Start your book
Starting a book
Create the book, describe it in a sentence, and start talking.
What it is
A book in CharmWriter is called a project. Creating one takes a title and nothing else — every other field (author, premise, genre, protagonist, point of view, tense, tone, target audience, target length, book language) is optional and editable at any point afterwards. The settings you provide are not filing metadata: they are fed into every AI request as craft instructions, so a book set to first-person past tense with a wry tone is drafted that way from the first sentence.
Where to find it: Dashboard → "New book project". Later: Workspace → click the book title in the header.
What this covers
- New book setup (title, author, premise, genre)
- Craft settings: point of view, tense, tone
- Book language, separate from interface language
- AI-detected craft settings after your first session
- Your library: shelf, covers and list views
- Continue where you left off
- Book preview from the library
- Trash and restore
- Edit any book setting later
How to use it
- 1
Create the book
On the dashboard, click "New book project". Type a title — that is the only required field. Click "Start Writing" and you are in the workspace.
- 2
Add a premise if you have one
A premise is one or two sentences describing what the book is about. It is worth writing: it goes into every AI request, so the very first thing Charm says to you reacts to your actual story rather than greeting you generically.
- 3
Set the craft fields, or let the AI decide
Under Craft you can set point of view, tense and tone, or leave them on "Let AI decide". If you leave them unset, CharmWriter reads your first session and locks in whatever your own prose was already doing.
- 4
Choose the book language
Under The Book, set the language your book is written in. This is independent of the interface language — you can use CharmWriter in English while your manuscript is Ukrainian.
- 5
Start talking
The workspace opens in Listening mode. Press the microphone or start typing and tell Charm about your story. Nothing is drafted yet — this first stretch is you talking and Charm asking questions.
- 6
Come back through your library
The dashboard remembers every book. The Continue card takes you straight back to the most recent unfinished one; tapping any book on the shelf offers Talk to Charm, Continue writing, or Preview book.
What it gives you
One required field
You can be inside your book thirty seconds after signing up. Everything else can be decided later, once the story has told you what it wants to be.
Craft settings that actually steer the prose
Point of view, tense and tone are not labels. They are instructions in every draft request, which is why chapter twelve still sounds like chapter one.
The app fills in what you skip
Leave genre, point of view, tense or tone unset and CharmWriter detects them from your first session rather than guessing up front or nagging you.
A library, not a file list
Books appear as spines, covers or rows, with the real cover image once you have one. Deleted books go to Trash and can be restored.
What each setup field actually does
Title, author and premise appear in the finished book and in exports. Genre shapes the AI's sense of pacing and register, and picks the cover colour in your library. Protagonist gives Charm a name to anchor questions around. Point of view and tense are hard constraints on drafted prose. Tone is a one-line description of how the book should feel — "dry and understated", "warm and nostalgic" — and is respected in every draft.
Target audience and target length are softer. Length sets the word-count goal shown in the workspace header, which you can click and change at any time.
Sessions and chapters are different things
This trips up almost everyone at first. A session is one conversation — one sitting where you talk or type. A chapter is a part of the finished book. Several sessions usually feed one chapter, and a single long session can supply two.
You do not need to manage this. Talk in sessions, save prose to chapters, and the app keeps them straight.
Good to know
- Changing point of view or tense after you have written sessions will warn you first — it changes how everything afterwards is drafted, but it does not rewrite chapters you already have.
- The title is required because it names the book everywhere, including exports. You can change it whenever you like.
- Book language should be set before you write much. Changing it mid-manuscript will not translate what already exists.
Questions
Do I need to know my whole plot before I start?
No. Most writers start with a title and a rough idea, and discover the rest by talking. CharmWriter is built for that order of working — it asks questions precisely so you do not have to arrive with an outline.
Can I write more than one book?
Yes. There is no limit on how many books you can create, and each keeps its own Story Bible, chapters and settings. Credits are shared across your whole account.
Can I change the genre or tone later?
Yes. Click the book title in the workspace header to reopen every setting. Changes apply to what you write next, not retroactively.
What happens if I delete a book by mistake?
It goes to Trash, not oblivion. Toggle Trash on the dashboard to see deleted books and restore them. Permanent deletion is a separate, deliberate action.
Start your first chapter
Every new account gets a free credit — enough to talk through a scene, have it drafted, and see how it reads.
Get started free