Novelcrafter

Progressions/Additions

How to add codex progressions/additions into your novel.

2 min read Last updated Mar 17, 2025

What do you do if your character is suddenly possessed partway through the story? Or there is now a prominent scar on their face? You want to add this to your Codex entry, but you know that if you add it in when setting up the codex that the AI might mention said scar prematurely.

This is where Codex progressions are used.

Think of these as addendums to your Codex, that are only “seen” by AI when you are working on a scene on/after the addition has been created. If you need to go back to the earlier scene, these progressions are not in the context.

Anatomy of a Codex Progression

Overview of a codex progression

  1. Move the Codex addition within a scene
  2. Assign the Codex entry associated with the progression
  3. Include information about your progression here.

Overview of a codex progression

If you select the actions menu, you are given the following additional features:

  1. Select the detail associated with the progression
  2. Toggle between replace or addition mode for the progression
  3. Delete the progression

Adding a Codex Addition to your Story

In the write interface:

  1. Open up the menu through the slash command, / , and select codex progressions
  2. In the progressions box, write your addition/replacement.
  3. Select which Codex entry that you wish to associate the progression with.
  4. In the actions menu, assign as a replacement (or leave unchanged for an addition)

If you look at your Codex entry, you can see that any progressions are now linked with handy indicators of what scene the progression is attached to.

Codex entry addition

For information regarding progressions on codex details, see here.

What should I include?

Codex additions are for major progressions or changes in your story. They are not meant to replace plot points (include these in your scene instructions).

Examples for additions are:

  • A character gets married/divorced
  • A location gets ransacked by a local gang/mafia
  • A character gets a new job position (CEO, manager, etc.)
  • A character changes their physical appearance in a significant way (gets a tattoo, etc.) that has an impact on your story.
  • An important item gets lost during shipping