Why I love Obsidian for writing novels and fiction worldbuilding

Check out this quick overview of how I'm using Obsidian to write fiction novels, brainstorm my worldbuilding, and get organized - for free. I share a little of my quest for the perfect writing tool and the specific features I needed.

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After watching this, what are your questions? Drop them below!

🔍 Key Points:

Dominic's Objectives:
Dominic's needed a free, flexible tool that fosters creativity without constraints and provides simplicity and control.

Obsidian's Versatility:
Dive into Obsidian's vast array of features, including mood boards, kanban boards, and seamless idea organization.

Inspiration Integration:
Explore how Obsidian seamlessly integrates AI-generated art, Pinterest boards, and multimedia elements to fuel creativity.

Effortless Organization:
Witness the ease with which Obsidian handles world-building, character development, and location mapping through canvases.

Wiki-Like Connectivity:
Learn about Obsidian's unique linking feature, allowing for a wiki-like structure that enhances connectivity between different elements of the novel.

ChatGPT Collaboration:
Discover how Dominic incorporates ChatGPT within Obsidian for brainstorming and co-writing, turning it into a valuable writing companion.

Community Plugins:
Explore the additional features provided by community plugins, enhancing Obsidian's functionality and tailoring it to individual needs.

🚀 Conclusion: Dominic's Obsidian adventure transforms a writing tool into a creative haven, providing aspiring novelists with inspiration, flexibility, and a co-pilot for their writing endeavors.

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[andricheli]

This is a great testament for the flexibility of Obsidian. Your point at the beginning is exactly why I love Obsidian - it isn't opinionated. It's not someone else's workflow, but rather you make it into the workflow that you need. I use Obsidian for research, but it is always cool to see how others are using it.

[TheDavidN]

I'm not a novelist but a filmmaker working on a new series with lots of lore and collaborators. This seems like an easy way to keep the worldbuilding in one place. Thanks mentioning this!

[josuedavidurand]

It's pretty rare to have this much detail on a writing workflow. I love how you organise your ideas. It's simple enough to be clear but complex enough to be extensive and deal with a lot of type of data at the same time.

I will definitely use your workflow as inspiration. Mine is a bit messy.
thank you for the video

[ScoptOriginal]

The reason I stopped using Obsidian is that it's too big. I ended up spending all my time configuring it, learning features and making it look pretty. I recommend Anytype for a more distraction-free version of the same thing.

[jankachowski]

I use Obsidian to do worldbuilding for my dnd campaigns. Basically use it as a local wiki. It has been quite amazing!

[Yogington]

Thanks for taking us through the ways you use this. There seems to be a hundred tutorials on YouTube all covering the basics, but very few actual demonstrations of day-to-day use! Thanks.

[OldTomato]

Obsidian has been such a relief. I've been using it for a little over a year now, and it's exactly what I didn't know I needed.

[ariastaeus]

wow, the canvas feature is exactly what i've been looking for in a program! i can't believe i've used obsidian for a couple years and never noticed that feature. thanks!

[MarianNinja]

Thanks for sharing your experience with Obsidian! I am not very familiar with the different writing tools out there (I'm pretty technologically illiterate and just use Word or Google Docs for everything) but I am loving the idea of having a tool like this where I can organize all of my various projects and thoughts to more effectively craft my nonfiction books and fiction stories. I'm excited to look into this more!

[captainpat]

Thanks for creating this video. I have used Scrivener for two novels, but I find it cumbersome and frustrating. Then, I wrote a novel of short stories using Google Docs, which is pretty good but lacks many features. You have shown me that it is worth learning Obsidian and creating something tailored for myself. Over the past few years I have discovered that every writer has their own style and workflow, whereas earlier in life I just assumed I was doing it all wrong. I now realise that each of us, like our stories, is unique. Your presentation is spot on.

[CharlineCaneton]

Wow thanks youtube for the recommendation, I was looking for such a tool since 3 years... I am using a paying one but don't use it for month too, this one is very close to what I need in term of organisation and being able to visualy follow things. I'm so happy !

Many thanks !

[DeadlyLazerpunk]

This is awesome!
I used obsidian for nanowrimo last year and had a lot of fun physically linking scenes together. I'm gonna have to mess around with the features you're showing, I don't think I even touched the canvas features quite yet

[aikidoshi]

I'm blown away by the almost Escher like perpective twist of the archway in the world building screen.

[renealbrechtsen]

Been looking for a way to set up obsidian for writing and worldbuilding. Thanks so much. :)

[hartlessforever]

I've been using Scrivener and WOW. I had no idea what I was missing out on. I'm spending my evening converting everything over and going to be on this a lot! Thank you so much

[donttouchmycat]

I didn't expect to find a new channel or tool I love but here we are! Also, great voice, needs to do audio books. soothing. But seriously, thanks! Also this works well for older macOS where others don't, I'm running Mojave.

[HP-mklw]

This is a great video for someone on the fence about switching to a new program. You had a very calming way of explaining how you use it without making it feel like you were hyping it up unnecessarily. I learned more from your video than I have from many other (longer) videos.

You made this simple. Thank you for that.

[coconut-tea]

God I've been looking for something like this since YEARS!
Finally!

[shriv]

Love the Kanban board for acts! Very inspiring and keen to try that out. I also love the use of generative art for moodboards and plotting character journeys on Obsidian Canvas. I haven't given any of these a go so thanks for the ideas and inspiration. Much appreciated!

[Event_Horizon]

Thank you for this amazing video – all your tips are so clever! I've been using Obsidian on-and-off for years never quite managing to customize it to my liking and always switching back to Notion. I still use Notion for my everyday task management and workflow but I've really been struggling with using it as a writing tool. Your video has now given me so many ideas to try and implement in my own Obsidian system.