[{"content":"","externalUrl":null,"permalink":"/categories/","section":"Categories","summary":"","title":"Categories","type":"categories"},{"content":"Draft Bench is a writing plugin for novelists working in Obsidian. It manages the manuscript spine — projects, chapters, scenes, drafts, and compile — as first-class note types in your vault, using the frontmatter conventions Obsidian writers already know.\nThe plugin stays narrow on purpose. Plot grids, character databases, beat-sheet templates, and pacing analytics live elsewhere. Draft Bench handles the structural editing of a manuscript: organizing scenes into chapters, snapshotting drafts at any point, and compiling the finished work to Markdown, PDF, ODT, or DOCX.\nWhat it does # Projects, chapters, scenes, drafts, and compile presets are notes. Every Draft Bench artifact is a regular markdown file with dbench- frontmatter properties. A vault opened without the plugin still reads cleanly: scenes are notes, drafts are notes, presets are notes. Nothing is locked behind plugin-only state. Manuscript Builder. A workspace view that lists chapters and scenes for a selected project, in dbench-order. Word-count rollups per chapter and per project. Status chips per scene. Reorder via the Reorder Scenes / Reorder Chapters modals. Click a scene title to open the file; collapse a chapter to focus elsewhere. Drafts as a first-class type. Snapshots of scenes, chapters, or single-scene projects, stored in a configurable Drafts/ folder. Capture the state of the work at any moment — before a major revision, after a workshop session, when a beat finally lands. Drafts are notes, so they\u0026rsquo;re searchable, taggable, and Bases-queryable like everything else. Compile presets are notes too. A preset is a dbench-type: compile-preset note in your vault, with content-handling rules (frontmatter strip, heading scope, footnote renumbering, embed handling, dinkus normalization) editable in the Properties panel or the Compile tab. Multiple presets per project — one for workshop submission, one for the agent draft, one for the final manuscript file. Bidirectional linking with integrity service. Stable IDs, plugin-maintained reverse arrays, live sync on vault events, and a batch-repair UI for the cases that drift. SNAKE_CASE issue codes so the same problem reads the same way every time. Bases-native discovery. Starter .base views for projects, scenes, and drafts. Filter, group, and surface your manuscript with the same Bases setup you use for everything else in your vault. Theme-respectful styling. Class hooks and minimum defaults, opt-in via Style Settings. The plugin doesn\u0026rsquo;t impose chrome on writers who customize their vault\u0026rsquo;s appearance. Where it sits # Draft Bench is one of several Obsidian writing plugins. The closest spiritual ancestor is Longform; the plugin\u0026rsquo;s Drafts/ and compile concepts owe a real debt to Longform\u0026rsquo;s prior art. The closest contemporary is StoryLine, a much broader Scrivener-in-Obsidian that handles plotting, characters, locations, timelines, and analytics in addition to the manuscript.\nDraft Bench\u0026rsquo;s scope is deliberately smaller. The narrative spine, well, and nothing else. Auxiliary content — characters, locations, research notes — stays user-managed in plain markdown, or moves to the sibling Charted Roots plugin which owns world-building. Two focused plugins, one shared vault.\nFor a longer comparison, see How Draft Bench compares.\nStatus # Draft Bench is in active pre-V1 development. The plugin is not yet installable; the source repository is private until V1.\nV1 ships:\nProject, chapter, scene, draft, and compile-preset note types Manuscript Builder with chapter and scene cards, word-count rollups, status chips Drafts as snapshots of scenes, chapters, or single-scene projects Compile to Markdown, PDF, ODT, and DOCX with per-preset content-handling overrides Bidirectional linking + integrity service with batch repair Bases-native starter views for projects, scenes, and drafts Style Settings integration for opt-in theming Public BRAT release lands with V1. Until then, this site is the canonical place to follow what\u0026rsquo;s coming.\n","externalUrl":null,"permalink":"/","section":"Draft Bench","summary":"Draft Bench is a writing plugin for novelists working in Obsidian. It manages the manuscript spine — projects, chapters, scenes, drafts, and compile — as first-class note types in your vault, using the frontmatter conventions Obsidian writers already know.\nThe plugin stays narrow on purpose. Plot grids, character databases, beat-sheet templates, and pacing analytics live elsewhere. Draft Bench handles the structural editing of a manuscript: organizing scenes into chapters, snapshotting drafts at any point, and compiling the finished work to Markdown, PDF, ODT, or DOCX.\n","title":"Draft Bench","type":"page"},{"content":"Common questions from writers evaluating Draft Bench. For deeper documentation, see the wiki (linked once V1 ships).\nGetting started # What is Draft Bench? # A writing plugin for Obsidian. It manages the manuscript spine — projects, chapters, scenes, drafts, and compile — as first-class note types in your vault, using Obsidian\u0026rsquo;s native frontmatter properties. See the homepage for a longer overview.\nWho is it for? # Novelists and long-form-fiction writers who already use Obsidian (or want to) and want a focused tool for organizing scenes into chapters, snapshotting drafts, and compiling a manuscript. Short-fiction writers fit too: a single-scene project is a valid Draft Bench shape.\nIf you\u0026rsquo;re looking for a plotting tool with character databases, plot grids, and pacing analytics, Draft Bench isn\u0026rsquo;t that plugin. StoryLine is.\nWhen can I install it? # Draft Bench is in active pre-V1 development. The source repository is private until V1 ships; public BRAT install lands with the V1 release. This site is the canonical place to track what\u0026rsquo;s coming.\nIs it free? # Yes. Draft Bench is open-source and free to use. The plugin will be available through Obsidian\u0026rsquo;s BRAT plugin first; community-plugin directory submission follows after V1 stabilizes.\nHow it compares # How is Draft Bench different from Longform? # Longform is the original Obsidian writing plugin and the closest spiritual ancestor; Draft Bench owes a real debt to its prior art. Longform handles scene-as-note + drag-to-reorder + compile-to-single-file with quiet single-author maintenance.\nDraft Bench extends that model with chapter as a first-class note type, drafts as a dbench-type (not a side-effect), compile presets that are themselves vault notes, bidirectional linking with an integrity service, and Bases-native starter views. See the comparison page for a side-by-side.\nHow is it different from StoryLine? # StoryLine is much broader — a Scrivener-in-Obsidian that handles plotting (corkboard, kanban, plotgrid, subway map, timeline), entity management (characters, locations, codex), beat-sheet templates, plot-hole detection, pacing analysis, and Scrivener .scriv import.\nDraft Bench is narrow on purpose. It handles the manuscript spine and stays out of the rest. If you want one plugin that covers the whole writing-tool surface, StoryLine is excellent at that. If you want a focused tool for the structural editing of a manuscript with everything else in plain notes or in Charted Roots, Draft Bench is built for that.\nCan it replace Scrivener? # For the manuscript-organization and compile parts, often yes — Draft Bench\u0026rsquo;s project / chapter / scene / draft model maps cleanly to how most novelists use Scrivener\u0026rsquo;s binder, and the compile pipeline supports the four formats writers actually submit (Markdown, PDF, ODT, DOCX). For corkboard plotting, character sheets, research-folder management, and Scrivener-specific features, no — Draft Bench doesn\u0026rsquo;t try to replicate them. Some writers will want a focused plugin alongside other Obsidian tools; some will stay in Scrivener. Both choices are reasonable.\nScope and compatibility # Does Draft Bench manage characters or locations? # No. Auxiliary content — characters, locations, research, worldbuilding — stays user-managed in plain markdown notes, or moves to Charted Roots, the sibling plugin that owns world-building. Two focused plugins in one shared vault.\nThis is a design commitment, not an unfinished scope. Writers who want everything in one plugin should look at StoryLine.\nDoes it import from Scrivener? # Not in V1. Scrivener .scriv import is the strongest post-V1 candidate (writers coming from Scrivener are a real audience), but V1 is for writers starting fresh in Obsidian or already vault-native.\nDoes it lock my notes into a plugin format? # No. Every Draft Bench artifact is a regular markdown file with dbench- frontmatter properties. A vault opened without the plugin still reads cleanly: scenes are notes, drafts are notes, compile presets are notes. Uninstalling Draft Bench leaves your manuscript intact; the only thing you lose is the plugin\u0026rsquo;s UI surfaces (Manuscript Builder, compile, integrity).\nDoes it work with other Obsidian writing plugins? # Generally yes. Draft Bench\u0026rsquo;s dbench- frontmatter prefix is namespaced so it doesn\u0026rsquo;t collide with other plugins\u0026rsquo; properties, and the plugin opts in to standard Obsidian APIs (FileManager, Bases, Style Settings) rather than parallel mechanisms.\nSpecific compatibility: Draft Bench is built to coexist with Charted Roots (sibling plugin, no overlap by design). Coexistence with Longform or StoryLine in the same vault is technically possible but not a tested configuration — those plugins overlap with Draft Bench\u0026rsquo;s manuscript-spine scope, so most writers will pick one.\n","externalUrl":null,"permalink":"/faq/","section":"Draft Bench","summary":"Common questions from writers evaluating Draft Bench. For deeper documentation, see the wiki (linked once V1 ships).\nGetting started # What is Draft Bench? # A writing plugin for Obsidian. It manages the manuscript spine — projects, chapters, scenes, drafts, and compile — as first-class note types in your vault, using Obsidian’s native frontmatter properties. See the homepage for a longer overview.\n","title":"Frequently asked questions","type":"page"},{"content":"Writers evaluating tools will compare. This page lays out where Draft Bench sits next to its closest neighbors — Longform, StoryLine, Scrivener, and plain-Obsidian-without-a-plugin — without slamming any of them. All four are reasonable choices for different writers.\nThe short version: Draft Bench is narrow on purpose. It handles the manuscript spine (projects, chapters, scenes, drafts, compile) and stays out of plotting, entity management, and analytics. If you want one tool that covers the whole writing-craft surface, Draft Bench probably isn\u0026rsquo;t it. If you want a focused tool for organizing scenes and compiling a manuscript, with Bases for queries and your own notes for world-building, Draft Bench is built for that.\nDraft Bench vs Longform # Longform is the original Obsidian writing plugin. Scene-as-note model, drag-to-reorder manuscript view, compile to single-file output. Quiet single-author maintenance, slower release cadence, and a solid track record with writers who want a minimal scene-and-compile tool.\nDraft Bench is the closest spiritual descendant. The Drafts/ and compile concepts owe a real debt to Longform\u0026rsquo;s prior art. What Draft Bench adds:\nChapter as a first-class note type. Longform\u0026rsquo;s manuscript is a flat list of scenes; Draft Bench supports both the flat shape (chapter-less projects) and a two-level project -\u0026gt; chapter -\u0026gt; scene shape, with chapter-aware compile output. Drafts as dbench-type: draft. A noun, not a side-effect. Snapshots of scenes, chapters, or single-scene projects live in a configurable Drafts/ folder, queryable via Bases like any other note. Compile presets as notes. A preset is a dbench-type: compile-preset note with content-handling rules editable in the Properties panel. Multiple presets per project — workshop draft, agent submission, final manuscript — each with their own overrides. Bidirectional linking with integrity service. Stable IDs, plugin-maintained reverse arrays, batch repair UI for the cases that drift. Bases-native discovery. Starter .base views ship for projects, scenes, and drafts. If Longform\u0026rsquo;s minimal surface fits your workflow and you don\u0026rsquo;t need chapters or draft-as-noun, stay with Longform. If you want the chapter shape, the draft model, or the integrity service, Draft Bench is the fit.\nDraft Bench vs StoryLine # StoryLine (Jan Sandström) is a much broader Scrivener-in-Obsidian — kitchen-sink in the best sense. Multi-view (Corkboard, Kanban Board, Plotgrid, Timeline, Plotlines subway map, Manuscript Scrivenings-style continuous editor, Characters, Locations, Navigator, Stats), Codex hub for entity types, beat-sheet templates, plot-hole detection, pacing analysis, Scrivener .scriv import, six export formats, series mode. Very actively shipping.\nDraft Bench and StoryLine answer different questions:\nStoryLine asks: what if every Scrivener feature lived in Obsidian? And ships an answer with breadth and pace. Draft Bench asks: what\u0026rsquo;s the minimum a novelist needs for the manuscript spine, in a way that respects Obsidian\u0026rsquo;s frontmatter-native conventions? And stays narrow. Concrete differences:\nDraft Bench StoryLine Manuscript spine (projects, chapters, scenes) ✓ ✓ Drafts as snapshots ✓ (first-class type) Limited Compile to MD / PDF / ODT / DOCX ✓ ✓ (six formats) Plotting (corkboard, plotgrid, timeline) — ✓ Character / location / entity management — ✓ Analytics (pacing, plot-hole, prose) — ✓ Scrivener .scriv import Post-V1 candidate ✓ Bases-native discovery ✓ — dbench- frontmatter (vault-portable) ✓ Plugin-internal data If you want one plugin that does everything, StoryLine is the right choice. If you want a focused tool that handles the manuscript spine and leaves the rest to Bases queries, plain notes, or sibling plugins like Charted Roots, Draft Bench is built for that.\nDraft Bench vs Scrivener # Scrivener is the established industry tool, and for many novelists it remains the best fit. Its binder, corkboard, and compile pipeline are mature in ways no Obsidian plugin will match in V1.\nThe real question isn\u0026rsquo;t \u0026ldquo;Draft Bench vs Scrivener.\u0026rdquo; It\u0026rsquo;s \u0026ldquo;do I want my writing to live in my Obsidian vault?\u0026rdquo; If the answer is yes — because your research, journal, daily notes, and reference material are already there, or because you value markdown portability over Scrivener\u0026rsquo;s project-format lock-in — then Draft Bench is one option for the manuscript-organization piece.\nWhere Draft Bench fits Scrivener users:\nProject / chapter / scene / draft model maps cleanly to Scrivener\u0026rsquo;s binder. Most novelist binder structures port over without conceptual translation. Compile to Markdown, PDF, ODT, and DOCX covers the formats writers actually submit. Snapshots become drafts. Scrivener\u0026rsquo;s per-document snapshots have a near-equivalent in Draft Bench\u0026rsquo;s dbench-type: draft. Where it doesn\u0026rsquo;t:\nCorkboard plotting, character sheets, research-folder management, label/keyword cross-referencing, name-generator, project-statistics dashboards. None of these are V1 scope. Some are post-V1 candidates; some are explicitly out of scope (entity management belongs to Charted Roots or to user-managed plain notes). Scrivener .scriv import. Post-V1 candidate, not V1. Some writers will run both: Scrivener for the writing-room work, Obsidian + Draft Bench for everything else. Some will move fully into Obsidian. Both are reasonable.\nDraft Bench vs plain Obsidian # The \u0026ldquo;do nothing\u0026rdquo; alternative is also a reasonable choice. Obsidian without a writing plugin still gives you markdown files, frontmatter, links, and Bases — enough to manage a manuscript by hand if you\u0026rsquo;re disciplined about conventions.\nWhat Draft Bench adds over plain Obsidian:\nConvention enforcement. A scene is a dbench-type: scene note with a dbench-project link and a dbench-order integer. The plugin maintains the conventions; you don\u0026rsquo;t have to remember them. Manuscript Builder. A workspace view that shows your manuscript in order with word-count rollups and status chips — instead of a Bases table you have to set up and maintain. Reverse arrays. When you link a scene to a project, the project\u0026rsquo;s dbench-scenes array updates automatically. Maintaining bidirectional links by hand is the kind of vault chore that drifts within a week. Compile. Concatenating 60 scene files into one manuscript with frontmatter stripped, footnotes renumbered, embeds handled, and section breaks normalized — possible by hand, painful in practice. Drafts. A snapshot system that lives as queryable notes rather than git-history blobs you only retrieve when something goes wrong. If you\u0026rsquo;re a one-novel writer who prefers minimal tooling and doesn\u0026rsquo;t mind hand-rolling conventions, plain Obsidian works. If you\u0026rsquo;re managing multiple projects, juggling many drafts, or want compile output for submission, Draft Bench is the time-saver.\nWhat about coexistence with another writing plugin? # Draft Bench\u0026rsquo;s dbench- frontmatter prefix is namespaced so it doesn\u0026rsquo;t collide with other plugins\u0026rsquo; properties. Coexisting with Longform or StoryLine in the same vault is technically possible — nothing in Draft Bench fights them — but the manuscript-spine scope overlaps, and most writers will pick one tool to drive the manuscript.\nThe exception: Charted Roots is the sibling plugin, designed to coexist with Draft Bench by design. Charted Roots owns world-building (entities, relationships, characters, locations, timelines); Draft Bench owns the narrative spine (projects, chapters, scenes, drafts, compile). Two focused plugins, one shared vault, no overlap.\n","externalUrl":null,"permalink":"/comparison/","section":"Draft Bench","summary":"Writers evaluating tools will compare. This page lays out where Draft Bench sits next to its closest neighbors — Longform, StoryLine, Scrivener, and plain-Obsidian-without-a-plugin — without slamming any of them. All four are reasonable choices for different writers.\nThe short version: Draft Bench is narrow on purpose. It handles the manuscript spine (projects, chapters, scenes, drafts, compile) and stays out of plotting, entity management, and analytics. If you want one tool that covers the whole writing-craft surface, Draft Bench probably isn’t it. If you want a focused tool for organizing scenes and compiling a manuscript, with Bases for queries and your own notes for world-building, Draft Bench is built for that.\n","title":"How Draft Bench compares","type":"page"},{"content":"","externalUrl":null,"permalink":"/tags/","section":"Tags","summary":"","title":"Tags","type":"tags"}]