Folders+Markdown vs cards+archives: setup, editing, AI use, cross-volume cleanup, versions — incl. FeelFish, coding agents, Novelcrafter, Sudowrite & Maliang.
Folders plus Markdown are flexible and transparent, with the files in your own hands, which suits authors who like to define their own formats; the drawback is that once there are many files, which file is the latest and which other places need syncing after one edit are all yours to remember. Character cards plus story archives fix each character and setting as a card and organize states automatically after a chapter is written, which suits authors who don’t want to maintain files. Maliang has both: characters and settings are cards, the master outline is stored separately, and style samples and book-opening material are documents.
By chapter 50, your settings folder probably holds: protagonist.md, protagonist-revised.md, heroine.md, sect-factions.md, cultivation-system.md, foreshadowing-list.md, and a “story-so-far-summary.md” that hasn’t been updated for three weeks. The upside of managing settings with folders and Markdown is freedom: you define the format, the files are in your own hands, and coding agents and clients like FeelFish can read them directly. The difficulty is upkeep: when the protagonist breaks through a realm, you have to edit the character file and also the comparison table in the cultivation system; when a supporting character dies, you have to remember to cross off the thread he planted in the foreshadowing list. In public long-novel practice, authors have designed “status”, “tracking” and “ledger” files as the source of truth for exactly this, and then written rules for AI to update them every chapter. The other approach is character cards plus story archives: each character is a fixed card, and the changes the plot brings are organized by the software after a chapter is written. Neither approach is better; it is only a question of fit.
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| Dimension | Maliang Writer | Folder + Markdown approach | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| What settings look like | ✅ Characters, settings, foreshadowing and storylines are individual cards; the master outline is stored separately; style samples and book-opening material are documents | ✅ One Markdown file per character or setting, sorted into folders | FeelFish projects come with built-in character and setting folders; Novelcrafter’s Codex and Sudowrite’s Story Bible are structured entries |
| Filing | ✅ When starting a book, AI proposes characters and generates cards once you confirm; you can also have AI organize them from existing body text | ✅ The author writes them by hand, or has AI generate files in the format the author defines; FeelFish’s smart context can extract rules, an outline and a foreshadowing list | |
| How AI reads them | ✅ AI reads the relevant cards and documents as needed when writing; the writer agent gets only the material this chapter needs | ✅ The author states in the rules which files to read, or references them with @; FeelFish carries character and setting information when creating | |
| Character states changing with the plot | ✅ After a chapter is written, story archives are organized: character states, relationships, locations, foreshadowing; a character card has an “Archive” tab | ⚠️ The author or AI maintains status and ledger files | |
| How many places to sync after one edit | ✅ Settings are edited on the card; places in already-written body text and chapter outlines that mention the old setting still need checking and editing; when the body text changes, the corresponding archive is marked “based on an older version” and reorganized | ⚠️ The author has to remember which files reference this setting | |
| Contradictions | ✅ Anything that conflicts with existing settings is listed as “pending confirmation”: change the setting to match the text, change the text, or ignore it | ⚠️ No official material found | |
| Outdated settings (Novelcrafter) | ✅ When you reach a new volume, characters, places and foreshadowing that only appeared in earlier volumes are moved into the archive and no longer consulted when writing new chapters, but can still be looked up when needed; they go back into regular use when a character returns | ✅ Progressions can show settings by point in time, and the author has to add them | |
| Outdated settings (folder approach) | ✅ When you reach a new volume, characters, places and foreshadowing that only appeared in earlier volumes are moved into the archive and no longer consulted when writing new chapters, but can still be looked up when needed; they go back into regular use when a character returns | ⚠️ The author moves files by hand or states it in the rules | |
| Viewing and visualization (Novelcrafter) | ✅ Floating character cards, a planning canvas and storylines; there is also a character-relationship and faction graph for the author to view (a member feature) | ✅ Three planning views: Grid, Matrix and Outline | |
| Viewing and visualization (folder approach) | ✅ Floating character cards, a planning canvas and storylines; there is also a character-relationship and faction graph for the author to view (a member feature) | ⚠️ A file list and Markdown preview; FeelFish’s “character relationship graph” is a document for AI to read | |
| Freedom | ⚠️ Card fields are fixed, and there is also a Documents tab for any material, where you can create, rename and drag | ✅ The format is entirely up to the author, and scripts can process it in bulk | |
| Where the files are | ✅ Stored in your Maliang online account; log in on another device to continue | ✅ A local folder; FeelFish can optionally sync to cloud storage |
✅ Confirmed in official material or in the product ⚠️ Partly supported, or not stated in official material ❌ Officially not supported · Competitor information comes from their public material.
Characters, settings, foreshadowing and storylines are cards; the master outline is stored separately; style samples and book-opening material are documents, and the “Documents” tab in the left column is a file tree where you can create, rename and drag. Use cards where you need a fixed structure and documents where you need to write freely.
After a chapter is written, story archives are organized: who was injured, whose relationships changed, where people are, which foreshadowing advanced or paid off. The “Archive” tab on a character card shows that character’s changes all the way along.
Anything that conflicts with existing settings is listed as “pending confirmation”, and you can change the setting to match the text, change the text, or ignore it. It won’t quietly change your settings.
The advantages of folders plus Markdown are real: the files are on your own computer and open in any software; the format is entirely yours, so you can process it in bulk with scripts and manage versions with Git. FeelFish has done a lot of work on this approach: projects come with built-in character and setting folders, smart context can extract rules, an outline and a foreshadowing list from existing content, Diff is editable, and when cloud sync conflicts it keeps two backups. Novelcrafter’s Codex automatically tracks and links entries mentioned in the body text, and Progressions control from which point in time a setting takes effect; Sudowrite’s Story Bible lets you hide entries from AI.
Every product suits some scenarios; the advice here covers only one: serialized long-form fiction in Chinese.
Pick two or three kinds of tools for a same-task trial, based on your actual stage of writing. Record the complete task, and don't generalize one product's single output into a conclusion about the whole category.
Below is a same-task trial checklist, not a finished comparison experiment. You can use the original teaching material “Jiehuo City” or a manuscript you have the right to handle; record the preparation, the output and the author’s edits for each tool.
Give both tools the same protagonist, core rules and reading preferences; compare the opening directions first, then organize the master outline, the first volume outline and the outlines for the first three chapters.
Check: Can it tell the roles of the three outline levels apart? Can the author confirm a plan before it continues? Were settings that hadn't been settled yet quietly written in as fact?
Use the same book-opening kitUse the same old manuscript you have the right to handle, specify how the last chapter ends and the goal of the next chapter; try writing one scene first, without changing the previous twenty chapters.
Check: What material did you prepare? Did character positions, items and open threads carry over? How are candidate drafts told apart from adopted ones?
See the import-and-continue task checklistPick a real rule that affects earlier chapters; first ask it to list the affected chapters and the evidence, then let the author choose the scope of the change.
Check: Does it say which parts it did not check? Can you review the changes first? Did it wrongly edit text outside the task or write an unadopted plan into the material?
See how to change a settingActually try keeping the text, the order of volumes and chapters, character profiles and world rules, and check whether the output is suitable for further editing; list what cannot be taken along.
Check: Are the format and order recognizable? What material is inside the platform account, what is in local files, and what is in the export? Do not infer usability from a marketing page alone.
Copy the task and result record cardRecord the models, plans or account conditions you actually used, and the time spent preparing materials and editing the text. Leave blank anything you have not tried or cannot confirm; do not let a feature name or a single generation stand in for the full experience.
It depends on which approach you’re used to. If you like to define your own formats and want files kept locally, use folders plus Markdown, or a client like FeelFish; if you want a fixed structure and help keeping track of states, use software with character cards and story archives, such as Maliang. For writing in English, look at Novelcrafter’s Codex.
The format is free, plain text is universal, Git can manage versions, and coding agents and many writing clients can read it directly. The drawback is that once there are many files, syncing and finding the latest version are all up to you.
Commonly: name, identity, appearance, personality, surface goal and deeper desire, abilities and limits, key relationships, catchphrase or way of speaking. Maliang’s character-building guide has a fuller approach and examples from popular books.
Fixed settings (background, core personality) go on the card, while states that change with the plot (injuries, realm, location, relationship changes) are best recorded separately. In Maliang, after a chapter is written these changes are organized into the story archive, and you can see them in the “Archive” tab of the character card.
There is that risk, so you need to control the material handed to AI for each chapter. Maliang’s writer agent gets only the settings this chapter needs; when you reach a new volume, characters, places and foreshadowing that only appeared in earlier volumes are moved into the archive and no longer consulted when writing new chapters.
Yes. In Maliang, characters, settings, foreshadowing and storylines are cards and the master outline is stored separately; style samples and book-opening material are documents, and the “Documents” tab in the left column lets you freely create, rename and drag.
FeelFish is a desktop client that manages characters and settings in local project folders, and its smart context generates documents such as rules, an outline and a foreshadowing list for AI to read. Maliang is a web platform where characters and settings are cards, story archives are organized after each chapter is written, and outdated settings are put away by volume.
Novelcrafter gives control to the author: the setting library is brought in automatically when entries are mentioned, Progressions manage how settings change over time, the Matrix view tracks character appearances, and you choose and connect your own model. The price is that you connect the AI service yourself and maintain the setting library and prompts yourself. Maliang has models built in, organizes story archives after each chapter is written, lets you review AI changes one by one in the editor, and provides genre reference for Chinese web novels.
Read the comparison →Coding agents are very capable: they read and write across files, make batch edits and run scripts, and technical authors can build very flexible writing workflows. The price is that the folders, rule files, setting ledger and version management all have to be designed and maintained yourself, and the interface is aimed at programmers. Maliang turns these into the cards, table of contents and editor that authors are used to.
Read the comparison →To start with the kinds of novel-writing software and what each is good at, read How to choose an AI novel writing tool.
After signing up, create a book or import existing chapters, tell the AI which chapter to continue, then look at what it wrote, what it changed and what it recorded in the archive, and decide whether to move your long novel over.