NOVEL PLANNER
Plan your novel on a canvas
where the whole story is visible.
Lay out plot, characters, world, chapters, and research on one infinite canvas, and let Storyflow's AI build the plan from a single prompt. Develop the story here, then draft the prose in your writing app. Free forever, no credit card.
Free plan
No credit card
Works in your browser
Used by creative professionals at:
Artlist
Pixar
Nike
Red Bull
The North Face
Porsche
Start from a ready-made template
Pick a board, then let AI fill it in. Every template is a real, editable starting point on the same infinite canvas.
What is novel planning?
Novel planning is the work you do before and during a draft to know what you are writing: the premise, the plot and its structure, how each character changes, the world the story lives in, a chapter or scene outline, the themes underneath it all, and the research that keeps it honest. Do it in your head and most of it stays half-formed; do it in a linear document and the connections between plot, character, and theme get buried in scrolling.
A novel planner gives those pieces a place to live side by side. Storyflow does it on an infinite canvas: plot beats, character profiles, a story bible, chapter cards, and moodboards laid out so you can see the whole story at once instead of one page at a time. Describe the book you want to write and the AI lays out a starting plan as cards you can drag, rewrite, and expand. It reads the board you have open, so the world-building you added shapes the plot it proposes next.
Be clear about what this is for. Storyflow is where you plan and develop the novel, not where you type the finished manuscript. There are documents on the canvas for notes, scene sketches, and an outline, but for drafting fifty thousand words of prose most writers pair it with Scrivener, Word, or Google Docs. Think of Storyflow as the planning home that holds the whole story in view, and the writing app as where the chapters get written.
HOW IT WORKS
Plan a novel in four steps.
You bring the story idea. The AI lays out the plan, so you can see the whole book before you write a chapter.
01
Open a free canvas
Start in the browser with a free account. There is no app to install and no card to enter, just an empty canvas ready for the book you want to plan.
02
Describe your novel
A sentence or two is enough: the genre, the premise, the protagonist, the core conflict. The more you say, the closer the first plan lands.
03
AI lays out the plan
The AI places cards on the canvas for plot beats, character profiles, world notes, and a chapter outline, grouped so the shape of the story reads at a glance.
04
Refine, then draft elsewhere
Drag cards to restructure the plot, ask the AI to develop a character or a chapter, pin moodboards for inspiration, then open your writing app to draft the prose with the plan beside you.
A novel planner that holds the whole story.
Plot, characters, world, and research stop living in scattered docs and come together on one canvas.
Plot and structure from a single prompt
From premise to a plotted outline
Describe the book and the AI lays out plot beats and a chapter outline as cards. Start with the whole arc in view, then zoom into the act or chapter that needs work.
See the story outline generator →
Characters with arcs, not just names
Build characters and their arcs
Generate character profiles with backstory, motivation, and how each one changes across the book, then keep them on the canvas beside the scenes they drive.
See the character profile generator →
A story bible you can actually see
World-building in one place
Map the rules, places, history, and factions of your world as connected cards. The AI builds the story bible from your premise, so the world stays consistent as the plot grows.
See the worldbuilding tool →
Mood and tone beside the plan
Moodboards for the world and characters
Pin images, cover references, and tone studies next to the plot so the feel of the book is part of the plan. Capture stills from YouTube and Vimeo when a reference says it best.
See the story planning tool →Free forever. No credit card.
Open a canvas, describe your novel, and watch the plan lay itself out. The free plan has no time limit.
Unlimited boards, with room for plot, characters, world, and chapters
Basic AI usage to build and develop the plan
Attach images, PDFs, video, and links to any part of the story
Share the plan view-only, or invite collaborators free
PLAN THE WHOLE STORY
Built for the way novelists plan.
See plot, character, world, and theme together, move pieces as the story shifts, and keep the whole book in view.
Plot you can restructure by dragging
An outline that bends as the story does
Beats as movable cards: Plot points and chapters are cards on the canvas, so reordering act two is a drag, not a rewrite of a numbered list.
See structure at a glance: Lay the whole arc out left to right and spot the saggy middle or the rushed ending before you have written it.
Expand any beat with AI: Ask the AI to break one chapter into scenes or pressure-test a turning point while the rest of the outline stays put.
Context from the board you are planning on
AI that builds on your story so far
Reads your active board: The AI uses what is already on the board, so a new chapter outline respects the characters and world you have set up.
@-mention your sources: Add up to one Blueprint and three documents as context: a synopsis, character notes, or research the plan should grow from.
Re-prompt to refocus: Ask for higher stakes, a subplot for a side character, or a tighter three-act shape. The AI reworks the plan while keeping your edits.
Research and references that stay with the story
Keep your research beside the plot
Drop in anything: Images, maps, PDFs, video, and links attach to the canvas next to the scenes and characters they inform. Research with receipts.
Frame grabs from video: Capture stills from YouTube and Vimeo straight onto the board for a setting, a costume, or a movement reference.
Notes where you need them: Longer thoughts and scene sketches live as documents on the same canvas, so the plan stays scannable and the depth stays one click away.
Plan here, then write in your draft app
The plan that travels into the draft
Develop, do not draft: Storyflow is for planning and developing the novel. Draft the actual prose in Scrivener, Word, or Google Docs with the plan open beside you.
Share the story: Invite a co-author or an editor free, or send a view-only link so a beta reader can explore the plan without an account.
Export as image or PDF: Need the outline in a doc or a query package? Export the canvas as a clean image or PDF in one step.
WHO IT IS FOR
Who plans a novel this way?
Writers who want the whole story in view before they commit it to a draft.
Plotters mapping structure
Lay out a full three-act or beat-sheet outline as cards, see the shape of the book at a glance, and fix the structure before chapter one.
Pantsers wrangling a draft
Already drafting and the plot is drifting? Drop what you have onto the canvas, let the AI surface the through-line, and find the shape after the fact.
Fantasy and sci-fi world-builders
Keep the story bible, map, magic rules, and factions as connected cards beside the plot, so the world stays consistent across a series.
Character-driven novelists
Build deep character profiles and arcs, then place each one next to the scenes they drive so motivation and change stay visible.
NaNoWriMo and deadline writers
Plan the whole book fast on a free canvas with no time limit, then open your writing app and draft against a plan instead of a blank page.
COMPARED
How Storyflow compares to other novel planning tools.
Plenty of tools hold parts of a novel. The question is whether the plan, the world, and the inspiration live together.
Storyflow
Recommended
AI lays out plot, characters, and world from a prompt
A visual canvas for plot, characters, and world
Moodboards and image references beside the plan
Organize chapters, scenes, and research notes
Scrivener
AI lays out plot, characters, and world from a prompt
A visual canvas for plot, characters, and world
Moodboards and image references beside the plan
Organize chapters, scenes, and research notes
Plottr
AI lays out plot, characters, and world from a prompt
A visual canvas for plot, characters, and world
Moodboards and image references beside the plan
Organize chapters, scenes, and research notes
Milanote
AI lays out plot, characters, and world from a prompt
A visual canvas for plot, characters, and world
Moodboards and image references beside the plan
Organize chapters, scenes, and research notes
What creators are saying
Join early creators getting structured workspaces and AI that remembers their projects
“Storyflow has sped up my workflow by at least 3x, which means more flow state and more projects I can actually ship. It truly changed the way me and my team create.”
Reilin Joey
Director & YouTuber
“One prompt gets me a structured board. But the tactics are my favorite. I run my YouTube scripts through them and my intros and retention got better. It's amazing.”
Justkay
YouTuber & Freelance Filmmaker
“I used to juggle five apps to plan a project. Now I describe what I am making and get boards, lists, and a schedule. All in one place.”
George
@fernwehchronicles
Novel planning questions, answered.
Everything writers ask about planning a novel in Storyflow.
A novel planner is a tool for working out a book before and during the draft: the premise, plot and structure, character arcs, world-building, a chapter outline, themes, and research. In Storyflow all of that lives on one infinite canvas as cards you can rearrange, with AI to lay out a starting plan from a prompt.
The whole novel is in your head. Get it on the board.
Describe it once, watch the plan lay itself out, then draft against a story you can see. Free plan, no credit card.