Who this is for
Novelists and screenwriters who build characters from accumulated detail and lose the flashes that make them real.
The moment this saves you
I suddenly understand something true about a character, the specific way she'd lie, and I lose it before I can write it down, so she stays flat on the page because the detail that made her real is gone.
See it work
Messy spoken thought in. A clean, structured artifact out.
Character note for Vera. I just realized something about her, she's the kind of person who's generous with money but stingy with apologies, she'll pick up the check for everyone but she'll go to her grave before admitting she was wrong about something. And that's because money is easy for her, it costs her nothing emotionally, but being wrong threatens the whole story she tells about herself being the competent one. There's a contradiction there I love, people read her as warm because of the money thing but the people close to her know she's actually defensive. This explains why her marriage is strained.
Character note: Vera, June 5, 2026
- The trait: Generous with money, stingy with apologies. Picks up every check, but will go to her grave before admitting she was wrong.
- The why: Money costs her nothing emotionally; being wrong threatens the story that she's the competent one.
- The contradiction: Strangers read her as warm (the money); the people close to her know she's defensive.
- What it explains: Why her marriage is strained.
The workflow
Record a voice note
Hit the hotkey and talk, no formatting, no typing.
Tag it with this context
Contextli shapes your words into the structured output above.
Find it later
Everything's searchable and organised by context.
Pull it into Claude or ChatGPT
Bring your contexts straight into your AI tools with the Contextli MCP.
Your raw recording and transcription stay on your device, so you can always go back to the original.
The prompt behind this context
I'm going to capture a detail or realization about a character. Turn it into a character note: a bold "Character note: [name], [today's date]" heading, then labeled lines: The trait (the specific behavior or quality), The why (the psychology behind it, in my framing), The contradiction (any tension I name), and What it explains (how it connects to the story). Keep my exact insights and phrasing. Don't invent traits or backstory I didn't mention. Output only the note.
Make it your own. This is a starting point. Once it's in Contextli, tweak the instructions so the output comes out exactly how you like it.
Use this context
One tap adds it to your clipboard. Open Contextli and paste to add it.
Next, open Contextli, Contexts, Import, paste.
Make it your own. This is a starting point. Once it's in Contextli, tweak the instructions so the output comes out exactly how you like it.
Your raw recording and transcription stay on your device, so you can always go back to the original.
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