Draft a chapter with Ando

Have Ando write a draft of a chapter from your outline, then keep it or discard it. Nothing changes in your chapter until you choose.

Ando can write a draft of any chapter in your outline, scene by scene, from what you've already planned. The draft only becomes part of your chapter when you select Keep draft. Until then, you can discard it and your chapter goes back to how it was. Drafting uses AI credits, and works on every plan.

Before you start

The chapter needs to be in your outline. Add it on the Outline tab if it isn't there yet (Plan your acts and chapters).
The more you've planned, the closer the draft. Ando writes from your story's details, its characters and locations, the chapter's brief, the end of the chapter before it, and anything you've asked Ando to remember. A chapter with a detailed brief gives Ando the most to go on.
Set a length if it matters to you. Select Edit brief and fill in Word count goal. Without one, the line under the button says the length is left open, and Ando decides how long the chapter runs.

Draft your chapter

Open the chapter you want Ando to write (Write and save a chapter shows how).
Next to Generate chapter, choose how Ando thinks: Swift, Balanced or Deep. The menu shows about how many credits a chapter uses on each (Choose Swift, Balanced or Deep).
Select Generate chapter.

If you've changed the brief and haven't saved it, Storiando asks you to save or cancel those changes first, because Ando writes from the saved brief.

While Ando writes

Ando first works out the chapter's scenes, then writes them one by one. A panel at the top of the page shows the scene it's on, how many words it has written so far, and how long it's been going. The words appear in your chapter as they're written.

Ando writing scene 2 of 3, with the list of scenes, the word count, the time elapsed and Stop

A chapter usually takes a minute or two, and long ones a few minutes. Keep the tab open while you wait. You can't type in the chapter or move to another one until Ando finishes or you stop it.

If the scenes are heading somewhere you didn't want, select Stop. Whatever was written before you stopped stays in the chapter for you to keep or discard.

Keep or discard the draft

When Ando finishes, Storiando shows Draft ready, with how many scenes and words it wrote, and how many credits it used. The draft is in your chapter but isn't saved yet.

Draft ready with Keep draft and Discard draft highlighted, and This used 5 credits underneath

Keep draft saves it to your chapter. From then on it's your text: change it as you would anything you'd written yourself.
Discard draft takes it away and leaves your chapter as it was before Ando started.

The same two buttons are at the end of the chapter too, so you can read the draft to the bottom before you choose. Until you choose, you can't leave the chapter or ask Ando for another draft. The credits are used either way, so read it through before deciding.

If your chapter already has text

When a chapter has text in it, Ando offers two other ways to write.

Continue chapter carries on from where your text ends. Storiando saves your chapter first, then Ando adds new text after yours. Your own words aren't changed. When it finishes, select Keep added text to save it, or Discard added text to go back to your chapter exactly as it was.

Write new version writes the whole chapter again in place of what's there. To find it, select the … button next to Continue chapter.

The … menu open next to Continue chapter, with Write new version highlighted

Storiando asks before it starts, because the new version replaces the chapter on the page while it's written:

Your saved chapter stays as it is unless you keep the new version.
Restore previous draft puts your earlier version back, but only while you stay on this page. Once you keep the new version and leave, the earlier one is gone.
If your chapter has changes that haven't been saved, they exist only on this page, so save them first if you want to be able to go back to them.

If something gets in the way

Not enough credits: Storiando says so before Ando writes anything, and nothing is charged. Select Top up credits, or see your balance on the Credits page.
Credits run out partway: Ando stops, and what it wrote is kept in your chapter for you to keep or discard.
The chapter couldn't be finished: Storiando shows Couldn't finish the chapter. If nothing had been written, your chapter is exactly as you left it, and Storiando says when nothing was charged. Select Generate chapter to try again. If some of it had been written, keep it or discard it as above.