How to Add Characters to an Existing Story

You’re a few chapters in and you need a new character. Maybe the story introduced someone you want to flesh out. Maybe you want to bring in a character from your library. There are three ways to do it, and they work differently.

Option 1: The Lorebook (Best for Ongoing Characters)

Open your story’s Lorebook and go to the Characters tab. Hit New Character and fill in their name and description.

This is the best option when you want the character to stick around. Once they’re in the Lorebook, the AI reads their description every time it generates a new chapter. They become part of the story’s permanent memory.

You can also tap Detect Chapter Characters to have RedQuill scan your latest chapter and find characters the AI introduced on its own. If someone new showed up, they’ll appear here so you can add a proper description.

When to use this: You want a character to be consistent across all future chapters. You need the AI to remember their personality, appearance, and behavior.

Option 2: @ Mentions in Your Prompt (Best for Pulling from Your Library)

When you’re writing your next chapter prompt, type @ and start typing a character name. A dropdown appears with matches from your library and public components.

Select the character and their full description gets sent to the AI for that chapter. This is the fastest way to bring in someone you’ve already built. (Need to build a character first? See Characters 101.)

When to use this: You have a character saved in your library and want to introduce them into this story. The @ mention pulls their description into the generation context.

Good to know: @ mentioned characters show up as colored chips in your prompt. The AI reads their full description even though you only see the name.

Option 3: Describe Them in Your Continue Prompt (Quick and Informal)

The simplest approach. Just describe the character in your chapter prompt:

“A new detective arrives at the scene. She’s in her 50s, no-nonsense, chain smoker, speaks in short clipped sentences. She immediately clashes with the lead.”

The AI will write them into the chapter based on what you said. But it won’t automatically remember those details in future chapters unless you add them to the Lorebook afterward.

When to use this: You want to introduce someone quickly and decide later if they’re worth fleshing out. Great for minor characters or one-scene appearances.

Lorebook vs. @ Mentions vs. Prompt

Method	Best For	AI Remembers Them?
Lorebook	Main characters, recurring cast	Yes, every chapter
@ Mention	Pulling library characters into a story	For that chapter’s generation (add to Lorebook for persistence)
Continue prompt	Quick introductions, minor characters	No, unless you add them to Lorebook

@ Mentions Are Not Lorebook Entries

A lot of users think @ mentioning a character is the same as adding them to the Lorebook. It’s not.

An @ mention sends the character’s description to the AI for that specific generation. If you want the AI to remember them going forward, open the Lorebook and add them there too.

Think of it this way: @ mentions are introductions. The Lorebook is memory.

Auto-Detected Characters Save You Work

RedQuill auto-detects new characters after every chapter. If the AI writes in a new person, check your Lorebook. They’ll show up there automatically with a basic entry. You can then edit their description to add the details you want the AI to remember.

This is especially useful when the AI surprises you with a character you didn’t plan but want to keep. Give them a real description in the Lorebook and they’ll stay consistent from that point forward.