Worldbuilding in Writing Crucible is built from elements: characters, locations, organizations, magic systems and more. Each element is a canvas of cards, and each card holds fields. Everything saves automatically.
Step by step
1. Open Worldbuilding
Open your book or series from the Author Dashboard with Open Project Workspace. In the sidebar, under Worldbuilding, click All Elements.
Books in a series share the series' worldbuilding, so every book sees the same characters and places.
2. Create an element
Click + Create Element... at the top and pick a type: Characters, Locations, Organizations, Items, Creatures, Magic, Languages, Cultures, Religions, History, Technology or Other. You can also hover over a type in the sidebar and click its +.
3. Fill in the details
Title: the element's name.
Tags (Comma-separated): names and nicknames the element goes by. These matter: when a tag appears in your chapter, the element shows up automatically in the editor's Notes Panel.
Effective Book and Effective Chapter: where this element enters your story. Not sure? Leave Book 1, Chapter 0 (the start). You can add versions for later chapters any time.
Click Create Element. The new element opens straight away on its canvas.
4. Add a card
Click Add Card. A card is a section of the element, such as Background, Appearance or History.
5. Name the card
New cards are called New Card. Click the title and type to rename it.
6. Add fields
Hover over the card to show its controls, then click Edit fields (the pencil).
In Edit Card Fields:
Click Add Field for each piece of information.
Give it a Title and choose a Type: Short Text, Number, Long Form Text, Slider, Image, Links, Multi-Choice or List.
Untick Show title for a cleaner, more narrative look.
Reorder fields by dragging the handle, or with Up and Down. Remove deletes a field.
Click Save, and the fields appear on the card, ready to fill in.
7. Arrange your cards (optional)
Move: drag the card by its Move card handle (the three lines).
Resize: drag the handle in the card's bottom-right corner.
Delete: click Delete card (the bin). You'll be asked to confirm first.
Saving
Elements save automatically as you work. The save status shows inside the version button at the top of the canvas. If a save fails, for example because you went offline, a Save or Retry button appears there so you can try again.
Good to know
Free plan: includes up to 5 worldbuilding elements and 10 versions across all your projects (the example project doesn't count). Paid plans have no limit.
Templates: start from a ready-made structure instead of building cards by hand. See Applying Templates to Worldbuilding Elements.
Changing an element's name, type or tags: on All Elements, hover over the element and click the pencil. In Edit Element Settings, change its Title, Type or Tags (Comma-separated), then click Save Changes.
Exporting: save your elements as a PDF, all at once or one at a time. See Exporting Worldbuilding to PDF.
Finding elements: use the type buttons above the grid to filter, star an element to favourite it, or search by name.
Tips: use tags consistently so elements show up while you write, split big topics across several cards, and don't over-plan early. Cards and fields can be changed any time.