Scriptorium — How to Use

Contents

Getting Started What Is Scriptorium The Home Screen The Toolbar

Scene Dashboard Scene Dashboard Creating a Scene Act Structure Writing The Script Editor Line Types Shot Types Visual Notes Adding & Managing Lines

Editor Panels Cast Roster SFX Panel IP Bible Characters Factions Locations Lore Voice & Tone Sound FX Library IP Forge Worksheets

Tools Quick Capture Scratch Pad Undo & Redo Export Backup & Restore Display Settings

Getting Started

What Is Scriptorium

Scriptorium is a browser-based workspace built specifically for comic creators. It combines a professional comics script editor with a full IP Bible — character profiles, factions, locations, lore, beat sheets, and world-building tools — all in one place, with nothing to install and no account required beyond your membership.

Your work is stored in your browser's local storage, private to your device. Nothing is sent to an external server. Use Backup & Restore to move your data between devices or keep a safe copy.

Important

Because your data lives in the browser, clearing your browser cache will erase your work. Back up regularly using the BACKUP button in the toolbar.

The Home Screen

When you open Scriptorium, the home screen shows your universes as book cards. Each card displays the universe name, book title, scene count, page count, character count, and act structure currently in use.

Open a universe: Click the book card to enter the Scene Dashboard for that universe.
IP Bible: The IP BIBLE pill on any card takes you directly into the world-building section.
New universe: Click the + NEW BOOK card to start a new universe from scratch.

Sample universe

New users start with a pre-loaded sample universe. It demonstrates all line types, page management, and IP Bible features. Keep it as a reference while you get started, or delete it when you no longer need it.

Scene Dashboard

The Scene Dashboard is your story's structural home. Every scene in your book is organized here by act. This is where you manage the architecture of your story before and during writing.

Timeline View: Scenes arranged linearly by act — the default view. Best for tracking narrative sequence and page counts per scene.
Freeform View: Drag scenes freely on a canvas. Best for visual brainstorming and rearranging structure.
Beat Sheet: Click the BEAT SHEET button to open a structural overlay of your full script across all pages.
Running totals: The top right shows your live scene and page count across the entire book.

Click OPEN on any scene card to enter the script editor for that scene.

Creating a Scene

Click + SCENE at the right side of any act row to add a new scene to that act. A modal appears where you set:

Scene Name: The title of the scene as it appears on the card.
Description: A brief summary of what happens — visible on the card in the dashboard.
Page Count: Your estimated page count for this scene.
Act: Which act this scene belongs to. You can change this at any time.

Click CREATE SCENE to add it to the dashboard. Use the ⋯ menu on any scene card to edit or delete the scene.

Act Structure & Color Coding

Scriptorium supports 3-Act and 5-Act structure. Each act is color-coded so you can read the shape of your story at a glance in the dashboard.

Act I — Exposition: Blue
Act II — Rising Action: Purple
Act III — Climax: Red
Act IV — Falling Action: Gold
Act V — Denouement: Teal

The act color carries through the scene card border, the act label pill, and the OPEN button on each card. For 3-Act structure, Acts I, II, and III use blue, purple, and red.

Writing

The Script Editor

Click OPEN on any scene card to enter the script editor. The editor has three parts:

Page sidebar (left): Lists all pages in the current scene. Click any page to navigate to it. Shows the page name and line count. Use + PAGE at the bottom to add a new page.
Script area (center): The current page — all its lines, controls, and the ADD row for inserting new lines.
Editor toolbar (top): Access panels, export, undo/redo, and the beat sheet from here.

Each page has a title and a scene description at the top — visible in the page sidebar. The ENV bar below the description filters which SFX sounds are shown while you write that page.

Line Types

Every line in your script has a type. Each type controls what fields appear and how the line is formatted. Use the ADD row at the top of the script area to add any line type, or click + ADD LINE BELOW directly under any existing line to insert one immediately below it.

PANEL: Describes what the artist draws for that panel. Includes a shot type selector on the right and a private Visual Notes field below the description. Panel lines are numbered automatically.
DIALOGUE: A spoken line attributed to a character. Includes a character name field with autocomplete drawn from your Characters list. When avatars are enabled, the character's portrait appears beside the line.
NARRATION: Third-person narrative caption — not attributed to any character. Appears in a standard caption box in the final comic.
CAPTION: First-person caption attributed to a specific character. Use for inner monologue, voiceover, or journal entries.
SFX: A sound effect line. Connects directly to your Sound FX Library — sounds you have defined in the IP Bible are available here.

Each line has ↑ ↓ arrows on the right to move it up or down in the page, and a × button to delete it. Deletion is undoable with ⌘Z.

Shot Types

Every PANEL line includes a shot type selector. Click — SHOT TYPE — on any panel line to choose the intended camera framing for that panel. The selected shot type is saved with the line and appears in exports.

EWS

Extreme Wide Shot

Wide Shot

Medium Shot

MCU

Medium Close Up

Close Up

ECU

Extreme Close Up

OTS

Over the Shoulder

Visual Notes

Every PANEL line has a Visual Notes field below the panel description. This is private artist direction — staging ideas, lighting cues, composition notes, reference callouts, or anything else you want to communicate to the artist that should not appear in the final exported script.

Visual Notes never export

They appear in the editor as a faded italic field beneath the panel text. They are completely invisible in any PDF export. Write freely here without worrying about how it reads on the page.

Adding & Managing Lines

Add a line using the ADD row: Click any button in the ADD row — D DIALOGUE, N NARRATION, C CAPTION, SFX SFX, or + PANEL — to insert that line type after the currently selected line.
Add a line inline: Click + ADD LINE BELOW that appears beneath any existing line to insert a new line directly below it.
Move a line: Use the ↑ or ↓ arrows on the right side of any line to reorder it within the page.
Delete a line: Click the × button on the right. Immediately undo with ⌘Z on Mac or Ctrl Z on Windows.
ENV filter: The ENV bar above the script area filters the SFX sounds available for that page. Set it to a specific environment to narrow your sound choices for that scene. Set to None to show all sounds.

Editor Panels

Cast Roster

Click CAST in the editor toolbar to open the Cast Roster panel. It slides in from the right alongside your script — your full character list is visible while you write without navigating away from the page.

Each entry in the Cast Roster shows the character's name, role, and faction. Click + BIBLE next to any character to jump directly to their full IP Bible profile in a new view.

Use the All Factions filter at the top of the panel to narrow the cast list by faction — useful when writing scenes with a large ensemble.

SFX Panel

Click SFX in the editor toolbar to open the Sound FX Library panel alongside your script. Browse your categorized sounds and insert any effect directly into a selected SFX line.

The panel shows all categories from your Sound FX Library. Click any sound to insert it into the currently selected SFX line. The panel stays open while you write so you can keep referencing it across multiple lines.

IP Bible

Characters

Access the IP Bible from the home screen using the IP BIBLE pill on any book card, or via the BIBLE button in the editor toolbar. The tab row across the top navigates between all sections. A Search everything... field in the top right searches across all Bible sections simultaneously.

The Characters tab lists all characters in collapsed cards. Each card shows the character name, role, voice tone pill, reference image count, a link to their faction, and edit controls.

Click the ▶ arrow to expand any card into the full character profile. The profile contains two layers:

Surface Profile

Role: The character's function in the story — protagonist, antagonist, supporting, etc.
Physical Description: How the character looks — build, age range, distinguishing features.
Personality: How they move through the world — their dominant traits and behavioral tendencies.
Backstory: The history that shaped who they are before the story begins.
Quirks: The specific behavioral details that make them recognizable and distinct.

Dramatic Profile

Core Desire: What the character wants more than anything — the engine driving their choices.
Core Fear: What they are most afraid of — often the inverse of the desire.
Wound: The past event that shaped who they are now and why they believe what they believe.
Internal Lie: The false belief they hold about themselves or the world — the thing they need to overcome.
Contradiction: The tension between how they see themselves and how they actually behave.

Why the dramatic profile matters

Characters with a filled dramatic profile are much harder to write out of character. When you know the wound and the lie, every scene decision becomes clearer — you know exactly how this person would react and why.

Voice & Tone (Per Character)

Tone Label: A one-line descriptor of this character's voice — the small pill visible on the collapsed card.
Speech Notes: How they speak — vocabulary level, sentence structure, verbal habits, things they never say.
Sample Phrases: Two or three lines in their actual voice. These become your tuning reference when writing their dialogue.

Portrait & Reference Gallery

Each character has a portrait that appears as their avatar on DIALOGUE lines in the editor, and a reference gallery of up to 19 additional images for visual development.

To set a portrait: Click the portrait area on the character card. Drag a file, browse from your device, or paste an image URL. Use the crop tool to position the image within the circular frame.
To add reference images: Click into the Reference Gallery section. Drag images in, paste from clipboard, or click to browse. Images open in a full lightbox when clicked.
Avatar display: Once a portrait is set, toggle avatar display on or off using the avatar icon in the editor toolbar. Avatars never appear in PDF exports.

Factions

The Factions tab holds all groups, orders, and organizations in your world. Each faction card shows the name, a one-line description, member count, and field counts. Expand any card to see the full faction profile — name, description, alignment, notable members, and territory.

From any character card, the → FACTION NAME button navigates directly to that character's faction. Factions support the same reference gallery system as characters — add visual reference for iconography, uniforms, banners, or territory imagery.

Locations

The Locations tab holds every place in your world — cities, buildings, interiors, landscapes, or abstract spaces. Each location has a name, type, description, and production notes.

Production notes on a location work like visual notes on a panel — private artist direction about lighting, color palette, atmosphere, and visual tone specific to that location. They are for your production conversation with the artist, not for the reader.

Each location also supports the full reference gallery for mood board imagery.

Lore

The Lore tab is a freeform space for everything that defines your world at a systemic level — history, mythology, cosmology, rules of magic or technology, political structures, calendars, languages, or any framework that governs how your world works.

Each lore entry has a title, a category label (e.g. History, Prophecy, Cosmology), and a freeform text field. There is no required structure — organize entries in whatever way serves your world.

Voice & Tone

The Voice & Tone tab holds the narrative rules for the entire world — separate from any individual character's voice profile on their card. This is the governing style document for the story as a whole.

Narration Voice: The overall narrative register — omniscient, close third-person, retrospective, unreliable. Include a governing example sentence that captures the tone.
Caption Register: The conventions that govern your caption boxes — tense, punctuation, whether captions use quotation marks, attribution rules.
Language Notes: World-specific vocabulary, naming conventions, linguistic rules, or any terms the script consistently uses.

Sound FX Library

The Sound FX tab is your universe's master SFX library. Effects are grouped into named categories you define, and are available across every book and scene in this universe.

Click the + add category button to create a new sound category.
Type a sound into the Type a sound... field inside any category and click + to add it to that category.
To delete a sound, click the × next to it. To delete a category, click the × next to the category name.
While writing, open the SFX panel in the editor toolbar to browse your library and insert sounds directly into any SFX line.

Build your world's sound language

Every world has its own sonic identity. KRAAAW means one specific thing in your world. Building the library here ensures that sound means the same thing on page 1 and page 59 — and that every collaborator is working from the same palette.

IP Forge Worksheets

The IP Forge Worksheets tab contains structured development frameworks organized into four phases. Navigate between phases using the phase tabs at the top, then select any worksheet pill to open it below.

I — Foundation: World Identity, Rules & Limits, Culture & Power.
II — Story & Character: Character Psychology, Relationships & Power, Story Engine, Turning Points.
III — Visual & Design: Visual Language, Light & Color, Design Packet.
IV — Presentation & Lock: Pitch Clarity, Canon Lock.

Each worksheet is a structured set of fields with guiding questions. The guidance text stays visible while you work. When a worksheet is complete, click → SEND TO BIBLE to route its output directly into the relevant IP Bible section — character worksheets go to Characters, world worksheets go to Lore or Factions.

IP Forge members

These worksheets reflect the same framework used in the monthly IP Forge workshops. Use Scriptorium as your active workspace — fill worksheets during or after sessions and route the output directly into your living IP Bible.

Tools

Quick Capture

Quick Capture lets you grab any idea, line, or note without leaving your current screen. Open it with the ⚡ CAPTURE button in the toolbar from anywhere in the app.

Select the type of content you are capturing using the type buttons at the top of the modal. The capture button color and input fields change to match the selected type:

DIALOGUE (gold): Captures a character name and dialogue line.
NARRATION (blue): Captures a narration line.
CAPTION (purple): Captures a caption line.
SFX (red): Captures a sound effect.
IDEA, CHARACTER, SCENE: Captures a freeform note tagged by type.

Press ⌘↵ on Mac or Ctrl Enter on Windows, or click the CAPTURE button to save. All captures go to the Scratch Pad automatically.

Scratch Pad

The Scratch Pad is a persistent global notepad open from anywhere in Scriptorium. Click the ☰ NOTES button in the toolbar to open it. It slides in from the right without navigating away from your current work.

All Quick Capture entries land here automatically. You can also type directly into the Scratch Pad at any time. Press ⌘↵ to save a note. The Scratch Pad persists across sessions — it is not cleared when you close the app.

Undo & Redo

Scriptorium maintains a full version history of your script as you write. Step backward and forward through your changes at any time.

Undo: ⌘Z on Mac / Ctrl Z on Windows
Redo: ⌘⇧Z on Mac / Ctrl Shift Z on Windows

Note

Undo and Redo apply to script content within the editor. For a full rollback to an earlier state of your entire universe, use Backup & Restore.

Export

Export any page of your script as a formatted PDF. Navigate to the page you want to export and click ↓ EXPORT in the editor toolbar.

The PDF reflects your script exactly as written — all line types formatted correctly, character names set, panel descriptions and dialogue in proper comics script format. Visual Notes never appear in exports. They are private to the editor.

Backup & Restore

Your data lives in your browser. Protect it and move it between devices using the Backup and Restore system in the toolbar.

To back up: Click ↓ BACKUP in the toolbar. Scriptorium exports your entire universe as a JSON file — all characters, scenes, scripts, lore, settings, and reference data.
Save the file somewhere permanent — a cloud folder like Google Drive, iCloud, or Dropbox is ideal.
To restore: Click ↑ RESTORE and select your backup JSON file. Your universe loads exactly as it was when you backed up.

Back up after every serious session

Store backups in a cloud folder so you always have a recent copy that is not tied to a single device or browser. Clearing your browser cache without a backup means losing your work.

Display Settings

Adjust the writing environment to match your preferences. All settings are saved automatically and persist across sessions.

Light / Dark Theme: Toggle with the LIGHT or DARK button in the toolbar. Dark is the default. Light mode gives you a warm parchment-toned interface that some writers prefer for long sessions.
Font Size: Three sizes available in the toolbar — F (small), A (medium), A (large). The active size is highlighted. Adjust to match your screen size and working environment.