🆕Fortelling 5.0
The long-awaited update is here. In this update, we launch the most requested feature, “the family tree”. Have fun discovering the new writing sprint, improved statistics, and new features below.
Fortelling 5.0 releases on the 3rd of August
Fortelling 5.0 release notes
The most advanced plotting tool. Fortelling 5.0 introduces family trees, visual board tools, writing sprints, and improved writing statistics. You can also export boards, add home-screen widgets, and share progress with others.
What is new in Fortelling 5.0?
Family trees: Map character dynasties across generations.
Board tools: Draw, add stickers, and export boards as PNG or PDF.
Writing motivation: Set flexible goals, run writing sprints, and track progress.
Improved statistics: Review pace, momentum, records, and productive days.
Widgets and sharing: Surface progress on your home screen or share it.
A bit of hype before going into the features, enjoy the trailer!
The New Family Tree
The new board type is here. The family tree was the most-voted-on feature by the community. You can track your character dynasties. View characters per generation. We have also made things easier by giving you the option to create characters on the spot without the need to leave your board. Test it, it's soo smooth.
🌳Family treeNew board tools (Drawing pen, Stickers, Emojis)
Have a drawing pen? no? Your fingers also work. You can now draw on boards and add stickers! Quite useful for creating even more visual cues between characters and the relationship's feelings. It depends on how you want to use it. Go wild!
You can draw and add stickers on all types of boards (Pinboard, Family tree, and hierarchy board).
Are there shortcuts in boards?
Absolutely. New shortcuts: • Ctrl + z: undo actions • Ctrl + shift + z or ctrl + y: redo action • Ctrl + plus: zooms in • Ctrl + minus: zooms out • Ctrl + 0: resets view • T: add textbox • P: open pen mode • N: add note • Esc: cancel selection or exit drawing • Ctrl A: select all items in the tree • Enter: open selected item
Export boards as PNG or PDF
Want to hang your main character dynasty on your writing space or above your bed? Well, now you can! Export and download boards as .png or .pdf
New Motivational Features
One of the challenges of being creative is getting distracted easily. It can be from a simple notification or your cat jumping on the table. The following features will help you stay motivated and get into deep focus mode.
Account-level statistics: see your total word count, streak, and more across all your projects
Moved writing goals and streaks to the account-level statistics
Set up your goals.
We believe that to manifest your dream, you first have to set it as a goal. You are able to adjust your own schedule and decide on which days you set aside to plot or write. Setting daily writing goals is easier and more flexible now, so don't be shy.
Set a finish date for your book to unlock the following:
Writing sprints.
Tune out all distractions. Set yourself a goal, and track your progress in a focused writing session. See your words per minute, total words written, and whether you're falling behind or ahead of your goal. Finish your sprint to see a summary of your progress.
🏁Writing SprintStart creating with no limit.
One improvement this update brings is that the word count log will now be automatic. See your progress through time and get motivated. This redesign will make things much clearer!
How did the Project level improve in Fortelling 5.0?
Chapter states (draft, in progress, finished) are now visualized in the statistics
Automated writing logbook that now tracks changes in your word count over time. See how many words are added or removed per day, and how your writing has progressed over time.
Writing progress statistics can now be shown per user or for all authors in a collaboration project
Records: see your personal bests and records for your writing progress (daily word count, weekly word count, and fastest 10k words)
Most productive days: see your most productive days in terms of word count, and how many words you wrote on those days
Rolling average: see your average word count per day over the last 7 and 30 days
Set up the new widgets.
Will you fill your phone with portals to your world? Another highly requested feature was widgets. You can now proudly show your progress on your home screen. Fortelling 5.0 introduces several new widgets for iOS and Android. It's an open portal to your goals.
Share your progress
From your statistics page, you can now share your progress with others!
Tap the share icon at the top of the Statistics page to turn a stat into a card for you to share with your audience or friends! Write so much that you motivate others to also start writing.
Stats snapshots (pick a specific stat to turn into a card, such as word count, consistency, or your growth curve)
Daily recap (a card built from today's writing, showing words written today)
With Fortelling Pro, you will also have the benefit of branding your cards.
Organization improvements
Improved taskbar
Tools in the side menu are now clustered by category. This is especially useful for users who create many custom tools.
🛠️Custom Tools
Web Version
Did you know Fortelling has a web version, perfect for creating and editing big projects? So if you can't hold your excitement any longer, feel free to unleash your creativity in the web version.
Watch this video to learn more about Fortelling 5.0
Frequently asked questions
In short, what is new in Fortelling 5.0?
Fortelling 5.0 Channelog
New
Family trees
Add stickers/emojis to boards to help visualize your story
Draw on the board to highlight or annotate your story elements
Account-level statistics: see your total word count, streak, and more across all your projects
Moved writing goals and streaks to the account-level statistics
Home-screen widgets: put your most important statistics on your home screen (iOS and Android)
Writing sprints: set yourself a goal, and track your progress in a focused writing session. See your words per minute, total words written, and whether you're falling behind or ahead of your goal. Finish your sprint to see a summary of your progress.
Set a finish date for your book to see:
Required pace: how many words you need to write per day to reach your goal in time
Estimated finish date: based on your current pace, when will you finish your book?
Momentum: How many words did you write this week compared to last week?
Cumulative word count: how many words have you written in total for this book? See how your writing has progressed over time.
Total reading time of a book
Total speaking time of a book
Share hub: share your writing progress with your friends and followers on social media, or privately with your writing group. Share your word count, streak, and more.
Export and download boards as .png or .pdf (to hang above your bed)
Back buttons on the web ask for a close confirmation if you have unsaved changes
Tools in the side menu are now clustered by category again
Improved
Project-level statistics have improved to show more information about your writing progress
Chapters (draft, in progress, finished) are now visualized in the statistics
An automated writing logbook that now tracks changes in your word count over time. See how many words are added or removed per day, and how your writing has progressed over time.
Writing progress statistics can now be shown per user or for all authors in a collaboration project
Records: see your personal bests and records for your writing progress (daily word count, weekly word count, and fastest 10k words)
Most productive days: see your most productive days in terms of word count, and how many words you wrote on those days
Rolling average: see your average word count per day over the last 7 and 30 days
Setting daily writing goals is now easier and more flexible
Keyboard shortcuts on boards (web)
Main app menu restructured for more clarity
The app now asks you to select a template before creating a new story element, to help you get started faster
Most important fixes
Dropping a folder into a folder kept the loading spinner active
Do not show web usage limits on the wiki
Closing pop-ups should now be more reliable
Social media links (e.g., Discord, Instagram) in the app menu now open the app itself
What is included in the free web trial?
Timelines: 2
Characters: 10
Character groups: 5
Locations: 10
Species: 5
Items: 10
Languages: 5
Files: 20
Pin boards: 3
Chapters: 5
How to use the in-app bug report tool?
Open the app menu
Report a bug
A new popover will appear; follow these steps. Make sure to leave your email if you want us to contact you.
Contact us
If you have any questions or encounter a bug, please don't hesitate to contact us. We're here to help. The quickest way to find a solution is to join our Discord server, where not only can we help, but the community can as well.
You can also shoot us an email at support@fortelling.app. We strive to respond to everyone within 24 hours.
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