Common issues and how to fix them

<p>Most issues fix themselves with a refresh or a short wait. Here's a quick checklist for the ones we see most.</p>

<h3>My book is stuck generating</h3>

<p>Generation usually takes 2–8 minutes. If it's been longer than 15:</p>

<ol>

<li><strong>Refresh the page</strong> — the editor may have lost track of the job that's already complete on our end</li>

<li><strong>Check your token balance</strong> — if you ran out mid-generation, the rest of the book paused</li>

<li><strong>Check your library</strong> — sometimes a "stuck" book is already done, just not appearing in the current view</li>

</ul>

<p>If it's been over 30 minutes and a refresh doesn't help, chat with us. We can re-trigger the generation without charging extra tokens.</p>

<h3>An illustration looks wrong</h3>

<p>If an illustration doesn't look right (wrong character, weird anatomy, doesn't match your reference photo):</p>

<ol>

<li><strong>Regenerate it</strong> — costs 10 tokens but usually fixes it</li>

<li><strong>Add specific notes</strong> when regenerating — "show her with curly hair like the reference" or "two characters side by side"</li>

<li><strong>Check character settings</strong> — if the character's appearance is set wrong, regenerations will keep producing the same issue. Fix the character first, then regenerate.</li>

</ul>

<p>Our AI is good but not perfect. Generally 2–3 regenerations of a tricky scene is enough to get something you're happy with. If you're burning tokens without progress, reach out — we can help debug.</p>

<h3>The editor froze or won't load</h3>

<ol>

<li><strong>Refresh the page</strong> — clears most stuck states</li>

<li><strong>Try a different browser</strong> — Chrome, Safari, Firefox, and Edge are all supported. Sometimes a browser extension (especially privacy/ad blockers) interferes with the editor.</li>

<li><strong>Try incognito/private mode</strong> — this disables extensions for that tab and isolates the issue</li>

<li><strong>Disable parental-control or network filtering extensions</strong> if you have any installed — Norton Family, Net Nanny, and similar tools can break the editor's interactive elements</li>

</ul>

<p>If it's still broken after that, screenshot what you see (including the browser address bar) and send it via chat.</p>

<h3>My PDF won't download or open</h3>

<ol>

<li><strong>Try a different browser</strong> or device</li>

<li><strong>Check your downloads folder</strong> — sometimes the download completes but isn't obvious</li>

<li><strong>Re-download from your library</strong> — every purchased book has a permanent download link in your library page</li>

</ul>

<p>If the PDF downloads but won't open, it may be a corrupted download (rare). Try again. If you see "0 bytes" or a 1KB file, it didn't actually download — clear cache and retry.</p>

<h3>Payment failed</h3>

<p>If your card was declined at checkout:</p>

<ol>

<li><strong>Double-check the card details</strong> — number, expiry, CVV, billing zip</li>

<li><strong>Try a different card</strong> if you have one — sometimes one card blocks the transaction (international fraud check)</li>

<li><strong>Contact your bank</strong> — they sometimes block first-time foreign charges. A quick "yes this is me" call usually fixes it.</li>

<li><strong>Try Apple Pay or Google Pay</strong> if your card is added there — they bypass some of the fraud filters</li>

</ul>

<p>We don't store your card details — that's all handled by Stripe.</p>

<h3>My account is locked</h3>

<p>Accounts can get temporarily locked if there are too many failed sign-in attempts. Wait 15 minutes and try again, or use the password reset flow to unlock immediately.</p>

<p>If your account is locked for reasons unrelated to sign-in attempts (rare), it's usually a payment dispute or content moderation flag. Email <a href="mailto:support@moonshinestory.com">support@moonshinestory.com</a> and we'll explain what happened.</p>

<h3>I can't find a template I need</h3>

<p>We add new templates regularly. If there's a story you wish existed — a specific holiday, a family situation, a school theme — tell us via chat. We genuinely use these suggestions to prioritize what to build next.</p>

<h3>Still stuck?</h3>

<p>Open the chat bubble in the corner of any Moonshine page and describe what's happening. Include:</p>

<ul>

<li>What you were trying to do</li>

<li>What you expected to happen</li>

<li>What actually happened</li>

<li>A screenshot if visual</li>

</ul>

<p>We're a small team based in Hong Kong, so live coverage during US/EU business hours is limited — but we read and respond to every message, every day, within 24 hours.</p>

Updated on: 20/05/2026