Editor

The Storyfall editor helps you write your interactive story. Scenes are the core building blocks where your story happens - each scene is a page with narrative content and choices.

Tip: The first time you open the editor, a built-in guided tutorial highlights the key features step by step. If you skipped it or want a refresher, this page covers everything in detail.

Scenes

Scenes are individual pages of your story. Each scene contains the actual narrative content, choices, and interactive elements.

Creating Scenes

1. Add a choice in an existing scene.
2. Click the arrow button next to the choice text.

3. In the modal, click “Create New Scene”.

4. Write your scene content using the rich text editor.

5. Organize scenes with chapters (optional - see Chapters).

Scene Anatomy

Each scene can include:

Content

• Rich text narrative.
• Variables and conditional text.
• Character dialogue.
• Descriptions.

Choices

• Reader decisions.
• Navigation options.
• Conditional choices based on variables.
• Basic text formatting - select text in a choice to get a hover menu with bold, italic, and strikethrough.

Effects

• Variable modifications.
• Story state changes.

Deleting Scenes

Deleting a scene removes only that scene. Scenes it connected to stay in your story as unreachable or orphaned scenes, so you can reconnect them later instead of losing a whole branch by accident.

If another scene linked to the deleted scene, that link is removed from the surviving scene. Open the QA panel to find unreachable scenes and decide what to reconnect or clean up.

Scene Types

Story Scenes

Standard narrative scenes with choices and branching paths.

Hub Scenes

Central locations readers return to frequently. Examples:

• Town centers.
• Character menus.
• Inventory screens (though you can also encourage users to check their stats page).

Terminal Scenes

Ending scenes with no outgoing choices. These represent story conclusions.

Rich Text Editor

The scene editor supports a full range of formatting and embeds. Use the toolbar at the top or type / at the start of a line to open a command palette for quickly inserting block types, conditional blocks, and more.

Text Formatting

• Bold (Ctrl/Cmd+B).
• Italic (Ctrl/Cmd+I).
• Strikethrough.
• Inline code.
• Links (Ctrl/Cmd+K).

Block Types

• Headings (H1 through H4).
• Bullet lists.
• Numbered lists.
• Blockquotes.
• Code blocks with syntax highlighting.
• Message blocks - theme-aware text blocks for in-story emails, letters, terminal output, and notes. Type msg or message after opening a code block to convert it, or use Ctrl/Cmd+Shift+M.
• Horizontal rules (divider lines).

Embeds

• Images - Upload from your device, drag and drop, or paste from clipboard. Supports JPEG, PNG, WebP, and GIF (10MB max). Images have a caption, alignment (left, center, right), text wrapping, and resizing.
• Sound effects - Insert audio from your story’s audio library inline in scene text. Type @ to insert. You can control volume and pause the typewriter effect during playback.

Storyfall-Specific Features

• Variables - Type { to insert a variable, NPC, faction, or character inline in your text. They display as styled badges that can show the current value, conditional text (e.g. {gold > 10: "You are rich."}), or the avatar/image representing the entity.
• Conditional blocks - Type /if to wrap content in a condition. Only readers who meet the condition see the content. Think of them as a more advanced version of conditional variables - they can nest other content inside, including images, other variables, or even nested conditional blocks. Supports custom variables, system variables, NPCs, factions, and character checks. You can combine multiple conditions with AND/OR for complex logic (e.g. show a paragraph only when gold > 50 AND hasKey = true).
• Text variations - Define multiple text alternatives that change on each visit. Use the variation builder in the variable menu to create them. You can also combine variations with conditions so the text only appears when a condition is met. Three types are available:
  • Random - picks a different option each visit, but stays consistent within the same scene render.
  • Random Once - locks to one option on the first encounter and stays the same for the rest of the playthrough.
  • Cycle - goes through options in order on each successive visit.
• Text alignment - Align paragraphs and headings left, center, or right.

Editor Features

• Auto-save - your work is saved automatically as you type. During a normal save the status moves from Saving… to Saved. If a save fails, Storyfall keeps the latest unsynced draft in this browser so you can retry or recover it.
• Undo/Redo with full history.
• Scene History - revisions are created automatically when you edit a scene and navigate away. Open the History panel in the sidebar (or press Ctrl+Shift+H) to view word-level diffs, see who made each change, and restore any previous version.
• Backups - Storyfall creates private nightly backups when your draft changes. Open Settings > Backups to create one manual backup per day, review recent backups, and restore a full draft.
• Markdown shortcuts - **bold**, *italic*, `code`, and more work as you type.
• Drag and drop for images.

Auto-save Recovery

1. If a save fails, Storyfall keeps the latest unsynced draft on your device and retries when the editor reconnects, reloads, or returns to the foreground.
2. If you move to another scene while offline, Storyfall remembers that scene for your signed-in account in this browser. On reload, recovery returns you there when the scene still exists or is restored from the local draft.
3. Click Save failed to retry immediately. If Storyfall has already found a conflict, click Review needed to reopen Unsynced Editor Changes.
4. If the server version changed before your local draft can be saved, Storyfall opens Unsynced Editor Changes. The local draft appears on the left and the server version appears on the right.
5. Review each conflict. A conflict can be scene text, choices, or other story data. Pick Keep Local, Keep Server, or Merge Both when Merge Both is available. You can choose a different option for each scene or item.
6. Click Save Selected Versions to save the choices you made. Use Use Local for All or Use Server for All only when you want one choice for every conflict.
7. If you close Unsynced Editor Changes and keep editing, the next save may replace the unresolved local conflicting changes with what is currently visible in the editor.
8. If you sign out while this browser has unsynced editor changes, Storyfall asks before removing those local drafts from the device. Staying signed in leaves them available for retry.

Choice Formatting

Choices support basic text formatting. Select text in a choice to get a hover menu with bold, italic, and strikethrough.

Editing a Scene as Code

Click “Code Editor” below the scene to open a full-screen modal that shows the entire scene as editable text: body, on-enter effects, and every choice. Useful when you want to make many structural edits at once (renaming ten effects, re-ordering choice conditions, pasting a block of text with inline variable refs) without clicking through panels.

See the dedicated Code Editor docs for the full grammar reference, error handling, and examples.

Keyboard Navigation

The editor supports full keyboard navigation. You can toggle a visual shortcuts overlay by clicking “Show Shortcuts” in the sidebar.

Scene and Choice Navigation

Choice Editing

General

Typical Flow

A common keyboard-only workflow: write your scene text, hit Tab to jump to a choice, type the choice text, press Enter to open the link modal, then Enter again to create a new scene. From the new scene, Escape takes you back to the parent.

Organizing Your Story

Linear Structure

Scene 1 → Scene 2 → Scene 3 → Scene 4

Simple progression, one path forward. Good for:

• Tutorial sections.
• Prologue sequences.
• Tightly controlled narrative moments.

Branching Structure

              ┌→ Scene 2 ┐
Scene 1 ──────┤          ├→ Scene 4
              └→ Scene 3 ┘

Multiple paths that may converge. Good for:

• Choice-driven narratives.
• Character customization.
• Exploring different perspectives.

Hub Structure

    ┌→ Scene 2 ┐
    ├→ Scene 3 ┤
Hub ┤          ├→ Hub
    ├→ Scene 4 ┤
    └→ Scene 5 ┘

Central location with multiple branches that return. Good for:

• Open-world exploration.
• Quest selection.
• Time management systems.

Parallel Paths

              ┌→ Scene 1A → Scene 2A → Scene 3A
Scene 1 ──────┤
              └→ Scene 1B → Scene 2B → Scene 3B

Completely separate storylines based on early choices. Good for:

• Diverging character stories.
• Faction-based narratives.
• Drastically different playstyles.

Scene Management

Naming Scenes

Scene names are optional. Search works across all text in scenes and choices regardless of whether you’ve named them. But clear names can help you navigate your story during editing:

• village_arrival - descriptive and clear.
• marcus_confrontation - indicates the scene’s purpose.
• forest_ambush - easy to find while editing.
• scene_42 - avoid generic names like this.

Connecting Scenes

Creating Choice Paths

When adding a choice to a scene:

1. Write the choice text.
2. Create the destination scene or select an existing one.
3. Add any conditions or effects.
4. Test the connection.

Avoiding Dead Ends

Every scene should either:

• Have outgoing choices, OR
• Be an intentional ending.

Tools & Tips

Story Tree

Use the Story Tree to:

• See story structure at a glance.
• Identify isolated scenes.
• Visualize branching complexity.

Search

Use search to find all scenes mentioning:

• Specific characters.
• Variables.
• Key terms.

Translations

The sidebar includes a Translations panel (globe icon) where you can add translations for your story in other languages. See Languages & Translations for details on translating scenes, using auto translation, and managing multiple languages.

Next Steps

• Variables & Conditions - Add dynamic content to your scenes.
• Characters - Create playable protagonist templates.
• Input Choices - Collect text input from players.
• Languages & Translations - Translate your story into other languages.
• Publishing Your Story - Share your completed work.