Chapters in Order
Every chapter and scene lives in the project sidebar, so a 90,000-word draft stays as easy to move through as a short story.
Stela for Novelists
Novel writing software that stays out of your way.
Stela is a free desktop writing studio for fiction. Your chapters sit in a project sidebar, the page stays clear while you draft, and every version is kept on your own computer. When the manuscript is ready, export a book-formatted PDF or Markdown for your agent, editor, or printer.
What You Get
Six Things Stela Does for Novelists
A Page with Nothing on It
Focus Mode hides the sidebar, the status bar, and everything else. Just the sentence you are writing and the one after it.
Every Draft, Kept
Stela saves as you type and keeps earlier versions of each chapter, so a bold rewrite is never a gamble.
Daily Word Goals
Set a session goal from 250 to 2,000 words and watch a quiet pill fill as you write. Reading time and grade level update with it.
An Editor When You Ask
Highlight a paragraph and ask for a tighter rhythm, a different line of dialogue, or more sensory detail. Nothing changes unless you accept it.
Manuscript-Ready Export
Turn the draft into a book-formatted PDF, Markdown, plain text, or a clean web page, in whatever shape your reader asks for.
What makes Stela good for writing a novel?
Stela treats a novel as one project with many chapters, not a pile of files. The sidebar keeps chapters and notes in order, Focus Mode clears the screen while you draft, and the statistics panel shows word count, reading time, and readability for a chapter or the whole book. It runs offline on Windows and macOS and costs nothing.
- Chapters and character notes side by side in one project
- Focus Mode for drafting, an outline panel for revising
- Word, character, sentence, and reading-time counts for any selection
How does Stela keep chapters organized?
Each chapter is a document inside the project. Put them in order in the sidebar, keep research and character notes in their own documents beside the draft, and search the whole project in an instant. Because everything is stored as ordinary files on your computer, you can back the project up or move it however you like.
Can I lose my draft?
Not to a crash, a power cut, or a closed window. Stela saves as you type and keeps a history of earlier versions for every chapter, so you can read back to yesterday's draft or restore a paragraph you cut. Your files never leave your computer unless you copy them somewhere yourself.
How do I send the manuscript to an agent or editor?
Export the whole book or a single chapter as a book-formatted PDF, Markdown, plain text, or HTML. The PDF keeps chapter breaks intact, and Markdown drops straight into publishing tools and editors' workflows. Nothing is uploaded anywhere; the file lands on your own desktop.
- PDF with book formatting for readers and printers
- Markdown and plain text for editors and typesetters
- HTML for a web page or a newsletter
Does the assistant write the novel for me?
No. The editorial assistant only works on text you select, and only when you ask. It can tighten a sentence, suggest a line of dialogue, or add sensory detail, and you decide whether to accept, edit, or discard the suggestion. It uses an AI provider you choose with your own key, and only the selected passage is sent.
Is Stela free for novelists?
Yes. Stela is free while it is in beta, with no subscription, no account, and no feature paywall. Download it for Windows or macOS and start writing.
Download StelaWhat Stela Does and Doesn't Do
| You need | Stela |
|---|---|
| Price | Free during the beta. No subscription, no account. |
| Platforms | Windows and macOS. No Linux, web, or mobile app yet. |
| Where your files live | On your computer, as ordinary files in a project folder. |
| Internet required | No. Only the optional assistant uses a connection. |
| Export | PDF, Markdown, HTML, and plain text. |
| Earlier drafts | Kept per chapter, restorable at any time. |
| Co-writing | Not yet. Share exported files instead. |
Questions Novelists Ask
Can Stela open my existing manuscript?
- Yes. Import Markdown or plain-text files, or paste from your current editor, then arrange the chapters in the project sidebar.
Does Stela work without an internet connection?
- Yes. Projects live on your computer, so you can write on a train or a plane. Only the editorial assistant needs a connection, and only when you ask it something.
Is there a word-count or page limit?
- No. Stela is built for full-length manuscripts and stays quick with a whole novel open.
Can I move a project between a Mac and a PC?
- Yes. The same project files open on either platform, so you can copy a project between computers with any backup tool or drive.
Get Started
Write the next page in Stela.
Free for Mac and Windows. No subscription, no account, and nothing between you and the page.