Getting Started: How to Write Your First Novel with NovelAI
Welcome to NovelAI — your intelligent novel writing assistant. This guide will walk you through creating a complete novel from scratch.
Step 1: Enter Your Idea
Go to the creation page and you'll see an input box. Simply describe your story concept in one or two sentences, for example:
A boy who can see death countdowns above people's heads finds his own timer hits zero — but he doesn't die.
It doesn't need to be perfect. A vague spark of inspiration is enough — AI handles the rest.
If you're short on ideas, the page offers several examples you can click to fill in.
Step 2: Review the Outline
After clicking "Generate Outline", AI will create within seconds:
- Novel title and genre
- Main characters (including personality, occupation, backstory)
- Chapter plan (title, core events, suspense hooks for each chapter)
- Suspense threads (main plot and subplots)
Review this outline carefully. You can:
- Confirm directly — click "Confirm & Start Writing"
- Request changes — click "Modify Outline" and describe what you want changed in natural language
For example: "Change the protagonist to female", "Add a romance subplot", "Make the villain's motivation more complex".
Step 3: Wait for Creation to Complete
Once confirmed, AI will automatically generate the novel chapter by chapter. You'll see:
- Progress bar — showing overall completion percentage
- Chapter list — sidebar showing each chapter's status
- Live content — current chapter content streams in real-time
Each chapter is approximately 3000-5000 Chinese characters. You don't need to do anything during creation.
Writing Quality Assurance
We have 11 built-in professional writing reference guides. AI follows these principles:
- Show, don't tell — Use actions and dialogue, not exposition
- Conflict-driven — Every chapter has conflict or turning points
- Suspense continuity — Each chapter ends with a hook, opens by addressing the previous one
- Natural language — Auto-polished to remove mechanical AI-style writing
- Concrete details — Engages all five senses for vivid scenes
Supported Genres
- Mystery / Thriller
- Modern Romance / Historical Romance
- Fantasy
- Science Fiction
- Martial Arts / Wuxia
- Alternate History
- Urban Realism
- And any custom genre you define
FAQ
Q: How long does it take to generate a novel?
A: Each chapter takes about 10-30 seconds. A 10-chapter novel can be completed in a few minutes.
Q: Can I use the generated content commercially?
A: The copyright of generated content belongs to you. Use it freely.
Q: Can I stop midway?
A: The current version doesn't support pause and resume. We recommend completing creation in one session.
Q: What if the generated content isn't good enough?
A: AI models sometimes produce suboptimal results. You can refine the direction by modifying the outline multiple times, or try more specific idea descriptions for better results.
Start Creating
Ready? Click here to start writing your first novel.
If you have questions or suggestions, feel free to leave a comment on the blog or contact us.