Tips & Best Practices
Get the most out of Continuum Writer's AI features by keeping your project context accurate and well-maintained.
Keep Synopses Up to Date
Scene synopses are the backbone of how the AI understands your story. When you ask the AI to help with plotting, writing, or continuity checks, it reads your outline — which is built from these synopses. If a synopsis is outdated, the AI may give suggestions that conflict with what you've actually written.
Continuum Writer tracks when you edit a scene's prose and flags the synopsis if it might be out of date. You'll see a small amber indicator on the scene card and in the sidebar. This is a gentle reminder, not a blocker — you can dismiss it if the synopsis is still accurate.
Ways to clear the flag:
- Edit the synopsis manually to reflect your changes
- Use the Write with AI button to auto-generate a new synopsis
- Mark the scene as Clean
- Click the dismiss button on the indicator
Use Mentions in Chat
When chatting with the AI, use @ mentions to reference characters, locations, and items by name. This loads their full profile into the conversation so the AI has accurate details without needing to look them up. For example, typing @Bartholomew in the chat pulls in that character's description, personality, and speaking style.
Fill in Character Speaking Styles
If you want the AI to write dialogue that sounds distinct for each character, fill in the Speaking Style field on their character profile. This gives the AI concrete guidance on vocabulary, sentence structure, and mannerisms. Without it, the AI will infer from the character's personality and description, which may be less precise.
Write Good Book Concepts
The book concept is included in every AI interaction as background context. A clear, concise concept helps the AI stay on-genre and on-tone. Include the genre, setting, central conflict, and the general feel you're aiming for.
Chapter Summaries
Like scene synopses, chapter summaries feed into the AI's understanding of your story arc. Keeping them current — even just a sentence or two — helps the AI give better structural advice when planning future chapters.
Scene Context in the Editor
When you open a scene in the editor, the sidebar shows its linked characters, location, timeline event, and other metadata. The AI uses this context when helping you write or edit that scene. Linking the right entities to each scene improves the AI's awareness of who's present and where the action takes place.