From outline to first draft
Your outline, visible while you write
v1.2.0 · Free & Open Source · AI-free
You planned every beat.
Then you opened a blank document.
Writing apps make you choose: outline or draft. Your beats live in Plottr, your manuscript in Scrivener, your notes in Obsidian. Kindling puts them all in one focused space — so your outline stays visible while you write.
Fiction writing software built for outline-driven novelists
Stop switching between apps. Kindling brings your planning and drafting into one focused space — where outlines become novels.
Outline-Aware Drafting
Other apps make you flip between your outline and a blank page.
Kindling puts your scene beats right inside your writing space. Click a beat, write into it.
References Panel
Was it green eyes or blue? What was the tavern called?
Characters and locations tagged in your scene auto-surface in a side panel.
Rolling Outline
Not every scene needs the same level of planning.
Three planning states — Fixed, Flexible, Undefined — let you add structure at your own pace. Learn more →
Import & Export
Your outline lives in Plottr. Your manuscript in Word. Your notes in Obsidian.
Import from Plottr, yWriter, Obsidian Longform, Scrivener, or Markdown. Export to DOCX, Markdown, Scrivener, or EPUB.
The biggest update yet
Light Theme
Automatic light/dark switching based on your OS preference, with manual override.
Full-Page Prose Editing
Draft in a full-page editor — not just beat-by-beat. Toggle between page view and beat view per scene.
Custom Fields & Tags
Create typed fields on characters and locations. Organize with hierarchical tags and saved filters.
Screenplay Support
New screenplay project type with page count estimator, slugline input, and Save the Cat / Hero's Journey templates.
Scrivener Import & Export
Bidirectional Scrivener workflow. Create new .scriv bundles or update existing ones with a match preview dialog.
Smart Reference Detection
Non-AI engine scans your prose for character, location, and item mentions. Suggestions surface automatically.