diff --git a/README.md b/README.md
index 139ede6..763acaa 100644
--- a/README.md
+++ b/README.md
@@ -503,12 +503,11 @@ to the template as the `project_name`, `author` and `description` variables.
 Nothing is written until you press **Create**; generation runs in the background,
 so a template whose hooks talk to the network doesn't freeze the editor.
 
-When it finishes, the app opens the project's **`06-First Draft`** subfolder as
-the workspace — that is where the snowflake template keeps the chapter files, in
-`Act 1/`, `Act 2/` and `Act 3/` subfolders that the
-[folder tree](#organising-with-folders) shows directly. If the template didn't
-produce that folder, the project root is opened instead and the status bar says
-so.
+When it finishes, the app opens the project root as the workspace,
+with the **`06-First Draft`** folder (where the snowflake template keeps the
+chapter files in `Act 1/`, `Act 2/` and `Act 3/` subfolders) automatically
+expanded in the file list. If the template didn't produce that folder, the
+status bar notes that nothing is marked as the manuscript.
 
 A folder only appears in the file panel once it holds a `.md` file — the
 template's empty acts are held open with `.gitkeep`, which is not markdown, so
diff --git a/src/app/workspace.rs b/src/app/workspace.rs
index 14f394b..0dbfbe5 100644
--- a/src/app/workspace.rs
+++ b/src/app/workspace.rs
@@ -91,6 +91,10 @@ impl App {
         self.load_characters();
         self.autocomplete = None;
         self.collapsed.clear();
+        // Ensure the manuscript folder (e.g., 06-First Draft) is always expanded
+        if let Some(ref dir) = self.manuscript_dir {
+            self.collapsed.remove(dir);
+        }
         if let Some(idx) = first_listed(&self.files, self.manuscript_dir.as_deref()) {
             self.select(idx);
         }