Desktop User Guide

KCG Writing Ideas

KCG Writing Ideas builds story material from card spreads. It can draw AI-generated cards, let you write cards by hand, save and reopen sessions, and export the current draw in multiple formats.

Draw Modes Single-card and multi-card spreads
Card Control Add, edit, and delete cards manually
Saved Sessions Reopen work from .wid files
Exports Text, PDF, Word, Excel, AI, and Story Bible

What the App Does

  • Draws single-card and multi-card story spreads with AI.
  • Lets you manually add, edit, and delete individual cards.
  • Keeps all current cards together in one active draw.
  • Saves the active state to a .wid session file.
  • Exports the active draw to text, PDF, Word, Excel, AI prompt text, and KCG Story Bible databases.

Main Window

Controls

  • Spread Preset: selects the current spread definition.
  • Rarity Filter: limits AI-generated cards by rarity.
  • Genre Filter: gives the AI a genre lane and adds that genre to generated card tags.
  • Tone/Mood/Voice/Pacing: shows the current structured style selection.
  • Select Tone/Voice: opens the structured tone window.
  • Draw Spread: sends the current spread request to the AI.

Card Management

  • Add Card: opens the manual card editor.
  • Edit Card: opens the selected card in the editor.
  • Delete Card: removes the selected card from the current draw.
  • Drawn Cards List: shows every card currently loaded.
  • Card Details: shows the selected card title, category, rarity, body text, and tags.
  • Working indicator: appears while the app is waiting on an AI request or building an AI export.
Note: The current draw can contain AI-generated cards, manually written cards, or both.

Spread Presets

The app includes single-card presets and multi-card presets.

Single-Card Presets

Single-card presets request one new card in one category. If the current draw already contains cards, the new single card is appended into that draw instead of replacing it.

Available categories: Character, Goal, Opposition, Constant, Setting, Theme, Twist, Faction, Magic, Object, Prophecy, Relationship, and Scene.

Multi-Card Presets

Multi-card presets generate a full spread in one AI request. Drawing a multi-card spread replaces the current draw.

  • Classic Story Engine
  • Classic Story Expanded
  • Conflict Web
  • Worldbuilding Spark
  • Relationship Drama
  • Heist Blueprint
  • Conspiracy Spiral
  • Mystic Intrigue
  • Relationship Crucible
  • World in Crisis
  • Faction Showdown
  • Prophecy Engine
  • Shadow Ops
  • Doomsday Clock
  • Urban Sparks
  • Mythic Quest

Genre, Rarity, and Tone

Genre Filter and Rarity Filter affect AI-generated draws. Manual cards are not rewritten by those controls, but the filters remain part of the active session and export metadata.

Tone/Mood/Voice/Pacing is selected through the structured tone window. The saved result appears in the main window in this format:

Tone: ...; Mood: ...; Voice Styles: ...; Pacing: ...

Drawing Cards with AI

  1. Select a spread preset.
  2. Optionally choose a rarity filter.
  3. Optionally choose a genre filter.
  4. Optionally choose Tone/Mood/Voice/Pacing.
  5. Click Draw Spread.
  6. Wait for the working indicator to disappear.
  7. Select any card in the list to inspect it.
Single-card cohesion: when you append one AI card to an existing draw, the app sends a compact summary of the current draw so the new card can fit the spread more closely.

Managing Cards Manually

Add Card

  1. Click Add Card.
  2. Choose the card category.
  3. Choose the rarity.
  4. Enter a title.
  5. Enter the body text.
  6. Optionally enter comma-separated tags.
  7. Click Save Card.

If no cards are currently loaded, saving the first manual card starts a new draw labeled Manual Draw.

Edit Card

  1. Select a card in the list.
  2. Click Edit Card.
  3. Change the category, rarity, title, body, or tags.
  4. Click Save Card.

Delete Card

  1. Select a card in the list.
  2. Click Delete Card.

If you delete the last remaining card, the draw is cleared and the detail panel returns to its default state.

Saving and Reopening Sessions

  • Open Writing Ideas File...: opens a saved .wid session.
  • Save Writing Ideas File...: saves the current session to .wid.

The session file stores the current spread, draw label, current cards, selected card, rarity filter, genre filter, tone/voice text, recent Adventure role history, and card serial state.

Exporting Results

All exports use the full current draw. That includes AI-generated cards, manually written cards, and appended single cards.

Standard File Exports

  • Save Text: writes the current draw to .txt.
  • Save PDF: writes a formatted PDF version of the current draw.
  • Save Word: writes a formatted .docx version of the current draw.
  • Save Excel: writes an .xlsx workbook with an overview sheet and category sheets.

AI Export

Export to AI builds a reusable AI-ready story prompt as a .txt file from the current draw.

  • Includes the current cards as source material.
  • Reflects the selected Genre and Tone/Voice settings.
  • Starts with these lines:
Title: (Leave Blank) Genre: [selected genre]

KCG Story Bible Exports

The File menu has two separate KCG Story Bible commands:

Export to KCG Story Bible

Creates a new .StoryBible file. If you choose an existing file name and confirm replacement in the save dialog, the old file is replaced with a fresh database.

Export to existing KCG Story Bible

Opens an existing .StoryBible file and adds the current cards into it.

Both commands write the selected Genre and Tone/Voice into Story_Metadata.

Card Routing

  • Character -> Characters
  • Goal -> Goals
  • Opposition -> Characters or Plot_Points
  • Constant -> Constants
  • Setting -> Worlds or Locations
  • Theme -> Themes
  • Twist -> Plot_Points
  • Faction -> Culture_Society
  • Magic -> Magic_Science_Tech
  • Object -> Inventory
  • Prophecy -> Lore_History
  • Relationship -> Interactions
  • Scene -> Timeline or Plot_Points

If a card category does not match one of the known destinations, the app stores it in Plot_Points and reports that in the completion message.

Clearing the Current Draw

  1. Choose File > Clear Generated Cards.
  2. The current card list is removed.
  3. The detail panel resets.
  4. The card counter returns to its default no-cards message.

Troubleshooting

  • AI timeout: if a draw or AI export takes too long, the app shows a timeout message and returns control to the main window.
  • Session file problems: invalid or empty .wid files show a descriptive error.
  • Manual cards: manual add, edit, delete, and normal file exports do not depend on the AI service.

Support

If you need support, note the active spread, genre, rarity, tone/voice settings, and any message the app displayed.

Support: support@kcg-software.com