Can I import a half-finished work?

Yes, you can import documents in progress to Sudowrite! In fact, there are several different ways to do so.

The best way to import a work-in-progress is to use our Import Novel feature. Import Novel is an option in the upper left of your Sudowrite homepage—it allows you to upload a file to create a new project with a Story Bible already filled out for you. It can also be used to upload completed works in cases where you want a Story Bible completed for the purposes of writing a sequel or series.

You’ll notice that Import Novel includes an Import Scrivener option, which allows you to bring in an existing Scrivener project.

If you’d prefer to just bring a single document into Sudowrite, you can also always just import a file into an existing project as a document. To do so, just click the Import button in the editor’s left bar, and select the file you’d like to bring in to Sudowrite. This will create a single document in your left bar that includes the complete contents of the imported document. (There’s no limit on the size of the document you can import here.) Unlike the Import Novel option, this will not fill out your Story Bible for you—meaning it will leave any existing Story Bible in place, or let you manually create a Story Bible after the fact.

There’s a third way to import elements of an existing story or work-in-progress, and that is via the Story Bible. The Characters, Worldbuilding, and Outline sections of the Story Bible all have an Import option that allows you to upload a file or paste your work. Doing so in one of those sections will produce the respective results—a detailed Character list, a pile of detailed Worldbuilding elements, or a complete story Outline.

The smart import feature in Story Bible’s Characters section can be used to instantly create Character cards from an existing text.

To use the smart import feature, navigate to the header of the Characters section of Story Bible and click the Import button in the three dots (•••) menu. Doing so opens the Import window.

You have the option of importing characters from text or a file. This might be a list of characters, a chapter of your work, or in some cases an entire manuscript.

The raw text pasted in or file uploaded should be no more than 60,000 words. Sudowrite will review that, identify, and import up to 30 characters at a time. Before doing so there is a brief validation step where you can tell Sudowrite not to bother bringing a character in (for example, where it identifies a pseudonym or nickname as a distinct character).

Importing characters does not use credits.

For "unstructured text" that you paste in or upload by file, Sudowrite will use AI to first identify the characters, and then figure out how best to complete the defined default trait fields.

However, when uploading a CSV, you’re actually not subject to the limits outlined above—you could import more than 30 characters in one shot, if desired. That’s because Sudowrite skips AI if you upload structured data via CSV. It makes the following assumptions:

If you’d like complete control over the import, you can complete this CSV template manually:

https://editor.sudowrite.com/assets/sudowrite-characters-import-template.csv

The smart import feature in Story Bible’s Worldbuilding section can be used to instantly create Worldbuilding elements from an existing text.

To use the smart import feature, navigate to the header of the Worldbuilding section of Story Bible, click the More menu (•••), and select Import. Doing so opens the Import window.

You have the option of importing Worldbuilding from text or a file. This might be a list of Worldbuilding ideas, a chapter of your work, or in some cases an entire manuscript.

The raw text pasted in or file uploaded should be no more than 60,000 words. Sudowrite will review that, identify, and import up to 30 elements at a time. Before doing so there is a brief validation step where you can tell Sudowrite not to bother bringing a worldbuilding element in.

Importing Worldbuilding does not use credits.

For "unstructured text" that you paste in or upload by file, Sudowrite will use AI to first identify the Worldbuilding elements, and then figure out how best to complete the defined default trait fields.

However, when uploading a CSV, you’re actually not subject to the limits outlined above—you could import more than 30 elements in one shot, if desired. That’s because Sudowrite skips AI if you upload structured data via CSV. It makes the following assumptions:

If you’d like complete control over the import, you can complete this CSV template manually:

https://editor.sudowrite.com/assets/sudowrite-worldbuilding-import-template.csv