Using the Codex for custom instructions

Codex entries can also be used in Novelcrafter as nifty little shortcuts when in chat. Think of it as word substitution. You say “use this framework”, and the entire framework is added into the context—no more copy and pasting!

How will this help my workflow?

When using AI (in chat, for instance), you may find that you are using the same prompt repeatedly, or that you are filling in character sheets/tables and you want to streamline the process without adding in the form each time.

By storing the form/prompt in a Codex entry, you can add these in a more efficient way.

This is also a perfect way to customise your workflow if you want to dip your toes into prompting without creating custom prompts.

You may want to use this technique if…

• You regularly use the same prompt messages or templates
• You want to give the AI specific definitions of key words
• You want to give the AI background information without pasting it in every time you start a new chat.

How do I make this codex entry?

To create a Codex entry as a prompt template,

Case Study

When brainstorming a project, we may have ideas, but we want to put them into a more cohesive format for growing the idea into a story structure.

Or, we may have a story and we want to write a story pitch for it, so that when someone asks we can let them know what the story is about.

Our Codex entry will look a bit like this:

When we go into chat, we can now ask:

Please write five storypitch about the following Premise: a humorous story about a vampire who wants to go vegetarian, but in the end learns to embrace themselves for who they are.

And you can see that we now have our story pitches! They need work to become fully fledged stories, but it’s a good starting point, and it keeps the chat conversation easier to read.