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# Building the Writing Companion
- URL: https://murmurationpress.co.uk/building-the-writing-companion/
- Published: 2026-07-06T07:47:40.000Z
- Updated: 2026-07-06T07:47:40.000Z
- Author: Edward Hawkins

One of the principles behind Codex Press has always been simple:

**The manuscript stays the manuscript.**

The words, structure, notes, and metadata should remain in plain Markdown, readable anywhere, owned by the author, and never trapped inside a proprietary writing tool.

This week’s progress has been about bringing more of that information closer to the writing process.

The new **Writing Companion** sidebar for Obsidian is starting to turn Codex Press from a publishing workflow into a complete authoring environment.

The aim is not to replace the manuscript view, but to quietly support it.

The Companion now brings together useful context while writing:

- chapter notes
- point of view character
- story date
- chapter status
- editorial pass information
- recent change notes

The important design decision is that this information is **presented, not duplicated**.

Chapter properties remain the single source of truth. The Companion reads them directly from the manuscript, meaning existing tools such as Dataview, Bases, reporting, EPUB generation, and PDF typesetting continue to work exactly as before.

No lock-in. No hidden database. No separate project format.

Just Markdown.

## Less interface, more writing

One unexpected benefit is that Obsidian’s standard Properties panel can now disappear during normal writing.

The manuscript gets more space.

The author still gets the context.

That feels like the right direction.

The best writing tools should not demand attention — they should quietly remove obstacles.

Codex Press continues to evolve around that idea:

A calm place to write.

A structured place to edit.

A reliable path to publication.

![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/9f/1e/9f1e11bc-1adb-41c1-a2bc-96da66024217/content/images/2026/07/Building-the-companion-1-1.png)