Is Storymapper only for fantasy and science fiction?

No. The timeline works for any story with scenes, and the map can be any image: a fantasy continent, a street map of Victorian London or the layout of one building.

Do I write my manuscript in Storymapper?

No. Storymapper is for planning and tracking the story. Write the manuscript in whichever word processor you prefer, and keep the plan open beside it.

Can I get my plan out again?

Yes. You can export your projects from Settings at any time, on both plans.

Novel planning software for every genre

Storymapper is a visual outlining tool for authors. It suits a crime novel with three suspects and a ticking clock as well as it suits an epic fantasy, a dual-timeline historical or a romance with two points of view.

Free forever for the core features. No card needed.

A Storymapper timeline for an example fantasy novel: four lanes of scenes under rows for acts, chapters and dates, with connectors between scenes. — The Timeline: lanes, scenes, chapters and the connections between them.

Outline a novel scene by scene

Add a card for each scene and group them under chapters and acts. Plotters can build the whole outline before writing a word. Discovery writers can log scenes after writing them and use the timeline to revise.

Track every plotline and point of view

Each subplot and point-of-view character gets its own lane. A mystery writer can keep a lane for what really happened and another for what the detective knows. A historical novelist can run the 1940s strand above the present-day one.

Check continuity before your editor does

Connectors link a clue to its payoff and a promise to its consequence. Before and after notes on each scene show where a character stands at every step, which makes a broken arc easy to spot.

See where it all happens

Upload a map of your setting, whether that is an invented kingdom, a real city or a single country house. Pin each scene to its location and play the story back to check who was where, and when.

Family trees and who answers to whom

The Relationships chart holds your family trees, chains of command and alliances. Give each tie a start and an end in the story, press play, and watch the cast change around your hero.

Start from a structure, check the reading order

Lay the three-act structure or the Hero’s Journey across your outline as a row of beats. Then switch to chapter order to read the plot the way your reader will, flashbacks and all.

How it works

Create a project for your book and add lanes for your main characters or plotlines.
Add scenes and set their chapters. Use labels such as “Clue”, “Romance” or “Battle”.
Add acts and dates along the top, and link scenes that depend on each other.
Upload a map and pin the scenes that need a place.

Start your first project

Questions and answers

Is Storymapper only for fantasy and science fiction?: No. The timeline works for any story with scenes, and the map can be any image: a fantasy continent, a street map of Victorian London or the layout of one building.
Do I write my manuscript in Storymapper?: No. Storymapper is for planning and tracking the story. Write the manuscript in whichever word processor you prefer, and keep the plan open beside it.
Can I get my plan out again?: Yes. You can export your projects from Settings at any time, on both plans.