Quick start

Five minutes from sign-up to first AI-assisted scene draft.

  1. Pick how you'll power AI. Two paths, either works. Bring your own key from a supported provider (Anthropic, OpenAI, Google, xAI, OpenRouter) on Dashboard → AI Tools → API Keys and pay the vendor directly. Or top up a Pendraic Managed AI wallet on Dashboard → Account → Billing and let us route the calls for you.
  2. Pick a preferred model. Switch to the Preferred Model sub-tab. Pick a model from a provider you connected, or pick the Managed AI option. Set up a 4-slot failover chain if you want extra resilience.
  3. Create a project. Bookshelf → New project. Title, genre, format preset, structure preset. Pick an outline template (the wizard filters by genre). Hit Create.
  4. Start a scene. Click into the first chapter and write. The editor autosaves; word count updates live. Try the AI palette: select a sentence, hit Cmd+Shift+R to rewrite, or the palette button.
  5. Set your voice print. Open the right rail in Voice mode and configure register, diction, rhythm, taboos, and reference authors. Every AI generation will respect this.
  6. Save your first prompt. Open the AI dock, hit New on the My Library tab, write or visually-build a prompt, save with a slash shortcut. Type /prompt:<shortcut> on a line and Enter to fire it.

Where to next? The PENDRAIC method explains the eight-layer model the AI uses for context. The five rules will make every prompt you write tighter.