Well Written

A multi-purpose "swiss army" tool for novel writers. Transform VS Code into a powerful novel writing environment with custom draft file format (.wrt), scene markers for organization, and repetition detection to improve your writing.

Features

📝 Draft Files (`.wrt`)

Custom file format optimized for creative writing with:

Word wrap enabled by default
Line numbers for easy reference
Clean, distraction-free editing experience

🎬 Scene Markers

Organize your manuscript with hierarchical markers:

$ for scenes (smallest division)
$$ for chapters (medium division)
$$$ for parts (largest division)

Features:

✨ Folding support - collapse/expand sections like Markdown headings
📑 Outline view - hierarchical navigation in sidebar
🔍 Breadcrumbs - see your current location
🎨 Theme-aware styling - works with both light and dark themes
📝 Empty markers allowed - plan your structure first, fill in later
🚫 Not compiled - markers are for organization only, excluded from final output

Example:

$$$ Part One - The Beginning

$$ Chapter 1 - Introduction

$ Scene 1 - The Arrival
Story content here...

$ Scene 2 - The Meeting
More content...

$
Empty scene (to be written later)

📑 Markdown Headers

Use standard markdown headers for additional organization:

# H1 - Part level
## H2 - Chapter level
### H3 - Section level
#### H4 - Subsection level

Features:

🎨 Bold and colored styling (distinct from scene markers)
✨ Folding support - collapse/expand sections
✅ Compiled into final output (unlike scene markers)
📊 Counted in word count
📘 Converted to proper headings (H1-H4) in DOCX export

💬 Comments

Leave notes to yourself without affecting your draft:

📝 Single-line comments - use // for quick notes
📄 Multi-line comments - use /* ... */ for longer notes
🎨 Visual distinction - comments appear in gray italic (customizable)
🚫 Excluded from analysis - not counted in word count or repetition mode
🔓 Escapable - use \// or \/* */ to show literal text

Tip: If comments aren't visible in your theme, customize the color in settings: wellWritten.comments.color

Example:

$$ Chapter 1

// TODO: Add more description here
The hero entered the dark forest.

/* Note to self:
This scene needs more tension
and better pacing */

Use \// to show literal slashes (not a comment)

�🔄 Repetition Mode

Highlight repeated words to improve your writing:

🎨 Color-coded - each repeated word gets unique color
⚡ Real-time updates - highlights update as you type
🔤 Case-insensitive - "Test", "test", "TEST" treated as same
📝 Apostrophe support - "don't", "can't", "won't" work correctly
🌍 International support - full Polish diacritics (ąćęłńóśźż)
🎯 Easy toggle - Ctrl+Alt+R to enable/disable

Use cases:

Identify overused words
Spot repetitive phrases
Improve word variety
Polish your prose

📊 Word Count

Track your progress with automatic word counting:

📈 Status bar display - always visible word count
� Hover tooltip - detailed statistics appear on hover
🎯 Smart counting - excludes scene markers and other markup
📚 Page estimation - based on standard book pages (250 words/page)
🔧 Configurable - works with .wrt, .md, .txt (customizable)
🌍 International support - counts Polish and English text correctly

Statistics provided (on hover):

Word count
Character count (with and without spaces)
Page count (customizable words per page)

🎯 Goal Counter

Stay motivated with session-based writing goals:

⏱️ Session timer - track your writing time
📊 Progress tracking - see words written toward your goal (0/500)
⚡ Click to start/stop - easy one-click session management
🎉 Goal celebration - notification when you reach your target
📈 Writing speed - see your words per minute
🔧 Customizable goal - set your daily word target (default: 500)

How it works:

Click the goal counter in status bar to start your session
Write your draft - progress updates in real-time
Reach your goal and get a celebration notification!
Click again to stop and see your session summary

Session summary includes:

Total words written
Time elapsed
Average writing speed (words/minute)

👤 Character Cards

Manage your novel's cast with comprehensive character database:

📋 Create and organize - dedicated sidebar for all characters
⭐ Character types - main, secondary, background, or other
📝 Rich details - comprehensive character information
🖼️ Image support - attach character portraits and photos
🏷️ Tag system - quick reference tags for use in drafts
🔍 Tag search - find where characters appear in your drafts
🎨 Custom properties - add your own custom fields
💾 JSON storage - stored in .well-written/characters/ folder
🔍 Quick access - click any character to view/edit
🗑️ Easy management - create, edit, and delete with simple UI

Character card includes:

Basic Information:

Name and Surname: Character's full name
Nicknames: Multiple nickname support
Age: Character's age (numeric)
Gender: Character's gender
Occupation: Character's job or role
Type: Main, Secondary, Background, or Other

Physical & Personality:

Appearance: Physical description (hair, eyes, build, etc.)
Personality Traits: Character's personality and behavior
Description: General character notes and background

Media & Tags:

Image: Attach character portrait (browse and preview)
Tags: Quick reference tags (e.g., #watson, #detective)
- Use tags in your .wrt files for quick character reference
- Search for tag occurrences across all drafts

Custom Properties:

Add any custom fields you need
Perfect for story-specific details (e.g., "Magic Ability", "Military Rank")

How to use:

Open the "Well Written" sidebar (book icon in activity bar)
Click "+" to create a new character card
Fill in character details in the comprehensive webview form
Browse for image: Use the Browse button to attach a character portrait
Add tags: Create tags like #watson or #detective for quick reference
Use tags in drafts: Reference characters in your .wrt files using their tags
Find tag occurrences: Right-click character → "Find Character Tags in Drafts"
Click character in the list to edit
Right-click to delete

Tag search example:

$$ Chapter 1

The butler opened the door. #watson looked terrified, 
his clothes soaked through.

#doctor Watson had seen many things in his military career.

After creating a character with tags #watson and #doctor, use "Find Character Tags in Drafts" to instantly locate all mentions!

Data structure: Characters are stored as JSON files in .well-written/characters/ folder. Images are stored in .well-written/images/ folder. All data is easy to version control and backup.

📦 Compilation System

Combine multiple draft files into publishable manuscripts:

📚 Manage compilations - dedicated sidebar section below characters
🔍 Auto-detect files - automatically find all .wrt files in workspace (works immediately!)
📋 File ordering - manually arrange draft files in desired order
🎨 Compilation options:
- Strip scene markers from output
- Remove comments from output
📖 Metadata - add book title and author
💾 Export formats - Markdown and DOCX (Microsoft Word)
🚀 Quick compile - right-click compilation for instant export
💼 Configuration storage - saved in .well-written/compilations/ folder

How to use:

Open the "Well Written" sidebar
In the "Compilations" section, click "+" to create a new compilation
Enter a compilation name (e.g., "My Novel - Final Draft")
Book title auto-fills from compilation name (you can change it)
Fill in author name
Click "Detect Draft Files" to auto-add all .wrt files
- Works immediately! No need to save first
- Auto-creates compilation if it doesn't exist yet
Use up/down buttons to reorder files as needed
Configure compilation options:
- Strip markers: Remove scene markers ($, $$, $$$) from output
- Title page: Include/exclude title page with automatic page break (enabled by default)
- Automatically removes comments too
Click export button to choose format
Save the compiled manuscript to your desired location

Export formats:

📄 Markdown (.md): Plain text format, perfect for version control and further processing
📘 DOCX (.docx): Native Microsoft Word document with:
- Optional title page with automatic page break
- Proper heading hierarchy
- Title and author metadata (internationalization-friendly)
- Inline formatting support:
  - *italic* - Italic text
  - **bold** - Bold text
  - ***bolditalic*** - Bold and italic text
  - \* - Escaped asterisk (renders as literal *)
- Horizontal rule support (---, ***, ___)
- Professional manuscript formatting
- Ready to submit or edit in Word

Pro tip: Need PDF? Export as DOCX, then "Save As PDF" in Microsoft Word. You can also use free tools like LibreOffice or online converters.

Inline formatting example:

This is *italic* text, this is **bold** text, 
and this is ***bold and italic*** text.

Use \* to show a literal asterisk.
Mix *italic* and **bold** in the same paragraph!

Compilation config example:

{
	"id": "my-novel",
	"name": "My Novel - Final Draft",
	"sourcePaths": [
		"chapter-01.wrt",
		"chapter-02.wrt",
		"chapter-03.wrt"
	],
	"stripMarkers": true,
	"titlePage": true,
	"metadata": {
		"title": "The Great Adventure",
		"author": "John Smith"
	}
}

Quick compile:

Right-click any compilation in the tree view
Select "Compile Now" (play icon)
Choose export format
Save your compiled manuscript!

Quick Start

Create a draft file with .wrt extension

Add scene markers to organize your story:

$$ Chapter 1
$ Scene 1
Your story text here...

Add comments with // for notes that won't appear in your final draft
Click goal counter in status bar to start your writing session
Check your word count to see detailed statistics (hover over it)
Toggle repetition mode with Ctrl+Alt+R to check for repeated words
Use outline view (View > Outline) to navigate through scenes
Fold sections to focus on specific parts of your manuscript

Commands

Command	Shortcut	Description
Well Written: Toggle Repetition Mode	`Ctrl+Alt+R` (Mac: `Cmd+Alt+R`)	Enable/disable repeated word highlighting

Settings

Customize the extension to match your preferences:

Setting	Default	Description
`wellWritten.sceneMarkers.color`	(theme color)	Color for scene markers. Leave empty to use theme color. Examples: `#6495ED`, `rgb(100, 149, 237)`, `rgba(100, 149, 237, 0.8)`
`wellWritten.repetitionMode.colors`	8 colors	Array of colors for repetition highlighting. Each repeated word gets the next color in rotation. Use semi-transparent colors (rgba) for best results.
`wellWritten.comments.color`	(theme color)	Color for comments (`//` and `/* */`). Leave empty to use theme color. Examples: `#808080`, `rgb(128, 128, 128)`, `rgba(128, 128, 128, 0.8)`
`wellWritten.wordCount.enabledFileTypes`	`[".wrt", ".md", ".txt"]`	File extensions that display word count in status bar.
`wellWritten.wordCount.wordsPerPage`	`250`	Words per page for page count calculation. Standard book page is 250-300 words.
`wellWritten.wordCount.countSingleLetters`	`false`	Include single-letter words (like "I", "a") in word count.
`wellWritten.goalCounter.dailyGoal`	`500`	Daily writing goal in words. Click the goal counter in status bar to start/stop tracking.

To customize:

Open Settings (Ctrl+,)
Search for "Well Written"
Modify settings to your preference

Folding

Click arrow icon next to scene marker to fold/unfold
Ctrl+Shift+[ - Fold current section
Ctrl+Shift+] - Unfold current section
Ctrl+K Ctrl+0 - Fold all sections
Ctrl+K Ctrl+J - Unfold all sections

Outline View

The extension provides document symbols that appear in VS Code's built-in outline view:

Open the Outline panel in the Explorer sidebar (or View > Outline)
See hierarchical structure: Parts > Chapters > Scenes
Click any item to jump to that section
Automatically updates as you edit

Breadcrumbs

VS Code's breadcrumbs feature works with scene markers:

Enable breadcrumbs: View > Show Breadcrumbs
Shows current location in document structure
Click any level to see and navigate to other sections

Theme Compatibility

All features use theme-aware colors and work beautifully with:

✅ Light themes (Solarized Light, Light+, etc.)
✅ Dark themes (Dark+, Monokai, Dracula, etc.)
✅ High contrast themes

Requirements

VS Code version 1.105.0 or higher

Known Limitations

Repetition mode: Currently doesn't group word forms (e.g., "run", "running", "ran" are separate)
Scene markers: For organization only - not included in exports or compilation

Enjoy writing your novel! 📚✨

For detailed version history and release notes, see CHANGELOG.md.

Well Written

ZakladWebdeweloperski

Well Written

Features

📝 Draft Files (`.wrt`)

🎬 Scene Markers

📑 Markdown Headers

💬 Comments

�🔄 Repetition Mode

📊 Word Count

🎯 Goal Counter

👤 Character Cards

📦 Compilation System

Quick Start

Commands

Settings

Scene Marker Navigation

Folding

Outline View

Theme Compatibility

Requirements

Known Limitations

Well Written

ZakladWebdeweloperski

Well Written

Features

📝 Draft Files (.wrt)

🎬 Scene Markers

📑 Markdown Headers

💬 Comments

�🔄 Repetition Mode

📊 Word Count

🎯 Goal Counter

👤 Character Cards

📦 Compilation System

Quick Start

Commands

Settings

Scene Marker Navigation

Folding

Outline View

Breadcrumbs

Theme Compatibility

Requirements

Known Limitations

📝 Draft Files (`.wrt`)