User Guide

Draft Info holds the basic details of your draft — title, genre, and a short description. You fill these in when you first create the draft, and can revisit and edit them anytime from the Draft Info tab at the top of the Workflow drawer.

You can open and update this info at any point while you write - see Changing draft info (Title, Genre, description)

There are two ways to update Draft Info:

• From the Dashboard - click the 3-dot menu on the dashboard tile, and select 'Edit Draft Info'.

• From the editor page Workflow drawer - Open the 'Draft Info' tab, click the 3-dot menu button on the right of the tab header, and click 'Edit Draft Info'

When creating a new draft, you may notice it already shows as 5% complete (before even a letter has been added in the editor). We think even getting started should count for something.

The Outline step is where you build the structure of your draft.

• Each Chapter is represented by a Chapter Title.
• The numbered items beneath each Chapter Title are Scenes. A chapter can contain a single scene, or as many as you need.

Your outline items can be messy. Don't worry about writing polished content yet - this step is meant to get all your ideas down into an organized structure that you can expand into actual prose in the Rough Draft step. These scene notes guide your writing, but won't appear as part of the draft itself.

Example with brief outline entries:

The Outline drawer lists every chapter and scene in your outline. Click any item to jump directly to it in the editor. Chapters marked complete display a ✓, making it easy to track your progress at a glance.

A progress ring at the top shows how much of your outline has been marked completed.

The default layout is simply a starting point. Build an outline of any size; a Chapter can have as many Scenes as you like.

Adding a Chapter: Press Enter from a Chapter title, or from the (empty) last item of a scene list. Place the cursor at the beginning or end of the Chapter title's text before pressing Enter to add a new chapter before or after it, respectively. On a draft with a template, the chapter you add starts with no template note of its own, and the notes already on the chapters around it stay where they are.

Adding a Scene: Press Enter from a (non-empty) Scene. Place the cursor at the beginning or end of the scene's text before pressing Enter to add a new scene before or after it, respectively.

Adding new lines to a Scene: Use Shift+Enter if you want to add multiple lines within a scene. It will add a new line where your cursor is placed, so you can add new lines before, after, or in the middle of text.

Turn a Scene into a Chapter: use Shift+Tab, or the Chapter button in the toolbar .

Turn a Chapter into a Scene: use Tab, or the Scene button in the toolbar.

When you finish with a chapter, check the Chapter Complete box. Completed chapters are dimmed, making it easy to scan your outline and quickly spot areas that still need work.

To complete the Outline step, all chapters must be marked complete using the ‘chapter complete’ checkbox next to the chapter title - see marking chapters complete.

If you have any empty chapters, they must be removed to reach 100% completion (click Backspace from an empty chapter title to delete the empty chapter).

Once all chapters are checked off, the progress circle in the drawer next to Outline will show a checkmark, and the ‘Mark Step Complete’ button will show in the toolbar; clicking it will unlock the Placeholder Setup step and automatically open it.

*You can come back to work on the Outline at any time, even after marking it complete.

All the steps share the same draft, just displayed in a different format depending on the step’s purpose.

So for instance, making edits to scene notes from the Rough Draft, you will see those updates in the Outline view (and vise-versa).

Once content has been added to scenes in the Rough Draft step, a preview is displayed in the Outline. That way, if you decide to revisit the Outline step to move pieces around or delete scenes, you will know what accompanying draft content is being moved/deleted.

The Outline step shows only a short preview so that the view is more condensed and makes it easier to see the bigger picture, but each preview can be clicked to open and show the full content.

The Placeholder Setup step is where you can review and customize the placeholders you'll use in your Rough Draft.

• Name - full name of the placeholder (for reference only)
• Placeholder - a short marker you type into your draft, highlighted in the editor so it's easy to spot later.
• Preview - the color of any text you type after a placeholder, with any details or reminders of what you want to come back and add.

There are 24 placeholders built-in, but you only need to use the ones that are pertinent to your writing style or particular draft.

Examples of how placeholders can be used in the Rough Draft

For quick access to reference the placeholder list during drafting, you can keep the tab open to quickly jump back and forth between the Rough Draft view and the Placeholder Setup list.

Sections in Placeholder Setup can also be collapsed (by clicking the section title), so if there are categories you don't need for a specific draft, you can hide them.

There's no specific completion requirement for the Placeholder Setup step. Once you're happy with your placeholder list, click the 'Mark Step Complete' button at the top of the page to unlock the Rough Draft step.

You can always come back and edit/add more placeholders as you figure out what your writing style or draft needs.

The Rough Draft step is where you start writing the actual draft, using your Outline as a guide.

Chapter titles and scene descriptions are carried over from your Outline, and below each scene description is a new drafting area (marked with '┃draft text...' when empty).

Some days amazing prose flow out effortlessly, and other days all you can manage is word-spaghetti (creativity is funny like that). Use placeholders any time you get stuck, and keep moving forward.

This step is what the Placeholders were made for - see using placeholders and rough draft examples for ideas on how to use them to keep your momentum going through the rough draft phase.

^*Tip: for quick access to reference the placeholder list during drafting, keep the Placeholder Setup tab open and collapse any sections you don't need. See *Tip: Using the Placeholder Setup tab for quick reference

*You'll revisit placeholders (and whatever else you want to edit) in the Editing Passes step. The editor also ignores spelling errors in this phase to prevent any premature editing - spelling, grammar, and other cleanup are addressed later in the Refinement and Polishing Passes.

When using placeholders in the Rough Draft, make sure to type a Space after the placeholder to 'activate' it, and press Enter after adding any preview text to exit the placeholder preview.

Preview text is optional - placeholders can be used alone by adding the Space then immediately pressing Enter

See rough draft examples for placeholders in context, with usage in several different genres.

1. Mystery example:

Your Chapters and Scenes carry over from the Outline, but you can add more chapters or scenes any time you need to.

*It's recommended to go back to the Outline tab to add new chapters or scenes (see Adding new Outline Chapters and Scenes), as the layout there makes it easier (and any changes you make in the Outline will also apply to the Rough Draft); but it's also achievable directly in the Rough Draft.

Adding a Scene: Press Enter from a Scene. Place the cursor at the beginning or end of the title's text before pressing Enter to add a new scene before or after it, respectively. Pressing Enter from an empty Scene (one with no title and nothing drafted) turns it into a Chapter.

Adding new lines to Scene notes: Use Shift+Enter if you want to add multiple lines within Scene notes. It will add a new line where your cursor is placed, so you can add new lines before, after, or in the middle of text.

Deleting a Chapter or Scene: clear its text and press Backspace from the empty row.

Turn a Scene into a Chapter: use Shift+Tab, or the Chapter button in the toolbar.

Turn a Chapter into a Scene: use Tab, or the Scene button in the toolbar.

Use the checkbox to the left of a scene to mark it complete. Completed scenes are dimmed, making it easy to scan the page and find what is still incomplete.

A Scene can only be checked once there's text in its drafting area; until then the checkbox is disabled (hovering over it shows 'Must have draft text to be marked complete').

Chapters are auto-marked complete once every Scene under it is checked, and uncheck themselves again if you add a new Scene or uncheck an existing one. An empty Chapter (one with no Scenes) has nothing to complete, so it stays unchecked until you add a scene and check it off.

To complete the Rough Draft step, all chapters and scenes must be marked complete using the ‘scene complete’ checkbox next to each scene - see marking chapters and scenes complete.

Once all chapters and scenes are checked off, the progress circle in the drawer next to Rough Draft will show a checkmark, and the ‘Mark Step Complete’ button will show in the toolbar; clicking it will unlock the Editing Passes step and automatically open it.

*You can come back to work on the Rough Draft at any time, even after marking it complete.

The Editing Passes step is where you go back and fill in the placeholders you left in the Rough Draft.

You can focus on one placeholder type at a time by selecting one that has a remaining count, and use the 'Next placeholder' button to jump/cycle through them - see The Editing Passes Drawer.

Or, you can read/scan through your draft, and replace placeholders as you come across them; the syntax highlighting makes them stand out so they're easy to find.

The Editing Passes drawer lists each placeholder type used in your draft, with a count of how many are remaining beside each entry.

Click on the placeholder in the drawer you want to work on, and use the “Next Placeholder” button in the top toolbar to jump to each of those placeholders in your draft.

A placeholder is considered 'completed' when it has been removed/replaced by draft text content - see filling in a placeholder.

Once all of the placeholders of a type have been filled in, a ✓ will show next to that placeholder type in the drawer.

Many placeholders are left where you want to replace them with draft text, but some may just be notes or reminders about things like foreshadowing an event earlier in the draft, or adding the proper reference. Either way, a placeholder is considered 'completed' once it's been replaced or removed.

*Tip: To keep a placeholder from being counted as complete too early, we suggest writing your replacement text underneath it first. Once you've written what the placeholder was there for, and really consider it complete, then remove the placeholder and any of it's accompanying notes.

This also allows you to make partial progress on a placeholder, and still use the 'Next Placeholder' button to go back and finish it again later.

To complete the Editing Passes step, every placeholder listed in the drawer must be filled in — meaning its remaining count is at 0 and a ✓ shows next to it - see filling in a placeholder.

Once every placeholder count is at 0, the progress circle in the drawer next to Editing Passes will show a checkmark, and the ‘Next Placeholder’ button and remaining count in the toolbar are replaced by the ‘Mark Step Complete’ button; clicking it will unlock the Refinement Passes step and automatically open it.

If you add a new placeholder into your draft after marking the step complete, its count goes back up and the ‘Next Placeholder’ button returns, so nothing you add later gets missed.

*You can come back to work on the Editing Passes at any time, even after marking it complete.

The Refinement Passes step lets you review common stylistic writing concerns in your draft, like passive voice and weak adverbs - see What the Refinement step checks for.

Each refinement item is listed in the drawer, and selecting one will highlight every instance of it in your draft - see The Refinement Passes drawer.

Clicking a highlighted instance opens a popup showing why it was flagged, along with any suggested edits you can click to apply. You can also rewrite it yourself, or ignore it - see How Ignore and Ignore All work.

The Refinement Passes drawer lists each refinement item, with a count of how many instances are remaining beside each entry.

Click a refinement item in the drawer to highlight all of its instances in your draft.

Then use the ‘Next’ button in the top toolbar to jump/cycle through each of those instances.

An instance stops being counted once you've rewritten it so it is no longer flagged, or ignored it - see How Ignore and Ignore All work.

Once every instance of a refinement item is handled, its count is replaced by a ✓ in the drawer, and the drawer automatically selects the next item that still has instances remaining.

*Counts update as you write, so if you add new content after starting the Refinement Passes step, any new instances will be picked up automatically.

The Refinement Passes step checks your draft for the following:

• Passive voice - sentences where the subject receives the action rather than performs it. Passive voice can sometimes make writing less direct or harder to follow, though there are plenty of times when it works well.

  Example: The window was broken by the storm.

  Suggested edit: The storm broke the window.

• Repeated words - the same word appearing twice in a row, which can be accidental or an intentional choice for emphasis, rhythm, or effect.

  Example: She was very very tired.

  Suggested edit: She was very tired.

• “So” beginning a sentence - sentences that open with “So”. Using it often can become repetitive or make transitions feel less deliberate.

  Example: So we decided to leave before dark.

  Suggested edit: We decided to leave before dark.

• “There is” (and variations) beginning a sentence - sentences beginning with “There is,” “There are,” and similar constructions. These can sometimes be rewritten more directly or with a stronger subject.

  Example: There are several studies that support this conclusion.

  Suggested edit: Several studies support this conclusion.

• Weak adverbs - adverbs that may not add much or could be replaced with stronger, more specific wording.

  Example: She walked very quickly across the room.

  Suggested edit: She hurried across the room.

• Wordy phrases or unnecessary words - wording that may be longer than it needs to be. Tightening it can make a sentence clearer and easier to read.

  Example: Due to the fact that it was raining, we stayed inside.

  Suggested edit: Because it was raining, we stayed inside.

• Cliches - familiar or overused phrases. They can be perfectly intentional, but replacing them can sometimes make your writing feel more specific or original.

  Example: He avoided the question like the plague.

  Suggested edit: He dodged every question that came his way.

Clicking a highlighted instance opens a popup with the reason it was flagged and any suggested edits. You can click a suggestion to apply it, or make your own edit in the draft.

If no suggestions can be offered, the popup will display ‘No suggestion’

Every refinement item is a stylistic choice, so anything you disagree with can be dismissed instead of rewritten.

Ignore: click the highlighted instance, then choose Ignore at the bottom of the popup. That one instance is dismissed; its highlight clears and the drawer's count drops by one.

Ignore all: the Ignore all button in the toolbar dismisses every remaining instance of the selected refinement item at once. It asks you to confirm first, showing how many instances will be dismissed.

*If you ignore an instance but later change the surrounding text, it may be flagged again.

To complete the Refinement Passes step, every refinement item in the drawer must be at 0 with a ✓ next to it (reached by rewriting each instance or ignoring it - see How Ignore and Ignore All work).

Once every refinement item count is checked off, the progress circle in the drawer next to Refinement Passes will show a checkmark, and the toolbar will show the ‘Mark Step Complete’ button; clicking it will unlock the Polishing Passes step and automatically open it.

If you edit your draft afterward and new instances turn up, their count goes back up and shows incomplete, so nothing you write later gets missed.

*You can come back to work on the Refinement Passes at any time, even after marking it complete.

The Polishing Passes step is the last step of the workflow, and it's where the spelling, punctuation, and grammar errors get cleaned up - see What the Polishing step checks for.

Select one of the three passes in the drawer to highlight its errors in your draft, then use the ‘Next’ button in the toolbar to jump through them - see The Polishing Passes drawer.

Click a highlighted error to open a popup with the reason it was flagged and a suggested fix you can click to apply, or use ‘Accept All’ to apply the suggested fixes to every remaining instance of that error at once - see How Ignore and Accept All work.

The Polishing Passes drawer lists the three passes - spelling, punctuation, and grammar - with a count of the errors remaining next to each item.

Click a pass in the drawer to highlight its errors in your draft, then use the ‘Next’ button in the top toolbar to jump/cycle through each of them. The remaining count and the ‘Accept All’ button sit alongside it in the toolbar.

*Clicking the pass that's already selected deselects it, clearing the highlights (useful if you want to read through the draft without them).

Polishing is split into three passes:

• Spelling — checks against a dictionary and offers suggestions. You can also select “Add to dictionary” from the suggestion popup to teach it words it doesn’t know (your personal dictionary is saved to your account, and carries across all of your drafts).
• Punctuation — catches spacing issues, missing or duplicated marks, missing apostrophes in common contractions, and turns multiple periods into an ellipsis.
• Grammar — catches homophones (their/there, its/it’s, your/you’re, then/than…), capitalization, comma splices, dangling modifiers, and subject–verb agreement. *Grammar is intentionally conservative, and skips dialogue and dialect so it won’t correct your voice or your character's.

Clicking a highlighted error opens a popup with the reason it was flagged and any suggested fixes. Click a suggestion to apply it, or fix the error yourself in the draft - either way the highlight clears and the count drops by one. Anything you don't want to change can be dismissed instead.

*Anything without an automatic fix is skipped by Accept All and stays flagged for you to handle (such as a misspelling the dictionary has no suggestion for, or a grammar error that needs the sentence rewritten). If there are remaining errors and the Accept All button is disabled, the errors will need to fixed or ignored individually.

To complete the Polishing Passes step, spelling, punctuation, and grammar must all be at 0 with a ✓ next to them - reached by fixing each error, ignoring it, or adding the word to your dictionary - see How Ignore and Accept All work.

Once all three counts are at 0, the progress circle in the drawer next to Polishing Passes will show a checkmark, and the ‘Mark Step Complete’ button will show in the toolbar.

This is the final step of the workflow, so clicking ‘Mark Step Complete’ opens a celebration popup where you can start another cycle through the draft steps, or mark the draft finished - see What happens when you finish a draft.

If you edit your draft again afterward and new errors turn up, their count goes back up and an shows incomplete progress, so nothing new gets missed.

*You can come back to work on the Polishing Passes at any time, even after marking it complete.

The Hero’s Journey follows a character who leaves their familiar life when a challenge or adventure draws them into the unknown. They face a series of obstacles that force them to adapt and grow. Whether they ultimately return home or continue forward, they are changed by what they have experienced.

Good for: fantasy, adventure, coming-of-age

Examples: The Hobbit, Eragon, Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone

The classic Three-Act Story structure divides a narrative into three stages: setup, confrontation, and resolution. The setup introduces the characters, their world, and the conflict that sets the story in motion. The confrontation develops that conflict through rising obstacles and stakes, and the resolution brings it to a climax and deals with the outcome.

Good for: literary fiction, mystery, romance

Examples: Pride and Prejudice, The Hunger Games, The Fault in Our Stars, The Martian

The Quest follows a character or group pursuing a specific goal, often through a journey that takes them into unfamiliar territory. Along the way, they encounter obstacles, allies, and setbacks that test their commitment to the goal. The story builds toward whether they ultimately succeed, and what the pursuit has changed or cost them along the way.

Good for: adventure, fantasy, sci-fi

Examples: The Da Vinci Code, Treasure Island, The Lord of the Rings, The Road

Overcoming the Monster centers on a character facing a powerful threat that must be defeated or overcome. The threat may be a literal monster, villain, or dangerous force, or something less tangible, such as an oppressive system or a destructive obsession. The conflict builds as the character struggles against increasingly difficult odds, before finally confronting the threat directly.

Good for: horror, thriller, fantasy, sci-fi

Examples: Dracula, Jurassic Park, Beowulf, It

Coming of Age follows a character through a period of growth that changes how they understand themselves and the world around them. New experiences, relationships, conflicts, and difficult choices challenge their existing beliefs and push them toward greater maturity or self-understanding. The story centers on that internal transformation as much as the events that bring it about.

Good for: coming-of-age, literary fiction, YA, drama

Examples: Where the Red Fern Grows, The Perks of Being a Wallflower, The Outsiders

Rags to Riches follows a character who rises from humble or difficult circumstances toward a better life. Their progress brings new opportunities and challenges, often testing whether they can achieve and hold on to what they are striving for. The transformation does not have to be about literal wealth; it can center on status, belonging, confidence, or personal fulfillment. The story explores both the character’s rise and how the experience changes them along the way.

Good for: romance, historical fiction, drama, comedy

Examples: Jane Eyre, The Princess Diaries, Great Expectations, Ready Player One

Tragedy follows a character whose choices, flaws, or circumstances lead them toward a devastating outcome. As the conflict develops, their attempts to achieve what they want often contribute to their downfall or make it increasingly difficult to avoid. The consequences bring the central conflict to a close, often revealing the full cost of the character’s choices and what has been lost along the way.

Good for: literary fiction, romance, crime, historical fiction

Examples: The Great Gatsby, A Series of Unfortunate Events, Macbeth, Anna Karenina

Open the Settings drawer (by clicking the gear icon in the sidebar), and use the sun and moon icons at the top of the drawer to switch between light and dark mode.

The change applies across the entire app - the dashboard, editor, drawers, notes, etc.

Light and Dark mode each include three themes that make subtle adjustments to the colors used throughout the app:

A theme recolors the writing workspace, along with the rest of the app (drawers, backgrounds, text, accents, etc.).

Your most recently selected theme is saved separately for light and dark mode. If you prefer Calm in dark mode but Quiet in light mode, switching between light and dark mode will default to your preferences.

You can hide drawers, panels, and interface elements you don't need to create a clean writing space, then bring them back when you need them.

Select some text and use the toolbar (or one of the Keyboard shortcuts) to apply:

• Bold, Italic, Strikethrough, and Underline
• Superscript and Subscript — for footnote markers, ordinals, and formulas
• Highlight — five colors (green, blue, red, purple, and yellow), plus a ‘Remove highlight’ button to clear it again
• Links — paste a URL into the link popover, then open or remove it from the same place
• Alignment — left, center, right, or justify

*As you type, quotes curl, two dashes become an em dash, and three dots become an ellipsis automatically.

The toolbar above the editor gives you quick access to printing and downloading, undo and redo, text formatting, and view controls.

• Print and Download — print the current step or export it in several file formats. See Printing & Downloading.
• Undo and Redo - reverse your most recent changes or restore changes you've undone.
• Formatting — format text with bold, italic, strikethrough, underline, highlight, links, superscript, subscript, and alignment controls. See Formatting your text.
• View controls — switch between light and dark mode, hide the toolbar, or enter full screen. See Focus your workspace.

The word count appears at the far right of the toolbar, and updates as you type. It can be shown or hidden by clicking the 'eye' icon next to it.

*This is separate from the daily word count behind your Stats, Goals, and Achievements — that one tracks words you write each day across all your drafts and notes, and doesn’t go down when you delete something.

What happens when you paste depends on where you paste it.

Pasted text is fitted onto your structure: each paragraph becomes its own chapter or scene, and your formatting (bold, italic, and the rest) is kept. Pasting into the middle of a line keeps it on that line instead of splitting it, and pasting into a drafting area keeps your line breaks as-is.

This means you can bring an outline or some existing writing over from another document and it lands as real chapters and scenes rather than one long blob.

Pasted text comes in as plain text — formatting is stripped. By these steps your draft’s structure is settled, and pasting styled content from elsewhere would break the layout the passes rely on. Anything you paste still gets checked by the pass you’re in.

Notes paste normally, keeping formatting and structure — they’re free-form, so there’s nothing to protect.

*If what you paste would push you past the word limit, it’s refused as a whole rather than pasted halfway - see Number of Drafts, Notes, and word-count limits.

Each writing step has an Info drawer below the editor with an overview of the step, along with instructions and tips for using its features.

The Info drawer opens automatically the first time you visit a newly unlocked step. After that, you can open or close it at any time by clicking the info bar below the editor.

Steps and Notes open as tabs at the top of the editor, letting you keep multiple items open and switch between them without losing your place.

Your open tabs are saved, including their order and which tab is active, so they're restored when you return.

*Tabs can be reordered on computers, but not on touch screens.

Click the magnifying glass in the sidebar to open the Search drawer.

• You can use Find on its own to search without replacing anything. Results appear as you type and are highlighted in the editor. Click a result to jump directly to the match.
• Search is case-insensitive and includes your current draft step and any notes open in tabs, with results grouped by document.

• Enter new text in the Replace field and click Replace all. You’ll see how many matches will be changed and be asked to confirm before anything is replaced.
• Replace All changes every match. Leave the Replace field empty to delete all matches instead.
• ^*Ctrl/⌘ + Z can undo replacements in your current tab. Changes made in other tabs are saved immediately and can’t be undone this way.

• Ctrl/⌘ + B — Bold
• Ctrl/⌘ + I — Italic
• Ctrl/⌘ + U — Underline
• Ctrl/⌘ + Shift + S — Strikethrough
• Ctrl/⌘ + . — Superscript
• Ctrl/⌘ + , — Subscript
• Ctrl/⌘ + Shift + H — Highlight

• Ctrl/⌘ + Shift + L — Align left
• Ctrl/⌘ + Shift + E — Align center
• Ctrl/⌘ + Shift + R — Align right
• Ctrl/⌘ + Shift + J — Justify

• Tab — turn a Chapter into a Scene
• Shift+Tab — turn a Scene into a Chapter
• Shift+Enter — new line within the row you’re on
• Backspace — from an empty row, delete it

• Ctrl/⌘ + Z — Undo
• Ctrl/⌘ + Shift + Z — Redo
• Ctrl/⌘ + A — Select all
• Esc — exit full screen

Your work is saved automatically as you write and as you move through your draft. Your open tabs and progress through each step are saved too.

There’s no save button or “Saved” message. If a save fails, an alert will appear at the top of the page; keep the tab open until it clears.

If you lose your connection, the editor switches to read-only until you’re back online. See What happens when you go offline.

For more about where your work is stored and how it can be recovered, see Saving & Backups.

Goals give you optional targets to work toward while you write. Activate the ones you want to track - see activate a new goal. There are 3 types:

• Word Count — reach a daily word-count target.
• Time-Based — write for a set amount of time or maintain a regular writing schedule.
• Draft — finish a draft within a set number of days or by a specific date.

Use the 'Activate a new goal' button at the bottom of the Stats drawer to open the goal builder popup.

Click 'Add goal' to activate it. Your progress starts tracking that day and appears under Active Goals in the Stats drawer.

Active goals show your current progress and recent activity. Word Count goals update as you write.

• Daily goals — mark each day you reach your word or time target.
• Weekly goals — track your activity toward a weekly target.
• Draft goals — track draft completion, showing your progress and time remaining.

Goals without an end date continue until you close them.

Goals complete automatically when their target is met. Once complete, the goal moves out of Active Goals and its badge is added to your Achievements.

You'll also see a congratulations banner when you complete a goal.

• Restart - begin the goal again from today with a fresh tracking period. For Draft goals, you can also choose a new deadline or draft.
• Close goal - stop tracking and remove the goal from Active Goals.

Achievements are badges you earn automatically as you write and reach milestones. When you earn a new one, you’ll see a congratulations banner, and the badge is added to your Achievements.

Achievements are available for:

• Goals Completed — completing active goals.
• Streaks — maintaining writing streaks.
• Draft Progress — completing stages of a draft.
• Draft Passes — taking a draft through multiple full passes.
• Session Words — reaching word-count milestones in a writing session.
• Lifetime Words — reaching overall word-count milestones.

Achievements unlock automatically when you reach their target.

Each category shows how many achievements you’ve earned. Completed achievements are checked off with the date earned, while those still in progress show how close you are to the next milestone.

• Streaks and Session Words reflect your current streak or writing session, so progress can reset.
• Draft Progress, Draft Passes, and Lifetime Words build over time and don’t reset

Go to your Account page and navigate to Account Details; click “Change account email”, type the new address, and click “Send confirmation”.

A confirmation link is sent to the new address — the change only takes effect once you click that link. From then on, the new address is the one you sign in with, and the one your receipts are sent to. We also send a note to your old address letting it know the change was made.

Until you click the link, nothing changes; you keep signing in with your old address. If the email doesn’t arrive, check your spam folder, or start the change again to resend it.

^*If you signed up with Google, changing this address doesn’t change how you sign in — you still use the “Continue with Google” button with your Google account. It changes where your receipts and account emails are sent.

In Account → Security → Password, click “Reset password” to open the form. You’ll need three things:

• Current password — the one you sign in with now
• New password
• Confirm password — the new one again

Click “Save password” and the change takes effect immediately; you stay signed in.

If you’ve forgotten your current password and can’t sign in at all, use the “Forgot password?” link on the sign-in page instead — it emails you a reset link, so you don’t need your old password. Setting up a recovery email first gives that link a second address it can be sent to; see Add a recovery email.

^*If you created your account with Google sign-in, you don’t have a password at all — you sign in through Google, and there’s nothing to reset here.

A recovery email is a second address that can receive a password-reset link if you ever lose access to the email you sign in with. It’s optional, but worth setting up.

In Account → Security → Recovery email, enter the address and click “Add recovery email”. A confirmation link is sent to that address, and it stays listed as pending confirmation until the link is clicked (an unconfirmed address can’t be used to recover your account).

Once confirmed, entering either your account email or your recovery email in the “Forgot password?” form on the sign-in page will send the reset link. You can change or remove the recovery email from the same place at any time.

^*If you only want to stop or pause paying, you don’t need to delete anything — see canceling your subscription instead, which ends your subscription billing and leaves all of your work in place.

Deleting your account permanently removes your drafts, notes, stats, achievements, and sign-in details, and cancels your subscription.

• Before deleting your account, download or print anything you want to keep. You won’t be able to access your work once deletion begins.
• Go to Account → Delete account and click Delete account. You’ll be asked to confirm your password, or your account email if you sign in with Google.

Once confirmed, your subscription is cancelled, your account is locked, and permanent deletion is scheduled within 30 days.

While your account is pending deletion, you can cancel the request by clicking 'Cancel delete account'. This restores access to your drafts and notes.

Your subscription is cancelled when you confirm account deletion and is not restored if you cancel the request. To resume editing, you’ll need to subscribe again from the Account section.

In the Subscription section of the Account page, you can view your current plan, price, status, and next billing date. The status may be Free Trial, Active, Payment failed, or Cancelled.

Last First Draft has two plans: $13 monthly or $120 yearly (both include all features). New accounts start with a 14-day free trial and are charged when the trial ends unless cancelled beforehand.

Use Manage subscription to view billing history, update your payment method, switch plans, or cancel. Payments and billing emails are handled securely by Stripe; Last First Draft never sees or stores your card details.

To update your payment details, go to Account → Manage subscription and click the Manage subscription button. This opens the Stripe billing portal, where you can update your card, billing address, or email for receipts.

To switch between monthly and yearly billing, go to Account → Manage subscription and click the Manage subscription button to open the billing portal; then select the plan you want to switch to.

• Monthly → Yearly — your Yearly plan begins on your next monthly billing date, when you’ll be charged the yearly price instead of another monthly payment.
• Yearly → Monthly — your Monthly plan begins when your current year ends. You’ll keep your Yearly plan until then, with no refund or credit for the remaining time.

Both plans include the same features, so switching won’t affect your drafts, notes, or access.

The Manage subscription button on your Account page opens the Stripe billing portal, where you can cancel your subscription:

1. On your Account page, click Manage subscription.

2. In the Stripe billing portal, click Cancel subscription.

• For 90 days, your account is read-only. You can open, read, print, and download your drafts and notes, but you can’t edit or create anything.
• After 90 days, you can still sign in and manage your account, but your drafts and notes won’t be accessible until you resubscribe. Your work remains stored, and is restored when you renew.

Resubscribing restores full access to your existing work. Your drafts and notes are only removed if you delete your account - see Deleting your account.

Once your subscription ends, go to the Subscription section of your Account page and choose Renew Monthly or Renew Yearly.

Full editing access is restored right away, with all your drafts and notes still in place.