat and take a look at it if you haven't already.

For a full-length novel, you'll need more characters and locations, and you'll definitely want more than four scenes. You'd go deeper into the characters' backgrounds and add some subplots, like the romantic subplot I discarded. The Basement Kraken is one of the premises that no one was interested in during the voting, so I started writing it. I've got 13 chapters with 2 to 4 scenes in each. When done, it will be around 50k.

Yes, you can! Duplicate a prompt and check the NSFW box to ensure you don't get filtered models.

@@ByteSizedBooksmith i already done that but can i or maybe better phrased should i alter or replace something in the prompt to make it more explicit ?

@@peterlam1635 So I wouldn't change the prompt, per se, but the writing style. That's how we handled it back in my Sudowrite days, and I definitely think that's the best path forward. If you'd like more specific suggestions, we'll need to move to Discord. I'd rather anger YT.

@@ByteSizedBooksmith haha yeah that probably would anger YT , i was trying something in chatgpt where you can let a scenario write itself with the help of foto's but when it becomes to explicit the AI blocks it . What is discord ? by the way ?

@@peterlam1635 Discord is a community platform. I am on it, and Novelcrafter has its own server there, too. Here is the invite link if you'd like to join us: discord.gg/sPJFUTEsJC

I'm planning to revisit this project in late Fall.

So I did quite a bit of research on this, and you've got quite a few options, including the three-act structure, Save the Cat, Fichtean Curve, Hero's Journey, and Story Circle. It just depends on what your story is about. Save the Cat is my go-to story structure, and depending on a few variables, some of the specific beat sheets would work: - Whydunit: If the central focus is uncovering the deeper psychological motives behind a crime (ex. Shutter Island or Gone Girl) - Institutionalized: Explore themes of control, oppression, and the psychological effects of being trapped in an institution or system (ex. The Handmaid's Tale) - Dude with a Problem: If the protagonist is in a life-threatening situation and must survive, with the added layer of psychological tension (ex. Misery, Panic Room) Let me know if this helps!

@@ByteSizedBooksmith Thanks for the suggestions. I’ve already researched and considered most of them before but none really fit my story because the protagonist really turns out to be the villain unbeknown to her until the last moment

@Gina0151 It is going to take me a bit to get to your questions. We got hit by a storm that knocked out our power. I will follow up when I can!

Is it only one book or a series? I would have a different answer, depending on that.

It was going to be a single book because the way I write is I imagine it as a movie. While tempted to make it a series I think it will have better impact as a single book and leave the reader with a greater sense of shock regards a cliffhanger outcome they didn’t see coming. Then again, that is very optimistic of me to hope that people will ever buy my book but Stephen King started somewhere

That's what I call a Relationship Map, and you can put it as a Codex entry under Lore or Other. I have mine set to be always in the AI context for the project I'm working on. If you have a main chat you've been working in, ask the LLM for a relationship map that an AI assistant could use to help you write the story.

@@ByteSizedBooksmith I JUST saw your relationship map in your other video (from concept to codex). I also got the magic phrase "... that an AI assistant could use to help" Thanks once more! Godspeed!

So, I usually save my outline (called Outline) and scene list (called Scene List) as two separate Codex entries to chat with them. This way, I can type 'Outline' or 'Scene List' in my chat discussion without using code. I've also been keeping a copy of my outline in Notion. When ready to write, I put a Scene Brief into the Scene Summary field. Then, I do a Scene Beat in the actual prose area (click / to bring up the dropdown) and enter my actual scene beats there. When I'm done writing a scene, I do a scene summary and move on to the next scene. Let me know if that makes sense. If not, I can film a short tutorial.

@@ByteSizedBooksmith thank you so much for your help. But here what is Notion? Is it a codex entree?

@@paikountv4065 Notion is an online app to capture ideas and organize information. I use it for many other things, but that's how I use it in the writing process. You could also use a Google Doc or something similar if you're unfamiliar with Notion.

@@ByteSizedBooksmith I see. I really appreciate it. Thanks

@@ByteSizedBooksmith Thank you! I had same question. Your reply helps a lot. You are the first and only person to explain that exactly. It’s what’s been preventing me from even getting started in Novelcrafter is where do I generate the outline and beats and where do I put them in Novelcrafter to begin with so that I can start chapter 1. It’s these simple steps that are overlooked by every other video explainer about Novelcrafter. So if we brainstorm an outline plot in chat, save it to a snippet, generate beats from the outline in chat, save the beats as separate snippet create a codex entry for each, and then copy paste each chapter outline and chapter beats in the Plan section, chapter by chapter, then generate prose from scene beats when we are ready to start writing our story once we have completed codex entries. Have I understood correctly?

I thought I showed it in this video, but the Name field on the prompt determines the structure. When you enter the forward slash in the name, it causes it to act like folders and subfolders. BSB (Level 1) / Dev Editor (Level 2) / Dark Mafia Romance (Actual Prompt) Just determine what you want your structure to look like and add the forward slash between the "folders."

@@ByteSizedBooksmith thanks! I must have missed that part. I was half asleep this morning. It's Friday.

Ah, yes. I would have divided the main characters' appearances and communication styles into their own Codex entries. Since then, I've added the Hook, Pitch, and Premise to the scene brief discussion and made significant changes to the Generate Scene Brief and my prose-writing prompts. You should see several improvements in the next Sample Codex!

Please let me know if there are other areas that you're struggling with.

You are most welcome! Let me know if you have any questions.