Getting Started: The Write Tool (and Spark)
The Write tool is where the actual story gets written — it's the center of StorySpark, and where your child will spend most of their time. It's built to feel like a clean, distraction-free word processor, with the story's outline always one glance away and a built-in AI tutor ready whenever they get stuck.
The Editor
At the top of the page is a formatting toolbar with everything a young writer needs and nothing they don't: bold, italic, underline, strikethrough, headings (H1–H3), font size, bullet and numbered lists, block quotes, text alignment, and links or images. It works the way any familiar word processor does, so there's no learning curve — your child can focus on writing, not on figuring out the tool.
There's also a word count and a save status ("Ready") in the bottom corner, so it's always clear the work is being saved.
For younger writers or kids who think better out loud, there's a dictate button (the microphone icon) in the bottom-left corner — it lets them speak their story instead of typing it.
The Left Sidebar: Story & Chapter Setup
On the left, your child can:
- Set the Story Title and Author Name
- Upload or view the story cover image
- Manage Chapters — click the + to add a new one, and hover over any chapter to edit its title/image or delete it
Each chapter appears as its own entry in the list, and clicking one switches the editor to that chapter's content. The Edit Chapter window also lets you upload a Chapter Image, which will appear on the page before the chapter heading when the story is exported.
The Right Sidebar: Story Planner (Quick Reference)
The right-hand panel is a condensed, always-visible view of your child's outline, organized into three tabs:
- 👥 Characters — every character they've created, with a short note on who they are (e.g., "August — has amazing throwing power"). There's also a free-text Character Notes box for relationships, secrets, or dynamics.
- 📍 Locations — the settings in the story (e.g., "North Ireland," "Big City"), plus a Setting Notes box for details like how magic works or what the weather is like.
- 🚩 Plot — "The Journey," broken into The Beginning, Big Events (milestones along the way, each with a short description), and The Ending.
This panel isn't for deep editing — it's a quick way to check "wait, what's my character's name again?" without leaving the page. Click Edit at the top of any section to jump into the full Outline tool for more detailed planning.
Spark: The Built-In Writing Tutor
The owl icon in the bottom-left corner of the editor is Spark — StorySpark's built-in AI writing tutor, and the heart of the whole platform.
Spark is the first story-writing trained AI agent — meaning it's built specifically to teach and guide, not to write the story for your child. Click the owl (or the "Can I help?" prompt) to open Spark's chat panel alongside the editor.
Spark reads what your child has written so far and responds with things like:
- Observations about what's happening in the scene ("August just discovered he can throw things into literal orbit — that's a wild power reveal. What does he do next with that terrified grin still on his face?")
- Prompt buttons for common next steps: Make this scene more exciting, What could happen next?, Help me describe what my character sees, Give me three ideas for the next paragraph
- A Read aloud option, so a child can hear the suggestion instead of just reading it
- A message box to ask Spark anything directly, with the same dictation microphone available here too
The key thing that makes Spark different from a typical AI writing tool: it asks questions and offers directions, not finished paragraphs. It's built to keep the child as the author of their own story, coaching their thinking rather than replacing it.
Why This Matters
The Write tool is designed so nothing gets between a kid and their story — a clean editor, their outline always in view, and a tutor who's there the moment they're stuck, without ever taking the pen out of their hand. It's the place where StorySpark's core idea — a built-in tutor that asks the right questions instead of writing the story for your child — actually happens.
Related tools: use the Outline tool for deeper planning before or during writing, and Export once a chapter or story is ready to share or print.