How much detail should I put in my codex?
Managing expectations with setting up the codex in Novelcrafter.
The eternal question. How much detail should I add? How much is too much?
If you do not use AI, you can put in as much information as you want, as it does not impact your bank balance.
Whilst Novelcrafter doesn’t limit you in the size or number of codex entries that you can make, here are some principles that you might want to consider, if using AI in your writing:
- If you are using a LLM (AI model) with a small context window, you may want to consider smaller codex entries so the context window is not ‘used up’.
- If you are using a ‘more expensive’ model, you may want to tailor your codex entries so that the overall prompting cost is lower.
- Is the codex entry for a primary character, or an object that gets mentioned once? The bigger a role a codex entry plays on the story, the larger the entry will be.
- Is the detail/information you’re wanting to put in essential to how the character is portrayed? If you don’t want the AI mentioning a detail every scene (eye colour, for example), then it is best to leave it out.
Remember, that you are not tied in to keeping the codex fixed for the entire story. Make changes as you go, and remove details when they are no longer needed. There is a handy notes section within each entry to store anything you don’t want to entirely remove.
If you are still unsure, and want a numerical value for how much to add into the codex, 300-400 words for primary characters, and 100-200 for others will give you more than enough room for the data required to portray the character.