# NovelForge

> NovelForge is a free, open-source novel-writing studio for Windows. Every scene, character sheet and map it creates is a real Microsoft Word (.docx) file in a folder on your own disk. It has a binder and corkboard, nine outline frameworks, a timeline, a story graph that checks continuity, a procedural fantasy map maker and offline prose diagnostics. There is no account, no cloud, no subscription, no telemetry and no generative AI.

## Key facts

- Name: NovelForge; author: Om Abhyankar; licence: MIT; price: free forever.
- Current version: 2.2.0 (released 2026-09-20).
- Platform: Windows 10 and 11. Needs Python 3.13 or newer and the libraries python-docx and Pillow. macOS and Linux are not supported yet.
- Storage: real .docx files, one per scene, in a project folder. A small project.json holds only ordering, links and word counts, never prose.
- Works fully offline. No account, no telemetry, nothing is uploaded.
- Planning: nine outline frameworks (Three-Act, Save the Cat, Snowflake, Seven-Point, Story Circle, Hero's Journey, Romancing the Beat, Mystery/Crime, Freytag).
- Fantasy map maker: one-click procedural worlds with coastlines, mountain ranges, rivers that run from the highlands to the sea, biomes, roads and named settlements; reproducible by seed; export PNG, SVG or Word.
- Source code: https://github.com/sideeffects69/NovelForge. Download: https://github.com/sideeffects69/NovelForge/releases/latest.

## Pages

- [NovelForge: Free Novel Writing Software for Windows](https://sideeffects69.github.io/NovelForge/): Free, open-source novel writing software for Windows. Real Word .docx scenes, nine outline frameworks, a story graph and a fantasy map maker. No account, no cloud.
- [Features: outlining, corkboard, story graph, maps | NovelForge](https://sideeffects69.github.io/NovelForge/features/): Everything in NovelForge: a binder and corkboard, nine outline frameworks, a timeline, a story graph, a map maker, compile and diagnostics. All offline.
- [Free Fantasy Map Maker for Authors | NovelForge](https://sideeffects69.github.io/NovelForge/map-maker/): Build a whole fantasy world in one click: coastlines, mountain ranges, rivers, forests, roads and named towns. Edit it by hand, export PNG, SVG or Word.
- [NovelForge vs Scrivener, Atticus, Obsidian and Word](https://sideeffects69.github.io/NovelForge/compare/): An honest comparison of NovelForge with Scrivener, Atticus, Obsidian and Microsoft Word: price, file format, planning tools, and when you should pick something else.
- [Download NovelForge: free for Windows 10 and 11](https://sideeffects69.github.io/NovelForge/download/): Download NovelForge free: install Python, unzip the release and double-click Write.bat, which adds its two small libraries itself. Windows 10 or 11.
- [FAQ: is NovelForge free, offline, and private?](https://sideeffects69.github.io/NovelForge/faq/): Answers about NovelForge: price, offline use, where your files live, AI, Mac and Linux, importing from Word or Scrivener, backups, and maps.
- [Changelog: what is new in NovelForge](https://sideeffects69.github.io/NovelForge/changelog/): Every NovelForge release, newest first: the modern interface, the rebuilt map maker, and the fixes found by testing every button.
- [Support NovelForge: donate or contribute](https://sideeffects69.github.io/NovelForge/support/): NovelForge is free and always will be. If it helps your writing, you can donate by PayPal or UPI, report a bug, or contribute code.

## Optional

- [Full site text for language models](https://sideeffects69.github.io/NovelForge/llms-full.txt)
- [Source code and issues](https://github.com/sideeffects69/NovelForge)
- [Latest release](https://github.com/sideeffects69/NovelForge/releases/latest)
- [README](https://github.com/sideeffects69/NovelForge#readme)