How to use
‍NovelPad

Welcome to NovelPad! We're so glad you're here. We strive to create a writing software that is as intuitive as possible. Here we'll walk you through a few tips to get started with writing your novel.

Getting Started with NovelPad

Welcome to NovelPad! We're so glad you're here. We strive to create a writing software that is as intuitive as possible, but we'll walk you through a few tips to get started with writing your novel if you need some guidance.

Create a new Novel

Pick your Writing Preferences

Start Writing

Set up a Writing Goal

Get Familiarized with Boards

First things first: Create a new Novel.

To start writing, you'll need to con the Bookshelf. Each novel is its own separate space for all of the scenes and information for your story, and maintains its own settings (such as font, margin, and editing choices). You can create as many novels as you want and can also archive novels when you no longer want to work on them.

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Pick your writing preferences.

The Settings screen lets you set up the aesthetics of your writing, including the spacing, font, text alignment, and margins. This screen is also where you can choose light mode or dark mode and whether you want editing checks for spelling, grammar, and style enabled or disabled. At any time, you can also go to the Settings screen to get a quick onboarding tutorial.

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Start writing!

That's it! Now head over to the Manuscript to start writing! As you get into writing, take a moment to learn about scene cards and how to add new chapters and scenes to your growing novel.

‍Manuscript

‍Scene cards

‍Create a chapter

‍Create a scene card

Set up a goal and keep on writing!

Now that you're into the swing of things, set up a writing goal to help you stay on track and keep on writing!

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Get more familiar with each of the boards.

Once you're set up and chugging along, take a little tour around NovelPad and get familiar with each of the boards. The boards all allow you to create and organize different aspects of your novel, which can come in handy as you continue writing and developing your story.

The Bookshelf

The Bookshelf is the main dashboard for all of your novels as well as the main page for your NovelPad account. From this page, you can create a new novel, delete or archive an existing novel, manage your account, or log out of NovelPad.

The Bookshelf displays automatically when you access NovelPad. To get to the Bookshelf when you're in a novel, click the NovelPad logo in the top left corner.

Create a New Novel

Clone an Existing Novel

Rewind a Novel

Archive a Novel

Delete a Novel

Import a Novel

Log out of Novelpad

Create a New Novel

To create a new novel, click the large Add Novel tile at the end of your list of novels. Your new novel will be added, and you'll be taken to the Manuscript of your new novel, where you can change the title of the novel and the author name.

For help getting started with writing your new novel, check out the Get started with NovelPad topic.

Clone an Existing Novel

You can clone an existing novel to create a new novel that is a copy of the existing novel. This might come in handy if you want to start a new version of the novel while maintaining the old version. For example, you can clone a novel to create a second draft of that novel while preserving a copy of your original first draft.

‍To clone a novel, hover your cursor over the novel to display the options for the novel. Then click the Clone icon . A confirmation dialog will appear. Click Yes. Clone my novel. to clone your novel. A new copy of the novel will appear on the Bookshelf, noted with a tag of (copy).

Rewind a Novel

With the Rewind feature, you can access any saved version of your novel from any point in the novel's history. Our backup system saves a copy of your novel every 30 seconds, and the Rewind feature lets you jump backward or forward between any save point, allowing you to write fearlessly.

For example, let's say you left your laptop open to the scene you were writing while you went to the kitchen and prepared yourself a tasty snack. In the meantime, your cat decided to walk in small circles on top of your keyboard before settling down into a catloaf, inadvertently (or maybe purposely--cats are mean like that) overwriting not only the scene but a large portion of your content.

Have no fear. Simply shoo your cat off your keyboard, access your novel on the Bookshelf, and rewind the novel to the moment before you got up to make your ants on a log.

‍To access the Rewind feature, hover your cursor over the novel to display the options for the novel. Then click the Rewind icon . On the Rewind dialog, select the date and time that you want to rewind your novel to. Then click OK.

Un-Rewind a Novel

The Rewind feature also lets you jump to a later version of your novel. Maybe you decide that what your cat wrote is pure gold, and you'd actually rather have that version back. Just access the Rewind dialog and pick the date and time after your cat jumped on your keyboard to restore that version of your novel.

Archive a Novel

If you don't want to see a novel on your Bookshelf anymore, but you want to keep it around, you can archive the novel. Archiving a novel will remove it from your Bookshelf and send it to the Archive. For example, let's say you've written a first draft of a novel and then cloned it to create a second draft. If you want to keep the first draft, but don't want it cluttering up your Bookshelf, you can archive that version of the novel. Archiving can also be useful when you have a novel you don't want to work on anymore, but just can't bring yourself to delete completely.

‍To archive a novel, hover your cursor over the novel to display the options for the novel. Then click the Archive icon . To make sure you want to archive the novel, a confirmation dialog will appear.
Click Yes. Archive my novel. to archive the novel. The novel will be removed from the bookshelf and display in the Archive.

View Archived Novels

To view archived novels, click the drop-down in the upper right corner of the bookshelf, and then select Archived Novels. The Bookshelf will display any novels that you've archived.To switch back to active novels, click the drop-down and select Active Novels.

Restore a Novel from the Archive

If you previously archived a novel and now want to bring it back to your Bookshelf, you can restore the novel.

To restore a novel, access the novel in the Archive. Hover your cursor over the novel to display the options for the novel. Then click the Restore icon . The novel will be removed from the Archive and display on your Bookshelf.

Delete a Novel

Maybe you've decided a novel was a horrible idea or maybe you created it on accident. Whatever your reason, you can delete a novel from the Bookshelf at any time. (This option is here in case you want it, but we highly recommend you simply archive your novel so that you can access it again if you change your mind!)

‍To delete a novel, hover your cursor over the novel to display the options for the novel.
Then click the Trash icon . To make sure you're absolutely certain you want to delete the novel, a confirmation dialog will appear, where you'll need to type the exact title of your novel before clicking Yes. Delete my novel. to delete your novel.

Import a Novel

For more information about importing a novel from Microsoft Word to NovelPad, refer to Import a novel from Microsoft Word.

Log out of Novelpad

We don't want to see you go, but if you need to log out of NovelPad, simply click Log Out in the top right corner of the Bookshelf.

Manuscript

The Manuscript contains the entire text of all your scenes on the Chapters board. This view is how your novel would look if you compiled all of your chapters and scenes into one big document. Chapters are divided by title and scenes are separated by a line divider. It is, essentially, your novel from beginning to end. You can write directly in the Manuscript, including adding and removing scenes. Any changes that you make in the Manuscript are reflected in the corresponding scene cards and chapter cards. For example, if you change a chapter title in the Manuscript, the chapter title will also be changed on the Chapters board.

Change the Look

Edit the Novel Title

Edit the Author Name

Edit the Novel Description

Add a Scene

Delete a Scene

Spelling & Grammar Check

Formatting Text

Show or Hide Comments

Show or Hide Highlights

Hide the Formatting Menu

Find & Replace Text

Change the Look

You can change the overall look of the Manuscript, such as the font, paragraph and line spacing, and page width, using the options on the Settings screen. For more information about these options, refer to Settings.

Edit the Novel Title

The Manuscript is where you can edit the title of your novel. This is the same title that appears on your novel on the Bookshelf.

‍To edit your novel's title, simply change the bold title text at the top of the Manuscript. Your changes will be automatically saved.

Edit the Author Name

The Manuscript is where you can edit the author name that appears on your novel. When you update the author name in the Manuscript, the name will automatically update on the novel on the Bookshelf.

‍To edit the author name, simply change the text at the top of the Manuscript. Your changes will be automatically saved.

‍By default, the author name is the pen name you sign up for your NovelPad account with. Changing the pen name in your account will change the author name for any novels you create after the change.

Edit the Novel Description

The novel description is the italicized text between the author name and the first chapter heading. You can use this text for anything, such as an introductory quote or as your novel's cover blurb.

‍To edit your novel's description, simply change the text at the top of the Manuscript. Your changes will be automatically saved.

Add a Scene

You can add a scene directly within the Manuscript, allowing you to quickly strike while inspiration iron is hot.

‍To add a new scene, press Enter at the end of a chapter title. A line divider will appear, indicating that a new scene has been added. You can also create a new scene by pressing Ctrl+Enter on Windows or Cmd+Enter on Mac.

‍The new scene will also appear on the Chapters board on the corresponding chapter card. By default, the title of the scene card will be "Untitled," and it will be the first scene in the chapter. You can rearrange the scene card on the Chapters board as needed.

Delete a Scene

You can delete a scene directly within the Manuscript.

‍To delete a scene, place your cursor in the empty scene, and then press Backspace (Delete on a Mac). The line divider will disappear, indicating that the scene has been removed. Note that the content of the scene must first be deleted.

‍This method is more permanent than archiving a scene. While the scene card will be archived, the content of your scene will be permanently deleted if you've erased it using Backspace (Delete). The scene will also disappear from the Chapters board. If you don't want to necessarily delete the content of the scene but just want to remove the scene from the Manuscript view, refer to Archive or delete a scene.

Spelling & Grammar Check

As you write content, there are some helpful options for formatting and correcting happy mistakes.

By default, ProWritingAid integration is enabled, which provides suggestions for spelling, grammar, and style. You can turn this integration off on the Settings screen.

‍To access the suggestions, left-click an underlined word. Then select the suggestion you'd rather use. For example, if you've misspelled a word, you can select the correct word from the list, or you can tell the dictionary you did it on purpose and add the word to your novel's dictionary.

‍The dictionary applies to all novels you've created in NovelPad. Any word you add to the dictionary in one novel will not count as a misspelled word in another novel.

Formatting Text

The text editor also includes a pop-up menu that contains a variety of formatting options, including bold, justification, block quote, heading styles, and highlight. The pop-up menu also displays the number of words in the scene your cursor is currently in and the number of words you've selected.

‍To access the formatting options, highlight a selection of text. The menu automatically displays.

Show or Hide Comments

If you or an editor have added comments to a scene, you can hide the comments in the editor.

‍To hide comments, click the Hide Comments icon on the menu at the top of the editor. Click the icon again to show comments.

Show or Hide Highlights

You can choose to display or hide any highlights in your text, which can make your text easier to read, as needed.

‍To hide highlights, click the Hide Highlights icon on the menu at the top of the editor. Click the icon again to show highlights.

Find & Replace Text

Press Ctrl+F (or Cmd+F on a Mac) to bring up the Find and Replace tool. By default, the tool displays only the Find function.

Click the Expand icon to show the Replace function.
Click the Close icon to close the Find and Replace tool.

To search for a term in your Manuscript, enter a term in the Find field and then press Enter. You can navigate through the results by clicking Previous or Next.

To replace a term, enter the new term in the Replace field. Click Replace to replace a single instance of a found term. Click Replace All to replace all instances of the found term.

‍There are certain common words that are not included in the search functionality, such as "the" and "and". If the word is too common, it may be included on this list and you may not be able to find the word using the find and replace feature.

Chapters

The Chapters board is where you can create and manage the chapters in your novel. The Chapters board works like a bulletin board, allowing you to easily rearrange your chapters and scenes as you might with index cards or sticky notes. A chapter is made up of a group of scene cards, and you can add as many chapters and scene cards to the board as you need. Any scene card added to the Chapters board will appear in your Manuscript.

A chapter is a group of scene cards that can help you organize your scenes at a higher level. The order in which you arrange your chapters and scenes on the Chapters board is the order in which they will appear in your Manuscript.‍

Create a Chapter

Rename a Chapter

View or Edit a Chapter

Merge Chapters

Split a Chapter

Delete a Chapter

Chapter Board Orientation

Rearrange Chapters/Scenes

Filter Chapters

Create a Scene Card

Insert an Existing Scene

Rename a Scene Card

View & Edit a Scene

Archive or Delete a Scene

Create a Chapter

To add a new chapter to the Chapters board, click Add Chapter at the end of your chapters list. A new chapter will appear, where you can enter the name of the chapter. Click Add to add the chapter.

‍The new chapter will be added to the end of your chapters list, and you can rearrange on the Chapters board as needed.

You need to give your new chapter a title. If you click away or press Enter without entering a title, the chapter will not be added.

Rename a Chapter

If you need to rename a chapter, you can do so at any time.

‍To rename a chapter, click the title of the chapter. The chapter title will become editable. Enter the new chapter name, and then press Enter to save the new title.

View or Edit a Chapter

You can view the entire contents of a chapter by clicking the Edit icon at the top of the chapter. The chapter contents will display in the Editor and will include all of the scenes in the chapter, each separated by a line divider. For example, if you view a chapter that contains four scene cards on the Chapters board, the contents of all four scenes will display in the Editor view.

Any changes you make in the Editor view will apply to the individual scene you made the change in. So let's say you added a new paragraph in the Editor view and that paragraph was in the first scene (in this case, the first section before the first line divider). If you then view that scene on its scene card or anywhere else in NovelPad, such as the Manuscript, the new paragraph will be there.

Merge Chapters

You can merge a chapter into the previous chapter, allowing you to quickly combine two chapters. Merging a chapter into the previous chapter moves all scenes from the selected chapter into the chapter before it.

‍To merge chapters, click the Options icon on the chapter you want to merge.
Then select Merge into Previous Chapter. The scenes from the current chapter will move to the previous chapter card, and the current chapter card will be deleted.

‍For example, suppose you want to merge chapters 1 and 2 in your novel into one chapter. On the chapter 2 card, click the Options icon , and then select Merge into Previous Chapter. The scenes from chapter 2 will move to the chapter 1 card, and the chapter 2 card will be deleted.

Split a Chapter

You can split a chapter in two, retaining some scenes in the original chapter and moving the remaining scenes into a new chapter. This option is helpful if you find yourself with a very long chapter that would work better as two or more chapters, allowing you to quickly split the chapter into two chapters.

‍To split a chapter, select the last scene card you want to keep in the original chapter. For example, if you want the third scene and beyond to be put into a new chapter, select the card for the second scene. Click the Options icon , and then select Split Chapter After Scene. The scenes after the selected scene will be removed from that chapter and moved to a new chapter card.

Delete a Chapter

When you delete a chapter on the Chapters board, the scenes in that chapter are removed from the Chapters board but are not completely deleted from your novel. Instead, the chapter is removed from the Chapters board, and the scenes in that chapter are archived, allowing you to add them back if you regret your decision or simply deleted them by mistake.

‍To delete a chapter, click the Options icon at the top of the chapter card. Then click Delete on the menu that appears. Click Okay on the confirmation dialog to delete the chapter.

‍While the chapter as a whole cannot be restored, all scenes in the deleted chapter are moved to the archive and can be re-inserted to a chapter at any time.

Organize the Chapters board

You can organize the overall layout of the Chapters board to suit your needs, including the orientation of the board and the order of your chapters and scene cards. You can also filter chapters and scene cards to quickly locate certain parts of your novel based on keywords.

Change the orientation of the Chapters board

You can switch the orientation of the Chapters board between a horizontal layout and a vertical layout using the Orientation icon at the top of the board. Note that the look of the icon will change based on the current layout.

To switch to a horizontal layout, click the Horizontal Orientation icon at the top of the board.
To switch to a vertical layout, click the Vertical Orientation icon at the top of the board.

The functionality of each layout is the same, so you can select your orientation purely on preference.

Vertical orientation

Horizontal orientation

Rearrange Chapters & Scene Cards

You can rearrange the chapters and scene cards on the Chapters board by simply dragging and dropping them into place.

‍To rearrange a chapter card, click in an empty area in the chapter heading and drag the chapter to another location on the board.
To rearrange a scene card, click in an empty area on the scene card and drag the card to another location on the board. You can drag a scene card to another location in the same chapter or you can drag it to a different chapter.

Rearrange a chapter

Rearrange a scene

Filter Chapters

If you have a lot of chapters, you may find it easier to use the filter to quickly find a chapter rather than needing to scroll through your entire list.

‍To search for a chapter using the filter, click the Filter icon at the top of the Chapters board. Then enter a keyword in the field. Chapters with titles that include the keyword will stay expanded, while chapters that do not include the keyword will collapse.

Scene cards

To add a new scene card to a chapter, click Add Scene at the bottom of a chapter. A new scene card will appear, and you can enter the name of the scene. Click Add to add the scene card.

‍The new scene card will be added to the end of the list of scenes in the chapter, and you can rearrange it on the Chapters board as needed. How you title the scene card is up to you. Some writers prefer short identifiers such as "Everyone lives happily ever after," while other writers prefer longer descriptions of the details of their scene.

Insert an Existing Scene

An existing scene is a scene that exists on the Plots board or in the Archive or Trash and is not already in a chapter on the Chapters board. This feature can be helpful if, let's say, you've written a scene out of context and didn't know which chapter or plot line you wanted to add it to yet. It is also useful for restoring a scene to the Chapters board or Plots board if you deleted it earlier and now want it back.

‍To add an existing scene to a chapter, click Insert Existing Scene. A dialog will appear, where you can search for the scene you want to add. For more information about searching for an existing scene, refer to the animation below. On the dialog, simply click a scene to add that scene to the chapter or plot card.

‍The Insert Existing Scene button will not display if there are no scenes in the Archive or Trash or another board that are not already on the current board.

Rename a Scene Card

f you need to rename a scene, you can do so at any time.
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‍To rename a scene, click any area on the scene card. The scene card title will become editable. Enter the new scene name, and then press Enter to save the new title.

View & Edit a Scene

You can view the entire contents of a scene card by clicking the Edit icon at the side of the card. The scene contents will display in the Editor and you can add text or make changes, as needed.

Formatting Text

Show or Hide Comments

Show or Hide Highlights

Show or Hide the Formatting Menu

Archive or Delete a Scene

We believe that everything you write is worth keeping. Therefore, scenes can never be completely deleted from your novel (you may want it back!). However, you may find that you no longer need a scene and want to remove it from your Manuscript or plot. In that case, there are two options: removing a scene from a card and deleting the scene. Removing a scene from a card sends the scene to the Archive, while deleting the scene sends the scene to the Trash.

‍To remove a scene from a card, click the Options icon on the scene you want to remove.
Then click Remove from Column on the menu that appears. The scene will be sent to the Archive.

To delete a scene (or send it to the Trash), click the Options icon on the scene you want to delete.
Then click Trash on the menu that appears. The scene will be sent to the Trash.

‍In either case, you can always re-insert your scene into your Manuscript or Plot board at any time.

Plots

The Plots board is where you can organize and manage these scenes in your novel independently of the Chapters board and the Manuscript. Think of the Plots board like a bulletin board where you can group, pin, and arrange your scenes however you want. Where the Chapters board is useful for arranging your scenes into chapters and creating the chronology of your novel, the Plots board can be useful for tracking the scenes in your main plot and your side plots. You could also use the Plots board for tracking the scenes you haven't yet added to your novel. The board, like your novel, is limited only by your imagination!

Plot cards

A plot card is a group of scene cards that can help you organize your plots at a higher level. You can use plot cards to group your scene cards any way you like. For example, you can use the board to sort out your plot lines, such as your main plot from your side plots. Or you might choose to group your scenes based on locations and characters, such as "Scenes in the mine shaft" or "Possible investigator back story plot". How you group your scene cards and what you name your plot cards is entirely up to you.

Create a Plot Card

Rename a Plot Card

View or Edit a Plot