Changelog

Follow new updates and improvements to Sudowrite.

November 6th, 2024

Great stories need strong foundations, and Sudowrite’s Outline tool can help you build them. We just launched Outline Unlimited, a brand new way to generate and structure your story in Story Bible. It's more robust, more flexible, and totally free of word limits.

📝 Write Without Limits

You’ve been asking for an Outline section without limits. With Outline Unlimited, your outline can now be as lengthy and detailed as your story demands, whether you're writing a short story or an epic series.

But we didn't just make it bigger. We made it better:

  • Flexible Chapter Organization: You can now drag and drop to reorder your chapters and acts

  • Custom Structure Support: You no longer have to use an Act/Chapter structure—you can plot your story out in scenes, episodes, or however you like

  • Support for Story Elements: Add prologues, epilogues, interludes, or any other special sections your story needs

  • Smart Generation: Generate your entire Outline at once or add to it chapter-by-chapter, giving the AI direction as you go

  • One-Click Updates: As your story evolves, keep your Outline accurate with a single click analysis of what you’ve written so far

🧭 Designed for Your Process

Everyone approaches outlining differently, and Outline Unlimited is built to support your process:

  • Generate or Write: Have Story Bible generate your entire outline based on your synopsis and characters, or add chapters manually with whatever degree of AI support you’d like

  • Chapter-by-Chapter Control: Need to rework a specific chapter? Generate or rewrite individual sections without touching the rest of your Outline

  • Custom Instructions: Guide the generation process with specific instructions for each chapter or even your entire outline

🔄 Upgrading to Outline Unlimited

Outline Unlimited is available now, but we want to make the switch as smooth as possible for you, especially if you’re midstream on a project. So here’s how it works:

  • All new projects will now automatically include Outline Unlimited in their Story Bible

  • Existing projects can be upgraded individually through Story Bible whenever you're ready

  • On December 9th, we'll automatically upgrade any projects that haven’t been upgraded yet

  • Existing outlines will be converted over to the new structure when you upgrade

💭 Frequently Asked Questions

Can I import my outline from another tool?

Yes! Use the "Import Outline" option in the outline section's (•••) menu to bring in outlines from other sources.

What if I wait until December 9th?

No problem—we'll automatically upgrade your outlines then, and everything will continue working seamlessly.

What happens to my existing outline during the upgrade?

Your outline is converted to the new format exactly as is, assuming your Outline already worked on Sudowrite.
Note: If your Outline was not functional, using Sudowrite’s standard formatting—that is, if you were unable to link chapters previously—it will not be converted at all. Instead, that Outline will be saved in a document that lives in your project’s Trash, and you’ll start with an empty Outline. (Feel free to restore that doc and either Import it to your Outline, use it to write your own manually, or just generate a fresh Outline!)


Ready to try it? Head to Story Bible in any of your projects to get started with Outline Unlimited today. ✨

November 4th, 2024

New!

You should get lost in your writing—not your project list. Today we're adding folders to Sudowrite, so you can finally organize your projects in a way that works for you. And while we were at it, we cleaned up the homepage to help you stay completely focused on what really matters: your work.

🗂️ Project Folders

Everyone has a system when it comes to organizing their work, and now you can bring yours to Sudowrite. Folders can be used to track your project status, group your work by series or pen name, or just keep your desktop tidy.

You can create folders from the New button in the upper lefthand corner, just like you would a new project. Drag and drop projects directly onto a folder to move them, or use the Move to option available in the three dot (•••) menu. A few things to know about folders:

  • Hover over any folder to preview your 3 most recent projects in that folder

  • Click on a preview to go directly into that project without opening the folder!

  • You can create or move folders inside of folders

  • Navigate easily with the file path provided at the top of your screen in folders

  • Projects can be dragged over that file path to relocate them

When you delete a folder, all its contents move to trash together. Don't worry—you can restore entire folders (and their contents) from the Deleted projects page, available via the Settings menu (⚙️), if you need them back.

🧘 Homepage Zen

In addition to adding folders, we've made several homepage improvements intended to reduce distractions and keep you focused:

  • We simplified the top navigation

  • We improved project search, making it effectively instant

  • Rather than banners, we’ll share noteworthy updates with you via dismissible cards

  • Those handy resource links have moved from a right sidebar into a dismissible card as well (—one that will always appear at the bottom of your stack)

  • The trash bin has moved to the Settings menu (⚙️) and is now called Deleted projects

These changes are intended to help you tidy, sure, but they’re also about Sudowrite getting out of your way so that you can stay focused on what matters. Project folders and the updated homepage are available now—we hope you like them!

October 24th, 2024

New!

You write stories for readers, but there’s never been a perfect way to share those stories from Sudowrite. Today we’re launching document sharing, so you can finally link your readers directly to your work right here on Sudowrite. Did we mention it’s presented beautifully?

Share your finished manuscript with a beta reader, or share a work-in-progress for feedback. Share different versions of your story by sharing multiple docs, which you can track easily in the project’s Share menu. Any changes you make to a document are reflected in the shared version (on refresh), so you don’t have to do anything to make sure your reader has the latest version.

The Share option is available as a Share icon in the upper right corner of Sudowrite, right next to your settings gear. Using it is simple:

1. Click the Share icon.

2. Click the Share button to generate a link to the document you’re currently in. Alternatively, click the dropdown arrow to generate a link to a different document in your project.

Your document will be shared, and a link will be copied to your clipboard. Anyone with that link will be able to view your document.

Likewise, any changes you make to the document will be reflected at the shared link. (For now this may require a refresh on the part of the reader, but we’re working on making it instant.) You can also always unpublish your shared documents from the same place, using the Unpublish option beneath the three dots (•••) menu.

We’ve got big plans for document sharing in the works, but we didn’t want that to stop us from sharing this with you now. We hope you love it, and can’t wait to see what you share with us!

October 15th, 2024

Fix

You may have heard rumors of some really exciting beta tests in the works. We can neither confirm nor deny those rumors, so instead please allow us to direct your attention to the incredible amount of work our team has put into resolving bugs recently!

Fixed Chapter Generation - We resolved an issue that caused chapter generation to wrap up its output before the chapter was complete, sometimes even mid-sentence. It now works as expected, consistently completing each generation.

Screen Jumping Bug - We fixed a bug that was causing Story Bible and Plugin fields to intermittently recenter themselves when you typed. The editor in these fields will now remain in position until you scroll.

Self-breaking Outline Fix - We fixed a bug that could cause Outlines to be generated with markdown formatting. Those asterisks would prevent an Outline from being recognized, and prevent you from linking chapters. It’s now resolved, and Outlines generate without markdown.

Style Box Placeholder Overlap - We fixed a bug that caused the “Insert Example” button to overlap the placeholder text inside of the Story Bible’s Style box.

Featured Styles Freaky Friday - We mixed up the writing samples for the "Approachable & Charming" and "Dark & Foreboding" Featured Styles, which is actually kind of funny. Anyway, it’s fixed now.

Favorited Visualize Card Fix - We fixed a bug where favorited Visualize cards weren’t displaying properly in the Favorites toggle of the right sidebar. They now display as expected.

Plugin Description Page Appearance - The Plugin description pages would occasionally load without their fancy styling. We’ve fixed that issue, and they’re now consistently pretty.

Model Name Fix - We’ve corrected the name of Mistral Medium in the Prose Mode Selector.

Link Fixes - We resolved an issue where certain links in the header and footer of the Plugins directory were broken. We also updated the Terms of Use and Privacy Policy links in the question mark (?) menu. All links should now work as expected.

Unmissable Write Cards - We’ve tweaked the behavior of the right sidebar so that, when collapsed, it will now auto-expand to display Write cards upon generation. This should better highlight Write outputs, and prevent folks from thinking the Write button is not working.

Various UI Fixes - We fixed the opacity of the creativity and font size slider handle. We also removed a misleading gradient from the word count options in Write settings (which made 500 looked greyed out), and the look of the Import icon in the Characters section of Story Bible.

Selection Menu Icon Visibility - We improved the visibility of the icons that appear in the Selection Menu when you highlight something, so they are now displayed properly even when using dark themes.

Focus Mode Shortcut - We added a shortcut to quickly collapse or expand your sidebars, allowing you to enter or exit focus mode. Just click CTRL + /(PC) or Command + / (Mac) when inside the editor.

Thanks to those of you who have reported these issues via the Report a Bug form or via our Discord. Keep ‘em coming folks!

September 17th, 2024

Improvement

We've been delighted to see so many authors using Import Novel to bring in their works in progress since launching the beta. The feedback you've provided has been super helpful, and we just shipped the first big round of improvements based on it.

Here are some key updates:

  • Import Novel now generates an even more robust set of characters, including both major and minor characters detected.
  • The AI should now stick closer to your characters' original physical attributes and descriptions as provided in the source material.
  • The AI is also now more focused on generating a well-rounded selection of worldbuilding elements from the original text.

Please continue to share feedback on your experience, and let us know what you think about these improvements by filling out our Feedback Form. We read them all!

September 17th, 2024

Improvement

A good editor knows that quality work isn't just about what you add, but also what you're willing to remove. Here are some recent improvements we've made to Sudowrite, in pursuit of a calmer more focused writing app.

Farewell to Shrink Ray & Characters - We removed two infrequently-used features from the Plugins dropdown: Shrink Ray and Characters. Both of these features predate Plugins, and authors can now easily find or build even more powerful tools to accomplish what these did (—including using Story Bible's own updated Characters section).

Simplified Story Bible Boxes - Word counts no longer appear for every Story Bible box all the time. Instead, they only appear when you have a box selected. We also removed the ? icons. Those have been replaced with relevant section-specific context, surfaced only when a box is selected (as below).

Advanced Plugin Model Replacements - Several dated AI models were recently deprecated by their providers, including GPT 4 32k and OpenOrca. We updated Advanced Plugins powered by these models to use current equivalents, and communicated the change to affected Plugin creators so they can make further updates if desired.

And there are a handful of other minor improvements:

  • We made the Visbility menu (beneath the ••• on Characters and Worldbuilding) more legible in dark themes.
  • We added a missing space in the Generate Beats tooltip on hover. (It's the little things.)
  • And we've made it so that the right sidebar (also known as your History section) will pop open once an AI feature has been used. We hope this better surfaces the AI output for folks who might have otherwise missed it due to a collapsed sidebar.

Here's hoping these improvements bring a sense of calm to your process. 🧘

September 13th, 2024

New!

You told us you wanted a better understanding of the differences between each Prose Mode and AI model. Our revamped Prose Mode Selector gives you detailed model insights, so you'll always know what each option is best for—and you can always choose the right one for the writing at hand.

We've ranked each Prose Mode and AI model according to how well they follow instructions, their prose quality, and even how willing they are to write sex and violence.

You'll notice that a few new Prose Modes (which are model suites featuring a primary model) appear in the updated selector. Premium, a community-favorite powered primarily by Opus, was previously Best Prose v2. Excellent, which uses Claude 3.5 Sonnet, can both write and take instruction incredibly well. And Basic, using GPT 4o Mini, is super fast and credit-efficient. Don't worry! We didn't get rid of any of your favorites either. Retired Prose Modes and experimental AI models all appear under Advanced.

We crunched a lot of data to create these rankings—but it's always possible your experience may differ. If you'd like, you can submit direct feedback on a Prose Mode or Model's performance using this feedback form. The updated Prose Mode Selector is available now in your Write Settings and the Chapter Generator.

September 3rd, 2024

New!

Getting pitch perfect prose out of Sudowrite is easy once you've dialed in your Style. But that discovery process is easier with a great jumping off point.

We just added Featured Styles to your Story Bible's Style box.

Featured Styles are not just templates; they're community-sourced Style box prompts that will generate voicey and vibey prose instantly. Use these styles as-is, or as a rock-solid foundation for a custom style all your own.

Each new style option includes a writing sample, allowing you to preview the tone and feel of prose in that style absent other Story Bible influences. Once you find one you like, select "Use" and your Style box is filled with the corresponding 40-word Style prompt. You can then edit as desired, or click the new Star icon in the Style box to reopen the style picker and select a different option.

Whether you're crafting a fast-paced adventure, a spooky mystery, or a refined literary piece, the right style will make all the difference. Try out the new Featured Styles today, and let us know what you think in our Discord.

August 30th, 2024

Fix

Don't you hate bugs? Yeah, us too. That's why we're constantly working to squish them. (Sorry bugs.) Here are the latest issues that our team has resolved.

Even More Permissive AI - We've made some improvements to Sudowrite's Sex, Drugs, and Rock 'n' Roll Engine. The AI is now less likely to refuse to generate spicy or violent prose when using the Write button or Chapter Generator.

Edit Functionality in Brainstorm - We restored the missing edit functionality in the Brainstorm tool, allowing users to once again revise their prompts mid-Brainstorm.

Restored Missing Icons - While fixing the Brainstorm tool, we identified a related issue that prevented some icons from being displayed. We've fixed that, and you'll once again see a reassuring little checkmark next to Saved each time your Sudowrite project is auto-saved.

Fixed Chapter Generator's "Continue" Option - Several models would not properly "continue where the text leaves off" when resuming from a paused Chapter Generation. We've fixed that, so all models now respect the toggle selection.

Generate Character and Element - We fixed an issue that caused the Generate Character and Generate Element buttons to be unresponsive. All buttons across the Story Bible sections now once again work the way they should.

We're also currently tracking a few issues specific to the Import Novel beta, such as an inability to create folders or rearrange documents on projects that were created from an Import. We'll let you know as soon as we've resolved those issues—and in the meantime, keep the bug reports coming folks.

August 22nd, 2024

New!

We just launched an open beta for our Import Novel feature!

This powerful new tool will automatically populate your Story Bible for you based on a completed manuscript, work-in-progress, or even a huge pile of notes.

To get started, just click the new Import button in the upper lefthand corner of your Sudowrite homepage. We recommend first reading our beta documentation which explains how to use the feature and what we're hoping to learn from your experience with it.

Import Novel is free while in beta—we only ask that you use the submission form in our documentation to flag any feedback or bugs to our attention. You can also drop into our Discord with questions or comments. Now give it a whirl, and let us know what you think!