Help / Start

Start your first book

Choose a library, create a book, and begin the first chapter in a few minutes.

You do not need to learn every part of FlowWrite before you begin. Choose where your work will live, create a book, and start the first chapter.

Choose a home for your work

FlowWrite keeps books, ideas, and writing records in a library. You can use the default local library, choose another folder, or place it in iCloud Drive when you work across Macs.

Your work does not depend on a FlowWrite account. As long as the library remains available, you can back it up, move it, and manage it yourself. Let cloud or external-drive files finish downloading before opening them.

Create the book

On the library screen, choose New, then add a title, author, and short description. You can change these details and the cover later.

Create a chapter, give it a useful name, and write in the central editor. FlowWrite saves automatically; the status bar confirms when the latest changes are stored.

Learn only three areas at first

  • Left: chapters, outlines, characters, places, timeline, and notes.
  • Center: the manuscript or the reference material you are editing.
  • Bottom: save status, today’s word count, and book progress.

Starting with Chapters is enough. Add the rest as the story grows.

Where to go next

If the library will not open, confirm that the folder still exists, its files are downloaded, and your macOS user can read and write it.