Updates

What has changed on Writer's Grove, newest first.

The newsletter, and the editor on the phone

Version 1.64.1 · November 2, 2026

Releases 1.61.1 to 1.64.1.

The newsletter is sent. Readers who ticked the newsletter box in Settings get each issue by email, with a link in every issue that unsubscribes without signing in, and mail clients that offer their own Unsubscribe button can use it. An address typed on the newsletter page without an account is put on the list only after its confirmation email is opened, and the addresses that signed up that way before are asked to confirm once.
An address that bounces for good, or that reports an issue as spam, comes off the list, and its account is scheduled for deletion with the reason shown on the page the account sees when it signs in, together with where to write to stop it. An account an admin closes carries the admin's reason the same way.
The phone's chapter editor fits the visible part of the screen, with the toolbar, the text and the status bar sharing it while the keyboard is up, and the mode row stepping aside in distraction free mode until the keyboard goes. Series cards tile two across on the phone, Back lands where the page was left, and the series contents panel floats.
The side by side page fits the window: each frame takes the window less the drop-down above it, the branch row, the toolbar, the text box and the status bar fit inside a pane, and the page carries no footer.
Pressing Side by side, One page or a pane's drop-down saves the chapter first, so nothing typed in the last minute is left for the Unsaved Local Changes dialog; a pane wider than 1000px lays the form out at its full width; and a line break at the foot of a long chapter scrolls the new line into view.

Side by side editing, the series tree, and the editor box

Version 1.61.0 · October 27, 2026

Releases 1.49.0 to 1.61.0.

Side by side editing. An icon button above Chapter Details opens a page with two panes for the series. Each pane has a drop-down of the series' chapters, a New chapter choice per book, the lore entries and New lore entry, and shows the chosen page with its own editor, toolbar, branches and save states. The document open in one pane is greyed out in the other. The choice is remembered on your account per series, and while it is on, opening any chapter of that series lands on the side by side page with that chapter on the left. Distraction free mode inside a pane fills the window, and pop out works per pane. It needs a window at least 1000 pixels wide; narrower windows and phones show the normal editor.
A Series contents panel on the new and edit chapter pages lists the series' books, each opening to its chapters marked Draft or Scheduled, a New chapter link per book, and a Lore link. On a narrow window it folds above the form.
Word definitions in the editor's Preview mode: select a word there and the card shows where your Definitions setting puts it, in the page, in distraction free mode and in the popped out window.
The editor box in the page layout now has a fixed height that fits the window with the branch controls, the toolbar and the status bar, and the text scrolls inside it, so the save states and word count stay in view while you type. A line of room stays under the caret at the bottom of the box, in the page, in distraction free mode and popped out. The first click into the text after a page load scrolls the writing area into view if its status bar was below the fold. Phones keep the tall text box.
On a lore entry page, Edit steps aside while the edit form is open and returns after Save or Cancel.
The Following shelf on the home page shows one series per followed author, the one with the newest published chapter, alongside the series you follow directly.
The word definition card on the chapter page: select one word and a card shows its Wiktionary senses, a Wikipedia summary and Audio, Web, Share and Copy. Where it shows is yours to choose on the Reading tab of Settings: by the word (the default), in a window, below or above the paragraph, or not at all. The card floats by the word, its senses scroll over a fixed action row, and Wikipedia sits in a disclosure.
Backups to your own Google Drive, from the Writing tab of Settings: connect, Back up now, and a backup within a minute of a save; the files are keyed by what they are and renamed in place when a book or series is renamed, and a renamed book's or series's folder moves instead of being uploaded again. The folder is named for the environment.
The Settings page is shorter: the colours apply site-wide and the archive is built on demand from Download Archive, with one a day, a stored copy and an email when it is ready. Archives and reader fonts survive a deploy.
Series, book and chapter publish states stay consistent, and focus returns to the right button after a Revert or Publish confirmation on the book dashboard.
A link that carries the button class lays out as one box.

Poems paste as written, and Discard on a new chapter

Version 1.48.0 · October 19, 2026

Releases 1.47.0 to 1.48.0.

With poetry mode on, pasted text follows the same rule as typing: a single line break stays a line in the paragraph, and an empty line starts a new paragraph. A poem copied from Google Docs, Word or a web page keeps its verses.
Clean paste now does one thing: it removes extra empty lines from a paste. Off, the spacing comes in exactly as it was copied. The descriptions on the Writing tab of Settings and the Help page say so.
A new chapter has a Discard button beside Cancel. Cancel keeps what you wrote in your browser for later; Discard throws it away after you confirm.

Clean paste off by default and a warning before leaving a new chapter

Version 1.47.0 · October 19, 2026

Releases 1.46.1 to 1.47.0.

Clean paste is now off unless you switch it on, and it was switched off on every account. With it off, pasted text comes in exactly as it was copied. Its description on the Writing tab of Settings now says what it does.
With Clean paste and poetry mode both on, a poem pasted from Google Docs or Word keeps its verses: the lines between empty lines join into one paragraph.
A new chapter that has not been created yet now asks before you leave it. What you wrote is still kept in your browser and offered back the next time you start a chapter in that book.
The Help page explains Poetry mode and Clean paste.
Continue with Google keeps its own colours.

Sign in with Google or a passkey, one Settings page, and poetry mode

Version 1.46.0 · October 18, 2026

Releases 1.35.0 to 1.46.0.

Continue with Google is in the Log In and Sign Up dialog. If an account here has the same email, Google signs you in to it; if not, a new account is made. A linked Google account shows on the Security tab of Settings, where Remove unlinks it.
Passkeys sign you in with no email: add one on the Security tab of Settings, then choose Sign in with a passkey in the Log In dialog. The Help page explains both under Your Account. The email sign-in link always works.
Settings is now one page with Reading, Content, Email, Writing, Account and Security tabs. The Settings links in the reader and author menus and the Account link open it on their own tab.
The chapter editor keeps your Markdown as you wrote it, shows links and https images, and has scene breaks, horizontal lines and a Source mode. Pasting or dropping a picture file is refused with a message.
Poetry mode (Enter starts a new line, Enter twice a new paragraph) and Clean paste (text from Google Docs or Word keeps its lines and paragraphs) are switches on the Writing tab of Settings.
Log In is on the header on phones too.
The Privacy Policy (1.6.0) now says what Google sign-in keeps: the id Google gives your Google account and its email address. Every account is asked to agree to it once at its next sign-in.

Return home