Plume Locale Documentation

Introduction to Plume Locale

Welcome to Plume Locale, your completely free and ad-free creative writing companion. Designed specifically for writers of novels, short stories, screenplays, and all forms of narrative fiction, Plume Locale provides you with a complete environment to plan, write, organize, and analyze your literary projects.

What is Plume Locale?

Plume Locale is a Progressive Web App (PWA) that runs directly in your browser, requiring no installation. It combines the features of a modern word processor with advanced narrative planning tools, all within an intuitive and performant interface.

Key Features

Who is Plume Locale For?

Plume Locale is designed for all writers, regardless of their level:

• Beginning Authors: Intuitive interface with guides and tooltips for easy start
• Experienced Authors: Advanced planning and analysis tools for managing complex projects
• Fantasy/SF Writers: Robust worldbuilding tools (map, codex, universe)
• Mystery/Thriller Authors: Dedicated investigation mode for managing clues and suspects
• Screenwriters: Narrative arc and timeline management for structuring your plots

Quick Start Guide

This guide walks you through your first steps with Plume Locale, from creating your first project to your first writing session.

Step 1: Access Plume Locale

Go to https://plume-locale.github.io/ in your browser. The app loads automatically and is ready to use. No registration required.

Step 2: Create Your First Project

On your first visit, you arrive at the home screen. Click the "+ New Project" button to begin.

The project creation window opens with several fields:

• Project Title: The name of your novel, short story, or screenplay (e.g., "The Shadow Chronicles")
• Description (optional): A brief summary or pitch of your story
• Genre: Choose from Fantasy, Science Fiction, Thriller, Romance, Mystery, Horror, Historical, Adventure, Drama, or Other
• Template: Select a starting template
  • Empty Project: Start with a blank slate for complete freedom
  • Fantasy (3 acts + character types): Predefined structure with 3 acts and character sheets for hero, mentor, antagonist
  • Science Fiction (Advanced Worldbuilding): Project with sections dedicated to technological and societal worldbuilding

Click "Create" to generate your project. You're now in your main workspace.

Step 3: Discover the Interface

Plume Locale's interface is organized into several zones:

Main Navigation Bar (top)

Contains the main tabs to navigate between different workspaces:

• Writing: Your main space with the text editor
• Structure: Overview of your acts, chapters, and scenes
• Dashboard: Dashboard with statistics and metrics
• Plot: Plot grid for scene-by-scene planning
• Narrative Arcs: Manage your multiple narrative threads
• Database: Access to Characters, Universe, Codex, Notes
• Visualization: Mindmap, Relations, Map, Timeline
• Tools: Statistics and Text Analysis
• History: Snapshot and version management

Left Sidebar (Structure)

Displays your story's tree structure and allows creating, organizing, and navigating between acts, chapters, and scenes.

Central Zone (Editor)

Your main writing space where the selected scene's text appears.

Right Sidebar (Context)

This contextual panel displays information related to the current scene: versions, links, annotations, narrative arcs, etc.

Step 4: Create Your Structure

Before writing, it's helpful to create a basic structure for your story. Here's how:

Create an Act

In the left structure panel, click the "+ Act" button. A window opens to name your act (e.g., "Act 1 - The Ordinary World", "Part I - The Call", etc.). Click "Create".

Create a Chapter

Select an act, then click "+ Chapter". Give a title to your chapter (e.g., "Chapter 1 - The Discovery", "Ch. 3 - Return to the Village", etc.).

Create a Scene

Select a chapter, then click "+ Scene". Name your scene (e.g., "Alicia's Awakening", "Forest Battle", "Dialogue with the Mentor"). This is the scene level where you write your text.

Step 5: Write Your First Scene

Select a scene in the structure panel. The text editor appears in the central zone. You can now start writing!

The editor offers the following features:

• Text Formatting: Use toolbar buttons or keyboard shortcuts for bold (Ctrl+B), italic (Ctrl+I), underline (Ctrl+U)
• Headings: Create headings at different levels (H1, H2, H3) to structure your text
• Quotes: Format passages as blockquotes
• Auto-save: Your text is automatically saved with each modification

Step 6: Add Your Characters and Locations

During or after writing, enrich your project with characters and universe elements:

1. Click on the "Database" tab in the navigation bar
2. Select "Characters"
3. Click "+ New Character"
4. Fill in the fields: Name, Role (Protagonist, Antagonist, Supporting, etc.), Description
5. Repeat for your other characters

Do the same for universe elements (places, objects, organizations, etc.) in the "Universe" tab.

Step 7: Save Your Work

Although Plume Locale auto-saves in your browser, it's crucial to create external backups:

Option 1: Google Drive (recommended)

Click "Backup/Export" in the toolbar, then "Connect to Google Drive". Once connected, your projects will sync automatically.

Option 2: Manual JSON Export

Click "Backup/Export" then "Download as JSON". This file contains your entire project and can be re-imported at any time.

Story Structure and Organization

Structure is the skeleton of your story. Plume Locale offers you a hierarchical organization in three levels: Acts, Chapters, and Scenes.

The Text Editor

Plume Locale's editor is designed to offer a perfect balance between functional richness and ease of use. It combines the advantages of a modern word processor with the fluidity needed for creative writing.

Formatting Features

The editor supports essential formatting features:

• Character Formatting:
  • Bold (Ctrl+B) for emphasis
  • Italic (Ctrl+I) for thoughts, foreign words, work titles
  • Underline (Ctrl+U) for highlighting
• Headings and Structure:
  • H1: Main heading (used for part titles)
  • H2: Major subheading
  • H3: Minor subheading
• Special Elements:
  • Blockquotes: For letters, newspaper excerpts, epigraphs
  • Horizontal lines: To mark time or point-of-view changes

Essential Keyboard Shortcuts

Version Management

Plume Locale's version system allows you to keep multiple drafts of the same scene and compare them. This is particularly useful for:

• Testing different approaches to the same scene
• Keeping passages you've cut but might reuse
• Reverting to an earlier version if you're not satisfied with changes
• Comparing two versions to see what changed

Create a New Version

In the right sidebar, "Versions" section, click "+ New Version". Your scene's current content is automatically saved as a new version with a timestamp.

Compare Two Versions

Click "Compare" in the versions panel. A comparison interface opens:

• Select two versions to compare in the dropdown lists
• Choose display mode:
  • Unified: Single column with additions in green (+) and deletions in red (-)
  • Side by side: Two columns to view versions in parallel
• Statistics show you the number of words added and deleted

Restore a Previous Version

If you want to revert to a previous version, select it from the list and click "Restore". The selected version becomes your scene's active version.

Focus Mode and Pomodoro

Focus Mode is designed to eliminate all distractions and allow you to concentrate solely on your writing.

Activate Focus Mode

Press F11 or click the fullscreen icon. The interface switches to immersive mode:

• Navigation bar disappears
• Sidebars are hidden (but accessible on hover)
• Editor occupies the entire screen
• Only your text and a minimal word counter remain visible

Integrated Pomodoro Timer

The Pomodoro technique consists of working in 25-minute sessions followed by 5-minute breaks. It's excellent for maintaining focus and productivity.

Using Pomodoro in Plume Locale:

1. In Focus Mode, a Pomodoro timer appears (25:00)
2. Click "Start" to begin the session
3. Write for 25 minutes without interruption
4. A notification alerts you when time's up
5. The counter displays completed Pomodoros and words written during the session

Annotation System and Revisions

Plume Locale's annotation system allows you to add comments, reminders, and notes directly within your scenes, without disrupting the flow of your text.

The 4 Types of Annotations

Plume Locale offers four types of annotations, each with a specific function:

1. 💬 Comments

Use comments for reading impressions, reactions to your own text, or general feedback you want to leave yourself.

Usage examples:

• "This scene lacks emotion, remember to develop the character's feelings"
• "Good dialogue but too long, shorten"
• "I really like this metaphor, must keep it"

2. ✅ TODOs

TODOs are for concrete tasks you need to accomplish: corrections, rewrites, specific additions.

Usage examples:

• "Verify date consistency with previous chapter"
• "Add physical description of this character"
• "Delete this repetitive paragraph"
• "Fix the logic of this action (impossible for them to be there at that time)"

3. 📝 Notes

Notes are for creative remarks, development ideas, or reminders for later.

Usage examples:

• "Possible foreshadowing for chapter 12?"
• "This character could have an interesting secondary arc"
• "Idea: develop this scene as a flashback in the next chapter"

4. ❓ Questions

Questions signal logical doubts, potential inconsistencies, or points to verify.

Usage examples:

• "Does Marie already know this information at this stage?"
• "Possible contradiction with what happened in chapter 3?"
• "Wasn't this character supposed to be traveling?"

Creating an Annotation

To add an annotation to a scene:

1. In the right sidebar, click the "Annotations" tab
2. Click "+ Add Annotation"
3. Select the type (Comment, TODO, Note, or Question)
4. Write your annotation in the text field
5. Click "Save"

The annotation appears in the panel with a colored icon according to its type.

Revision Mode

Activate Revision Mode with Ctrl+R for optimized navigation between your annotations:

• Annotations are highlighted in the editor
• Quick navigation with arrows to next/previous annotation
• Progress statistics (X annotations processed out of Y)

Narrative Planning Tools

Beyond pure writing, Plume Locale offers powerful tools to plan, structure, and track your plot.

Dashboard

The dashboard is your control center. It displays at a glance the state of your project with essential metrics.

Main Statistics

• Global word counter: Total words in your entire project
• Breakdown by scene status:
  • 📝 Draft: Unwritten scenes or barely outlined
  • ✍️ In Progress: Scenes being written
  • ✅ Complete: Finished scenes (first draft complete)
  • 🔍 To Revise: Scenes marked for revision or correction
• Pomodoro progress: Number of completed sessions
• Recent activity: Last modified scenes

Narrative Arcs

Narrative arcs are threads that run through your story. They can represent:

• Character arcs: A character's evolution from beginning to end (e.g., "Alicia's Transformation: from naive to heroine")
• Plot arcs: A specific narrative thread (e.g., "Murder Mystery", "Romance between X and Y")
• Thematic arcs: An explored theme (e.g., "Quest for Identity", "Corruption of Power")

Creating a Narrative Arc

1. Go to the "Narrative Arcs" tab
2. Click "+ New Arc"
3. Give a descriptive name to your arc
4. Choose a color to identify it visually
5. Add a description (optional): arc objective, planned beginning and end

Plot Grid

The plot grid offers a matrix view of your story, scene by scene, for detailed planning.

What is the Plot Grid?

It's a table where each row represents a scene, and columns represent narrative elements to track:

• POV (Point of View): Which character is the narrator?
• Location: Where does the scene take place?
• Characters Present: Who appears in this scene?
• Scene Objective: What should this scene accomplish? (advance plot, develop character, create tension...)
• Conflict: What is the obstacle or problem?
• Result: How does the scene end? What changes?

Investigation Mode

Investigation Mode is a specialized tool for mystery, thriller, and detective novel authors.

Elements Tracked in Investigation Mode

• Clues: All discovered evidence
  • Clue name
  • Description
  • Discovery scene
  • Relevance (crucial, important, secondary)
  • Links with other clues
• Suspects: Potentially involved characters
  • Name
  • Motive
  • Opportunity
  • Alibi
  • Suspicion level (reader's / investigator's)

Narrative Database

Plume Locale's narrative database is the heart of your worldbuilding. It centralizes all elements of your universe and maintains your story's consistency.

Characters

Characters are your story's soul. Plume Locale offers you a complete system to create, develop, and track all your characters, from protagonists to extras.

Creating a Character Sheet

To create a new character:

1. Go to Database > Characters
2. Click "+ New Character"
3. Fill in essential information:
   • Full Name: First name, surname, possible nicknames
   • Narrative Role:
     • Protagonist: Your story's main hero
     • Antagonist: The main opponent, the "villain"
     • Supporting: Important characters (allies, mentors, sidekicks)
     • Tertiary: Recurring but less central characters
     • Extra: Punctual appearances
   • Quick Description: A 2-3 sentence summary of the character

Universe and Worldbuilding

The Universe section allows you to catalog all elements of your world: places, objects, organizations, historical events, and much more.

The 5 Types of Universe Elements

1. 🏛️ Places

Places are all locations where your story takes place, from largest (continents, countries) to smallest (rooms, hideouts).

2. ⚔️ Objects

Objects include weapons, artifacts, magical objects, important technologies, or any narratively significant object.

3. 💡 Concepts

Concepts encompass the abstract systems of your universe: magic systems, alternative physical laws, social rules, philosophies, etc.

4. 🏢 Organizations

Guilds, governments, companies, cults, armies, academies - any structured group that has a role in your story.

5. 📅 Events

Historical events that shaped your world: wars, catastrophes, discoveries, revolutions, etc.

Codex

The Codex is your universe's encyclopedia, a space to document all aspects of your world that don't fit into Characters or Universe categories.

Codex Categories

The Codex is organized into thematic categories:

• Culture: Arts, music, literature, customs, festivals, gastronomy
• History: Detailed chronology, dynasties, eras, periods
• Technology: Inventions, technological level, innovations
• Geography: Continents, seas, mountains, climate, ecosystems
• Politics: Government systems, treaties, political conflicts
• Magic/Power: Supernatural systems, magic schools, powers
• Religion: Deities, beliefs, rituals, clergies
• Society: Social classes, castes, economic systems
• Other: Anything that doesn't fit elsewhere

Notes

The Notes section is your free space for everything that doesn't fit into other categories: random ideas, research, references, general to-do lists, open questions.

Types of Notes

• 📚 Research: Factual information you collect (e.g., "How a submarine works", "Gothic architecture", "Hypothermia symptoms")
• 💡 Idea: Brainstorming, narrative possibilities, potential scenes
• 🔖 Reference: Links to articles, books, movies that inspire or inform you
• ✅ To Do: Overall project tasks (e.g., "Finish continent mapping", "Develop Marie's arc")
• ❓ Question: Points to resolve
• 📝 Other: Various notes

Visualization Tools

Sometimes, seeing your story visually reveals patterns and connections you don't see in text. Plume Locale offers four powerful visualization tools.

Mind Map

The mind map allows you to organize your ideas visually and non-linearly, perfect for brainstorming and exploring conceptual connections.

Creating Your Mindmap

1. Go to Visualization > Mindmap
2. Click anywhere to create a central node
3. Give it a name (e.g., "Main Theme: Redemption")
4. Double-click on this node to create child nodes
5. Organize your ideas spatially
6. Connect nodes to show relationships

Relationship Graph

The relationship graph visualizes connections between your characters: who knows whom, who loves/hates whom, who is allied/enemy with whom.

Creating Relationships

To add a relationship between two characters:

1. Access Visualization > Relations
2. Select the starting character
3. Click "+ Add Relationship"
4. Choose the target character
5. Define the relationship type:
   • Family (parent, child, sibling, spouse...)
   • Friendship / Enmity
   • Romance / Love / Ex
   • Professional (colleague, boss/employee, mentor/student)
   • Alliance / Rivalry
   • Custom

Geographic Map

The map allows you to visually place all locations in your story and see their relative positions.

Creating Your Map

You have two options:

Option 1: Blank Map

1. Start with a blank map
2. Add your places by clicking on the map
3. Organize them spatially

Option 2: Import a Drawn Map

1. Upload an image of your map (hand-drawn, created in software...)
2. Use it as a background
3. Place markers on important locations

Timeline

The timeline organizes all events in your story on a temporal axis, allowing you to verify chronological consistency.

Creating Your Timeline

1. Go to Visualization > Timeline
2. Define your dating system:
   • Real calendar (for contemporary/historical novels)
   • Fictional calendar (for fantasy/SF)
   • Relative timeline ("Day 1", "Day 2", "3 months later"...)
3. Create your events

Statistics and Text Analysis

Plume Locale provides you with tools to objectively analyze your text and track your progress.

Writing Statistics

Available Metrics

Plume Locale automatically calculates:

• Word count: Total and per act/chapter/scene
• Character count: With and without spaces
• Estimated pages: Based on 250 words/page (publishing standard)
• Estimated reading time: Based on 200 words/minute
• Paragraph density: Average paragraph length

Text Analysis

Repetition Detection

The repetition analyzer scans your text and identifies:

• Overused words: Words that appear too frequently
• Close repetitions: Same word used 2-3 times in the same paragraph
• Repetitive structures: All sentences starting with "He" or "She"

Narrative Tension Analysis

Plume Locale can analyze your scenes' emotional tension based on vocabulary used.

How it works:

1. You define word dictionaries associated with different tension levels:
   • High tension (+3 pts): "scream", "explode", "terror", "danger", "blood"
   • Medium tension (+1.5 pts): "worry", "doubt", "observe", "wait"
   • Low tension (-2 pts): "calm", "peace", "rest", "smile", "serenity"
2. The tool scans each scene and calculates a tension score
3. You visualize a tension curve over the entire narrative

Backup and Data Security

Your work is precious. Plume Locale offers multiple backup levels to ensure you never lose your creation.

Automatic Local Backup

Plume Locale automatically saves your work in your browser's local storage (IndexedDB):

• Frequency: With each modification (real-time)
• Scope: Entire project (text, characters, universe, notes...)
• Capacity: Up to 5 MB per project (more than enough for multiple novels)

Google Drive (Automatic Cloud Backup)

The recommended method to secure your work is Google Drive synchronization.

Google Drive Configuration

1. Click "Backup/Export" in the toolbar
2. Click "Connect to Google Drive"
3. Authorize Plume Locale to access your Drive
4. Choose your preferences:
   • Automatic backup: Syncs every X minutes
   • Destination folder: Where to store your files

Manual Export (JSON Backup)

For a complete and portable backup of your project:

1. Go to "Backup/Export"
2. Click "Download as JSON"
3. A file project-name-YYYY-MM-DD.json is downloaded

What Does the JSON File Contain?

The JSON file contains your ENTIRE project:

• All structure (acts, chapters, scenes)
• All text from all scenes
• All scene versions
• All characters, universe, codex, notes
• All narrative arcs, links, annotations
• All mindmap, relations, map, timeline data
• All your configurations and preferences

Importing and Exporting Manuscripts

Importing Existing Texts

If you've already started writing elsewhere, import your work into Plume Locale:

Supported Formats:

• DOCX: Word documents
• TXT: Plain text files
• MD: Markdown
• EPUB: E-books (text extraction)

Exporting Your Novel

Once your novel is complete (or to share a draft), export it in the appropriate format.

Available Export Formats:

• Markdown (.md): Universal format, compatible with many tools
• Plain Text (.txt): Maximum compatibility, no formatting
• HTML (.html): For web publishing or later conversion
• EPUB (.epub): Standard e-book format, readable on e-readers

Managing Multiple Projects

Plume Locale allows you to manage as many writing projects as you want, each completely independent.

Creating and Organizing Your Projects

"My Projects" View

Click "My Projects" in the toolbar to access the overview:

• List of all your projects with thumbnails
• Quick information (title, genre, progress, last modification)
• Sort by: modification date, title, genre, word count

Switching Between Projects

Simply click on a project to open it. The current project is automatically saved before loading the new one.

Project Templates

Templates accelerate the start of new projects with pre-configured structures.

Built-in Templates

1. Empty Project

Total blank slate. Ideal if you:

• Have a very specific structure in mind
• Want to customize completely
• Write in a non-standard format

2. Fantasy (3 acts + character types)

Pre-configured with:

• 3-act structure (ordinary world, confrontation, resolution)
• Character sheets for: hero, mentor, antagonist, ally, herald
• Universe sections for: magic system, kingdoms, races, legendary objects
• Codex with standard fantasy categories

3. Science Fiction (Advanced Worldbuilding)

Optimized for hard SF:

• Universe sections for: technologies, ships, planets, corporations, factions
• Codex focused on: sciences, galactic politics, future history
• Extended timeline (past and future)

Interface and Configuration

Available Languages

Plume Locale is fully translated in 4 languages:

• 🇫🇷 Français
• 🇬🇧 English
• 🇩🇪 Deutsch
• 🇪🇸 Español

Change language via the selector in the bottom right. The change is instant and saved.

Keyboard Shortcuts

Mastering keyboard shortcuts multiplies your efficiency. Press ? anytime to display the complete guide.

Essential Shortcuts (to memorize)

Touch Support (Tablets and Mobile)

Plume Locale works on touch devices with dedicated gestures:

• Swipe from left edge: Opens structure sidebar
• Swipe left: Closes sidebar
• Long press: Context menu (on structure elements)
• Pinch to zoom: On map and mindmap

Compatibility and Technical Requirements

Supported Browsers

Plume Locale works on all modern browsers:

• ✅ Google Chrome: Version 90+ (recommended)
• ✅ Microsoft Edge: Version 90+ (Chromium-based, excellent support)
• ✅ Mozilla Firefox: Version 88+
• ✅ Safari: Version 14+ (macOS / iOS)
• ✅ Opera: Version 76+
• ✅ Brave: All recent versions

Recommended Minimum Configuration

Computer:

• Processor: Dual-core 1.6 GHz or higher
• RAM: 4 GB minimum (8 GB recommended)
• Screen: 1280x720 minimum (1920x1080 recommended for comfort)
• Internet connection: Only needed for Google Drive sync

Tablet:

• iPad (2018 or newer) or equivalent Android
• 10-inch screen minimum recommended
• iOS 14+ or Android 9+

Offline Functionality

Plume Locale is a PWA (Progressive Web App), which means:

• ✅ Works entirely offline after first load
• ✅ All features available without internet
• ✅ Automatic local backup
• ⚠️ Google Drive sync requires connection

Conclusion and Next Steps

You now have a complete overview of all Plume Locale features. The best way to learn is to practice!

To Go Further

• 🚀 Create your first project and experiment freely
• 📚 Explore different views (Mindmap, Timeline, Relations) to discover the one that matches your workflow
• 💾 Configure Google Drive now to never lose your work
• ⌨️ Memorize essential shortcuts to gain fluidity
• 🎯 Start small: no need to fill the entire database before writing. Add as you go.

Need Help?

If you encounter a problem or have a question:

• 📖 Reread the relevant sections of this documentation
• 💬 Join our community (link in the app)
• 🐛 Report bugs via GitHub
• 💡 Suggest improvements

Happy Writing with Plume Locale! 📝✨