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What is Fortelling?
Fortelling is a multi-platform workspace for planning, writing and editing novels, aimed at authors who want world-building, plotting and drafting in one place rather than spread across separate notes apps and documents. It is built around the idea of organising “the mess in your head” — characters, locations, timelines and loose ideas — and then writing the book inside the same tool.
Its main building blocks, based on the product’s own description:
- Story elements — characters, character groups, locations, species, items and languages, so recurring details stay consistent.
- Timelines and pinboards — for arranging events and moving ideas around visually before committing to prose.
- An advanced book editor — the actual drafting space, with version history, statistics and goals.
- Linking — connecting elements to each other so a character or place carries its context with it.
- Collaboration — real-time working with others, a logbook and chat, plus editor and reader roles.
- Export to .docx and a stated “100% ownership, no artificial intelligence” position.
- Multiplatform access — Android, iOS and web.
Who it suits
The clearest fit is a novelist or game/D&D campaign writer juggling a large project with a lot of lore. One user quoted on the site, Mymo in B♭, says it helps organise stories for novels, games and campaigns so notes stop living in “disparate places” — that is exactly the problem a linked workspace solves. Another, Aria, describes needing one home for research notes, lore and the story itself on a massive project. A third, Philippe Ruaudel, frames it as a portable workshop for daily writing.
A practical scenario: you are 40,000 words into a fantasy novel, you have invented three languages and a dozen locations, and you keep forgetting which character knows what. A linked workspace lets you update a location once and see it reflected wherever it is referenced, instead of hunting through old files.
Trade-offs to weigh
The free tier is described as “the price of a cup of coffee” and covers mobile apps, default tools, pinboards, collaboration and export, with ads. The Pro tier is listed at $7.49 per month or $74.99 per year, adding desktop access, custom tools, custom templates and a public wiki. If you write primarily on a desktop and want custom tooling, the paid tier is the one that matters; if you draft on a phone and mainly need plotting plus export, the free tier may be enough.
Two things to check before committing: how well the editor handles a full-length manuscript compared with a dedicated writing app, and whether the collaboration roles match how you work with beta readers or a co-author. A sensible next step is to open a small side project — a short story or one campaign arc — and test whether the pinboard-to-editor flow actually replaces your current notes system. If it does not save you time within that small project, it will not save you time on a novel.
Fortelling is developed by AJP Digital Tools B.V. in Maastricht. Its official site is Fortelling, where the wiki and tutorials cover the tools in more depth.
How does Fortelling help me organize my novel's plot and world-building?
Fortelling is built around the problem most novelists hit midway through a draft: story notes, character sketches, timeline events and research end up scattered across documents and apps. Its answer is a single workspace where story elements, timelines, pinboards and the manuscript itself live together, so you can move between planning and drafting without switching tools.
What the workspace gives you
The page presents a set of connected tools rather than one flat notes app:
- Story elements — characters, character groups, locations, species, items and languages are stored as structured entries you can define and link.
- Timelines — sequence events so you can see cause and effect, and check pacing across acts.
- Pinboards — a visual board for arranging and rearranging ideas before they harden into plot.
- Editor — the actual drafting space, with version history, statistics and goals.
- Custom tools and custom templates — for writers whose projects need fields or structures the defaults don't cover.
The stated design principle is "link everything." In practice, that means a location entry can be referenced wherever it matters instead of being retyped, which is the difference between a wiki-style project bible and a pile of disconnected files.
Where it fits different writers
| If you are… | Fortelling's relevant strength |
|---|---|
| A discovery writer who hates outlining | Pinboards and timelines let you keep loose ideas without committing to a rigid structure |
| A planner with a large cast and world | Character groups, locations, species and languages keep lore retrievable |
| A game master or serial writer | The page notes authors using it for novels, games and D&D campaigns, where many threads must stay consistent |
| A co-writing pair | Real-time collaboration, chat, a logbook, and editor/reader roles |
| Someone who wants to own the file | Export to .docx and a stated "100% ownership" position |
Collaboration is worth calling out because it is not just shared editing: separate reader and editor roles mean a beta reader can see the manuscript without being able to alter it, and the logbook and chat keep feedback attached to the project.
Trade-offs to weigh
Fortelling is deliberately not an AI writing tool — the page states "No artificial intelligence." If you want generated prose or AI brainstorming, that is a reason to look elsewhere. Its advertised strengths are organization and structure, not assistance with the sentences themselves.
Availability is multi-platform (web, Android, iOS), which matters if you draft on a phone during commutes and revise on a desktop. The free tier covers mobile apps, default tools, pinboards, collaboration, export and an ad-free experience; desktop access, custom tools, custom templates and a public wiki sit behind the paid tier. The page frames the free tier as "the price of a cup of coffee" and lists Pro at a monthly or annual subscription, with gift cards available. Check current pricing on the site before committing, since these figures change.
A practical way to test it
Pick one messy project you already have and rebuild only its timeline plus three characters in Fortelling. If linking those entries to scenes feels faster than your current notes system, the rest of the workspace will scale with you. If you spend the session fighting the structure instead of writing, it is the wrong fit — and that is a cheap way to find out.
For comparison, Obsidian suits writers who want local files and heavy customization, and Scrivener remains a long-standing option for binder-style manuscript organization.
Can I collaborate with other writers in real time on Fortelling?
Yes. Fortelling lists real-time collaboration as a core feature, alongside a shared logbook, chat, and editor/reader roles. You can invite friends into a project and work on the same story world together, with collaborators able to see changes as they happen rather than passing files back and forth.
What collaboration looks like in practice
- Shared story elements: Characters, character groups, locations, species, items, and languages live in the project, so a co-writer or editor sees the same lore you do.
- Timelines and pinboards: These are the plotting surfaces where two people can rearrange scenes, threads, and ideas together.
- Roles: Editor and reader roles let you separate people who should change the manuscript from people who should only read it.
- Logbook and chat: A running record and in-app chat keep discussion attached to the project instead of scattered across email and messaging apps.
Where real-time editing helps, and where it doesn't
Real-time collaboration is most useful for co-authors building a shared world, writers working with a developmental editor, and tabletop or game writers managing a group campaign. It is less useful if you want a private drafting space with no outside visibility; in that case, work solo and invite readers only at the revision stage.
For a two-person novel, a practical setup is: one editor role for your co-writer, one reader role for a beta reader, and a shared timeline that both of you can reorder. Keep chat decisions in the logbook so you can trace why a plot point changed months later.
If you also want a comparison point for collaborative long-form writing, Google Docs handles simultaneous text editing but not world-building databases, while Notion offers flexible databases without a dedicated novel editor. Fortelling's difference is that the collaboration happens inside the plotting and world-building tools, not just on the manuscript.
Next step: open a small test project, invite one collaborator, and assign them a reader role first. That lets you confirm the permission model and real-time behavior before moving your main manuscript in.
Is Fortelling free, and what do I get with the Pro subscription?
Fortelling has a free tier and a paid Pro tier. The free level is described as costing about "the price of a cup of coffee" and includes the mobile apps, default tools, pinboards, collaboration, and writing export, with no ads. Pro is listed at $7.49 per month, or $74.99 per year, and adds desktop access, custom tools, custom templates, and a public wiki.
What the free tier covers
- Mobile apps for Android and iOS
- Default plotting and world-building tools, including characters, character groups, locations, species, items, and languages
- Pinboards and timelines
- Real-time collaboration with editor and reader roles, plus logbook and chat
- Export of your writing
- Ad-free use
What Pro adds
- Desktop access, so you can work on a PC as well as mobile
- Custom tools for building your own structured elements
- Custom templates
- A public wiki
A practical way to decide: if you mainly plot and draft on your phone and are happy with the built-in categories, the free tier is enough. If you write at a desk, want to define your own fields or templates, or want a shareable wiki for readers, Pro is the tier that unlocks those. Because the page lists prices without a stated billing period for the monthly figure, confirm the current rate and renewal terms on the site before subscribing. You can start free and upgrade later if the custom tools become necessary.
Does Fortelling work on mobile and desktop, and can I export my manuscript?
Yes. Fortelling advertises itself as multi-platform, with Android and iOS apps plus a web version, and it lists export to .docx. On mobile you get the default tools, pinboards, collaboration and ad-free writing; desktop access is part of the paid Pro tier. So the practical split is: you can write and plot on your phone for free, but the browser/desktop workspace is the paid experience.
What this means in practice
- Phone/tablet: Good for capturing ideas, editing scenes and checking your story bible while away from your desk. The free mobile apps include the default toolset, so you can try the core workflow before paying.
- Desktop/web: The full workspace — custom tools, custom templates and the public wiki — sits behind Pro. If you like building your own tracking systems (faction relationships, magic rules, timelines), that is where the money goes.
- Export: .docx export is listed as a feature, which matters if you want to hand a manuscript to an editor, beta reader or formatting tool. It also reduces lock-in: even if you stop subscribing, you can get your prose out in a standard format.
- Collaboration: Real-time collaboration with editor and reader roles is built in, so a co-author or beta reader can work in the same project rather than trading files.
A concrete scenario
Say you draft on your phone during a commute and do structural work at a desk on weekends. You would write in the free mobile app, then open the web version when you need custom tools, version history and statistics. A beta reader joins with a reader role, and when the draft is done you export .docx for editing. That is the intended flow, and it is a reasonable one.
Decision criteria
- If you only need a phone-friendly place to store notes and draft scenes, the free tier may be enough.
- If your plotting depends on custom templates, a public wiki or desktop access, budget for Pro.
- If export flexibility is your main worry, the .docx option covers the common cases, but check that your final publishing pipeline accepts it before committing a long project.
For alternatives, Scrivener is desktop-first with a strong compile/export system, and Obsidian is a general note tool many writers adapt for world-building. Both trade off differently against Fortelling's integrated, cross-platform plotting approach.
How do Fortelling's custom tools and templates help me develop characters, locations, and timelines?
Fortelling treats characters, locations and timelines as linked story elements rather than separate documents. Its custom tools and templates are the layer that lets you shape those elements to fit your own project instead of a fixed novel outline.
What the custom tools do
The page describes custom tools alongside default character, character group, location, species, item and language fields. The practical difference is that a default field gives you a labelled box, while a custom tool lets you define what that box tracks and how it connects to the rest of the story.
- Characters: build a profile from prompts you choose — motivation, secrets, relationships, arc — and group characters (families, factions, suspects) so large casts stay navigable.
- Locations: store a place with the details that matter to your plot, then link it to the scenes and characters who appear there.
- Timelines: place events and story elements on a timeline so you can see sequence, cause and effect, and contradictions across a long project.
- Pinboards: arrange elements spatially, which suits mapping relationships, subplots or a mystery's clue chain better than a linear list.
Templates matter because they set up that structure once. A template for a mystery, a series bible or a D&D campaign saves you from rebuilding the same fields every time, and a custom template lets you keep your own recurring categories. The page also mentions a public wiki, which suggests templates can be shared rather than kept private.
How the pieces connect
The value is in linking, not in any single tool. A character entry links to the locations they inhabit and the timeline events they drive; rename or move something and the connections should follow. The page frames this as "link everything" and "keep an overview," which is the real answer to your question: custom tools define your categories, and linking turns them into one searchable world instead of notes scattered across apps.
That is also what the quoted users describe. Aria, working on a large project, wanted research notes, lore and the manuscript in one place. Mymo in B♭ uses it for novels, games and D&D campaigns and specifically values not having notes "in all sorts of disparate places." Those are their observations, not mine; my reading is that Fortelling's fit is strongest when your problem is scattered reference material, not when you mainly need a blank page.
A practical next step
Pick one character and one location you already know well. Create them as custom tools, link the character to the location, then add a single timeline event involving both. If that feels faster than your current notes setup, expand to the full cast; if it feels like data entry, keep using it only for the elements you actually cross-reference.
Trade-offs to weigh
| Your situation | Fortelling's approach |
|---|---|
| Large cast, deep lore, many locations | Linking and custom categories pay off |
| Short standalone piece, few characters | Structure may be more overhead than help |
| You want AI-generated drafts | The page states no artificial intelligence |
| You need desktop-only writing | Desktop access sits in the paid tier |
| You write on phone and PC | Multiplatform Android, iOS and web |
The free tier covers mobile apps, default tools, pinboards, collaboration and export, with ads; the paid tier adds desktop access, custom tools and custom templates. If custom tools are central to how you work, that is the deciding factor rather than the editor itself. Fortelling is made by AJP Digital Tools B.V.; its wiki and tutorials are the sensible place to see how a custom template is actually built before committing.
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